Dancer Cribs: ABT’s Nicola Curry

ABT dancer Nicola Curry’s new studio was featured in The New York Times Real Estate section (via Apartment Therapy).

One feature that I think is universally appealing to dancers is hardwood floors. Even though the studio is small, Curry seems to have left some empty floor space, just enough to do some stretching or practice in place.

One thing that’s frustrated me about being a renter in Northern Virginia is the severe shortage of housing with wood floors. If I have to live in another apartment with wall-to-wall carpeting I’ll go crazy.

Parsons Dance and the East Village Opera Company: a dance rockra

What is a dance rockra, you ask? It is one part dance, one part opera, and all parts are totally rocked out. Here I am, in the swamps of Northern Virginia, wishing once again that I lived in Manhattan, our nation’s cultural capital. Luckily I have a consolation prize this year: I will be attending the inauguration without having to sublet out someone’s crappy studio apartment for two grand a night and could even bike down to the national mall if I wanted. Haha.

But I digress…

Later this week, Parsons Dance Company and the East Village Opera Company will debut their untitled collaboration, an evening-length work that strings together several of the EVOC’s re-imagined operatic works into a story line that will be danced out by the Parsons dancers. According to the press release, “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.”

I discovered the East Village Opera Company about two years ago courtesy of Pandora. Their winning combination of opera greatest hits and Queen-esque power rock ballads (rockra, if you will) had me at hello. Be sure to check out the song that first captivated me, Au fond du temple saint, the well-loved Pearl Fishers duet, re-arranged into a power rock duet between a man and a woman. Here they are with their version of the Queen King of the Night aria from The Magic Flute.

And here is Parsons Dance, performing Nascimento Novo:

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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

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

Parkinson’s Disease and Dance

Today’s All Things Considered on NPR had a wonderful story by Jacki Lyden on Parkinson’s and dance. Each week, the Mark Morris dance company holds a class for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

One thing that I learned from the story is that Parkinson’s affects one’s ability to initiate voluntary movement; while involuntary movement is largely unaffected. For example, you would be able to catch a ball because it is a reflexive action, but you might not be able to initiate the movement of your arm to throw it back.

Mark Morris thinks that dance tricks the mind and body into moving, as the repetitive movements in dance can eventually become involuntary, as are one’s mindless reactions to the beat of a familiar song, or copying the movement of an instructor or classmate. Although there is not any definitive scientific research yet to link dance to improvement in Parkinson’s symptoms, the anecdotal results of the class are so strong that Mark Morris was invited to speak at a neuroscientists’ convention.

You can listen to this excellent story (which has a lovely background audio of the class), read a summary, and see photos from the class here.

Something old, something new: West Side Story and Bill T Jones’ Fela!

It was with great excitement that I read the news that West Side Story is going to be revived. It will be a version for the 21st century, with much of the script being rewritten into Spanish and greater attention to authenticity in casting. Lest we worry that something would be lost in translation, the play is in good hands: it will be directed by Arthur Laurents, the author of the play’s book. The genesis of this version lies in a very interesting story reported in the New York Times:

Mr. Laurents, who turned 91 on Monday, traced the origin of the new revival to his companion of 52 years, Tom Hatcher, who died in 2006.

 

Mr. Hatcher was a fluent Spanish speaker, and on a visit to Bogotá, Colombia, saw a staging of “West Side Story” in Spanish.

 

In that version, Mr. Hatcher reported back to Mr. Laurents, the language had transformed the show: the Sharks were the heroes and the Jets were the villains.

 

That sparked the idea of incorporating Spanish into a modern revival. “I thought it would be terrific if we could equalize the two gangs somehow,” Mr. Laurents said. “But I had a lot of trouble because I was depending on Tom, who is fluent. And then he died.”

 Thanks to the persistence of the producers of In the Heights (which lends some street cred to dealing with the New York latino experience in musical form), West Side Story  is currently in casting and is to debut for a four week run in December at the National Theater right here in Washington, DC. The link to the full NYT article is here. (Bonus: a link from the NYT article to Brooks Atkinson’s original review of the play, which proclaimed it “an incandescent piece of work that finds odd bits of beauty amid the rubbish of the streets.”)

