CREATION LAUNCHES NEW STREET DANCE CLASSES IN LONDON
November 30, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Now there are two more places for adult beginners to take hip hop dancing lessons in London. Creation Dance, which already holds classes across London in 9 different venues has added a further two studios to its listings in order to cope with the growing demand for classes from new and existing clients. For those people who are more John Seargant than John Travolta, this is great news, because Creation’s classes are designed for complete adult beginners who’ve always wanted to learn something new, but never had the chance.
Beginners street dance expert, Ainhoa Rey, says the additional of the two venues, one in Muswell Hill and one in Baker Street, will mean that residents and workers in North London now have more access to classes, and the popular central London sessions will have increased availability. “This is a very exciting time for Creation. Street dance is more popular than ever, because it’s so much fun and you don’t need to be a dancer to try it. With these two studios running new classes we hope to be able to increase the number of beginners who can come to our sessions and also offer a wider range of styles.”
Muswell Hill classes will run on Mondays at 7pm from the second week in January, and Baker Street classes will also start that week on a day to be confirmed.
Creation Dance street dance classes, ‘Urban Groove’ also happen in Tottenham Court Road, Holborn, Earls Court, Hammersmith, Shepherds Bush, Clapham and Camden, as well as in Oxford and Brighton.
To get more information or to sign up visit http://www.creationdance.co.uk or call 0870 140 3234 for more information. Email info@creationdance.co.uk for more information.
My First Butoh Ride
November 30, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
I was just in Katsura Kan's 'Curious Fish'. This was my first real Butoh experience and I loved it! I loved the use of internal story, the concept of filling a mask with emotion, the sense of ancient-ness, the taboo and beauty and absurdity. I especially had fun as a chicken. And I got to be naked - woohooo! On the whole, I went on a rich internal journey within a landscape of sparse and delicate physicality. Lovely.
Coming Out!
November 30, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
LINK Dance Company
Dancehouse, Melbourne
November 27, 2008
Coming Out! is an opportunity for graduating students from tertiary dance courses around Australia to showcase their work. Program A was performed by LINK, the honours-year company from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, and featured choreography by Narelle Benjamin, Martin del Amo and Michael Whaites.
In Benjamin’s Out Of Water, the all-female ensemble move through a series of modified yoga postures, demonstrating their extreme flexibility and strength. Set to an atmospheric soundscape by Huey Benjamin, the dancers maintain good unison and a sense of continuous, fluid motion, yet the overall impression is more akin to a gymnastic display than a dance piece.
In contrast, Mountains Never Meet by del Amo makes no attempt at virtuosity, instead relying on increasingly intricate arrangements of pedestrian movement. Wearing jeans and sneakers, the performers walk, jump, skip and run in the deceptively simple, well structured choreography, which speaks volumes about the human condition through clever manipulation of space and time.
Surrealism is the focus of the final piece, created by Whaites in collaboration with the dancers. Titled Miss Muffet Eats a Mushroom, it combines inventive costuming, some ironic spoken word and detailed original movement. The ideas and images presented are constantly surprising and engaging, though more stringent editing would make for a stronger result.
The eight women of LINK gave solid performances, though with so few graduate positions available in Australia, they’ll need more than just technical proficiency and tertiary qualifications if they hope to build a career.
First published in The Age newspaper.
Members of LINK Dance Company 2008: Carly Armstrong, Li-yi Chiu (Courtesy Taipei National University of Arts), Jamie Lee, Jessica Lewis, Jehane Lindley, Kylie Murray, Rhiannon Spratling and Amy Wiseman.
“The Dog Ate It, Miss.”
November 30, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Me: "Err... David? You know the bird mask? I was coming to rehearsal this morning and I dropped it and a car ran over it." Dave: "Is it still ok?" Me: "It's a bit flat..." Just the kind of...
Dance Update.
