Dance Magazine articles from December 2004

Dance Magazine archives from December 2004

Excellent evil.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Your October cover is spectacular. It's so dramatic! The whole "evil" issue is great fun. ALLEGRA KENT NEW YORK, NY

Lar's magic.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... In response to "Missing a Choreographer?" ("Letters," October, page 12), I always thought that no one could move a crowd like Lar Lubovitch. He paints in broad strokes, uses a group as an entity, and creates visually stunning pieces that...

Nonprofit know-how.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... I am considering getting nonprofit status for my dance company so that I can receive grants, but I've been told that if I go nonprofit my company won't belong to me. I've also heard that I might be able to partner with a nonprofit organization...

Blowing smoke.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... I read DM's "Health and Fitness" column about smoking (August, page 31) and was interested in what you had to say, but offended by the photograph that accompanied the article. Why did you select an image of a fat woman smoking? I am not fat,...

A valentine to Lar.(Letters)(Lar Lubovitch Dance Company)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Lar Lubovitch Dance Company has celebrated its 35th anniversary with performances, new works, and stagings on companies around the country (see left). Below, Lubovitch works with Sandra Brown and American Ballet Theatre's Marcelo Games on...

Gelsey's sense.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... I am a ballet teacher and really enjoyed the "Teacher's Wisdom" column with David Howard [April, page 58]. I would love to hear about Gelsey Kirkland's teaching strategies and advice. WELTHY STALLINGS LAS VEGAS, NV DM hopes to...

Darvash distinguished.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... In response to "It Starts With Class" ("Letters," September, page 8): You might have heard the name Madame Gabriela Darvash, one of New York's most celebrated teachers. I am a former Hamburg Ballet dancer and current co-director of the Hamlyn...

Curtain up.(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... What is spirit, and what is spirituality? Each dancer has a unique spirit that's larger than anything concrete about our bodies or our technique. It's made up of our individual energy, our passion for dancing, and who we are in the world. If...

A bit of heaven in Hartford.(Dance Matters)
December 1, 2004... BALLETS Russes to Balanchine: Dance at the Wadsworth Atheneum, a sumptuous display of 80 works of art, 25 costumes, archival material, and photographs--all mounted in tribute to George Balanchine on the occasion of his centennial--runs through...

Noguchi.(Also)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... NOGUCHI and Graham: Selected Works for Dance, an exhibition devoted to the extensive collaboration of these two seminal 20th-century artists, opens at the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum (32-37 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City)...

Harlem troupe faces uncertain future.(Dance Matters)
December 1, 2004... IN WHAT seemed like a deja vu experience flour 1990, artistic director and co-founder Arthur Mitchell announced at a September 21 press conference that Dance Theatre of Harlem would immediately suspend its operations for nine months. "Dance...

Major surgery for the Bolshoi Theater.(Dance Matters)(renovation)
December 1, 2004... MOSCOW'S Bolshoi Theater, home to the renowned Bolshoi Ballet (and Bolshoi Opera), will lower the curtain on its season at the end of April, two months earlier than usual, so that the institution can launch a major renovation project. The...

On tour and on alert.(Dance Matters)
December 1, 2004... PICTURE the frenzied conclusion of Twyla Tharp's Movin' Out. The 19 dancers are drenched in sweat, the band is exhausted from two hours of nonstop rocking out to Billy Joel, and the audience is drained just from watching them. Now picture...

Lorena in one take.(Dance Matters)
December 1, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO Ballet principal Lorena Feijoo will be dancing--and speaking--on movie screens across the United States next spring. The Lost City, slated for an April release and set in revolutionary Havana, features the fiery Cuban as a...

Graham update.(Dance Matters)(Martha Graham)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has affirmed the U.S. District Court's 2002 rulings regarding the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance's ownership of dances choreographed by Martha Graham, along with related sets...

The Joffrey Ballet.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Changing Rosters: New at THE JOFFREY BALLET are ARIEL CISNEROS, DALLAS LUNDQUIST and MEGAN QUIROZ. Cameron Basden and Adam Sklute have been promoted to assistant artistic directors, Deborah Dawn and Willy Shives are now assistant...

