Fall for Dance Tickets Onsale Tomorrow!

Don't forget: tickets go on sale tomorrow!

Last year I didn't buy tickets but got lucky that friends happen to have extra tickets last minute. I'm not going to push my luck this year, though! There are some exciting programs...and for $10!

Miami City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, NYCB, ABT, Dresden Seperoper Ballett! Very exciting...

Read my review of 2 of the programs last year, here.

Happening Now: DanceNOW[NYC]

Take Dance photo by Jordan Matter Photography

This week is the annual DanceNOW [NYC] Festival at DTW. Bending rules, exploring the untried and defying the standard, DanceNOW invites audiences to take a journey through the New York City dance community and "Find a New Artistic Crush."

Looking over the programs, which run from last night through this Saturday September 11 at 7:30pm each night, there are lots of interesting groups to see. The highlights I would've loved to see:

-John-Mark Owen's "Unam Ceylum"

Thursday 9/9 program

-Riedel Dance Theater's "Verdant Fire"

Friday 9/10 program

-Misnomer Dance Theater's "Misnomer"

Saturday 9/11 program

-TAKE Dance's "Salaryman"

Saturday 9/11 program

Performing in NY August Showcase Photos

Kat Wildish and our Performing in NY Summer Intensive Dancers

Last weekend we had another of our Performing in New York Showcases - of which I am now officially Assistant Director. I'll write later about all the work that went into the 3-week intensive leading up to the shows, but here are a few pictures!

I danced in (and helped teach) the Tarantella based on "Napoli" (one of my favorite ballets that I also danced while at BAE), and with Exit 12 Dance Company in an emotional work called "Homecoming."

Exit 12 Dance Company - I'm in the wrong costume :o

Exit 12 Dance Company - "Homecoming" Bows
"Homecoming" - I'm on the left

Being silly
"Tarantella"

"Tarantella" - awkward moment just before the end, haha

Celebrating afterwards with my fantastic yoga teacher and ballet teacher :)

appreciation

I've noticed lately that this blog has become largely about me and less about dance as an art form itself...but I suppose that is the nature of this outlet for my writing, and there are other times and places where I focus on other things (exploredance for real performance reviews, magazines for quality writing, winger for more thought out kind of things...etc) so I do apologize for adding this post to my list of self reflection...but what can ya do, a blog is a blog...most of what I write on here does not take me hours to ponder and write, so it is what it is...

Today an interesting potential opportunity came up that could be quite exciting. I won't reveal details because there's a good possibility it won't happen, as these kinds of things often come up and then bail out as too good to be true. Particularly with the person who presented it to me, who I admire greatly. For the first time in my life, I have someone important who has far more faith in me than I've ever had in myself. I realize that I'm quite lucky to have that and to have her as a mentor, but sometimes I can't even fathom what she's thinking...I don't know how to go on without giving more info so I'll leave it at that for the moment as a to be continued...

I cannot express my gratitude and appreciation to this person for everything, and yet I get nervous when she believes more in me than I do because I fear I cannot attain her expectations nor my own.

More to come at some point. Still sick, and taking it easy a bit this weekend...

my (brief) take on dance in Newsweek

(NOTE: I'm running to class now but will write more later. This is just a quick rundown for the moment...)

If you haven't heard by now, ABT dancer Sacha Radetsky wrote the weekly column My Turn in Newsweek magazine this week, and it's all about the struggles of male dancers with the stereotypes and stigmas associated with ballet.

See the article here. "Don't Judge Me By My Tights."

I've waited a few days to see some of the discourse around the article and hear opinions about it from some other people before posting my two cents about it - mainly because I'm sort of coming at it from many different standpoints: dancer, writer, publisher...

The bulk of the conversation about the article seems to be happening over on the winger on a post from David (one of Radetsky's fellow ABT male dancers). Read it all here. Many people seemed thrilled about the appearance of the article and the arguements he makes for male dancers becoming stronger thanks to ballet, and proud of their masculinity. It goes on at length to drill in the fact that he's a ballet dancer and is not gay, therefore facing additional challenges in a primarily women's world of dance. Winger comments show that many people relate to the article and agree.

Another opinion I've heard about it is that the article is awful. It basically goes against the gay thing...and more to that extent. Also to that end, another blogger posted about how male dancers really don't have it all that tough in the ballet world because they are in such high demand, and it's not comparable to the challenges women face in a "man's world" in other industries and businesses.

Here's where I come in.

When I first saw that the article was out, my gut feeling was, "Yay! Dance in a major national weekly magazine! Exposure! Publicity! I wish I had the opportunity to write a dance article for them, but they never publish about dance!" So, my initial thoughts were extremely positive about the fact that the article was there at all. It wasn't just a performance listing or a short review of a major company or just an advertisement. It was a full page piece written by a dancer himself. Particularly with the recent dance critic cut at the LA Times, any dance writing widely published seems to be good news.

Then I read more into the article. While I agree that there is definitely a stereotype of male dancers and many of them face the challenges written about here, it's no easier for female dancers. We face far more competition in ballet...there are hundreds more girls than there are of boys shooting for a (short-lived) professional career in this field. On one hand, this breeds those problems for guys...but from a female perspective, there seems to be a number of more plaguing issues: pressures to be thin, the whole body type hype, competition, fewer scholarships, and the list goes on. There's no denying ballet is tough for everyone involved (not just dancers...choreographers, presenters, etc) and I think what would have been better for this article in Newsweek was if it addressed maybe more, different, or just general problems about the dance world rather than just the male stereotypes.

