San Francisco Ballet is jumping into the world of new media
I’m very excited to share a new section of San Francisco Ballet’s website that is dedicated strictly to new media!
http://www.sfballet.org/interact/index.asp
I believe that new media is a wonderful way for the ballet world to connect and I’m very happy to be part of a company that is exploring everything new media has to offer. Within this new section you can find videos, pictures, blogs, podcasts, and more. I would definitely suggest you check it out!
Ballet Austin - Season Opener!
It seems like the beginning of the season has just flown by and all of a sudden we’re back in production week! Tonight we have our final dress rehearsal for our Season Opener which includes Swan Lake (Act II) and a world premiere of Stephen Mills’ new Firebird.
Pei-San Brown, our amazing Community Education Director, has created these awesome interactive sites for audiences to get more background about each ballet, some behind the scene images, and casting. Check them out here! (If your in the Austin area you can also get ticketing info via the link)
Ballet Austin last performed the full length Swan Lake my second season with the company. Honestly, when I heard Act II was coming around again, I was a little nervous because I remembered how difficult it was. This type of corps work is so gratifying when it all goes well but can be terrifying at the same time. No one wants to be the swan that is out of line or on the wrong music! Being on the shorter side has put me in front quite often and for most of the act I am one of the “line leaders”. I have to admit that earlier in the rehearsal process I led my line to the wrong stage markings. But my line diligently followed me, seemingly unphased! I was embarrassed and proud all at the same time and then promised not to do it again. =)
For the Firebird I’ve been lucky enough to create the role of the Tsarevna. It’s been a fascinating challenge creating a character from scratch. In some ways it’s a daunting responsibility, but then it can be freeing as there is no precident set for you to compare your interpretation. As usual, Stephen has been absolutely great. First, we lay the groundwork of movement, most of which he choreographed from the beginning to the end of the ballet this time, then we layer the characters on top. He gives us tidbits early on for us to contemplate, we go away and think about it, then bring something new to it the next day. He then says “yes”, “no”, “more of this”, “less of this” and so on.
Once again I get to have the unique opportunity to dance with my husband, as Prince Ivan, and this ballet will also mark my first stage kiss. Early rehearsals of this were kind of amusing because Paul and I generally keep PDAs to a minimum at work, then suddenly we’re kissing in the middle of the rehearsal studio! But as rehearsals moved on, and we started running the whole ballets and we had developed our characters a bit more, it all seemed perfectly natural.
Each of these ballets brings entirely different challenges. It’s sure to be both an exhausting and fulfilling weekend!
This afternoon I’ll be doing an internet Live Chat for “Avant le Weekend” at 3PM (Central) with Michael Barnes about this weekends upcoming performances. Stop by and post your questions and comments if you have the time!
Here are a few images from our last production of Swan Lake. All of these were actually taken by Paul while I was on “Swan Duty”.
Inga Lujerenko and Jim Stein as Odette and Prince Siegfried in 2005
2005: Michelle Thompson, Lisa Washburn, Allisyn Paino, & Ashley Lynn (who will make her Odette debut this weekend!)
2005: Margot Brown and Aara Krumpe (who will make her debut as the Firebird this weekend!)
First Tour - Bucharest!
Me and Gaby Baars working on just simply walking in the ball. It’s actually quite difficult!!
Just a quick post to let you know what les Ballets de Monte-Carlo is up to! This past Sunday I was fortunate enough to re-work La Belle on our first tour this season in Bucharest, Romania. Like every ballet you revisit, there is a chance raise the level since the last performance. Quite honestly, it was really tough starting the season with such a hard ballet. It takes a bit to get fully back into shape, so by the next time we do La Belle I will have better stamina and shape, and raising the bar will not be so tough! La Belle is really one of the hardest ballets I have ever done - It’s right up there with Swan Lake. Nevertheless, I felt pretty good going into it by the time the day of the show came around, and was SO relieved and grateful to be able to get through it. At the heart of it though, I still have so much to work on. As I explained in my last post about La Belle, by the time third act rolls around, there are only three people carrying the ballet, and this is the major chunk of that I have to work on. Keeping the audience engaged for a full act and just three dancers is not an easy task. I have to be able to show different levels in my dancing, and I have a tendency to keep things square in terms of musicality and choreographic phrasing. I think every dancer does this in order to try be at ease in a piece, but that is the very thing I need to get away from. Otherwise, I will never advance. And what’s the point of repeating something if you’re just trying to make it easier for yourself? Pushing boundaries is what dance is about for me lately, and I am so happy to have this chance. It’s good to be back!!!
Working in Washington
So I am in my third week with the Washington Ballet and my third week as a professional dancer. I arrived in DC a week or so before my contract started to get settled in and take the company’s optional “get-in-shape” classes. Taking class with out a dress-code and getting paid weekly are two things I am really liking about the company life. Everyone I have met has been so nice and the other dancers have been very welcoming and helpful while I adjust to my new life. Right now we are working on Don Quixote (staged by Anna-Marie Holmes) and a few light rehearsals for the world premier of Septime Webre’s “The Great Gatsby”. Being in a smaller sized company compared to SFB has given me 0ppurtunites to learn many parts in one ballet so I have had my brain full learning 4 different roles in Don Quixote. I have never really been around another company besides SFB so it is interesting to see how a “ensemble” or “non-ranking” company like The Washington Ballet works. In some rehearsals dancers will be doing a principle part then in the next rehearsal be in a corps spot while someone else gets there chance at a soloist role. It creates a atmosphere where everyone feels equal and part of a team.