Omaha Theater Ballet.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Dancers named to the OMAHA THEATER BALLET are KYLIE LAFFERTY, WADE SCHAAF, and ERIKA OVERTURFF

ODC/Dance.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * ANDREA FLORES and CLAIRE HANCOCK have joined ODC/DANCE (San Francisco)

Joining Pennsylvania as principal dancers are Zachary Hench and Julie Diana.(Newsmakers)(Appointments)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Joining Pennsylvania as principal dancers are ZACHARY HENCH and JULIE DIANA, both formerly of the San Francisco Ballet

Bavarian State Ballet Munich.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * BAVARIAN STATE BALLET MUNICH has hired SEVERINE FERROLIER and ERKAN KURT as First Soloists

Departures: Kevin Myers has resigned.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Departures: KEVIN MYERS has resigned as executive director of Ballet British Columbia in Vancouver

Alain Leonard, a founder of France's Avignon Festival.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * ALAIN LEONARD, a founder of France's Avignon Festival, has quit

Alabama Ballet.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Birmingham Business Journal has named Alabama Ballet artistic director WES CHAPMAN one of the city's "Top 40 Under 40"

Tap artist Jason Samuels Smith won the 2004 Emmy.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Tap artist JASON SAMUELS SMITH won the 2004 Emmy for best choreography

Canada Council for the Arts.(Newsmakers)(appointments)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Canadian ballerina KAREN KAIN has been appointed the new chair of the CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS

Grand Rapids Ballet Company.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * GRAND RAPIDS BALLET COMPANY is one of 10 winners of the 19th annual ArtServe Michigan Governor's Awards for Arts & Culture

Moving Arts Dance.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * MOVING ARTS DANCE of Walnut Creek, CA, was invited to perform in Belarus and at the Sergei Diaghliev Choreography Competition in Gdyna, Poland, in October

The Neighbourhood Crew of Harare, Zimbabwe, has claimed a place.(Newsmakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * The Neighbourhood Crew of Harare, Zimbabwe, has claimed a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for dancing nonstop for 56 hours.

The Doris Duke Foundation.(Money Matters)(Alonzo King's Lines Ballet)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The DORIS DUKE FOUNDATION for Islamic Art and Arts International has awarded ALONZO KING'S LINES BALLET $21,000 for a work to be produced in 2005

Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania has donated $10,000.(Money Matters)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * COLUMBIA GAS OF PENNSYLVANIA has donated $10,000 to PITTSBURGH BALLET THEATRE

National Dance Project.(Money Matters)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * The NATIONAL DANCE PROJECT has awarded $560,000 in production grants to 19 contemporary dance companies for the support of new dance projects in the 2004-05 season. Recipients include BEN MUNISTERI DANCE PROJECTS, BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE...

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.(Money Matters)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL reports an eight percent increase in ticket sales for the 2004 season

National Ballet of Canada.(Money Matters)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA has posted a $790,000 (CDN) deficit for the 2003-04 season.

Flamenco in SoHo.(New York Notebook)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... If you like your flamenco up close and personal, go to N (pronounced "Enye") between Broome and Grand Streets, one of the cluster of clubs offering live flamenco, any Wednesday. From 8 to 10 P.M. a small area in the middle of this narrow tapas...

Nut-cracking.(New York Notebook)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... David Parker and The Bang Group, famous downtown for finding the silly in the serious, returns to Dance Theater Workshop (December 15-22) with Nut/Cracked. An amalgam of tap, ballroom, ballet, and postmodern dance, this adaptation of the...

Hear me roar.(New York Notebook)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... In Sam Kim's new Vince and Alison (premiering December 1 to 4 at Dance Theater Workshop) cabriole and reverence collide with the cartoon energy of Kim Possible. Named after the duo that formed the '80s pop group Yaz, Kim's female trio corrals...

Shooting from the hip.(Health and Fitness)
December 1, 2004... DON'T THINK a hip replacement is in your future? Take this simple dance test: Do a battlement with one leg, then the other. Which did you kick first? Every dancer can say which leg gets more elevation and better turnout. Keep that internal...

Advice for dancers.
December 1, 2004... I'VE BEEN DANCING ON AND OFF FOR YEARS, MOST RECENTLY AS A JAZZ DANCE TEACHER. YET EVER SINCE I CAN REMEMBER, I'VE ALWAYS HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY HAMSTRINGS TIGHTENING UP AFTER CLASS. I AM SO INCREDIBLY SORE BY THE NEXT DAY THAT I CAN BARELY...

Living the dream: how Ailey went from revelation to institution.(Interview)
December 1, 2004... When asked where the Alvin Ailey American Dunce Theater is heading in the 21st century, Judith Jamison lets out a roar of a belly laugh. Then she pauses. "To all those nooks and crannies we haven't been to yet," she answers with a glint of...

At home in the world: Ailey moves on and up.
December 1, 2004... The actual distance of the move is not far--six blocks south, one and a half blocks east--but as the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation takes up residence in its gleaming new eight-story home, what the move represents is momentous. In leaving behind...

The Ailey story: new books on the phenomenon.(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Ailey Spirit: The Journey of an American Dance Company Text by Robert Tracy; foreword by Wynton Marsalis. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang. 2004. 168 pages. $35. This book celebrates the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, presented here...