I respect that Radetsky did write the article and the topic was one of importance to him, and again, any publicity for dance is good publicity. I also understand that the My Turn column is what it is. But I feel like when dance is so rarely exposed to the general public like that, there are deeper issues to be exposed...funding anyone? Things like that...

Just my opinion. I'm glad there are conversations going on about the article, particularly on blogs. And I'm super glad Newsweek published the piece at all, and hope that maybe this will spark more appreciation or at least awareness of dance in everyday life.

PS- I'm open to other viewpoints and am still contemplating the article and stuff, so feel free to comment and shout out your opinions

movmnt blogger meetup

Tonight movmnt magazine hosted a blogger get together at their offices downtown to toss around ideas about the dance world, marketing and promoting dance, and dance in pop culture. I’ll be writing quite a bit more on the conclusions of the (excellent) discussion and more soon (probably on the winger), but for now here’s a basic rundown of the evening.

I ran into Evan of Dancing Perfectly Free in the elevator on the way up to the office, and when we got there we were welcomed by David, Editor and Publisher, some of his magazine staff, and two other bloggers: Doug and Amber (didn't catch name of blog? sorry!). A stack of sandwiches and multiple diet cokes awaited us, with chips and snacks added to make us feel at home. It’s funny because even though we all see each other in person once in a while (and only since the Cedar Lake event), we all have a sense of what’s going on with each other that we don’t really even need to ask, “So how are you?” Haha we read each other’s blogs and it’s such an amusing connection. Sometimes when I blog randomly I think, who on earth actually reads this. And then I talk to people such as this and realize my words are indeed being heard, haha. It’s nice to know.

Anyways, multiple other bloggers filtered in within the next half an hour, including Tonya and fellow Wingers Tony & Brian (visiting from San Francisco). (We missed Philip and Ariel.) After munching and marveling over each other’s real life personas versus blogging personalities, we got down to business.

The nearly 2 hour long conversation went everywhere from what influence do bloggers really have, to what dance companies are(n’t) doing to modernize themselves through publicity, to social networks and the fame culture, to where is the blogosphere headed in the future. Everyone raised some very interesting points and sparked some great debate/dialogue. It’s really inspiring being surrounded by people who care so much about dance as an art form coming from such varied perspectives. I was fascinated by each person at the table.

Idea after idea danced through my mind while listening (okay, corny sentence). There is little other opportunity for this level of discourse about dance, probably both because people don’t have time for it and people don’t care enough about it. A big thanks to David and movmnt for hosting the event and for being among the first institutions to reach out to bloggers.

After saying goodbye and walking away with another copy of the new issue and an awsome pair of movmnt socks, I took the subway uptown with Evan and we continued the conversation for the whole ride, discussing the issues already raised and bringing up other things we forgot to mention. Now that I’m home and thinking it over I realize there is so much to be discussed and we’ve only touched the tip of it. I hope we have more get-togethers like this regularly in the future!

Towards the end of the meeting we were discussing the magazine and David was saying how he loves blogs but he’s always been one for paper…meaning magazines the print media. I have to agree, as much as I enjoy blogging and reading blogs. I love magazines, and writing, and movmnt magazine - but I also love the immediacy of the internet and the opportunity for vast voices to be heard. In the tight-knit dance world especially, I think it’s important that both media mesh, and tonight was definitely the epitome of that! Yay for dance finally earning a place in social discourse.

More details and photo(s) to come soon.

lecture demo

This morning with Rebecca Kelly ballet we did a little class/rehearsal thing for a group of middle school students...kind of a lecture demonstration type thing. It was fun...

The first hour one of the other dancers taught a basic jazz/modern class for the kids, which we all took to warm up. I was impressed that the teacher from the visiting school even took class! They were into it :)

Then we went through all the choreography we learned in the workshop last week while the kids watched to see the process of creating a dance. The rehearsal itself was quite good now that all the choreography is in my body and I can play with it more rather than being focused on remembering what comes next, like when we learned it all at super speed last week.

It was a nice morning, and being with young people not familiar with dance always makes me appreciate it more...it's like fresh eyes, fresh take on art.

Anyways...so much writing to get done today...I'm behind and on major deadline for 2 articles (NYCB review from the other day and one for Dancer Magazine) so I better get cracking...

workshop's done

Today was the last day of the workshop I was doing with that contemporary company. We put together a whole 8-minute dance we learned bits and pieces of over the last week and ran it in groups...3 times in a row, back to back! Talk about stamina. It felt oddly wonderful after the last run, like I had pushed so hard and almost "felt something" as was encouraged a few days ago. Quite tiring though, needless to say.

This was such a great opportunity and I'll try to post more about it when I get the energy. I don't know if/when I'll get to work with them again, but I'm so grateful to have been able to do so the past few weeks. I need to start doing more of that kind of work...

Anyways...tonight I'm planning on taking open class at my old studio, which I have been....dreading doing for unexplainable reasons. But I think I need to suck it up and go, so I'm on my way.

Countdown: 48 hours til I finish college.

3 rows from Baryshnikov!

Thanks to a friend's good luck with tickets, tonight I got to see the otherwise-sold-out Beckett Shorts program starring Mikhail Baryshnikov with 3rd row seats!

