Hello all! Sorry I haven’t posted for so long, but I’ve been so busy the past few months, and now I finally have a bit of time to sit down and write. The past few months have been a whirlwind!
Our last program of this season consisted of Square Dance, Sonatine, Tarantella and of course, our world premiere choreographed by Twyla Tharp, costumes by Issac Mizrahi and with new music by Elvis Costello - “Nightspot”. The piece featured a live band on stage with the dancers as well as a full orchestra in the pit.
(Photo courtesy of Joe Gato)
Working with Twyla Tharp was really quite something. At first when we started choreographing, we didn’t have the score from Elvis Costello yet, so she worked with the dancers and believe it or not, we did a lot of our choreography to the Gypsy King’s “Bamboleo!” It wasn’t until later in the year when she came back the 2nd time that she brought a tentative score with her and then we started setting the piece to Costello’s music. It was a bit difficult to imagine what the music was like because the score was put into a program, and a synthesized version was produced (which is what we heard and danced to until the week of the performance).
After our run of program 4, we continued on to wrap up our season with a few shows in Long Island, NY and Princeton NJ. The tour was wonderful, and the audience was very appreciative and responsive. We performed Raymonda Variations, Sonatine, Tarantella and In the Upper Room. I thought I was going to drop dead when I saw the performance casting go up as I was casted to dance Tarantella and then right into Upper Room!
(Tarantella, photo courtesy of Zou Yang)
(Jeanette Delgado and I, photo courtesy of Zou Yang).
We just arrived back in Miami today and we have a few days off before we start some early rehearsals for next season. The dancers are all excited to start working on “Our Show,” which is a show made, produced, and put on by the dancers. It gives us a chance to experiment with choreography (and choreographers) and to also perform different styles of dance if we wish to.
That’s all for now, however I do have last thing to add in - Miami City Ballet will be attending City Center for a week of performances at the end of January 2009!
jennifer
alex, congrats on the mention in the nytimes! awesome~
Apr 29, 2008 @ 03:46
Evan
Hi Alex, thanks for posting these photos! I saw MCB on Friday night at the Tilles Center and you were fabulous in both Tarantella and Room! Good luck with “Our Show” - sounds like fun!
Apr 29, 2008 @ 05:06
alex wong
Thank you!
Apr 29, 2008 @ 05:19
Larry
Hi, Alex. I saw you and company at Tilles Saturday. Excellent job by all, and yeah, I felt for you when I saw Tarentella followed by Upper Room. As the guy next to me said, “Quite a workout. Better them than me!”
How’s the stage for dancing? Is there a reason you don’t perform in Manhattan? (Actually as a Long Islander I prefer seeing you at Tilles.)
Apr 29, 2008 @ 22:01
Larry
“Miami City Ballet will be attending City Center for a week of performances at the end of January 2009!”
- oops - didn’t see this at first.
Apr 29, 2008 @ 22:02
Cathy
just saw the review on nytimes, congrats!!!
Apr 30, 2008 @ 00:19
alex wong
Thanks for the compliments
The stage at the Tilles was actually kind of difficult for dancing as the space was long, but very shallow. It was fine for the smaller pieces like Tarantella, but for Upper Room we really had to constantly pay special attention to our spacing as the depth of the stage made the spacing and diagonals at times very awkward!
Apr 30, 2008 @ 02:05
Larry
Very interesting. Does the company schedule a special rehearsal for you to get used to the stage, or do you all just mutually agree to adjust your positioning as the performances takes place?
Apr 30, 2008 @ 11:57
alex wong
Well in any performance you have to agree that you adjust the spacing no matter what. Most of the time we have a stage tech rehearsal for spacing and such if time allows. At the Tilles center we had a run of the show before the show to just figure out some spacing things, however when we went to Princeton, we got off the bus and pretty much just had an hour to warm up and then put on our stuff and perform. It depends on our time schedule. That is also one of the things that you learn being a professional is that you have to be constantly aware of your surroundings and spacing. You can’t just freak out and dance however you want. It’s really noticeable when some newer dancers join the company cause they are usually out of line! Haha
Apr 30, 2008 @ 13:15
raul v
Hi Alex. I am very proud to have so much talent right in my own back yard. I wish you and the Company continued success. Regards, Raul
Aug 06, 2008 @ 15:48
robyn
I was born in vancouver too and was soooo bummed that you didn’t get to go on sytycd. I hope you’ll come back as soon as you can!! You have such incredible talent and I’d so be cheering you on and voting for you!!
Jun 06, 2009 @ 17:05
Ali
Hi Alex!
I am a HUGE fan of yours and I cried for at least an hour after I found out that you will not be performing untill next year. I really hope you get better soon because you are truly and inspiration! You have left an enormous mark everywhere! I wish you all the best, and can’t wait to see you next year!
So Long,
Ali
Jul 09, 2010 @ 02:10