Dance Magazine articles from August 2008

Dance Magazine archives from August 2008

Curtain up.
August 1, 2008... During a recent visit to the Houston Ballet, I saw a wonderful thing at intermission. In the red-carpeted grand foyer of the Wortham Center, alongside the gourmet items and elegant photo display, there was a table laden with brochures and...

Tapped in.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... We loved your May tap issue. Kathak dancers can relate because, though there are many differences, both tap and kathak share intense percussive footwork and rhythmic complexity. Celine Schein, Executive Director Chitresh Das Dance...

Oh Danny Boy!(letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... Imagine my joy and pride when I received the June issue and saw my former student, Daniel Ulbricht, on the cover. I did an academic independent study with him at Fordham University/ Lincoln Center when he was a high school student at SAB. We...

Inspired to over-come the odds.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2008... In your article about the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre ("Teach-Learn Connection," April 2008) there was a gem of a paragraph about the petite Macy Sullivan. My daughter is another small yet powerful dancer. Next year, we will face the...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
August 1, 2008... A photo in "Brave New Worlds" (June) on page 41 was incorrectly identified as Twyla Tharp's Medley. See correct photo below with Graciela Figueroa in Medley at ADF in 1969.

Exhibit exposure.(vital signs)(Kenn Duncan: A Retrospective Exhibition)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Though Kenn Duncan began his career as a dancer, after injuring his leg he picked up a camera and started photographing dancers and celebrities. Among his portrait subjects of the '70s and '80s were Baryshnikov, Nureyev, Chita Rivera, Tommy...

Vital stat.(vital signs)(rave party in New York's Union Square)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... VITAL STAT in April, more than 1,000 people gathered for a "silent rave" in NYC's Union Square: They all danced to the music of their own iPods. A similar event in London in 2006 attracted 3,500 dancers.

They can't, they won't, & they don't stop.(vital signs)(USA Hip Hop Championship)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The event that inspired MTV'S hit reality dance competition, America's Best Dance Crew, takes place in Las Vegas July 29-Aug. 3. Entering the seventh year for this series of events, the USA Hip Hop Championship will...

What a bargain! it's free!.(vital signs)(Chicago Dancing Festival)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... It's the second time around for the Chicago Dancing Festival, three days of free performances and discussions in the Windy City, Aug. 18-20. The first night, "20th Century Masters," includes performances by the Martha Graham Dance Company (Cave...

Let's get physical.(vital signs)(Bates Dance Festival)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Bates Dance Festival, July 15-Aug. 9, features performances, panel discussions, films, and lectures by over 30 dancers and choreographers. On Aug. 1-2, the wacky and intensely physical Zoe Scofield and...

Deutsch-Dance Fest.(vital signs)(Internationale Tanzmesse NRW 2008)(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2008... The international festival to end all international festivals happens this month in Dusseldorf, Germany, Aug. 27-30. Internationale Tanzmesse NRW 2008 includes a plethora of performances from choreographers and companies worldwide. The U.S. is...

Tapping into India.(vital signs)(India Jazz Suites)(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What happens when a widely respected kathak master gets together with one of the world's fastest tap dancers? India Jazz Suites, an electrifying night of percussive storytelling that won the 2005 Isadora Duncan Dance...

Aloha, Mozart.(vital signs)(Mostly Mozart Festival)(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, which last August featured Mark Morris' Mozart Dances, will showcase another extraordinary dance work this year: Lemi Ponifasio's Requiem, in its U.S. premiere. Ponifasio was...

Quick Q & A Kate Weare.(vital signs)(Interview)
August 1, 2008... With her terse, sharply focused works, choreographer Kate Weare is gaining momentum in the dance world. She tends to make short duets where the woman and the man dare each other to do things like pinching, poking, and slapping that can be...

News from Beantown: Boston Ballet downsizes but plans to grow.(dance matters)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By the end of Boston Ballet's 2007-08 season, executive director Valerie Wilder had resigned, and nine members of the corps de ballet were cut from the roster for financial reasons. Then came the surprise news that...

Reflecting on neighborhood: dance aids development of a new urban district.(dance matters)(Ten Tiny Dances)
August 1, 2008... Dance artist Linda K. Johnson watched the South Waterfront district in Portland, Oregon, being built from scratch on the site of a former brownfield. She asked herself, "Can the activity of artists quicken the development of an identity of a...

Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.(AWARDS)
August 1, 2008... Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company received the South Bank Show Award for Dance for its Sept. 2007 London season.

