tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44243994978367759212024-03-13T08:32:21.348-07:00Dancing on the EdgeAConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-80219110006840918342012-09-21T14:12:00.001-07:002012-09-21T14:14:45.155-07:00Lewis Forever Creates Magic at DNA<br />
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Isabel Lewis/ Lewis Forever</div>
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A Guide to Kinship and Maybe Magic<br />
Saturday, September 15, 2012</div>
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Perhaps I am getting crazier, or maybe this is what my
college professors warned us about and my tastes in performance are changing
over the years. There was a time when I detested all-things post modern or avante-garde
and clung to more traditional, whimsical forms of dance. However, I found the
majority of this production to be quite enjoyable, and even touching and
thought-provoking in many ways. Of course, there were a couple sections that
come to mind as being painfully awkward for me to experience. But overall, I am
glad that I attended and got better acquainted with the artists, Isabel Lewis,
and her family collective, Lewis Forever.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4LD8q-NGej6C_t0ii35R4WTNktwkKtlvNJv5U-N2QocoolNvKkkuSX_b41X1PhBO2vgZAgVUVgEIDsh1R-Z-15m1gn0Sa_byjl6JiVtUukmf8_WwOCXm9EBL0D61kFMAxLIZDGBgfME/s1600/Lewis+07,+photo+by+Lexi+Namer..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4LD8q-NGej6C_t0ii35R4WTNktwkKtlvNJv5U-N2QocoolNvKkkuSX_b41X1PhBO2vgZAgVUVgEIDsh1R-Z-15m1gn0Sa_byjl6JiVtUukmf8_WwOCXm9EBL0D61kFMAxLIZDGBgfME/s320/Lewis+07,+photo+by+Lexi+Namer..jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>photo by Lexi Namer</i></div>
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Based on the press release I read before the show, I really
had no idea what to expect. But after seeing it, I found the press release to
be accurate. It’s just one of those things that you have to see to appreciate
and my written description will undoubtedly fall short of matching what I would
consider the artistic genius of “A Guide to Kinship and Maybe Magic,” but here
goes anyway.</div>
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Lewis Forever is the name for the Lewis siblings (Sarah,
Isabel, and the twins Legia and George Jr.) plus the “imposter Lewis,” performer
Brendan Jacobs-Jenkins, who acts as a director and commentator of the silent, black
and white film giving his play by play of artistic intentions, occasional sound
track and sound effects, and when we are lucky, some accompanying choreography
and performance. The brother, George Jr.
is not actually in the film but a hauntingly beautiful song of his was played
several times during the film. (And I have been unsuccessful thus far in
finding it online so I may download, but I will continue searching.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr699urtW6oX-wU8te37Ws-uEMd0rKOaTPrBISu-WTC30Ma0yw4AONhjzxUXhZsfV5XOKHglwWSCXtXvrwTo9aLAWCuqKe1ix5Tg3Z7QNAAFN8oER_SE8b7nBL4wpdTO4QRLG6GbNjIPU/s1600/Lewis+08,+photo+by+Lexi+Namer..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr699urtW6oX-wU8te37Ws-uEMd0rKOaTPrBISu-WTC30Ma0yw4AONhjzxUXhZsfV5XOKHglwWSCXtXvrwTo9aLAWCuqKe1ix5Tg3Z7QNAAFN8oER_SE8b7nBL4wpdTO4QRLG6GbNjIPU/s320/Lewis+08,+photo+by+Lexi+Namer..jpg" width="212" /><br /><i>photo by Lexi Namer</i></a>To describe what I saw, I would say it was psychological, endearing,
and horrific with a slightly comic edge. I can only wonder what other people’s
experience could have been at such a show. I imagine everyone’s would be
different based on the family and experiences that they come from and how they
related to the Lewis siblings. </div>
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Sibling rivalry is normal and I can remember lots of fights
with my own siblings. You know the famous battle cry, “I’m going to kill you!” Well
the Lewis sisters took it one step further and actually found creative ways to kill
one another with each scene of the film. And then the next scene would come and
you would see the sister who was just murdered saunter in with blood on her
clothes as if it never happened. Eventually the killing became comical because
you knew that they weren’t really portraying murder, just the temporary
incapacitation of a loved one. </div>
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The film evoked a sense of nostalgia for one’s childhood and
home. A place that I am told you can never go back to. It left me wondering how
much of what ‘imposter Lewis’ said was truth, and how much was fiction created
to evoke this <i>Kinship and Maybe Magic</i>.
I think I would rather not know the truth and just believe that the magic I
felt that night was real.</div>
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<br />AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-73879112850097187262012-08-27T05:09:00.002-07:002012-08-27T05:09:52.339-07:00Kickstart the CityDance FreshVisions!There is still time to help fund the production of an amazing night of dance, featuring the works of CityDance staff. That means that many of the dancers you see performing on the night of the show are the same ones who created the pieces in the show. These choreographers share their evening of fresh visions; works from a new point of view. The choreographers featured in the concert include Juliana Calderon, Ivy Chow, Sarah Ewing, Junichi Fukuda, Julie Gerdes Becnel, Kaitlin Madzelan, Robert Priore, Michelle Sarson, Elizabeth Terschuur, Monique Walker and Daniel H. Zook.<br />
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Here's how you can help...<br />
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For Graham's sake, give a couple dollars if you love dance. This is the future of dance in the DC Metro area. And at least 'share' this post or the kickstarter video below with everyone you know. I would really love to see this campaign succeed.<br />
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And now for your viewing pleasure... a tantalizing sneak peek inside the minds of the mad artists.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/citydance/fresh-visions-under-one-umbrella/widget/video.html" width="480"> </iframe></div>
AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-72338396530079498212012-07-22T09:16:00.000-07:002012-07-24T09:13:36.778-07:00The Latin Choreographer's Festival 2012The Latin Choreographer's Festival 2012<br />
July 12-15, Dance New Amsterdam Theatre<br />
Sunday July 15, Matinee Showing Program A<br />
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Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Fifth Anniversary of the Latin Choreographer's Festival. This season was dedicated to the memory of late Mexican Choreographer, Jose Limon. <br />
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<i>"I try to compose works that are involved with man's basic tragedy and the grandeur of his spirit. I want to dig beneath empty formalisms, displays of technical virtuosity, and the slick surface; to probe the human entity for the powerful, often crude beauty of the gesture that speaks of man's humanity." -Jose Limon</i><br />
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In this quote, we see the essence of a choreographer who took an investigative approach to composing dances. He used dance as a tool to help him understand mankind. This is a quality that many of the festival's choreographers also possess. I<span style="color: white;">n searching for the gesture of humanity, tremendous beauty was spawned in the works of these artists.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyogaOb6pg_G6QxNTzKBaDX-2hACG9W8fPDvvN3duJOTdudFnxaNsILPBbxetDSA_MRSooe8vjd2S6yn7vFcRB3e9El_wZJs8uJ79EWMkciffM-VF75urrfOjuTf-9U4RHcUZq-iNn-Jw/s1600/DJG_5265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyogaOb6pg_G6QxNTzKBaDX-2hACG9W8fPDvvN3duJOTdudFnxaNsILPBbxetDSA_MRSooe8vjd2S6yn7vFcRB3e9El_wZJs8uJ79EWMkciffM-VF75urrfOjuTf-9U4RHcUZq-iNn-Jw/s320/DJG_5265.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Tree," by Eloy Barragan<br />photo by Rachel Neville</i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white;">The dance, "Tree," choreographed by Eloy Barragan, conveyed an exploration of the space, perhaps a careful search for tenderness and forgiveness. It </span><span style="color: white;">began with a statue of a man standing downstage with his back to the audience. Dancer, Steven Gray stood with his stoic, muscular back lit by the center lights. His movements were generous, full-bodied, and sweeping circles. He rotated along the floor turning pinwheels with his whole body, a sort of modified cartwheel. He was powerful and calculated. Each move was executed with a controlled elegance. His polished technique and performance quality made the dance an absolute pleasure to watch. And just as the dance began to enter a mode of controlled chaos, he returned to the same solitary statue as the beginning. As the sun rises, so does it set.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SvZnM9xCQAUGGuH1fmnHVbNuTJogGBWI4cjxqpKTXaQ2fWykGC_zfNj02OCDbcua6cXtFhjQId4PV11Xyb_kTaUJx63MXpQkYsN-97Cx-6vGWrCNSZYej5I2Rbr3WbsWHSHcNIyGt2c/s1600/DJG_5660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SvZnM9xCQAUGGuH1fmnHVbNuTJogGBWI4cjxqpKTXaQ2fWykGC_zfNj02OCDbcua6cXtFhjQId4PV11Xyb_kTaUJx63MXpQkYsN-97Cx-6vGWrCNSZYej5I2Rbr3WbsWHSHcNIyGt2c/s320/DJG_5660.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Hidden Souls," by Ursula Verduzco<br />photo by Rachel Neville</i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white;">"Hidden Souls" began with a duet between a very intimidating looking man, Jorge Fuentes, and a woman, Lucia Campoy, whose hair and neck were covered completely in black fabric. Initially, I got the impression that the choreographer and festival's director, Ursula Verduzco was making a statement about male repression towards women. Perhaps however, this is based on my own subconscious assumptions. The lyrics of the music by Dead Can Dance echoed the words, "in a white world," in a rather deep and haunting voice. There was a steady tambourine-beat that was reminiscent of chains within the context of this struggle between man and woman. Additional waves of dancers joined them onstage. They danced femininely by holding the backs of chairs and flicking their calves upward behind themselves. </span><span style="color: white;">The man controlling the women looked very evil and psychotic, perhaps even representing death. </span><span style="color: white;">The piece had a very dark tone and serious atmosphere, however maintained an air of sex appeal due to the somewhat alluring choreography and high-slit skirts. </span><span style="color: white;">The scene reminded me of a harem because of the recurring tambourine and dancers writhing and posing in the background, like a Grecian frieze. Eventually the leading woman was lifted by the others in a corpse pose and carried away. Her final attempt to protest was proven fatal.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnj_Uejzs5-3veYJ1xV8mC2_6EK1_H_z6jD00O9W7dbHVsL8unrs5BE-oG6dnWo6osovroYx4rFuyav7yWHQhhyphenhyphenri2rj1mpjKr29PwJ2V0tEarLCGrJONnpVBa3zGUyKHYzBrqtpY3vb8/s1600/DJG_5386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnj_Uejzs5-3veYJ1xV8mC2_6EK1_H_z6jD00O9W7dbHVsL8unrs5BE-oG6dnWo6osovroYx4rFuyav7yWHQhhyphenhyphenri2rj1mpjKr29PwJ2V0tEarLCGrJONnpVBa3zGUyKHYzBrqtpY3vb8/s320/DJG_5386.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Other Side of Someday," by Felix Cruz<br />photo by Rachel Neville</i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white;">In "Other Side of Someday," Felix Cruz , choreographer and dancer, stood downstage motionless and unsuspecting. Fellow dancer, Charli Brissey, slowly reached up to him from behind and unexpectedly grabbed a handful of his hair and threw him to the ground. He struggled to regain footing and rose again only to be rejected and tossed down repeatedly. She slapped him without remorse and the effect on him was instant intense turmoil in the form of convulsing and spastic-like movements on the floor. While he flailed about, scribbling with his body, she watched calmly and unaffected from a chair in the corner until he collapsed to the ground, exhausted and dejected. Slowly he found the energy and the courage to stand. But the effects of the abuse could not be shaken and haunted him like a buzzing bee on the side of his face, buzzing at his ear and the corner of his mouth. Later he began lip syncing to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," by Judy Garland. He mouthed the lyrics so passionately and brimming with tenderness; begging and pleading with the audience for permission to go to that place; a place free from persecution, abuse, and bullying; a Utopia of love and camaraderie. I never thought I would enjoy watching someone lip sync in a concert dance setting. But the truthfulness and raw emotion emanated from his entire being so fervently that I was unable to resist tears and for those fleeting moments, I too shared his overwhelming anguish.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">In "Bitter Earth," dancer, Asha Davis, </span><span style="color: white;">radiates with feminine strength and beauty. Wearing a long, white haltered gown, she relished</span><span style="color: white;"> in the dust of this bitter earth by grasping imaginary handfuls to slip between her delicate fingers and swirl into thin air.</span><span style="color: white;"> At times she succumbed to trembling at the struggle of life, but soon overcame with all the grace of a lady. Through this simple and effective solo, choreographer, Ferdinand DeJesus, reconnected us all to the most widespread human experiences; grief, struggle, </span><span style="color: white;">perseverance</span><span style="color: white;">, and bliss.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-q_DolR0Z_YWyxgnoAhAvO8JwgqvW_SZ3ie0KieLrrDo6sqJRKsur8NyyiAzM3nsDeHOvYuirAjF9aFFB6uzh9GIoM_X6kh4OqRPU_9DCcZnjdXnfYsPG_ry4rev8Yo2Y72PSFK-apI/s1600/DJG_4888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-q_DolR0Z_YWyxgnoAhAvO8JwgqvW_SZ3ie0KieLrrDo6sqJRKsur8NyyiAzM3nsDeHOvYuirAjF9aFFB6uzh9GIoM_X6kh4OqRPU_9DCcZnjdXnfYsPG_ry4rev8Yo2Y72PSFK-apI/s320/DJG_4888.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Bitter Earth," by Ferdinand DeJesus</i><br />
