tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7016740501082176032024-02-20T06:26:48.142-08:00DivertissementsDivertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-84861923489513140732012-06-28T19:56:00.000-07:002012-06-28T19:57:30.717-07:00Le Sacre du Printemps<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have a slight obsession with <i>Le sacre du printemps</i>. I love the Stravinsky score. I love the expansive choreography it has inspired. I love the history of the premiere in Paris, 1913. I have listened to the 36 minute orchestration over fifty times. I have watched over 20 productions of the ballet both live and recorded and I have had the privilege of performing in one production. I have read the most recent biography of Segei Diaghilev, the man who brought the originators of <i>Le sacre</i>, Nijinsky and Stravinsky, together and produced the first incendiary performance. I have watched the Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21ldvFgZCEI" target="_blank">movie</a> several times (the first 20 minutes of the film is the imagined opening night of the ballet). The infamy, mythology, history, and reality of <i>Le sacre du printemps</i> incite feelings of passion, vigor, and reverence within me.</div>
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If everything I am saying sounds like a foreign language to you and you are unsure what <i>Le sacre du printemps </i>is and if it's even something worth knowing, here is probably the most familiar cultural association with Stravinsky's beast.</div>
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Disney's seminal classic <i>Fantasia</i> is how I first heard the notorious pounding, ritualistic rhythms of Stravinsky's score. In fact, as a child I would often request that we could skip the "dinosaur part" to the much more palatable Beethoven's <i>Pastorale</i> nymphs-frolicking-pegasus-flying-dionysian-hilarity-and-comfort part (and I was a kid who <b>loved</b> his dinosaurs), because something about the music was too dissonant for my young ears and watching the dinosaurs perish was depressing. However, this film introduced <i>The Rite of Spring</i> and many other landmark pieces of music in the Classical canon to an incredible amount of people outside the rather insular world of Classical music lovers. Like me as a 4 year old.</div>
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If <i>Fantasia</i> is the one-and-only <i>Rite of Spring </i>for you, first of all, props to you because this movie is one of the best things to ever be created on celluloid, and secondly here is a little back story.</div>
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The above clip is the Joffrey Ballet's re-creation of the original Nijinsky choreography that premiered May 29, 1913 at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. Watching it now it seems very tame and old-fashioned, but when the music and the ballet premiered it caused a riot in the theater and changed the landscape of music and dance in the 20th century. Stravinsky's inspiration for the score came from Russian pagan rituals. The libretto is simple and the punch line is that a village girl is chosen as a sacrificial rite to the God of Spring and she must dance herself to death in front of her fellow villagers. Stravinsky also stated that he wanted to capture the brilliance, intensity, and extreme suddenness of the beginning of Spring in Russia--how everything seems to explode from frozen tundra to colorful, lively landscape in a few moments. Nijinsky's choreography featured ballet dancers' feet turned-in with bent knees and angular, sharp gestures, the anti-thesis of Petipa and the Romantic story ballets. This combination of innovative and shocking music and choreography incited a riot in the Parisian theatre causing the police to have to put a cease to the discord that remained throughout the entire performance regardless of their presence.</div>
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This piece of music is a leviathan in terms of cultural weight and precedence. It has inspired over 100 different versions of the ballet ranging from solo to post-modern to equestrian. Here are a few noteworthy versions:</div>
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I have cited Pina Bausch's version of <i>Le sacre</i> on this blog before, but it is so brilliant and I love it so much that it is worth mentioning again. The use of soil is as simple as it is effective in creating a matching atmosphere worthy of the demanding music. If you want to see more of it (and an awesome movie) watch <i>Pina</i>, the Wim Wenders film in honor of her work.</div>
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This is Maurice Bejart's version from 1970 that caused almost equal outrage in Europe when it premiered as the original. People thought it was blasphemous, degrading the music with overtly sexual movements from barely clothed dancers. Those complaints seem laughable now when we think about our current definition of overt sexuality, but Bejart was a rule breaker who paved the way for many choreographers who imbue a strong sense of sexuality and non-ballet movements in their choreography.</div>
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/27195180">State of Darkness</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2966091">Molissa Fenley</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Molissa Fenley is one of my mentors at Mills College and she created<i> State of Darkness </i>as a solo for herself which she performed internationally. It is an incredible piece of work and quite possibly takes the most amount of endurance ever imagined as the performer is onstage for 36 minutes of straight dancing. In this recording it id performed by Jonathan Poretta of Pacific Northwest Ballet. Fenley set it on Peter Boal, artistic director of PNB, back when he was a principal at City Ballet. (There's a cool documentary of her setting it on Boal with Baryshnikov.) Take note of the weight of the stage space and the relationship with the music.<br />
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Upon seeing this production for the first time, I've searched with no reward of finding out who choreographed this and who the performers are, all I know is that it took place in Paris. There is not much to say other than, " Horses!!" This production definitely takes the aesthetic of pagan ritual to a whole new level in terms of performance and the performed body. I would love to know what this rehearsal process was like and who funded it, because it is insane.</div>
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This version was created in 2001 by Angelin Preljojac. It takes the libretto and the idea of an isolated vulnerable sacrificial woman to a very literally and although I'm not wild about the choreography or the obviousness of the concept, the dancer is an incredible mover and it is important to know within the canon of <i>Le sacre</i> ballets and what they inspire.</div>