~~

Also of note, Bill T. Jones is bringing the music and life of Fela Kuti (the Nigerian musical superstar and political leader) to the stage in the off Broadway production of Fela! The New Musical.

This promotional video provides some insight into how the musical came about:

There are plenty more videos at http://www.felaoffbraodway.com/. I enjoyed watching all the different rehearsal videos, particularly having been so recently involved in the production of a musical myself. Hopefully I will get a chance during my busy summer or fall to make it up to NYC to check this one out. Fela Kuti seems like a very interesting subject for a musical, allowing the socio-political content to be framed by the music that reflected it.

interpretive wedding dances

We’re headed into full-out wedding season, and the NYT has an article about couples going above and beyond the traditional ballroom dance at their wedding. In the case of dancer couples, this can come in the form of a dance choreographed as a gift to the spouse-to-be. There are also services which will choreograph interpretive wedding dances, incorporating the personalities and abilities of the betrothed.

The common theme seems to be that these are tongue-in-cheek elements of the wedding, with the idea that the occasion gives one license to be a little sillier and more uninhibited than in other venues.

Perhaps the execution is more charming than the idea, but it just seems to fit the whole syndrome that one’s wedding is one’s special day upon which one must be the focus of attention and one can do whatever one wishes and the assembled guests are obliged to express their delight at it. I like the idea of presenting a gift of ones own choreography to one’s fiance, because it is eminently personal. However, shelling out [a minimum of] $1500 to a company called MatriMony Mony to explore one’s own performance fantasies seems highly self-indulgent and more than your average wedding guest might be able to bear. Or would it be a welcome break from the monotony of tradition?

“`

Kind of reminds me of this video that I posted a couple months ago:

Mark Morris theme on iGoogle

iGoogle, the personalized homepage version of Google, has rolled out a dizzying array of artist themes with which to customize your web searching experience. There is everything from Jeff Koons, to Diane von Furstenberg, to the Wiggles. Imagine my delight when I found Mark Morris — the only dance company for the time being– among the options. Now every time I go to Google, I am greeted with a different image of my favorite dance company.

Here’s a screenshot of how it looks. Click for a larger version. There’s no mention on the Mark Morris dance company’s website about how this came to be, but what great exposure! I wonder if google plans to include more dancers in its artist lineup.

Q and A with Helanius Wilkins of Edgeworks Dance Theater

I’ve been hoping to get a little more insight on his work, so I was thrilled when Helanius Wilkins, Founder and Artistic Director of Edgeworks Dance Theater, the DC-based all male dance company, agreed to answer a few of my questions. He’s been busy preparing for this weekend’s performance at the American Dance Institute, so he took my questions via email.

Maria: Let’s get the cliched question out of the way: influences. In past conversation you’ve mentioned Horton, Ailey, Bill T Jones, and martial arts as either influences or training grounds. Have you been dancing all your life? What motivates and inspires you?

Helanius J. Wilkins: While I have not been dancing all of my life, dance has always been a part of me. I do not feel that I chose dance, it chose me. It is a calling – and my career is the result of something far deeper than simply making the choice to dance. Life motivates me to dance. What I do is about life experiences, observations, and a quest to know and understand more in order to contribute to the shaping of a more socially just world.

M: In Cold Case, you faced head-on some of the brutal realities of race and racism in America. Can we expect the same frank treatment of sexuality and spirituality in [your newest work,] the determining factor? Where does this honesty come from?

HJW: Absolutely, I have no issues with addressing some of today’s most difficult issues. I believe that we are in a national crisis on so many fronts. Unless we become proactive about confronting these issues, things will never change. … The honesty comes from not being afraid to take risks – not being afraid to ask questions.

M: Community involvement was part of the foundation for the determining factor. How did that part of the process go and did it take you in any unexpected places?

HJW: Yes, the determining factor is in part the result of community collaboration. This collaboration was very enlightening, humbling, and exciting all at the same time. I have walked away with so much…And the journey is just beginning. Yes, unexpected places were a constant in the process. This made for a truly moving and wisdom filled experience.

