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pherank

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    Films of Maya Deren and their Dance Aspect

    in Other Performing & Fine Arts: Performances, Exhibits, Films, and Events

    Posted

    The films of Maya Deren often contain a number of aspects of 'dance' within them - in the editing style, in the camera movements, as well as actual depictions of human dance and ritualized movement. Her films are few, and generally short (often under 15 minutes apiece), as they were made on the smallest of budgets, but are held in high esteem by those who study filmmaking. Her first film, Meshes of the Afternoon, created with then-husband Alexander Hammid, a Hollywood cameraman, continues to be her most well-known work, followed by At Land, her second film. I recommend checking those out on YouTube. Below I'm including links to her most obviously dance-oriented works.

    From the Wikipedia bio:
    "Maya Deren (April 29, 1917 – October 13, 1961), born Eleanora Derenkowskaia (Russian: Элеоно́ра Деренко́вская), was one of the most important American experimental filmmakers and entrepreneurial promoters of the avant-garde in the 1940s and 1950s. Deren was also a choreographer, dancer, film theorist, poet, lecturer, writer and photographer."

    "In 1943, she moved to a bungalow on Kings Road in Hollywood and adopted the name Maya. Maya is the name of the mother of the historical Buddha as well as the dharmic concept of the illusory nature of reality. In Greek myth, Maia is the mother of Hermes and a goddess of mountains and fields. Also in 1943, Deren began making a film with Marcel Duchamp, The Witches' Cradle, which was never completed.

    In 1944, back in New York City, her social circle included Duchamp, André Breton, John Cage, and Anaïs Nin."

    Online Essay about Deren's life and work:

    http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/deren-2/

    A Study in Choreography for Camera (1945)
    danced by Talley Beatty
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcBWt0tm6AI

    Ritual in Transfigured Time
    (Maya Deren is the first actor that you see)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctFPrLtSWg8

    Meditation on Violence
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-cR2hJneFs

    The Very Eye of Night

    (with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXFk67gU-X4

    And if you've an interest in her other works...these feature less obvious dance references, but her editing of movement is still quite novel:

    Meshes of the Afternoon

    (the film that inspired a thousand film students...music by Teiji Ito, Deren's 3rd husband who composed for stage and screen, and even Robbin's ballet Watermill)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S03Aw5HULU

    At Land
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD088nkJlD4

    Petrushka: Puppets, Dancers, and the Philharmonic

    in Other Performing & Fine Arts: Performances, Exhibits, Films, and Events

    Posted

    ...If I were to see the whole performance again, then perhaps I would be able to tease out more from the event as a totality and find things in both sections that I missed this go round. But I certainly don't regret having had the chance to see Mearns showcased by Armitage in such splendid fashion.

    Thanks for the great write-up Drew.

    Well I'm glad that at least the dancing was a success for you. Not having been there, I can't really know what it was like, so I appreciate your candor, and detailed description. I tend to err on the side of, "at least they are trying things" - there is creativity afoot (even if it isn't your cup of tea). I'm happy to hear that the Philharmonic is experimenting with new ideas for performance, rather than following the predictable and safe path with every performance. It sounds to me like this appoach needs work, but could be sculpted into something successful.

    Guest Blog: Juliet Burnett’s Visit to SF Ballet

    in San Francisco Ballet

    Posted

    This blog "essay" was so well written that I thought we should link to it here:

    http://www.sfballetblog.org/2013/04/juliet-burnett/

    “I had heard a lot about the company. Led by its long-time director Helgi Tomasson, with its exciting dancers and repertoire, it has forged a formidable international reputation. I wanted to discover more about the company, but also the American style of ballet, now that I had delved into the English and European styles on my travels. I have been trained in the Italian Cecchetti method, the English RAD method and the Russian Vaganova method, with each informing my classical ballet technique to varying degrees, but the American technique has long eluded me..."

