Dance Outlook

A quick update before I go out of town

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:10:00 +0000

I have an exciting dance-filled weekend, jam packed with performances, master classes, and hopefully a quick stop at my favorite dance store.

St. Louis's ArtSpace's grand opening is this weekend. The All That Dance! studio has a slew of dance related events going on tomorrow, times and details for which can be found at their website.

I don't know how I missed this, but Ekaterina Maximova passed away earlier this week. The Bolshoi website has a shot and to the point obituary that was posted a few days ago. Check it out.

Excitingly, there are only 20 more days until the SYTYCD5 season premiere. Unfortunately, I have dress rehearsal for a big performance that night. My call time is early though, and since I'm only in one number, I might be able to catch at least part of the new episode if my commute back home isn't too bad.

Sorry I haven't posted much lately-- I've been really easy, and it's hard to get back in to the swing of blogging after taking a long break.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Dance Outlook Blog of the Weekend at Upstage Left!

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:36:00 +0000

This post is basically just a shout out to M.Butterfly at Notes From Upstage Left, who featured Dance Outlook as this week's Blog of the Weekend! So go check her site out. It's pretty amazing, and I'm not just saying that because she links to me.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Another post where I complain about pointe shoes

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:31:00 +0000

So right now, I have three pairs of pointe shoes in rotation: a pair of 10M Capezio Glisses in a "Regular" shank, and two pairs of Grishko Elites, one 6 1/2XX Medium shank and another 6XXX Soft shank.

After wearing the Elites for a couple weeks, I kept feeling like they were either a tad too big or a tad too wide, but I wasn't sure. I had gotten these from a different fitter than the one I normally go to (who has been strongly urging me to try both the Elites and the Glisses for months now) and wasn't sure I liked as much. So I went back to my normal fitter, told them what was going on, and got another pair in a half size smaller and a width wider. Bad idea. They felt fine in the store, but after trying to wear them in class, I realised that they're definitely too small and too wide. I don't think the width would bother me as much if these shoes weren't so square. I think if I get another pair of these, I'll get my original size, the 6 1/2XX.

After not being able to wear the smaller/wider Elites in class, I changed in to the Glisses which had been sitting in my dance bag since my early February performance untouched. They're SO comfortable, the shape is squarer than I would normally go for, but fits my feet almost perfectly, the shank and box are soft enough to mold to my feet really well but still be supportive, the vamp is long enough that I don't fall out of the front of the shoe because of the softer shank, and all of these factors combine to form a shoe that is both comfortable and supportive, and I am able to balance and get completely over the box in. It sounds like my dream shoe, right? Maybe, but with some platform Jet Glue and an Extra Strength shank. Needless to say, they died in that class that I wasn't able to wear the smaller Elites in.

While the Capezios are a tiny little tweak away from perfect, I think the Grishkos are more of a realistic shoe for me. They're significantly harder, but a heck of a lot softer than most Grishkos I've had, and a little squarer that the Capezios. Normally I would have a problem with this, but in these shoes (in the right size) I don't. The vamp is shorter, and combined with the stronger, Russian-style shank, also acceptable for keeping my feet from falling out of the front of the shoe. The most important thing, though, is that they make me work my feet a lot harder.

I think, ultimately, I'll end up in the Grishkos (and liking them). But, before I decide that for sure, I'm definitely going to order the ES shank Glisses and some Pointe Shoe Glue, just to see if I can perfect the almost-perfect pointe shoes.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

St. Louis Tap Festival 2009 and All That Dance! studio

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:08:00 +0000

The Robert L. Reed Tap Heritage Institute website was recently updated with the event and class schedule for the 2009 St. Louis Tap Festival. Information about a new dance studio, All That Dance!, opening in the St. Louis area to house the St. Louis Hoofer's Club was also posted.

Teachers for this year's SLTF include Robin Reed, Avi Miller & Ofer Ben, Logan Millen, Karen Calloway Williams, Bril Barrett, Denise Caston, Robert Reed III, Shannon Calderon, Robert L. Reed, Lynn Schwab, Dormeshia Sumbry Edwards, Mary Jo Clark-Cange, and festival honorees, Ardie Bryant and Miriam Nelson. Classes are scheduled to run Monday July 27th- SaturdayAugust 1st, concluding with the annual All That Tap show that Saturday night.

I'm getting really excited for this. Once again, I have the dilemma of picking between classes when I have two I want to take in one time slot. The odd thing this year is that ALL of the classes I want to take seem to be at the same time, and then there are times when nothing going on in either studio really interests me. But, I know whatever I tak, I'll end up having fun and learning a lot.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Release: Parsons Dance Gala 2009

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:59:00 +0000

Via Michelle Tabnick Communications:

PARSONS DANCE GALA 2009

Celebrating Lynn Davis, Ellsworth Kelly, and
Dr. & Mrs. Edward

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7pm
The Times Center, 242 W. 41st Street
Linda Stocknoff, and the Board of Directors of Parsons Dance proudly announce Parson Dance's 2009 Gala hosted by Lin-Manuel Miranda on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7pm at The Times Center, 242 W. 41st Street, NYC. The evening will begin with cocktails at 7pm and will include a performance by Parsons Dance, a competition Dancing in the Streets, where donors take the stage for one-minute routines with Parsons dancers as their partners, followed by honors. Parsons Dance recognizes Ellsworth Kelly and Dr. & Mrs. Edward J. Prostic, the lead commissioners of Remember Me, the company's January 2009 world premiere collaboration with the lead vocalists and music of East Village Opera Company, and Lynn Davis, a dedicated board member of Parsons Dance since 2006. Dessert, coffee, cocktails and dancing will end the evening. Host Lin-Manuel Miranda is the creator-composer-lyricist of In the Heights, winner of four Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and recipient of a Best Leading Actor nomination for his performance as Usnavi. Other credits: West Side Story, Stephen Schwartz' Working (contributing composer), Freestyle Love Supreme (co-founder/performer). TV/film: "The Electric Company," "Sesame Street," "The Sopranos." PARSONS DANCE GALA COMMITTEE 2009 Members of the 2009 Gala Committee are Linda Stocknoff, Gala Chair, and Co-Chairs Barbara Rohdie, Froma Benerofe, Richard Kielar, Vickie Morris, and Fiorenza Scholey. Parson Dance's 2009 Gala will be held Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7:00 pm at The Times Center, 242 W. 41st Street, NYC. Tickets begin at $495 and are available by calling (212) 869-9275, by emailing gala@parsonsdance.org or online at nycharities.org/parsonsdance.

ABOUT PARSONS DANCE PARSONS DANCE is committed to building new audiences for contemporary dance by creating American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world. The company tours regionally, nationally and internationally.