It was so cool to be up close and personal at New York Theater workshop and to see him in a non-dance environment. He's incredible in so many ways, but I think it's particularly good that he has branced out from his fabulous dance career into other art forms. It takes a true artist to succeed outside of their normal realm, especially as such a legend, but he absolutely does!

Though Beckett's work itself was nothing all that special, Baryshnikov was so interesting to watch. There were 2 shorts without words, followed by one where he and another actor had dialogue, and the last in which he sat almost entirely still and silent while another actor spoke. I preferred the non-speaking parts by far - maybe because his non-verbal presentation skills from ballet translate best in this kind of work. He was good in the piece he had lines in, where he was supposed to play a blind homeless man, but it wasn't my favorite.

It was so exciting just to see him live though! After all the hype in the dance world and his appearances on Sex & the City and such, it was an honor to see him work in real life. I would love to see him act in something else that exhibits his artistry better. Beckett didn't really cut it.


Anyway, went to class before going to the show and it went pretty well. I'm a lot less sore today - THANK GOD - so it wasn't quite so painful. It's weird that I was more sore after only 3 hours of rehearsal Thursday rather than dancing a total of 8 hours yesterday (the most in quite a while, even though I used to do crazy days like that all the time...).

So much work to do this next week...I start my spring semester grad school classes on Wednesday, and I officially graduate from Marymount on Thursday! No time to waste :)

made, REmade!

Just days after I posted about my memories of being in an episode of MTV's MADE about becoming a ballet dancer, I found out they made a new, similar episode with a girl who wants to be a dancer! Apparently it aired this weekend, but seeing a I don't have cable and rarely watch TV I missed it.

Thanks to the internet, however, you can see the full episode any time! So far I've only watched the first part (my computer and internet service are both sooo awful...) but it's really amusing. I'm sorry, but reality television is SO NOT reality. Watching it brought back even more memories of our months with the camera crew at Rock and the realization of what happens behind the scenes.

Anyway, if you get a chance go watch the episode!

Here's the opener:

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

more opportunity

Tonight I had my last class of my 'intro to dance' course at school. It may have seemed like a joke to take it, but it has paid off...

First of all, I had to present my final paper tonight, which was an excerpt from my thesis. I brought a whole bunch of magazines and my laptop to show websites (like The Winger and Explore Dance). After class my teacher (who teaches at a performing arts high school in the city) asked if I would come lecture her students on dance criticism and my experiences in dancing and such. How fun! Too bad I'm like the same age as some of them, haha. But it should be interesting...

She also asked if I was interested in choreographing on them for their spring show. I think I'm going to do it, but it will be my first big-scale choreography project! I've done little solos for myself here and there, and helped some friends choreograph (for Rock graduation, a BAE show, etc) but this is all me. I'm kind of excited about it even though it adds still more work to the crazy life of Taylor.

Well anyways, that's the news for the evening. Tomorrow I'm being interviewed for this new ballet website BalletConnections.com . For once, I'm not doing the interviewing, haha. The guy thought I'd be interesting to talk to because I'm in both dance and journalism...little does everyone know that I have about 5 lives going on at once (school, grad school, freelance writing, ballet, internships). So much to do and say and so little time! But also he mentioned something about a potential writing project because he runs a book publishing company. THAT would be amazing.

We'll see how everything works out.

a very long post on very big changes

Life would be boring without change - especially MY life. Lately almost every single day brings something new or unexpected, and I’ve come to really appreciate that quality of my life after years of monotony (school, ballet, sleep, school, ballet, sleep). However in the past few days there have been some really significant changes going on, so I’ll share some details:

(editor's warning: this is very long post. If you want a quicker update just look for the bolded stuff)

The first change is a pretty last minute and important one. For those of you who don’t know, I had been planning to become a trainee with the international (based in NYC) ballet company Ajkun Ballet Theater beginning in October. Now, the plan is off.

The back story is that I auditioned for them back in March during the spring audition season and was accepted as a full time trainee. They supposedly rehearsed at a big facility here in the city and toured both locally and a lot internationally. I took the position immediately because it gave me the opportunity to be in a company while still staying here in NYC to finish up college. I didn’t do many other auditions at the time because I was pretty much set on staying here, but I was desperate for some semblance of a plan. I have this incessant need to be in control, and leaving my last year of ballet school with no sense of where I would be dancing in the fall was terrifying. I signed on as a trainee.

The problem with the situation was that I actually had to pay them to be a trainee. In most apprentice/trainee situations the company pays a dancer little to nothing but they receive training for free and transportation costs (etc) when requested on tour. This company is different - it’s actually more of a school-type scenario, and honestly, I’ve been in ballet “school” for far too long for my liking. I’ve gotten everything I can from a strict pre-professional setting, and it is really time for me to move on one way or another.

I stuck with the plan of attending all through the summer, convincing myself that it was what I was working towards while just taking open class for a few months. Since the fall semester started, though, I’ve been growing more and more fond of the freedom that “freelancing” has given me, meaning: 1) I like not feeling as though I HAVE to go to class (though I still go 3 times a day, it’s different when it’s my choice rather than being expected or forced to) 2) I’m able to take advantage of spur of the moment opportunities (and sooo many have cropped up just in the past 3 weeks!) 3) Being my final semester of college, I feel like I owe it to myself to have some sort of flexibility before I graduate and “the rest of my life” starts.

