Dance Magazine articles from July 2008

Dance Magazine archives from July 2008

Curtain up.(Editorial)
July 1, 2008... As a young dancer, I would practically drool over the older girls who I thought were beautiful. When I was 10, there was a dancer named Nina with extravagant wrists. When I was 15, it was a redhead named Linda who attacked every movement with...

'What's in a name.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... I have to wonder why Briana Evigan would describe her particular dance style as a mix between "ghetto hip hop and sexy style," (Feb. "QQ&A"). I was fortunate to be a part of the filming process of Step Up 2 the Streets. The techniques and...

Kudos.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... Dance Magazine's special issues are great. The one on women and choreography (April) was super. Thank you, and thanks for inviting us to speak up and be counted. Mary Pat Robertson Director, ARB's Princeton Ballet School ...

Memories of greats.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2008... The King has passed, but the torch he carried will burn bright forever. Gus Giordano ("Transitions," June) was a giant among us. He never missed his mark on his mission to spread the art of jazz dance to all. Gus leaves us with a spirit and...

Oh Canadance.(vital signs)(Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal is returning to its French roots as this year's guest company for Quebec City's annual Les etes de la danse de Paris. Their performances coincide with a citywide celebration...

Hip hoop hop.(vital signs)(Hoopnotica in Los Angeles, California)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A hybrid of tribal belly dance, hip hop, and hula hooping, hoopdance is one of the newer additions to the dance-fitness scene. L.A.-based performance troupe and fitness company Hoopnotica has become a hoopdance...

Old Europe's new festival.(vital signs)(12th New Prague Dance Festival and Competition)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Amateur dance groups from around the world will converge in Prague for the 12th New Prague Dance Festival and Competition, July 1-7. Participants will take master classes in ballet, modern, jazz/hip hop, and ethnic/folk dance as they prepare...

Glittering gold gala.(vital signs)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Like the Olympics, Jackson's USA International Ballet Competition is held once every four years. But on July 12, the IBC is providing a morsel to help tide audiences over until the 2010 contest: a one-night-only IBC...

Vital stat.(vital signs)(The Big Dance in London)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... London's The Big Dance set a world record in 2006 as 752 dancers in Trafalgar Square performed 44 different dance styles simultaneously to 1 music track. Catch the city's Big Dance festival this month, July 5-13.

Danse s'il vous plait.(vital signs)(Montpellier Dance Festival)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Founded by the late dancer/choreographer Dominique Bagouet, the Montpellier Dance Festival has been bringing world-class dance to the southern French city every summer for the past 27 years. This year's festival, which runs June 22-July 5,...

Reduce, reuse, redance.(vital signs)(Oberlin Dance Company)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... ODC/Dance's summer tour is going green. The company takes director Brenda Way's environmentally charged On a Train Heading South to Wesleyan University July 6-11. A statement on global warming, Heading South manages to keep a sense of humor...

Program from the vets.(vital signs)(Northwest Professional Dance Project)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Founded in 2004 by dancer/choreographer Sarah Slipper, Portland's Northwest Professional Dance Project pairs talented young dancers with renowned choreographers and teachers. As part of its fifth season, the organization's Project Company, "The...

Everyone agreed.(vital signs)(Ballet Nouveau Colorado's 21st Century Choreography Competition)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During Ballet Nouveau Colorado's 21st Century Choreography Competition, everyone agreed. More than 2,000 audience members voting by cell phone, 10 judges (including DM's Wendy Perron), and artistic director Garrett...

Quick Q&A: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.(vital signs)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... Dutch National Ballet, Gothenburg Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders, and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam are just a few of the companies Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has choreographed on. This month she premieres a work for BalletX in Philadelphia. Next month...

In with the new: companies bring fresh faces to the scene.(dance matters)
July 1, 2008... If Hercules had needed to find a 13th labor as arduous as his preceding 12, starting a new dance company might have made his short list. As one might expect, juggling the business side of things with the creative isn't for the fainthearted or...

Redoing Romeo: Mark Morris take on the ballet classic, but with his own spin.(dance matters)(Romeo and JUliet)
July 1, 2008... And you thought there was nothing new for a choreographer to say about Romeo and Juliet. How about going back to the Shakespeare tragedy? Or, how about using the original version of the beloved Prokofiev score? When Bard College's president and...

Flamenco fire.(new york notebook)(Ne1ida Tirado)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Fans who saw flamenco dancer Ne1ida Tirado in the Harlem E-Moves or Boogie Down festivals, or catch her weekly shows at the hip SoHo clubs N and Suba, should be delighted to learn that the fiery flamenca will perform...

Get out of town.(new york notebook)(Merce Cunningham Dance Company)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Take a Metro-North train upstate to Beacon and see what the Merce Cunningham Dance Company is doing at Dia:Beacon. Last summer the company performed at this beautiful sprawling art mecca and will again this month....