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This is an excerpt of the production by choreographer Shen Wei. His company was born out of the American Dance Festival and he is one of the most innovative modern dance choreographers currently working. This version is not set to the full orchestration but to the score Stravinsky composed for two grand pianos. In addition to being much less costly to produce, it also creates a different relationship with the movement. I think Shen Wei did a superlative job matching the sparseness of the piano score with a sparse set, costumes, and choreography. He said, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"after repeatedly listening to Stravinsky's archetypal score, I identified several body systems and created a movement vocabulary that matched the quality found in the music as I heard it."</span></span></div>
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Salvatore Aiello's <i>Rite of Spring</i> is perhaps my most favorite version of the ballet, and not just because it was the one I performed in ( I was on stage a total of two minutes). To me it matches movement with the music most perfectly and presents the libretto in its original conception with fresh energy and exquisite dancing. It saddens me that this version is so unknown because it is truly a masterpiece.</div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-67843712913349604802012-04-29T12:42:00.000-07:002012-04-29T12:42:11.532-07:00SF Ballet: Don Quixote<div style="text-align: center;">
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Last night I attended SF Ballet's new production of <i>Don Quixote</i> and I was left speechless. It was without a doubt the best production of <i>Don Q</i> I have ever seen in my life. (For this reason I fear this will not be a compelling review, rather, just me gushing adoration for this ballet). This new production features gorgeous original costumes and sets by Martin Pakledinaz; it was a feast for the eyes. In fact last night was an orgy for all my senses, the music, the dancing, the costumes and sets, the whisky I drank during the first intermission, all delicious. What really made this production was the jaw-dropping performances given by both Maria Kotchetkova as Kitri and Taras Domitro as Basilio (they are posing in the above video). I have expressed my adulation for Kotchetkova on this blog several times already, but after last night I want to bow down and kiss her probably mangled feet from the incandescent dancing she performed. I did not know what to expect from Domitro, but just like Kotchetkova every step and every movement was elegant and virtuosic, and he was a wonderful comedic actor. During the final wedding <i>pas de deux</i> I literally could not stop myself from smiling. Not only did they perform the classic steps with chutzpah as well as grace, they infused extra bravura that galvanized the audience into uproarious applause. I have never seen an audience so excited, so involved, so delighted. To put a large ripe cherry on top of the already gluttonously good cake that was last night, I experienced all of this from Box Q, perhaps the most wonderful vantage point to experience any production on the War Memorial Opera House stage.</div>
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Nataly and me in front of the door to Narnia, I mean our seats for <i>Don Quixote</i>.</div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-73967477368046880372012-04-15T22:24:00.000-07:002012-04-15T22:24:36.698-07:00SF Ballet: Balanchine (I'll Never Quit You)This week SF Ballet is presenting their "All Balanchine" program featuring <i>Divertimento No. 15, Scotch Symphony, </i>and <i>The Four Temperaments</i>. I saw the program Friday night and it was stunning. Many dancers and dance-makers nowadays like to make shallow complaints about "Balanchine being overdone" or "not finding a connection in the work." To those naysayers, I say, that is ridiculous. I'm not saying everyone needs to love the work as zealously as I do, but the beauty and genius of his choreography is unmatched in its ability to transcend. Helgi Tommason, the artistic director, did a wonderful job choosing three ballets of very different styles and qualities that showed the breadth and depth of Balanchine's oeuvre. <br />
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The program opened with <i>Divertimento No 15</i> set to Mozart. This ballet is often described as "crystalline," everything about it is so pure and clean and void of any superfluous accents or nuances that can often stifle movement. Every movement appears completely necessary for the dancers and for the music. My favorite SFB prima, Maria Kotchetkova, shined in this work, performing the most difficult <i>petit allegro</i> with effortless energy that allowed the audience to let the movement and music wash over them and not focus on the demanding technical execution.<br />
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I knew very little about <i>Scotch Symphony</i> before the program. It is the first of Balanchine's non-narrative works I've seen that uses a backdrop. While the ballet is plotless it draws influence from the Romantic ballets, specifically <i>La Sylphide</i> as well as the military marches of the Highland Scots. I was particularly impressed by the variation for the Scottish girl in the beginning who dons red pointe shoes and performs the same choreography as the men before breaking away into her own solo. Akin to the Romantic ballets, much of <i>Scotch Symphony</i> is a romantic <i>pas de deux</i>; while the two leads had strong chemistry, I was slightly disappointed in Sarah Van Patten's performance. I wanted her to be more generous. Otherwise the ballet was tender and humorous and featured some very impressive Bournonville-esque footwork.<br />
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The program ended with <i>The Four Temperaments</i>, long hailed as Balanchine's neoclassical masterpiece. This work is so beautiful and profound that I almost hate to try to attach words to it. The "Melancholic" variation has always been one of my favorite Balanchine solos (something I've always wished I could dance) and Jaime Garcia Castilla danced it exquisitely. His body moved seamlessly between languorous back arches to lofty leaps. The choreography and the non-costumes of practice clothes are unforgiving to anything less than perfection, and luckily every member of the ensemble delivered.<br />