The other problem was that Ajkun Ballet Theater didn’t put up a schedule of rehearsals or performances until just last week, and we’re supposed to start Oct. 9. That was cutting it too close for me, and when I emailed them a couple of times asking if they at least had a performance schedule (because I had other things planned that I didn’t want to conflict) they didn’t answer me! When they finally put up the schedule on the website it was somewhat disappointing. There are very few performances, and most are just with a school upstate. They also have 2 residencies with that school, and I wouldn’t be able to go anyway due to MY schedule at school.

So after a lot of contemplation (and stress, and sleepless nights, and fear of the unknown) I decided it was best if I drop it. It seems like the best thing to do, and I am fully confident in my decision. At this point I’m not sure if I’ll get a refund or how all that will work, but whatever happens I know that what lies ahead will be well worth the choice. For self-justification: I am not a quitter.

What I AM, fortunately and unfortunately, is an overachiever. So in place of dancing with that company I am doing many many many other things.

First off, I am set to do Nutcracker with the Albano Ballet Company in Hartford, CT. Though it’s a heck of a commute (3 hours each way!) it’s a really wonderful performing opportunity at Mohegan Sun, a huge theater in CT. I only go out there to rehearse on Sundays, and so far the choreography is nice and it’s going well. The director is a bit difficult (perhaps an understatement) but I’ve somehow managed to get on his good side. And the best part about it: I get paid. Granted it’s very little compared to the travel time and energy I’m expending, but it’s something. I’m officially a professional dancer. And it’s not even an apprenticeship.

(rehearsal for New Dance Group Teacher's Showcase...I'm on the far right)

Also happening is the New Dance Group Teacher’s Showcase. I think I mentioned this once before, but I’m performing in that on October 5 in a piece by Irene Kent, a teacher at NDG. We’ve been rehearsing for the past few weeks and the piece is coming along nicely. I’m looking forward to that. We may be doing that piece for a benefit show on Oct. 24 (more on that to come).


Outside of dance, my life is just as crazy. School itself is going well, but as the semester moves forward the workload is definitely increasing. On top of that, this week we are closing our second issue of the year of The Monitor, our school paper. Since I’m the Features Editor I have a ton of work ahead of me, editing and proofing stories from my team of about 10 writers, and finishing up my own story about a student who appeared in Seventeen Magazine. I’ll put up links to the issue when it’s available online next week.

More importantly than school is that I’ve been working on getting another internship. As some of you know, I’ve interned with Pointe Magazine and Shelter Interiors Magazine, as well as in 2 public relations places. I really enjoy working at internships (besides the unpaid, free labor aspect) because the experience is so practical: I get to put my education to use and actually see real-life results. I believe internships are the best opportunity anyone can get in college, and to this point with my insane schedule I’ve been limited by time. Now that I’m out of the Ajkun Ballet thing and have my days somewhat free I am able to search for positions more freely and will be able to have significantly more responsibility because I can devote more time to companies.

With that in mind, I sent out a batch of resumes last week while I was contemplating leaving Ajkun. I was very lucky (maybe it’s not all luck…I HAVE worked super hard…) to receive 2 interview requests from the 2 biggest magazine publishers: Conde Nast and Hearst Corporation. Just getting the chance to interview at each was enough validation for me.

I went to both interviews today, and they went really well. Quick & Simple Magazine at Hearst offered me an internship right on the spot. It’s kind of an editorial position in the home department and sounds like a lot of fun. Brides Magazine at Conde Nast emailed me immediately after the interview asking for references, so I’m taking that as a good sign. I’m really excited about both and will be making yet another important decision when I hear from Brides.

Also of interest in the Taylor-as-intern segment of my life is that I spent the past 2 days volunteering at the Folio Show, the magazine industry’s biggest annual conference/seminar. Through the graduate program I’m doing, I got the opportunity to volunteer as a room monitor and be able to sit in on all kinds of lectures and panels regarding the magazine industry. It was sooooo interesting to me, and I can’t even tell you how much I learned in just 2 days! I was surrounded by some of the most important people in the business and the atmosphere was just amazing…keynote speaker lunches, networking…I felt so professional! It was such a wonderful opportunity and I was so glad I was able to take advantage of it at the last minute (an example of why I’m not taking the Ajkun Ballet position).

So in a nutshell (or, not so much) that’s how my life has completely shifted in the past few days. I’ve always been one for planning and goal-setting and everything, but I have since learned that you have to be flexible with your life. It’s been really difficult for me to accept “not knowing” what the future brings, both in dance and in life, but I’ve almost come to terms with that vulnerability. I’m discovering that not having a plan is the best plan of all because I can do what I want, when I want, and in a city like New York with such a fast pace, there is no better way to seize opportunity. I’m finding myself overwhelmed by possibility, but I love that I have choices to make and opportunity abounding.
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If you’ve made it this far down in my post I applaud you…I tend to ramble, but I had to include it all just for my own sake. As you can tell, this blog is going to be changing a bit. My life has been so compartmentalized to this point, with a clear distinction between school and dance. As I’m nearing a turning point, though, everything is meshing into a very gray area and I think it’s important that I find ways to integrate all aspects of my life, and therefore I’ll be incorporating more of my school/work experiences in this blog on top of the ballet-related writing.

