| | Posted by Anne Marie

Things have been quite busy in Austin these past few weeks. We’re about to head into production this week for our performance series called “Director’s Choice/Golden”. This is one of our contemporary rep shows and I think after Serenade, Sleeping Beauty & The Nutcracker so far this season, we were all ready to get our groove on in a different way.

The first piece on the program is Stephen Mills’ “Five Flights Up”. A fun vaudeville feeling jazzy number to music by The Squirrel Nut Zippers. The “formula” for this one is pretty straight forward: group dance, pas de deux, quartet, pas de deux, group dance. But everything is just the right length so that just as you think you’ve caught your breath, it’s time to go back onstage. It’s such a blast to dance though, anytime you can ask “Can we go to the Bourbon & Champagne section?” or “Can we go to the Internet Baby part?”– it must be a fun ballet.

Here’s Reggie and Michelle in their pas de deux…

I absolutely love the moment right after this when Michelle does a bunch of pirouettes, finishes on balance, adds half a turn, then chooses to saunter out of it towards Reggie. Such sass! It makes me laugh every time!

The second ballet on our program is “Red Line” choreographed by Gina Patterson. It explores boundaries in relationships… what your boundaries are, emotionally how far you’ll let yourself go or get involved. And how far is too far in a separate relationship, and if the initial relationship can be repaired. In this one I’m a part of a love triangle in which we’ve decided that I’m the other woman. Ultimately his “wife” decides he’s gone too far and in the end leaves him. In another love triangle, they’re movement simulates their struggle, but in the end suggests that they’re going to try to repair their relationship.

Here’s one of Michelle and Eric in Red Line…

The last piece on our program is Twyla Tharp’s the Golden Section. A few weeks ago Shelley Washington spent two amazing weeks with us staging this work. Shelley really is an incredible woman to work with. By the time she was done with us everything was so clear. We all knew what to work on and even if it wasn’t quite working yet, we knew what it was, what the feeling was and how we were going to get there. She’s very straightforward either it’s “Beautiful!!!” or “TERRIBLE!”. I know terrible can sound like a harsh word, but anyone who calls everyone “Pooh Bear” or “Sweetness of Life” can’t mean it that harshly… but only to be clear and redirect you.

From left to right here’s Stephen Mills, Deborah Hay (who was visiting for the day), Shelly Washington, Michelle Martin (our Associate Artistic Director), and dancer Orlando Canova.

I’m hoping to get some stage shots this week and then post them… we’ll see. =)