<i>photo by Rachel Neville</i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: white;">The entire festival was a joy to watch, and my first concert dance experience in about two years, since the birth of my son. I look forward to following these choreographer's future endeavors. If you attended the show and had any thoughts you would like to share about these, or any other pieces, please feel free to comment below! I can't wait to hear what you thought about the show. Until next post... </span><br />
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<br />AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-16878028207556033982012-07-19T13:08:00.003-07:002012-07-19T19:09:41.162-07:00ChEck Us OuT! Dance Festival<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18.18181800842285px; text-align: center;"><i>A celebration of female choreographers</i></span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Saturday July 16, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Summit Rock at Central
Park<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This past weekend was
packed with dance! On Saturday, I saw an outdoor dance festival at a beautiful
location, Summit Rock, yet another hidden gem of New York City that I had yet
to discover. Allow me to set the stage for you...<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i>photo by ACM</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Gorgeous, Right?! I
know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The sun streaming
through the tree branches created the perfect setting for a festival to
celebrate female choreographers on this glorious Saturday afternoon. The ChEck
Us OuT! Dance Festival was produced by ChEcKiTt!Dance, Artistic Director,
Allison Brzezinski. In an effort to support eco-friendly awareness, there were
electronic programs available for viewing with smart phones. Click here to see an</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.checkitdance.com/checkitdance.com/Home_files/Second%20Annual%20ChEck%20Us%20OuT%20Dance%20Festival%20E-Program.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">E-PROGRAM</span></a></span></u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">. I think E-Programs are a wonderful idea and a
great way to help the environment. I foresee a lot more shows doing the same in
the future. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">There were ten different
choreographers represented in the festival. I enjoyed the entire show and here
are some of my highlights...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Congratulations to Allison Brzezinski for not
only pulling off such a fantastic festival but also finding time to create and
rehearse such a thought-provoking piece in "Reflect/Refract."
The dance seemed to speak of challenging female stereotypes. Their movement was
airy and swirling outward from their flowing white skirts. The dancers repeated
one gesture placing their hands together to create a sort of diamond-shaped
viewfinder. For me this gesture suggested a different point of view from each
dancer or the notion of concern of what others think about you. The reverse of
this gesture was also echoed later in the piece when one dancer would move in
the center of a circle of mirrors carried by the others, reflecting and
refracting the dancer and the bold sunlight. This provided a patch-like effect
of 360 degrees of intensely-lit reflection around the soloist. The end brought
out lipstick to scrawl on the mirrors several liberating statements like,
"I am not your baby doll." </span><br />
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<i>"Reflect/Refract," by Allison Brzezinski/ ChEcKiT!Dance</i></div>
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<i>photo by Masato Kuroda</i></div>
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<i>(Shout out to fellow George Mason Dance Alum, Lauren Fakete, center)</i></div>
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"Ancient Bruises," by Melissa Gendreau of Perceptions Dance Company
was a tender pas de deux that created a glimpse into this timeless battle for
control and respect between two people. They manipulated and tossed each other
aside only to be drawn back together by their instinctual attraction; a
powerfully magnetic yet destructive attraction. The dance was filled with
inventive lifts and dynamic uses of tempo change to seemingly stop time for
fleeting intimate glimpses. Dancers, Laura Colon and Kyung Joon Lee portrayed
a believable and endearing chemistry together that toed-the-line separating love and hate.</span><br />
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<i>"Ancient Bruises," by Melissa Gendreau/ Perceptions Dance Company<br />photo by Masato Kuroda</i></div>
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<i>"Gobbledigook," by Nina Joly</i></div>
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<i>photo by Masato Kuroda</i></div>
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<i>"Gobbledigook" and the ChEcK Us Out! Dance Festival Audience</i></div>
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<i>photo by Masato Kuroda</i></div>
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"Gobbledigook," by Nina Joly was a massive group
of sprite dancers creating a rowdy pitter-patter in the dirt and
gravel right before the audience. Their costumes were all different layers of
pants and skirts with blouses and vests- unified by an old-timey color scheme
reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting. It was quirky, humorous,
athletic and uplifting. It was the perfect close to the ChEcK Us Out! Dance
Festival. Clouds rolled out from beneath their bare feet as the sun became
lower in the sky and summit rock radiated with their glowing happy faces and
joyful noise. The steady drumbeats of Sigur Ros combined with the dancers'
crazy attitudes made it difficult to resist jumping up and dancing with the
group.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="color: white;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Room to Ruminate" Laura Baehr, photo by ACM</span></i></div>
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<i style="color: white;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Reflect/Refract" Allison Brzezinski, photo by ACM</span></i></div>
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<i style="color: white;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Reflect/Refract" Allison Brzezinski, photo by ACM</span></i></div>
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<i style="color: white;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Orange Boat" Laura Neese, photo by ACM</span></i></div>
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<i style="color: white;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Orange Boat" Laura Neese, photo by ACM</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">photos by ACM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I had a wonderful time at the festival and I look forward to continuing to
follow the works of these talented female choreographers. <i>Until next post...</i></span></div>
<br />AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-2475655668104235132012-07-05T13:22:00.000-07:002012-07-19T18:16:18.574-07:00Red Yellow Blue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Red,Yellow, Blue<br />
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<a href="http://www.dancingwithhorses.org/" target="_blank">The Equus Projects/ JoAnna Mendl Shaw</a> and <a href="http://ryhartley.com/" target="_blank">Ryan Hartley</a></div>
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The 4th Part of the <i>DrawNow!</i> River To River Festival on Governors Island</div>
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Sunday, 2:00, July 1, 2012 - FREE EVENT</div>
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I am constantly amazed at the 'hidden gems' I find throughout this vast city. Governor's Island is one such place, a peaceful oasis where time slows to a more relaxed pace with sprawling green hills, afternoon picnic goers, and tandem bicycles for rent. </div>
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Last weekend I experienced the site specific work "Red, Yellow, Blue," a collaboration between The Equus Projects/ JoAnna Mendl Shaw and visual artist, Ryan Hartley. Dancers and painters both drew inspiration for their course of actions from the actions of each other.<br />
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Aimee Good, Director of Education and Community Programs at the Drawing Center, curated the <i>DrawNow!</i> River to River Festival. She explained the piece to me as "a real time collaboration between artists." <i>DrawNow! </i> is presented by the River to River Festival and by the Drawing Center, whose ongoing mission is to constantly explore and expand the definition of drawing. Aimee further disclosed how throughout "Red, Yellow, Blue," drawing is present on tactile paper and also in metaphysical space allowing "dance gestures to be part of the dialogue."<br />
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Dancers charged and rebounded off the stoic brick walls of Fort Jay under the intense afternoon sun. Wielding a steel ladder overhead, the band of dancers flocked in spiral pathways and ping-ponged from wall to ledge. Using helicopter-like lifts, the dancers hoisted each other above their shoulders, spiraling and traveling in circles. Eventually the dancers mounted the ledge via ladder forging their own front row before the artwork.<br />
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Simultaneously, the artists upon the ledge interpreted the trajectory of dancers with the gestures of their brush movements on the oversize banner painting. Both narrating and directing the dancers, brushes swirled and swooped while cray pas scribbled and carved the dance out onto paper.<br />
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An appropriate ending, the artists assisted the dancers to step over the painting and exit beyond the group of onlookers; a final meld to this sunny collaboration.<br />
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photos by ACM</div>
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To learn more about the creation process for this piece including videos and drawings, see The Equus Projects' website, <a href="http://www.dancingwithhorses.org/performances.php" style="background-color: white;">http://www.dancingwithhorses.org/performances.php</a></div>
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<a href="http://drawingcenter.org/DrawNowLMCC.pdf" target="_blank">PRESS RELEASE</a></div>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-61677129613482815372012-07-03T09:55:00.000-07:002012-07-19T21:13:06.378-07:00Rebirth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After a three year hiatus from blogging, I bring you the long awaited return of 'dancing on the edge.'<br />
