Revolutionary (marketing)?
I received this Royal Ballet advert from the Royal Opera House this morning and immediately fell into a fit of giggles.
Mind you, I love the company and adore Marianela and her dancing, but this was… unexpected.
It’s certainly eye-catching!
Thoughts?
Charts and numbers
That the dance community at large has been facing a number of worries is not really news to most of us. (’Tis unfortunate, but true.) For the most part, most of the concerns that dominate the dance headlines have been dollar-focused; the problem of finding consistent funds and finances to pay dancers, commission choreography, license works and underwrite productions is one that will likely (and, sadly) plague us for a while longer. (For those who have not yet heard, Boston Ballet is the most recent company to fall into the financial black hole.)
In order to get a better grasp of what the dance world is facing, it is probably a good idea to get a more distanced perspective of where and how dance stands in relation to its other cultural peers. Towards the end of last year (2007), LaPlaca Cohen published Culture Track 2007, a presentation in which they summarize the results of their fourth national survey of cultural audiences.
The good news: In the past two years, there’s been a slight (2-3%) increase in attendance at classical dance (ballet) and modern dance events. (Yay!)
The bad news: A hefty percentage (52-68%) of people indicated that the genre/period/style to which a “cultural activity” belonged affected their attendance. Might this mean that dance will continue to remain a “lesser attended art form”? (Bummer.)
The hope: A significant number (31-49%) of the surveyed respondents indicated that “supporting a friend or family member” is a “very important” factor in their decision to attend performances and ‘activities.’ We can make a difference! (Hurrah!)
And, just in case your invitations meet resistance, be prepared:
Hi Miki!
After work I stopped by Barnes & Noble to run an errand, never expecting to also run into a fellow Winger! 
What a pleasant surprise!
Live Broadcast: Prix de Lausanne Finals (Sunday 3 February 3.00pm (CET))
© Prix de Lausanne
Exciting news: The final competition round of the Prix de Lausanne will be broadcast live on Sunday 3 February, starting at 3.00pm CET (Central European Time). To watch the competition, simply click here.
The Prix de Lausanne is an international ballet competition that takes place every year in Lausanne, Switzerland. Dancers between the ages of 15 and 18 have been competing in this year’s 36th annual Prix all week long. Judging them are some big names: Altynai Asylmuratova (Kirov Ballet), Elisabeth Platel (Paris Opera Ballet) and Anna Maria Prina (La Scala Ballet). Hamburg Ballet’s Director and Chief Choreographer John Neumeier is serving as the 2008 President of the jury.
This year, the finals will not only feature the competitors, but will also showcase two of Neumeier’s works. The first will be his Opus 100, in tribute to the late choreographer Maurice Béjart. The second will be Yondering, which will feature students from the Hamburg Ballet School, the Paris Opera Ballet School and the National Ballet School of Canada.
If you weren’t able to purchase tickets to the sold-out performance or if, like me, you are not able to attend the performance in Lausanne, this is a most excellent and very accessible alternative. Also, for anyone who is interested, the Prix de Lausanne has set up a videoblog to chronicle the competition experiences of six participants. Check it out here.
Petitioning for dance on television
Because my right leg (and my driving foot) has been out of commission, my recuperation has kept me house-bound and house-arrested for the past two months. I think I might have lost all sense of sanity if it weren’t for my access to the world wide web. (I should note that the “world” in “world wide web” should be stressed, scored and emphasized, for the Internet proved to be the sole means through which I could access anything beyond Apartment 5.)
One of my favourite re-discoveries was Dance Channel TV. (I first discovered the site some time ago, by weaving my way through a series of fortuitous links.) The site was founded by Arsen Serobian with the hope of connecting dance lovers throughout the world and also introducing new people to dance.
To achieve this, the site offers a platform on which its members can share a plethora of videos (arranged in channels according to more than fifteen different disciplines), photographs and events. My favourite feature is the weekly dance news broadcasts. There are also additional lifestyle channels on dance style, yoga for dancers and cuisine for dancers.
Photo credit: Dance Channel TV
Today, I discovered that Dance Channel TV is actively petitioning to transform its web-based dance community into a television syndicate. Not unlike the site, the proposed Dance Channel TV network would bring the variety of dance channels it currently offers online straight into the home via cable or satellite providers. (So cool!)
For anyone interested in adding their name to the petition, they can show their support by signing here. (Per the rallying cry of Dance Channel TV: “Connect! Explore! Come dance with us!”)
Injury update
I’ve been maintaining a fairly low profile on the dance scene lately. I’ve not really had much of a choice: additional problems with my Achilles (this time, the other one) left me casualty to another surgery and the long recovery from said operation.
Lucky for me, time (supposedly) heals everything. I’m off of my crutches (at last!) and in a walking boot, though I’ve yet to learn how to maneuver the robot leg very gracefully.
2007: My year of collecting war wounds.
No matter, really. All’s well that ends well. 
LA Unbound
This past Saturday, at co-founder (co-director, choreographer and dancer) Betsy Uhler’s invitation, I attended the inaugural performance of LA Unbound. Based on Ithaca College’s IC Unbound, a student dance company that Betsy was a member of during her college days, LA Unbound is a dance troupe comprised of dancers in Los Angeles who represent as many different backgrounds, styles, and levels as can possibly be imagined. The company’s primary objective: To hold performances featuring a diverse array of dances in a non-competitive environment.
When Betsy first described LA Unbound to me, the organization and the philosophy upon which it is founded immediately struck a special chord with me because it reminded me so much of the college dance group that I myself directed during my time at Amherst. There, like here, the group existed fundamentally to facilitate dance for dancers (and non-dancers who wanted to dance). The group’s sole demand/s: dance and, more importantly, have fun. LA Unbound’s philosophy is very similar.
 |
 |
| Ithaca College alum Doug Hannah entertains the crowd with unusual juggling and balancing acts. |
Ithaca College alum Peter Verdell provides musical interludes in between dances. |
Because it is, in a way, a Los Angeles extension of the Ithaca-based IC Unbound, a majority of LA Unbound’s dancers are IC Unbound and Ithaca College alums. (Just as an aside: I never realized that so many Ithaca College alums live in Los Angeles. They must amount to at least half the city’s population! (Okay, I exaggerate…)) What a fantastic resource, though. Those Ithaca College alums who did not dance on Saturday helped out where they could, either selling tickets, passing out programs, queuing the music, setting the lights, performing in between dance numbers and, of course, supporting the dancers from the house.
Happy dancers.
What a great start for LA Unbound! Cheers to co-founders and co-directors Betsy Uhler and Elizabeth Tramontozzi for their hard work and for creating this special vehicle for dancers and dance lovers. And for keeping it fun.
Betsy and Elizabeth smile after a long day of rehearsing and performing.
At last!
The Munchkins of Oz are getting their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame tomorrow. To celebrate with the seven remaining Munchkins, there is a special screening of the Wizard of Oz at the Chinese Mann Theater.
This is a night of firsts for me. It’s my first time inside the famous theatre. It’s also my first time watching the movie!
Polluted air
On my way home to visit the parentals the other night, I drove past a funereal procession of six fire engines. I likely imagined it, but the trucks looked and seemed extraordinarily depressed, worn and weary.
My own folks (luckily) live a fair distance away from the fire closest to them: the Orange County fire. Perhaps it is a testament to the phenomenal strength of our (now dying) winds, then, that my car was, just overnight, covered in ashes?
