Archive for October, 2007
October 31, 2007 at 10:40 pm · Filed under dance, rehearsal, studio, 890 broadway, photography, american ballet theatre, MATTHEW
After a few days away from my ongoing “Inside 890″ Dateline Investigation, it’s time to resume the search (for what? I’m not sure.) Hopefully everyone will agree that these photos are more of a treat than a trick, but in case you want some real Halloween action, head over to Ranting Details, where I’ve got some fun shots of the frenzy known as New York on Halloween.
Unfortunately, the performances of Stanton Welch’s “Clear” are over, but there is still time to catch ABT at City Center before they wrap things up this Sunday. Don’t miss it!
(Blaine Hoven and Alex Hammoudi go through the beautiful adagio duet.)
(Before Xiomara joins them for a little trio. No she did not fall from the ceiling like that.)
(Another moment from the trio.)
(I’m going as Sascha for Halloween, because let’s face it…my body looks exactly like that.)
(Camo+Tatoos=Rugged Mountain Man Sascha from his Trading Card days! Of course he should have an orange vest on, or he is risking being confused with the wildlife.)
(Luis Ribagorda and Gennadi Saveliev join him in the extremely difficult trio.)
(Herman makes his dramatic entrance.)
(The boys line up.)
(Cory Stearns takes some mental notes from the side…without ever forgetting to work his cheekbones for the camera.)
(Alex taking a moment on the side.)
(Xiomara in one of her solos.)
(My favorite picture of the day.)
(A little further away in the final section of the ballet.)
Recent Posts by matthew
October 30, 2007 at 9:30 pm · Filed under dance, choreographer, BRIAN, TAGsf, north carolina school of hte arts
Hello Everyone.
This is cool……my first post on The Winger.
I just got back from The North Carolina School Of The Arts. I graduated from there in 2004. Now I am coming back to honor the Dean of the Dance department, for her 17 years of excellence. Ethan Stiefel will be taking over the school of dance in her place and perform with Gilian Murphy in the tribute.
It is such a big deal for me to come back and have my work shown alongside other artists that I had looked up to during school, or had always admired.
After I graduated, I had moved to San Francisco, which is more or less a separate country from the US. With that said, it is hard to know what is going on with the alumni due to the different time zones.
This particular trip for me was mos def the scariest thing that I have ever done. I was going back to the same place that had given me all of the tools for composition. There will not be a place where I would be judged so harshly, because the same people had trained me. Its like trying to impress your parents after college with you first job all over again.
The piece that I decided to take was “Cymbal Rush”. The last track from Thom Yorke’s “The Eraser”. I had originally choreographed the piece a year ago but in a complete different context… it was for a film. What I decided to do now was to extract the movement from the film and accommodate for the stage, with entrances and exits, new costumes, lights and all of that jazz. Garen Scribner and Quinn Wharton of San Francisco Ballet were the two people that the piece was created on(NCSA alumni). Due to a sidelining back injury Quinn was not able to perform so we had to scramble and find a new dancer to fill in. Benjamin Wardell, recently from Lines, was our savior. We got him into the studios and after watching the way he moves I was then able to come up with new movement for him and that just evolved the dance into a whole new beast.
Fast forward to us traveling to NCSA and me going home first to Charlotte… It was so great to get back to school and see all of my old friends and the school. Joseph Phillips had just moved out of our flat in San Francisco to move to Miami as a soloist in Miami City Ballet. Garen and I were stoked (Sorry I live in Cali now) to see him again. Also my best friend and favorite trina Kelley Potter of Boston Ballet was dancing, so it was really nice to chill with all of my buds and be alongside them for the tribute.
At the end of the day I was very pleased with all of the performances from all of the dancers. My piece was danced superbly by Garen and Ben. The two of them were on point! Best of all was we got great feedback from all of the staff and audience.
I could write on and on so I will spare you. Not too sure how cool it will be to loose readers on my first post. But I will say this,
After the performance and me getting over some anxieties. Looking forward to the up-coming performance we are doing in SF i know that the possibilities are “Endless Nameless”.
Recent Posts by brian
October 30, 2007 at 8:40 pm · Filed under backstage, dance, dressing room, DAVID, american ballet theater, dressingroom, david hallberg, city center, american ballet theatre
Thanks to budding photographer Matt Murphy, some shots were caught as I cooled down after a puffy Ballo della Regina, this weekend. Due to injury, I filled in for two extra shows of this ballet, which gave me six ballets to dance in two days, matinee and evening performances. It was an unusual circumstance but one I took with a strong mind set that I could get through it. And I did, and now I’m home HURTING but well worth it…
Notice the shot under this, Matt shooting away in the back ground.
Recent Posts by david hallberg
October 30, 2007 at 8:15 pm · Filed under dance, MATTHEW
After my rush of posts last week leading up to City Center, I must admit that I was a little blogged out over the weekend. Then came the dog pound below and it was just what I needed to put a smile on my face. I figured, I need to spice things up a little bit, so I’m gonna share my dog from home as well. This here is Ms. Mazie Murphy, who my family got when I was ten and has since traveled across the country to NCSA with me, and back to Montana again.
