Dance Magazine articles from February 2003

Dance Magazine archives from February 2003

Manpower. (Starting Here).(Dance Magazine)(Editorial)
February 1, 2003... A letter arrived a few weeks ago that accused me of being a "human-elitist." I filed it with other letters I had received in the past, some calling me racist, ageist, sexist, biased-for-ballet, biased-against-ballet, and so forth. I'm none of...

Ready for our close-up, Mr. A! (News).(Robert Altman to film Joffrey Ballet of Chicago)
February 1, 2003... Veteran film director Robert Altman is taking his cameras backstage with The Company, a fictionalized season in the life of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. "This is a whole new world to me," said Altman, 77, during shooting last fall in Chicago....

Seeking studios. (Letters).
February 1, 2003... I miss the page you once used for small studios around the nation. I have a large number of military friends, and it helped them to have me be able to recommend a studio in the area they were going to. Can we have that page back, please? ...

Fit and on her toes at 70. (Letters).
February 1, 2003... I have read your magazine since the 1950s. I look forward to it so much. I'm still dancing at 70, and I work full-time. Dancing certainly keeps you healthy. I never miss a ballet class and am still dancing on pointe. I was so glad to see a...

Clarifications. (Letters).
February 1, 2003... The company premiering Terrence Orr's new Nutcracker was misstated in the December 2002 issue (page 106); it was set on Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Senior Consulting Editor Clive Barnes's and Editor in Chief Emeritus Richard Philp's titles...

Lone star dreams. (News).(Stephen Austin, Ballet Austin Dance Education Center)
February 1, 2003... The time is 2005. The place is downtown Austin, Texas. Pedestrians conducting the business of the day encounter an element unfamiliar to this urban landscape: ballet. At the intersection of San Antonio and West Third Streets, floor-to-ceiling...

Calendar.
February 1, 2003... FEBRUARY PERFORMANCE DEATH VALLEY JUNCTION, CA Feb 1-May 10, Marta Becket, Amargosa Opera House, 760/852-4441 CHICAGO, IL Feb 26-Mar 2, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Auditorium Theatre, 50 E Congress Pkwy, 312/922-4046,...

Advice for dancers.(Column)
February 1, 2003... HOW LONG DO I NEED TO TAKE REGULAR BALLET CLASSES BEFORE I CAN GO ON POINTE? I'M 32 YEARS OLD AND HAVE BEEN STUDYING BALLET FOR SIX MONTHS. I'D LIKE TO GET A HEAD START AND HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT BUYING SOME POINTE SHOES.--POINTE-LESS I know...

New dance dynasty in the Northwest. (News).(Christopher Stowell, Oregon Ballet Theatre)
February 1, 2003... Oregon Ballet Theatre has announced that, effective July 1, Christopher Stowell will succeed James Canfield as artistic director of the Portland-based troupe. In order to prepare for the 2002-03 season, the new chief began the job on a...

Bouquets for Barzel. (News).(dance critic and historian Ann Barzel honoured)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Violette Verdy, ballerina and master teacher, joined 800 other guests to honor venerable dance critic and historian Ann 6arzel at the Athenaeum Theatre on November 11, 2000, during Chicago's five-week-long festival, Dance Chicago. Gus Giordano...

Revealing a master. (News).(choreogrpher Sir Kenneth MacMillan)
February 1, 2003... "Kenneth would be roaring with laughter listening to all this analysis of his works," proclaimed his widow, Lady Deborah MacMillan, at the end of a two-day conference on Sir Kenneth MacMillan's work and life. "But he would have been very...

A star moves on. (News).(Karen Kain guest teacher at National Ballet School of Canada)
February 1, 2003... While international-class ballerinas are lionized in the dance community, few become household names. A major exception is Karen Kain, one of the most famous women in Canada. When the beloved former prima ballerina at Toronto's National Ballet...

Nijinsky takes Gotham. (News).(Vaslav Nijinsky: Creating a New Artistic Era exhibition at New York Public Library)
February 1, 2003... Yes, Virginia, another show about Nijinsky. Well, not quite. "Vaslav Nijinsky: Creating a New Artistic Era," which opens at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center on February 12, 2003, puts the...

Cheek to cheek. (New York).(David Gordon and Valda Setterfield, Pick Up Company)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... David Gordon and his wife, Valda Setterfield (above), are famously different: She does absurd things elegantly, and he does ordinary things absurdly. But their dancing together is heavenly--in a down-to-earth sort of way. While rehearsing...

Point to point. (New York).(Through the Bamboo Forest)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Martha Graham loved using carnal imagery when she spoke. She told Jacqulyn Buglisi, referring to her mentor, Ruth St. Denis: "Miss Ruth's tongue was on me, and my tongue is on you." Since Buglisi and her husband, Donlin Foreman, started...