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Next post coming soon! </div>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-53336116720667466582009-04-15T10:42:00.000-07:002009-04-15T12:58:42.934-07:00mandance at the Joyce<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;">mandance project</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiia20wQmIpjrkTUIC14lR82E998oLpdJ21lkESIMd8O1i7NgUKRDFUZ4Cmxv_OBR2HkL0fytAaWLZNaRGHXXU2ztTLNBxfy7H5QmShdv6uLr-kfP00TNVDK-Ki4B5g95ATVXlqAcEW0jE/s1600-h/Wu-KanginDust.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiia20wQmIpjrkTUIC14lR82E998oLpdJ21lkESIMd8O1i7NgUKRDFUZ4Cmxv_OBR2HkL0fytAaWLZNaRGHXXU2ztTLNBxfy7H5QmShdv6uLr-kfP00TNVDK-Ki4B5g95ATVXlqAcEW0jE/s320/Wu-KanginDust.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325005008190518482" border="0" /></a>Choreography of Eliot Feld<br />The Joyce Theater<br />Tuesday March 31, 2009<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Dancer Yu-Kang Chen, photo by Lois Greenfield)</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hF0GBhHUQu8TLUTmhBKbFtCZQ0HLkuZydhdV8jwW1_GT48KhEnhm2gVPgV2Dc1RWy7A_gqJVkQuJvEcIm8d-z-M0cXD3Q5gKxltFNvRoA61R9eTU7QmDlrNs3WOklBBusHL_1DEsVGo/s1600-h/Ha-ChiinRadiance.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 90px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hF0GBhHUQu8TLUTmhBKbFtCZQ0HLkuZydhdV8jwW1_GT48KhEnhm2gVPgV2Dc1RWy7A_gqJVkQuJvEcIm8d-z-M0cXD3Q5gKxltFNvRoA61R9eTU7QmDlrNs3WOklBBusHL_1DEsVGo/s320/Ha-ChiinRadiance.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325004473659564226" border="0" /></a>The first piece of the evening, a premiere called <span style="font-style: italic;">Radiance</span>, was an extremely lighthearted solo and uplifting display of simple joy. Female dancer, Ha-Chi Yu, wore a purple one strap dress asymmetrically cut with fabric connected into one purple boot and wore a pink ballet shoe on the other foot. Her long flowing brunette hair flipped in circles as she executed a series of turning triplets, writhing and flicking through the stage space. The stage was set as a lowered back scrim to expose the far brick wall and open side wings to show the boom and lighting fixtures. After a repetitious series of pique hops and arm waving, Ha-Chi planted her hands and one foot on the ground and lifted her leg up to a split, holding momentarily before fanning that leg open and tumbling to the ground. She resumed the same series of hair flipping triplet turns until the piece ended. The exaggerated white space created by the Marley floor and the white backdrop felt enormously vast and helped to create the contrast between the darkness that followed with the next piece, <span style="font-style: italic;">Proverb</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">(Dancer Ha-Chi Yu, photo by Lois Greenfield)</span><br /><br /><br />Darkness masked the stage until suddenly a ball of human sitting cross-legged became visible with light radiating from the center between his legs. He slowly extended limbs to reveal the glowing light attached to the palm of his hands; two gloves with compact lights connected herein. Dancer, Wu-Kang Chen, clad in a simple nude dance belt allowing the eye to see the precision of his movements slowly stood and began to encircle his body with his light-casting hands while moving steadily across the stage. His gloves were the only source of onstage light, causing the audience to focus all their attention on the multifaceted angles of his moving body. A pale yellow green light gently warms the backdrop as Wu-Kang began to flip his hands against himself and the audience, in-and-out, to create a strobe light effect on the viewers’ eyes. he had the ability to extinguish the lights, and would turn off the lights and reappear on the opposite side of stage when he re-activated them. Over and over, he reappeared in different spots, creating the illusion of transport from place to place.<br /><br />The haunting music of Steve Reich echoed throughout <span style="font-style: italic;">Proverb</span>, repeating the question, “How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life?” The minimalist repetition of the music led me to believe there to be some larger than life meaning behind the dance. Perhaps the inward and outward dichotomy was meant to provoke thought of reflection for members of the audience as we were seeing this constant hand and light flipping onstage. There are always two sides to a story. Is it I? Or is it you? Four bulbs faced outward, his hands flipped inward and outward and then disappeared into darkness. This was one of my favorite pieces of the evening as I am a fan of experimentation with light sources.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Spaghetti Ballet</span> premiere began with a stilted woman in a black hat (think old Clint Eastwood western movies, complete with the dueling music). She burst through center stage saloon doors and stood intimidatingly staring down the audience with her ripped abs exposed and smoke blazing from the end of her lit cigarette. (This is not a bitch to be trifled with!) Three stereotypical Mexican-types marched in close behind her (her accomplices), wearing oversize sombreros, makeshift ponchos and extra large cowboy boots. These accomplices looked exaggeratedly short next to the stilted women (dancer, Ha-Chi Yu), but are actually younger students of the ballet tech school. Three dancers entered wearing costumes with giant metal-sculptured horse butts and long swinging tails including Heather Lang, telling knock knock jokes to the audience.<br /><br />The funniest part of the ballet was a scene with a blind girl (Ha-Chi Yu) sits down for a big spaghetti dinner with the male character (played by Heather Lang) served by the funnyman chef, Wei-Chia Su. The blind girl cannot see the dish obviously but she follows her nose into the delicious oversize bowl only to dive so far in that only her feet are sticking out. I was not expecting this, as I had no inkling of the hole in the bowl into the box below, which made it hilarious. But on top of diving so far into the bowl the chef then offers her cracked pepper. I chuckled.<br /><br />The rest of <span style="font-style: italic;">Spaghetti Ballet</span> was filled with a lot of slapstick humor, which is not my favorite and was always the reason that I didn’t particularly like <span style="font-style: italic;">Looney Tunes</span> as a child (i.e. doors slamming in people’s faces over and over, and death by electrocution). Especially funny was dancer Wei-Chia Su, who managed to master the element of timing for maximum effect of humor. Overall <span style="font-style: italic;">The Spaghetti Ballet</span> felt like it was still a work in progress as many segments felt very disconnected from one another although it had some great moments.<br /><br />The closing piece, after 20 minutes of setup, an elaborate stage-enclosed netting and an estimated 50 air blowers along the sides of the stage, was well worth the anticipation to make its premiere. A solo for Wu-Kang Chen, <span style="font-style: italic;">Dust</span>, began within the netting-enclosed space and the stage completely littered with newspapers. The solo began slowly to the sounds of a distant siren, music by John Adams, and Wu-Kang cautiously gathered newspapers from all directions of the stage to place in a pile in the center, while half the blowers cast a gentle breeze to stir the paper. He wore a constant look of bewilderment and fixation with staring above as if aliens were about to land or a hurricane about to touch down. After he gathered from all directions and placed in the center, he picked up the center pile and let it trickle out of his hands as the spotlight above him faded out. Many people thought this was the anti-climatic ending, but were quickly surprised by the pounding the of drums and the full force of the blowers blasting paper in a whirlwind of all directions.<br /><br />Wu-Kang's movement throughout this time was very slow and cautious but seemingly different and more purposeful from earlier in the piece. With the pressure of the wind encircling, he gripped the paper and it naturally clung to him creating the illusions that he was a man completely composed of newspapers, not unlike the photo above. <span style="font-style: italic;">Dust</span> is an amazingly simple conceptual piece and very similar to the Fall time phenomenon of being caught up in a mini cyclone of fallen leaves swirling and encircling. <span style="font-style: italic;"></span>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-32417186052871343022009-03-02T13:40:00.000-08:002012-03-21T22:07:45.145-07:00Alchemy Acclimates to The Joyce<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryGXuCWsDtg96yk-rikyWrF1MyVDrEOMGht7k_g30mTfR6HVL0XSxofZxVEoqqmbCyQxqqOJtZeulNQxd8MNYRZyXcsX1bILjSuG1BXg0F-x0p_X60ryAp6ma16Cwv2zcdNpUPIiDWm0/s1600-h/alchemy2.jpg" style="color: white;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308731897918309314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryGXuCWsDtg96yk-rikyWrF1MyVDrEOMGht7k_g30mTfR6HVL0XSxofZxVEoqqmbCyQxqqOJtZeulNQxd8MNYRZyXcsX1bILjSuG1BXg0F-x0p_X60ryAp6ma16Cwv2zcdNpUPIiDWm0/s200/alchemy2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 159px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: white;">Two Varone Classics and the NY Premiere of “Alchemy”</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: 85%;">The Joyce Theater, DOUG VARONE AND DANCERS, Feb 27, 2009</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Photo © Phil Knott</span><span style="font-size: 85%;">, </span><span style="font-size: 85%;">Dancers: Eddie Taketa and Natalie Desch</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-size: 85%;"><br />Tomorrow, music by Reynaldo Hahn<br />Lux, music by Philip Glass</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: 85%;">Alchemy, music by Steve Reich<br />review by Amber Connors</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">“Tomorrow” starts with two women standing closely onstage in silken, cream- colored gowns. Erin Owen walks to the other side of Julia Burrer and begins listening to the beating of her heart. Erin places the right angle of her elbow over Julia’s shoulder blade in two gestures, detailing the space. The duet later transforms into a mass entanglement and organized chaos ensues. It is truly one of Varone’s trademark styles to arrange these intricate patterns weaving and mingling like a complicated little universe; simultaneously occurring glorious galaxies, spiraling in close proximity. "Tomorrow" carries a hopeful anticipation in the disposition of the dancers. As they huddled into a group, one girl exited stage, leaving Erin Owen to be hoisted by the two men, her feet pedaling like a bicycle as they left the ground and blended with the air.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">“Lux” began with Eddie Taketa dancing solo, his arms reaching upward with two fingers on each hand. Set to the music “The Light,” composed by Philip Glass, “Lux” features a brightly lit ball suspended above upstage center, one foot from the ground at the start of the piece. Eddie’s arms slice and envelop the space. Soon the stage is flooded with dancers jogging in a circle, their arms sweep and encompass the space around them. The jogging is repeated again, sometimes backwards in a circle. The ball is rising at an unnoticeable speed and before I realized its ascent, it was halfway traveled towards the ceiling.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpacXC_Zy1ptiwDCQvh9bX9G4aMP-XgylgeCake-Vd5rMWiOOyC37hfofYBaf8QcbOTxtjI70g1vrWPP9jhZw39V2qXCzXDzBn-E4Br5e5V09NZQIQvYJZHLr88gAkOSy58ADEkIU_n3k/s1600-h/lux.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308730926504767874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpacXC_Zy1ptiwDCQvh9bX9G4aMP-XgylgeCake-Vd5rMWiOOyC37hfofYBaf8QcbOTxtjI70g1vrWPP9jhZw39V2qXCzXDzBn-E4Br5e5V09NZQIQvYJZHLr88gAkOSy58ADEkIU_n3k/s200/lux.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 193px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 289px;" /></a><link href="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Amber/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><style>