M: In addition to the acclaim you have received for your work as an artist, it seems that you have attracted recognition from funders as well (your website has a long list of funding, recognition, and honors), including your recent feature of the Catalog of Philanthropy. Nonprofit management skills are key to making the jump from artistic genius to recognition and success. How have you balanced your choreography, teaching, and management responsibilities? What advice would you give to nascent dance companies looking build themselves as an organization?

HJW: Keeping my art first, staying connected to my passion for what I do, and being strategic about everything has been/is the key to the balancing of my responsibilities. These very things are the things I would also share with an emerging organization/artist.

M: You’re about to make your NYC debut (as a headliner) and have already had success touring domestically and internationally. What do you feel sets EDT apart to garner the attention it has, and what do you want the world to know about your work and your dancing? What are your plans for the future?

HJW: There are many things that I believe sets EDT apart from other companies. From being DC’s 1st all male contemporary dance company of predominately Black men to being the second in the nation of its kind to being a company focused on the often misunderstood voice of the african-american male. As much as our work is serious and honest it is entertaining and it reflects the stories and feelings of real people – real lives. Plans for the future: One step at a time.

***

You can see Helanius Wilkins and Edgeworks Dance Theater in a preview performance of the determining factor this weekend, May 2-3 @ 8pm at the American Dance Institute in Rockville, MD.

For tickets, go to www.americandance.org

Don’t miss: Edgeworks and Teatro de Danza

Do not miss the following performances by two wonderful DC-based companies.:

• EDGEWORKS Dance Theater at the American Dance Insitute, May 2-3 (tickets)
• El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea de El Salvador at the GALA Theater at Tivoli Square, May 3-4 (tickets)

Of course, I am a little biased. EDT’s artistic director is Hilanius Wilkins, and El Teatro’s is Miya Hisaka. Both of these individuals are my teachers and I have an enormous amount of respect for them and their work.

I haven’t seen El Teatro before, but we have had the privilege of learning some of the company’s repertory in class. Classical ballet and modern technique combine to form beautiful lines and emotional storytelling. 

EDT will be premiering a preview of their new work, the determining factor. Wilkins is known for his use of multimedia, community collaboration, and unflinching confrontation of important peronal,  social and political issues. Combined with the sensitive yet athletic dancing of this all-male troupe, watching EDT is an explosive and profound experience.

New Yorkers, save the date of June 17, when EDT will have their NYC premiere on a double bill with Ron Brown/EVIDENCE at the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center.

 

a sad day in dance criticism

I just read on Dancing Perfectly Free that Deborah Jowitt, dance critic for the Village Voice for the past 40 years, has lost her job.

Jowitt is the critic I most enjoy reading. She is witty, observative of subtlety, and has a lovely way with the English language. One of my first posts on this blog was about her. As I develop in my own dance writing, I’ve been inspired by her very human and accessible approach to criticism, one that says it’s okay to be amused or confused sometimes.

I’m not sure what the Voice’s thinking was here. I know that the economy is tanking and all, but aren’t there other corners they could cut, other than one that brings joy to those of us who are passionate about dance?

There is a little more detail on the firing, as well as a nice tribute to her contributions and importance at Art Scatter.

Also a broader take on the Voice’s woes in general at Gawker. As one commenter points out, “Most Gawker peeps are probably too young to remember when the Voice was actually exciting, at least in terms of its book, film, and music reviews and other cultural stuff.” With the exception of Jowitt’s reviews, I have never been a reader of the Voice, but in the past had always heard of it as being the more cutting-edge, socially, culturally, and artistically relevant publication in New York. I guess now it has just become yet another money-grubbing and uninteresting rag.

peanuts for monkeys

$12/hr to be a grantwriter, fundraiser, marketing and operations coordinator?

I understand money is tight in the dance world, but this is insulting. I should mention that this position was posted in New York City, one of the most expensive places to live in the world. Also, calling the person who is tasked with doing all of the above an “Adminstrative Assistant” is demeaning.

I’ve read that non-profit management skills of dance companies leave much to be desired, and no wonder. You get what you pay for. I got a masters degree to become an expert at the above skills.