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Also, of all the programs I've seen this season, the orchestra sounded particularly luscious for this program, adding, I'm sure, to the post-performance elation I felt walking out of the Opera House.Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-43118340965995244792012-04-03T17:58:00.000-07:002012-04-03T17:58:02.711-07:00Eiko and Koma: Fragile<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hieY83iWd8Ji1eiaNeRIAIPpTP94motfSQ8NFKwZovPcpVbON8Nt3t9YD-ACoB-CHh75T73XjzkgBDW0FEIKZQlCFqxxDbVLsfdjewQ0-TludWFd91Me3jf6-qenciHsVVSIjNWhaOwT/s1600/afragile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hieY83iWd8Ji1eiaNeRIAIPpTP94motfSQ8NFKwZovPcpVbON8Nt3t9YD-ACoB-CHh75T73XjzkgBDW0FEIKZQlCFqxxDbVLsfdjewQ0-TludWFd91Me3jf6-qenciHsVVSIjNWhaOwT/s320/afragile.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;">The physical space created for the performance was textured and organic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within the walls of the Center’s white box theatre an inner room was delineated with papier-mâché style canvas partitions with black feathers embedded into the material and holes of varying sizes that offered glimpses into the womb-like arena where the performance took place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within the center of this installation lay Eiko and Koma completely nude and painted an ivory hue, lying atop a bed of black feathers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Behind them sat the Kronos Quartet who accompanied the performance with live music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon becoming accustomed to the nuances of the atmosphere created by the installation the focus of the performance was dominated by the infinitesimal subtleties in movement performed by Eiko and Koma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both performers appeared androgynous, equally hairless and covered in paint, transcending the cultural norms of the gendered body on stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the frame and musculature of the two differed, the male’s sex, and front side for that matter, was never completely revealed, creating a complement and counterpoint to the highly exposed female body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the female body frontally exposed and the male body’s continual posterior presentation, the two were in essence two halves of one whole.</span></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>174</o:Words> <o:Characters>997</o:Characters> <o:Company>Mills College</o:Company> <o:Lines>8</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>1169</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>14.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;">By focusing on the most mundane gestures and slow sustained movement, like the vulnerability of an exposed chest, the intensity of an unblinking gaze, or a gradual reaching, Eiko and Koma remove the illusion of the abiding gendered self and reveal an historical body that reflects the shared acts of gender normativity and continues into the foundation of gender identity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fragile</i> the viewer is confronted with bodies void of virtuosity or façade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The performers are not only exposing their bodies to an audience, they are exposing each body in the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is this inclusive quality that distinguishes it as a successful use of the installation forum and genre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throughout the performance the lights continually transition from a focused spot on the two performers to raised house lights that fall on every body in the space, performer and audience member alike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This luminous effect does not allow the audience to become completely lost in the microcosm created by Eiko and Koma, when the lights came up on everyone, the viewer was reminded of their own body, their body’s relationship to the other bodies in the space, and their body’s own gender performance.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span><!--EndFragment--> </div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-44972559671619935042012-03-12T23:57:00.000-07:002012-03-12T23:57:25.952-07:00Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company: Story/Time<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R29rmmXk694" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"> “Raise your hand when you think one minute has passed,” requested Bill T. Jones of the audience at Zellerbach Hall in his pre-performance speech for his company’s new work <i>Story/Time</i>. Jones brought out the stage manager with stopwatch in hand and the audience fell silent as they tried to determine the length of one minute as timed by the stage manager. Hands progressively rose until the stage manager said, “Time,” and the audience chuckled and shifted, and Jones said, “That’s all you need to know about tonight’s performance.” <i>Story/Time</i> performed the weekend of February 24-25 by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company consisted of 70 one minute stories told live on-stage by Jones, while the company of dancers performed choreography around the storyteller and a musician electronically distorted the sound of Jones’s voice and periodically created accompanying soundscapes. The work was inspired by John Cage's <i>Indeterminacy</i>, the stories told and the choreography dances are chosen randomly before the performance and paired by chance. As satisfying as the idea sounds, knowing the length of one minute was not all that was needed to know the performance. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The 70 one minute stories that made it by chance into the night’s performance can be easily categorized as cultural and political. These two categories are a very kind euphemism for name-dropping. The majority of what Jones had to say dealt with dining, drinking, and socializing with other rich and famous people who hold incredible clout in the worlds of art and intelligentsia. Whether it was intended or not, the innate political nature of money, art, access, and privilege within the stories were projected onto the bodies of the dancers. Regardless of the movement changing from performance to performance, the implicit and explicit meaning of the sixty-second sound bytes became integral to the nature of the movement, even if its creation was without textual support. When Jones was not discussing the livelihoods of wealthy artists, he often discussed the destitute poverty and institutional racism as experienced by himself and his family (prior to his success). Once again the cultural politics of race, class, gender, and access are imbued onto the dancers via the storytelling. This relationship was explicitly apparent in the one story that was told twice verbatim and then inverted to a scenario involving the dancers. The story dealt with a poor family being evicted from their home while an evil landlord and his goons rape and pillage. Along with the repetition, this story seemed decidedly removed from chance operations as the choreography very much acted out the story and the props were assembled in the semblance of a living room.