Happy New Year with Free Art.
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5×4
Hello.
This post is for everyone who lives in San Francisco and the greater bay area. Not you? Discontinue reading BUT you cant because your eyes like the pretty pictures.
My company TAGsf is kicking off its fall season 5x4 at Kunst-Stoff Arts on September 23rd and 24th and I am very proud of the program of this program. The program is very intimate with an MTV unplugged type feel. Well…. that’s the feeling that i get but you can be the judge of that. This is the first time that I have invited fellow dancer Alex Jenkins to create a new work titled Town of Wood which from what I have seen thus far is SICK and Im very proud of her work because she is proving to be a truly uniquely talented dance maker which is hard to find often times. On my end Ive been working like a mad man on a new dance theater work titled NEMESIS which explores the random life encounters that can lead a person to good or evil and explores the concept of identity/the mask. How you see yourself vs how you are seen. Aside from myself and another dancer I’m using a couple actors with no dance training which is funny because whenever i show my friends rehearsal footage they think that they are dancers which is good. Another exciting feature about the evening is that we will be showing a new motion picture by the same title as my piece shot by the talented Quinn Wharton. The program is an hour, short and sweet because everyone growing up in this high paced society has a short attention span which is another discussion within itself. All of the info is posted below and I’ll see you at the show.
posted below is the NEMESIS teaser trailer that which you can see sooner than later.
and just cause here is rehearsal video.
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Still here
Hey Wingnuts!
Right now it is 5:12pm pst and we are still here so enjoy the video that I made for the Rapture.
A little challenge for anyone who lives in San Francisco and is able to guess the special guest artist that is not me and I will buy you dinner. Make your predictions in the comment box.
For all of you who enjoy my post you can follow my blog No Expectations
peace
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Special Guest Blogger Quinn Wharton of San Francisco Ballet!
Hey folks.
I was recently approached by a very talented friend of mine name Quinn Wharton about doing a guest blog on this site. We have known each other for years now because he and I were in school together at the North Carolina School of the Arts along with fellow Winger Matthew Murphy. Quinn is now living and working in San Francisco at the San Francisco Ballet with fellow Winger Madison Keesler. (See how small this crazy mixed up dance world is?) Quinn is well known for his magnificent ability to capture great photos of dance with his work been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, Pointe Magazine, various galleries, Album covers and tons others but you catch my drift! He has some information that he would like to share with all of you so without further ado……………..QUINN WHARTON!
Hey everyone, my name is Quinn Wharton, I am a dancer with the San Francisco ballet. A few years ago I went through an injury that took me out of dance for about 9 months. While I was rehabbing and wallowing in my misery I tried to find things to take up my time creatively. One of the things I turned to, among many, was photography. I had bought a nice camera on a whim during a tour and never really touched it. During the injury I decided it was high time that I figured out how to use the thing and take advantage of my investment. The first shoot was me and a friend on the beach for a few hours at sunset. I posted the pictures online afterward s and got some really great feedback, so I did another one, and another. Opportunities just seemed to keep coming and I kept getting more and more interested in what was possible with a camera. I have always longed to make dance more accessible to a larger audience, and to take off the pretty little princess sheen, photography seemed a great way to broaden the audience. I prefer to show ballet as a very real, athletic, graceful art form. I try to get my work to reflect that, as well as whatever piece of inspiration I had found for the shoot. I was recently approached by one of the Principals in our company, Tiit Helimets, to see if I would be interested in photographing/filming a tour to his home country of Estonia. I jumped at the opportunity, free reign to film and photograph a really talented collection of dancers?Why would I not be interested, its a fantastic opportunity to build my portfolio, and an amazing experience. Unfortunately this is the first year of the tour and as an arts endeavor it is on a slim budget. The tour doesn’t have extra funds to bring along an accessory like a photographer, they need to focus their money on the dancers and procuring rights to the ballets they are performing. So I have set up a kickstarter donation site to see if we can raise the money for me to go. There is a video on the site that I put together of all the dancers, a preview of sorts for what they will be performing, and some of who is involved. There is also an interview with Tiit explaining what the tour is about and why its so important. Its really an amazing collection of artists and the work I could create will be stunning. I just need a little help in getting there. So take a second to visit the site and support if you are able. I really appreciate it.
