Archive for germany
September 18, 2008 at 3:10 pm · Filed under dance, germany, hamburg ballet, MADISON, farewell, madison keesler
(This is a little out of order now but I wrote this on the airplane when I was first coming out to Germany.)
Right now I can’t help the tears that are starting to very, very slowly leave my eyes and roll over my cheeks. These aren’t the tears you cry when you feel despair, or the tears you cry because you are bursting with joy…I am not sure if I could tell you what these tears are from. Maybe they are from a little fear mixed with pure excitement. These aren’t the kind of tears that come with a simple explanation–that is for sure. I do know that as they come, I let them fall right past my cheek onto my orange scarf, and down past that to the blue-stripped pattern of the chair I am sitting on. I used to try to hide emotions such as this, but I think I have given up hiding. There are things that sometimes we aren’t meant to have complete control over, and emotions are one of those things. I believe that while we do have the ability to control many things in our lives we also have to be brave enough to close our eyes and just let life happen. Right now, I definitely feel that I am ready to close my eyes for a little while.
I was in a light sleep dreaming about all of the exciting things I have to look forward to when I heard a voice tell me that we were flying over the state of Colorado. The pilot said that to the left you could clearly see the Rocky Mountains. Pikes Peak and Cheyenne Mountain were in clear sight and we were right over Colorado Springs. Memories suddenly flooded my mind. I lived in Colorado Springs on Cheyenne Mountain for four years of my life. I was six when we first moved there and it is one of the first places that I feel attached to. Many of my wonderful childhood memories happened miles below me now and they still bring a grin to my face. We continued miles forward because just like I had to, after those four years in Colorado, I am moving on. This will be the seventh time I have moved in my life but it doesn’t make it any easier. I think that change is hard for anyone, but I also believe that it can be an amazing thing. After you go through the hard parts, you will undoubtedly learn some of the most important life lessons along the way. I have found it helps to keep that in mind during the hardest adjustments.
Without question this move will be the biggest, and most difficult change I have ever been through. Not only am I moving to a country where I don’t speak the language– I am starting my very first job! I will be paying my first bills for my first apartment; I will be getting my first paycheck, and I will be budgeting my own earned money for the first time. I finally have reached the starting point in a career that I have been dreaming about since I started taking dance classes once a week at miss Nancy Derby’s Dance School in the place that I just flew over not five minutes ago. Life is an amazing thing. I am so excited and grateful for everything I have had, as well as, for everything coming my way…whatever that might be.
Recent Posts by Madison Keesler
April 17, 2008 at 10:32 pm · Filed under dance, germany, KRISTIN O, johannes wieland
Johannes Wieland’s Le Sacre Du Printemps
After two months home in New York City, I am back in Kassel, Germany. However, I have only returned for three weeks and a couple of Le Sacre du Printemps/Portrait performances before I make a complete commitment to Johannes Wieland’s next New York premiere; newyou.
Having already begun the process, I believe newyou to be a sincerely engaging performance. Complete with plastic bottles, microphones and high heels, it is bound to be as challenging to its audience as it is to its performers. Beware: That could be a lie.
However, the following is not!
johannes wieland is searching for 100 red haired females. If you have natural or dyed red hair, and/ or willing to dye your hair, visit the link below for information about performing in our show. No dance skills or training necessary. www.johanneswieland.org/redheads.html
Throughout the past few months, Johannes Wieland’s choreographies have received critical praise in Europe; “A man with a distinctive and individual choreographic language” Koegler Journal / Tanznetz. Now, he will delve into the philosophical realm of lies and happiness debuting this brand new evening length work, newyou.
Recent Posts by kristin osler
December 6, 2007 at 9:58 pm · Filed under dance, blogs, directors, germany, new york city, director, modern dance, choreography, contemporary dance, arts, KRISTIN O, staatstheater kassel
There began a small investigation here in Kassel about the origin of an idea. Johannes Wieland, Director and Choreographer of the Tanztheater in Kassel built his version of “Le Sacre du Printemps” around seven human-sized tanks, each filled with at least 500 Liters of lukewarm water. The idea stemmed from a piece he created and premiered in New York City (2001) called “Tomorrow;” which has become one of Johannes’ signature works. In our rendition of “Sacre,” water ends up converting the entire opera house stage into a slippery sea comprised of splashed water, buckets full of water and quite literally, hair loads of tossed water.
After our premiere, a writer for the “Süd Deutscher” Newspaper wrote a positive review of the work but inferred that Johannes “copied” a piece by Sasha Waltz, a famous European choreographer whose company is based in Berlin. The reviewer attributed the originality of the tank idea to Ms. Waltz and her work “Dido and Aeneas,” which premiered in 2005. Chronologically, the tanks of water appeared first in Johannes’ “Tomorrow” nearly eight years ago. The writer of the review failed to research Johannes’ repertory and made a false claim based on her performance-going experience.