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Contextual and theoretical critiques aside, I believe the company is one of the strongest modern dance companies currently performing and touring. The dancers perform beautifully as an ensemble and each offer a unique movement quality to Jones's choreographic style--a mixture of release technique, ballet, and yoga. Also, although the stories themselves were markedly exclusive, Jones has one of the best voices for storytelling.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/x5mLQ5SQRqc" width="560"></iframe></div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-21586189548983414362012-02-25T10:24:00.003-08:002012-02-25T13:14:52.194-08:00SF Ballet: Trio, Francesca da Rimini, Les Carnaval des Animaux<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qghzjasyrE4" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Last Saturday night I attended SF Ballet's 3rd Program of the season, a triple bill that featured <i>Trio</i> by Helgi Tomasson (the artistic director), the world premiere of <i>Francesca da Rimini</i> by Yuri Possokhov (the resident choreographer), and <i>Les Carnaval des Animaux</i> by Alexei Ratmansky, which was made for the company several years ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">SIDE NOTE: There is a very generous alum of the Mills College Dance Department who keeps a box at the ballet and donates tickets to every program to current Mills students. I had the extreme privilege of using one of those tickets last night, and, whoa dang, if I never had to sit anywhere else that would be fine by me. First of all each box has its own door that leads to a small powder room with a mirror and very comfortable chair, a place for you to hang you jacket and accoutrements, as well as menus for dessert and champagne should you feel so inclined. Then you pull back a curtain, and blamo! you have your very own box with six seats, and this one was right in the center. The most perfect place in the whole theatre to view dance. Everything is gilded with gold leaf and the seats look very Rococo. I felt like I was in Sofia Coppola's <i>Marie Antoinette</i>, and let me tell you it was awesome. My apologies for the tangent, but I felt it was necessary to explain my superb vantage point in viewing these ballets. And back to the ballet....</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tomasson's <i>Trio</i> set to Tchaikovsky's string sextet <i>Souvenir de Florence</i> is a three part ballet that sandwiches a partnering heavy <i>pas de trois</i> with the classical style <i>pas de deuxs</i> with male and female variations and corps de ballet. The set and costumes were stunning. The ballet was very strong in structure and drive, but choreographically thin. Neither of the <i>pas de deuxs</i> had discernibly interesting or novel partnering, and though the <i>pas de trois</i> was danced beautifully, the way that the woman was constantly being tossed back and forth between the two men left me wishing the men would partner each other and mix it up a bit, also I couldn't stop thinking about a very similar part of Cooper Nielsen's ballet in <i>Center Stage</i>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2012/02/17/dd-sfballet18_ph_SFC0106825773_part6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2012/02/17/dd-sfballet18_ph_SFC0106825773_part6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-02-19/oweebgwsoCfcvsuBrFCHoxGFcmaBxxonCxykqjDHxeHyfwvBawrmrduDndhF/Francesca.jpg.scaled1000.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJFZAE65UYRT34AOQ&Expires=1330195259&Signature=yOCVllHE9ASyrVsz6LhKCHhaH34%3D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Francesca da Rimini</i> by Yuri Possokhov</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This ballet was a world premiere by choreographer in residence Yuri Possokhov based on the story of Francesca da Rimini as told by Dante. In the story Francesca cheats on her husband with his brother, they are caught, the husband kills both of them, and they all spend eternity in hell. Very Dante. Set to a Tchaikovsky symphonic poem <i>Francesca da Rimini: Symphonic Fantasy after Dante, Op. 32</i>, the ballet was a one act drama that brought the house down. The title character was danced by Maria Kotchetkova, one of my new favorite primas, who technical ability and grace was equally matched by acting and musicality. In addition to the love triangle the ballet featured three denizens of the underworld, making their presence sporadically known by sliding in and out of the set with undulating choreography, and seven ladies-in-waiting who served as a sort of Greek chorus, either mimicking the actions of the main characters or continuing the plot with transitions. It was stunning and the reaction from the audience was as passionate as the ballet itself.</div><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7ueN15lxCvk" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Les Carnaval des Animaux</i> by Alexei Ratmansky</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The program ended with a ballet as comical and cheerful as <i>Francesca da Rimini </i>was dramatic. Ratmansky's <i>Les Carnaval des Animaux</i> was created for the company in 2003, and features inventive and smile-inducing choreography to each of Saint-Saen's animal-character sketches. Particularly satisfying was the "Aquarium" section with Sofiane Sylve as a jellyfish, and the elephant section danced by a young ballerina in a pink tutu.</div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-17206095445478363682012-02-16T00:26:00.000-08:002012-02-18T09:52:06.042-08:00SF Ballet: Chroma, Beaux, Number Nine<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I1HAoDB-jv0" width="560"></iframe></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">My good friend and fellow balletomane Nataly accompanied me to the SF Ballet's second program of their season tonight. It was a very mixed bag, featuring <i>Chroma</i> by Wayne McGregor (above), <i>Beaux</i> a world-premiere by Mark Morris, and <i>Number Nine</i> by Christopher Wheeldon. Each work was abstract and non-narrative and each work had a unique relationship with their prospective musical accompaniment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have never had such an immediate feeling of dislike about a ballet as I did about <i>Chroma</i>. I use the word "hate" sparingly, but I almost want to use it about this ballet. It was rife with cliches and lacked any strong structure or sound transitions. Any worthwhile moments felt like watching super-lite