(Master of her domain. Mazie gives the camera her best pouty face when we are coming in from a walk.)
(She can look a bit rough in the mornings…)
(But look how quickly she can glam it up. Red. Carpet. Ready.)
Recent Posts by matthew
October 30, 2007 at 4:58 pm · Filed under SLOAN, dance, music, musicians, video, new york, bill shannon, rjd2
Thought this was great (video via quodlibet and spinner.com).
Dance and media artist Bill Shannon’s dance moves (he has a degenerative hip condition and created this way of dancing with crutches) drive a one-take music video shot in NYC for RJD2, who makes appearances throughout the piece.
Beautiful isn’t it? From Bill’s website…
Recently through dance choreography I have juxtaposed abstract forms of urban streetstyle kinetics into a textural landscape with an express focus on time and how it can be used to reinvent the familiar… my role as director and choreographer is in the setting of pace and creation of mood.
…I know choreographers but I am not one of them. I also know dancers but I am not like them either. The reality is that I lack the specialized focus of the choreographer or the training of the dancer. The way I see it, I currently function as an outsider artist of an interdisciplinary nature within the dance field. I use the term outsider because I was never trained in dance.
The dance I perform is pretty much my own invention and, never having seen much choreography, the dance pieces I choreograph lack the sophistication of contemporary artists in the field. So if I am unsophisticated and entirely out of the loop why are the venues normally reserved for those who are so so sophisticated opening up for me?
Bill. This is fantastic. You’ve invented your own dance style and remain true to yourself. But I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. How does not having dance training make you an outsider? If anything, you’re something for a lot of fellow dancers and dance-makers to aspire to, incorporating multiple influences into one raw, hybrid movement style that speaks to people, and most importantly, allows you to express yourself.
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
October 30, 2007 at 11:47 am · Filed under dance, chicago, joffrey ballet, LAUREN
Greetings from Chicago! I wanted to quickly introduce myself and share some important details about my life in Chicago. Thank you Kristin for allowing me to join the winger family–I have always enjoyed reading it and am excited about officially becoming a winger and being part of this global comprehensive dance forum. In the spirit of the “Late Night Show” a la David Letterman, I present a top ten:
10. I love Chicago- This is my fourth season dancing for the Joffrey and living in Chicago and I’m continually exploring the city year after year. With so many unique neighborhoods to explore, there is always something new to experience.
9. Seeing Double? I’m a fraternal twin. My twin sister Liza is my only sibling. A non-dancer, she works for Fidelity Investments in Boston and is a grad student at Northeastern University.
8. Crossword Puzzles- I can’t live without doing the daily crossword from the Chicago Red Eye newspaper. It often accompanies me on my commute to the studio.
7. Guilty Pleasures- After a long day of rehearsals or performances, I often relax with a favorite tv show–usually your typical ‘mindless’ broadcast. I find myself lately obsessed with the ever-popular Grey’s Anatomy and Mtv’s The Hills, any show on The Foodnetwork, and Project Runway.
6. Traveling-I love to travel-explore new places, experience different cultures, etc. With the Joffrey, I have been fortunate to tour quite often during each season. Amsterdam has been most enjoyable thus far in my travels.
5. Bookworm- I will always be reading something–whether it be a novel, a New York Times, or a book on Diaghilev. Favorite authors include Austen, Murakami, Coelho, Capote, and Burroughs.
4. The Green Table- One of my favorite ballets-I performed it last season with Joffrey. A ballet in eight scenes that comments on the futility of war and the horror it causes. Choreographed by Kurt Jooss, it has a chilling yet beautiful piano score by Fritz Cohen. It is well known for its table scenes–the gentlemen in black–who discuss hypocritical negotiations around the green table.
3. What’ cha Listening to? As a dancer, music is a vital ingredient to performance or daily class. Many genres of music interest me, obviously classical, and I’m constantly exploring new artists. Whether it be on the train, cleaning my apt, or working out , I always surround myself with a good beat appropriate for the time of day or activity. A few of my favorite artists would include The Stars, The Decemberists, Lily Allen, The Beatles, Arvo Part, Dashboard Confessional, John Legend, Broken Social Scene and Radiohead.
2. Match point- As a child I always enjoyed playing tennis and ever since I have maintained this hobby. Usually during a layoff or the summer months (when the rehearsal schedule is not so rigorous) I like to take advantage of the public courts Chicago has to offer.
1. The Granite State-I was born in Boston, MA and resided in Manchester, NH until my graduation from Central High School. A smaller state in the Northeast, I’m proud of my upbringing in NH. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine. Known politically for its primary elections, the state rock is granite, lilac is the state flower, and its motto is “live free or die”. It boasts beaches, mountains-great for skiing and winter sports, and the fall foliage there is globally renowned.
Recent Posts by lauren
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