The website of The Washington Ballet has been re-designed and launched last week. The new site is really great and has some cool videos and photo galleries to check out (….as well as my bio and headshot). Pretty soon we will start rehearsals for ballets in programs after Don Quixote in October.
To summarize the 09-10 season:
Don Quixote (October)
The Nutcracker (chor: Septime Webre, December)
The Great Gatsby (chor: Septime Webre, February)
Bolero(+) (with Nicolo Fonte’s Bolero, Karol Armitage World Premier and Edwaard Liang’s Wunderland)
Genius3 (with Twyla Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove, Mark Morris’ Pacific, Nacho Duato’s Cor Perdutand George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments)
I hope to keep you updated soon on how everything is and what is going on. Until next time!
Vail 1st Three Days Photos
Here are a few of my favorites:
Chris at work. Photo by Caitie Kakigi
Savion. Photo by Rex Keep.
Celebrate the Beat education program kids Photo by Caitie Kakigi.
Morphoses rehearsal- Tiler Peck and Ed Watson Photo by Caitie Kakigi.
Miami City Ballet just landed, they’re next onstage with an all Balanchne program on Saturday. Serenade outside under the moon… yes!
Damian
5-4-3-2-1-show
5 more days before ad hoc Ballet opens at the Joyce Soho with Her, a fifty-five minute work of dance theatre. Here is another teaser video, featuring a motif phrase.
Dancers: Tammi Shamblin and myself. Choreography: Deborah Lohse.
Hope you can make it on the 14th, 15th or 16th. Click here for tix. I am getting anxious and excited!
Dont let the T.E.Ts get you down
Hello everyone,
Right now the entire world is going through some Tough Economic Times (T.E.Ts). Businesses are making cutbacks and layoffs. Everywhere you look everyone is having to take a loss and unfortunately for us we all know that the arts are the first to go when it comes to budget cuts. I personally have numerous friends whom are affected by the Tough Economic Times but i refuse to let the times weigh me down even though ive been affected too.
This month TAG is part of an Aides benefit fundraiser event called Life Cycle. We are volunteering our time and services for a cause that we believe in alongside some other great artists. The only downside is that come to find out the space where the performance is being held wont allow us in until a week before the show. Dont get me wrong, i have been working in various studios with the dancers but now i cant afford to rent more space til we come into the venue this Sunday. Ordinarily that would not be a problem but having to make a new piece requires time especially with the usage of multi-media and lazer lights, stoked on that! Most all expenses have come out of pocket but the whole space thing has turned problematic due to all studio rentals being booked this whole week. Instead of complaining i said to myself “well dang! No, is not an answer. Studio G it is!”
Here is a clip of me working on a floor section in the studio with Kendall Teague back in the good ol days when we had more space to work. Included at the end of the work is another clip of the last day of me skateboarding until i finish making MPH.
Disclaimer: Pdiddy on Twitter is a constant source of amusement for us so at the end we kind of dork out….Happens:P
The second clip is in Studio G. Im working with Alex Jenkins who is still a student at the Lines Ballet BFA program. She has been selected to dance in the piece alongside some other working professionals. Im very pleased with her dancing and willingness to get down. Good Job Alex:)
Instead of trying to get all deep on all of you a quote comes to mind that really hits home on these T.E.Ts.
“When life gives you lemons, make Lemonade.”
B
I can be pushy
There is a rather violent shoving section that comes up in the newest ad hoc Ballet show and I have been told it is a little scary to watch. But here I will post a little teaser from when we were first experimenting with it at SILO. It is a much friendlier version, so I feel safe posting it here for you all in hopes you will come out to see how it has escalated.
Enjoy!
(yes it is me doing all the shoving. Tammi Shamblin hitting the wall.)
Show Details: Her. Choreography by Deborah Lohse. Joyce Soho. May 14th-16th at 8pm. Click here to buy tickets.
Teaching at Nutmeg Conservatory~
We are thrilled to announce that we will be on faculty at Nutmeg Conservatory’s International Summer Program! To kick things off, Lynn and I spent a great day teaching last week at Nutmeg.. What a blast and what a talented group of young dancers they have brewing!
It was so inspiring to see so many great faces ready to move and explore.
Ron Alexander and Sharon Dante gave us a huge warm welcome, and it felt wonderful to be “home” 
They really started to let loose, and Lynn and I can not WAIT to get in there this summer! When I was training at Nutmeg, having modern offered by a young, vibrant, daring, and eye-opening teacher (Brian Simerson) really changed my life. It was amazing that Nutmeg provided that for me and supported my career as it shaped (even if it wasn’t in pointe shoes!) They have so many talented young people there right now, and I know that what we can bring this summer will help them classically for sure, and maybe even one or two will be inspiried to explore modern and contemporary dance as well
The dance world is more versatile than ever, and we are so honored that Sharon, Ron, and everyone at Nutmeg trusts us to bring something special to Nutmeg.
