Archive for blog
May 22, 2008 at 6:49 pm · Filed under dance, blog, politics
“…it gives voice to political dissent.” The Wall Street Journal, Monday, May 5, 2008
I came across an article in the Wall Street Jounal that talked about Facebook as being more than a social platform but also a harbor for political discussions and activism. Technology truly amazes me because it bridges certain places, or people for this matter, into a network that could not possibly exist without it. For the people in Cairo, Egypt, Facebook provided a non-violent and peaceful alternative to protest certain issues that mattered to them. However, certain government officials still found a way to censor these protesters by tracking them down and arresting them. They would also flag the posts and prevent further assembly of Facebook members who voice out their opinion.
This article humbly reminded me that other parts of the world do not have the luxury of Freedom of Speech like we do here in (North) America. Just thought I’d share that Facebook is really a useful tool to facilitate social and political happenings wherever you may be in the world… whether you’re in New York, Montreal, Paris… or Cairo, Egypt.
Recent Posts by bennyroyce royon
January 24, 2008 at 4:00 pm · Filed under dance, blog, performance, BENNY, cas public, bennyroyce royon, montreal
Wingers!
Sincerest apologies for having been M.I.A. (missing in action) for quite some time now… I went to the Philippines to visit my family during the holidays; big family reunion, I haven’t been to the Philippines since I emigrated 11 years ago! It was really emotional to see my extended family. I came back from that trip and I left again for tour the following week! Now, I’m back and this week we (cas public) have our premiere of “Suite Cruelles” a new show that proves to be exciting. If you happen to be in Montreal, come see the show. Details are below!
PS. I enjoyed reading everyone’s updates and entries. Especially, Kristin’s iPhone entries! Keep ‘em coming! 
xo, Benny
—-
WWW.DANSEDANSE.NET
[Show Info.]
Since presenting Courage mon amour at Danse Danse in 2002, Hélène Blackburn has been busy creating two works for young audiences, Barbe Bleue and Journal intime, that were huge hits on their tours of Canada and abroad. Five years later, Blackburn and her company, Cas Public, are back to present dance lovers with a new work for 9 dancers and 2 pianists. Using body movements that combine the discipline of ballet with the surrender of contemporary dance, Hélène Blackburn draws us into a murky realm where pleasure and pain become one. Inviting.
[Synopsis]
Incandescence. Beings passionately search for one another, their vacant expressions mirroring the pain inside the bodies. The dancers explore and search one another with athletic jumps and jolts, alternately punishing, provoking and caressing each other. A mad dash tends toward the unbridled conquest of pleasure through the other.
The body works itself into a frenzy, it questions, rages and raves in search of what it cannot find: The impossible union of bodies and souls. Pain chosen reflects pain suffered. The hypnotic music and the violence of silence raise questions, while the frenetic rhythm haunts and mesmerizes.
The dancers sustain the virtuosity to the point of paroxysm, masters of the raw energy they exude. Lighter moments meet an intensity of desire like absurd fragments in a reality devoid of refinement.
The voluptuousness of the high heel rouses, and the body teeters then exults in disarticulated fits and starts.
As though finding pleasure necessarily involves losing oneself in pain…
Recent Posts by bennyroyce royon
October 8, 2007 at 1:05 pm · Filed under dance, artists, books, training, teaching, TONY, dance technology, sarah lawrence college, blog, education, michel foucault, discipline, pedagogy, thoinot arbeau, orchesographie
This fall I am back at Sarah Lawrence College teaching Dance and Technology. All of my students are smart, engaged and still unsure whether I am really crazy, or just pretending. We have set-up our own class blog where we discuss readings and communicate about building dance machines. The blog is appropriately located at http://dancemachines.blogspot.com. Come over for a visit. Other folks seem to be taking interest. Matt Gough wrote an incredibly encouraging post you can see here.
For readings we have started out with sections from Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish. Here is a part of that conversation.
Locating dance within Foucault’s framework of docility is both difficult and provocative. In attempting to pin dance to this trellis it becomes apparent that dance is slippery and cannot be easily categorized. It is clear however that discipline and dance are deeply entangled. Natasha spots this in the body of the soldier.