Flemish Forsythe.(new york notebook)(William Forsythe's 'Impressing the Czar')(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Courtiers scuttle in fast-forward among gilded artifacts and a giant chessboard. A brigade of private school girls gyrates in enthusiastic unison. And sandwiched in between is the purely abstract In the Middle,...

Why I dance.(from the heart)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A one-time principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Alicia Graf attracted attention the minute she joined Alvin Alley American Dance Theater in 2005. With her extra long gorgeous legs, vulnerable face, and mass...

Show food: what to eat before performances.(your body)
July 1, 2008... We're on tour, the performance is tomorrow, and during the third hour of tech rehearsal I'm wondering if our Bolivian lunch contains anything besides rice, potatoes, and some type of salty meat. With raw vegetables and fruits off limits since...

Advice for dancers.
July 1, 2008... After looking for a while, I finally found a high-paying job dancing, but it's in a men's club. The other girls are nice and I feel safe. My concern is how to tell my family. I just turned 21 and I don't want them to worry. I'm only doing this...

The new athletic aesthetic: dancers who are ripped and ready to releve.(REDEFINING BEAUTY)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Pilobolus dancers hurl themselves with great force at the floor in Megawatt. Even from the back of the theater you can see their well-defined limbs. The same goes for the biceps of the women of Richmond Ballet as...

In the eyes of the beholder: dancers and choreographers talk about what they find beautiful.(REDEFINING BEAUTY)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] More and more dancers are breaking stride with the conventions of beauty in our field--both in what's considered a beautiful dancing body and what's considered beautiful artistically. Dance Magazine interviewed nine...

Tina LeBlanc: how I learned to accept my body and dance on.(REDEFINING BEAUTY)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For the past 16 years San Francisco Ballet audiences have delighted in Tina LeBlanc's vibrant, scintillating dancing in a variety of roles (see "The Natural," March '06). She began her professional career 26 years...

Is it sexist to be sexy? Dancers talk about the line between artistry and sex appeal.(REDEFINING BEAUTY)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dance is, by its very nature, a sensual art form, one in which the body becomes an instrument for channeling emotions and ideas. Indeed, it is precisely this physicality that gives dance the transcendent power to...

The invisible partner: dance companies and studios discuss their floor choices.
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Susan Glazer, director of the school of dance at Philadelphia's University of the Arts, needed floors for her new 10-studio building, she did a lot of research. She talked to international ballet companies with...

Made for you.(dm style)(buyers guide to leotards)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2008... Dancers' bodies come in hundreds of different shapes and sizes. Some girls have long legs and others have broad shoulders. When it comes to choosing a leotard, boost your self-esteem by dressing for your features. We found leotards to flatter...

Born to tap: Hollywood's Eleanor Powell made intricate look easy.(dm recommends)
July 1, 2008... Broadway Melody of 1936, Broadway Melody of 1938, Born to Dance, Lady Be Good. Warner Brothers Home Video. DVD. $19.98 each. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "First of the lady hoofers." "The most eloquent feet in show business." "The...

Bringing summer back: holding onto the summer intensive experience.(teach-learn connection)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After endless auditions, the wait for that acceptance letter and then for the start of the summer program itself, suddenly you're thrown into full days of class. You're learning choreography. You're performing. You...

Improving jumps.(THE NEXT LEVEL)
July 1, 2008... Often the first impression of dance etched into a young person's mind is of an onstage performer flying through the air. The defiance of gravity in fine form encapsulates the essence of dance. What looks effortless beyond the footlights, of...

Pennsylvania to India.(ACROSS THE FLOOR)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Five years ago, Slippery Rock University guest artist Jaya Mani invited students to travel from their Pennsylvania campus to her hometown of Chennai, India, to study Bharata Natyam. Two took her up on the offer, and through SRU's Dance in India...

CORPS de Ballet International.(Workshops & Events)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... CORPS de Ballet International holds its 10th anniversary conference in Aspen July 16-20, hosted by Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. The foundation will honor ballet teacher Anna Paskevska with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award and offer workshops...

Suprapto Suryodarmo.(Workshops & Events)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Indonesian master teacher Suprapto Suryodarmo offers a workshop in Joged Amerta (an improvisation technique) in NYC, July 20-25, titled "Dialogue of Microgarden and Macrogarden: Cosmos being seen from Garden View."

BalletMet Dance Academy.(Workshops & Events)
July 1, 2008... Susan Brooker joins BalletMet Dance Academy as its new director.

Zena Rommett Dance Foundation.(Workshops & Events)
July 1, 2008... The Zena Rommett Dance Foundation is looking to gather alumni for a tribute this fall. If you have ever worked with Rommett, e-mail CamilleRommett@Floor-Barre.org.

Compton Dance Theatre.(Honors and Awards)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Compton Dance Theatre recently received several awards at the city, state, and federal levels, including a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the U.S. House of Representatives. The community-based academy teaches...

The Juilliard School.(Honors and Awards)
July 1, 2008... The Juilliard School presented Carmen deLavallade with an honorary degree during its commencement ceremony May 23.