PARSONS DANCE HISTORY Since 1985, Parsons Dance has toured an average of 32 weeks per year, to a total of more than 235 cities, 30 countries, six continents and millions of audience members. Many others have seen Parsons Dance on PBS, Bravo, A&E Network, and the Discovery Channel. Millions watched Parsons Dance perform live in Times Square as part of the internationally broadcast, 24-hour Millennium New Year's Eve celebration. In New York City, Parsons Dance has been featured at The Joyce Theater, City Center, New Victory Theater, Central Park Summerstage, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and The World Trade Center. The New York Times called David Parsons "one of the great movers of modern dance." New York Magazine referred to him as "one of modern dance's great living dance-makers." David Parsons (Artistic Director/Founder) has enjoyed a remarkable career as a performer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer of dance. Mr. Parsons was born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City. He was a leading dancer with The Paul Taylor Dance Company, where Mr. Taylor created many roles for him in works such as Arden Court, Last Look and Roses. He is a recipient of the 2000 Dance Magazine Award, as well as the 2001 American Choreography Award, for his work as a co-producer of AEROS, a production featuring the Romanian Gymnastic Federation that was featured on Bravo. Mr. Parsons has created more than 70 works for Parsons Dance. He has received commissions over the years from The American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, the Spoleto Festival and Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, to name a few. His work has been performed by Paris Opera Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Nederlands Danse Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Hubbard Street Dance and BatSheva Dance Company of Israel, among many others. In June 2007, Mr. Parsons was honored to be the very first contemporary choreographer ever to stage work at the centuries-old Arena di Verona, in Verona Italy, where he choreographed Verdi's Aida. The Arena is one of Italy's most respected operatic venues. In September 2007, he directed and choreographed Gotham Chamber Opera's production of María de Buenos Aires, which made its world premiere at a sold-out engagement in New York, at NYU's Skirball Center for the Arts. Parsons Dance receives support from Bank of America, The Blavatnik Charitable Foundation, The Cowles Charitable Trust, Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Friars Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund of the New York Community Trust, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, Nina W. Werblow Charitable Trust, The Shubert Foundation, Theater Development Fund, Trust for Mutual Understanding. For more information, visit www.parsonsdance.org.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

I'm back!

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:55:00 +0000

After an all too long hiatus, Dance Outlook is back for good. Once I get back in the swing of blogging (and reading the more than 300 Google Reader items waiting for me!), posts should be on a regular basis as before. Thanks a lot for all the support from readers I got while not able to post for the past couple months. A lot has happened since then, and I have a lot of catching up to do, but I'm really glad to be back.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Dance Outlook Hiatus

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:18:00 +0000

Because of personal and security reasons, Dance Outlook will be taking a hiatus for the next few months. I do not know when I will be posting again, but it will not be for a while. Thank you all for your continuous support during the time that this blog was being updated regularly.

Selly

NYCDA St. Louis, Ailey II, and loads of other stuff.

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:15:00 +0000

I haven't posted very much lately, but I have some very legitimate reasons: Two workshops, two performances (one my own, one I saw), a dress rehearsal, and the face that Google Reader hates me so I can't read any of the blog posts I normally do without using Internet Explorer.

So, if I'm going in chronological order, New York City Dance Alliance, St. Louis:
Classes were amazing, as always with this convention. It's cheesy and it's the same every year, but I still love Joe Lanteri's speech before scholarship auditions. Our teachers for the weekend were Joe Lanteri for Jazz; Mike Schulster for Tap; Jason Parsons, aka Bonnie Pink Bonnet for Contemporary; Jaimie Goodwin for GirlFrenzy; Lauren Adams (now Adams-Spinetti, I think, but it still just says Adams on the NYCDA site) for Lyrical; Scott Jovovich for Ballet; AC Ciualla for Fusion; and Dana Wilson for Hip Hop.

My favorite classes this year were Lauden Adams's and Joe Lanteri's which, coincidentally, I sort of hated last year. I think the difference is me, though. I loved the way both of them explained everything; it made total sense in my body, and I understood it. These, along with Jason Parsons's class were the highlights of my weekend.

Unfortunately, I thought the ballet and tap sort of sucked. The ballet guy was more concerned about us doing 12 (yes, TWELVE) "ice skater turns" and six fouettes pulling in to a quintuple pirouette than technique or maybe actual ballet. It was really disappointing. The tap was just sort of mediocre and boring. You could tell he was teaching to the girls in the back that don't take tap but spend lots and lots of money on competition entry fees. It wasn't horrible, and I took the class, but I definitely won't be seeking out another tap class from this teacher.

Even though there are a large number of bra/booty short costumed pieces at this convention, I really enjoyed watching the competition Saturday night. The type of competition studios at NYCDA are generally the type that have some legitimately good strong dancers that are more than 6 pirouettes and pitch kicks. Some of the props got to the point where the setting up was longer than the dance itself, and then the prop is never used, which wastes time and angers me. The only other thing that bothered me was the screaming. There was a certain studio there that screamed through every single one of their dances and talked through everyone else's. That's not annoying.

Even though I was exhausted and badly bruised at the end of the weekend, Dance Alliance continued to be my favorite workshop aside from The Pulse, whose faculty is simply amazing.

Ailey II:
I didn't take notes, and I had just driven 2 hours from NYCDA to get there on time. Even though I loved it, I was afraid I would fall asleep about 3 times. That's how tired I was. The dancers were top notch, only slightly less technically and artistically mind-blowing as the ones in AAADT. I appreciated Revelations much, much more after having taken a Horton class for the past few months. The whole evening was quite enjoyable.

Hopefully, having these things over, and only a few workshops left this season, I'll have time to post a lot more than I have been recently.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

SYTYCD Canada Tour set list

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 21:31:00 +0000

Once again, SYTYCDism has provided an extremely thorough set list, this time for the first SYTYCDC tour, complete with videos and spoilers. Also, Reality Raver reviewed/recapped the auditions for SYTYCD Australia's 2nd season.

I really wish we got either (or both) of these shows in the U.S. From the little bits I've seen on YouTube, the dancing seems just as good as that on the original version, and it would be nice to have a dance show to watch during SYTYCD's off-season other than ABDC or DWTS.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

First performance of "Peter", Pilobolus, new pointe shoes, and Legally Blonde the Musical

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 02:39:00 +0000

Peter and The Wolf
We performed PATW for the first time on Thursday after only a few months of rehearsing once a week. Yikes. Luckily it was for little kids, the majority of whom wouldn't know the difference anyway. It went well in the long run, there were just some annoying little things that happened that definitely could have been worked out in rehearsals that were longer, more intense, and more often.

I had fun, and I think the audiences did too, so that's the important part. We perform again this week before premiering it at a local theatre as our "real" performance later this season. I'm sort of nervous that I'll mess up the solo I learned less than a week ago, even though it's pretty simple and easy to fake even if I do. This is, however, not something I particularly look forward to. Four months till Nutcracker auditions!

Pilobolus
Last night I attended Pilobolus Dance Theater's Dance St. Louis performance. They performed 5 pieces: Lanterna Magica, Pseudopodia, Darkness and Light, Ocellus, and Megawatt.

After the first two pieces, I was really impressed. The company manages to use partnering in groups and duos without looking like cheerleaders or an orgy. The can use props without them getting in the way and they actually help move the dance forward, both artistically and literally. It was gymnastic and acrobatic without losing its choreographic and "dance-y" quality.

And then came Darkness And Light. Now, I'm not exactly sure what this was. Not only did I not understand it, I didn't understand how the images came to appear on the screen at the front of the stage that hid all action taking place behind it. They either projected things on to the screen on shown lights behind then screen while using their bodies to make shapes. The symbolism and images were also hard to understand. I've compiled a list of things this piece might have shown/been about:

Jellyfish
Genitalia
Wasps
Aurora Borealis
Electric currents
Creatures devouring their young
Evolution
Birth
Mutants
Butterflies
Stoplights
A vortex of some sort
Black holes
Puppetry
Shadow monsters

I'm honestly not sure what it was meant to mean or symbolize, all I know is that it was much longer than I would have liked.