These men of the 17th-late 18th centuries were molded into figures with upright postures, programmed steps and structured attitudes; compare to ballet, especially, where all of these are instructed from an early age. Even the goals are similar - achieving honour and respect (of movement), grace, alertness, agility and strength. The quote on pg. 136: “A body that is docile that may be subjected, used, transformed and improved”, is applicable to any dance class or performance, even improvisational. We are constantly subjecting our bodies to our aspirations and limitations, using the body and our knowledge to further its abilities for the task at hand, transforming it (whether in attitude or structure) to execute movements and improving it for the short-term goals and the long-term benefits.
Foucault opens his section on docile bodies with a reading of Montgommery’s 1636 military manual La Milice francaise. It’s description of the dancerly pikeman, who ‘will have have to march in step in order to have as much grace and gravity as possible’ resonates with Thoinot Arbeau’s dance manual Orchesographie. Written less than 50 years earlier, it had illustrated the strong linkages between choreography in the court and on the battlefield.
Thinking that making a dancer is just another instance of creating a docile subject (be it a soldier, factory worker, school child, or mental patient) can be uncomfortable to say the least. Janet points out how subtle power mechanisms can operate to form the subject.
For example the idea of coercion - that the power structure is being so fully and well imposed because of the fact that it’s being slipped in the back door, so to speak. “Small acts of cunning endowed with a great power of diffusion, subtle arrangements, apparently innocent, but profoundly suspicious,” (p. 139). It’s not being beaten into people, it’s “proper” execution is being rewarded. It is being made convenient. I think that these ideas have a very great relationship to the more “open” versions of modern and contemporary dance technique. Even when we are not working from highly stylized and codified techniques, we are still being instructed by a teacher, being ordered into levels, being auditioned for placement and so on. Therefore if we are properly disciplined in WHATEVER is the “proper” kind of “technique” (even if that is merely a general body awareness?), we are being subject to a certain power structure based on WHO decided what is “proper”.
We are inside a discipline machine with all of the spatial and temporal markers Foucault describes. This class demonstrates that. A component of the dance {1,2}/3 or graduate study in the department of dance at Sarah Lawrence College. The class is physically located in a distinct place within a time table. The time and space within the class is also divided and in doing so controls the physical activities of the participant bodies. Some stand, some sit, some on the floor, some on chairs, some speak, some erase, some write and some read. We move inside the computer for a spell. Then there is time and space designated for dancing. Our bodies and activities are seem well placed within space, time and the structure of the academy.
But, Sarah Rosner pushes back with a contrarian maneuver.
I think the thing that hit me most about the idea of discipline via the control of movements is how much i DIDN’T feel like it applied to my experience of dance.
And Sarah Richison voices related discontent, but finds in it a contradiction.
say you revolt. are no longer docile. escape from prison. you find some way to do some other dance. so you move off and do your own thing and someone follows you. someone wants to do your dance. are you then the new discipline? yes. you have manipulated their body, right.
For those of you who were looking for straight answers I fear that we have none. Instead we are left with a set of contradictions and a general understanding that dance is slippery, at times obedient and located, at other times disobedient and dislocated. Here are one, two, three, four dances, two made inside the institution and two made outside. Dissect them with regards to this contradiction between dance’s discipline and disruption.
Recent Posts by tony schultz
September 12, 2007 at 12:19 am · Filed under dance, blog, BENNY, cas public, bennyroyce royon, montreal, cananda
Across the border you’ll find me dancing in the city of Montreal with a company called Cas Public. This is my third week here and it has been great so far. Montreal is so wonderful! I’ve been biking to work every single day. I live near la Parc Fontaine. Such a gorgeous park but can’t compare to Central Park in New York City. Do I miss the city? Yes of course, but Montreal keeps be pretty busy.
The work that I do with the company is very interesting. I feel that I’m also an actor besides being a dancer. There is text, gestures, and of course the signature Helene Blackburn (the artistic director) contemporary fast movement, which the girls do most of it on pointe shoes. Right now I’m learning two shows that we are going to tour all over Quebec and Europe. We are also creating a new ‘creation/show’ entitled “Suite Cruelles.” I’m very excited for that!
