Fame or Famine

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Merce Cunningham. I love the way he opened up the world of dance into realms of chance and found the beauty in the random combination of elements. He used beautifully the brain’s compunction to create relationships even where they aren’t actually there, and so the landing of a dancer on one foot will seem to  coincide with the dropping of a needle on a record…even though they were never actually planned that way.
He was a bit of an outcast in the dance world for that reason, though:

"In my dance work, I very rarely …read more

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I just confirmed that I will be stage managing the 47th Annual Madfest in Madison, WI on January 13, 2007. This is my favorite annual gig, and I’m looking forward to blogging about the experience this year!

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I grew up in New Jersey, right across the river from NYC. So I grew up seeing advertising for all the Broadway musicals, not only on billboards and papers but even on TV. My parents, however, were never big theatre patrons, and the closest I ever got to Broadway with them was seeing the Rockettes and Annie at Radio City Music Hall one Christmas.
It was unforgettable magic.
One of the ad campaigns that stuck in my head was the campaign for Dreamgirls. It would show a curvy singer in a sequin dress, brightly lit and before the crowd, and long before …read more

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It’s the curse of working theatre–you never get to go to see shows. Whether it be local, and you miss your friends’ gigs, or if you’re in a town like NYC the only night you have free is usually the same night all the other theatres are dark. I have only had one lucky break in that, when I was able to catch a matinee of the revival of Cabaret at Studio 54 (nosebleed seats, but so incredibly worth it.
I never thought about just how much of a double-edged sword the revival of the broadway musical is to modern dance. …read more

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So, when I was about 17, I did one of those Columbia record club things. You know, 14 albums for one penny, and then your ass is their until you pay $143,000 more for six more CDs that you don’t need.
By accident–only because I liked the name–I picked out "Saltimbanco" by some group called "Cirque du Soleil." I’d never heard of that band, but when I listened to the music…I was entranced. It was unbelievable, new, exciting, and to my young ears, I wanted to find out more.
When I found out what Cirque really was…well, that made things even more …read more

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I love music. I love holiday music, even. But I gotta admit, even I had to agree with this guy: some songs just get played too damn much:

Happy holidaze, everyone.

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Saw Happy Feet today, and was pleased. Of course, that might be because I only paid $4 for the matinee–it wasn’t mind-blowing. But the dancing was fun, the music really enjoyable, Robin Williams was his usual unbelievably good self, and it reminded me how much I enjoy dance.
But I cut my teeth on dance in the 80’s. Specifically, music videos. And seeing the tap dancing reminded me of Paula Abdul’s early work, and away to Daily Motion I went.
Now I’ve watched her, and Janet Jackson’s early videos, and Kylie Minogue’s, and I remember that these are the videos (along with …read more

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Even at the height of my most technological performing days, with computers and global hookups and heavily effected video, I also would periodically grab my guitar, or my three juggling balls, and hang out on the corner at the Madison Farmer’s Market and busk. Why? To remind myself–and reassure myself–that it’s not about the props, it’s about the performance. To try and remember that I’m coming from a long and venerable tradition of performance that stretches back further than recorded history, to dancers moving in the flames of the fire and wood pounded on skin and the pure joy of …read more

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I knew that eventually I’d want to see Happy Feet–after all, Robin Williams is a god among actors, and his animated voice characters are unforgettable. And I keep hearing how great it is–heck, it beat James Bond, and I saw that movie and it was great!
But now I’ve got another reason: Savion Glover was the choreographer and (I think) the source of the motion capture (and at the very least the sound) of Mumbles, the lead character. As they say in the New York Observer:

"…they’re an animated, penguinized treatment of the feet of our most brilliant tapper, Savion Glover, who …read more

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OK, once again, in the "Jessica Simpson should not be pilloried" defense (and let me tell you, I really can’t believe I’m spending so much time defending her), let’s take a look at another "consummate professional": Placido Domingo.
Can we agree he is, arguably, one of the most experienced and talented performers of this or any age? And yet he was booed, no less, at the Met, for his insensitive conducting of La Boheme with special guest Anna Netrebko performing for one night only as Mimi.

"…Mr. Domingo trudged along inattentively at metronomic speed, running noticeably ahead of his diva. As a …read more

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