 As Mr. P says, “if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.”

Is this common practice? I don’t work in dance admin so maybe it’s not surprising for others, but as someone who has worked for non-profit and public institutions for years, I for one am surprised. You would not pay a grantwriter so little unless they were an intern.

EDGEWORKS @ Alvin Ailey 1/12/08

Hey New Yorkers, go see this!
I have a bias because Helanius Wilkins is my teacher, but he is truly a heartbreakingly beautiful dancer. I saw Cold Case last year and was blown away by the athleticism, beauty and grace of the dancers (particularly Helanius) in this politically and emotionally charged piece. If anyone goes, please let me know about the determining factor. This has not yet been previewed here in DC.

EDGEWORKS Dance Theater Announces
Performance at Alvin Ailey Studios

January 12, 2008

New York, NY

Washington, DC — EDGEWORKS Dance Theater (EDT) Founder and Artistic Director Helanius J. Wilkins announces the Company’s participation in the Mason/Rhynes Productions showcase at the Alvin Ailey Studios on Saturday, January 12th from 8-10pm. The Company’s work will be performed between 8 and 8:30 pm, and will include excerpts from Helanius’s critically-acclaimed, award-winning Cold Case project. (Ailey Studios is located at 455 W. 55th St, New York, NY.)  The presentation will also feature a preview of the Company’s newest work, the determining factor.

This performance is free and open to the public. No tickets are necessary.

For more information, please visitwww.mason-rhynes.org.

About Helanius J. Wilkins – EDGEWORKS Dance Theater

EDGEWORKS Dance Theater (EDT) is Washington DC’s first-ever all male contemporary dance ensemble of predominately African-American men. EDT aims to break down stereotypes through dance, utilizing a spectrum of performance, choreographic and teaching styles, reflecting the diversity of experiences and perspectives of both its members and guest artists. Through its mission, EDT provides a variety of arts education services and programming to the public. EDT’s current repertory includes the works of Artistic Director Helanius J. Wilkins as well as works by Earl Mosley, Kevin Wynn, Troy Powell, and Robert Moses among others. EDT has performed throughout the United States including venues in Arizona, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington DC, and in Massachusetts at Jacobs’ Pillow Dance Festival.

Encompassing physical extremes, EDT’s body of performance work is both dynamic and diverse. While pushing boundaries, it simultaneously challenges and affirms societal perceptions of male identity, revealing strength and vulnerability. For more information, visit EDT’s website at www.hjwEdgeworks.org.

Dance on the Web: it’s back! edition

There’s been no Dance on the Web for so long because I’ve been majorly behind on keeping up with my blog feed lately. I’ve whittled it down a bit now, but a few days ago I had about 800 unread dance posts in my feed, and that didn’t include any of the non-dance blogs I keep up with! Here are a couple highlights I’ve come across as I dig myself out from the backlog:

• We can now enjoy So You Think You Can Dance year-round thanks to the Australians (and the Canadians) and the wonders of internet video [Blogging SYTYCD].
• Justin Peck of the New York City Ballet documents his transformation into Mother Ginger for the Nutcracker. Pretty incredible and incredibly amusing [The Winger].
• Artists who do not write about their work are allowing others to speak for them [Dancing Into the Future].
• The San Francisco Ballet has commissioned a piece from Wade Robeson, my favorite choreographer from SYTYCD [Dance Outlook].
• What salseras want [Salsa Gigolo].
• “My posts will be brief but full of useful info. The shorter it is, the more you will retain.” [The Winger].

I ♥ NY dance coverage

This was the idyllic scene I breakfasted in the other morning at my Grandma’s house. She lives in Connecticut, close to NYC, and gets the Times. Never in a million years would I open the Washington Post and see a full-page, beautifully written article about dance such as this and other great coverage of the arts. Also, isn’t the coffee mug a perfect concidence?

Two perspectives on the Broadway stagehands’ strike

• Broadway Corporations like Disney Make Millions as Stagehands Strike to Save Homes, Jobs

This well-written article (by American Creative Dance’s Nancy Van Ness) presents the strikers’ perspective on the stagehands’ strike. The web of corporate interests on Broadway, which the author clearly did a lot of research about, is fascinating.