Ocellus was really good at showing off the strength and control of the male dancers in the company. But, however immature this is, I was still distracted by the whole "They're dancing in thongs and nothing else and that guy has his face on the other guys crotch" aspect of the dance. It was a really cool historic piece, but also sort of awkward.

My favorite of the night was Megawatt. It was the type of spazzy and weird that I like. Not too overly spazzy and weird in a pretentious artistic way, more in a fun eclectic way. They threw themselves on the floor, crawled around on their backs, had convulsions, and did some crazy crazy partnering and lifts. My one complaint was that there were so many really awesome things going on at the same time that I wasn't sure where to look. The standouts (and the people that I finally settled on watching) were Jenny Mendez and Christopher Whitney, who did some amazing partnering. This piece was almost reminiscent on Cedar Lake's DECADANCE, only on speed. It was sort of psycho and really strange, and I loved it.

All in all, it was a great show, and it got me really excited for Dance St. Louis's '09-'10 season, which includes Complexions (WOO HOO!), Joffrey, River North Chicago, Aszure Barton, Ballet Folklorico, and Moscow Festival ballet.

New Pointe Shoes
Today I got new shoes. Again. This time my fitting only lasted a little less than an hour and a half, so that's more than an hour shorter than my last one.

After trying on 3 or 4 size/width/shank combinations of Capezio Glisses, Grishko Elites, Grishko 2007s, Gaynors and Fuzis, along with Celia Kerches, Sanshas, Freeds, other Grishkos, various Blochs, and probably 3 or 4 other shoes, I finally decided on Capezio Glisses in a 10 M.

They're really soft (which I like) but the boxes are sort of more... resilient(?)... than other softer (and fast dying) shoes that I've tried on. The shanks are really nicely molding to my feet without me doing anything to them whatsoever, and even though the vamp is just a tiny little bit longer than I would normally like, but because they're so soft, I don't think I'll have and trouble getting over the box or rolling through demi-pointe. This is all good, but I'm sort of chronically pessimistic about new pointe shoes just because so, so many pairs have not worked for me in the past. Eventually I will find something. I hope.

So, will these be the magical pointe shoes of wonder that finally work on Selly's feet? Will she ultimately regret buying a completely new pair of shoes a day before she has to perform on pointe? Stay tuned for these answers, and more!

Legally Blonde
I walked in to Legally Blonde with Omigod You Guys already stuck in my head. I walked out not being able to stop thinking about the "Today for you, tomorrow for me" song from RENT. How does that work again?

I really loved this show. I was sort of hoping I would get to see Laura Bell Bundy perform today, just for the star factor, since the actress normally playing Elle broke her toe and is still recovering. Instead, we got MTV's Search For The New Elle Woods contestant Lauren Ashley Zakrin. I actually liked her performance a lot.

The music and dancing were great, even while slightly off at times. I'm a huge fan of the story and the witty/snarky dialogue and lyrics, which the cast successfully pulled off. I was also hugely impressed that both dogs in the show were rescued from shelters and trained to "act" (can dogs act?) in the musical instead of being "hired".

Overall the show was very cutesy and entertaining. The dancing was awesome, especially from some of the guys. You can definitely who's taken ballet before, though. It was fun and I'd recommend it to pretty much anyone.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Dance On The Internet Update

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:39:00 +0000

I know, I'm bad, I haven't posted in over a week. I really have no excuse. Anyhow, here's what some other dance bloggers have been up to while I've been on hiatus:

According to Tonya, Superstars of Dance has gotten worse. Although I haven't watched it again, I have to agree simply based upon all the negative feedback I've seen about the show. It seems that virtually no one likes it. I'm surprised it hasn't been canceled.
Nina Amir blogs about she and her son's troubles finding an appropriate and affordable Summer Intensive.
Nichelle at Dance Advantage discusses the impact of negativity, perfectionism, and the word "can't" in dance.
SYTYCDism is now available on Twitter. You can see their page and follow them here.
I recently discovered a fairly new dance blog, This Dance Is a Cliche. The site is filled with hilarious and witty cliches of the dance world, like fouette turns in competition pieces of any style, lingerie as dance costumes, lip syncing to musical theater numbers... the list goes on. Readers can submit their own dance pet peeves to be posted on the site.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Two weeks without dancing + classes resuming + rehearsals = OUCH!

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:33:00 +0000

This past week was my first time dancing after a two week break. It was quite eventful, and quite painful.

Classes started back up again in our new facility. Since the studio moved, some of my classes got changed, so I'm at the studio longer and later than I'm used to.
We finally have a contemporary class. It's pretty freaking awesome. I didn't have any expectations for the teacher at all. She seemed way too much the classical ballerina type to teach something like that, but luckily, that assumption was oh so wrong. I can't wait till next week.
The aforementioned teacher also subbed for our modern class (which is usually very strict, and sometimes that horrible combination of hard but boring Horton). We all loved it, and then in turn started to feel bad that we liked it so much only because it was so much like our class we had last year with the teacher that we adored who moved away. So modern will probably feel dreadful this upcoming week in comparison.
Marley is very slick when new. That is all.
My pointe shoes went from "Broken In, Sort Of" to "Virtually Dead, YIPEE!" in 2 classes or less. I expect them to last for maybe part of next week,
Right when I need it (see #5), I realize that I'm not sure where my Jet Glue is.
Once again today, I failed to convince our director that I really need to learn this solo I'm supposed to be performing in 3 weeks if I'm actually going to be performing it in 3 weeks. Since there is no understudy and no one has learned the part, I assume that I am still performing it in three weeks, yet I have not even heard the music yet.
My knees are bruised, I'm sore all over, it's probably time to go to bed and then get used to my new schedule (which does not yet include my tap class that I've been taking since July that I still consider "new" or any rehearsals for that studio.). Yikes.

So, this week has been good, just not what I'm used too. Hopefully, all will return to normal soon.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

More SYTYCD5 Audition Dates

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:07:00 +0000

Just when we all thought Fox might never release the dates for audition cities other than NYC, they were finally announced. The judges will travel to Miami, LA, Denver, Memphis, and Seattle this year in search of contestants for the 5th season of So You Think You Can Dance. The dates are as follows:

Feb. 3 Miami, FL

Feb. 12 Los Angeles, CA

Mar. 12 Denver, CO

Mar. 16 Memphis, TN

Mar. 28 Seattle, WA

More information can be found on the Fox website. Good luck to anyone who auditions!

Stay on your toes,

Selly

"Superstars" a total flop

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:50:00 +0000

Now, I did not expect much of Superstars of Dance, NBC's newest show, but I surely didn't expect it to be as dreadfully bad as it was.

Instead of trying to explain to you why I didn't like it (which I very much did not), I've chosen to post some opinions of Dance Outlook readers about the show.

Todd- This show may have hit new lows in vulgarity. Where was the "dancing"? This was more like a gymnastics talent show staged in Las Vegas. The "Russian" couple is about as Russian as I am. More likely they're from Bensonhurst. The "Indian" girls are probably from New Jersey. This show is unwatchable and, with any luck, it will be off the air mercifully soon. If you want to see real dancing, with class, artistry, grace and beauty -- and on ice skates! -- check out Russia's "Lednikovyi period". I can't wait for "Dancing with the Stars" to return, which puts this show to shame.

