Archive for japan
January 28, 2008 at 2:49 pm · Filed under backstage, ballet, dance, injuries, choreographers, japan, EVAN MCKIE, the stuttgart Ballet, pina bausch, national ballet of canada, wingers, website, dancebloggers, opera house, opera houses, choreographer, issues, dacners, stuttgart ballet, back injury, choreography, bolshoi ballet, suttgart ballet, ballerina, marcia haydee, web, swan lake, injury, stuttgart, paris opera ballet, chirstopher wheeldon, john cranko, reid anderson, marcela goicoechea, luis ortigoza, balet de santiago, patrcio melo, debut, american balet theatre, opening night
( …in the world of Geraldine Georges. more at www.geraldinegeorges.be )
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It’s been awhile!… I suppose it’s high time that I share a few minutes with the ever-popular Winger family!
Though I have become more of a ‘’distant guest contributor'’ here (not my words) due to an increasingly heavy workload, I still check in from time 2 time to see what has been going down. I have been able to meet a few other contributors in 2007 and especially enjoyed catching up with David H. after a decade, seeing Patricio dance with Luis and Marcela from South America and first meeting and then sharing jet-setting tips with Christopher in a german Christmas market only to realize who it actually was a day later!!!! I also want to congratulate Kristin on being an absolute role-model this past year while making difficult life choices. I wish you, Kristin, happiness in your new position at NYCB and am glad you still manage to make time for this site. There doesn’t seem to be any other cyber-place with such a variety of different artistic voices!
I was asked recently what some of my highs and lows of 2007 were…I thought it might be a good way to discuss what’s been going on with me since I last wrote.
Aside from the little problems that can arise in a world filled with blood, sweat and tears, I found myself confronted with some more threatening issues in 2007. I became sort of plagued by a variety of significant injuries that prevented me from doing things that I REALLY wanted to be a part of; like touring to Korea again with Sue Jin Kang, creating a new role in a Christian Spuck ballet, and just generally working on improving my abilities as a dancer. This is when I was forced to realize that ‘lows’ can turn into ‘highs’ if you come at problems from the right angle. Every dancer goes through a huge injury at some point and having the advice of friends and accomplished dancers like Bridget Breiner and Robert Tewsley to guide me through was invaluable. I launched into therapy that taught me new things about my body and I learned about the power of breathing among other things. I decided to have a GREAT time and so I spent days visiting friends from Berlin to Paris. I was happy to see wonderful art and theatre in both places and meet exciting new people. One night after seeing an ABT(on tour) show at the Theatre du Chatelet I found myself on the Avenue de L’Opera. I stood staring at the beautiful Opera Garnier where I had JUST danced one month before. Now I was an invalid dancer shivering outside in the rain wondering if I’d ever be onstage again. A friend called me and invited me to hear him DJ at Le ParisParis which is also on the Avenue de L’Opera so i turned my back on the Garnier and swore to myself that I would forget the stage if just for that night and have a good time. I did but it was difficult to remove my thoughts from the theatre. During the following months I started to let go a bit and noticed an immense improvement in my condition (two ruptured and herniated discs in my lower back). The time soon came to come back to work and I was ready to take on new challenges and more mentally/spiritually prepared to do so than I was before I left for therapy.
Because things move so quick here (the company has had about 70 shows since I penned my last post even…), I was back onstage within a 2 week time period. Being there this time was like a new experience though. I enjoyed myself more than ever because I could feel that through letting go of the ’silly stresses’ of dancing, I had matured as an artist…if even just a tiny bit. 
I won’t bore with other small details that followed this event but I will mention one thing that happened right around that time that I consider to be a highlight of my year: I was cast as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake!
I was going to dance my first principal dancer role with a great big company AND my partner would be doing it for the fist time aswell! What happened next was a combination of greatness and misfortune…
My Odette/Odile, Linda and I rehearsed and rehearsed. The company and staff were so behind us and I felt incredible chemistry with my partner. We were finally ready to dance our first show! We stepped onstage together and with adrenaline flowing heavily, we delivered to a hungry audience that was eager to witness our virgin attempt of the Tchaikovsky classic. Things went well and the excitement increased as we completed the 3rd act where the sorcerer’s evil swan daughter deceives the Prince and tricks him into marriage. It was time to ‘fall into’ the beauty of the 4th and final act that has a tragic love pas de deux that is exclusive to the Cranko version. We danced together for what was to be the Swan and the Prince’s final dance before she is turned back into a swan creature indefinitely and the Prince drowns trying to save her. I could feel her breath on my neck and the moment was magic when suddenly there was a funny sounding click and I realized that my partner’s shoulder had come dislocated in one of those backwards port de bras movements that distinguished the swan from all other classical roles. We exited the stage and she courageously held-in screams as the orchestra played on. Her shoulder wouldn’t pop back in and it was a devastating sight. I ran back onto stage and somehow managed to improvise with the corps de ballet of swan girls as if I was looking for the swan queen who I had lost somehow. 5 whole minutes played out as I performed the ballet til the end while wishing I could somehow help my beautiful partner who was by now being taken to the hospital.