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</style>Photo © Richard Termine, Dancers: Daniel Charon, Ryan Corriston</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">A common excitement and hustle pulsates amongst the eight dancers onstage. Throughout “Lux,” there is an overwhelming life force, a quickening buzz with invigorating bursts of energy. The dancer’s flinging and throwing limbs looks easy and effortless. Occasionally I saw a dancer smiling naturally at the enjoyment of pure dance, it must have been difficult to suppress the pleasure of this movement. Ending as the piece began, Eddie Taketa repeated the same gesture of two fingers scraping upward to the sky. The glowing orb illuminated Eddie from high above now, creating a moonlight effect on his silhouette.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">There was a long pause intermission before the New York premiere of “Alchemy” started, heightening its anticipation. Steve Reich’s score, “Daniel Variations”</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">which juxtaposes text from the biblical book of David and the words of Daniel Pearl, the American journalist kidnapped and slain by Islamic extremists in Pakistan in 2002. Reich’s music pays homage to all victims who, in the face of violence and cruelty, courageously reveal the dignity and beauty of humanity.</span> <span style="font-size: 85%;">(program notes)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcApyQSp2RW0J85KP_HR0x_xcCU46KlInWUOawnLAAUdIQMWX62DF3Th_f5acOPasqbaSo-_zlEAH_pWPa7JEk3aU4W2D_u1QTWgmtfcsqNeNsovmPahC9qjdkRqBybCXcdUKUMo42Mik/s1600-h/Alchemy4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308732228102167394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcApyQSp2RW0J85KP_HR0x_xcCU46KlInWUOawnLAAUdIQMWX62DF3Th_f5acOPasqbaSo-_zlEAH_pWPa7JEk3aU4W2D_u1QTWgmtfcsqNeNsovmPahC9qjdkRqBybCXcdUKUMo42Mik/s200/Alchemy4.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 180px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a>Immediately, I noticed the scenery; cold stonewalls landscape created by Timothy R. Mackabee. One dancer, Erin Owen stood in the spotlight, her lips mumbling as she constricted her body dealing with some internal resistance. Alchemy is a powerful piece, which depicts suffering and struggle. Sudden light changes from shafts of sidelight to overhead light projecting down onto the stage like stars shining through the bars of a prison, a design of Jane Cox. The dancers repeatedly collapsed to the ground sliding their hands forward and focusing intently on the ground as if engaging in prayer. Their bodies struggled and at time seemed to surrender. Alchemy is successful depiction of the beauty of mankind amidst turmoil during times of war, a saddening yet touching portrait as well as a must see for fans of Doug Varone and Dancers.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 115%;">Photo © Phil Knott, </span><span style="font-size: 85%;">Dancers: Daniel Charon, Alex Springer, Ryan Corriston, Eddie Taketa</span></span></div>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-52650518860249565722009-02-10T19:41:00.000-08:002009-02-10T20:24:28.064-08:00Dance Animation Program with Doug FoxDoug Fox gave an interview for Dancing on the Edge about his upcoming program.<br /><br /><br />On Wednesday, February 11, 2009, Doug Fox (of <a href="http://greatdance.com/">Great Dance</a> Blog) will be screening videos as part of Ana Brady Nuse’s program at Kinetic Cinema.<br /><br />The project first began one year ago when he started studying animation and dance. He started by teaching himself on the 3D animation software, Maya. When he became more interested he started to learn animating terminology, then researching specifically dance in animation.<br /><br />“The program has two aspects to it; creative and practical,” Doug explained.<br /><br />“I would like to take the project out on the road offering it to all types of organizations and festivals. Perhaps create a screening program in an educational setting such as Universities teaching students about the tools, software, and technologies.”<br /><br />“For dancers, it raises the points of how animation relates to dance and how these different techniques can render the body in animation.”<br /><br />Here is a sneak peek of a clip being shown at the program; a collaboration with Bill T. Jones.<br /><a href="http://www.openendedgroup.com/index.php/artworks/ghostcatching/">Ghostcatching by The OpenEndedGroup</a><br /><br /><br />Amber:<br />How do you envision motion capture technologies further integrating with concert dance?<br /><br />Doug:<br />So few dancers have experimented with these technologies, because there aren’t enough opportunities out there. The equipment is expensive and unique and its also difficult work. It can be challenging to get everyone together with the same expertise. Also so little has been done for exploring dance movement in a systematic way. But I think that there is room for much more experimenting and research.<br /><br /><br />Thank you so much for the interview, Doug. And see you all at the screening.<br /><br />The Videos I am most looking forward to are The Triplets of Belleville which is currently not available to view online. Released in US by Sony Pictures Classics. Courtesy of New Yorker Films.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEn7E6PciVaML0Q2_9q38VjBh4YMn5mLls_j9FLYbZRfne2nWqJ32eMqXpJKHcg1P4QFDZ7wiRsgWDAJwbHZjUozbrQrWGs4zGJLWEOtyN401MHR2EJlnGxYomUA3XcG2fCoQDUFPlj4/s1600-h/0015_triplets_of_belleville_425.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEn7E6PciVaML0Q2_9q38VjBh4YMn5mLls_j9FLYbZRfne2nWqJ32eMqXpJKHcg1P4QFDZ7wiRsgWDAJwbHZjUozbrQrWGs4zGJLWEOtyN401MHR2EJlnGxYomUA3XcG2fCoQDUFPlj4/s200/0015_triplets_of_belleville_425.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301382550068841906" border="0" /></a><br />And I'm also looking forward to hearing more about the video for Wanderlust by Bjork in collaboration with the dancers of<a href="http://www.misnomer.org/"> Misnomer Dance Theater</a>.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_8ZPV4RzG4M&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_8ZPV4RzG4M&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br />For more information, here's Doug Fox's <a href="http://greatdance.com/thekineticinterface/2009/01/dance-animation-program/">Multimedia Guide</a><br /><br />Dance Animation Program at Chez Bushwick<br />Wednesday, February 11th at 7:00 pm<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://movetheframe.wordpress.com/">part of Anna Brady Nuse's monthly Kinetic Cinema program</a>.</span>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-32933335519497605362009-02-09T20:04:00.000-08:002009-02-10T08:14:42.139-08:00Buglisi Dance Theater, a review<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Amber/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} h1 {mso-style-next:Normal; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; page-break-after:avoid; mso-outline-level:1; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:0pt; font-weight:normal; font-style:italic;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">Buglisi Dance Theater</p><div> </div><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">The Joyce Theater</p><div> </div><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal">Friday, February 6, 2009</p><div style="text-align: right;"> </div><h1 style="text-align: left;">Frida, Interplay No. 9-1, Suspended Women, and the world premiere of </h1><div> </div><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><i>Wild Mannequins & Wing Walkers</i></p><p class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwa5IEZB6i91K6qFcHm4xDJEmEhxoXCFdBYcFqCNM7kCOCCvv6Y2ikgsd5gglF7ZFuqw-XDvBAk9l3xppiBrUtwEBNh5NW2BKBUpZiwDvaqPgY0tXU4HLY2wQAuyxbLTbPV8dykGEWEqs/s1600-h/Frida_Kahlo_(self_portrait).jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwa5IEZB6i91K6qFcHm4xDJEmEhxoXCFdBYcFqCNM7kCOCCvv6Y2ikgsd5gglF7ZFuqw-XDvBAk9l3xppiBrUtwEBNh5NW2BKBUpZiwDvaqPgY0tXU4HLY2wQAuyxbLTbPV8dykGEWEqs/s200/Frida_Kahlo_(self_portrait).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301016462099285922" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Three dancers began silhouetted downstage in a triangle formation while a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo">Frida Kahlo</a> painting projected behind them. When lights illuminated their figures, I noticed the difference in costumes between the three women. Two wore dresses of different styles and the third woman was dressed in pants and a jacket. The beige toned dresses of a corset-like bodice and flowing long skirts were embellished with sparkling appliqués and deep-colored flowers of red and green. Near the collarbone was a webbed design similar to the thorn necklace in Kahlo’s <i>Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. (right)
<br /></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The movement of <i>Frida</i> was comprised of slow arabesque lines with flexed feet and abrupt contractions that are held strong in the dancers firmly disciplined bodies.<span style=""> </span>The slow and steady movement is accompanied by the raspy-voiced narrator, Cynthia Adler, reciting a compilation of text “derived by Buglisi from the letters and diary of Frida.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Only one mountain can know the core of another mountain.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There was an intense passion and raw emotion as Kahlo divulged her true emotions through her letters and diary. She had a turbulent marriage to muralist Diego Rivera, which survived several affairs a divorce and a remarry. Her paintings use surrealism to elicit deep visceral reactions of intense and grotesque nature. Many depict internal organs seen through the surface of the body’s skin to suggest Kahlo’s emotional state at the date of the composition.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">How clever of A. Christina Giannini to connect the very nature of Kahlo’s paintings into the details of <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcSDlAVvVRDDrbIswI9BxB6P2uQj-fnop0ETZq6z5G0I2jrcUcYmTf06kDV0R6K4Ahs2SOe1gGB9X1dBd3AcjrO6nj4c4S2bWRYjaDyKNKoWJgIj9MWBwTEeAo4-a-BJ0QPeRcKvjhvw/s1600-h/Buglisi_2_Frida.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcSDlAVvVRDDrbIswI9BxB6P2uQj-fnop0ETZq6z5G0I2jrcUcYmTf06kDV0R6K4Ahs2SOe1gGB9X1dBd3AcjrO6nj4c4S2bWRYjaDyKNKoWJgIj9MWBwTEeAo4-a-BJ0QPeRcKvjhvw/s400/Buglisi_2_Frida.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301016799425467970" border="0" /></a>costume design! Dancer, Terese Capucilli, wore a multi-layered skirt with removable pieces. Lifting the top layer of the skirt to expose the unseen, a tan layer of the skirt was illustrated with brightly colored organs, painted by the set designer, Debora Mache.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The chants of Arvo Part’s <i>De Profundis</i> led Helen Hansen’s steady ascent to stand atop her stool, using it as a pedestal from whence to better enchant the audience. Slow hip undulations and enticing arm reaches draw the audience closer into this spellbinding trance. <span style="font-size:78%;">Photo Left: Buglisi Dance Theatre (c) Nan Melville</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jeanene Winston captured my attention in a more masculine role, wearing a correlating pants suit. Perhaps this figure is another aspect of Kahlo’s personality, as she was often known to dress boyishly. Winston rolls languidly across the floor with sweeping arm gestures striving to express an unspoken pain.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The piece ends with Winston standing on the chair in a flexed back attitude, below her sits Hansen straddling the body of Capucilli who has just shimmied out of the lop layer of her skirt leaving it halfway overhead with her face covered and her body on the floor. <i>Frida</i> is a striking triptych into the fascinating and inspiring life of Frida Kahlo.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 0.75pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><i><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></i></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>
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<br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Interplay No. 9-1 </i>began with nine dancers onstage in black pants and all different styles of solid colored leotards. The stage is set with chairs where dancers are relaxing and sitting watching several very different duets happen. The environment felt like we were being privileged to enter an intimate open rehearsal happening onstage. A program note said “<i>A Viennese picnic in the Tyrolean Garden at Schönbrunn Palace</i>.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dancer, So Young An, was especially captivating wearing a purple leotard and her long brunette hair pulled back into a straight ponytail. Her thin elongated body emoted with a supple flexibility that was accompanied by a heartbreaking sadness expressed in her eyes. One movement repeated throughout her duet; a longing reach into the distance and then a quick rotate around her partner, Jason Jordan.