Belinda- Having such cultural diversity in dance on one show was great. Hard to compare head-to-head though - some of the more culturally-grounded pieces involved more non-dance skills than dance, but were visually appealing and had good performance quality.

What really bugged me was the camera angles and choices of cameras that the show's director chose. Do these people even understand dance and the importance of seeing the body movement more than Pasha's chest hair or the wide angle shot of the set with the dancers looking like ants? The harsh jumps between angles and the lack of proper filters for lighting glare was vertigo-inducing and amateurish. I get better footage sitting in the audience with my camcorder than we saw on network television.

I hope Nigel throws a fit and gets some dance-savvy camera folks working by tonight. Very disappointing technical showing by NBC.

Nichelle @ Dance Advantage- I must admit I did not watch closely last night - was multitasking. I did DVR it though and will probably try to watch again so that I can make a fair assessment. My initial thoughts:

I appreciate the idea of showcasing talent from other countries. I appreciate the showcasing of professional talent/companies. The competition aspect seems silly though. How do you compare apples to oranges, especially if (as professionals) the dancing quality should be pretty high anyway? From what I saw, all of the scores given were within the range of 4 points (7-10). Seems pointless to me.

I guess I don't get this obsession with competition shows (or this obsession with producing competition shows). Why not just have a show that showcases the MANY spectacular dance artists from all over the world instead of turning it into a meaningless competition? I don't think its the competition that necessarily gets people to watch (particularly if it's lame). I think if the quality on all fronts is there, people will want to tune in. Stop underestimating and patronizing audiences!

Katrina- Belinda, Nigel hasn't had any dance savvy camera people ever. No granted I don't mind seeing Pasha's chest LOL but in general I agree.

Todd... just because someone is technically not from the country doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to compete for that country. It happens ALL the time in the Olympics: Tanith Belbin is from Canada but recently got her citizenship so she could be allowed to compete for the US. That's just one example, there are lots more.

Just because they're from a different country, doesn't mean they're "in tune" with their culture. I'm American but I know how to do the Polka (part of my German heritage) and I know how to cook many German foods. It's all how you're raised.

My main issue with this show, was the scoring... just did not make sense...I should know better than to watch any show Nigel produces.

One thing that I really dislike about the show is the judging. Everything is either absolutely amazing (none of it is) or dreadful, yet the lowest score given has been a 7. I hated that Dormeshia was booted so early. I mean, you just don't get better at tap then she is. There is no next level.

The general consensus, at least my interpretation of it? Weird format and show, generally mediocre dancing, incorrect scoring and judging. I predict it will get canceled very very soon.

A Time To Dance, Dancing A La Mode, and Swan Lake Samba Girl have all blogged about the show, among many others.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Superstars of Dance Update

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:40:00 +0000

Panya! Dormeshia! WHOOOOOOOOO!!!

Ahem. Excuse that. I got an email about Superstars of Dance revealing its contestants about a week ago and, out of laziness, never clicked on the link. Then, an article from SYTYCDism showed up in my GoogleReader feed today confirming Pasha Kovalev and Anya Garnis (of SYTYCD3) as contestants on the show. Finally, I found that link, and to my surprise, I find that the "solo tap dancer" for the USA team is none other than Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards!

Teams from Argentina, Australia, China, Ireland, India, Russia, South Africa, and the United States will compete for the grand prize. The panel of judges will be composed of one judge from the home country of each team, but no judge will be allowed to submit a score for the team from their country.

The show airs on NBC starting this Sunday, January 4th, at 9/8 Central. I think I'm, going to have to watch this...

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Dancing in to 2009!

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:53:00 +0000

It's a new year, meaning for the dance world a new semester of classes, a new season of performances. Competition season has officially begun, and studios across the country are starting to set pieces for spring recitals. Let's look back at dance in 2008. DISCLAIMER: These are in no particular order; they are also all my opinion. If you don't agree with something, deal.

Top 5 Dance Outlook Posts of 2008:
Fox's NYE Ball Drop Event
Review: Center Stage 2: Turn It Up (I forced myself to watch it)
Next stop on Selly's pointe shoe adventure
Update on Center Stage 2: Turn It Up
NBC Unveils "Superstars Of Dance"

My Favorite Dance Blogs of 2008:
Notes From Upstage Left
Dance Advantage
A Time To Dance
Danciti
jPointe
Swan Lake Samba Girl
The Dance Mom

Top 5 Dance Performances of 2008 (that I saw):
Dance St. Louis's Spring To Dance Festival
Paul Taylor Dance Company's Beloved Renegade
Misnomer Dance Theater's Being Together, broadcast live online
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre's Revelations
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet's DECADANCE

That's all I've come up with so far. If anyone has a suggestion for a category, feel free to comment.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Review: A Beautiful Tragedy

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 02:28:00 +0000

Today, I was finally able to see A Beautiful Tragedy, a film by Norwegian director David Kinsella documenting Mariinsky Theatre dancer, Oksana Skorik's training at the Perm State Choreographic Institute.

The opening scene narrated how Oksana ended up at the ballet school: after her birth, Oksana's mother realized that she was adequately proportioned for ballet and began stretching her daughter's feet and legs. When she was 4 years old, her mother attempted to "give" her to the ballet school, but she was not accepted until a year later because of her age. Three things about Oksana, then 15, become immediately apparent: her talent, her desire to leave the Perm school, and her skewed sense of reality.

Much of the story is told through Oksana's diary entries, which describe her emotional struggles with food/eating, her strict and sometimes flat out cruel teachers, and her troubles relating to and befriending other students at the school, specifically with golden girl Masha Menshikova. At times, her anorexia and self loathing overcome her; she goes days without food before her end of semester exams and then worries about what her scores will be, assuming that she will get the lowest grades in her class. She receives a 4+, which I understand to be the highest score one can earn in this type of exam, along with a harsh criticism from Sacharova, the main classical ballet teacher at Perm.

Despite her teachers' and mother's encouragement to eat, Oksana struggles with the constant pressure to be a "perfect" thin dancer. She repeatedly denies her talent and thinness, thinking of herself as fat and a horrible dancer.

At times, her mood changes: she is hopeful, finds joy in dancing and rehearsing, and realizes her tremendous grace and talent. Eventually, in the epilogue of the film, Oksana is shown in her final year at the Perm State Choreographic institute. She is happy again, has overcome her anorexia, is awarded the lead role in her class's graduation performance, and is offered a job at the Mariinsky Theatre, where she is currently dancing in the corps de ballet.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but I thought the media I had seen about it was a little misleading. The film is much, much more focused on Oksana's weight and social problems than it is on her dancing, which I would have liked to see more of, especially in the classroom scenes, which were portrayed, I'm sure intentionally, as a place more for scoldings and criticism than for learning to dance.