Nicolas Le Riche.(AWARDS)
August 1, 2008... Nicolas Le Riche, etoile with the Paris Opera Ballet, was awarded the title of Chevalier (Knight) in the French Ordre National du Merite.

The Benois de la Danse 2008 winners.(AWARDS)
August 1, 2008... The Benois de la Danse 2008 winners are Carlos Acosta for the title role in Spartacus, Bolshoi Theatre; Marcelo Gomes for the title role in Othello, ABT (left with Julie Kent); Silvia Azzoni in The Little Mermaid, Hamburg Ballet; Tamara Rojo,...

Extreme pulse.(new york notebook)(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Unleash eight very different dancers wielding unusual props in a high-risk environment and you have the genesis of Extremely Close, Alejandro Cerrudo's Joyce-commissioned piece for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. "I...

Elemental Keigwin.(new york notebook)(Larry Keigwin)(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2008... Keigwin + Company's projects in recent seasons have stirred up a buzz, whether for Larry Keigwin's powerhouse kinetic drama, his wily humor, or his brilliant grand plan for dozens of untrained bodies in potentially clashing motion. In its Joyce...

Sun power.(new york notebook)(Solar Powered Dance Series)(Brief article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Right in step with the environmental movement, the "Solar Powered Dance Series" takes place on an outdoor platform in Stuyvesant Cove Park only a jete away from the East River. Operating in collaboration with Solar...

Erica Cornejo Carlos Molina.(from the heart: DANCERS IN LOVE)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Watching Erica Cornejo in some of her last performances with American Ballet Theatre in 2006, it was difficult to believe the petite, spritely ballerina onstage was the same person who is so soft-spoken offstage. As...

Training right: why what you dance matters to your workout.(your body)
August 1, 2008... Most dancers know that cross training can help their performing--even if they don't do it. What they don't realize is that their style of dance and amount of rehearsal/performance hours in a given week determines how much and what type of cross...

Advice for dancers.
August 1, 2008... Please help! The artistic director of the "second" company that I dance for just made us participate in a pilot for a dance reality TV show. The producer had us roll our eyes, gossip, and act like some of us thought we were better than others....

I was meant for this: ten top dancers on their favorite roles.
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Julie Tice Paul Taylor Dance Company Interviewed by Susan Yung My favorite is the role I do in Esplanade. It's like the epitome of joy. There's nothing like the sensation of running through space to...

Lustrous, luscious & lovely: Natalia Alonso makes her next move.(Cover story)
August 1, 2008... Four times Natalia Alonso tried out for Ballet Hispanico. On each occasion, she rode the subway to the contemporary dance company's headquarters on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where she took an audition number and a place at the barre...

Who will fill Natalia's shoes? Ballet Hispanico has at least three young dancers who have the potential to rise to the top.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Exuding Caribbean sunny playfulness, Angelica Burgos is in her fourth season with the company. Her quick-change, jazzy rubato in William Whitener's Tito on Timbales is rousing. Sharp and flexible in body and mind, she reacts quickly to...

Dancing toward a degree: five dances talk about balancing academics and performing.
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For some young dancers, school is just something that gets in the way of dancing. When they finish high school, many who have spent years polishing their expressive instruments want to put them to use right away....

Don't crash & burn: what you need to know to slim down the healthy way.
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Most dancers wish they had the strength of an iron man in the body of a runway model. And they sometimes resort to extreme methods to pull it off, from fat-burning pills and the Master Cleanse, to cabbage soup plans....

The great slipper experiment: 20 pairs + 7 students = a wild day in the studio.(dm style)(Buyers guide)
August 1, 2008... Wouldn't it be fun to test drive a bunch of different ballet slippers? We asked the advanced students at Ballet Academy East in New York City to do just that. When they agreed, we dropped a boatload of new shoes on them! They sorted...

Dance Magazine Scholarship Guide 2008.(Directory)
August 1, 2008... Looking for a way to pay for dance classes? Welcome to our 2008 Scholarship Guide. We've got more than 100 scholarships listed to help you fund your training, tuition, travel expenses, and other costs. Not only can a scholarship ease the strain...

Residing in the body.(dm recommends)(The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers)(Book review)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers By Rose Eichenbaum Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2008. 288 pages, illustrated. $29.95 In this collection of photos with interviews,...

Teaching improvisation: how to bring students through the moment of not knowing.(teach-learn connection)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Improvisation is no longer just an outpost of experimental dance. Choreographers are asking dancers to improvise to help generate movement. It's also an essential tool to develop a command of one's instrument....

