Posts tagged dance

Happy as a clam to be back in the studio. 

The Joffrey Ballet

“They were the Johnny Appleseeds of Dance” 

Full American Masters episode on Joffrey is here.

I absolutely love this Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros video, “Man on Fire” - The video also features dancers from the New York City Ballet around 3:15. Enjoy!

Complexions Contemporary Ballet is at The Joyce until November 25th! Hope you get a chance to see one of my favorite dance companies perform “On Holiday”, “Pretty Gritty Suite”, or their new powerful piece, “The Curve”.  Pictured above (from left to right): Jae Man Joo, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson.  From a dancer’s chat last week: “Face. Focus. Feeling. You need to be infected…” - Desmond Richardson on how he wants his dancers to illuminate & spread their movement, soul, and connection in rehearsal. 

Complexions Contemporary Ballet is at The Joyce until November 25th! Hope you get a chance to see one of my favorite dance companies perform “On Holiday”, “Pretty Gritty Suite”, or their new powerful piece, “The Curve”. 

Pictured above (from left to right): Jae Man Joo, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson. 

From a dancer’s chat last week:

“Face. Focus. Feeling. You need to be infected…” - Desmond Richardson on how he wants his dancers to illuminate & spread their movement, soul, and connection in rehearsal. 

Quick snapshot of one of my favorite contemporary ballet companies in rehearsal for the upcoming season: Complexions. I’m looking forward to it!!! Their season opens in NYC on November 13th. Countdown begins today.

Quick snapshot of one of my favorite contemporary ballet companies in rehearsal for the upcoming season: Complexions. I’m looking forward to it!!! Their season opens in NYC on November 13th. Countdown begins today.

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Ballet belongs everywhere.  I’ve been dancing in the most random places since I could spell “Mississippi”, and that was over 2 decades & a few fingers ago.  Do what you love. I love dancing. So, if you see a girl doing boureés in a the aisle at Whole Foods, it’s probably me. Come say hi. :)

Ballet belongs everywhere. 

I’ve been dancing in the most random places since I could spell “Mississippi”, and that was over 2 decades & a few fingers ago. 

Do what you love. I love dancing. So, if you see a girl doing boureés in a the aisle at Whole Foods, it’s probably me. Come say hi. :)

Combine The Killers & Dance, You Get 5 Minutes & 7 Seconds of Joy

In all my dance filled years, I have about a handful of pieces I deem as truly memorable. It began when I was 16 years old and saw “Revelations” performed by Alvin Ailey for the very first time. The piece celebrates African-American spirituals & has a soundtrack that will rattle your core. The second was viewing a video of Wendy Whalen performing the role of “Coffee” in the New York City Ballet’s “The Nutcracker”. The next was Pilobolus in college. In 2010, I was extremely privileged to watch “On Holiday” performed by Complexions, which is an all-time favorite piece filled with compassion & various interpretations of love (a must see!). And, finally, tonight I add “Tuplet” to this list, which was performed by Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet at The Joyce. Kudos to Matthew Rich, who I was lucky enough to meet outside the theatre on my way out and offer my praise, and Navarra Novy-Williams - two incredible powerhouse dancers!

In all my dance filled years, I have about a handful of pieces I deem as truly memorable. It began when I was 16 years old and saw “Revelations” performed by Alvin Ailey for the very first time. The piece celebrates African-American spirituals & has a soundtrack that will rattle your core. The second was viewing a video of Wendy Whalen performing the role of “Coffee” in the New York City Ballet’s “The Nutcracker”. The next was Pilobolus in college. In 2010, I was extremely privileged to watch “On Holiday” performed by Complexions, which is an all-time favorite piece filled with compassion & various interpretations of love (a must see!). And, finally, tonight I add “Tuplet” to this list, which was performed by Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet at The Joyce. Kudos to Matthew Rich, who I was lucky enough to meet outside the theatre on my way out and offer my praise, and Navarra Novy-Williams - two incredible powerhouse dancers!

The Alonzo King Lines Ballet company is performing at The Joyce this week through May 13. Tonight, I was lucky enough to see “Scheherazade”, which is utter magic from start to finish. The piece captivates & encapsulates grace with a side of invigorating intensity. Every dancer of AK exhibits a different and essential quality to the piece, ranging from sensitivity, power, and of course, passion. I hope you can make it to one of their performances before they head back to their home base in San Fran! P.S. Kara Wilkes is intoxicating to watch on stage. Her musicality, elegance, and technique were both powerful and a breath of fresh air.

The Alonzo King Lines Ballet company is performing at The Joyce this week through May 13. Tonight, I was lucky enough to see “Scheherazade”, which is utter magic from start to finish. The piece captivates & encapsulates grace with a side of invigorating intensity. Every dancer of AK exhibits a different and essential quality to the piece, ranging from sensitivity, power, and of course, passion. I hope you can make it to one of their performances before they head back to their home base in San Fran!

P.S. Kara Wilkes is intoxicating to watch on stage. Her musicality, elegance, and technique were both powerful and a breath of fresh air.

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“When people put them on they create miracles” - A video on pointe shoes

Have a look at this amazing video about the story of ballet shoes, from the factory to the stage and learn what an intimate relationship dancers have with their shoes. Filmed on location at Freed of London & the New York City Ballet.

(by Galen Summer)

Absolutely stunning. Really.

Absolutely stunning. Really.

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Imagine Peter Martins, the Ballet Master-in-Chief of the New York City Ballet, approaching Paul McCartney (of The Beatles — as if you didn’t know that, ha!), and nonchalantly asking, “hey, would you want to write music for a ballet?” And in return, Mr. McCartney simply replying, “yes”.

That was the beginning to Ocean’s Kingdom, a new work from the New York City Ballet, which is premiering on January 19th. You can watch a special behind-the-scenes video on the new ballet above. Oh, and by the way, Stella McCartney designed all the costumes for the new ballet. 

What an amazing collaboration between different types of artists! Hope you get the chance to see it.

I’m such a sucker for art documentaries. Here’s a preview for “First Position”, a ballet focused documentary on the audition process, training, and grand finale of the Youth American Grand Prix. 

If you haven’t seen the new Alvin Ailey season at City Center, you should. It’s an important one. It’s Robert Battle’s debut season with the company as Artistic Director, and he’s got big shoes to fill (Judith Jamison’s in fact).  On Thursday evening, he opened the program with “Memoria”, which was delightfully surprising because the piece included students from the Ailey school. The next piece, which was a highlight of the season, was “Arden Court”, a piece originally choreographed by Paul Taylor in 1981 and revived & performed this season by the Ailey company members. And finally, the one, the only, “Revelations”. Every time I see this piece, it’s as though I’m watching it with a fresh pair of eyes. Even after 10+ years of seeing this piece multiple times, it’s still breathtaking and as moving as it was the first time I saw it at age 16.  Bravo Robert Battle for a great first season!

If you haven’t seen the new Alvin Ailey season at City Center, you should. It’s an important one. It’s Robert Battle’s debut season with the company as Artistic Director, and he’s got big shoes to fill (Judith Jamison’s in fact). 

On Thursday evening, he opened the program with “Memoria”, which was delightfully surprising because the piece included students from the Ailey school. The next piece, which was a highlight of the season, was “Arden Court”, a piece originally choreographed by Paul Taylor in 1981 and revived & performed this season by the Ailey company members. And finally, the one, the only, “Revelations”. Every time I see this piece, it’s as though I’m watching it with a fresh pair of eyes. Even after 10+ years of seeing this piece multiple times, it’s still breathtaking and as moving as it was the first time I saw it at age 16. 

Bravo Robert Battle for a great first season!