All in all, A Beautiful Tragedy was definitely worthwhile and provides much insight, somewhat biased as it may be, in to the lives of the young kids at the Perm school. I highly recommend it to any ballet lover.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Toe Pads: It's Between You And The Floor

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:32:00 +0000

With the plethora of pointe shoe padding on the market today, it can be as long and hard of a journey to find the right toe pads as it is to find that rumored perfect pair of pointe shoes. While there are many many different brands and styles of toe pads out there, they all generally fall in to one of the following categories: gel, foam/rubber/lamb's wool, and cloth/paper. Each have advantages and downfalls to consider when choosing toe padding.

Gel: The Goodies and The Baddies
Eurotard/Leo's/Prima Pads: Toe pads such as these are probably the most frowned upon toe pads on the market. While the thick brightly colored gel provides comfort, it also inhibits the dancers ability to feel the floor, takes up way too much room in the shoes, and can cause exponential sweating and even numbness in the toes and feet. As always, these work for some people, but not everyone, or even a majority of dancer/foot/shoe combinations.
Ouch Pouch/Bloch: Contrastingly, Ouch Pouch type toe pads are highly recommended by many dance teachers and students. This type of toe pad generally has a very thin piece of gel encased in layers of fabric. They offer coverage and protection of the toes and metatarsal area without being horrifically bulky. However, almost every toe pad like this has a seam running up the side of it that are notorious for digging in to toes and causing some irritation. Because of their wild popularity, Bloch, Bunheads, Discount Dance, and many other brands offer a variation on this style of padding, all of which are virtually identical in shape, thickness, and quality.
SkinnyDips/Gellows: These are essentially a fusion of the previous two pads discussed usually eliminating the downfalls of each. A layer of gel slightly softer and thicker than that in Ouch Pouches coats one side of a reversible fabric pouch.
Mini toe pads: There are many different small toe pads available to help correct foot or shoe problems and discrepancies. Gel spacers are used to align the big toe and alleviate pressure from bunions. Small gel tubes can be used on toes significantly longer than others, or on a specific toe that always seems to get blisters. There are a lot of other mini toe pads on the market, all used to pad smaller areas of the foot instead of the entire toe/metatarsal area.

Foam, Rubber, and Lamb's Wool: Kickin' It Old Skool
Loose Lamb's Wool: Loose lamb's wool generally comes in a big wad. You tear of a piece, fluff it in to an approximately spherical shape, and sort of wrap it around your toes. Some people love this, others hate it. Many people complain about the wool sliding around in the shoe and getting caught in weird places. One thing almost everyone that's used this kind of padding agrees on is that it is highly advisable to also use toe tape.
Lamb's Wool toe pads: Lamb's wool toe pads are made of a layer of fluffy lamb's wool sewn in to a toe pad-shaped piece of fabric. They don't move around as much as loose lamb's wool adn are a lot easier to put on fast.
Lamb's Wool with Gel: Exactly the same as above, except with a thin layer of gel painted on to the outside tip of the toe pad.
Foam/Rubber: Foam and rubber toe pads offer a thicker differnt kind of padding than wool, without the use of gel. Freed and capezio are the only brands I know of that still make these. I've never even seen them, but from what I understand, they're known to be really stiff and sometimes cause blisters and a lot of sweating. Not a huge number of people use (or like) these.

Cloth and Paper Towels: DIY Pointe Shoe Padding
Many advanced, professional, or just tough-footed dancers choose to bypass conventional toe pads and make their own. Most commonly used are cloth, paper towels, and toe tape.
Cloth: Usually cut from the toe of a sock, soft cloth can be used to soak up sweat and provide a "buffer" between the inside of the pointe shoe and the skin. Many different dancers with different feet and different shoes use (gasp!) different types of material cut in different shapes in different parts of their shoes (I should win an award for that sentence).
Paper towels, etc.: Another common practice is the use of paper towels folded around the upper part of the foot for the same benefits as those of cloth. I've also heard of dancers using thin cardboard, duct tape lining the inside of the toe box, silicon painted inside the box, and many forms of toilet paper and paper towels as toe padding. It's all a matter of personal preference.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

INVITATION: Parsons Dance presents World Premiere collaboration with EVOC - Jan 6-18

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:20:00 +0000

Parsons Dance recently released an announcement of their upcoming world premiere collaboration with East Village Opera Company:

PARSONS DANCE

presents a World Premiere collaboration

with the lead vocalists and music of the

Grammy Award-nominated

EAST VILLAGE OPERA COMPANY

The Joyce Theater, January 6 – 18, 2009

Tuesday, January 6th at 7:30pm (Program B)

Wednesday, January 7th at 7:30pm (Program B)

Thursday, January 8th at 8pm (Program A)

Friday, January 9th at 8pm (Program A)

Parsons Dance presents the World Premiere of an as-yet-untitled collaboration with the lead vocalists of East Village Opera Company (EVOC), featuring the music of the acclaimed rock opera band. Program A premieres the new evening-length work with EVOC’s two lead vocalists live onstage with Parsons Dance. Program B will feature Parsons Dance favorites: the jazzy Fill the Woods with Light, Swing Shift, Ebben, My Sweet Lord, Shining Star, and the stroboscopic Caught.

David Parsons, Tyley Ross (lead male vocalist and co-founder of EVOC) and AnnMarie Milazzo (lead female vocalist) have created a storyline that connects EVOC’s signature operatic arias (fifteen songs from the band’s albums) with David Parsons’ original choreography. untitled is a thoroughly modern re-telling of a classic story of a tragic love triangle. With contemporary dance, aerial dance, live and recorded music, video projections, complex digital lighting and visual effects, untitled is the most ambitious production created by Parsons Dance in its 22 year history.

“Nearly two years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting the members of East Village Opera Company. We realized that a great deal of artistic synchronicity existed between our companies, and we began to discuss the possibility of creating a work together. Peter Kiesewalter’s brilliant arrangements have proven to be incredibly inspirational. Now we are about to present this World Premiere in January,” said David Parsons, artistic director of Parsons Dance.

“David Parsons’ choreography marries tradition and renewal in a way that physically represents what we try to evoke as a band. It’s exciting to see our music take a three dimensional kinesthetic shape in his hands,” said Tyley Ross. EVOC recently received a 2008 Grammy Award nomination, Best Classical Crossover Album, for their album Olde School (2008, Decca Records).

“This piece is a strong departure from David Parsons’ signature themes, representing a paradigm shift in the work of a legendary choreographer, showcasing David’s maturation as an artist and expressing the breadth of his enormous creative range,” said David Harrison, executive director of Parsons Dance.

EVOC’s signature works re-imagine opera arias as popular songs, including pieces by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Schubert. These classics collide with electric sounds from the golden era of rock and roll, pop, R&B, and soul, exploding into a mosaic of sound in a triumphant musical celebration. They have received commissions to pen new works from both the New York Public Theatre and New York City Opera, with whom they have also performed at Lincoln Center. EVOC alternately headlines in prestigious classical concert halls and rock clubs, and records exclusively for Decca/Universal records. They have released three CD’s, and are currently on tour supporting their newest release Olde School.

Parsons Dance creates American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world. It is the goal of Parsons Dance to make contemporary dance accessible to the widest possible audiences. In addition to choreography and performance, Parsons Dance positively impacts children, students, and communities through student performances, lecture-demonstrations, master classes, post-show discussions and more. Parsons Dance has a company of eleven full-time dancers and maintains a repertory of more than 70 works choreographed by David Parsons, twenty of which feature originally commissioned scores by leading composers and musicians, including Dave Matthews, Michael Gordon and Milton Nascimento. Parsons Dance has collaborated with many other leading artists, including Julie Taymor, William Ivey Long, Annie Leibovitz, Donna Karan and Alex Katz (to name a few). The New York Times called David Parsons “one of the great movers of modern dance.” New York Magazine referred to him as “one of modern dance’s great living dance-makers.”