This has been a very long-winded post, and I do apologize, but if you have any comments on anything…my decisions, my perspective, (my insanity), I welcome and encourage blog comments! It’s been a hectic couple of weeks and I appreciate any input on anything!

dance and academia in NY Times

I know I'm kind of outsourcing some reading lately, but there have been some good articles going on...

Please read this article in the Times today (9/23).

I have many many many comments, but one quote sums it up:

“There is a real tension between dance — at even a department like mine, which is very well established — and an academic context,” said Lynn Garafola, a dance scholar who is a professor in Barnard College’s dance department. “Most of the people teaching technique classes have been longtime professionals. They’ve never been to a liberal arts college. There really is a deep anti-intellectualism, but in some ways it’s almost a naïve anti-intellectualism. It’s just not a part of their world.”

Amen.

This Day in History - Dancing With the Stars

(picture of a picture...Sept. 12 2006, Dancing With the Stars Promo in Lincoln Center)

(our group of "stars")

Okay, so actually it was a year and two days ago that this happened, but you get the idea. This Day in History...September 12, 2006: I was in a city-wide promotion for ABC's tv show Dancing With the Stars.

They were promoting the new season for the fall, so they had about 75 dancers (girls in black dresses, boys in gold "star" costumes...so attractive) go to various places throughout New York City and just dance while people gave out magnets to advertise the show.

We were in groups of 4 dancers (2 girls 2 boys) plus 2 others to give our ABC stuff. It was an all day affair: our group was first sent to some big subway station in Queens (sadly I don't even remember where it was...) in which we received many a strange look from commuters. Who's doing a tango in heels with a huge star at 8am? Yeah, that was us.

Later we got to dance on the balcony of this nice restaurant in east midtown. Again, many a strange look (and honks) from cars, busses, and people on the street. We had music blasting the whole time of course, and it was so much fun to just let loose and dance! So out of my realm (nooo ballet here...) but it was the most fun couple hundred bucks I ever made for a few hours of dancing!

At the end of the day they gathered all the dancers and "stars" near the fountain in Lincoln Center (in our fabulous outfits we walked all the way from First Ave across town!) for a big group shot (see above). They also filmed a quick little number where we all formed a big star on the plaza (which was supposed to be used in a commercial, but I never actually saw it...)

Anyways, it was quite an amusing experience. I was just reminscing and thought I'd share the memory on here...another new season of Dancing With the Stars starts September 24.

(a folded up star costume)

How Long Have YOU Been Dancing?

(how long have I been dancing? let's put it this way, that's me on the far right before tendus)

[Let me preview this post with a bit of background...it's my last undergraduate semester, I'm taking 2 graduate level courses in Publishing, taking an overload course schedule in general, and doing a zillion other things dance-wise, etc. So one break I gave myself in my schedule is that I'm taking "Intro to Dance" at Marymount for credit.

Below, you'll see my reasoning and also various annoyances with the college/dance relationship. I apologize in advance for the rather venting-like tone. Bear with me: the past 2 weeks getting into the fall schedule have been hectic!]

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In intro to dance class tonight, people asked me this question about 10 times: How long have you been dancing?

(me as a Polichinelle in Boston Ballet's Nutcracker 1998)

For our second class session, tonight we had an actual full hour and a half ballet class. It was really simple, of course, but I found ways to work the easy stuff for myself. The teacher came up during plies and told me not to force my turnout (hah) so, I didn't. But then I realized I had to. Because it's a bad habit. Nevermind about that...

The amusing part was that she had this one girl who I think is a jazz dancer demonstrate a whole bunch of combinations at barre and stuff...then in center she asked if others wanted to volunteer and I kept quiet because it appears slightly ridiculous that I'm in that class (although I beg to differ)...then finally we get to grande allegro (big jumps across the floor...my favorite, but also a pain after not being totally warm from the rest of class) and she kind of made eye contact with me when she asked for a demonstrator so I stepped forward.

I did the combination (basically an even easier form of the "favorite leap" tombe pas de bourree glissade jete) and the whole class literally just stared at me when I got to the other side of the studio. She said, "and come back" so I did it going back to the side where I came from with the class...it was just an amusing little moment. She complimented me and they all kind of just laughed. I made it a point not to draw any more attention to myself (isn't that the essence of my personality - the good, and the bad? What annoys me most?).

Anyways after "class" finished we had a little break before the rest of "class class" meaning the "school" part of it (getting a list of ballet vocab words) and many of the girls came over and asked "how long have you been dancing?" I said forever and briefly gave details to a few, but more important to me was the actual question...instead of asking "where do you dance?" or something like that, it was "how long?" Very interesting, no? Time is such a key element in a dancer's life, and it seems to be the part that rules other aspects of my life as well (hello graduation in 3 months?)

They were also surprised that I'm not a dance major. Not getting into Marymount's dance program was the best thing (well, one of the best) that ever happened. Though now if people ask why I'm not a dance major, obviously I don't play up the fact that I didn't get in (though now, by writing this, everyone knows...). Depending on who I'm talking to, my reasons vary:

-wanted to focus on ballet and not modern

-wanted to be able to audition for things

-wanted to pursue other interests (writing)

-my personal biggest reason: I personally can't find a reason to justify a degree in dance. The only thing it's really necessary for is to teach things like "intro to dance" in colleges. Ironic.

Anyways just found that a bit amusing. Apologies for my bluntness...
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Below is what I wrote after the first intro to dance class last week.


DOES EVERYONE KNOW WHAT A LEOTARD IS?