Hybrid dancer woman. (New York).(AfroSocialiteLifeDiva)(Dance Review)
February 1, 2003... Cynthia Oliver (above), who made a name for herself dancing the evolution of madness, performs AfroSocialiteLifeDiva with her group of on-the-edge women at Dance Theater Workshop January 14, 15, 23, 24 and February 1 and 2. To her, "life diva"...

Begging Mr. B. (New York).(Peter Martins on George Balanchine)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... In 1974 George Balanchine asked Alexandra Danilova, who had danced Swanilda in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, to mount Coppelia on the New York City Ballet. Danilova and Balanchine worked together on it, creating one of the few full-length...

Turning crazy into sane. (New York).(Tamar Rogoff, Daughter of a Pacifist Soldier)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... During World Mental Health Day at the United Nations in October 2002, Tamar Rogoff gave a talk about her work with war veterans who were suffering from posttraumatic stress syndrome. Whereas medical experts reported on global violence and new...

George Balanchine Foundation. (People and Companies).(appoints Lourdes Lopez)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Former New York City Ballet principal LOURDES LOPEZ, who retired in 1997, has been appointed executive director of the George Balanchine Foundation.

London's Royal Ballet. (People and Companies).(Robert Tewsley)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... English-born ROBERT TEWSLEY, who joined London's Royal Ballet in September, left after dancing in Kenneth McMillan's Mayerling November 14, ending one of the shortest careers with the company on record Tewsley joined NYCB as a principal in...

Axis Dance Company. (People and Companies).(Nadia Adame and Jacques Poulin-Denis)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... NADIA ADAME and JACQUES POULIN-DENIS, both dancers with disabilities and members of California's AXIS DANCE COMPANY, performed with MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV in a dance celebration of the International Day of the Disabled on December 2 at the Kennedy...

Wexner Center. (People and Companies).(awards William Forsythe, Ballett Frankfurt)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The WEXNER CENTER in Columbus, Ohio, awarded the tenth Wexner Prize to WILLIAM FORSYTHE, artistic director of Ballett Frankfurt. A $50,000 award and a commemorative sculpture by JIM DINE accompanies the award, which has recognized...

Career Transition for Dancers. (People and Companies).(Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CAREER TRANSITION FOR DANCERS has announced a $50,000 endowment fund to establish the Rudolf Nureyev Educational Scholarship Fund. The gift comes from the RUDOLF NUREYEV DANCE FOUNDATION.

Plan early: the eleventh international "Stars of the White Night" festival, running May 5-August 5 in St. Petersburg, Russia, will feature twenty-two dance events interspersed with its operatic and symphonic presentations. (People and Companies).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Plan early: The eleventh international "STARS OF THE WHITE NIGHTS" festival, running May 5-August 5 in St. Petersburg, Russia, will feature twenty-two dance events interspersed with its operatic and symphonic presentations. Among the more...

USA International Ballet Competition. (People and Companies).(economic boost to Jackson, Mississippi)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The two-week USA INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION held in Jackson, Mississippi, in June 2002, generated $6.2 million for the state, reports an independent study by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. This is a 38 percent rise in...

American Ballet Theatre. (People and Companies).(recent honors)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Recent honors: American Ballet Theatre principal ANGEL CORELLA and dancer-choreographer MARIA PAGES were given the National Dance Award in their native Spain. ITZIK GALILI, a Tel Aviv native and artistic director of NND/Galili Dance in the...

San Francisco Ballet. (People and Companies).(photography exhibition at San Francisco International Airport)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Travelers passing through San Francisco International Airport this winter can while away the hours at an exhibition of photographs of the recent repertoire of SAN FRANCISCO BALLET. Located post-security in Terminal 1, Boarding Area B at the...

Arts International. (People and Companies).(awards Sarah Michelson, Shen Wei Dance Arts and Tere O'Connor Dance)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... SARAH MICHELSON, SHEN WEI DANCE ARTS, and TERE O'CONNOR DANCE have each been awarded $75,000 from the DNA PROJECT, a grant program managed by Arts International with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation... MIROSLAV PDIC has left Ballet...

Austalian Dance Theatre. (People and Companies).(wins 3 honors at Australian Dance Awards)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Adelaide's AUSTRALIAN DANCE THEATRE Won three of eight possible honors at the sixth annual AUSTRALIAN DANCE AWARDS. Artistic Director GARRY STEWART won for outstanding work by a company, while ADT dancer DEAN WALSH was honored for outstanding...

Eth-No-Tec. (People and Companies).(celebrates twentieth anniversary)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... San Francisco's ETH-NO-TEC, an Asian American performing-arts group, celebrated its twentieth anniversary in December...

