Dance Magazine articles from October 2007

Dance Magazine archives from October 2007

Curtain up.(Editorial)
October 1, 2007... Many of us have a moment in our lives when we say, beyond a shadow of doubt, "I want to dance; I need to dance." It may be a loud proclamation or a private whisper; it may come on suddenly or gradually. But it's undeniably there. It becomes so...

Through the looking glass.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... I enjoyed July's feature "Reflections on the Mirror," about how to use mirrors constructively in the studio, and found it very helpful. I have found working with only my own shadow useful. I direct a small dance company, and when I choreograph...

Embodied thoughts.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... In "Bodies That Beat the Odds" (July) Victoria Looseleaf wrote, "Dancers with unconventional body types have struggled--physically and psychologically--in their quest to find places in a dance world that is ever more competitive." I have...

Jazzed up.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... I found the comments from Reginald Ray-Savage insulting in your jazz vs. hip hop debate ("Break vs. Bump," August). He says, "Better choreographers will always want trained dancers who can not only pop-lock but also know what pas de bouree,...

Corrections.(Letters)(Correction notice)
October 1, 2007... In August's "Teacher's Wisdom," Debbie Allen was incorrectly listed as one of Luigi's students. The dancer pictured in "Chicago Likes Its Jazz Hot," (Aug. "Vital Signs") is Michael Velez of Koresh Dance Company. In July's "The Spring...

Folding lines.(vital signs)(BalletLab's Origami)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... BalletLab's new work Origami takes inspiration from Japanese animation, ikebana (the art of flower arranging), and Mount Fuji. From Oct. 11-13 the White Bird/PSU Dance series, celebrating its 10th anniversary, brings this Australian dance...

Social dance.(vital signs)(Social Discourse)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Sean Curran's eclectic experience--from Irish step dancing to Stomp to Bill T. Jones--is seen through the types of dancers he chose for Social Discourse. Each brings their flair to the fast-paced piece, where they are constantly changing who's...

Fall all over.(vital signs)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... New Yorkers have been falling for dance for the past four years, thanks to City Center's Fall for Dance festival where every ticket costs $10. But this month the West Coast takes a tumble too. The Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa...

Disco inferno.(vital signs)(Dance Dance Immolation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A few years ago swarms of people gathered in arcades to watch a dance simulation game called Dance Dance Revolution. But a new take on the popular pastime leaves DDR in the ashes. Dance Dance Immolation (DDI)...

Checkmate.(vital signs)(Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company taps into philosophy through art in motion. Inspired by the traditional Chinese game Weigi, and choreographed to David Darling's haunting cello, this two-year-old company makes its Philadelphia Dance...

Photo-choreography.(vital signs)(Sea Duet: A Ballet for Still Photography)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Jack Mitchell has been photographing dance for more than 50 years, and now he's collaborating on the choreographic process too. Teaming up with Daytona Beach's Surfscape Contemporary Dance Theatre for Sea Duet: A Ballet for Still Photography,...

To Versace with love.(vital signs)(Gianni Versace; Bejart Ballet Lausanne)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In July Maurice Bejart collaborated with La Scala Opera House in Milan to commemorate Gianni Versace. The illustrious designer had created exotically edgy costumes for Bojart on a dozen ballets that were re-created...

One man's trash ...(vital signs)(Misuse Liable to Prosecution)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... This month the visually striking NYC choreographer John Jasperse premieres his latest collaborative work, Misuse liable to prosecution, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. With a score by Zeena Parkins, the piece for five dancers explores the...

Coming to America.(vital signs)(Iceland Dance Company)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Iceland Dance Company, founded in 1973, has never toured the U.S. But this month they're changing that. In New Bedford, MA, on Oct. 27, they will perform works by two of Iceland's most noted choreographers--Olof...

Phoenix rising in California.(vital signs)(Oakland Ballet)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For more than 35 years, Oakland Ballet had a presence in the California dance community. Founder Ronn Guidi retired in 1999 and the company struggled to recast its identity, folding last Feb. But with a major...