Improving turnout.(THE NEXT LEVEL)
August 1, 2008... The dancer's quest to improve turnout can be a lifelong pursuit. Since the days of Louis XIV, a turned-out aesthetic has been the ideal for ballet dancers. But when it comes to how to approach leg rotation, a lot has evolved since the 17th...

Reviving Holm.(ACROSS THE FLOOR)(Hanya Holm)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The University of New Mexico's Department of Theatre and Dance in Albuquerque gave new life to Hanya Holm's rarely performed Rota (1975) last spring. The student dancers worked with dance notator Mary Corey, who set the structure of the piece...

Reframe the Framework.(ACROSS THE FLOOR)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... NYC-based choreographer Yasuko Yokoshi recently worked with students from the Brattleboro Union High School of Dance in Vermont to create Reframe the Framework DDD. They experimented with the methods David Gordon used to create his 1984...

Class notes.(ACROSS THE FLOOR)(Pennsylvania Ballet and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Pennsylvania Ballet and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet host Beyond Technique August 3-16. The two-week intensive for 20 preprofessional dancers aims to extend the traditional boundaries of ballet training. The dancers work with members of...

Donald McKayle: teaching dancers to dig deep.(teacher's wisdom)(Interview)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Donald McKayle embodies the American modern dance experience. Having been mentored by or performed with Pearl Primus, Martha Graham, and Anna Sokolow, among others, McKayle emerged as one of the country's most...

Jumaane Taylor: masterful control and and fierce energy make this tapper's footwork an eye as well as an earful.(on the rise)
August 1, 2008... Jumaane Taylor emerges center stage from a crowd of dancers for an impromptu tap jam during Broadway Underground's spring show at B.B. King's in New York City. Emcee Jared Grimes yells into the microphone, "Go get it, Jumaane!" And Taylor does,...

Waiting for the revolution: when will Broadway fulfill Hair's rock 'n' roll promise?(on broadway)(Theater review)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For those of us who came of age in the '60s, 2008 has been a tough year. The news media won't let us forget that it's the 40th anniversary--40th!--of events that shook us to the core and changed history: the...

Houston Ballet.(Falling, Little Dancer and Five Tangos)(Dance review)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Houston Ballet Wortham Theater Center, Houston May 22-June 1, 2008 Stanton Welch and James Kuldeka have opposite approaches to choreography. Welch crams lots of big movements into small measures, and...

Ultima Vez.(Wim Vandekeybus' Spiegel)(Dance review)
August 1, 2008... UCLA's Royce Hall, Los Angeles May 2-3, 2008 Meathooks. Bricks. A solitary feather. These are some of the props that Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus uses in his retrospective work, Spiegel (German for "mirror"). At 90...

Hoofers' House.(Dance review)
August 1, 2008... The Kitchen, NYC May 23, 2008 The recent death of Jimmy Slyde--beloved veteran of tap's golden era (see "Transitions," page 90)--did not drop a pall on the debut of Hoofers' House at The Kitchen. Far from an occasion for mourning,...

Susan Rethorst.(208 East Broadway, Part 2: Suitcase Dreams)(Dance review)
August 1, 2008... Danspace Project, NYC May 29-31, 2008 Home is where the dance is. When choreographer Susan Rethorst lost her studio--a casualty of New York's savage economics--she pressed her little living room into service as a lab for movement and a...

Both Maia Wilkins, who for more than a decade has been the closest thing to a prima ballerina in the famously unranked Joffrey Ballet, and her husband, leading dancer Michael Levine, ended their long association with the company at an emotional final performance May 25.(Retirements)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Both Maia Wilkins, who for more than a decade has been the closest thing to a prima ballerina in the famously unranked Joffrey Ballet, and her husband, leading dancer Michael Levine, ended their long association with...

A 20-minute standing ovation by a sellout crowd at the glittering Bastille Opera House brought Wilfried Romoli's 35 years at the Paris Opera Ballet to an emotional end last May.(RETIREMENTS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... A 20-minute standing ovation by a sellout crowd at the glittering Bastille Opera House brought Wilfried Romoli's 35 years at the Paris Opera Ballet to an emotional end last May. His farewell performance included an exquisite interpretation of...

Jimmy Slyde (1927-2008).(DEATHS)(Obituary)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The tap dancer known for his elegant style and the smooth sliding steps that earned him both his stage name and the honorary title of "The King of Slides," Jimmy Slyde died in May. Known throughout his career for his lyricism and musicality,...