Parsons Dance dancers are Julie Blume, Eric Bourne, Sarah Braverman, John Corsa, Kevin Fitzgerald Ferguson, Patty Foster, Zac Hammer, Natalie Lomonte, Miguel Quinones, Abby Silva, Billy Smith, apprentice dancer Steven Vaughn, and understudy Trista Jennings.

The two programs follow:

Program A:

Thu 1/8, Fri 1/9 and Sat 1/10 at 8pm; Sun 1/11 at 2pm and 7:30pm; Wed 1/14 at 7:30pm;

Thu 1/15, Fri 1/16 and Sat 1/17 at 8pm; Sun 1/18 at 7:30pm

World Premiere of untitled featuring the music of EVOC: Overture, La Danza, Maria, Mari!, Habanera, Che Gelida Manina, Flower Duet, La Donna E Mobile, Ave Maria, O Mio Babbino Caro, Una Furtiva Lagrima, Un Del Di, Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana, When I Am Laid in Earth, Butterfly Duet

Program B:

Tue 1/6 and Wed 1/7 at 7:30pm; Tue 1/13 at 7:30pm; Sat 1/17 and Sun 1/18 at 2pm

Family Matinee: Sat 1/10 at 2pm

Swing Shift, Ebben (an excerpt from Program A), My Sweet Lord, Fill the Woods with Light, Caught, and Shining Star

Swing Shift, created for four couples and featuring compelling solos for female dancers, explores the human journey toward self-discovery through social interaction, as dancers “swing” and “shift” in order to couple, uncouple and couple again with another. Ebben is an excerpt from untitled. My Sweet Lord is based on the song of the same title by George Harrison and was originally choreographed for American Ballet Theatre. Fill the Woods with Light was inspired by David Parsons’ love of jazz music and dramatic lighting effects. This ensemble piece features a commissioned score by Phil Woods, recorded by the Phil Woods Little Big Band. The dancers occupy the nocturnal world of jazz music, lighting each other with a variety of hand-held lighting instruments. Caught is an internationally renowned stroboscopic dance masterpiece that features a solo dancer performing more than 100 leaps in less than six minutes. Each leap is “caught” by the flash of a strobe light, to create a breathtaking illusion of flight. Caught has been performed thousands of times, worldwide, for more than 27 years. Shining Star is an upbeat, high-energy romp set to a series of disco-era hits by Earth, Wind & Fire. The choreography blends social dancing with a jazzy, smooth style that celebrates the party scene of the 1970s.

Parsons Dance will perform January 6 – 18, 2009 at The Joyce Theater, with performances Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday at 7:30pm; Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm; and Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. There is a Family matinee performance on Saturday, January 10 at 2pm. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th Street), NYC. Tickets are $59, $35, and $19 (Joyce Members $44, $26) and are available by phone at 212-242-0800 or joyce.org.

Parsons Dance is committed to building new audiences for contemporary dance by creating American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world. The company tours regionally, nationally and internationally. Since 1985, Parsons Dance has toured an average of 32 weeks per year, to a total more than 235 cities, 30 countries, six continents and millions of audience members. Many others have seen Parsons Dance on PBS, Bravo, A&E Network, and the Discovery Channel. Millions watched Parsons Dance perform live in Times Square as part of the internationally broadcast, 24-hour Millennium New Year’s Eve celebration. In New York City, Parsons Dance has been featured at The Joyce Theater, City Center, New Victory Theater, Central Park Summerstage, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and The World Trade Center.

David Parsons (Artistic Director/Founder) has enjoyed a remarkable career as a performer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer of dance. Mr. Parsons was born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City. He was a leading dancer with The Paul Taylor Dance Company, where Mr. Taylor created many roles for him in works such as Arden Court, Last Look and Roses. He is a recipient of the 2000 Dance Magazine Award, as well as the 2001 American Choreography Award, for his work as a co-producer of AEROS, a production featuring the Romanian Gymnastic Federation that was featured on Bravo. Mr. Parsons has created more than 70 works for Parsons Dance. He has received commissions over the years from The American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the American Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, the Spoleto Festival and Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, to name a few. His work has been performed by Paris Opera Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Nederlands Danse Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Hubbard Street Dance and BatSheva Dance Company of Israel, among many others. In June 2007, Mr. Parsons was honored to be the very first contemporary choreographer ever to stage work at the centuries-old Arena di Verona, in Verona Italy, where he choreographed Verdi’s Aida. The Arena is one of Italy’s most respected operatic venues. In September 2007, he directed and choreographed Gotham Chamber Opera’s production of María de Buenos Aires, which made its world premiere at a sold-out engagement in New York, at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Arts.

East Village Opera Company was formed in New York City’s East Village in 2004 by Canadians Peter Kiesewalter and Tyley Ross. The East Village Opera Company turned the heads of New York’s music community with a series of electric genre defying shows at Joe’s Pub, the intimate venue housed by the Public Theatre. Initially meant as a one-off project, they were quickly signed to Decca/Universal records and met with universal praise from both classical and rock critics and fans. The Washington Post proclaimed that “Opera crossover acts are becoming a veritable cottage industry, but the East Village Opera Co. is markedly different.” They have toured the world with a unique live show, combining a seemingly incongruous classical string section with a powerhouse rock band. Time Out New York stated that the group “electrifies the classics for a new generation.” The Associated Press mused the band was “dramatic” and “mesmerizing” while the Wall Street Journal agreed, noting “The band rocks hard, and deranges the opera stuff with savvy skill.” In a rare feat not many artists can claim, EVOC headlines around the world in both eclectic rock clubs as well as some of the most prestigious classical concert halls. The band’s appeal is evident in both cases. The Chicago Tribune raved “Nobody puts a fresher, friskier contemporary spin on opera’s greatest hits than the East Village Opera Company.” The band has also performed at esteemed events such as the Sundance Film Festival, the Miss USA pageant (nationally televised on NBC), and the world-premiere of “The Da Vinci Code” in Hong Kong. EVOC’s PBS Special “EVOC LIVE” was celebrated with an Emmy at the 2006 Emmy Awards. Their most recent Decca album entitled Olde School was nominated for a Grammy in the Classical Crossover Album category.

Tyley Ross (Male Vocalist / EVOC co-founder) A native of Ottawa Canada, Tyley started performing professionally in his early teens while still a student at Canterbury’s school of the Arts. In the years since then, has been a street busker, a cartoon and voice artist, acted for the small and large screen, written and recorded two solo albums (his composition You Take My Breath Away was featured in the film Woman Wanted directed by Kiefer Sutherland and starring Holly Hunter), and he has performed as a guest soloist with orchestras across Canada and in the USA. After being discovered by Pete Townshend of The Who in 1994, Tyley was cast in the title role of the Canadian premiere of the Who’s Tommy. For his work in that show, he was honored with the Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Musical. He spent the next ten years on musical stages across North America, including starring roles at the Shaw and Stratford Festivals, and on Broadway. In 2001, Tyley was introduced to Peter Kiesewalter and they began experimenting with recording opera arias in a variety of modern contexts. This project led to the release of the CD La Donna and the unveiling of the East Village Opera Company in 2004 with a series of acclaimed performances at New York’s Joe’s Pub. Within a year the band had signed a multi-record deal with Decca/Universal, and has since released two CD’s: East Village Opera Company (2005) and Olde School (2008). Tyley has his master’s degree in voice studies from London’s Central School of Speech and Drama.