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The piece ended as an endearing tableau. Two statuesque couples sat downstage uniquely entwined in their love interests with the rest of the dancers gathering downstage of the couples. All movements stop for everyone to raise one hand towards heaven slowly, and then lower it gently like a falling star, silently in the night.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Suspended Women</i> was an absolutely gorgeous piece with thirteen women all wearing luxurious gown type dresses of various colors and textures. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaqPgMb47AZpENXrroI5lcaJkvToGecsJ5PGqvR15TbPhmNUDtijL9dT8kfeI0U9lXjP37Dht-be1IPoSXX0R-XRJn5kAVQf0ieJNLWSRPOfiCnq5OwRRsLlbraDsh7CD4fIS7Z-efVnk/s1600-h/suspended+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaqPgMb47AZpENXrroI5lcaJkvToGecsJ5PGqvR15TbPhmNUDtijL9dT8kfeI0U9lXjP37Dht-be1IPoSXX0R-XRJn5kAVQf0ieJNLWSRPOfiCnq5OwRRsLlbraDsh7CD4fIS7Z-efVnk/s400/suspended+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301021978863179010" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Suspended Women</i> spoke to the duality of a woman’s identity; tender femininity paired with a vivacious strength. The colorful pastel dresses were in silk, chiffon, feathers and sequins. Some flowed freely while others wobbled with a hoopskirt to the sounds of Maurice Ravel’s <i>Gloria</i>. The eclectic dresses added a romantic timelessness to the piece.<span id="capt"> <span style="font-size:78%;">(Right Photo: Bill Biggart)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 0.75pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;">Buglisi has a talent for creating memorable conclusions to her well-crafted works. All thirteen women focused forward while treading their feet onstage, creating the effect of an invisible treadmill. Each Woman at this moment demonstrated the essence of royalty. Three men nonchalantly entered extending their coat in front of them as if to hang. Junichi Fukuda extended his coat to Helen Hansen but immediately pulled the coat away and the men exited, left the women onstage to tread lightly, <i>suspen</i><i>ded.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><i>
<br /></i></p><span style="font-style: italic;"></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 0.75pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> </div> <p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">There was a quiet anticipation in the audience moments before the World Premiere of <i>Wild Mannequins & Wing Walkers</i>. The audience <i>ooo’d</i> in delight as the curtain raised to reveal nine gray mannequins suspended in a row hanging above center stage; the designs of Ralph Pucci of <a href="http://www.ralphpucci.net/">Ralph Pucci International</a>. Each figure’s feet were in a loose fifth but held differently positioned arms.
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<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Onstage were several full and half mannequins legs and faces and the cloudy cover of a rolling fog.The men wore white spandex pants while women wore white unitards with tulle and feather embellishments on the back to look like wings and also tied onto one calf. Several women read aloud from history books about times of the past when women’s bodies were acceptably larger and even desirable because of the implication of status. They also spoke about notorious women such as Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt. Two women floated around the stage holding mannequin faces, staring into them up close. They wore oversized headpieces comprised of three-foot-long sticks. Dancers moved jarringly and rigidly like joint-limited dolls.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>
<br /></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Wild Mannequins & Wing Walkers</i> carried a message about vanity and the cost of an obsessive self-image. The piece ended when the two women manipulated couples like misguided dolls. They repositioned arms and faces to control the interactions until they had redirected everyone. Proudly they admired their handy work and nodded approvingly as the curtain lowered. <span style="font-size:78%;">(Below Photo: Kristin Lodoen Linder)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Ryjkr1lOlZg9DhRn1hj4v_KkZwqIdVZs2obOvBcswShAdBBZt1BvTVy0QqKuNMgv51U1DCzmHyDLzy_x9xqaqJ76g5BGQPm68enouc1jbjd0MGxAptpmFBr82NzW1Pckblikx0_dx5c/s1600-h/mannequins.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 257px; height: 171px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Ryjkr1lOlZg9DhRn1hj4v_KkZwqIdVZs2obOvBcswShAdBBZt1BvTVy0QqKuNMgv51U1DCzmHyDLzy_x9xqaqJ76g5BGQPm68enouc1jbjd0MGxAptpmFBr82NzW1Pckblikx0_dx5c/s400/mannequins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301024192839106482" border="0" /></a>
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I was very pleased with <a href="http://www.buglisi-foreman.org/about.html">Buglisi Dance Theater</a>’s program and immediately admired the choreography and the dancers. <i>Suspended Women</i> was my favorite piece to watch but <i>Frida</i> left a lingering curiosity for me about the fascinating painter. I look forward to seeing more work of this talented company.</p> AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-84926092475299967432009-02-04T22:15:00.000-08:002009-02-10T20:42:04.316-08:00Bridging the Generational Gap<span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" >Town Hall Meeting</span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" >Dance NYC</span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" >Youth Advisory Committee (YAC)</span><p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Monday February 2, 2009</span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p face="georgia" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="MsoNormal">Attending the town hall meeting about bridging the generational gap in the dance community was very interesting and brought up a lot of great points of conversation. Hearing the different experiences of panelists was insightful.<span style=""> </span></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192); font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:85%;">Panelists included:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Laura Bennett (Programs and Operations Director of the <a href="http://www.adli.us/">American Dance Legacy Institute</a>),
<br />Tim Cynova (interim Managing Director of <a href="http://www.misnomer.org/">Misnomer Dance Theater</a>),
<br />Lauren Gibbs (Development Officer for <a href="http://www.ballethispanico.org/">Ballet Hispanico</a> and as a Nonprofit and Development Consultant),
<br />Laura Glenn (faculty at <a href="http://www.juilliard.edu/">Juilliard</a> and Artistic Director of the <a href="http://www.wmsdf.org/">White Mountain Summer Dance Festival</a>),
<br />Risa Jaroslow (Artistic Director of <a href="http://www.hightidedance.com/">Risa Jaroslow & Dancers</a>),
<br />Iquail Shaheed (Artistic Director of <a href="http://www.danceiquail.org/">DANCE IQUAIL!</a>),
<br />and Paul Singh (freelance dancer and Founder of <a href="http://paulsinghdance.com/">Singh & Dance</a>)
<br />and our Moderator for the Panel Discussion was Robert Dorf (Managing Director for <a href="http://susanmarshallandcompany.org/pages/home.shtml">Susan Marshall & Company</a>)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="MsoNormal">Of the seven panelists at the meeting, the one that I found myself identifying with the most was <a href="http://paulsinghdance.com/">Paul Singh</a>. Paul is 23 years old, a recent college graduate of The University of Illinois who moved to New York City three years ago. Self described (jokingly) as the coined MMDW (Male Modern Dance Whore), Paul has danced for 23 different choreographers in that short amount of time.<span style=""> </span>Simultaneously, he has embarked on the arduous journey of showing his own choreography at self-producing venues such as Dance Theater Workshop (DTW), The Queens Museum, Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) and <a href="http://paulsinghdance.com/event-details/">Judson Memorial Church (including an upcoming show this weekend 2/9/09)</a>. And like me he also survives half his week off of the generous free meals provided by the restaurant where he works.</p><p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="MsoNormal">The reason I most identified with Paul (besides the closeness in age) is because of the “defined model” that he explained he saw himself following.This model is the same that I have begun and also envision myself following as well; College, move to New York, dance in a company or produce work, Graduate School, then teach at a University or have your own company if you would like to. (Great minds think alike, right?)</p><p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="MsoNormal">In speaking to any particular structures or methods that these successful dance professionals found useful in their education and/ or training a few panelists mentioned the same three things.</p><p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="MsoNormal"><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Amber/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1 -369098753 63 0 4129023 0;} @font-face {font-family:"\@Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1 -369098753 63 0 4129023 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p.listparagraph, li.listparagraph, div.listparagraph {mso-style-name:listparagraph; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> </p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">1. Networking</p><p class="MsoNormal">Tim Cynova explained that in his position as executive director of Parsons Dance, his saving grace was having a group of other “dance executives” in comparable dance companies to meet with and ask the questions he needed to know. Its good to know who to go to for anything from workers compensation to mass mailing postage.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="listparagraph"><span style=";font-family:";" >2. Mentor
<br />Most all of the panelists agreed that the single greatest influence in an artist’s life could be the guidance of a mentor. “Having mentors has been key,” commented Laura Bennett. Laura recommends having not just one mentor even, but several from different generations with a variety of background experiences.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="listparagraph"><span style=";font-family:";" >Lauren Gibbs, after completing her Masters in Arts Administration soon found herself working in Count Basie Theater of New Jersey. Her executive director was very encouraging of Lauren to mentor with people in all positions of the theater from stage hands to performing artists. Her advice to younger professionals is to “find a place that feels like home where you can be mentored and take your career where you want it to go.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" class="listparagraph"><span style=";font-family:";" >3. Passion