Sutton Foster.(QUICK Q&A)(Interview)
October 1, 2007... Sutton Foster's story is more appropriate for a 42nd Street-style fantasy than real life. She made a splash in 2002 after being plucked from the ensemble to replace the lead during a pre-Broadway run of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Ever since,...

Anniversary gallery: Rudolf Nureyev covers.(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] RUDOLF NUREYEV was a shooting star who almost changed the entire dance firmament. Little wonder that during the fine blaze of that brief candle he became a favored Dance Magazine cover-star. He was new, he was...

Quotes from past issues.
October 1, 2007... "I had never seen anything like it: the technical control, the elevation, the crackling animal magnetism, the stage presence that filled the performing space even when he was standing still. He appealed to both women and men, exuding a gamin...

A silver celebration: the Joyce marks 25 years.(dance matters)(Joyce Theater, New York City)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Joyce Theater has been such a mainstay of the New York City dance scene that it's hard to recall a time before it existed. Now celebrating its silver anniversary season, the 472-seat house is making a big deal of...

Banff Centre celebrates 60 years of dance.(dance matters)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In Canada you can't dance much higher than the stage of the Banff Centre's 960-seat Eric Harvie Theatre in the midst of the Canadian Rockies, at an altitude of almost 5,000 feet. There, in a July 28 gala,...

One century and one year: Japan Society celebrates Kazuo Ohno's birthday.(dance matters)
October 1, 2007... On October 27, Butoh pioneer Kazuo Ohno turns 101, and New York City--the site of many of his lauded performances--will celebrate with three weeks of festivities. To top last year's party in Japan (which included performances, a photo...

American Ballet Theatre.(PROMOTIONS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Kristi Boone, Misty Copeland, Yuriko Kajiya, Sarah Lane (see June cover), and Jared Matthews have been promoted to soloists at American Ballet Theatre. Ballet Master Wes Chapman was named the new artistic director of ABT's Studio Company....

Houston Ballet.(PROMOTIONS)
October 1, 2007... Randy Herrera was promoted to a principal at Houston Ballet.

Dance Theater Workshop.(PROMOTIONS)
October 1, 2007... Stephen Greco was appointed the executive director at Dance Theater Workshop.

Montgomery Ballet.(PROMOTIONS)
October 1, 2007... In June, Elie Lazar, formerly director of the Joffrey Ensemble Dancers, was named the new artistic director at Montgomery Ballet.

Inventing the Wheeldon Company.(new york notebook)(Christopher Wheeldon's dance company)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Now that everybody knows that Christopher Wheeldon is starting his own company, the surprise is that he has invited other choreographers to share the bill. In two programs at City Center, he includes work by William...

Dark and light from Spain.(new york notebook)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Unlike other European countries, Spain lagged behind in the field of contemporary dance until Nacho Duato took the helm of the Compania Nacional de Danza in 1990. His years as resident choreographer of Nederlands...

New rep at ABT.(new york notebook)(American Ballet Theatre)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jorma Elo. Twyla Tharp. Benjamin Millepied! American Ballet Theatre's season at City Center could be pretty exciting this fall. Elo is doing a new work to Philip Glass (I hope he puts some lights on it this time so...

Electrifying dance.(new york notebook)("Dance Rocks! An Electrifying Evening of Entertainment", the 22nd Anniversary Jubilee of Career Transition For Dancers)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Dance rocks! That's why the Career Transition For Dancers' 22nd Anniversary Jubilee, "Dance Rocks! An Electrifying Evening of Entertainment," is paying homage to the industry Oct. 29 with a music-through-the-decades extravaganza. Benefit...

Stream of movement.(new york notebook)(Danspace Project)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... In San Francisco, whenever Margaret Jenkins, the doyenne of Bay Area modernists, produces a new work, it dominates the schedule. For last year's A Slipping Glimpse, Jenkins, who has evolved from her Cunningham roots like a richly fertilized...

One a day? Vitamin drinks claim they're good for you. Is it true?(health & fitness)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] It's tempting to grab a vitamin drink when you're late to class. It seems an ideal combo: healthy and refreshing. And there are more vitamin-enhanced options than ever--now there's even vitamin-enriched Diet Coke...