9/6/07

Just thought I'd share my experience in Marymount's 'intro to dance' class tonight.

She literally asked the question in the subject line: "Does everyone know what a leotard is?"

Easy as it was, I approached it from 2 perspectives (neither of which are the intention of the course, obviously). First, I was going to focus on what the actual "basics" are when TEACHING beginners because some day I might have to do that and it's good to see the way in which they take their first dance class. Second, working that slowly physically forces me to work super super small muscles that I haven't used in years because, although they are the correct ones to use, I have to force everything with my body when working faster.

So I went into the class with a positive open mind. It actually was enjoyable, and I made it a point not to appear too "bunhead"-ish and seem like I'm a professional dancer or anything. There was one girl who must be a jazz dancer...she sat in a full split and tried to use big dance words, like "I saw a glissade in the video. I don't know if everyone here knows that word." hah.

Anyways the point of all this leads somewhere....when she was introducing the course she said we have a paper at the end and gave a list of topics like history of ballet, etc....fluff topics that I could write a book on (and might do just that someday) but she said if we have another topic in mind that she is "very open minded about what interests the students" so speak to her afterwards.

So at the end I went up and asked if I could do it on dance criticism (I already did a 12 pg paper on it for dance history last spring and will be incorporating it into my 'senior thesis' for one of my communications classes....and have a bit of experience?) and in a rather condescending tone she goes, "Well what are you going to do with that?" and I explained very quickly how I've written some criticism myself and interned at Pointe and blah blah blah and she goes "well do you think you can write 5 pages on it?"

I was slightly frustrated. I don't really want to go into more detail on here, because I'm over it now....so perhaps this vent was pointless. She did, however, agree to let me do my topic, and as remembered above, this week's class was much better.

(yes, I was a jazz-erina at one point as well :)

New York International Fringe Festival

(my 1st press pass with the many brochures I received with it)

For the past week I have been assigned to review dance performances at the 11th Annual New York International Fringe Festival for this off-Broadway website called OffOffOnline.com. Not only do I get to attend any number of free shows at my will but I get to voice my opinion and get paid for it! This week has given me a glimpse into the arts critic’s life I aspire to have (I even received my first official “press pass”!) See my published reviews here, here, and here.

Being a ballet fanatic, the only performances I’ve been to since coming to the city have been strictly ballet. Of course I’ve been to Broadway shows and even a couple of modern performances, but after seeing the avante-garde kind of performances at the Fringe Festival it is clear how limited my, and perhaps that of much of the ballet world, exposure to the broad realm of dance theater really is.

The shows I’ve seen have been extremely out of the ordinary. One major difference between these and traditional dance performances is the use of multi-media and technology. Of the 3 productions I reviewed, all of them made extensive use of video and 2 used computer generated images. I think this epitomizes what’s coming in dance in the 21st century.

Sometimes, unfortunately, the special effects and loud visuals distract from the actual dancing. No matter how talented they are the dancers can get lost in the flashiness, especially if they are positioned against or beside a film screen in a way that forces the audience to decide to watch only one or the other.

In a world where audiences for dance, especially ballet and modern, are already dwindling it makes sense to attract newer, younger crowds to performances with different media. But since our society is constantly drowning in media it seems a shame to overshadow something as precious as dance.

These kinds of audiences are exactly what the Fringe Festival invites, with $15 tickets and downtown location and atmosphere. The venues (including 19 off- and off-off-Broadway theaters) are small, and the number of attendees even smaller. It was interesting, though, to get a glimpse of the community that appreciates these kinds of performances. After each of the shows I attended I was surprised to hear fellow viewers discussing the work in depth, as if they were close friends rather than complete strangers as they actually were. People were far more open to opinion than conversations I’ve overheard at other ballet performances. I suppose these pieces leave more to the imagination.

All in all my experiences with the Fringe Festival have been really amusing. I’ve really enjoyed my new exposure to various companies and types of dance (Japanese hiphop, anyone?) and what’s even better is that I’ve been given the opportunity to challenge myself and write about them in a critical format. Just another day in the life of an aspiring dance writer!

(FringeCENTRAL - headquarters of the Fringe Festival downtown)

[If you’re located here in the city I strongly encourage you to attend one of these shows - any show! - as part of the NY Fringe Festival! You really haven’t seen anything ‘til you’ve been to the Fringe. It runs through August 26 at various theaters, with its home base at FringeCENTRAL, located in the Village on Carmine Street at Varick. See Fringe website for show times and descriptions. Also see NY Times coverage here]

NY Int'l Fringe Festival - Anna & the Annadroids

My third and final review of the NY International Fringe Festival for OffOffOnline.com was of a very interesting show. I was in more of a hurry trying to write this one as opposed to the others because they were trying to get my a press kit (but didn't...) so I didn't write an extended version. Below is the one that will be published (see here).


GET IN THE ZONE. CLONE ZONE.

“Anatomical Scenario is an unconventional dance theater company exploring the art in artificial,” reads the program from the Ohio-based company’s August 15 performances of Anna and the Annadroids: Clone Zone at the Linhart Theatre. Unconventional is an understatement.

The multi-media enhanced dance production follows a narrative of 5 robot girls battling through the videogame inspired world of Anna’s mind (named after company director Anna Sullivan). Supposedly based on psychologist Carl Jung’s psychoanalytical model of the psyche, the scenes resemble those in a mental hospital.