So, where did the idea of tanks of water on a stage originate? And does it matter? Can ideas really be claimed? It seems to me (and several of my colleagues with whom I’ve spoken much with about this issue) that both choreographers found reason to use the same not-so-commonly-used prop as tools to achieve separate visions. And perhaps tanks of water have been used on stage in several other occasions, perhaps prior to both of the aforementioned pieces.
Which brings me to another issue: the writing of a review. What is going on? I was taught to write as objectively as possible when reviewing performance art, and though I did not go to Journalism school, isn’t the point of it all to educate the public? How can we expect the public to gain an interest in dance if we make assumptions without researching the facts we claim or telling the public what “I” like and “I” think about the work. Thank goodness for blogs…
Recent Posts by kristin osler
October 26, 2007 at 11:35 pm · Filed under dance, rehearsals, germany, opera house, performance, modern dance, premiere, improvisation, philip glass, KRISTIN O, staatstheater kassel
Until yesterday my schedule as a guest dancer with the Staatstheater Kassel has been something like this:
10:00 – 11:30 Class
11:45 – 2:15 Rehearsal I
2:15 – 5:30 Break
6:00 – 10:00 pm Rehearsal II
This daily configuration was due to limited pre-premiere stage availability but now we’re back to the typical 10 am – 7 pm schedule. The Theater is an extremely busy artistic haven and technicians often “load in” and “load out” multiple times a day. Despite the hustle, everything seems to run with the efficiency of an office building except our halls are enriched with the echoes of opera singers, pianists and Schauspielers (actors). Nestled on the top floor of a seven-story building, jolting hyper-energy through the floorboards, are die Tänzer. The theater has two stages, plus a performance space in the neighboring Fridericianum Museum, and on many evenings three performances occur simultaneously. Since Kassel is a relatively small city, I often wonder where the audience members come from…two words: suburban radius.
On October 20th, the Tanztheater premiered Portrait and Le Sacre du Printemps after only six weeks of rehearsal. A completely new work set to “Symphony No. 3” by Philip Glass, Portrait is a collection of self-composed solos tweaked, supplemented, and compiled by Johannes Wieland. To keep it intimate, he divided our small company of 14 dancers into two casts, creating two completely different compositions for the same piece. The first creative step: Johannes assigned specific sections of Glass’ four-movement symphony to pairs of dancers (one from each cast), having us improvise while we clutched our iPods or Discmans. The process was a grueling one and continues now, even after the premiere. Three minutes of movement to capture “who I am?!” This type of quest requires a seemingly infinite amount of physical and mental exploration! Meanwhile, we’re learning and perfecting huge chunks of detailed movement, taking very specific stage directions, and diving into huge tanks full of water for Johannes’ rendition of Sacre (stay tuned for more on this WET portion of Tanzabend I).
The process for Portrait became a series of “show and tells.” We would periodically show Johannes some dancing, explain or reiterate our individual concept, receive a bit of feedback and then be left once again to our own creative devices. Check out Dance Minute for clips from the early stages. This process continues because, naturally, directors always have notes. Johannes has been very effective at stylizing movement without changing the essence of any dancer’s solo. One day his commentary for me was “I think it can be more ‘Kristin,’” and then, “it’s a little too symmetrical.” Another day I was told to “go through and take out every contraction.” Though it can be self-debilitating and frustrating (I’m somewhat of a perfectionist, as most dancers are), I still find it a bit surreal that I am in Europe performing my own improvisation turned composition - while working for a Theater funded by the government. *Pinch* I have a full time job and earn money for just being me!
Recent Posts by kristin osler
October 26, 2007 at 2:49 pm · Filed under dance, welcome, germany, wingers, KRISTIN O, staatstheater kassel
I’d also like to introduce you to Ms. Kristin Osler. A dancer who is originally from Dayton, Ohio, Kristin is now dancing in Germany with the Staatstheater Kassel Tanztheater, which is under the direction of Johannes Wieland.
She also dances for Mr. Wieland’s New York based company, johannes wieland, and has worked with the Miro Dance Theatre and the Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre.
Welcome Kristin!
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
June 23, 2007 at 2:15 pm · Filed under dance, rehearsal, studio, germany, EVAN MCKIE, the stuttgart Ballet, stuttgart ballet, swan lake, stuttgart, tutus
The ladies here have just taken the plunge into SWAN LAKE. I imagine most girls dream of playing a swan. After a few hours of rigorous work on a summer afternoon however, the studio seems to flood with swan sweat and I can imagine the girls’ focus is simply not to drown in the punishing choreography.
…and when these lovely ladies leave the theatre this(below) is literally the first thing they see outside the front door….
Recent Posts by Evan McKie
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