Advice for dancers.(Q A)(Column)
October 1, 2007... Company auditions are coming up in a few months and I want to be prepared. My technique is fine. It's the audition that's stressing me out. What if I don't get a job? I've been dreaming about performing for a major ballet company my whole life....

Pure presence: Boston Ballet's Kathleen Breen Combes brings drama and delicacy to every step.(Interview)(Cover story)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The judges of the New York International Ballet Competition did something unprecedented in 2003. They awarded a prize to a dancer they had already eliminated. Kathleen Breen Combes, a 21-year-old dancer with...

Filling our dance cards: new ideas for new ballet audiences.
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ballet Austin audiences were shocked last year when a voice from the stage asked them to please keep their phones on for the performance. Taking a cue from American Idol, the announcer instructed the audience to vote...

The earth moved: falling in love--with dance. One dancer remembers that first night.(Column)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] I am 4, and it's a muggy July evening in the Berkshires. I am holding my mother's hand; my father and 12-year-old sister are just ahead of us in the sea of oversized people streaming into the theater. It is 1982,...

The story of the tutu: ballet's signature costume has a fabled past and a glamorous present.
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Fashion may be fickle, but tutu chic is bigger than ever these days. While singing star Bjork caused a sensation draped in a white tulle dress with a swan's head wrapped around her neck at the Academy Awards in 2001,...

Tales from the dark side: dancers on the power of witchy roles.
October 1, 2007... What makes a witch? Is it just warts and a mastery of the black arts? Or is it strength and intelligence united in a woman whose power frightens people? Witches creep through dance in various forms, and they almost always cause trouble, or at...

Night & day: classy costumes for any hour.(dm style)(Buyers guide)
October 1, 2007... Few experiences stir a dancer's emotions more than performing in an amazing costume. A carefully chosen ensemble adds vitality to any portrayal. And stepping into costume has the power to transform even the shyest of souls. Suddenly a student...

They think of costumes night & day: here three costumers discuss their work--how they set the mood with color, fabric, and shape. Plus they have advice on how you can make your next costume choice a good one.(dm style)(Holly Hynes, Ann Hould-Ward and Cassandra Carpenter)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HOLLY HYNES has designed costumes for companies like New York City Ballet and Houston Ballet. "I don't always know the venues for the ballets, so I want costumes I'll be proud of in either a school gym or at La...

The lives they lived: new biographies of Halprin, Farber, and Kirstein.(dm recommends)(The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein, The Prickly Rose: A Biography of Viola Farber, and Anna Halprin: Experience as Dance)(Book review)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Anna Halprin: Experience as Dance By Janice Ross. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 2007. 462 pp., illustrated. $34.95. In 1959 when Hawaii and Alaska finally became states, the...

The NYU network: Tisch students make lifelong connections.(teach--learn connection)(New York University's Tisch School of the Arts)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Don't come here if you're thinking of becoming a professional dancer," said Tisch dance's chair Linda Tarney to a group of students auditioning a few years ago. "Only come if you know you're going to be a dancer."...

Crash course: hip hop.(TECHNIQUE)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Hip hop dance is getting more watered down by the day, according to teacher/choreographer Kennis Marquis, and it makes him mad. "These days, people are mixing hip hop with ballet and jazz," he says. "They're doing...

On the ball.(ACROSS THE FLOOR)(Pilates Integrated with Muscle Release Technique)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The NYC grapevine is abuzz with talk of a new body-conditioning method, something about Pilates and a ball called Pilates Integrated with Muscle Release Technique. Word is the Complexions dancers loved it, and it...

Festivals & festivities.(teach--learn connection)(Brief article)(Calendar)
October 1, 2007... CAVE Art Organization in Brooklyn welcomes the third biennial New York Butoh Festival October 27-November 21. Yoshito Ohno, Akira Kasai, and other top Butoh artists from Asia and Europe will present performances, films, lectures, photo...