AnnMarie Milazzo (Female Vocalist) is a singer, arranger, composer and lyricist living in NYC. She has done the vocal arrangements for Spring Awakening, the Broadway musical at the Eugene O’Neill Theater; Next To Normal, which premiered Off Broadway at Second Stage Theatre; Bright Lights, Big City at New York Theatre Workshop; and the Paramount feature film “The Marc Pease Experience” starring Ben Stiller. Some of her most recent work includes a new musical Pretty Dead Girl, which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival and is now being produced by the Araca Group in New York City, book by David Henry Wang. Also currently in progress is the musical Sea Change based on the Lois Gould novel, book by Karen Hartman. AnnMarie is the lyricist for Franco Dragone’s Carmen, which premiered at The Jolla Playhouse and will open in Madrid, 2009. She is currently writing lyrics for Cirque du Soleil’s, Le Reve, at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas. AnnMarie’s singing credits include working with artists such as Angelique Kidjo on her Black Ivory Soul Tour also singing with Carlos Santana. She also toured with Jonatha Brooke and performed on her DVD Back In The Circus, shot live in NYC.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences since 1982. The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea, which opened as The Joyce Theater in 1982. The Joyce is named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther’s clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to establish the theater. One of the only theaters built by dancers for dance, The Joyce Theater has provided an intimate and elegant New York home for more than 290 domestic and international companies. The Joyce has also commissioned more than 130 new dances since 1992. In 1996, The Joyce created Joyce SoHo, a dance center providing highly subsidized rehearsal and performance space to hundreds of dance artists. New York City public school students and teachers annually benefit from The Joyce’s Dance Education Program, and adult audiences get closer to dance through pre-engagement Dance Talks and post-performance Humanities discussions. The Joyce Theater now features an annual season of approximately 48 weeks with over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 135,000. Additionally, for the last five years The Joyce has co-produced Evening Stars as part of the River To River Festival in Battery Park.

The World Premiere production is made possible by lead commissioning support from The Ellsworth Kelly Foundation; and Dr. and Mrs. Edward Prostic, in honor and memory of their daughter Elizabeth Anne Prostic.

For more information, visit parsonsdance.org and eastvillageoperacompany.com.

PARSONS DANCE

The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th Street), NYC

January 6-18, 2009

Tue, Wed and Sun at 7:30pm; Thu, Fri and Sat at 8pm; and Sat and Sun at 2pm

Family matinee performance on Saturday, January 10 at 2pm.

Tickets: $59, $35, $19 (Joyce Members $44, $26)

JoyceCharge: 212-242-0800

joyce.org

Stay on your toes,

Selly

What did everyone think of Misnomer?

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 02:39:00 +0000

I really liked Being Together. Rock.Paper.Flock was my favorite section. Most of it was improv, but it was structured enough not to be awkward, even with things like "Be a bowling trophy" and "Draw on the back wall" as directions given to the dancers by the choreographer, Chris Elam, who remained onstage the entire time.

This is one of those pieces, like Cedar Lake's DECADANCE, that will sound really horrible when I try to describe what happened in them, but was actually really really good. I went in to this having no prior experiences with the company and no expectations. Their dancing, especially partnering, blew me away. Coco Karol, Dorian Nuskind-Oder, and Luke Gutgsell were definitely the standouts of the night.

All of the dancers had exquisite technique and skill. The lighting, costuming, and choreography were also great. They pulled off dark lights without inhibiting the sight of the audience.

Because of some technical/feed problems, I barely saw any of the third piece Zipper, but from what I understand, the video from tonight will be available at the Misnomer website until the end of the year so hopefully anyone who missed out will be able to watch the end.

Did anyone else watch the performance (live, or broadcast online)? What did you think of it?

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Misnomer Dance Theater: Live Online

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:20:00 +0000

This performance was made possible, in part, by The Joyce Theater Foundation, which owns and operates Joyce SoHo. www.joyce.org

Tonight, Misnomer's last performance of Being Together will be broadcast on ~~either The Winger or the MDT website. Honestly, I'm not quite sure, but I'll update when I find out~~ ~~the MDT website~~ various dance websites including The Winger, Dance Advantage Interactive, Misnomer Live, and Dance Outlook (that would be here) at 8PM EST. The performance is in three sections: Too Late Tulip, Rock.Paper.Flock, and Zipper which are each about 20 minutes long. There will be a 15 minute intermission between the second and third sections.

See you there!

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Back Bay Dancewear saved my life!

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:41:00 +0000

Ok, not really. But I finally did find an online source for Gamba 93s in a hard shank.

This time, I think they might work. Yes, one pair exploded mid pique, and another died in one class, but the first was a defect and the latter because of a too-soft shank (stinking dancewear companies seem to only carry medium shanks in these shoes, which I mistakenly thought would be hard enough. They weren't. I rolled over the platform hugely and the front edge of the box collapsed and went to total mush).

After the two failing pairs of 93s, I tried out a pair of Gamba 97s just for kicks, and because they're available in Discount Dance while 93s are not, nor did I want to have to drive two hours to my fitter just to pick up a pair of shoes in the size/width/shank combo I need. The 3/4 shanks on the 97s didn't suit me and twisted a little. The fit was slightly off, but I didn't expect them to be perfect, just good enough to tide me over until I could get a pair of the 93s. But, one thing I learned from those shoes was that the Jet Glue on the inner platform really really helps to keep the tip from going totally soft after one class or less; I'm hoping that it will do the same for the new pair of 93s.

I sewed them surprisingly fast as soon as I got them this afternoon, cut the satin off the platforms, flexed the shanks a little, ripped out the suede lining that bunches up under my toes, Jet Glued, waited for them to dry, put a little duct tape over the potentially pokey staples in the shank, and rolled through demi-pointe a few times. As I type, I'm wearing the shoes under a pair of rainbow knee socks to mould them to my feet a little before class tomorrow.

They're super comfortable (or, as comfy as pointe shoes can be) so far, and I have a good feeling about these shoes' lifespan. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crosed that they'll last me through a performance (only one piece is on pointe) and 3 more pointe classes before Winter break.

Oh, and anyone else that uses a harder to find pointe shoe brand should definitely check out Back Bay; they carry a lot of the less common ones.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Upcoming company and SI auditions

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:48:00 +0000

In the past few weeks, I've been seeing more and more audition notices for Spring and Summer 2009. The following are what I have heard about so far:

Missouri Contemporary Ballet is seeking male dancers for immediate position for Winter/Spring 2009. Start date is somewhat flexible. For more information, please contact Artistic Director Karen Mareck Grundy at grundy.mcb@mchsi.com.
http://www.missouricontemporaryballet.com

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet will hold open auditions for women on January 14 and for men on January 15. Send a head shot and resumé to audition@cedarlakedance.com. http://www.cedarlakedance.com.