Thankfully no lasting damage was done to Linda’s body but mentally it was difficult for everybody invloved to have been a part of such a beautiful process that was abrubtly cut short. The newspapers carried the story in their headlines and there was an influx of well-wishing notes. Linda still needed time to recover so I was scheduled to dance with Anna, another of my frequent partners. I was sad to see Linda watch as I rehearsed with another soloist just a day later but the show HAD to go on. Luckily Anna and I have chemistry that matches the intensity of Linda and mine together. This is rare (the two ladies share the same birthday too) but I was happy to be dancing with her and glad to not have to try and manufacture any feelings that should come naturally. Our show went over well and I felt the confidence that only a second show can bring. My ballerina told me she had never had so much fun and I believed her.
Since that time the direction was kind enough to give Linda a chance to redeem herself in the role and we danced the ballet, in it’s entirety, on a Christmas tour of Spain. Due to the incedible emotional journey that the ballet inspired for me, I’d definitely put Swan Lake at the top of my personal 2007 ‘crucial moments’ list.
4th Act embrace with Anna Osadcenko in ‘Swan Lake’ with the Stuttgart Ballet. Galina Mezentseva as Odette.
As Stuttgart’s autumn season brought scattered flurries to the Schlossgarten outside the theatre, indoors there was a blizzard of different ballets being performed. ‘The CRANKO festival’ was underway. Infact it was all planned far in advance to celebrate the company’s founder. We all danced a long list of roles that Cranko had created for his star-personalities of the time and many of them came back to help us get into each individual role. I danced Lenski in Onegin and special parts in ‘Brouillards’, ‘Jeu de Cartes’ , ‘Holberg Pas de Deux’ and ‘Initials’. Infact, I just debuted over this past weekend for the final two shows of ‘Initials’ in the hauntingly beautiful pas de deux created for Marcia Haydee and Heinz Claus from the 3rd movement. ‘Initials’ is one of those rare ballet’s that demands a large company fueled by a sense of camaraderie. Four principals represent four seasons and the music by Brahms is so powerful and melodic that it is hard for me to imagine it without steps attached. The choreography is difficult and there are alot of leading roles so that everyone has their own personal responsability to the ballet. We were all in it together and every single person felt like an important ingredient that was required to bring this ballet to fruition. The Cranko festival was a ‘high’ for me because it afforded me with the chance to dance roles that I loved while being a part of a 3 month long seminar-like expereince where I was able to focus solely on what made Cranko, the choreographer tick. I saw footage that I had never seen before, saw roles that had been lost in ballet history and celebrated (night after night) the ballets and steps that made the choreographer so famous. There were gala events where guests were invited to come dance all of the most popular Cranko roles. How lucky for them to be able to dance such roles on the stage where they were first received and how lucky for us, here, to be able to see how other artists interpret the roles that we know so well. (Alina Cojucaru as ‘Tatiana’ from ‘’Onegin'’ was one of my favourites.) I also thouroghly enjoyed getting to know Polina Semionova while dancing ‘Lenski’ with her ‘Tatiana’ in a special gala performance of ‘’Onegin'’.
1st time Siegfried in ‘’Swan Lake'’. Flirting with Katja Wünsche’s ‘Olga’ in ‘’Onegin'’
I’ll leave it at that for now as the new year is well underway now and I want to go out and accomplish brand-new things to reflect on at a later date. Altogether, I feel good about celebrating the ups and downs that my career as a ballet dancer brought me in 2007 and I want to make sure to thank the people who have celebrated WITH me! Whether it’s european balletomanes, my family and colleagues, or original Stuttgart Ballet members (antiques) who encouraged me to keep writing here at the WINGER (.. ..) I have recently been getting alot of attention in Japan aswell and am frankly quite baffled by it as I have only ever done ONE show there!..BUT I am always thrilled to receive the notes and extremely creative gifts from my friends in and around Tokyo. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I am thankful and proud to have such a dance-educated group be interested in me! Thank you.
Let’s see what’s in store for ‘08. I promise to do my ballet-best 
!………
-Ev
Photos: The Stuttgart Ballet. (I am sorry I only have the few from recent while. The truth is I don’t have that many at my disposal!)
Artwork: a gift from the amazing Geraldine Georges
www.geraldinegeorges.be
Recent Posts by Evan McKie
September 6, 2007 at 3:49 pm · Filed under backstage, dance, lincoln center, video, DAVID, 890 broadway, japan, city, nyc, dancebloggers, paris, abt, broadway, blogging, american ballet theatre, MATTHEW, matthew murphy
I’ve been sitting at my computer for a few tense hours minutes trying to think of a way to introduce myself on The Winger. Even though I’ve been blogging on my own site for a while now, for some reason I was struck with a bit of writers block when it came time to post here. I’d like to take a minute to thank Kristin for letting me join her growing global family (and even out the Lincoln Center scales a LITTLE.) You see, it was because of Kristin’s website that I began taking blogging seriously. David had mentioned it to me when he became interested and other than a few random (and slightly pathetic) MySpace blogs about my feelings, I hadn’t spent much time blogging before I came across this lovely site.