<br />More than anything else the thread that connected each person in the room was the passion for what it is that we do. Laura Glenn explained that this was a major factor in the survival of dancers of her generation. “Dancers had the intelligence to maintain a poverty mentality realizing that our riches didn’t lie in our pockets but in the work that we produced.” Risa Jaroslow said that we (as dancers and artists) need to survive off of the passion to create and be motivated to do the work because we have to in order to survive.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">The meeting was encouraging to the fact that surviving on very little in this profession is possible and that I am not alone. It also showed me that its quite alright (encouraged infact) to ask questions and for guidance from more seasoned professionals along the way.</span><span style="font-size:11;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p></p> <p class="ListParagraph" face="georgia" style="text-indent: -0.25in; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center;"><!--[if !supportLists]--></p>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-89578316460310581982008-12-23T13:36:00.000-08:002008-12-23T14:01:38.390-08:00Cheers!The past four months have been of little blogging and lots of working. My internship with Parsons Dance is 3/4 of the way complete. It will be culminating in a big 2 week company run at the <a href="http://www.joyce.org/calendar_detail.php?event=199&theater=1">Joyce Theater January 6-18</a>, and it's not too late for you to buy tickets! During this time I will be working to assist with production and backstage needs to assure that everything runs as smoothly as possible.<br /><br />So whats next for me? I wish I knew. My compass is leaning towards choreography once again ( I am feeling the itch...) I have begun taking steps to apply for several different choreography initiatives that would allow me to produce new works for concerts in New York City. My research feelers are also out to figure out the best places for renting rehearsal space. Dancers looking for opportunities in New York stay tuned!<br /><br />At the same time, I am still in need of a full time job. With the internship ending in less than a month the resumes and cover letters are flying out in every direction. (ouch... papercut) But seriously, could I have picked a worse time in the economy to be job hunting?? I think not. I'm not worried though because I still have my waitressing job at Arte Pasta to pay the bills. When the right job comes along, it will find me.<br /><br />Happy Holidays to everyone!AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-69475594722636047102008-10-29T08:00:00.000-07:002008-11-05T14:36:15.146-08:00Just DanceIn follow up to the previous post about Agnes DeMille, I was delighted to learn that at a later age in her autobiography, Dance to the Piper, Agnes did in fact grow a backbone and stand up for herself. I admit that my rant about the book was somewhat harsh and perhaps uncalled for, but let it be known that my frustrations were more with her choice in lifestyle than in any capacity her quality of work produced. (Hence why I gave kudos to her for several of her best works). And I know for a fact that Agnes is an extremely talented writer because I loved reading her book, The Life and Work of Martha Graham.<br /><br /><br />I was excited at the amount of responses that came from that post. Some people agreed with me to an extent while others were offended that I focused more on her lifestyle. Many of my friends admitted that they neglected to read the book in school as well, but wanted to after reading my reactions and descriptions. Since I am happy to promote literacy, I invite others to read the book too and see what your own reaction is.<br /><br />If there was one thing that this book taught me, it was at the point in the book when Agnes was choreographing <em>Oklahoma!</em>. Having reached her final breaking point, Agnes decided that she was getting paid to do it her way, so she wouldn't worry about what anyone else thought. She decided that this would be her last choreographic work, so nothing else mattered after this and she could feel free to pour herself into the work without worry. What I took from that was the fact that other people will respect you for standing up for yourself. And also that one of Agnes' best works was created with disregard for what other people think. She totally earned back some of my respect at that point. The irony here is the fact that this lesson parallels my life right now and how I am having to toughen my outlook to survive in New York City.<br /><br />But when life gets you down, or the negativity is coming at you, you only need to remember one thing....<br /><br />In the words of Lady GaGa, "Just Dance." Simple.AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-44981035443111274342008-10-14T21:09:00.000-07:002008-10-14T21:13:04.879-07:00O Agnes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLAAYsFXsmXDjH9RhrxvqjSwt5xyHPzKvLZblBdkFMElhwiCP0YwSQY_VrGcdv8gP0NmdwI1xMbh20lsBPIPRnUh3O_6iJu7Ts1oK1MoNtdOnz03gA5kw8AiMEbTd5sWWDjK-YXbVjoE/s1600-h/Agnes+de+Mille.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLAAYsFXsmXDjH9RhrxvqjSwt5xyHPzKvLZblBdkFMElhwiCP0YwSQY_VrGcdv8gP0NmdwI1xMbh20lsBPIPRnUh3O_6iJu7Ts1oK1MoNtdOnz03gA5kw8AiMEbTd5sWWDjK-YXbVjoE/s320/Agnes+de+Mille.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257228376181122386" border="0" /></a><br />Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. (thank you Wikipedia)<br /><br /><br />I'm reading Dance to the Piper- her autobiography, which I was supposed to read in college and am just now getting around to it, and I am completely underwhelmed by how depressing it is.<br /><br />I'm not finished yet (on page 209 of 256) so there is the slightest possibility that Agnes will surprise me and finally have some self esteem for crying out loud.<br /><br />Its like she can never just be in control of her own life and things only happen TO her. Her visa expires in the UK, she gets sent home. Her agent squandered her money because she was too stupid to ask questions. The lights weren't illuminating onstage for a stadium sized performance, so she did practically a whole show in the dark, and then acted surprised that the press was "murderous." She gets fired from jobs and just constantly drains her mothers money supply just to give herself a chance to perform. She wants people to consider her a serious concert dancer like Martha Graham, but excels at performing comedies.<br /><br />The most upsetting part for me (so far) was the first page of Chapter 23. Agnes DeMille is now 30 years old, having just got sent home from London. Before she even gets home she writes to Mom to get her an apartment. So her mom gets her a place on 9th st on the East side that Agnes admits is too expensive. Even though her mom asked her to live with her, she insists on having her mom pay for an apartment for her to live in. She's killing the poor women!<br /><br />If someone I know is still mooching off Mom or Dad at the age of 30, they can expect a wake up call from yours truly.<br /><br />The thought for her to get an actual paying job to support herself and supplement her art doesn't even occur until after the age of 30 in chapter 24, when she mentions thinking about going to Macy's to get a job at the ribbon counter (whatever the hell that is)! Way to go.<br /><br />Hey Agnes, ever heard of supporting yourself? Maybe live off a budget and file an annual income tax?<br /><br />Granted, it must be difficult to be close friends with Martha Graham when you feel a bit overshadowed.<br /><br />Kudos on Oklahoma!(1943) Fall River Legend (1948) and Rodeo (1942)<br /><a href="http://www.agnesdemilledances.com/" onmousedown="'UntrustedLink.bootstrap($(this)," target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span>http://www.agnesdemilledan</span><wbr><span class="word_break"></span>ces.com/</a>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-26401240132272181172008-10-01T23:13:00.000-07:002008-10-08T22:26:46.914-07:00Paying my DuesI know you are just dying to know how the new internship with Parsons is going….<br /><br />It is going great! I love the atmosphere and the people. The first project that I began was archiving and helping to transfer the VHS videos to DVDs. Two big benefits of this task were learning how to use the software, iMovie HD and iDVD, as well as getting to watch the pieces as they were recording to the computer. This is a huge undertaking to switch the entire collection (over 700 videos). And they are also being edited somewhat as well, so it does take some time. After the completion of the upgrade, the VHS tapes are being donated to the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts. I estimate that this will take several months.<br /><br />Last Wednesday I also had the pleasure of watching a company rehearsal for the piece Fill the Woods With Light, which is being performed in the upcoming season at the Joyce Theater. Fill the Woods With Light is a jazzy sounding and technologically innovative work. It experiments with the placement of stage lights being carried onstage by some dancers to illuminate a series of seductive solos. As I was watching it, all I could think was that I wish I thought of this! (At the time it was more like “I know I’ve thought of this- but now I’m seeing it- and it was done by someone else!” But of course it was really just some artsy déjà vu translating to “I wish I thought of this.”) Hence why I feel privileged and excited to be helping prepare for the upcoming Joyce Season.<br /><br />Monday was a day of errands. Mail proposals at the post office, make a deposit at the bank, return extra shoes to the Capezio Store, return some flashlights to Home Depot, go to Marymount Manhattan and pick up a DVD, and grab Willi's new business cards on the way back. It was a great chance for me to familiarize myself with the city…. considering I got lost at least five times.<br /><br />A large part of the interns' responsibilities is to keep social networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Flickr up to date with any new photos. (I didn't even know they was on these sites) It is amazing how many more people the company is reaching by exposing themselves to these online communities. Uploading pictures and accepting friend requests is actually something with which I do have experience.<br /><br /><br />Below are some photos to show you where I work.<br /><br /><div style="width: 400px; text-align: center;"><a style="left: 381px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-09284192181287975 visible ontop" href="http://w262.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http://w262.photobucket.com/albums/ii96/amberconnors/6487d092.pbw"></a><a style="left: 381px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-09284192181287975 visible ontop" href="http://w262.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http://w262.photobucket.com/albums/ii96/amberconnors/6487d092.pbw"></a><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://w262.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http://w262.photobucket.com/albums/ii96/amberconnors/6487d092.pbw" width="400" height="300"></embed><a href="http://photobucket.com/slideshows" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn.gif" style="border-width: 0pt; float: left;" /></a><a href="http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii96/amberconnors/?action=view&current=6487d092.pbw" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn_viewallimages.gif" style="border-width: 0pt; float: left;" /></a></div><br /><br />Times Square is so glitzy… Love it!AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-74234498652082706492008-09-23T18:31:00.001-07:002008-10-08T20:06:31.362-07:00Parsons Wants MeYou are now reading the words of the newest administrative intern at <a href="http://www.parsonsdance.org/home.php">Parsons Dance Company</a>.<br /><br />Perhaps you've heard of them since they are a world reknown company. Currently the dancers are on a world tour that began in Mexico (shout out to Billy Smith, GMU Alum '07).