Dance Magazine articles from April 2004

Dance Magazine archives from April 2004

Curtain up.(Magazine Dance)
April 1, 2004... During American Ballet Theatre's season at City Center in New York last fall, one could not help but notice how beautifully principal Julie Kent was dancing. Some of us noticed her swollen belly and wondered. Yes, she was pregnant--and dancing...

Memorable meditations.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... I was delighted to read your article "Anna Halprin: From Dance Art to Healing Art" (DANCE MACAZINE, January 2004, page 74). Back ill 1969, I'd just finished graduate studies al Berkeley and was living and working in San Francisco. One night my...

Speaking of Mr. B.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... I appreciated Wendy Perron's "Balanchine Through the Eyes of Choreographers Now" (DANCE MAGAZINE, January 2004, page 59). I was especially impressed with the fact that the interviewees did not seem to feel that they had to discuss Balanchine's...

Innovation to the dance.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... It is interesting to note that over the years athletes have become better, and many sports have gained more fans because of this. Dance has also continued to evolve and dancers are more technically skilled than ever, but the number of people...

The race question.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... You ask "Does Race Still Mailer in Dance?" (DANCE MAGAZINE, February 2004, page 54). Consider major ballets set in the Orient: Scheherazade, Le Corsaire, La Bayadere, etc. No Arabic dancers ever get cast as Middle Eastern characters. Beth...

Clarifications.(Letters)(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2004... In the New Products section (DANCE MAGAZINE, February 2004, page 63), the price on Dance Distributor's pullover should have been $19.85, and the vest should have been listed at $16.95. The photos of the Eurotard trestle-back leotard should be...

Remembering Mr. B: a national celebration.(multimedia exhibition celebrating George Balanchine at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts)
April 1, 2004... The Enduring Legacy of George Balanchine, a multimedia exhibition celebrating the achievements of the choreographer, remains open until April 24 in the Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts,...

A festival dies.(Montreal's Festival International de Nouvelle Danse ends because of financial problems)
April 1, 2004... Montreal's Festival International de Nouvelle Danse (FIND) ceased operations at the end of 2003 because of "insurmountable" financial problems that included a $600,000 (CDN) deficit. The biennial FIND was Canada'sonly major international dance...

The Cubans lose five.(defectors Cervilio Amador and Gema Diaz try to succeed in American ballet)(Interview)
April 1, 2004... It's a long way from the Latino hub of Miami-Dade to the northern reaches of this county', where, in the town of Aventura, Cervilio Amador and his girlfriend, Gema Diaz, look daily class and rehearsed The Nutcracker at Arts Ballet Theatre of...

Mikhail Baryshnikov.(Names in the News)(signed contract for Rezo Gabriadze's play)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV will tread the boards in a non-dancing role this year, touring in Rezo Gabriadze's play, The Doctor and the Patient: The Forbidden Christmas. The West Coast premiere is June 16 at the University of California, Berkeley.

David Hallberg.(Names in the News)(promoted to soloist at American Ballet Theatre)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... American Ballet Theatre has promoted DAVID HALLBERG to soloist.

Christopher Body.(Names in the News)(joined the Broadway cast of Twyla Tharp's Mown Out.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... CHRISTOPHER BODY, a soloist at the National Ballet of Canada, has joined the Broadway cast of Twyla Tharp's Mown Out.

Royal Ballet principal Marianela Nunez is guesting with the San Francisco Ballet this season.(Names in the News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Royal Ballet principal MARIANELA NUNEZ is guesting with the San Francisco Ballet this season. The company has also promoted ZACHARY HENCH to principal.

Liz Lerman.(Names in the News)(recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... LIZ LERMAN is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland.

The great nutcracker reunion.(childrenn who had performed in the New York City Ballet's productions over 50 years recall Balanchine's Nutcracker)
April 1, 2004... On a December evening when the snow scene outside rivaled the one in the theater for its pristine beauty, the School of American Ballet held its Golden Jubilee Homecoming in honor of the 50th year of George Balanchine's Nutcracker. Out of the...