November 29, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Dance Update.So today was my first rehearsal/class since Thanksgiving break started on Monday. I got there early to stretch and warm up and I found out that one of the girls in the piece I am understudying sprained her ankle! So I am her as of further notice. We think she will be better by the performance (which starts Dec. 13th) but if not, then I get her part. I do of course hope she gets better soon!
Anyway today I did her part, and it was a killer! I haven’t danced in a week and then doing a 15 minute dances en pointe… well lets just same my legs felt numb!!!
Best wishes all! I have a lot of practicing to do!
Great explaination of fluidity
November 28, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
powerful movement with music
November 27, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
PART OF THE NATURAL RYTHMN OF THE UNIVERSE IS THE BREATH OUT AND NOW IT IS BREATHING BACK IN AGAIN IF WE SURRENDER WE CAN ATTUNE TO THAT FLOW TO HIGHER LEVELS OF UNITY.
LIKE A SURFER RIDING A WAVE, WE DON"T DICTATE THE WAY THE WAVE GOES, WE JUST RIDE IT AND ENJOY THE RIDE.
The Power of the Wave
November 27, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
This is wonderful example of the power of the wave.
Cirque Du Soleil audition 2008
November 27, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
One day in May of 08 I died my hair pink and had my son Antwan film this to send in as an audition to Cirque Du Soleil. They get approx. 3000 dance applicants a year and audition around 700. I was thrilled to get an invitation as I am purely an improvisational dancer, having never had any formal training in dance. I was invited to St. Louis in Feb. with 29 other dancers (all under 25). All with formal training. The Cirque team tells you that you have one minute to fascinate them. I used 10 caricature faces blown up to full head size that Antwan had done of me and asked for 10 volunteers to help with the creation. Using a Mika song called Love Today , with repeated lyrics of "you gotta love , love, me" I danced around my caricature heads, which they held on sticks in front of their own faces. I actually made it through that cut. Next,they taught a choreographed piece from one of the shows. That cut I did not make because I thought they actually expected me to do this piece as taught and I did not have the skills or vocabulary to do that. I received a wonderful reinvitation to try again this year . and I might. I was told that what they were looking for actually was. " how much I enjoyed the unknown" .
Here, Where We’ve Always Been
November 27, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Women’s Circus
Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall
November 24, 2008
The Women’s Circus are celebrating an important historical milestone with their latest production. Marking one hundred years since most women were granted the right to vote in Victoria, Here offers a glimpse into the struggles of the past, as well an argument for continuing the fight into the future.
Set in a 19th century laundry where legions of women pound, scrub and sweat for minimal wages in the steaming suds, director Nadja Kostich illuminates the difficult working conditions of women in that era. The atmosphere of the laundry is cleverly evoked by the huge group of performers who fill the space with heaving, repetitive movement and sounds.
From the drudgery emerges a sense of sisterhood, as the somewhat fractured narrative unfolds to tell real and imagined stories of women and women’s suffrage in this state. The performers climb on and support each other physically while a historical voice berates these “he-women” who would “de-sex” themselves through their involvement with politics.
German wheels roll like giant cartwheels, carrying suffragettes as they collect signatures for petitions, while other scenes are more abstract, including well executed trapeze, aerial tissu and rope routines. The action is accompanied and enhanced by live music and song, pounding percussion alternating with melancholic melodies under the musical direction of Irine Vela.
There are significant differences in skill levels within the cast, but Kostich manages to highlight the strengths of each performer, creating some powerful moments for soloists and the ensemble.
Unfortunately the show is in need of more judicious editing. The pace is often depressingly slow, which, while historically accurate in terms of voting rights, doesn’t make for good circus. Snippets of projected video and animation aren’t given enough time or space to develop, while issues with sound mixing and voice projection mean that some spoken lines are unable to be heard.
After years of agitation for change, the eventual outcome for women in Victoria was a positive one. Yet the ultimate message of this production is that for many others around the world, there is still a long way to go in the fight for equal rights.
First published in The Age newspaper