An unusual partnership.(teach--learn connection)(Dance Theatre of Harlem and Southern Methodist University students)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... After learning that Dance Theatre of Harlem shut down operations because of financial troubles in 2004, students from Southern Methodist University offered to help. Five dance majors and four corporate communication majors spent this summer in...

Sally Streets bringing Balanchine to Berkeley.(teacher's wisdom)(Interview)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sally Streets' advanced classes at Berkeley Ballet Theater are popular with teenagers, adults, and professional dancers alike. But Streets' most famous former student is her daughter, recently retired New York City...

Alejandro Cerrudo: his choreography in demand, the dancer has a busy year ahead.(on the rise)(Interview)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When describing the way Alejandro Cerrudo moves onstage, "loose" is the operative word. He's like a silky paintbrush that has been dipped in black ink and then swept, free-form, across a white page. This has...

Get physical: movement theater like Jump broadens the audience for dance.(on broadway)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When The New York Times reviewed Be, a high-energy melding of dance, drums, and acrobatics presented off-Broadway this spring by the Israeli performance group Mayumana, the headline read, "Who Needs a Narrative? Just...

Carlos Acosta in Spartacus.(Dance review)
October 1, 2007... Bolshoi Ballet London Coliseum August 6-8, 2007 It is a role he was born to dance, a role that demands enormous stamina and physical prowess, performed from the heart. The Cuban super-missile, Carlos Acosta has become one of the few...

American Ballet Theatre.(ballet dances)(Dance review)
October 1, 2007... Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, NYC May 14-July 7, 2007 It was a strange and mixed season--often with excellent dancing pursuing mediocre stagings. It accentuated an age-old problem with American Ballet Theatre. So frequently the...

Montpellier Dance Festival.(Dance review)
October 1, 2007... Montpellier Dance Festival Various Venues, Montpellier, France June 23-July 7, 2007 While the global village keeps getting smaller, thanks to Google, YouTube, and BlackBerry, the real world of dance, happily, is growing bigger. At...

American Dance Festival 2007: Past/Forward.(Dance review)
October 1, 2007... American Dance Festival 2007: Past/Forward Reynolds Industries Theater at Duke University, Durham, NC July 16-18, 2007 Taken all together, the Past/Forward program revealed not only a unique cross-section of dance history, but three...

Tap City.(tap dance performances)(Dance review)
October 1, 2007... Tap City The Duke on 42nd Street, NYC July 11-14, 2007 Let tap be tap. This season brought us Savion Glover weirdly hell-bent on pairing his superior tap dancing with inferior modern dance and ballet (Invitations to a Dancer recently at the...

Georgian State Dance Company.(PREVIEW)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Definitely the most thrilling international folk dance troupe of the decade, the Georgian State Dance Company is making a grand tour of the U.S. The women are slow and sensual, and the men dance with tremendous gusto--sometimes on their toes....

The Joffrey's Giselle.(PREVIEW)(Joffrey Ballet Company)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The Joffrey Ballet premieres its first-ever production of the canonical Giselle this month. Frederic Franklin is at the helm of the production as coach, while the choreography will be drawn from past versions. The addition of Giselle to the...

Laguna Dance Festival.(PREVIEW)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Laguna Beach is not just a place filled with teenage drama. It's also got a dance scene. This month CaDance's Laguna Dance Festival, founded by former Joffrey dancer Jodie Gates, includes local favorites like BackhausDance, the Groovaloos, and...

Recovery.(transitions)(DeeAnn Nelson)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Despite choreography filled with daredevil athletics and stunts, no member of STREB had ever been seriously injured. That changed on May 20 when dancer deeAnn Nelson, 28, tripped just before jumping off a...

Nina Vyroubova (1921-2007).(DEATHS)(Obituary)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... France has produced many celebrated soubrette dancers--such as Zizi Jeanmaire and Colette Marchand--but apart from the unique Balanchine-oriented, Franco-American Violette Verdy and the more recently celebrated Sylvie Guillem, only two French...

Robert Tracy (1955-2007).(DEATHS)(Obituary)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... A dancer, writer, and dance historian whose books and articles covered ballet and modern dance, Robert Tracy died of complications from AIDS last June. His first book, Balanchine's Ballerinas: Conversations with the Muses (Simon and...