Ah… Ben oui! C’est tres vrais qui j’ai commence å parler français dans mon travail… mais seulment quelquefois!
Not bad, eh? lol I didn’t even use a translator!
So sorry Wingers that I have been gone for a bit… I miss New York City. But I found me a new home in Montreal!
If you ever think of visiting…. let me know!
Recent Posts by bennyroyce royon
September 11, 2007 at 6:58 pm · Filed under backstage, dance, 890 broadway, blog, abt, MATTHEW, matthew murphy
Over the past few weeks I’ve been looking back through my iPhoto library and reminiscing about my past three years in ABT. When I was a student at NCSA, I never imagined that I would end up in one of the greatest companies in the world surrounded by people who used to line my dorm room walls; their pictures that is, not the actual people. There have been ups and downs throughout my time with the company but even the downs look somewhat lighter in hindsight. As a continuing introduction of myself to The Winger community, I’d like to share my Top Ten Met Moments with everyone. For the most part I’ve shied away from listing personal performances that stick out in my memory, and am aiming to share some things that people might not think of right away. My memory is rather weak at the moment so I’m sure there are things I’m forgetting but here is what comes to mind.
1. The Firsts:
What better way to start a countdown than with some of the firsts in my career!? I will never forget the first day that I arrived at the Metropolitan Opera House and all of the excitement surrounding it. Walking through the stage door, getting my Met ID, setting foot on stage for the first time; it was all such a whirlwind that I barely took a moment to breathe. However, all of those moments pale in comparison to my first performance.
It was one of the smallest roles in our repertoire, a guard in “La Bayadere,” but it was the perfect introductory role. Luckily it required me to do little else than walk, stop and bow because I remember the weak feeling in my knees when Jose Carreno made his first entrance as Solar and the crowd erupted. “How is this my life?” I remember thinking. Soon after, I was running to change into my suit for our first Met Gala. Even though I was seated in the back corner (where they usually put the first year corps) I don’t think I ever stopped smiling all night.
Only a few days later I sat out in the front of the house for the first time and watched the rep program (“Petit Mort,” “Pilar of Fire” and “Harrison Tribute”) and I was more in awe than ever. There was a storm outside and during “Pilar” you could hear the lightening booming in the distance. It seemed to wake me up to the reality of this incredible experience I was (and still am) fortunate enough to be involved in.
(My first performance with Roman Zhurbin and Grant Delong. Looking so young!)
2. Any Moment Containing Anne Milewski:
By the time you get a few weeks into any season, fatigue starts to set in and trouble is not far behind. If you are easily provoked into fits of laughter, this is an especially trying period, when you must do your best to contain any giggling provoked by the debauchery on stage. For me, it all goes out the window whenever I have to interact with Anne Milewski.
Two seasons ago found me convulsing during “Cinderella” as she flitted around me doing minute facial contortions to break me down when I was supposed to be a frozen stiff bachelor. “Cinderella” was nothing compared to “Manon.” The curtain comes up on the third act and the various courtesans walk off the boat, as their bodies are being ravaged by disease. Anne was the one who I had to take care of, and she would rip her hair out (in a pixie cut disease wig), fall face flat on the floor as if she had died, and go completely dead weight limp in my arms before she would awake and profess her love to me. Needless to say I was hysterical, and felt completely unprofessional, so I did what anyone would do; pass off the tears of laughter for tears of anguish. If you happened to see a sailor who looked particularly distraught in the back, chances are it was me.
(Moments before the curtain went up with my sweetest downfall, Anne Milewski.)
3. Principal Varieties
One of the joys of being surrounded by so many dancers is that almost every night I get to watch someone different do the hardest roles in classical ballet. Every dancer has their different ways of spicing things up and a few in particular stand out in my mind.
During my first run of “Don Q,” Paloma Herrera took the balancing in attitude business in Act 3 to a whole different level. By the time she hit the last balance, standing solid for what must have been over 15 seconds, the audience was hysterical. This only provoked her to take it one step more and slowly fouette (on point) to a develope front without taking her partner’s hand. By this point, the dancers themselves were freaking out and I remember the guy sitting by me literally screaming on stage. Sometimes even we get stunned.