Jiri Kylian work from the '90s. Half of the musical accompaniment was orchestrated versions of White Stripes songs which seemed completely arbitrary and reinforced the lack of cohesion. McGregor stated that he wanted the work to feature physical extremes. When I first read this in the program I was hoping for something akin to Balanchine's <i>Agon</i>, instead it was like watching a ballet made for Las Vegas, no artistry, just lots of hyper-extension and bombastic partnering that offers the audience no genuine connections. I was shocked and disappointed to find out that this ballet has won many accolades and is the work that landed McGregor the resident choreographer position at the Royal Ballet! This made me think that this is choreography that the patriarchs and matriarchs that hold administrative positions in ballet companies believe to be new and edgy when really it's just crap ( similar to how all the old Broadway critics thought <i>Spring Awakening</i> was reinventing the musical for my generation when really it was a 19th century story about adolescent sex with underwhelming top 40-esque pop music).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2012/02/15/dd-sfballet16_ph_SFC0106783460_part6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2012/02/15/dd-sfballet16_ph_SFC0106783460_part6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Mark Morris's world premiere <i>Beaux</i> got everything right that <i>Chroma</i> got wrong. With a cast of nine incredibly talented men, Morris successfully blended gesture with ballet, created character and personality in an abstract, non-narrative ballet, and utilized the beauty of understated movement to complement the bravado of men in ballet. It was wonderful to see the personalities of the dancers in the movement, a quality that is usually reserved for modern dance. Isaac Mizrahi's set and costumes were the only unfortunate contribution to the production. The non-set was a large floating screen hovering in front of the cyc that was pink and brown army camouflage print. The unitards the men wore were a similar pattern.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Z5s6JwOi3rM" width="560"></iframe></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I originally saw the <a href="http://youtu.be/xk8RD-BK0xk" target="_blank">ballet</a> <i>Number Nine</i> in January at the SF Ballet Gala and had very mixed feelings about the choreography. I immediately loved the score by Michael Torke, but I felt the ballet needed editing. Also at the Gala the dancers looked insecure in the movement, like perhaps they needed more rehearsals. Tonight, however, I was completely won over. I think the key was my place in the audience. At the Gala I sat in the orchestra whereas tonight I sat in the balcony; the balcony offered a far superior view to appreciate the patterns and mathematical precision of the choreography. Also the dancing was strengthened by having a more skillful and seasoned cast. As always Yuan Yuan Tan was absolutely stunning in the "blue couple's" choreography.</div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-16752624263884170672012-02-13T23:48:00.000-08:002012-02-13T23:48:53.596-08:00Martha Graham Dance Company: Dance is a Weapon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/psthearts/files/library/Graham_Prelude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://blog.seattlepi.com/psthearts/files/library/Graham_Prelude.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Saturday night I was fortunate enough to see the Martha Graham Dance Company perform at the SF Jewish Community Center. I had never seen the Graham Company perform until last Saturday night, and before then I had only seen a performance of <i>Lamentation</i>. The program was titled <i>Dance is a Weapon</i>, featuring work that dealt with choreography as a means to give agency to the oppressed or to act out against oppression. The evening began with three solos from three different choreographers: Isadora Duncan, Eva Gentry, and Sophie Maslow. Interspersed between these solos the audience was shown archival footage of the time of the creation of the work, primarily of the Great Depression and the New Dance Group. The Duncan piece was the antithesis of the airy, ethereal quality that has come to define how she is remembered. Instead it was intensely grounded and sharp, beautifully danced by Katherine Crockett, who looked statuesque in her red dress. The Gentry and Maslow solos, the former created for a woman, the latter a man, were perfect foils for each other. Gentry's <i>Tenant of the Street</i> depicted a female character completely disenfranchised of her identity. She rarely lifts her head high enough to allow the audience to meet her gaze as she slowly carves her path through the heavily weighted stage. Maslow's solo set to the music of Woody Guthrie, reminded me of the song "I Got Plenty o' Nothin'" from <i>Porgy and Bess</i>. It was a man who has lost, and perhaps is lost, but is determined not to lose his voice. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img212.exs.cx/img212/1945/martha11tl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://img212.exs.cx/img212/1945/martha11tl.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first half of the program ended with Graham's <i>Chronicle</i>. A show-stopping, jaw-dropping work that caused my friend Nataly to exclaim, "that melted my face," when it was over. The ballet was influenced by the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War and focuses on depression and isolation. It opens with a stunning solo (above image) that uses the costume in inventive and dramatic ways comparable to <i>Lamentation</i>. The following two sections are ensemble pieces that are incredibly demanding musically, technically, and I would guess, psychologically. The work is as strong in form and structure as it is in emotional depth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2010/0415/20100415__20100418_E01_AE18FAGRAHAM%7Ep2_300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2010/0415/20100415__20100418_E01_AE18FAGRAHAM%7Ep2_300.JPG" width="252" /></a></div>The second half of the program moved away from the theme of dance as a weapon to offer two works from very different times in Graham's career. The first <i>El Penitente</i> from 1940 and the second <i>Acts of Light</i> from 1981. <i>El Penitente</i> (above image) tells the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection within the context of Native American inspired dance and storytelling. The ballet is presented as if three actors have entered a community and are sharing a story. It is an interesting and enjoyable take on the most famous story of Western civilization. I was particularly touched by the idea of offering the story in such a folkloric manner, making it akin to the creation stories of Native American cultures.<br />
