9 replies to this topic

[dirac]

A CNN story on Michaela DePrince.

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She says she almost quit dancing when she was 10 years old after a teacher told her mother that she didn't want to put "a lot of effort and money into the black dancers because they just get fat and get big boobs and big thighs."

But those words only served to make DePrince even more determined."I'm still trying to change the way people see black dancers, that we can become delicate dancers, that we can be a ballerina."

[dirac]

An interview with Leanne Stojmenov of the Australian Ballet.

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In the meantime, Stojmenov is excited to be part of Icons, particularly her turn in The Display.The work was created by Helpmann at the behest of the Australian Ballet's founding artistic director, Peggy van Praagh.

Combining depictions of national character traits with beautiful, lush native landscapes, The Display amusingly relates the lyrebird's mating rituals to the behaviour of men fighting over a woman at an Aussie picnic.

[dirac]

Woodbury Ballet Theatreprepares for its October debut.

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Starting a professional company is a big undertaking, Ms. Errica affirmed, particularly in today’s economy. But she and Mr. Sherwood believe that for Woodbury, the time is right. “This state was once the home of the Hartford Ballet, a great professional company,” Ms. Errica said. “When they went under [in 1999], we were left with just the little companies.

“We’re little, but we really want to grow. We want to be a place for dancers to dance professionally in Connecticut.”

[dirac]

Boston Ballet's new lecture-performance-event series gets underway this month.

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The series, called BB@home, is designed to appeal to new audiences beyond the traditional ballet crowd.

“We encourage the public to ‘re-think ballet’, and experience this evolving art form with an open mind," said Boston Ballet Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. "“The BB@home series opens the door to audiences who may not have considered ballet accessible or relevant to their lives."

[dirac]

An NPR interview with Brooklyn Mack of Washington Ballet. Audio and text.

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MARTIN: And then you came to find out that your mom had actually been a dancer but you didn't even know that.

MACK: Yes. Yes. About a month or two months in, my mom actually revealed to me that she had been a dancer - and ballet at that. And I'm the youngest of four siblings, so by the time I came around, she had given up on trying to get her kids to dance because she tried with all my other siblings before me to get them interested in dance, but nobody really took to it or stuck with it. So by the time I came around, she had given up hope, then here it comes that I actually come and ask her.

[dirac]

The National Ballet of Cubacancels its South African tour.

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In announcing the cancellation of the National Ballet of Cuba’s highly anticipated first SA tour, Dirk Badenhorst said the National Ballet of Cuba took the decision last night to cancel the tour after the SA government’s ongoing delays in the payment of the funding required to secure and arrange the tour and in providing assistance with the logistical details required for the tour.

[dirac]

Praise for "Bunheads" from Linda Winer in Newsday.

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How lucky for us that TV has a place where she can do all of that in such a smart, unpretentious show. How smart? For example, the season finale included the school's annual production of "The Nutcracker." In less than one hour, we got a good mean joke about "The Red Shoes" and throwaway references to Kofi Annan, Justin Bieber, "The Shining" and "Single White Female." When the students said dancers don't eat candy bars, Michelle scoffed, "Suzanne Farrell was 60 percent caramel."

[dirac]

Alexanda Kochis of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre writes about the troupe's recent visit to Israel for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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Taking part in the festival in Karmiel was an experience I will never forget. We rehearsed in a studio in the heart of the festival grounds for two days prior to the opening. We got to see everything take shape and generate an energy of its own as people from all over the country, and the world, started to arrive. One of our Israeli cultural liaisons told us that in the 25 years the festival has been held, it has become a time for people from Karmiel to return home, visit family and catch up with old friends. The festival even worked its reunification magic on my husband [principal dancer Christopher Budzynski] and me as we ran into an old colleague whom we hadn't seen for probably 15 years! He was working in a company in France and performing in the festival. I can't tell you our shock at seeing a familiar face so many miles from home. But it did reinforce the feeling that this was an incredibly special place of convergence for dance and dance lovers.

[dirac]

An interview with Alonzo King by Paul Hodgins in The Orange County Register.

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King has been working at UC Irvine on a large choreography that combines the members of his company with those of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (the work will not be seen at the Laguna Dance Festival).

The collaboration was born when Hubbard Street artistic director Glenn Edgerton visited King's studio a couple of years ago and watched his dancers in rehearsal. "He said, 'Alonzo, I'd really like you to come work with my dancers. Your company is really process-oriented. I want (my dancers) to be asking the deeper questions about themselves.'"

[dirac]

The executive director of Orlando Ballet resigns after four months on the job. Story by Matthew J. Palm in The Orlando Sentinel.

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In the short time Hough was at the helm, the ballet counted a number of successes. It expanded its programming at the Garden Theatre in Winter Garden for the coming season and added performances to a revival of its successful "Vampire's Ball" program at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre.

Orlando Ballet School student Blake Kessler won the 2012 Youth American Grand Prix, the top prize for this category in the world. And the ballet, which has struggled in the past with attendance, has seen season subscriptions running 40 percent ahead of last year.