American University in Washington, D.C.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... American University in Washington, D.C., honored retiring professor of dance NAIMA PREVOTS with an evening of performance and commentary. Prevots will call it quits in spring 2003, after thirty-one years on the faculty.

Answers 4 dancers: Tony winner and answers4dancers.com founder Grover Dale draws on his experiences with 16 Broadway shows, 8 films, and more than 100 television specials for this column.
February 1, 2003... TINY DANCER HAS GIANT PLAN I'M 19 YEARS OLD, WITH TEN YEARS OF TRAINING BEHIND ME. I ALWAYS WANTED A CAREER, BUT FELT I HAD A PROBLEM: I'M ONLY FIVE FEET TALL. LAST YEAR, I WENT TO COLLEGE BECAUSE I THOUGHT I DIDN'T STAND A CHANCE AT...

Born to be wild at ABT: PBS documentary profiles four leading men of American Ballet Theatre.(Born to Be Wild: The Leading Men of American Ballet Theatre)(Television Program Review)
February 1, 2003... At no other time in American ballet history have so many outstanding male dancers belonged to one company. They are drawn to American Ballet Theatre like a magnet. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie, once a brilliant...

Great performances turns 30.(Great Performances: Dance in America series)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... It's hard to believe that more than thirty years ago there was no long-running television program in the United States that was devoted entirely to dance. Until the Great Performances: Dance in America series, which began in 1976 on the Public...

Desmond Richardson: dares to do it all, from concert dance and ballet to film and Broadway.(Biography)
February 1, 2003... On a bright September afternoon in 2002, Desmond Richardson paused momentarily before executing an exquisite triple pirouette, his sleek, muscled body glistening in the light flooding the New 42nd Street Studios in Manhattan. Leaving onlookers...

Russia makes room for contemporary dance.(Fifth International Festival of Movement and Dance on the Volga )
February 1, 2003... Cross-cultural festival in Yarostavl breaks the ballet barrier Cabbage soup, quaint streetcars, and magnificent, green-domed basilicas might be what most Americans would remember about Yaroslavl, an ancient city northeast of Moscow. But those...

Dancing at the end of the Earth: Marta Becket's show at the Amargosa Opera House always goes on--with or without an audience.
February 1, 2003... Death Valley Junction is a destination, but it isn't a town, exactly--it's a hotel, a theater shadowed by some adobe houses, and a pair of abandoned buildings standing by the side of a two-lane road in Death Valley. The fastest way to get there...

Making it in movin' out: Twyla Tharps modern story ballet is a career-making gig for its dancing cast.(Dance Review)
February 1, 2003... There has never been a better group of dancers in the history of Broadway." The man pronouncing these words, Emanuel Azenberg, is in a good position to know. True, as one of the producers of Twyla Tharp's Movin' Out, he's probably not the most...

Cincinnati Ballet.(Dance Review)
February 1, 2003... Aronoff Center Cincinnati, Ohio October 18, 2002 It was three celebrations for the price of one. First, this gala by Victoria Morgan's Cincinnati Ballet celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the company's founding, but as bonuses, it also...

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet.(Dance Review)
February 1, 2003... Eisenhower Theater, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Washington, D.C. October 23-27, 2002 Suzanne Farrell's ballet seasons, built mostly on her stagings of George Balanchine works, have drawn discerning viewers. On this...

Alonzo King's LINES Ballet.(Dance Review)
February 1, 2003... Yerba Buena Center for the Arts San Francisco, California October 16, 2002 Though he was entitled to present a retrospective at his twentieth-anniversary concert, Alonzo King instead emphasized the present and future of his twelve-member...

Master Dancers of Bali.(Dance Review)
February 1, 2003... Symphony Space New York, New York October 11, 2002 In Bali, age is no barrier to movement. Dancers learn their craft as children--often as young as age 4--and may continue performing well into old age. Mature performers are revered for the...

Stephen Petronio Company.(Dance Review)
February 1, 2003... Joyce Theater New York, New York October 15-20, 2002 Stephen Petronio is possibly the least likely choreographer to have made a heartfelt memorial to the events of 9/11. His dense, abstract vocabulary isn't known for storytelling. For...

Full Circle Productions.(Dance Review)
February 1, 2003... New Victory Theater New York, New York October 18-November 3, 2002 As spectators filed into the New Victory Theater, the neon energy of Times Square trailed behind them. The mostly pint-sized theatergoers were amped to see Full Circle...

Virtual dance: technology can help create and promote dance, but it doesn't replace the physical body. Or does it?
February 1, 2003... Imagine waltzing with someone who is 1,000 miles away. Or watching a ballet with no dancers at all, where wisps of light form the illusion of dancers performing. You are not dreaming. At places like Arizona State University (ASU), the...