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The program ended with <i>Acts of Light</i> or as I've come to think of it, "All Things Graham" (or maybe the Grahamathon). It is a celebration of the rituals dancers go through to become dancers ( a la the beginning of Balanchine's <i>Serenade</i>) told through Graham technique and exercises with the dancers in gold unitards. It was very enjoyable to watch especially as a Graham novice. In San Francisco, release technique reigns supreme, so it was genuinely refreshing to see modern dance technique performed with a specific port de bras and placement. The dancers seemed inhibited by the shallowness of the stage, and those unitards reveal every inaccuracy, but overall it was a handsome ending to a wonderful evening.Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-85083690242985227702011-12-26T14:50:00.000-08:002011-12-26T14:50:12.095-08:00SwInG dAnCe<div style="text-align: justify;">After reading this recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/arts/dance/swing-dance-clubs-go-retro-in-new-york-city.html?_r=1&ref=dance#" target="_blank">article</a> in the New York Times about this decade's swing dance revival happening around New York City, I was reminded of one of the greatest (swing) dance scenes in film--the backstage swing dance party in the film <i>Hellzapoppin'</i> from 1941. It's a very entertaining movie, featuring one scene in particular that will knock your bobby-socks off.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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This incredible scene showcases some of the most vivacious, exhilarating, and virtuosic partnering that, in my experience, makes every viewer want to get up and dance. I can watch this clip over and over again and continue to feel excited. I love partnering in any style of dance and this clip really feeds into those kinesthetic feelings of trust and generosity that is required when dancing with a partner.Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-73217100705079869192011-12-19T18:40:00.000-08:002011-12-19T18:40:53.687-08:00Hands On/Off<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fm-QDGZ7Ktw" width="420"></iframe></div><br />
This piece was my final for my group choreography class this past semester at Mills College. In celebration of finishing my first semester of graduate school, and the stressful nature of the end of the semester, I wanted to create something that was fun and that dealt with things I love. I started with the music--Otis Redding, Betty Harris, and Shirley Ellis--these are three of my favorite artists in one of my favorite musical genres, soul music of the 1950s and 1960s. This work was also created out of the love I have for the people I dance with, specifically in this work, Jeanette Male, Elizabeth Morales, and Judene Small. We had a lot of fun creating this and I hope you enjoy it. Unfortunately the lighting was pretty low and at times it is difficult to see details.Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-77950155941130099532011-11-27T21:07:00.000-08:002011-11-27T21:07:38.230-08:00Dream Roles<div style="text-align: justify;">My birthday was this past Wednesday and in light of the celebration and introspection that comes with birthdays, I would like to share some of my dream roles. The various roles in dances already created that I would love to dance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The Bluebird Pas de Deux from <i>Sleeping Beauty</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Neither the choreography nor the role are particularly interesting in terms of great pas de deuxs in the classical ballet canon, but there is something about this role that attracts me. Maybe it's the pure classicism of the choreography or perhaps the iconographic status of the pas de deux, either way it is a part I want to dance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven</i> by Ulysses Dove</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">I think Dove is one of the greatest under-rated choreographers. His work is incredibly technically demanding and aesthetically stunning while still containing honest and interesting emotions and relationships, a challenge that very few contemporary ballet choreographers have been able to meet. Danced to an evocative score by Arvo Part, <i>Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven </i>is one of my favorite ballets.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The Bronze Idol from <i>La Bayadere</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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This is one of my all time favorite male variations. The music, the costume, the choreography, I love it all. It is difficult to believe that it's less than two minutes because every second packs a punch that makes it feel wholly realized and complete.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Afternoon of the Faun</i> by Jerome Robbins</div><br />
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I think this is one of the best re-conceptualizations of an already famous ballet. Nijinsky and the Ballets Russes made this ballet famous in 1912 in Paris, and Jerome Robbins created his own version in 1952 in NYC, changing the roles from Ancient Greece to the contemporary and having the dancers play dancers acting as though the fourth wall of the audience were a mirror in a dance studio. It's brilliant.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Emeralds </i>by George Balanchine</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/24704868?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://vimeo.com/24704868">Emeralds (George Balanchine)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user919395">Ryan Wenzel</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Jewels</i> is one of Balanchine's masterpieces, a non-narrative evening length work. <i>Emeralds </i>is my favorite section of the ballet and I would be thrilled to dance any part in it.</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Le sacre de printemps</i> by Pina Bausch</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KXVuVQuMvgA" width="560"></iframe></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I have a slight obsession with the history and continuing life of <i>The Rite of Spring</i> (more on that later), and this version is tied for first as my favorite choreography to match Stravinsky's beast of a score. Bausch is known for using wild and at times outlandish sets in her work, and the simplicity of using soil in this work is so brilliant in its effectiveness and visibility in complementing the choreography.