Here are some pics of my work and you can click HERE to help raise funds for this great opportunity!
Below are some photographs of my work. ENJOY!
The King of Limbs
Hey everyone!
I hope that everyone on the interweb and beyond are having a great start to the new year.
I want to share with you all a new video that i made and share some insight into the making of the video. Remember that show on MTV, Making the Video? Remember back when MTV played music videos?!?! Any who………Recently my favorite band Radiohead released a new album called The King of Limbs with a new music video with Thom Yorke dancing titled Lotus Flower. Not only is he dancing in it but he employed the services of the Royal Ballets resident choreographer Wayne McGregor to set the movement which is a very fascinating yet a perfect collaboration. I have always enjoyed McGregors work and have had the pleasure of speaking with him after one of his shows with the San Francisco Ballet and he is a very smart down to earth man with some great insight. Me being a huge Radiohead fan and currently developing new material the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, my new artistic home(YESS!!!) and working on my own projects and other collaborations I have been listening to all kinds of different music most recently Flying Lotus which reminds me a lot of Radiohead’s new album The King of Limbs. Both having jazz, dubstep, hip-hop, world, scatter, and electronic music all mixed with a human element have led me expanding my own personal dance vocab over the past couple years because i naturally listen to all different sorts of music which of course influences my work.
Video below of Lotus Flower.
Now lets take a walk down memory lane to see how my work came to be…. Twas a dark stormy night. SCRATCH THAT!!!
Last Saturday i was leaving a teachers meeting at a local studio that i will be teaching Contemp partnering/rep and me being the last one to leave because i was working out new moves during the entire meeting on the floor, the director of the studio said that i could stay behind as long as i wanted to. Little does she know that I always travel with a some sort of hand-held recording device because you just never know when lighting is going to strike and decided to do some filming in the space. First I set up the composition for the shot and then loaded my ipod into the dock with surround sound and went to town. I just danced, Lady Ga Ga styles with no rhyme or reason except the fact that i knew that i owed someone a video for valentines day. After i did about 3 takes while reviewing each one i noticed that my entire upper body was cut out of frame and my legs and feet appear to be acting as a drum kit which sparked the idea for me to create this video below. Plus how self absorbed would i be if sent a valentines video just of me dancing? I thought to myself having my upper body cut off is not as bad(is it?). Once i got home and to the editing business i had no big plans or ideas for what i wanted aside the fact that it needs to be musical along with not having too many effects to muffle up the movement which is already muffled. Note that i did not make any specific choreography. It was all improv. The most important thing in the video is the movement which is the only constant with my legs turning into drum machines so i wanted to keep that element in tact as much as possible so i did a lot of splicing. I know that I’m not a film director or anything but i do have a high expectations for myself and editing a video was a good way for me to learn more about Final Cut Pro which i love but also freak out about because I’m not a director.
Thankfully my friend liked the video after i posted it on her wall. I still don’t know what to think about the video because i made it with no supervision whatsoever so i hope that you enjoy and will also appreciate any feedback.
take care everyone.
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Reader’s Choice Top Dance Blogs 2010
Happy Snow Day, Wingers!
If you have nothing to do while stuck in the snow, I recommend checking out Dance Advantage’s Top Dance Blogs of 2010 competition that opened for voting today!
Many dance blogs from around the world entered themselves to the commenting round last week, and now the final voting round means we need more reader support! Though many of the major (and longest-running) dance blogs are not in the running, there are lots of new blogs in the various categories that are fun to check out. Here’s the list of those that made it to the voting round.
My blog, “Off Center,” is entered in the Dancer Musings Category and the Top 20. After the first round I was in 3rd place for both…so, can you help me out? 
I’ve been posting reasons why you should vote for me up on my blog here.
Go here to place your vote, and be sure to check out some of the blogs in the other categories and place votes for them, too! It’s a fun way to surf (er, sled?) the dance internet on a snowy day!
SAVE THE ROYAL BALLET OF FLANDERS
http://www.royalballetofflanderssupportgroup.net/
Joke Schauvliege, the Flemish Minister of Culture recently made a decision that will ultimately destroy the Royal Ballet of Flanders, the only classical ballet company in Belgium. She has decided to merge the Royal Ballet of Flanders with the Flemish Opera, having one intendant to be the administrator for both the ballet and the opera. Yes that is right, one intendant to decide the programming and budgeting for two very different performing arts.
