June 27th, 2008
Milia comments: I’m 18 turning 19 and I feel so behind in dancing. I do know I’m not up to date in movements nor technique. But you will see me again - from today on I will practice, practice, and practice.
I feel that - it warms my heart, actually. At age 18 I started on […]
By Gray -- 0 comments
June 20th, 2008
If I owe my career choices to anyone, I owe it to authors Spider & Jeanne Robinson and their novel Stardance. In fact, one of the most life-changing events in my life was spending a weekend with them on Gambier Island in Vancouver. Jeanne, who is both a dancer, a choreographer, and a zen roshi, […]
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June 8th, 2008
It may finally happen. I may be able to go and see a performance of a dance piece I’m writing about. Best of all, it features my homeboy, Ethan Steifel, who started his stellar career right down the road from me at the Monona Academy of Dance.
Twyla’s Interpretation of Heaven & Hell
Ethan works with Herman […]
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May 28th, 2008
What better way to kick off the start of So You Think You Can Dance tonight but with an announcement of another opportunity to dance with some stars?
Li Chiao-Ping is a choreographer and dancer originally from San Francisco, now living in Wisconsin. Her dance company has toured all over the world, and she has dedicated […]
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May 25th, 2008
A couple of fascinating literary works have come out - one journalistic, one autobiographical - that serve to really highlight how much the world has moved on from the days of Rudolph Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov leaping over airport turnstiles to defect to the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Alexei Ratmansky
In […]
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May 22nd, 2008
I had the distinct pleasure recently of dining at the Med Hookah lounge in Madison, WI, which aside from having great Mediterranean food also feature middle eastern dancers (aka bellydancers, though some don’t like that term).
Those Who Can, Teach
One of the performers there is Arielle, a teacher at the Madison Multicultural Dance Center with Mona […]
By Gray -- 4 comments
May 12th, 2008
John Henry was a self-described “performing artist/educator” who realized he was dying of AIDS and decided to turn his preparation for death into a performance piece. With the collaborative help of Douglas Rosenberg and Ellen Bromberg, a dance/technology piece was born.
A large part of that piece dealt with John Henry’s experiences as a combat soldier […]
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May 5th, 2008
“
Why not up close and personal? Why not a special show, every now and then, when we could get to watch one or two Ailey marvels dancing something small and intimate in a setting where we might actually be able to track the thoughts crossing their brows, the nerve synapses firing in their muscles, the […]
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April 2nd, 2008
This blog is a bit of a balancing act. I try to cover general performing arts, and that’s a wide spectrum; so you end up with one day me talking about plays in London, another day about popular culture like Dancing with the Stars, and another day about the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre celebrating its […]
By Gray -- 1 comment
March 26th, 2008
AAADT: NEWS FROM THE ROAD AS 50TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR IS SET TO LAUNCH: On a 27-city tour, the company has critics raving “The Ailey troupe is one of few companies constantly capable of attracting viewers new to dance, and making converts of them.” Click for the AAADT North American Tour Schedule.
AILEY II GEARS UP […]
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