Nelson Madrigal.(Names in the News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Boston Ballet has elevated NELSON MADRIGAL to principal dancer.

Mark Russell.(Names in the News)(resigned of P.S. 122)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... MARK RUSSELL has resigned as executive director of New York's P.S. 122.

Kathryn Bennetts and Jan Nuyts are the new artistic director and associate artistic director.(Names in the News)(of the Royal Ballet of Flanders)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... KATHYN BENNETTS and JAN NUYTS are the new artistic director and associate artistic director of the Royal Ballet of Flanders.

Linda Hamilton, Ph.D.(Names in the News)(elected as board member at International Association of Dance Medicine & Science)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... DANCE MAGAZINE advice columnist and senior editor LINDA HAMILTON, PH.D, has been elected as board member at large to International Association of Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS).

America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures.(Names in the News; exhibition on tour)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Dance Heritage Coalition's touring exhibition, America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures, currently at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum, will travel to the Jacob's Pillow Festival June 19-August 29; the Cultural Arts...

Wine country waltz.(restored Napa Valley Opera House opens )
April 1, 2004... With the opening of the restored Napa Valley Opera House last August, international-caliber entertainment has come to one of California's most desirable tourist destinations. Perhaps, after ninety years of darkness, one should say "come back."...

The celluloid dreamhouse.(Academy of Dance on Film relocates to the Brea, Orange County)
April 1, 2004... If you want to see a newspaper clipping of Fred Astaire and his daughter, Ava, at her debutante ball in 1959, view any number of Bollywood, Leslie Caron, or Jackie Chan movies, or even peruse a 1949 issue of DANCE MAGAZINE, the place to go is...

Dance Magazine celebrates National Dance Week April 23-May 2.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... National Dance Week is a chance for dancers, dance teachers, and other dance professionals to help create greater visibility for dance in their communities. Started in 1981, NDW is a grassroots effort. The idea is that what's good for the field...

Survivors.(New York Notebook; Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn celebrates tenth anniversary)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn celebrates its tenth anniversary with a program presented by 651 Arts from April 1 to 3. Jamel Gaines and his wife, the Ailey star Bahiyah Sayyed-Gaines (see 25 to Watch, DANCE MAGAZINE, January 2003,...

The Decoufle code.(New York Notebook; Philippe Decoufle in Brooklyn Academy of Music's Tricodex)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The surreal magic of Philippe Decoufle returns to Brooklyn Academy of Music for the American premiere of Tricodex, inspired by an Italian encyclopedia of mythic animals, plants and machines. Decoufle's last ballet at BAM, the gothic Shazam,...

Opposites attract.(New York Notebook)
April 1, 2004... In an ingenious programming move, The Joyce Theater offers, from March 30 to April 4, a glimpse of the next generation from two very different companies: Ailey II (below, left) and American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company (right). Ailey II...

Advice for dancers.
April 1, 2004... I AM A SENIOR DANCE MAJOR IN COLLEGE WHO HAS CHOREOGRAPHED PIECES FOR STUDENT CONCERTS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE. I ALSO TEACH AT A LOCAL DANCE STUDIO WHERE I HAVE CREATED A FEW PIECES. OVER THE YEARS, MY GROWING INTEREST IN CHOREOGRAPHY MAKES...

Mind your body: Feldenkrais: when it feels good, it is good: dancers find the practice helps with pain.
April 1, 2004... PHYSICAL THERAPY wasn't relieving the pain Erin Cornell experienced from two herniated discs, one in the lumbar area and the other in the cervical region of her spine. So Cornell, a New York dancer who has worked with choreographers Sara Rudner...

Baby boom: more dancers--and artistic directors--are accepting pregnancy as part of life.(Interview)
April 1, 2004... After Royal Ballet principal Darcey Bussell had her first child in 2001, a London critic wrote, "Dancers who have had large families don't stay at the peak of their profession... If Bussell ever wanted to be a mother of four, she would...