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>In </i><i>The Upper Room</i> by Twyla Tharp</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">This is another one of my all time favorite works that I would relish the opportunity to dance. This year marks the 25th anniversary of its creation and it has continued to maintain in repertory in companies all over the world. I once read an interview with Ethan Stiefel who said that dancing this ballet was one of the greatest endurance tests of any ballet he has ever danced. Bring it on.</div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-34389078868475050822011-11-12T12:42:00.000-08:002011-11-12T12:42:46.048-08:00Pina!<div style="text-align: justify;">Pina Bausch is one of my favorite choreographers and I cannot wait to see this film.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LGKzXUWAjnI" width="560"></iframe></div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-59276679124864425162011-11-07T23:33:00.001-08:002011-11-08T00:09:40.601-08:00AppalachiaI lived in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina for the last five years, and growing up in Chapel Hill, I would spend part of almost every summer as a child in the mountains with my family. The Appalachian mountains have a rich cultural history in music and dance, amongst many other things. Below is a clip from a documentary made in 1964 in Madison, NC, showing a community gathered in a home playing music and clogging. Notice the how the rhythms of the dancers feet and the rhythm and melody created by the musicians play off each other, and the different partnering and floor patterns.<br />
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Appalachian clogging, like in this documentary, as well as Appalachian culture, have been highly influential on many choreographers across genres. Last winter while visiting a friend in Mahattan, we went and saw New York City Ballet perform Balanchine's <i>Square Dance. </i>In this work Balanchine joined the traditions of folk dancing with classical ballet. He said, "the American style of classical dancing, its supple sharpness and richness of metrical invention, its superb preparation for risks, and its high spirits were some of the things I was trying to show in this ballet." In the original choreography, Balanchine had a caller on stage directing the dancers. Later in his career he removed the caller and added a male solo variation that is stunning. The work is incredibly moving. When we saw it performed, after the curtain fell, I could see that many of the people in the audience were misty. While the steps are complex, the overall feel of the work is evocative of the spirit of Appalachian folk dancing. You can see the rhythms of the dancers movements and the patterns of the clogging withing the ballet's choreography. Unfortunately there are no public videos of <i>Square Dance</i>, so here is a clip of Pacific Northwest Ballet rehearsing the work to give an idea of what it is like.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">One of Martha Graham's masterworks is <i>Appalachian Spring</i>. This work draws more from the ideas of Americana as experienced through Appalachian culture, rather than directly through any folk lineage of dancing from the region. The story told is a spring celebration of the American pioneers of the 1800s after building a new farmhouse. Among the central characters are a newlywed couple, a neighbor, a revivalist preacher and his followers. Below is the first part of a four part recording of the work.<br />
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</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XmgaKGSxQVw" width="560"></iframe></div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-30196808681111399802011-11-03T21:21:00.000-07:002011-11-03T21:23:03.223-07:00The Four Elements<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>EARTH</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Trey McIntyre's <i>Limerance</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">This movement/dance video by the Trey McIntyre Project reminds me of the Butoh style movement of Eiko and Koma and the cinematography of surface studies by Rauschenberg and other Black Mountain College artists. The first part of the video creates strong imagery of the body's connection with the sculpted landscape, continuing to the two dancers together on the shore performing movement that makes me think of tectonic plates slowly shifting, or the water eroding the sand of the beach.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>AIR</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Paul Taylor's <i>Airs</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QQ0smqpv1UE" width="420"></iframe></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This is possibly my favorite of Taylor's ballets. The choreography is stunning and the dancers perform the incredibly difficult variations with such ease and grace that they perfectly embody the wind, the breeze, a gail, with amazing musicality. It's hard to believe that there are only 7 dancers in this ballet as it moves with the constant speed that only baroque music provides. In general I'm not a fan of baroque music, but the music of that era is responsible for accompanying some of the best dances ever created.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">FIRE</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maurice Bejart's <i>Firebird</i></span></span><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This version of Bejart's <i>Firebird</i> is danced by the Wuyan Ballet. Bejart was one of the most avant-garde ballet choreographers of the 20th century (if you want to see one of the trippiest Nutcrackers, watch his). His choreography combined with the Stravinsky suite makes me feel like I'm watching a crackling fire breathe and grow. The floor patterns reinforce the urgency and wildness of an uncontained fire, and the simple costuming works to create the image of a flame rising out of and fighting the ashes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">WATER</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Doris Humphrey's <i>Water Study</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">It is hard to believe that this study was originally choreographed in 1928 as it still holds up remarkably in the modern dance canon. The beginning of the study looks like an optical illusion; it takes time to believe that those are simply people moving on a floor. This study makes me think of looking at an abstract expressionist painting, like one of Rothko's color fields. The movement is relatively simple and repetitive and the majority of the study the dancers are moving in varied unison, but it is so evocative of water that it is difficult to look away.</div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-90166489883119369162011-10-31T21:03:00.000-07:002011-10-31T21:03:57.634-07:00Get Ready to Smile<div style="text-align: justify;">Elizabeth Morales, fellow MFA candidate, new friend, and all around awesome lady made this video for the dance for camera class. The assignment was to create a video using already existing choreography. I dare you not to smile while watching this.