    General Education for Dancers

    in Everything Else Ballet

    Posted

    Thanks for those links Peggy, I liked this statement in particular (from McCullagh), "It’s also quite unique in that it breaks down the barriers that are often established within the ranks of SFB. I have loved getting to work so closely with some of the principal dancers of SFB that I have, in many instances, grown-up watching and admiring on the stage. Now I find myself working on group projects with them or helping them edit an essay!"

    Helene's comment reminded me that I also took an Arts Management class (at San Francisco State U.) at about the same time - it was a "bleeding edge" class. No one had done it before, and the 2 gentlemen who ran the class were partly trying to figure out just what such a class should consist of. I'm pretty sure that none of the students knew what to expect, but we all found it fascinating. Partly because we had speakers from the arts come into the class to talk about their experiences. I remember the editors of an underground magazine coming for one class, as well as the woman curator who founded the art exhibitions at San Francisco International airport, which have since become a permanent fixture. Now days, it's possible to study non-profit management at many schools, so curriculum has been better thought out since the 1980s.

    Petrushka: Puppets, Dancers, and the Philharmonic

    in Other Performing & Fine Arts: Performances, Exhibits, Films, and Events

    Posted

    I found this description of the NY Philharmonic performance very interesting, and wish I could be there to see it:

    Everyone’s a Dancer at the Philharmonic
    ‘A Dancer’s Dream’ Includes Orchestra in Stravinsky Ballets

    "For the New York Philharmonic’s production of Petrushka that opened on Thursday night at Avery Fisher Hall, part of an ambitious season-ending program called “A Dancer’s Dream,” the director and designer Doug Fitch did not have a corps de ballet to enact the scene. Still, he had very willing substitutes: the Philharmonic players." -- I think Diaghilev is smiling.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/29/arts/music/a-dancers-dream-includes-orchestra-in-stravinsky-ballets.html

    Bits and Pieces of Balanchine

    in Ballet Videos, Films, Broadcast Performances, Photos, and Interviews

    Posted

    Thank you, vipa. Is Richard Thomas (Sr) still alive? When you look at the still image of Pas de Dix - Part 2, Sobotka & O'Brien are the third couple to the left - or the second couple to your right - depending upon how you view it. She is wearing glittering earrings. Sobotka also does a solo at the end of Pas de Dix - Part 1; she is the soloist on the right.

    And I believe we see Ruth Sobotka as Apollo's mother, Leto, in the d'Amboise version of Apollo on DVD. She was Stanley Kubrick's second wife.

    General Education for Dancers

    in Everything Else Ballet

    Posted

    They have a program specifically for "Liberal Education for Arts Professionals" for professional dancers on their several campuses:

    http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/node/4106

    It's a great idea for dancers thinking ahead to the next phase of their careers.

    It is a great idea, and I wonder how it all came about...

    [Edit] I see Yuan-Yuan is on pg 2 of their brochure, and Vanessa Zahorina on pg 3. ;)

    http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/files/LEAP2010Viewbook.pdf

    There was, at least at one time, a program where NYCB dancers took classes at Fordham's Lincoln Center branch.

    Pacific Northwest Ballet's Second Stage program has an arrangement with Seattle University to have a professor teach one class a term on premises, and some dancers spoke about an arts management degree through the school.

    Second Stage also gives funds for dancers to attend the colleges of their choice. Leah O'Connor is the latest to receive her degree from the University of Washington, which she started as a Professional Devision student. Other dancers worked towards becoming PT's and Pilates instructors.

    Second Stage is dedicated to helping dancers prepare for life after dancing and isn't limited to school. Dancers create proposals, and, I believe, can submit more than one application up to a total $/dancer. Jordan Pacitti has spoken often about how, when he was recovering from injury, he put together a business plan for his fragrance business, which has expanded into skin care since then. Not only was he given funding, he was given mentorship.

    "Second Stage" sounds like a well developed program - being able to attend college at any school of your choice is a big deal, in itself. Pretty interesting that dancers are also able to receive funding for their entrepreneurial pursuits.

    It's great that they are recognizing, and doing something about, the difficulties dancers face once the stage career is over.