Health and fitness for life.
February 1, 2003... What's your body type? Are your joints loose or tight? Can you tell? Are your feet flat, or do you have high arches? Why would a dancer be interested in these attributes for any reason other than the aesthetic line that a beautifully pointed...

Lessons learned at Alice Arts Center: art and politics don't mix at new arts-based charter school. (Young dancer).
February 1, 2003... It was midday, early last year, and Oakland's Alice Arts Center was quiet. A few voices rose and fell in the hallways; a telephone rang; the elevator chugged slowly. On the third floor, sunlight fell onto the wooden boards of an empty dance...

New York University. (Teachers and Schools).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The New York University Program in Dance Education paid tribute to DR. MIRIAM ROSKIN BERGER with the first performance of its Distinguished Faculty Dance Concert in November 2002. Dr. Berger, who has taught at NYU since 1975, retired as...

Ballet Arts. (Teachers and Schools).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... HENNING RUBSAM has joined the faculty of Ballet Arts in New York City. Rubsam earned his BFA at The Juilliard School, toured with The Limon Dance Company, and was a member of Nikolais/Louis Dance Theatre. He is artistic director of SENSEDANCE,...

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. (Teachers and Schools).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... KATHRYN A. HUMPHREYS has joined the staff of Hubbard street Dance Chicago as education program administrator and in-school curriculum consultant. www.hubbardstreetdance.com

Mark Morris Dance Group. (Teachers and Schools).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... EVA NICHOLS has been promoted to director of education for the Mark Morris Dance Group. Nichols assumed oversight of the school and outreach activities from Tina Fehlandt, the school's first director, who has left MMDC. www.mmdg.org

San Francisco State University. (Teachers and Schools).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY last fall merged its music and dance departments under the direction of pianist Roger Woodward. Before joining SFSU, Woodward chaired the music department of the University of New England in New South Wales,...

Point Park College. (Teachers and Schools).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... NICOLAS PETROV of Point Park College is organizing a twenty-eight-day tour to Central Europe, departing from Pittsburgh on May 6. Members of the group will take daily classes at the State Ballet School in Budapest, attend evening dance...

Cornish College of the Arts. (Teachers and Schools).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Jazz dance teacher LYNN SIMONSON was in residence during September at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. The new work she choreographed for the dance department's performing ensemble premiered in November. www.cornish.edu.

2003 auditions guide: employment * education * training * summer study * single piece/special project.(Editorial)
February 1, 2003... WHOEVER SAID THAT LIFE IS NOTHING MORE THAN THE TRYOUT for a performance that never happens clearly knew nothing about real auditions, and never had to package himself as an audition videotape. While many life events mirror the stress of dance...

The apprentice zone. (Audition Guide 2003).
February 1, 2003... What is an apprentice dancer, and why bother to become one? According to Merriam Webster s Collegiate Dictionary, an apprentice is "one bound by indenture to serve another for a prescribed period with a view to learning an art or trade." But...

Lights! Camera! Action! Shoot your best audition video.
February 1, 2003... You want to join a company and you have to audition. Without doubt, this is one of the most nerve-wracking events in a dancer's life. But as stressful as auditioning is, even worse is having to rely on a video to convey your abilities. Whether...

Listing of auditions. (Audition Guide 2003).(Directory)
February 1, 2003... EMPLOYMENT UNITED STATES ALABAMA ALABAMA BALLET Auditions: Apr. 5, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Alabama Ballet. Ballet, pointe class. Bring: resume, head shot, dance photo. Hiring: TBA. Fee: $15. Notification: Apr. 12. Contact: Heather...

Transitions.(Obituary)
February 1, 2003... MIA SLAVENSKA Mia Slavenska, one of the leading ballerinas of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and a respected West Coast teacher, died in Westwood, California, on October 5, 2002. She was 86. Born in Croatia, Slavenska was a child...

Dance directory.(Directory)
February 1, 2003... Schools, Studios, Colleges, Universities, Companies, Teachers, Dancers, Choreographers, Somatic Practices, Movement Arts, Yoga United States ALABAMA ALABAMA BALLET Wes Chapman, Artistic Director Ada Chapital,...

Dance scape Nijinsky.(Vaslav Nijinsky photography exhibit at New York Public Library)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... What, aside from an anti-gravity machine, becomes a legend most? Why, a major exhibition, of course. The legacy of Vaslav Nijinsky--incomparable dancer, choreographer, and diarist--will be the talk of Manhattan this month when the New York...

Attitudes.(Frederic Franklin honored at the Cincinnati Ballet)
February 1, 2003... There I was in Cincinnati, wondering when I was last there and why. It must have been years ago, to see a theater company, because, to my doubtless shame, I had never seen the Cincinnati Ballet before. I was in the city to assist (I love that...