Not-So-Spontaneous Flash Mob

posted Thursday, Oct 15

 

 

 

 

TV changes everything. I arrived at Times Square on Friday night for our “flash mob” performance and found a crowd of tourists staring at the cameras, lights and production crews setting up for the event. I immediately knew our sponta… Read More >

 

NYCB In Tokyo: Feeling Vs. Presentation

posted Tuesday, Oct 13

I’m as red as a cooked lobster. Not just my hands, which have been red due to a mild case of carpel-tunnel syndrome caused by a week of using chopsticks, but my whole body is bright red from soaking in a scalding bath in an attempt to undo the damage done to me from dancing Symphony in T… Read More >

 

In the theater with NYIBC

posted Friday, Jun 26

Sitting alone with Cynthia Gregory last night in the Rose Theater for the first NYIBC stage rehearsal, I realized we speak the same language. Not that I had any doubt, but it is always nice for your efforts to be validated. On both sides. As couple after couple filtered on for their allotted spacing … Read More >
 

Doug Varone and Dancers Workshop

posted Monday, Jun 22

It’s a Sunday night, and I’m gearing up for the last week of the Doug Varone and Dancers Workshop. This is my third summer as a student here, but every year I find myself bracing for the physical, mental, and emotional challenges of the three-week intensive.


We got to the … Read More >

 

Coaching at NYIBC

posted Wednesday, Jun 17

I have been entrusted with teaching the contemporary duet for the 25th anniversary of the NY International Ballet competition.  It is my first time involved in this particular competition, which got under way on June 8th.   Richard Chen-See, a friend and fellow former Paul Taylor Dance… Read More >
 

Graham Company Wraps Up in Paris

posted Monday, Apr 20

Today is the final day of the Martha Graham Company's week-long run at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. What a thrill! It's been a bit tiring dealing with jet lag, language differences, long work days in the theater, interviews, classes and even company auditions. But in m… Read More >
 

Touring with Riverdance

posted Monday, Apr 13

It’s Friday night in downtown Detroit, and I’m in the dressing room of the Fox Theatre, getting ready to perform with the national touring company of Riverdance. The Boyne, as the North American company is known, called me in when one of their dancers went on leave, so I’m … Read More >
 

Visit to Les Ballets de Monte Carlo

posted Wednesday, Apr 01

A brief visit to the Beausoleil studios of Les Ballets de Monte Carlo today suggested a professional environment that many dancers can only dream of—in the magnificent, spacious studios, called “L’Atelier” (an area adjacent to Monte Carlo, proper). The name itself is revealing… Read More >
 

Danzainfiera (Firenze) and National Museum of Cinema (Torino)

posted Monday, Mar 16

Danzainfiera (see my earlier blog) finished in grand style in February with memorable performances by Italian artists:
• Former Martha Graham Dance Company member Adria Ferrali, who danced an eerie pas de deux with herself, slipp… Read More >
 

First Day at Danzainfiera in Italy

posted Friday, Feb 20

One of Florence's biggest dance events, danzainfiera, offers four full days of performances, classes, auditions, and competitions for every kind of dance imaginable. There are some clear favorites, though—hip hop, show dance, and tango reign supreme. But, for my money, I'll take some of… Read More >
 

Argentine Dance and Drama in NYC

posted Wednesday, Jan 21

The first thing that struck me about Guillermina Quiroga’s "Tango, Historias Breves" (Short Stories) Saturday, January 17th at NYU’s Skirball Center was the scent of the audience: Porteño.  I spent much of last year living and learning tango in Buenos Aires, so the… Read More >

 

Leaving Beijing: The Works’ Final Performance

posted Friday, Dec 19

We all know the saying “You win some, you lose some.” For dancers, performing is not simply winning or losing. We have grey areas, grey performances, moments that aren’t quite 100 percent. This is how I felt after our Sunday night performance in Beijing. A little grey. Nothing went terribly wro… Read More >
 

Adventures in International Performances with Jennifer Muller/The Works

posted Wednesday, Dec 17

Here are a few things I learned during my first Beijing trip:
1. Even the translators are difficult to understand; however more people speak English than I expected, and most signs are in Chinese and English.
2. Indoor spitting is an accepted social behavior, including backstage at the t… Read More >

 

“Dancing in the (Chinese) Streets”

posted Monday, Dec 15

On a 13-hour flight to Beijing on Tuesday, December 9, with Jennifer Muller/The Works, I received a fortune cookie with one of my oh-so-delicious airline meals: “If done gently, you can shake the world.” More advice than fortune, but I realized that as a dancer, international tours are ex… Read More >
 

Adios Havana

posted Monday, Nov 10

My week at the Festival is over.

When I said my goodbyes, the festival staff expressed surprise. "How can you leave now? You're going to miss the best!" (Both Giselle and Swan Lake were yet to come, not to mention the arrival of Carlos Acosta.) In retrospect, it does seem… Read More >

 

The "Other" Ballet Company

posted Thursday, Nov 06

 

 

On Saturday, I was invited to attend a rehearsal of Cuba’s “other” ballet company, El Centro Prodanza, founded by Laura Alonso, daughter of Alicia and Fernando Alonso. Dancers for this company train at Ms. Alonso’s school, Prodanza. Fernando himsel… Read More >

 

Crickets and Climbing Vines—All in a ballet festival day's work

posted Thursday, Nov 06

It's day two of the Festival Internacional de Ballet de La Habana and my head is full. At this event, one minute you're listening to the French choreographer Michel Descombey (now in Mexico, formerly of the Paris Opéra Ballet) say that he's nervous about how the Cuban people will r… Read More >
 

More Than Ballet

posted Wednesday, Nov 05

Alicia Alonso and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba may hold centerstage at the Festival and in the hearts of the Cuban people, but across town an exciting young company is raising the profile of modern dance in Cuba: Compania Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, directed by Miguel Iglesias Ferrer. On Friday (Octo… Read More >
 

Hola! From Cuba, where I'm attending the 21st Festival Internacional de Ballet de La Habana.

posted Monday, Nov 03

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Prima ballerina assoluta Alicia A… Read More >

 

Cuban Men: The Future

posted Monday, Nov 03

The access granted to invited guests of the Internacional Festival de Ballet de La Habana is incredible. I just came from a morning in the Nacional Ballet de Cuba studios: men's class taught by Lazarro C… Read More >