<br /><br />Tomorrow is my first day and I couldn't be any happier!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes."<br />-Earl of BeaconsfieldAConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-49642347499638353122008-09-23T12:07:00.001-07:002008-09-23T12:21:04.236-07:00A Note About My Dance ReviewsAs a follow up to the Fall for Dance Review, I just wanted to mention a couple notes.<br /><br />Purposely, my reviews are becoming more descriptive and slightly less poetic. I want the dances to resonate to people who maybe didn't even see the show and not just mentioning the highlights to remind those who did see it. Also, for me to babble endlessly about what the choreographer's intent may have been is borderline presumptuous.<br /><br />I also realize that my reviews can be lengthy at times, but I don't care. The beauty of having a dance blog is that I have the freedom to take as many words as I want without the limitations of editors trying to fit advertisements on the same page as my reviews. So if it looks like too much for you to read- feel free to skim and stop in the places that catch your eye.<br /><br />Otherwise, do as I do and luxuriate in the descriptions of dance!AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-58413855996831295202008-09-20T20:37:00.000-07:002008-09-20T22:04:35.890-07:00Fall for Dance Festival<span style="font-size:85%;">New York City Center</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 8 pm</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Works by Shen Wei, Pichet Klunchun, Larry Keigwin, and Jiri Kylian</span><br /><br /><br /><u>Shen Wei Dance Arts- <em>Map</em> (excerpts)</u><br /><em>Map </em>begins with a collection of floor sequences, spiraling floor rolls and bodies sweeping along the floor. Costumes are different brightly colored socks, gray running pants and fitted spandex tees. Octopus arms trail weightlessly out from the bodies during chaine turns.<br /><br />A curly-haired dancer steps into a downstage spotlight with her back to the audience. She begins a series of little undulations bubbling up from her insides. The undulations echo into a trio when two other dancers join her movements. Eventually this movement takes the trio into the full area of stage bouncing splashing their languid limbs.<br /><br />Dancers collected upstage in a box formation that had a sequence of moving parts in the front four dancers. Overlapping in timing, the four dancers stepped forward and spun causing a twinkling effect to the group. Unexpectedly, the back of the box filed out to create a full stage circle. Eight dancers moved in a one-count canon phrase, their heads lead their bodies backwards through space. Spiraling turns take dancers down to and up from the ground, each body displaying a different shape in a set position like numerals on a sundial. Socks added a gliding and slippery feel to the circular loops being inscribed in space.<br /><br />Hypnotically, this lasted for several revolutions until morphing into a large group of flocking. Dancers are constantly swirling with soft curvy arms on top and quick skittering feet on bottom. Gradually they slip and spin down to the ground to end in a wipe-out.<br /><br /><br /><u>Pichet Klunchun Dance Company- <em>Chui Chai</em>- World Premier<br /></u>Six spotlights illuminate, setting the stage in silence.<br /><br />Whispers* Coughs* Seats squeak* cough* fidget*cell phone ringing<br />(American Audiences have no patience for movement during extended periods of silence)<br /><br />Figures appear and stand in stillness just outside of their spotlights. Unsure as to when their movement began, the dancers slowly rocked forward in a weight change from one foot to another. Slowly creeping toward their predicted destinations my eyes eagerly awaited the moment of arrival. Heaven behold the sight before me when they reached the warmth of light, their costumes glittered in solid gold sequins, a traditional Thai costume including a reflective glistening headpiece. A divine presence of six goddesses maintained their enchantingly slow speed while manipulating and articulating the flexible joints from their hands to fingertips.<br /><br />Gradually the dancers movement accelerates. Feet pitter-patter, gently skimming the stage surface to carry the held positions of the statuesque women from stage right to stage left. Vertical lines change into figure eight patterns and continuous circles. With the appearance of a plainly-dressed man in black from upstage, all women leave the stage minus one, leaving man and woman.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>A program note:<br />“Chui Chai” means the process of physical transformation. The princess Benyakai is ordered by her king to transform herself into Sita, the queen of his enemy.</em><br /></span><br />A duet ensues between the presumed princess and her king, danced by Klunchun. He sternly articulates the muscles between wrist and fingertips while carving circles in his kinesphere. Movement that begins in the hands gradually spreads to carving with his full body.<br /><br />Appropriately the dance ends in silence. Dancers slowly creep across a corridor of light and out of vision, leaving only Klunchun visable as the curtain descends.<br /><br /><br /><u>Keigwin + Company - <em>Fire</em></u><u><br /></u><em>Fire</em> is a four-part piece that displays a dynamic range of modern and contemporary dance forms in a humorous light.<br /><br /><em>Flicker</em><br />Curtains rise to reveal a stage lit with red lace gobos setting a fancy atmosphere and accompanied by a Handel opera, Al lampo dell’ armi’. Three dancers enter in spandex body suits enhanced with padding and designed to look similar to a superhero’s getup. The two women’s corsets are embellished with feathers, sequins, and topped with swim caps. Extra long sleeves wiggle in place of hands, trailing behind each spin. The movement is technically correct, arabesques and swings, yet made absurd by the outlandish suits.<br /><br /><em>Simmer<br /></em>The lights black out and dancers gather in the downstage right corner, shedding the outer layers of their costumes. Off come the caps and hand covering sleeves. Obsessively, the dancers begin to examine their faces in an invisible mirror in the audience. An entwining trio ensues, sporadically interrupted with the awkward compulsion to examine the skin on their faces. Untangling her body a dancer separates from the trio and lights a cigarette, exhaling in relaxation.<br /><br /><em>Burn</em><br />A spotlight is onstage, a dancer runs in to occupy it but it quickly moves to elsewhere. She chases the limelight, constantly seeking our focus and wearing a commercial smile. The vocals of Patsy Cline’s <em>Crazy</em> illustrate dancer, Nicole Wolcott’s insane desire to be the center of the spotlight. Her arms flail in desperation, but the effort is merely humorous.<br /><br /><em>Flame<br /></em>Unexpectedly the mood went from funny to hilarious when the trio again took the stage to Walk it Out, a current rap hit. The dancers maintained their serious composure and rocked out the same modern phrases but with a new feel. Julian Barnett was exceptionally dedicated to hyping the crowd and showing off his swagger, an instant crowd pleaser. The effect was a successful reminder that modern dance can be goofy at times but still spectacular.<br /><br /><u>National Ballet of Canada- <em>Soldiers’ Mass</em></u><br />A drastic difference from the previous piece, Jiri Kylian's <em>Soldiers’ Mass</em> had a bold and serious tone. Twelve muscular men in bloused shirts, fitted pants and suede boots filled the stage evenly spread apart. Running across the stage, hands outstretched pushing the air forward, the men accumulated in a line, filling in the gaps like missing puzzle pieces. The line morphs into several that weave in and out of one another. Bodies gather upstage left, lifeless and dead to the eye, while a trio develops downstage. The men arabesque and delicately two lift the third.<br /><br />Suddenly the lifeless bodies rise and all men stand feet apart, singing out to the audience, chanting the haunting lyrics of the music by Bohuslav Martinu. Assembling their anger as one unit, all twelve men rip off their shirts and crumple them each into a tiny sweaty ball. Perhaps displaying their disgust at the tragedies of war, they all threw their balled shirts down and one by one collapsed to the ground.<br /><br />Related Articles:<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/arts/dance/19fall.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss">NYTimes Review by Gia Kourlas </a><br /><a href="http://www.pklifework.com/">LifeWork Company- Pichet Klunchun</a>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-63306552176746656142008-09-15T22:11:00.000-07:002008-09-19T18:03:49.144-07:00Make it Rain!<div><span style="color:#009900;">Happily I begin working tomorrow as a server and bartender at </span><a href="http://www.artepastanyc.com/"><span style="color:#ff6600;">Artepasta</span></a><span style="color:#009900;"> in the West Village. It is such a relief to have some type of income. Now I can continue to search for a part time internship with a dance company so I can gain the right NYC experience for my career in the arts.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#009900;"></span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">Special thanks to Daniel Puneky (or rather Nikki Nax) for connecting me with the manager to get the job. As they say, employment is about <em>who</em> you know rather than <em>what</em> you know.</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;"></span><br /><span style="color:#009900;"></span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247902734675313874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6FKm2d_pl9fCCNWYv_HcbrN4TpXoGjmVAPFYji6XHbyJvVLZxQB7IX1vp7a6B6h4vLXbCTSQ-jyrZ62-dz2mKuAHotZ7uYvdCXwZBuzIdfAxTx_LziGuZ6lk15WYC0P81Ad4PmI2mRM/s320/NikkiNax.jpg" border="0" /><br /><span style="color:#009900;"></span><br /><span style="color:#009900;"></span><br /><span style="color:#009900;"></span><br /><span style="color:#009900;"></span><br /><span style="color:#009900;"></span><br /><span style="color:#009900;">More updates to come... ciao!</span></div>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-3676754614178544772008-08-25T08:31:00.000-07:002008-08-25T08:45:03.089-07:00A New Beginning<em>Dancing on the Edge</em> after a long vacation, will now be relocating to New York City as I have just secured an apartment in Manhattan.<br /><br />It was a stressful, frustrating and quite expensive process, but after two months of searching, Ashleigh and I have finally found a cute little clean apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan about 4 blocks from Central Park. Special thanks to her mom, Sharon, for her unwavering effort and assistance.<br /><br />The next step is securing employment and a routine dance class schedule. One thing at a time, and then I can get back to more regular dance review posting.<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc33cc;">Karen Reedy Dance is performing at the Kennedy Center, DC<br />Millennium Stage, premiering her new work, <em>Sleepwalking</em><br />Thursday, September 4, 2008<br />Friday, September 5, 2008<br />6:00 pm<br /><br />This performance is FREE!!