Kathryn Bennetts is the artistic director of the company. She is highly regarded and has created a world-renowned company since 2005. Each year she brings more and more of her wealth of knowledge and experience to the company and its dancers. Katherine has announced that if this merge happens she will resign.
During the Second World War Winston Churchill was asked by his finance minister if Britain should cut arts funding to support the war efforts. Churchill’s response was, “Then what are we fighting for?” While time has passed since the Second World War it seems that we are still dealing with this same question, “What are we fighting for?” In today’s world everywhere we turn we hear about the global financial crisis and how each government is trying everything in its power to fix the problems. I want every government in the world to understand that allowing the arts to be the first thing to be downsized is a disastrous decision. What artists do is not simple, mindless entertainment. Great art is capable of changing minds and hearts. Art is a power unlike any other, a power that is capable of bringing peace and enlightenment to the world.
This recent decision by the government of Flanders is an enormous tragedy for The Royal Ballet of Flanders, but it is also a tragedy for art and dance throughout the entire world. As artists our only option is to stand up for what we believe in and support our fellow dancers and artists. This is not the only situation where arts are being abandoned, it is happening everyday more and more. We must be heard, and we must make a difference.
Is true art really so lost in today’s world that it can be pushed aside so easily, without even a second thought? I have not dedicated my life to art because I believe it is something so feeble. We can not let the government of Flanders undermine the importance of great art.
Ways you can help:
- Visit http://www.royalballetofflanderssupportgroup.net/ and sign the petition
- Write a letter addressed to Joke Schauvliege (the Minister of Culture). Send your letter to ">
Important things to be mentioned in the email
1) The Company does not want an “Intendant” who will do the programming for the ballet
2) The budget should be raised
3)The actual proposition from the Minister of Culture will mean the end of the Royal Ballet of Flanders
Help Save the Royal Ballet of Flanders part 1: featuring Courtney Wright Anderson.
Hey guys. This posting is brought to you by Courtney Anderson of the Royal Ballet of Flanders whom is asking for your help to save her company The Royal Ballet of Flanders from merging with the Flemish Opera into one company. With the merger a lot of talented dancers will be forced to find new work amongst many other things. I had recently requested Courtney to do a quick write up about herself and her career so that everyone can see what kind of amazing artist and people are working for the Ballet Flanders and how they’re livelihoods would be affected with a merger of the Opera.
Courtney Anderson of The Royal Ballet of Flanders
I was born in Colorado Springs, and began my dance training in San Diego. I continued my training in Colorado Springs and then Littleton with Belliston Academy of Ballet. I spent my last two years of training at Pacific NW Ballet where I met my husband and dancer, Garrett Anderson. We both moved to join San Francisco Ballet in 2000. Living in SF, we met Brian through other SFB dances, and soon got to experience all of his crazy energy and creative projects. I’ve since discovered that Brian is one of these artists- always exploring and moving forward, and whom everyone seems to know.
After 8 years of living in the coolest city ever (SF!), and dancing in a fantastic company, Garrett and I decided to move to Europe to try the dance scene there. This is our third season with Royal Ballet of Flanders in Antwerp, one of Europe’s most charming and hidden cities. Most Americans (myself included!) had never even heard of Flanders (it’s the northern region of Belgium) or know that we speak Flemmish here (a softer dialect of Dutch because of the French influence from the south).
In the 2 years we’ve been here, we’ve gotten to work with, among others, Kylian, Forsythe, Marcia Haydee and Nicolo Fonte- definite highlights of our experience here. And of course working with Kathy Bennetts has been great. She’s a passionate director, amazing coach and teaches the best class. And she has a great team of Ballet Masters. Moving to Antwerp has been an adventure and learning experience, both personally and professionally. And it’s been a reminder what a great country America is, and that it’s definitely home.
Here is a youtube clip of the Director Kathryn Bennetts speaking about the current situation.