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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The video also features her boyfriend, Jaime. I dare you not to be jealous.Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-67643559554978362362011-10-30T22:01:00.000-07:002011-10-30T22:01:47.282-07:00Washed with Vodka and Polished with Squirrel Tails<div style="text-align: justify;">The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow re-opened Friday night after six years of renovations. Read about the process of the renovation, history of the theatre, the reception in Russia, and the opening night gala <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15480945">here </a>from BBC and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/world/europe/joy-and-nostalgia-in-moscow-as-bolshoi-theater-reopens.html?_r=1&ref=dance">here</a> from the New York Times. Below is a video of the opening night gala performances that includes excerpts from many famous operas and ballets.</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">As the video is 2 hours and 17 minutes long, I suggest skipping to the 1hr 22min mark to watch an exquisite dancing of the white swan pas de deux. The orchestra is incredible and the ballerina dancing Odette moves with an unparalleled grace and beauty rarely seen in contemporary incarnations of the role.</div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-70165408887726024682011-10-25T20:56:00.000-07:002011-10-25T20:56:43.025-07:00Halloween!<div style="text-align: justify;">Halloween is my favorite holiday. No pressure to find a gift or be romantic or buy rounds of Patron to make sure every one is the same level of inebriated before midnight. Just plain old dressing up like you're someone else and trolling for candy, partying, and scares and tricks. (Not that I'm a misanthrope that doesn't like gifts, romance, and Patron; I love those things.) In the spirit of Halloween I would like to share with you Mary Wigman's Witch Dance. Wigman is an originator of modern dance. She was a pioneer of absolute dance, dance composed of only essential movement; music is not necessary or needed. Much of her inspiration for movement came from exploring her unconscious.</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">The gestures and physicality that are culturally understood of being "witch-like" are found in Wigman's dance. I think you can see manifestations of this dance in many of our popular culture representations of the witch. In the Halloween classic Hocus Pocus, one of my favorites, Bette Midler is fantastic in her gestures and physicality of representing the witch you always imagined when you were a child with the perfect amount of kitsch. Watch this hallmark scene from the movie when the witches sing "I Put A Spell On You" and notice the similarities between Wigman's hands and Midler's hands, also the similarity in physicality in the way Wigman approaches the camera and the way Midler struts downstage at the end of her song.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nDidHzwYu3E" width="420"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Happy Halloween!</div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-8031851458703562102011-10-23T22:10:00.000-07:002011-10-23T22:30:24.588-07:00Balanchine's Theme and Variations<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">The Balanchine Trust is very fastidious about removing full length recordings of his work from the internet. So I have to share this before it gets removed. Theme and Variations was first presented in New York City on November 26, 1947 to a stunning orchestral suite by Tchaikovsky, that is one of my personal favorites of the composer. This recording is from 1978 danced by American Ballet Theatre featuring none other than Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland. In describing the ballet, Balanchine said, "it evokes that great period in classical dancing when Russian ballet flourished with the aid of Tchaikovsky's music." It is one of my favorite Balanchine ballets. It contains one of my favorite pas de deuxs in ballet. Not only does it showcase virtuosic partnering and musicality but it allows the soloists to dance alongside each other, creating a more conversational relationship, rather than the man only supporting the woman. The choreography and music of the final movement are so exciting that I find myself smiling every time I watch it.<br />
This recording also has a bonus interview with Gelsey Kirkland. You can hear her talk about her process and what it is like to dance the ballet. </div>Divertissementshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11525452516713126072noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-701674050108217603.post-68212329631847765662011-10-23T21:28:00.000-07:002011-10-23T21:30:19.302-07:00First. Let's talk about dance.<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/b6JL7c_VR1c" width="420">&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;ghghghgh&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;</iframe></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Hello, friends and strangers. For my first blog post I would like to share with you a dance I created. It was first performed the summer of 2007 in Chapel Hill, NC, and went on to be performed again in 2008 at my alma mater UNC Asheville, and then in 2009 at the NC Dance Alliance Choreographer's Showcase. This recording is the 2008 performance. This is the most popular piece I've created amongst audiences, dancers and non-dancers alike.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The process: I have a surprisingly vivid memory of when I conceived of this dance. It was my freshman year of college and I was talking with one of my closest friends about choreography, and I had this idea about seeing the back of a body from the audience's perspective. The movements would be subtle isolations accenting the musculature of the body. The isolations would also serve the purpose of creating an optical illusion. The body would not be one individual, but (<i>spoiler alert)</i> multiple bodies moving seemingly as one. The idea sat on the back burner of my mind until the summer after my freshman year when I was creating a dance review with some friends and was listening to The Blow. Their song "True Affection" has the perfect rhythms for the movement quality, and the lyrics made me think to create the abstract narrative of a man and a woman being next to one another with very little contact.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you enjoy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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