</span>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-47651657139033973742008-06-18T13:17:00.000-07:002008-06-19T08:06:03.417-07:00Dancing in a Crowd<div align="left"><em>review by Amber Connors</em></div><br /><div align="left"><strong><em>The struggle to find peace amidst chaos</em><br /></strong><span style="font-size:85%;">BosmaDance’s, “Sky Kisses Earth”<br />Joe’s Movement Emporium, 4th Annual Gala, June 14, 2008<br />Meisha Bosma- Artistic Director/ Choreographer</span><br /><br />What this second “Sky Kisses Earth” performance lacks in formalities of live music, it makes up for in the intimacy of space. Having witnessed the premier collaboration with Alexandria Symphony Orchestra in the Rachel Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center, I prefer the live music presentation. However, in the narrow confines of Joe’s Movement Emporium, raw emotions in facial expressions are more readable and comprehensible to the audience.<br /><br />Seven dancers in brightly colored silk move clumsily; tripping bumping and chugging like crowded pedestrians. One at a time, a dancer removes them self from the bustling mass, to settle peacefully and calmly in a second position squat, breathing from the gut with an organic sway. In an awakening duet, dancer and choreographer Meisha Bosma catches her partner forcibly between her palms; placing one hand on her forehead, and the other on her partner’s jaw. By forcing her eyes to look out into space, Bosma was commanding her to see the reality of now. Her partner resists, stubbornly insisting on the role of empty vessel, eyes extended out beyond the manipulative hands, ignoring the efforts of Bosma.<br /><br />Gallantly bounding onstage, dancer Daniel Zook plunges into action with an expressive solo comprised of engulfing leaps and swooping turns. His mustard-yellow silk dress trails after his body like a noble’s cape. At the climax, the seven dancers fall in sync with one another, lunging and diving in a colorful, clean moving unit, repeating the same gesture-laden phrase on each of the diagonal facings, until eventually settling peacefully on the floor.<br /><br />BosmaDance’s next performance is at Dance Place on June 21 and 22. Details can be found on the <a href="http://danceplace.org/Performances.aspx?Sc=133">Dance Place website</a>.</div><br /><br /><div align="left">Related Articles:</div><div align="left">Review by Amber Connors of previous BosmaDance performance,</div><div align="left"><a href="http://choreo-grafitti.blogspot.com/2008/02/bosmadances-euphoria.html">http://choreo-grafitti.blogspot.com/2008/02/bosmadances-euphoria.html</a></div>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-33721122592138296552008-06-18T12:58:00.000-07:002008-06-19T06:00:11.824-07:00Songwriters Re-Write History<strong><em>review by Amber Connors</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>Historic choreography paired with legendary music</em> </strong><strong><br /></strong><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><strong>CityDance Ensemble, The Songwriters, Friday June 13, 2008 8 pm<br /></strong>Folksay- Sophie Maslow, music of Woodie Guthrie<br />Born to Run- Paul Gordon Emerson, music of Bruce Springsteen<br />Harmonica Breakdown- Jane Dudley, music of Sonny Terry<br />Falling- Paul Gordon Emerson, music of Otis Redding<br />On a Train Heading South- Brenda Way, commissioned score Jack Perla</em></span><br /></span><br />Closing its 2008 season with a bang, CityDance Ensemble performed an eclectic mix of repertoire spanning the past 70 years. Last Friday, The Music Center at Strathmore was home to a full audience, excitedly anticipating The Songwriters.<br /><br />Sophie Maslow’s “Folksay” (1942) is so timeless a piece of choreography that it still has resonance to a modern audience sixty-six years after its birth. “Folksay” began with a poetic exchange of commentary, folk songs of Woodie Guthrie, dancing, and small-town conversation. It was a brilliant combination of text and movement. The men danced squarely with flexed feet and ninety-degree-angled legs and arms, and wore cuffed jeans and flannel shirts. The women danced equally square but their three-dimensionality was highlighted in the swirl of their flowing cotton skirts.<br /><br />“Born to Run,” (2007) a recent addition to the CityDance repertoire was choreographed by Paul Gordon Emerson. Set to the music and voice of Bruce Springsteen, the piece began in bold-colored silhouettes. An audience favorite, “I Ain’t Got You,” transformed a table into the jungle gym of dancers Delphina Parenti and Jason Garcia Ignacio. The couple flirted and fought over several cigarettes as they cart wheeled, slid, and tumbled above, under, and around the table. Later, a duet between two men unfolded to the sound score, “The River.” Dancers Bruno Augusto and Christopher K. Morgan successfully displayed a give-and-take tension during a Springsteen monologue about the relationship between him and his father in the late sixties. The two men log rolled over top of one another. Sporadically they paused, the weight of their bodies counterbalanced between them.<br /><br />“Harmonica Breakdown,” (1938) choreographed by former Graham dancer, Jane Dudley, was a clean and concise solo filled with pelvic contractions. Slowly dancer Alicia Canterna glided across the stage, consistently maintaining a forward incline in her body. Composing herself, she planted her feet firmly in place and began to tremble and quake from the knees up to her head.<br /><br />“Falling,” choreographed by Paul Gordon Emerson, was a seductive and entangled duet between Bruno Augusto and Kathryn Pilkington, rough with pauses. The audience was surprised when Frederic Yonnet strolled in from the back of the house blowing into his harmonica. He wailed away with a dirty-blues tone, steadily working all through the audience until he arrived on stage. “Falling” was tightly woven with unconventional lifts and inventive balances. It seemed despite the dancers’ conscience resistance, the physical attraction between them overpowered, bringing the two together like magnetic poles.<br /><br />The evening ended on a political note with “On a Train Heading South,” (2005) a piece by choreographer Brenda Way, which addressed the issue of global warming. The stage was set with twelve dangling ice blocks that continued to melt as the stage heated up and the story progressed. The clairvoyant Greek figure, Cassandra, played by dancer Delphina Parenti, frantically warned her counterparts of the dangerous rise in temperature that was to occur. Despite her efforts she was continually ignored, until her dancing, like the liquefied ice blocks, gradually melted and was too heavy to leave the floor.<br /><br />Collectively, the past and present fused to create a memorable evening at The Music Center at Strathmore. Farewell and best wishes to dancer Bruno Augusto who will be leaving the company in September to pursue a MFA in Dance from New York University.<br /><br /><u><strong>Related Articles:<br /></strong></u><span style="font-size:85%;">Article by Nora Guthrie on the collaboration between Woody Guthrie and Sophie Maslow, </span><a href="http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/guthrie110706.html"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/guthrie110706.html</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br />Interview of Brenda Way about "On a Train Heading South," </span><a href="http://www.grist.org/comments/interactivist/2005/02/28/way/index1.html"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.grist.org/comments/interactivist/2005/02/28/way/index1.html</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br />CityDance Blog, by Paul Gordon Emerson, on the restaging of Folksay </span><a href="http://powerpassionpurpose.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://powerpassionpurpose.blogspot.com/</span></a>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-60412831159720524292008-06-12T13:25:00.001-07:002008-06-16T08:15:04.483-07:00Jenn Ruhl's DebutJenn Ruhl Contemporary Kollaborations....<br /><br />This is the final name Jenn has decided on for her modern dance company. Our debut performance is going to be June 21, 2008 at the annual <a href="http://www.chriscollinsdance.com/">Chris Collin's Dance Studio Recital</a>. Hosted at Hayworth Highschool on Telegraph Rd in Alexandria<br /><br />Performance times are;<br />Saturday, June 21- 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM<br />Sunday, June 22- 2:00 PM<br /><br />Jenn has shortened the piece that we auditioned at Dance Place, "Personifications," to be a better length for the recital. This is not a reccommended classical or modern dance show, but it would be entertaining for kids or family members of the performing students to watch. As far as I know, the studio offers most every style of dance imaginable. This is officially the first performance for Jenn's company. Let's break a leg!AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-23249518854515397492008-06-10T10:50:00.001-07:002008-06-10T10:50:14.531-07:00Happy Wednesday<script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgets.fox.com/o/4819068df229de45/484ebed503e9e333/481926120232d016/e019c1f9/widget.js"></script>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4424399497836775921.post-84115232228163367872008-06-02T07:21:00.000-07:002008-06-02T12:14:19.580-07:00DCA Conference<span style="color:#cc0000;">Dance Critics Association Conference, June 13-15, Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.</span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">I sent in my </span><a href="http://dancecritics.org/dcaconference2008/dca2008-conference-registration-form.pdf"><span style="color:#cc0000;">registration</span></a><span style="color:#cccccc;">. Did you send in yours? This years </span><a href="http://dancecritics.org/conference.html"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Dance Critics Association Conference </span></a><span style="color:#cccccc;">along with the </span><a href="http://kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showEvent&event=BIBSB"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Kennedy Center "Ballet Across America" program </span></a><span style="color:#cccccc;">are being held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. It's a three-day conference taking place on June 13, 14 and 15. This is a wonderful opportunity to take review writing workshop classes from well-known teachers such as Elizabeth Zimmer. Chief Dance Critic from The New York Times, Alastair Macaulay will be the keynote speaker and also speaking will be former NYT Chief Dance Critic, John Rockwell. </span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">The Kennedy Center Millenium Stage is presenting dance performances of all types including BosmaDance, Jazzdance DC, and Silk Road. There will be mixed repetory performances from students of Bolshoi Ballet, School of Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Ballet School, and School of American Ballet. Here is a list of other area <a href="http://dancecritics.org/dcaconference2008/dca2008-washington-dc-dance-performances.pdf"><span style="color:#cc0000;">performances</span></a> happening during this event.</span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">My past experience at the National Dance Association and my current experience preparing for the NIRI Annual Conference has taught me that conferences are a great chance to both learn from speakers and workshops, but also to NETWORK with professionals in your field. I am extremely excited for the knowledge to gain and people to meet at the DCA conference. I hope to see you there!</span>AConnorsMerinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03733673094063524187noreply@blogger.com1