    General Education for Dancers

    in Everything Else Ballet

    Posted

    Somewhat by accident, while on LinkedIn.com, I happened to notice that Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets, Alana Altman and Sasha De Sola of SFB have all received degrees through Saint Mary's College of California. And there may be more (but I'm not going to get obsessive about it). I'm assuming there's some kind of program available to stage professionals at Saint Mary's. Does anyone know more about these sorts of programs - are they common in the major cities (NYC, Chicago, LA, etc)?

    Mathilde Froustey, POB sujet, changing companies -

    in Ballet News & Issues

    Posted

    Aside from Pascal Molat and Sofiane Sylve, and maybe Dana Genshaft,

    If Genshaft is a French-speaker, then she may have been able to use the language on a recent trip to New Orleans to teach class for the New Orleans Ballet Associate students.

    I don't know for certain, but she spent some of her teenage years at the L’Ecole de l’Opera de Paris.

    At one time, SFB was claiming they had dancers from 17 different countries, which I can believe. That has to make for some interesting communication issues at times.

    Bits and Pieces of Balanchine

    in Ballet Videos, Films, Broadcast Performances, Photos, and Interviews

    Posted

    I so love these videos of Pas de Dix. I don't know how they managed to dance on that small stage, it's just awful! I recognize one of the couples as Ruth Sobotka & Shaun O'Brien. Who else is there, anybody know?

    Aren't they great?

    I had the same reaction - the dancers do a good job of appearing vivacious and bouyant without actually leaping about - there's only around 30 feet of space to work with for 4 couples! I happened to read a passage from Edward Villellas's book last night, in which he describes the early days of dance on TV, and the constraints and conditions were pretty much awful. It was like being forced to perform inside a prison lunch room, while being shot by cameras.

    Bits and Pieces of Balanchine

    in Ballet Videos, Films, Broadcast Performances, Photos, and Interviews

    Posted

    NYCB has published a series of videos that feature different principals talking about particular Balanchine ballets. I imagine many of us have seen at least a few of these. There is now one for Teresa Reichlen in which talks about the Firebird role. I can't remember seeing much of any footage of Balanchine's Firebird, so I thought it would be good to add to the thread:

    Perhaps a repeat, but here's Maria Tallchief rehearsing the role:

    Tallchief at Jacob's Pillow in Firebird and Sylvia

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDbYI9-qjL4

    New Dancers, 2014 season

    in San Francisco Ballet

    Posted

    After watching that video, I have to think there are 30 companies standing in line, wanting a piece of McRae. I agree that the Stanislavsky needs to be mentioned in this deal. But who knows what has to happen to "borrow" a Russian dancer for a while.

    New Dancers, 2014 season

    in San Francisco Ballet

    Posted

    Dmitriy Zagrebin will come from the Bolshoi Ballet, where he's not listed on the website.

    This past season Zagrebin actually danced at the Stanislavsky Theater.

    http://www.stanmus.com/person.html?id=928

    But a few months ago he, Steven McRae and Svetlana Zakharova performed a piece by Johan Kobborg at a gala marking Zakharova's 10th anniversary with the Bolshoi.

    We can count on Volcanohunter to find some good Russian videos. ;)

    That first video was a blast - I applaud Zakharova for getting outside her comfort zone and doing something new and different. I love the Chaplinesque quality of that routine - McRae is amazing, and Zagrebin held up his end well. HIs leaps and spins are quite impressive. Something about his expressiveness is unusual - different from most other Russian danseurs.

    Simone Messmer (ABT Soloist) Leaving to San Francisco

    in Ballet News & Issues

    Posted

    Haha, pherank, thanks for cluing me in. As an aside, it's so sad what's happening at ABT.

    That's part of what I was referring to though - despite individual people's complaints - ABT continues to attract first-rate dancers from all over the world. NYCB gest plenty of criticism these days as well, but it remains a world-class company. I think all the criticism goes with the territory of being a major company.

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