Another vivid memory was when Julio Bocca and Nina Ananiashvili were doing “Swan Lake” and seemed to spontaneously choreograph the final moments of Black Swan Pas to tremendous effect. They managed to catch all of the dancers, and the audience, off guard by spicing up something everyone knows the end of.
There are so many moments, I could go on forever in this category.
(Herman Cornejo showing how you can spice things up as a principal.)
4. Hanging Out in the Dressing Room
Leading up to my first season with the company, one of the things I was most stressed about was finding a suitable place in the dressing room. Even though the space is cavernous and very comfortable, people become fiercely protective of their spots and as a first year dancer, you don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. Fortunately, I ended up on a great row with Blaine Hoven, Daniel Keene(Mantai), Jared Matthews, Eric Underwood and Craig Salstein keeping me company. We all shared a certain sense of humor and it made my time off stage completely refreshing and stress free. Unfortunately, since I missed this whole last season, everything has changed. Jared and Craig have been promoted to soloist, Eric left for Royal Ballet and Daniel departed for National Ballet of Canada. That leaves Blaine and I to break in a whole new set of people next year. We will try to be nice, but they have a lot to live up to.
(A typical view of my dressing room spot, complete with a collection of postcards and pictures that just keeps growing.)
(Jared Matthews and Blaine Hoven prepare for “Le Corsaire.”)
5. Petrouchka Coachman’s Dance
I already know that by my including this on the list, I am going to hear nothing but confusion from my fellow dancers. If there is any part that the boys complained about to no end, it’s the Coachmen’s dance from “Petrouchka.” In a ballet known for its lack of dancing, but incredible dramatic structure, the Coachmen are the only corps role that requires much physical exertion, and it is without a doubt one of the hardest things I have ever done. Consisting of strenuous deep knee bends that make you feel like your knees might be filled with dynamite that is seconds from exploding, preparing every night was a humorous (and stressful) event. I would put on a whole brace and support system (quad, knee and calf supports) before donning my fat suit and overcoat. It was a role we all feared yet doing it is one of the things I remember most from my years of performing.
There is nothing like hearing the incredible Stravinsky music floating up from the orchestra pit as we prepared for our dance. At the moment we began, snow gently started falling from the rafters and we began our workout. Half way through, the boys do a series of traveling knee bends that cross them and take them to the other side of the stage. Usually by this point, you felt like you had a piano on your shoulders and coming up from the knee bends required a little extra effort. Cue the grunting. All of the boys took it upon themselves to add a little extra noise to the proceedings and as we crossed we grunted like cavemen (or people being crushed under the weight of a car) and made our way across the stage. We’d often get notes asking us to tone it down, but sometimes your body just does something without you even prompting it. When we finally reached the other side, it was time for the final stretch of the dance where we were facing the women forming a semi-circle around us. My partner was always Marian Butler, and her whispered words of encouragement were what helped me get through. As we reached the conclusion of our dance, the score would swell to its peak and the music would carry me to another place. After we struck our final pose, we ran off stage for a moment and would all collapse behind one of the set pieces. If only the audience could have seen us.
Even though it was one of the most physically exhausting experiences of my life, the wonderful coaching by Gary Chryst made it one of the most rewarding as well. The corps is often left to fend for themselves when creating the crowd scenes but Gary spent the time coaching everyone and working on developing a believable character that carried through the entire ballet. Maybe since my father was an actor, I found this especially intriguing and a challenge unlike any I had had in my professional career up until that point.
(With Bo Busby in our “Petrouchka” makeup. I think we can all admit that this is the sexiest picture ever taken of me. In fact I would venture as far as to say it’s the sexiest picture of any man ever. Period.)
Stay tuned for more Met moments! Coming soon…
Recent Posts by matthew
August 5, 2007 at 12:15 am · Filed under ballet, dance, dancers, student, class, blog, new york city, TAYLOR
Posted by Taylor Gordon
Hi everyone!
Thanks for the warm welcome. I’m really excited to be contributing to The Winger and I hope you’ll enjoy hearing what I have to say.