United States.(Schools, Studios, Colleges, Universities, Companies, Teachers, Choreographers, Dancers, Somatic Practices & Movement Arts Certification, & Dance Medicine)(Directory)
August 1, 2008... HOW TO LIST IN THE DANCE FINDER A Dance Finder Listing Is Your Business Card to the World of Dance. For rates and an annual contract to list, please email Dee Dee Castro at dcastro@dancemagazine.com * Next Deadline to List: 1st of...

Deciding to jazz.(Decidedly Jazz Danceworks)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Time to turn up the funk. Dancers will immerse themselves in the art of jazz during Decidedly Jazz Danceworks new August summer session at their studios in Calgary, Canada. Filling the gap between summer intensive...

International.(Schools, Studios, Colleges, Universities, Companies, Teachers, Choreographers, Dancers, Somatic Practices & Movement Arts Certification, & Dance Medicine)(Directory)
August 1, 2008... ARGENTINA MANUEL VALLEJOS DANCE JAZZ STUDIO Lavalle 1579 C.P.1048-Buenos Aires Tel/Fax 1541) -371-6811 AUSTRIA SALZBURY INTL BALLET ACADEMY (SIBA) Yehuda Maor, Ballet teacher/Master Salzburg Ballet. Phone...

Somatic/Movement.(Schools, Studios, Colleges, Universities, Companies, Teachers, Choreographers, Dancers, Somatic Practices & Movement Arts Certification, & Dance Medicine)(Directory)
August 1, 2008... Somatic Practices, Movement Arts, and Dance Medicine Certification and Training in Somatic and Movement-Based Arts. Contact: dcastro@dancemagazine.com ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE FOR DANCERS, THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE 2 disc set of DVD's...

A love affair: the new-look Kirov has taken Balanchine's new wine but decanted it into their old Russian bottles.(attitudes)(Kirov Ballet Company)
August 1, 2008... America's love affair--well, actually it was the West's love affair--with St. Petersburg's Kirov Ballet started in 1961. The company was on a three-city tour that started in Paris--where it lost in transit a dancer called Rudolf...

Healthy eats: upgrades for your vending machine.(UP FRONT)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... You want to encourage your students to eat right. So why pack the vending machine with Snickers and Fritos? YoNaturals offers vending machines stocked with nutritious snacks and drinks (www.yonaturals.com). They even have free delivery and...

Log on to better software.(UP FRONT)(management softwares for dance studios)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Administrative tasks aren't the reason you opened a dance studio. Why not let studio management software do most of the front desk work for you? Take advantage of some recent updates that make running your business easier. [ILLUSTRATION...

Free classes: do they work?(UP FRONT)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Giving away a session of jazz, beginning ballet, or tap can spark interest in your studio. But some free offers build enrollment swiftly, while others don't seem to draw. How can you tell what will work? The Alley Extension in New York City...

Feel the beat: the new "it" class.(UP FRONT)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dancers across the country are trying to learn a new rhythm. The Senegalese dance form Sabar, already popular in New York, Washington, DC, and California, has quickly become the hottest new style of West African...

How they do it: studio owners talk about what works and why.(STUDIO PROFILES)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In a shifting economy, running a dance studio requires having business savvy as well as being an enthusiastic dance educator. Here six owners from around the country talk about what's working for them and how they...

She came, she saw, she remodeled: how a New Jersey studio owner tamed raw space.(Northern Valley Dance Academy's artistic director Deirdre Pirchio)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Linoleum over cement floors, torn mylar rolling mirrors, heavy portable barres--not necessarily a recipe for studio success. But in four years Deirdre Pirchio, artistic director at Northern Valley Dance Academy, had...

Please all kinds of dancing feet: some floors are made for more than one genre.
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Andrea Paris-Gutierrez moved her studio five years ago, she rolled up her floors and took them with her. Despite the studio's name--the Los Angeles Ballet Academy--it also offers jazz, tap, hip hop, and even...

Giving back: when doing good is good for business.
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Getting your dance studio involved in the community involves extra time and effort, but the rewards can be endless. Not only can you help others out, but you'll give your students an education that can't be found...

Girl power: young Harlem dancers find more than classes at Groove With Me.
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday after school, Janae Truesdale hangs out at Groove With Me, a Harlem studio that offers free (lance classes to neighborhood girls. "When I'm here I feel completely comfortable,...