7 replies to this topic

[dirac]

A story on retired dancers Kaori Ogasawara and Christopher Rendall-Jackson.

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Repeated knee injuries had convinced Rendall-Jackson, 36, it was time to plan a new career. Working a strenuous schedule, he earned his undergraduate degree while dancing in Pittsburgh and then settled on law, which he argued, somewhat unconvincingly, shares similarities with dance. "Dance is about helping an audience see things differently," he said. As a lawyer, he will help a judge and jury see things differently. "I just don't have to jump as much."

Ogasawara has danced many featured roles in Pittsburgh and as a guest artist, including Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty," Marie (also called Clara) and the Sugar Plum Fairy in "The Nutcracker," and Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, in "Giselle." She has spent the past three years raising small children.....

[dirac]

Inland Valley Classical Ballet Theatre celebrates its tenth anniversary.

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One is a ballet choreographed by Waisman that will be presented Sept. 1 and 2 at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater. It interprets a plethora of fairy tales through their primary characters.

The other is a remodeling of the company's studio at 41760 Rider Way. The remodeling is a gift of a family involved with the studio. The gift was made contingent on the donors not being identified.

[dirac]

A story on the state of play at the Jerusalem Ballet by Ruth Eshel in Haaretz.

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Something good is happening in the Jerusalem Ballet under the artistic direction of Nadya Timofeeva and managing director Marina Neeman. The company - which was founded by Nadya's mother, Bolshoi prima ballerina Nina Timofeeva used to be an old-style Russian ballet troupe in the shadow of the Bolshoi. But recently it has dared to embark on a new path.

The change began about a year ago when Yoram Carmi created "Clara" for the troupe. The encounter between the contemporary choreographer and the ballet dancers created an interesting lexicon of movement. The choreography also altered the quality of the movement of the classical dancers, adding momentum and flow to what had previously been virtuoso dance which suffered from mannerisms and blocked energy.

[dirac]

Pennsylvania Regional Ballet offers a new theater-centered program.

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The musical theater classes, which are the newest offering in PRB’s class line-up, are intended to prepare students for the “audition to performance” path they’ll need to follow in order to be successful while pursuing musical theater — whether it’s a local school production, community theater or beyond. They are also meant for anyone who simply enjoys the “song and dance” style of performing.

[dirac]

Maggie Smallof Richmond Ballet makes the cover of Dance Magazine.

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The Richmond Ballet is hosting an autograph signing for the School of Richmond Ballet on Sept. 8 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. The students will receive a free autographed copy of the magazine as well as the opportunity to have a picture taken with Maggie Small. A spokesperson said the Richmond Ballet is hoping to have a public signing soon.

[dirac]

A preview of the Australian Ballet's new triple bill by Tim Douglas in The Australian.

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Icons, a triple bill comprising the country's most significant ballets from the 1960s, 70s and 80s, premieres at Melbourne's State Theatre tonight, and balletgoers should expect to see more Sherrins than perhaps they are used to. Robert Helpmann's seminal 1964 work The Display and Graeme Murphy's 1980 ballet Beyond Twelve both feature energetic Aussie rules football scenes. The ballets will be performed alongside Gemini, American choreographer Glen Tetley's 1973 work, as part of the AB's 50th anniversary celebrations.

[dirac]

Mirta Hermida, dancer and teacher at the Cuban National Ballet School, has died.

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She was a founding member of Teatro Lírico Nacional or Cuban National Opera Theater, where she began her professional artistic career as a dancer in 1962, and under the guidance of maestro Fernando Alonso, one of the founders of the Cuban National Ballet Company, she was promoted to join the ranks of the Cuban National Ballet Company as a dancer in 1965. Along with her career as a professional ballerina, she began teaching at the National Arts School of Cuba and was the director of the Cuban National Ballet School from 1977 to 1985.

Q&A with Hermida by Toba Singer in The California Literary Review.

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How was it that you became a teacher?
Understanding that dancers’ careers had a limited time span and usually ended at the age of 30, Fernando and Alicia taught us how to teach, even as we learned. And so, by the age of 19 I had begun teaching. This development of dancers simultaneously as teachers assured the continuity of the Cuban school and style for generations to come. It conferred the stamp of Alicia Alonso as a ballerina assoluta and her accomplishments on the company and school.

[dirac]

A review of the Eifman Ballet in 'Anna Karenina' by Heather Bloom for Australian Stage.

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All of Eifman's dancers are exceptionally tall, lean and have the obvious classical training that audiences have come to expect from the Russian ballet. Maria Abashova, who plays the title character, displays exceptional strength and death-defying tricks, and is rarely seen offstage except for a myriad of costume changes that would leave even the most disconcerting fashionista breathless.