I wasn’t sure what to do my first post on because it’s been a really busy summer of work, school, and dancing. I have a lot to say and I apologize in advance if my posts become long…I’m really going to try to self-edit to make things more concise (my biggest challenge as a writer). There’s a lot of issues in the dance world that I hope to touch on in this blog, but I thought I’d start off by simply describing the open classes I’ve been taking recently.
(me -on left- in open pointe class)
This summer I’ve been taking open adult classes around the city and with one teacher in particular. I decided that instead of going to a ballet intensive for the 13th year in a row (6 of them away from home), this summer both my body and my mind needed a bit of a break. There were other things that needed to get done as well, so I decided to remain here in the city and take classes at my leisure.
The day a few weeks back when all my friends near and far left for their dorms full of competitive bunheads I admit that I second guessed myself. I honestly can’t remember a summer without a strict schedule of plies and tendus. But this regret lasted only a minute - I am fully happy with my decision to take a break, which, it turns out, is not a break at all!
(last year’s summer intensive: back home at Boston Ballet School)
The main factor in this decision was that by the end of the spring season I was truly exhausted. I knew I needed a brief change, mentally and physically: I needed to get back to the stage where I actually looked forward to class, where my “bad turnout and flat feet” didn‘t ruin my day, where I could just dance for me.
I am thrilled to say that I found all that quite quickly in the adult classes. And, as an added plus, I’ve met new dance friends that are not in it for the competition or the self-destruction. They dance for the sake of dancing: to move, to be free, to embody music, and to have fun. Isn’t that why most of us began dancing in the first place?
To go back to these roots at this point seemed naïve at first, but as I watched some of the others in those classes I found myself to be truly inspired. Some of these adult students are far past the retirement age. Some are busy business folks. Some are stay at home mothers. Despite their age or occupation, they all share a passion for dance, and that is what I appreciate about them.
They become so involved and dedicated, just as much as the pre-professional students I’ve always been surrounded by. They work very seriously and take each combination with the concentration of a brain surgeon. They are determined (some even a bit overly so!) to get this ballet business under control.
Many are eager to go on pointe and do so successfully. At first glance with my bunions and blistered perception I wonder why on earth they would want so badly to wear those painful shoes. I spend hours a day in them and cannot wait to get them off, and here they are begging the teacher for more time on their toes. Then it hit me: we all still have that childhood dream of becoming a prima ballerina. It really is a certain internal passion which brings us all to ballet. And with these people, as jaded New Yorkers as they may be, this passion is in its purest form.
Something that surprised me most was the number of men in these classes. As ballet students we are trained to consider male dancers as gold. It is completely different with these adults. There is a far larger percentage of men in these classes compared to any children’s class. And even some of THEM go on pointe! I respect their courage, determination, and dedication for facing certain stereotypes and physical factors that prevent most men.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of all this is that these adults do pas de deux work! Regularly they meet to learn the technique and to practice traditional and contemporary choreography. They treat these classes just as seriously as the professionals treat a rehearsal - they work together to fix problems, make adjustments, and keep trying. I have been taking this class for about 6 months now and it’s so neat to see the improvement everyone has made, different from a pre-professional setting,
Sometimes I think people wonder if I’m losing my technique by taking adult classes and simply slacking off by not maintaining a strict dance schedule over the summer. The opposite is true: I really cannot wait to get to class every day, a feeling I haven’t experienced in quite a while, and I’m dancing just as much as I was during the year. I know myself and my body now and I am able to train myself with a freedom that is impossible to have in a pre-professional school or summer intensive setting.
Although these adults are not working for ballet careers they have something special - a genuine desire to dance, with no inhibitions or limitations. I can only hope that as I grow older I will continue to find that unyielding passion.
I wanted to end with this great anonymous quote I once read but can’t seem to find it. Here’s one pretty similar to it:
Beginning dancer: Knows nothing.
Intermediate dancer: Knows everything, too good to dance with beginners.
Hotshot dancer: Too good to dance with anyone.
Advanced dancer: Dances everything, especially with beginners
Recent Posts by taylor gordon
Recent Posts by taylor gordon
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