The Nutz: versions new and old arrive with the holidays plus a feast of faux pas.
December 1, 2004... CRACKING NUTS WILL BE MORE OF AN ADVENTURE THAN USUAL THIS YEAR. Two LEADING STATESIDE COMPANIES, THE SAN FRANCISCO BALLET AND THE WASHINGTON BALLET, WILL UNVEIL NEW PRODUCTIONS THAT BLEND THE SEASONAL FABLE WITH THE HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITIES...

The divine within: the spiritual dimension of dancers' lives and work.
December 1, 2004... The rich will make temples for Shiva. What shall I, a poor man, do? My legs are pillars, The body the shrine, The head a cupola of gold. Listen, Oh Lord of the meeting rivers, ...

Blast from the past.(Gift picks: latest releases in DVDs, videos & books)(Video Recording Review)
December 1, 2004... Choreography by Balanchine Nonesuch. Two DVDs. 110 minutes each, $39.95 each. Swan Lake. Bolshoi Ballet, 1957 Video Arts International; 80 minutes; $34.95. Romeo and Juliet. Bolshoi Ballet, 1954 Video Arts International; 91 minutes;...

Blast from the present.(Gift picks: latest releases in DVDs, videos & books)(Video Recording Review)
December 1, 2004... As with most dance, hip hop deserves better than it's getting on film. Still, dancers and fans will find a few good instructional tapes and guilty viewing pleasures out there this season. Groovin' With the Groovaloos, volumes 1 & 2 ...

Blast from class.(Gift picks: latest releases in DVDs, videos & books)(Video Recording Review)(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Attitude! Eight Young Dancers Come of Age at The Ailey School Katharine Davis Fishman. Tarcher, NY. 2004. 285 pages, hardcover, $23.95. The "Supremes" have it. Three girls, nicknamed by their peers after the famous trio of singers, are...

Leotards and tops.(DM Style)
December 1, 2004... Dancers spend hours watching their reflection in the studio mirror. A great leotard can help you feel confident, streamlined, and comfortable, while an unflattering one can be so distracting that it interferes with your concentration. "Halters...

Crossing the line: what to do about romance between teachers and students.(Education Matters)
December 1, 2004... A beautiful 19-year-old, watched closely by her coach and a small group of friends, dances her emotional guts out in a challenging dramatic solo she's preparing for an upcoming competition. There are tears in her eyes as she finishes, running...

Crush control.(Education Matters)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Professional interactions between students and teachers can often be close and intense. But what if a student becomes emotionally fixated on a teacher? Such situations demand sensitive handling, says The School of Alberta Ballet's Murray...

When teachers seem too fond.(Education Matters)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Ideally, a student should never feel that a teacher's attentions have become inappropriate, whether it's a touch that seems too much like fondling, or a private invitation to a candlelight dinner. According to School of Toronto's Pat Fraser,...

Steps On Broadway.(Time Will Tell)
December 1, 2004... New York's popular STEPS ON BROADWAY celebrates its 25th anniversary this month. The Upper West Side studio, founded by Carol Paumgarten, operates out of 17,000 square feet including ten studios, a cafe, a dancewear boutique, and 50 weekly...

Nutmeg Conservatory For The Arts.(Time Will Tell)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * The NUTMEG CONSERVATORY FOR THE ARTS in Torrington, Connecticut honored dancer, teacher, and coach Eleanor D'Antuono for her 50 years in dance with an evening of performances. Headlining were Ethan Stiefel, Gillian Murphy and Gennadi...

Juilliard.(New Assignments)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Martine van Hamel and Risa Steinberg have joined the dance faculty at JUILLIARD in ballet and modern dance, respectively. Steinberg is a master teacher in Limon technique, and van Hamel was an international star with National Ballet of Canada,...

Kansas City Ballet School.(New Assignments)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Tenley Taylor steps into new shoes as director of the KANSAS CITY BALLET SCHOOL, while her predecessor, Karen Brown, concentrates on duties as ballet mistress and school faculty member. Taylor was a soloist with Ballet West in Utah and earned...

92nd Street Y.(New Assignments)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Renata Celichowska joins New York's 92ND STREET Y as director of the Harkness Dance Center. Celichowska studied and danced with Erick Hawkins and authored The Erick Hawkins Modern Dance Technique (Princeton Book Company, 2000). For the past...

Oklahoma City University.(New Assignments)(Jo Rowan receives award)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Jo Rowan, founder and chair of the OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY dance department, was among 10 educators and administrators included into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in October.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.(News Assignments)(appointment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * PITTSBURGH BALLET THEATRE replaced the newly promoted ballet master Roberto Munoz (now school director) with former principal dancer, Steven Annegarn. Annegarn has also danced with Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet Company, London City Ballet, and...