• With Many Shows Out, Theatergoers Venture Into the Unknown

This New York Times article (by Campbell Robertson) explores the show biz alternatives that the sometimes bewildered audiences are turning to. Though the article provides an interesting slice of life, it hardly touches on why the stagehands are striking. I wish the author– who mentioned theater and opera– had thought to find out whether more audiences were turning out for dance performances.

Dance addictions and their internet followers: Salsa and Tango

There are a lot of salsa dancers out there who live, breath, eat, drink and sleep salsa. All their vacations involve congresses or at the very least visiting all the local socials and clubs, or getting a private lesson with the local “salsalebrity.” They spend every single night at the club and many evenings in lessons or practice with their company. Salsaholics go shopping meaning to buy serious work clothes and end up in Forever 21 getting a cute new outfit for dancing (not that I would know anything about this). They spend hours procrastinating at work, trolling the salsa events websites, commenting on the discussion boards, and watching grainy video footage of socials and congresses on YouTube.

Salsaholics know they don’t need to call their friends in advance to see who’s going out that night because they know their friends will be there. Heck, they don’t even need to consult about which club they’re going to, because they all know which one is best for which night. Even I, the “old married lady,” who just goes out once in a blue moon these days, hardly bother to call or text anyone when I am able to go out because I know when I go that, just like at Cheers, everyone knows my name. Salsaholics unknowingly tap the clave out on their steering wheel at red lights and subtly move their feet in the rhythm of basics and shines while standing in line. In short, it consumes their very being.

But wait! There is a group out there giving salsaholics a run for their money… and that group is tango dancers. In my short career as a blogger in the dance world, I can tell you with absolute certainty that there are more blogs about tango than any other style of dance. These people are obsessed! To say that some are more interesting to me (as a non-tango dancer) than others would be an understatement. There’s a lot of self-reflection and minutiae being written about that I’m sure you just have to be one of them to understand. Not that we salseros don’t have these sorts of discussions… take ye olde on1 vs on2 debate. Does anybody else know or care what this is about?

I’ve posted before about the lack of salsa-oriented blogs out there. Since then, despite the low response I got to that post, I have learned about a few more.

Specifically, there are six active salsa blogs that I know of:

Addicted 2 Salsa (la creme de la creme— an excellent, high-caliber combination of instructional videos, intelligent discussion of various issues, and a new, multi-user format that allows anyone to post to the blog and decide which posts stay up due to their relevance and quality)

Toronto Dance Salsa (from the perspective of a salsa teacher in Toronto)

Salsa Gigolo (a brand new one by a passionate salsa and bachata dancer, and quickly becomeing one of my favorites)

Salsa in DC blog (an entertaining mix of local DC salsa news/commentary, videos, creative writing, advice, and opinion)

Salsa Dude (pretty straightforward accounts of events attended by a salsero in the UK)

and of course, yours truly (though this blog could not be considered 100% salsa, more like 50%)

Still, we can’t hold a candle to the tango blogging community.  What do you think the reason is? Are salseros too busy dancing and experiencing life to trifle with recording their lives and interests on a blog? Are salseros less tech savvy? (There are a lot of websites out there, albeit largely promotion-related, but most have not caught up with the RSS feed trend). Does the development of a tango dancer involve more navel-gazing? What is going on?

I’d love to know what you think, and encourage comments from salseros and tango dancers alike (along with interested interlopers).

On a related note, the NY Times today has an article about a spontaneous weekly gathering of tango dancers in Central Park. Now granted, this is the kind of thing that only happens in New York City (and most likely Buenos Aires for all I know), but I wish the salsa community in DC would have some sort of free weekly outdoor thing, like at Dupont Circle. Something like this presents the beauty of the dance and the unique aspects of the subculture to the community at large. No doubt more than a few people walking by would be inspired enough to start learning on their own. It also shows what a fun and healthy activity social dancing is, and that while it can be seen as “sexy” it is also a way to connect in a fun and respectful way with others, be they acquaintances or strangers.