Here is more info with video on DancePulp
Part 2 of this post is headed by San Francisco Ballet dancer and fellow Winger Madison Keesler whom will be sharing her thoughts on the current situation too!
stay tuned and please stay involved because if we as artist and lovers of art wont stand up for each other, who will?
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W&P Brings Reality to Dance
Last Sunday and Monday, the Guggenheim’s Works and Process series gave us a debut of reality television proportions. I mean that in the most flattering of senses–being a fan of Top Chef and Project Runway– and I strongly encourage Bravo to look into the possibilities of launching a show called Project Choreography. After attending and tweeting the world premiere on Monday night, I was reminded of why reality television is so popular and effective, aside from just being economical for networks. America today is a world of ever growing inequality; and for an hour, this dose of “reality” offers you a chance to vicariously feel the exhilaration of being placed on an even playing field with the same circumstances as all of your competitors, with a shot at greatness. And in the dance world, choreographers and dancers alike are no strangers to the desire for equal footing in their careers.
W&P meant this commission as more of an artistic challenge as opposed to an “I’m not here to make friends” kind of competition, and the limitations they placed on the choreographers did yield creativity and strikingly divergent results. The challenge given choreographers Jessica Lang and Pontus Lidberg, was to create a new work to the same two pieces of music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang with the dancers of Morphoses. The resulting work was night and day, Lidberg being the former and J Lang the latter. J Lang’s choreography was as aggressive as Lidberg’s was sensual; while Lidberg’s fluidity let the dancers give in to gravity at times, J Lang’s dancers had staccato patterns for their limbs and often inverted themselves against gravity. The choreographers even ordered the pieces of music in their work opposite of each other.
The different visions also played out through the costume designs brought to each. J Lang’s group was a battalion of army combatants in olive greens and browns with harness like vests, letting you know a gun was only put down for the sake of the dance. Lidberg’s dancers were in subdued monochromatic tones of gray that then bled to a dreamy surprise splash of color as the dresses changed instantaneously with a simple quick port de bras. Congratulations to Benjamin Briones for this onstage costume change coup!
But the thing I enjoyed most about the show was how it allowed me to hear the music, Forced March and The So Called Laws of Nature, by David Lang more deeply. David Lang’s music can be simultaneously spare and complex; but it is his use of small and seemingless endless variation that lend this music a sense of lightness v. darkness, making the notes so ripe for the expression of dance. In fact, the choreographers brought out such different motifs and moods–while still referring back to a common theme of war (J Lang) or interplay (Lidberg) between the sexes with their respective use of partnering– my ears felt deceived and each time I heard the music it felt completely new.
As far as my comparison with reality television, here is where it breaks down. Instead of one choreographer emerging victorious over the other, I found it a win-win situation for all. The choreographers stayed true to their own styles, allowing for the audience to learn a little more about their process and what makes their work unique. The dancers of Morphoses showed themselves to be a troupe of flexible, smart and capable dancers, fully showcasing and immersing themselves in different styles of movement to the same music (which is not always easy to accomplish to different music). Compliments aside, I am not convinced all of the components would make for as interesting an evening on their own. To that end, Works & Process is the true winner for commissioning this new work to music that demands listening and having the foresight to curate for this collaborative art form successfully.
If you want to read my twitter feed from the actual event, you can find it here.
Next up on the W&P Calendar: Voices and Dance within the Americas.
Works and Process is back!
I know that it is now officially fall because the Guggenheim’s Works and Process lecture and performance series is back. And I will be tweeting as many as I can live from many places: @worksandprocess (the Guggenheim twitter feed), @clthomps (my personal feed), and @diydancer (DIYdancer is my newest project that is in development and it is shaping up to be a new blog about dancers that do art! and many other interesting and cerative projects outside of the studio).
This Sunday and Monday, Works and Process will be premiering 2 new works by Pontus Lidberg and Jessica Lang performed by Morphoses. Both choreographers are using the same piece of music by David Lang. Personally, I love David Lang as he has often been the composer of choice for the work I do with ad hoc Ballet, and I am also looking forward to seeing this commission by two choreographers with whom I am somewhat unfamiliar.
Here is a video clip of a studio showing of this upcoming work by Morphoses at Martha’s Vineyard this summer:
I hope you can join me either in the audience of the show or on twitter Monday night at 7:30pm!
xo
Candice