Frank Andersen: perpetuating his family and Danish ballet heritage.(Biography)
April 1, 2004... Ballet master, entrepreneur, and cultural ambassador Frank Andersen--artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet--receives a new title this month: Denmark's Man of the Year. It's the first time that the distinguished award has gone to a ballet...

Chuck Davis and Dance Africa.(Biography)
April 1, 2004... Chuck Davis, guru of Dance Africa, is the final profile in our Dance Magazine Awardee series, following Anna Halprin, Chita Rivera, and Jose Manuel Carreno. The annual awards ceremony will be held April 26 at Merkin Concert Hall in New York...

Potential over perfection: Youth America Grand Prix puts training where the talent is.(Interview)(Biography)
April 1, 2004... Winning a gold, silver, or bronze medal is always a thrill, hut the real prize at Youth America Grand Prix is learning where you fit in. Hundreds of dancers ages 9 to 19 participate in regionals and finals, coming away with a clearer picture of...

Be cool, stay warm.(New products--favorite things: dance class classics)
April 1, 2004... FASHION designers have been taking favorite styles from the dance studio and putting them on clothing store shelves, but nothing can replace what's designed for the job, like the cotton-lycra Classic V Neck Sweater from KD Dance. Your core...

Quick fixes.(New products--favorite things: dance class classics)
April 1, 2004... BE PREPARED for anything at classes, auditions, and performances. With everything from a sewing kit to bobby pins to first aid, you can avert disaster with the Dancer Emergency Kit from Gaynor Minden. Don't let a torn ribbon, bad-hair day, or...

Pairing up.(New products--favorite things: dance class classics)
April 1, 2004... THESE mockseam tights from Capezio, left, put an old-fashioned seam in the back of the leg, but have the contemporary style, color, and absorbency you rely on. They're comfortable and flattering enough that you can forget about your "second...

Rx for your feet.(New products--favorite things: dance class classics)
April 1, 2004... GIVE your feet a break with Sole Salvation from The Body Shop, top right. The kit contains everything you need to heal the wounds your feet endure from pointe and barefoot-induced blisters. ($25; www.thebodyshop.com) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Form & function.(New products--favorite things: dance class classics)
April 1, 2004... MIRELLA'S S12 skirt, right, molds to your body but gives you full range of motion (12" in front and 14" in back) when you need it. Beautiful, flattering, and classic, it's appropriate for the strictest of classrooms and still gives that extra...

Hold everything.(New products--favorite things: dance class classics)
April 1, 2004... AFTER a long, sweaty day in the studio, this bag, far right, from Bunheads not only holds your shoes, but it allows them to air too. Pointe shoes last longer when they're allowed to dry out! ($6; www.bunheads.com) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Warmup wisdom.(New products--favorite things: dance class classics)
April 1, 2004... FIRST thing in the morning dancers enter the studio cold. The Primrose fold-down tight from Sansha, right, keeps you warm and stylish, and the tie-up elastic waist prevents slippage. They're also a perfect way to stay cozy and keep your muscles...

Baby Om: Yoga for Mothers and Babies.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... BABY OM: YOGA FOR MOTHERS AND BABIES By Laura Staton and Sarah Perron. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2002. 272 pages. $17 This book leaches new mothers how to begin a yoga practice with their newborns. It describes more than seventy...

Harnessing the Wind: the Art of Teaching Modern Dance.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... HARNESSING THE WIND: THE ART OF TEACHING MODERN DANCE By Jan Erkert. Illinois: Human Kinetics, 2003. 232 pages paper. $29 Jan Erkert's Harnessing the Wind: The Art of Teaching Modern Dance does not teach you to teach, but rather guides you...

Lester Horton Technique: Intermediate and Advanced.(Video Recording Review)
April 1, 2004... LESTER HORTON TECHNIQUE: INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED Videos. 60 and 70 minutes. $19.95; Kultur International Films For those interested in the technique that Alvin Ailey called "the greatest influence of my career," Kultur has released two...