And to give back is such a TREAT for ME!!!!
Keep up on all things SYREN here:
www.syrendance.org
Enjoy the spring!!!!
Kate
Paris in Spring
Our week long engagement of Martha Graham Dance Company at the Theare du Chatelet ended last Saturday evening. It was a wonderful run for the company and for Parisiennes.
Cherry Blossom over Notre Dame
It was a perfect season for visiting Paris. Flowers are blooming, it was warmer than NY and no rain( except 1 day)!!!
We left Saturday night, arrived on Sunday afternoon. It was “Easter Sunday”. In France, following Monday is also a national holiday. So our day off was a holiday… that means NO SHOPPING… well museums are open! Some of us went Rodin Museum, Picasso Museum, Luvre… you name it. It’s all there so which ever you pick, you will have tremendous time. That is Paris!
For me, it was a day to see few of my friends. So I had nice time with my friends, walked Marais area to Montparnasse where we stayed( Hotel Concorde Montparnasse). Passed Notre Dame, Jardin de Luxemburg, cafe…
On Tuesday, our heavy days are starting.
Company class, Dress rehearsal and the opening performance. We started at 10:30am.By the time we finish the day, it was 10:30pm. It was a sold out performance!
The last time we were here was 1991, we danced at Paris Opera Theatre, Garnier. So it has been 18years…actually we were here in 1994 or 95 at out door performance at Palais Royal. So not that long ago I guess but still more than 10 years?
We opened with “Errand into the Maze” beautiful music by Menotti, and set design by Isamu Noguchi. I recently read Isamu’s biography(?) by Japanese woman. I wished that when I met him back then, that I knew he could speak Japanese… so I could ask him a lot of things in Japanese… Oh well…
Second was ” Divirsion of Angels” music by Norman Dello Joio. This ballet has three acpects of Love which indicate the color of white, red and yellow.
There was a trail color film by Kodac, moving film with color and first trial was MG’s “Lamentation”. It was not a complete ballet but appear as her study of this ballet. Janet Eilber, who is the artistc director of MGDC had a concept that choreographer inspired by this particular film to creat new works for MGDC is called ” Lamentation Variations”.For the first time, we had Richard Move, Aszure Barton and Larry Keigwin from New York. They each had 10 hours of reheasrsal time and use public domain music and casual attire for the costume. I was involved with Larry’s and Aszure’s pieces. Very different approach. I will need to write about this experience later as an entry.
then forth was “Cave of the Heart”. I danced Medea, who were heart broken by her husband Jason to take a young princess as his new wife. Beautiful music by Barber, set by Isamu. I danced a role, the Daughter of the King, now called Princess. Originally created for Yuriko, who taught me when I was casted to dance this role. I did not learn from video. Yuriko talks about when Martha told her about making this ballet,
” Yuriko,this dance is about Medea and her husband, Jason, and he will leave Medea to marry this young, beautiful princess. This whole story is about what jealousy can do to a woman. Then character you will portray, the princess , is pure, very innocent, not tained in anyway. She has no malicious feelings towards anyone/anything, and does not suspect anything. Medea is going to try and kill her. You do not see her as a dangerous person, you gesture - do that to me in a very inoccent way. The princess is very beautiful but she does not realize her beauty and she loves Jason blindly and totally and does not know the background that has taken place between Medea and Jason.”( Yuriko an American Japanese Dancer: To Wash in the Rian and Polish with the Wind/ by Emiko Tokunaga )
I remember Yuriko told me how innocent you could be, that makes Medea’s Jealousy stands out. It is a dance of 4 charactor and each of us has such a role to complete this work. and to me, this work is full Dance/Drama work. Has prologue, story and epilogue. And to dance Medea, I could get lost in dance, which I started to experience when I danced in “Deaths and Entrances”.
Then the last ballet was the last ballet that Martha created and completed,” Maple Leaf Rag”. Music by Jopplin, famous rag time music. When Martha gets stock with her creation, she used to call “Louis, play me the Maple Leaf Rag”. So this dance starts with that. We have MG’s voice, everytime I hear it, that makes me smile. Actually when she was working on the ballet ” Eyes of Goddess” she got stock and could not go on. Then we had a tour to Charleston, SC where she found Juggling Boad. SO she shipped it to NY then immediately we started to work with it. In the beggining, I thought it was for “Eyes of Goddess” and how we can put this boad( actually a big bench) on the stage? But I realized it is a new ballet!!! Oh well it was! We did many different things on it, under it or standing on it… many things. It started to form the piece, and finished very quickly. and it was her own ballets’ parody. She can make fun of her self in the end of her own life!!! That is amazing.
And that was our opening of Paris, Theatre du Chatelet. Of course I have more to share.
But What happened to NY Spring???
Eiffel Tower in the dusk