The girls walk around pigeon-toed, twitching and bouncing as the music sings repetitive lyrics like, “Free your addictions” with a video-projected background of a storm of raining pills. In one section the girls run in place before a moving road, similar to the old race car Nintendo games, while a computer generated voice complains about her needs: everything from Prozac and running shoes, to couples therapy, and an internet love match.

Perhaps this is a comment on the overindulgence of society, seeing as Sullivan’s work claims to “explore interior disorders by exaggerating and manifesting them externally. The mission is accomplished through interrogating and critiquing the conventions of a social order that celebrates robotic conformity and idealizes a plastic-souled way of life.” Through the integration of film, dance, and technology generated graphics the show succeeds in making bold statements about humanity and its dysfunctions.

Although the show is extremely entertaining, it is difficult to imagine it being presented in a venue other than the Fringe Festival due to its take on mental illness, innate quirkiness, and near nudity. Sullivan is informative in her visual explanations of psychiatric disorders through video demonstrations of the occurrences in the brains of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. However after each segment the words pass by sarcastically: “Treatment: Take Drugs.”

The nature of the production calls for dancers to have flawless timing and energy so as not be usurped by the flashy commotion of the background film. They surpass these expectations, remaining fully in character as they demonstrate strength and skill. The choreography is full of angular movements and headstands, lending itself nicely to the music and lyrics.

The technical aspects of the production are outstanding. Elaborate costumes are changed often, while the clown-white makeup and glittery eyelashes remain a constant. The lighting and video create the sense of being enclosed in a videogame. The audio blends well with the action. It is these factors that truly steal the show and make it a must-see for Fringe audiences.

Home, (Bitter)Sweet Home

(me and the family - brother, grandmother, mom)

This past week was literally my first time having more than two days off from life in exactly one year. Between rehearsals, extra school courses, internships, and everything I haven’t had a chance to breathe until now. To start of my 3 weeks of freedom I went home to Boston to visit my family whom I haven’t seen since Christmas (imagine, they’re only an hour flight away and I never see them!).

Since leaving home four years ago I’ve always missed everyone but dreaded making the trip to visit home. It’s just something about reverting back to the old ways…even for just a short period of time. Going from big city independence to small town boredom isn’t necessarily something to look forward to. There’s not much to do in our area, and since I don’t have my driver’s license (God bless public transportation) I can’t really be free.

However, this past visit was really nice. Unlike most visits, I had no looming pressure of school or performances ahead, so I didn’t feel like I was missing anything by taking time off. And being summertime, all of my family and friends had time to reminisce. We had a lot of laughs and it was a nice break.

(friends reminscing and dancing in my living room)

We celebrated my (belated) birthday, and I got to visit my mom’s new dance studio (it’s quite pink inside, like tradition…the last studio was pink for 50 years!). I got to see all my friends I grew up with and even relive some old dance routines (haha).

(me dancing in my mom's studio)

As I was growing up in my small town driving 2 hours a day to commute to ballet I always regretted not being born in a big city. Looking back, though, as a New York City resident (with high rent and hardly enough space to stretch out) I love that I have that alternative to look forward to for a change whenever I visit. No matter how far I go in this world, that place will always be my home.

(my mom and I)

Ballet Counselor: Just for Kids

me as an assistant teacher & summer counselor

Having attended numerous dance “camps” growing up, I’ve met my fair share of counselors and mentors. It wasn’t until this summer, however, that things changed: I WAS a counselor (I guess the old saying is true: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em)! I have spent the last 6 weeks working as a counselor and assistant teacher for 18, 7-year old ballerinas, and yesterday I said goodbye to many little friends and memories.

I was a bit skeptical about the job at first. I have been assisting in ballet classes twice a week over the past year, and many of the teachers and administrators complimented my ability to work with the kids. It made sense for me to take the position, but before the camp started, and possibly more so after day 1, I wasn’t so thrilled about it. As the summer progressed, though, it turned out to be almost as fulfilling of a “camp” experience for me as it was for the little ones!

The days were long, but once we got into the swing of things it got easier. I was supposed to be at the studio at 8:45 every morning, with the kids arriving for check-in at 9am. I always ended up getting there at 8:30 to do the necessary preparations for the day (set up coloring supplies, lay out ballet slippers, line up tap shoes). The other 3 counselors and I would laugh over something one of the kids said the day before as we guzzled our coffee and got set up.

Then the herd arrived. One by one they trickled in, kissing their mothers in pearls goodbye (this is the Upper East Side, after all…). After taking attendance and going through the routine of “what did you do over the weekend?” with each one, we finally got to the dance activities.

Though it IS considered a regular summer camp, including other things like crafts, origami, gymnastics, swimming, and games, it is first and foremost a ballet school. With that in mind, it was interesting to me to see the schedule of events each day. Our group, the oldest of 3 age groups, was there Monday-Thursday, 9-3:30. In all that time they only had 2 ballet classes!

To supplement the short time for being on their toes they had a range of other dance classes: jazz, tap, modern, and choreography. Of course they each had their favorite of the selection, but they were all required to participate in each discipline. Granted these were beginner classes and attention spans were short. But the amount of material and choreography these children were exposed to was unbelievable.

I think it’s really important for people to experience a wide variety of styles so that we don’t become one dimensional in our art form. It is wonderful and so fortunate that these children were given the opportunity to learn about different ways of moving and creating movement at such a young, influential age. They even had their first Yoga classes (and, as funny as it is, it was MY very first time taking yoga as well)!