Pittsburgh Dance Alloy.(New Assignments)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... * Andrew Blight, formerly of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, has moved into the education director position with PITTSBURGH DANCE ALLOY replacing Madelon Tieman.

Teacher's wisdom.(This month: Lazaro Carreno)(Interview)
December 1, 2004... Ranking member of the Carreno ballet family and former principal with Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Lazaro Carreno is principal teacher and coach for Houston Ballet. When he was 11 and only two years into his initial ballet study at the Cuban...

Christopher Williams: transforming the strange to the beautiful.(On the Rise)
December 1, 2004... There is something oddly anachronistic about Christopher Williams, the 28-year-old dancer, choreographer, and puppet-master. An intense, medium-size man with a relatively long torso and short, strong legs, his extraordinary jump and sad-clown...

On Broadway: only a handful of modern choreographers have so completely embraced the spirit of show dancing in their work as Alvin Ailey.
December 1, 2004... You hove to wonder how different the dance world would be if Alvin Alley had never come to New York to take a job in a Broadway musical. Would we have had a Revelations--and would it have looked the same? Would we have had the Ailey company, or...

Edinburgh International Festival.
December 1, 2004... VARIOUS VENUES, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND AUGUST 15-SEPTEMBER 5, 2004 There was something for everyone at the Edinburgh Festival 2004, front tributes to past masters to the recent work of two of Europe's most celebrated young...

Black Grace.
December 1, 2004... JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL BECKET, MA AUGUST 12-15, 2004 The U.S. premiere of Black Grace, an all-male dance ensemble from New Zealand, had particular resonance at this summer festival. Here, in the 1930s, Pillow founder Ted Shawn and...

Batsheva Dance Company.
December 1, 2004... JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL BECKET, MA JULY 28-AUGUST 1, 2004 Watching Sharon Eyal's Love is like shaking a snow done. First there is the chaotic blizzard, then organized patterns emerge, and then the flakes come to rest and only a quiet...

Vail International Dance Festival.
December 1, 2004... GERALD R. FORD AMPHITHEATER VAIL, CO AUGUST 6-15, 2004 The 16th Vail International Dance Festival culminated with two top troupes: Victor Ullate Ballet and Les Ballets Africans. Many companies are seeking a way forward by fusing...

John Jasperse Company.
December 1, 2004... LINCOLN HALL AUDITORIUM PORTLAND, OR SEPTEMBER 10-12, 2004 John Josperse is a cerebral choreographer whose work is about his creative process and what he thinks of the world today. CALIFORNIA runs tree to form. Driven by Jonathan...

Bella Lewitzky (1916-2004).(Transitions)(Obituary)
December 1, 2004... I was 18 the first time I saw the Lewitzky Dance Company. It was 1977 and I had only recently discovered modern dance, which to my beginner's eves seemed strange, beautiful, and exciting--all the more so when I saw Bella Lewitzky's Spaces...

Betty Oliphant (1919-2004).(Transitions)(Obituary)
December 1, 2004... When Betty Oliphant first invited me into her home some 30 years ago, she got down on the floor to unfurl a family tree that traced her lineage back to William the Conqueror--or was it Queen Boadicea? The latter would seem more fitting. "Miss...

Sulamith Messerer (1908-2004).(Transition)(Biography)
December 1, 2004... Sulamith Messerer became a prima ballerina with the Bolshoi Ballet at the age of 20 when she volunteered, without rehearsal, to stand in for the injured Ekaterina Geltser as Kitri in Don Quixote. Three years later, she and her brother Asaf, a...

Antonio Gades (1936-2004).(Transitions)(Biography)
December 1, 2004... Dancer choreographer Antonio Gades brought an intense, seductive glamour to flamenco's powerful vocabulary. Turning to sources that tapped an enduring Gypsy mystique--Federico Garcia Lorca's Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding), Bizet's Carmen, and...

Schools, studios, colleges, universities, companies, teachers, dancers, choreographers, somatic practices, movement arts, dance medicine, yoga.(Dance Finder)(Directory)
December 1, 2004... United States ALABAMA ALABAMA BALLET Wes Chapman, Artistic Director Alice Cox, Director of External Affairs 2726 1st Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233 (205) 322-4300; Fax (205) 322-4444 www.alabamaballet.org ALABAMA DANCE...

The drama of it.(A Career & Learning Resource Guide)(Omaha Theater Ballet School)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Learning to act was the biggest challenge faced by the students of Omaha Theater Ballet School of Dance as they prepared for their summer concert, "Jazz, Tap, and Snow White." 'They had to focus oil character development as well as master the...

Attitudes.
December 1, 2004... WHAT A pleasure it is to read Deborah Jowitt's carefully balanced and sweetly calculated account of Jerome Robbins (see "DM Recommends: Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theatre, His Dance," November, page 60), which takes its place, alongside the...