Fame or Famine

One of the neatest things about being an alum from a major university dance program is that sometimes some of the people you got to know "way back when" go on to be incredible successes.
As part of the UW-Madison Dance Program’s 80th Anniversary Gala, Tania Isaac is doing a one-week residency. She’s putting a dance on several students, as well as being a featured performer at the project.
I’ve watched Tania in class, in rehearsal, and in performance, and the woman is a primal force of nature. The thing about it is, her grace and focus extend beyond the …read more

Comments Off

Guess who was in Madison this week? The Bread and Puppet Theatre. Guess who had to work both nights they were here? Me! Grf.
At least I just got hired to be stage managing the upcoming UW-Madison Dance Department Anniversary Gala (my alma mater). Hopefully some good interviews will come of it.
Meanwhile, a blast from the past: the Bread and Puppet theatre from before I was born:

Tags: bread and puppet theatre, political theatre, activism, Madison, UW-Madison, Dance

Comments Off

Sounds like free speech has long been an issue at this school, but silencing a play about the war is…well, even if the kids were wrong about things, how is putting together a play and expressing yourself not educational?

"At least 10 students involved in the production, however, said that the principal had told them the material was too inflammatory, and that only someone who had actually served in the war could understand the experience…“To me, it was outrageous,’’ said Jim Anderson, Sarah’s father. “Here these kids are really trying to make a meaningful effort to educate, to illuminate their fellow …read more

Comments Off

It’s the start of a new season, and this time I’m going to be following it religiously. ABC.com has each episode online as it plays, and I’ve been itching to get back into more ballroom stuff anyway, after seeing the great tango at SEAF and teaching the basics of Argentinian tango to the youth drama group I used to mentor.
I’m glad they used "Ballroom Blitz" as the theme song…but why couldn’t they at least have gotten Tia Carrera to sing her version?
One of the very interesting parts of this is that one of the dancers, Heather Mills, is dancing with …read more

Comments Off

"The Sublet Experiment, a new romantic comedy by Ethan Youngerman, will begin an open-ended run on November 16th. Instead of using a conventional theater, The Sublet Experiment, which is set entirely in a New York City apartment, will be presented in a different apartment each weekend. Directed by Michelle Tattenbaum, the production will travel from neighborhood to neighborhood across the five boroughs and be performed for an audience of twelve at a time."
"In The Sublet Experiment, a serial sublettor, a reality show reject and the worst bank robbers in history collide. It is a comic thriller about love, identity and …read more

Comments Off

I’ve got Greenfield’s Breaking Bounds calendar at my desk, the 3rd one I’ve owned. I love the magic of a good photograph capturing the moment of dance. Especially when the artist (like Greenfield) is so good at capturing the moment that they both capture the timelessness of the dancer’s expression and a bit of the movement that is conveyed by it.
Somehow, someway, I’ve got to get to Lincoln Center before this comes down:

"Earlier this month, Lincoln Center Festival organizers announced that the festival’s 2007 offerings will include photographer David Michalek’s outdoor installation "Slow Dancing," to be displayed on the façade …read more

3 Comments

I don’t have much more to wrap up the SEAF performance review. The Sinner Saint Burlesque group, including Dane (who was also the MC for the auction, and hosts his own Seattle show and podcast) did a version of "Mein Herr" from Cabaret that was spirited and fun– I have to wonder if the troupe, so used to working the audience in a more direct and bawdy way, had difficulty with the kind of detached haughty disregard required to do that number right. As far as precision dancing went, though, they were right on, and I think they did a …read more

Comments Off

…have been the EQLateral Ensemble. Just listen (and watch; their stage presence is fantastic).

Tags: eqlateral, improvisation, music, strings

Comments Off

Ok, I confess, that title has nothing to do with anything other than the fact that they were dancing tango. I certainly hope it won’t be the last time I see them dance…
Katie Lake and Sarah Thomsen shucked much of the traditional trappings of tango (sorry, alliteration seems to be the word of the day) and performed a partner dance as “Cayenne & Canela.” One of the neat things about the performance (aside from the fact that they did it down a staircase, a feat that left me open mouthed with amazement) was the way the lead kept “switching” between …read more

Comments Off

"I hear that there’s going to be some kind of Indian classical dance going on soon!" my friend said as she passed the table where I was watching a hilarious comedian named Mr. Big deliver a tremendously NSFW routine. I hurried out to watch them: Archana Kumar and her troupe were about to perform.
The were dressed in traditional (I found out later) Indian costume – not the extravagant and intricate beads and such, but simple loose pants, a small loose halter top on the women, with the men shirtless and small intricate medallions at their necks. The music was a …read more

Comments Off