Kerry Hubata: creating something beautiful for the moment.(teacher's wisdom)(Interview)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kerry Hubata co-founded The Evanston School of Ballet with Phyllis Wills, her lifelong teacher and mentor, in 1968. Under Wills' guidance, Hubata earned her Cecchetti teacher's certificate, performed with the...

Jon Bond: exquisite and quirky, the Cedar Lake dancer is at home in the spotlight.(on the rise)(Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Choreographer Ohad Naharin's Decadance had the New York dance scene buzzing in the spring of 2007 when it was performed by Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. But a strange thing happened during intermission: A few...

The deputies: assistant choreographers learn while doing.(on broadway)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For all the high-tech stage tricks and corporate trappings that have infiltrated the Broadway theater in recent years, a musical is still essentially a handcrafted product, created by a highly trained labor force of...

The Kirov Ballet.(Dance review)
July 1, 2008... The Kirov Ballet City Center, NYC April 1-April 20 The famed Russian company presented six programs that spanned its history from Petipa to Forsythe. In a wildly uneven season that showed us the changing aesthetics of the Kirov,...

New Works Festival.
July 1, 2008... New Works Festival San Francisco Ballet April 22-May 6, 2008 War Memorial Opera House San Francisco, CA This festival of 10 world premieres celebrated SFB's 75th anniversary by putting its faith in contemporary ballet....

PNB at Vail International Dance Festival.(PREVIEW)(Pacific Northwest Ballet)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Susan Stroman made her new Take Five .. More or Less for the recent Laugh Out Loud Festival at Pacific Northwest Ballet, and it puts a smile on audiences' faces. Stroman uses her ample Broadway skills to create a genial work full of types...

Sallie Wilson (1932-2008).(DEATHS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A dramatic ballerina and keeper of the Tudor flame, Sallie Wilson died in April. She began her dance training in her hometown of Fort Worth, TX. In 1948, Wilson moved to New York where she studied with Margaret...

Ernestine Stodelle (1912-2008).(DEATHS)(Obituary)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Ernestine Stodelle (1912-2008) Ernestine Stodelle, who served dance in an amazing variety of facets, died in January in California. In her teens, she moved to New York from her native Oakland to study ballet. But she soon transferred to the...

Wayne Frost (1963-2008).(DEATHS)(Rock Steady Crew)(Obituary)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... A member of the pioneering breakdance group Rock Steady Crew, Wayne Frost died in April at 44. Better known as Frosty Freeze, he was famous for his daredevil acrobatic signature moves--particularly the "Suicide," an aerial flip that landed him...

George Tomal (1924-2008).(DEATHS)(Obituary)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Dancer, choreographer, and a founding director of New Jersey Ballet, George Tomal died in February. A Chicago native, he danced with American Ballet Theatre, Roland Petit's Ballets des Champs Elysees and Igor Schwezoff's Ballet Concerts...

Michael Bjerknes (1957-2008).(DEATHS)(Obituary)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Co-founder of the American Dance Institute in Rockville, MD, dancer Michael Bjerknes died in April of colon cancer. He had an active dance career and was a generous figure in the Washington, DC, dance community. Born in Illinois, he...

Louise Kelly Bailey (1914-2008).(DEATHS)(Obituary)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... The last of the Five Dancing Kellys, Louise Kelly Bailey died in February at 93 in Dothan, AL. A member of the family vaudeville act that launched Hollywood star Gene Kelly, Louise toured in the 1920s with her siblings on the national circuit....

United States.(Schools, Studios, Colleges, Universities, Companies, Teachers, Choreographers, Dancers, Somatic Practices & Movement Arts Certification, & Dance Medicine)(Directory)
July 1, 2008... 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 THEATRE Kitty Seale, Dir....

International.(Schools, Studios, Colleges, Universities, Companies,Teachers, Choreographers, Dancers, Somatic Practices & Movement Arts Certification, & Dance Medicine)(Directory)
July 1, 2008... ARGENTINA MANUEL VALLEJOS DANCE JAZZ STUDIO Lavalle 1579 C.P. 1048-Buenos Aires Tel/Fax (541) 371-6811 AUSTRIA SALZBURY INTL BALLET ACADEMY (SIBA) Yehuda Maor; Ballet teacher/Master Salzburg Ballet. Phone +43+069911134586...

Beijing-bound ballet.(dance finder: a career & learning resource guide)(United States Ballet Ambassadors of the Long Beach Ballet)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The West Coast meets the Far East when Long Beach Ballet's United States Ballet Ambassadors tour China during the 2008 Olympics. Artistic director David Wilcox formed the group of young dancers in cooperation with...

The weight of bodies: the scales of fatness vary from era to era, not to mention person to person.(attitudes)
July 1, 2008... Let's talk about nude women--I don't mean in any prurient sense, this is not that kind of magazine--but the manner in which the concept of female beauty has evolved over the centuries. Fundamentally, we are talking weight, the simple...