Once I got over the shock of responsibility to the these kids and the amount of constant attention they need, I was able to enjoy myself. Not only did I befriend many of them (and get babysitting jobs as a result) but I got to observe the process of teaching and learning dance from a new perspective. Over the course of the 6 weeks I saw physical improvement in each of them, not necessarily in the challenges of ballet, but in dancing in general.

It made me think back to my early days of summer dance camp. I attended regular day-camp at our local high school when I was really young, but I began traveling an hour out of town for dance camp at the age these kids are now: just 7. I don’t remember the specifics of what these days were like or even if I particularly enjoyed them, but I do know that they inspired me enough to enter that ballet school for my first year of pre-professional training that fall.

As far as I can recall, we didn’t have such a wide variety of classes outside of dance. It was truly ballet based, but we did get our jazz and modern classes on occasion. Another difference from today’s camp is that (to my knowledge) we only had one teacher in the room with us at a time, whereas here the kids had a teacher, and assistant, and at least 2 counselors in the studio at all times to help learn the steps. I think this factor may be truly unique to this camp, in which case it is really outstanding because the kids have that sense of personal connection and attention while dancing.

This sense and the notion of variety truly diminish in the later years of ballet training (even summer training). Gradually teachers become distant from students, both physically and emotionally. Perhaps some of it is about being politically correct, but that can’t account for all of it.

There is a major shift in attention and interest as students age. In addition to this change, the emphasis on diversity is replaced by a desire for a cookie cutter effect of perfection. Jazz and modern classes are often seen as a distraction rather than a useful cross-training supplement to strict technique.

Perhaps if the principles that make a youthful dance camp so successful were applied to older summer intensives I, and others, would be able to respect and appreciate ballet in a renewed way. But for now, I think I’ll remain in my role as counselor/teacher. As they say, “Those who can’t do, teach!”

Another Ballet Birthday

performing Little Swans in 'Swan Lake' at an intensive on my 14th birthday (me on far right)

Today was my 19th birthday. Not only do birthdays make me feel like life is passing all too quickly before my eyes, but they make me think back to how I spent my past birthdays. I’ve had a lot of laughs over the years, but there isn’t a single birthday I can remember that hasn’t revolved around dancing.

The earliest birthdays I have concrete memories of are around age 8 or 9, when I would have my close group of friends over (which remained the same set of people for years) for a sleepover. Maybe “normal” kids play silly games or watch movies at their parties, but growing up under the dance reign of my family‘s studio, my parties were quite different. We would MAKE movies! I remember assigning each of my friends to a different dance in our remake of “A Chorus Line.” In another one, we all did a dance and lip sync to our favorite singers (I admit: many a Spice Girl theme…). Though not musical in nature, another of our birthday films that stands out in memory is “Who Killed the Rabbi?” at my make believe Bat Mitzvah on my 13th birthday (don’t ask hahaha)!

As the years passed, however, I started attending ballet intensives for increasing amounts of time over the summer and was almost always away for my birthday. My first summer away was for two weeks at a performing camp in upstate Vermont, beginning on the Monday of my birthday. Not only was I thrilled with the immediate independence I had by turning 12 years old away from my parents, but I was so happy with the surprise party my counselor, roommates, and new friends of 24 hours had thrown me! I still remember the moment when they locked me in my room to set up the common room with balloons.

I spent one more birthday at that camp before attending a different camp a year later: one where I would soon spend 2 full years of my life. My two summers here were perhaps the most fun I had because I made 3 really close friends who remain pen-pals to this day. For my birthday during both summers they completely surprised me by cleaning and decorating my room with streamers and confetti. Also, the year I turned 14 I got a later curfew for “coming of age” and so we went to get ice cream late (8pm?) just because we could. Another summer I remember staying up until midnight on the 30th with my roommates just so they could sing to me when it officially turned 12:01am on my birthday.

More importantly, during these years (as well as all birthdays since) I was always dancing. We would have a regular full day of classes and rehearsals at whatever camp I was at, and most of the time I was too shy or quiet to tell the teachers of my birthday. I would treat these ballet days like any other day of work, and only celebrate later back at the dorms. Even though other dancers had their birthdays during the intensive and got to wear special leotards or have the class sing to them, I always seemed to remain quiet during ballet. Even my birthday couldn’t disrupt the work.

Unfortunately (or, maybe fortunately?) this remains true years later, today, on my 19th birthday. I spent the day working at ballet, even though I did not attend an intensive (for the first time in 13 yrs) this year. Though the little kids at the ballet camp I’m working at sang “Happy Birthday” 3 times and I received several homemade presents and cards, it was still work. Yesterday in open class they sang to me as well, an unexpected surprise. But later this afternoon, for reasons unknown even to me, I decided to take the open ballet class that I don‘t particularly enjoy anymore. Maybe I felt it was tradition that I dance on my birthday, or maybe I just felt like I shouldn’t take a day off.

Either way, it was work. Dancing, and being in the dance world in general, has become work rather than play - even on a birthday. It’s interesting to see that on a day of celebration I still feel the annoyances, frustrations, and pains of ballet - and at the same time, there’s nothing better I can imagine doing on my birthday than dancing. It is the element that has remained a constant throughout the years.

a birthday before the ballet days