Teaching The Most Important Levels in Ballet with Mary Lynn--Ballet II.(Video Recording Review)
April 1, 2004... TEACHING THE MOST IMPORTANT LEVELS IN BALLET WITH MARY LYNN--BALLET II Video, 86 minutes. $45 + $5 shipping; Mary Lynn's Ballet Arts This fourth video in the Mary Lynn series made me want to go back and be a child learning to dance again....

Teachers's wisdom: with this issue, Dance Magazine begins a new monthly column where we ask distinguished dance teachers their advice about technique, performing, and health. Assistant David Editor Tamara Johnson interviews master teacher David Howard.(This Month)(Interview)
April 1, 2004... TURNS GENERATE SO MUCH EXCITEMENT IN THE AUDIENCE, AND TRIPLES ARE BECOMING MORE COMMON TO SEE ON STAGE, SO THIS ABILITY IS VERY IN DEMAND. HOW CAN DANCERS LEARN TO MASTER MULTIPLE PIROUETTES? I'll do anything to get a person turning, whatever...

Breaking the Soviet mold: Natalia Kasparova brings jazz and modern dance to St. Petersburg.(Education Matters)(Biography)
April 1, 2004... A young Russian girl growing up in Irkutsk, near Mongolia, who loves both dancing and gymnastics, must choose one or the other By seven she has made her decision. She studies gymnastics six hours a day until the age of 20, but she always feels...

The American Repertory Ballet's Princeton Ballet School.(Noteworthy)
April 1, 2004... THE AMERICAN REPERTORY BALLET'S PRINCETON BALLET SCHOOL celebrates fifty years with a performance at McCarter Theatre, Princeton, New Jersey, May 1. ARB under Graham Lustig, artistic director, will premiere two works by women choreographers...

The Dance Institute of Washington.(Noteworthy)
April 1, 2004... THE DANCE INSTITUTE OF WASHINGTON, which was founded by Fabian Barnes, has launched a $3.8 million capital building campaign for a permanent location for the school and Washington's Reflections Dance Company. www.danceinstitute.org

National College Choreography Initiative.(Noteworthy)
April 1, 2004... Applications for the NATIONAL COLLEGE CHOREOGRAPHY INITIATIVE are due June 30. Thirty five awards of $8,000 each will be offered for projects to take place between September 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006. www.danceusa.org, or 202.955.8325,...

The School at Jacob's Pillow.(Noteworthy)
April 1, 2004... THE SCHOOL AT JACOB'S PILLOW announced program directors for 2004: Broadway veteran Chet Walker, jazz; Anna-Marie Holmes, ballet; Milton Myers, contemporary; Haitian choreographer Jean-Leon Destine, cultural traditions; and Celeste Miller,...

Point Park University.(Noteworthy)
April 1, 2004... POINT PARK UNIVERSITY will host a Rockette Summer Intensive at the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh June 13-19 for dancers over age 14 who have performance experience and five years training in ballet, jazz, and tap. 212.631.4330

Truman Finney has joined the School of Ballet Arizona as Director.(New Assignments)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... TRUMAN FINNEY has joined the School of Ballet Arizona as Director. Finney is an internationally acclaimed teacher and the former ballet master and director of the Hamburg Ballet school. Assistant Director CARTER ALEXANDER trained at the Booker...

Rebecca Wright succeeds Mary Day as the director of the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, D.C.(New Assignments)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... REBECCA WRIGHT succeeds Mary Day as the director of the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, D.C. The former principal dancer with Joffrey Ballet and soloist with American Ballet Theatre was director of Adelphi University's dance program,...

Unity.(New Assignments)(appointed new members of management)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... UNITY installed Cathie Kasch of the Tennessee Association for Dance as co-chair; Louis Moniz, Jr. of the Dance Alliance of Rhode Island as treasurer; and Helene Scheff of the Dance Alliance of Rhode Island as committee liaison. Danie Beck of...