Deaths.(transitions)(Obituary)
October 1, 2007... Medha Yodh, a renowned classical Indian dancer who trained in Manipuri and Bharata Natyam styles in India, died in July. She was 79. She studied with Irmgard Bartenieff and Tanjore Balasaraswati and was a faculty member of the dance department...

United States.(dance finder: a career & learning resource guide)(Directory)
October 1, 2007... ALABAMA ALABAMA BALLET Wes Chapman, Artistic Director Alice Cox, Director of External Affairs 2726 1st Avenue South, Birminghaln, AL 35233 (205) 322-4300; Fax (205) 322-4444 www.alabamaballet.org ALABAMA DANCE THEATRE Kitty...

Soaring in the garden state.(dance finder: a career & learning resource guide)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dancers between ages 9 and 25 will come from around the country to the Bergen County Academies Auditorium Oct. 6-7 to participate in the third annual Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey in Hackensack. For the last two...

International.(dance finder: a career & learning resource guide)(Directory)
October 1, 2007... 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...

Somatic practices, movement arts, and dance medicine.(dance finder: a career & learning resource guide)(Directory)
October 1, 2007... Certification and Training in Somatic and Movement-Based Arts. Contact: dcastro@dancemagazine.com AERIAL DANCE/ ACROBATIC/CIRCUS ARTS LAVA HOME STUDIO / BROOKLYN, NY Acrobatics & trapeze emphasizing strength, flexibility,...

Dance's own temple: in 1948 Morton Baum asked an astonished Lincoln Kirstein if he would like Ballet Society to become New York City Ballet.(attitudes)
October 1, 2007... Just around now City Center starts its regular rite of fall, aka the Fall for Dance Festival, the opening of the 2007-08 dance season. Its resident companies are American Ballet Theatre, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the Paul...

Makeup faux pas.(ROUND 1)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Younger dancers look up to their older counterparts. Baby bunheads dream of their first pointe shoes and junior jazzers idolize more experienced classmates. But at competitions, that admiration can backfire. Often the dancers look like they're...

Pep talk prep: revving up students for a great time.(ROUND 1)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... In the moments before they take the stage, young dancers worry, do I know all the steps? Is my costume on right? Will the judges think I'm good enough? The right words or rituals can help them focus and give them that extra energy to pull off a...

Broadway bound.(ROUND 1)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Keep things interesting this competition season with routines inspired by Broadway's latest success stories. Audiences sing along with high energy songs that light up the stage, and dancers get a taste of what it feels like to dance on the...

Taking the prize.(STUDIO PROFILES)
October 1, 2007... Competitive studios know that winning isn't everything--or even why they take their students to regional and national events. With opportunities to perform, exposure to national dance trends, and plain old inspiration, the trophies students...

Paging miss manners: the etiquette of being a good loser--and winner--can be as essential to master as a complex routine. Here's how these studios approach it.
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Your dancers have memorized the choreography, their costumes fit perfectly, and they've mastered the art of jumping out of that quadruple pirouette into a switch split leap. But do they know what to do once the...

Balancing act: where do you draw the line between choreography that's inventive ... or over-the-top?
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Great dancers, costumes, music, and props will only get you so far. It's the choreography that counts most when it comes to wowing judges and audiences. It can be worth taking constructive Chances, but how do you...

The winner: Hairspray's Brooke Engen discovered that growing up on the competition circuit gave her an instant network, versatility, and confidence when she wanted to break in on Broadway.(Interview)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By any standards, real-world or competition, Brooke Engen is a winner. From trophies and titles around the nation to her current position as dance captain in Broadway's smash hit Hairspray, Brooke's career is a...

A lesson in losing: the secret of my dance success lay in an early setback.(WHAT I LEARNED)
October 1, 2007... In spite of some ego-deflating competition losses, I've managed to choreograph for an American Basketball Association dance team and dance in the 2004 NBA Summer Pro League and Super Bowl XXXVII. My competitive defeat taught me winning isn't...