Bavarian State Ballet Munich is looking for dancers with strong classical technique. Ladies must be at least 5' 5" and men at least 5' 11". Auditions will be held on January 25. Send resumé (including height and date of birth), full-length body photo in leotard and head shot to: Bettina Kräutler, Platzl 7, 80331 Munich, Germany or bettina.kraeutler@st-oper.bayern.de. http://www.staatsballett.de.

Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company is currently seeking strong male and female dancers who have a solid background in modern dance and/or ballet. Experience in other dance forms is a definite plus. Auditions will be held on a rolling basis until all positions are filled. Email your resumé, dance photos and availability to info@dakshina.org
http://www.dakshina.org

Alonzo King's LINES Ballet is looking to hire a female dancer immediately. You must be at the caliber of a soloist or principal dancer. Those interested should send a video or DVD in which you are figured prominently (solo work is best/contemporary to classical). Footage should not exceed 10 minutes in length. If sending group work, please explain in the letter who to watch for. Also send head shot and resume to arturo@linesballet.org.
http://www.linesballet.org

Pacific Northwest Ballet will hold two company auditions for the 2009-2010 season in early February. More information can be found at the PNB website.
http://www.pnb.org

Ballet Talk For Dancers has a huge list (you must be a member of BT4D to view the link, but it's definitely worth it just for the Pointe Shoe and SI forums alone, not to mention everything else on the site) of schools that have announced audition dates and cities for summer 2009 intensives. Yes, it's that time already.

The first round of SYTYCD5 auditions were held in NYC mid-November. The Fox website hasn't been updated since then and I haven't heard anything else of when the other auditions will be. It does seem, though, that the casting/show format might be slightly different this year considering the location of the auditions, Mark Morris Dance Center, instead of the usual giant theaters.

Those are all for now. If anyone else hears of any other auditions of interest please let me know and I will gladly post them.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

NBC UNVEILS 'SUPERSTARS OF DANCE’, AN HISTORIC DANCE COMPETITION EVENT FEATURING THE MASTERS OF DANCE GENRES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:38:00 +0000

NBC recently announced the premiere of a new dance competition reality show, Superstars Of Dance (formerly title "Superstar Dancers Of The World"). It seems like it could go either way: horrible or amazing. Each team will feature two soloists, one duo, and one large group. It's rumored that some ex-SYTYCDers will be competing on the American team.

Here's the press release:

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., November 14, 2008 - NBC will broadcast "Superstars Of Dance" a breathtaking international dance competition led by executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller, two of the masterminds behind "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" and hosted by Michael Flatley ("Lord of the Dance"). For broadcast in early 2009, the unique series will pit the masters of various dance genres from eight countries against each other. Equal parts sporting event, rock concert and artistic exhibition, "Superstars Of Dance" is poised to become one the greatest spectacles of dance performance ever seen on television.
The announcement was made by Craig Plestis, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, Development and Specials, NBC Entertainment.
"This dance competition is very much like the Olympics," said Plestis. "The physical feats these athletes and artists pull is mind-blowing, and we're so excited to form what we hope will be the definitive dance competition to decide which nation has what it takes to be the best of the best in the world. With so much at stake, this is sure to be a roller coaster, and you never know what will happen next. Plus, with Nigel and Simon running the show, it will be done first class all the way."
"This is the most challenging and exhilarating project I've ever done," said Lythgoe. "Nothing of this magnitude has ever been attempted before on television. We will bring to America different cultural styles of dancers -- each performer the best in their genre -- and the sheer mosaic of styles and energy is going to be nothing short of awe-inspiring."
Eight countries will participate in the competition with each team comprised of two soloists, one duo and one larger group. Viewers will get to know the competitors and the coaches through the trials and tribulations, both behind the scenes and on the stage. The stakes are high for these artists, as they are not only representing themselves, but also their dance form and their entire nation.
The eight countries currently scheduled to participate include: Ireland, India, USA, Argentina, China, Russia, South Africa and Australia. The dance styles that will be represented on the show will be announced at a later date.
"Superstars Of Dance" is from 19 Entertainment. Nigel Lythgoe ("American Idol," "So You Think You Can Dance") and Simon Fuller ("American Idol," "So You Think You Can Dance") are the executive producers.

The show will premiere on January 5th and air through January 26th.

Stay on your toes,

Selly

Nut' 08

danceoutlook@gmail.com (Selly) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 03:40:00 +0000

Once again its December, and once again, every ballet school, studio, and company is performing or getting ready to perform their production of The Nutcracker. Well, every one except mine that only dances Nutcracker every other year, but we won't get in to that.

Every year, you see the same ballet over and over- Girl gets present at party, present breaks, creepy uncle fixes it, girl falls asleep and dreams of a land of sweets. While it is a cheerful holiday experience for many an audience member, it's almost sad that the only impression most of the American public has of ballet is such a trippy ballet that's based on a quite creepy story and that every dancer hates. You perform the same roles to the same music year. After year. After year. Not that we don't have fun along the way.

Some companies stick to the old classic story and variations. Others are trying to spiff it up. While few end up with a watchable and entertaining ballet (whether it's classic Nutcracker or not), most completely fail (these are usually the ones that attempt a darker version, sometimes with Drosselmeyer-Clara pedophilia alluded too, and some just strange). Usually the ones that succeed only deviate from the original in setting, whether time period, country, or both. Versions exist set in the Revolutionary War, at Mount Vernon during George Washington's presidency, during the 1920's at a vaudeville nightclub, in a poor orphanage, and many other creative and weird settings. I saw one example of a successful Nutcracker in a different-than-usual setting today in Saint Louis Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.

Gen Horiuchi's The Nutcracker is set in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri (aka World's Fair mania) at the home of a local dignitary. The dancing and stage presence were all very good, especially for a production predominantly featuring company apprentices and children from the company's school. There were some oddities, like the random bunnies in the battle scene and a few problems with fog and snow obstructing the movement and vision of dancers, but it ran quite smoothly.

As in almost every Nutcracker, Snow Queen (Kate Highstrete), Sugar Plum Fairy (Jennifer Welch Cudnik), and Arabian (Pamela Swaney) were the definite standouts. It was a fast paced show that didn't drag in the party and transformation scenes like many others do. I have definitely seen better (read: Joffrey, but I wouldn't expect a small Midwest company to be up to par with another of Joffrey's caliber) and also much worse (touring productions a la Great Russian Nutcracker), but all in all, it was quite enjoyable. However, the ending was sort of unclear. Clara is left sleeping in a different house than she fell asleep in, and it is implied that even the Christmas party was a figment of her imagination.

This week, OvationTV aired their annual Battle Of The Nutcrackers. I would have loved to see this but all of the times any of the ballets aired were times that I was in my own dance classes or weird times like 3 AM for a production that wasn't worth staying up that late for. This year, Balanchine, PNB, Bolshoi, Bejart, Mark Morris, and Matthew Bourne versions of the ballet competed for the coveted Christmas Eve slot. Viewers can still vote for their favorite production at the OvationTV website.

The Nutcracker is a ballet that I am always fed up with, yet always want to see and participate in anyway. What is your opinion of The Nutcracker in general and/or any specific production that was particularly different from the original?

Stay on your toes,

Selly