Irvine Dance Academy.(New Assignments)(merged with the West Coast School of the Arts )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... IRVINE DANCE ACADEMY merged with the West Coast School of the Arts and appointed Danielle Dodds-Stewart as children's program director.

From Ukraine with love.(Young Dancer[R])(Tetyana Martyanova, Kateryna Derechyna)(Biography)
April 1, 2004... On Easter mornings in the Ukraine, young girls perform a centuries-old dance--the hahilky--to usher in the spring. Performed on consecrated ground like churchyards and cemeteries, the steps celebrate newly reawakened nature, imitating the...

Dance theater: Robbins's Fiddler launched a choreographic showstopper in the bottle dance.(Jerome Robbins)(Fiddler on the Roof)
April 1, 2004... WHEN I learned that Fiddler on the Roof was coming back to Broadway, I was excited at the prospect of seeing Alfred Molina as the grumpy milkman with five-five!-unmarried daughters. I looked forward to hearing the score and watching a new...

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.(Dance Review)
April 1, 2004... ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER CITY CENTER NEW YORK, NEW YORK DECEMBER 3, 2003-JANUARY 4, 2004 No other U.S. dance company exports American good will en masse the way the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater does. And for the month of...

Royal Danish Ballet.(Octet for Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20)(Serenade)(Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2)(Dance Review)
April 1, 2004... ROYAL DANISH BALLET ROYAL OPERA HOUSE COPENHAGEN, DENMARK NOVEMBER 14-15, 2003 Peter Martins, ballet master of the New York City Ballet, returned to his Danish homeland to create Octet, a dynamic piece that showcased the fleetness and...

La La La Human Steps.(Amelia)(Dance Review)
April 1, 2004... LA LA LA HUMAN STEPS UCLA's ROYCE HALL LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 12-15, 2003 Like silent films oozing beauty in stark black and white imagery, so, too, does Amelia, Edouard Lock's latest masterpiece. Created for his twenty-four-year...

The Royal Ballet.(Cinderella)(Dance Review)
April 1, 2004... THE ROYAL BALLET ROYAL OPERA HOUSE COVENT GARDEN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM DECEMBER 23, 2003-JANUARY 10, 2004 Frederick Ashton's Cinderella has always held a special place in the repertoire of Britain's Royal Ballet. In 1948 it was the first...

Pennsylvania Ballet.(Dracula)(Dance Review)
April 1, 2004... PENNSYLVANIA BALLET ACADEMY OF MUSIC PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 8, 2003 I left the Pennsylvania Ballet's performance of Dracula thinking, "What an amazing company this is!" After changes in artistic leadership,...

The Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco).(Dance Review)
April 1, 2004... THE PHILADELPHIA DANCE COMPANY (PHILADANCO) KIMMEL CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS, PERELMAN THEATER NOVEMBER 20-22, 2003 The overarching theme of Philadanco's thirty-fourth Annual Winter Concert Series was: "We Too Dance... (African American...

Schools, studios, colleges, universities, companies, teachers, dancers, choreographers, somatic practices, movement arts, dance medicine, yoga.(Dance Directory)(Directory)
April 1, 2004... Contents United Stoles 79 International 91 Somatic Practices, Movement Arts, Dance Medicine, and Yoga 92 United States ALABAMA ALABAMA BALLET Wes Chapman, Artistic...

Around the world in one weekend.(Dance Directory)(Directory)
April 1, 2004... LOTUS Music and Dance, a studio in Manhattan that teaches traditional dances from the far corners of the earth, collaborates with the Department of Continuing Education at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York to present...

Attitudes.(choreographers)
April 1, 2004... ONE OF MY favorite quotations about dance--and I know I have quoted it more than once--is also one of the saddest. It is the now virtually forgotten choreographer David Lichine (1910-1972) saying, "Choreography is like moisture in the mouth of...