So after a few minutes of writers block, it hit me that I still hadn’t responded to a fellow blogger’s (Winger regular Tonya) tag to share 8 Interesting Facts About Myself. “Interesting” is a quite generic and loose word which almost automatically makes my facts look boring, but I’ll give it a try. Perhaps it will give readers a chance to get to know me (as if “Ranting Details” isn’t personal enough) before I start blogging up a storm here!
1. I am extremely proud of my Montana upbringing.
There are very few dancers that hail from Big Sky country, and even though I was born in New York City, I still consider myself a Montanan at heart. I spent my formative years there before heading off to High School at NCSA and made life long friends that I miss more with each passing day. On top of genuinely nice people, crazy wildlife (we would often have bears walking through my neighborhood), and INCREDIBLE scenery, how often do you get to see a sunset like this?!
2. The only other place I can see myself living soon is Paris.
After visiting Europe for the first time in February (fellow Winger Evan even visited our class), I immediately decided I would live in Paris at some point in my life. The architecture is incredible, the art is overwhelming and the croissants…well, I could live on them (in fact I did which is perhaps why I got mono.)
3. I’m also oddly obsessed with Japan.
My first trip out of the country was with ABT when we went to Japan a few summers ago and it was life changing. Much of Japan feels like being in the heart of Times Square except in “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” Everything is so overwhelming, from the mobs of people to the neon lights. I ended up having a rather Asian themed apartment and have a “wall of crap” that contains MANY Japanese toys. One of my favorite posters is an old Japanese movie poster I bought right by these incredible lotus lily pads (?) pictured below. I will always have a special place in my heart for Japan and will never forget wandering around completely lost in the winding streets. We also had an infamous night at a club called GasPanic on our last night in Tokyo, where we didn’t get back to the hotel until 5am. The subways shut down at midnight and don’t open until 5am so we just kept exploring. Too many memories to share in one post.
4. I am constantly in awe of my family.
Being in a family of artists can be difficult at times but I realize I would NEVER be where I am without my family. My father was an actor, my mother a dancer and they both teach now. My sister is also an INCREDIBLE tap dancer (pictured with me below.) All of them push me to reach for more in my art and look beyond the regular and for that I’m eternally thankful.
5. I’m a TOTAL musical theater dork.
Perhaps the most embarrassing fact about me, but true nonetheless. Instead of Sesame Street, I listened to Sondheim as a child and would kill to have dinner with him. One of my favorite things to do in the city is go see shows and prove to people that musical theater isn’t always fluffy nonsense (although a lot of times it is and what’s wrong with that?!) Fortunately, some of my best friends go to school at University of Michigan for Musical Theater so I will get to watch them on stage soon. The picture below is with two of my closest friends, Michael Lowney and Jessica Hershberg who you will see on a Broadway stage in the near future. Perhaps we are acting out a 21st century version of “The Telephone Hour” from Bye, Bye, Birdie?
6. I almost didn’t join ABT.
When I was at NCSA I was offered a contract with Studio Company during my sophomore year but before that I was rather convinced that I would try to go to City Ballet. Melissa Hayden represented that side of my training while Warren Conover took the ABT side, so I loved parts of both companies. The way things fell into place, I ended up at 890 and my jaw dropped to the floor. I still have moments when I have to pinch myself when I look around the room at who is dancing.
(One of my favorite pictures ever with Craig Salstein, Jeff Golladay, and Marcelo Gomes.)
(Me with fellow Winger and best friend extraordinaire, David Hallberg. This is turning into “The many hairstyles of Matt Murphy.” I’ll refrain from the bowl cut I sported my whole adolescence.)
(At the end of the night after my first gala with fellow dancers in 2004.)
7. I can’t drive.
Ugh, I took my first lesson (with Nick and my sister Carson) this past weekend and it was comedic to say the least. Being a dancer prohibited me from ever having time to learn! The following video might scare you…
8. I wrote the screenplay for “American Beauty,” and won an Oscar for it.
Okay, so I lied. I was running out of “interesting” things about myself. It’s one of my favorite movies though…I guess that’s a fact.
Now who do I get to tag? Perhaps I’ll share the love with 8 fellow Wingers? Chosen at random, since I don’t know many of you! Let’s see if everyone can join in and we can get to the know the dancers that much more!
David, Kristin, Cathy, Susan, Carla, Benny, David B., and Candice.
Recent Posts by matthew
May 9, 2007 at 7:03 pm · Filed under Uncategorized, SLOAN, japan, new york city, mobile, apparel, design
Posted by Sloan | via mobile phone
Your favorite Japanese t-shirt store is now offering their products at Reed Space on Allen between Rivington and Stanton.
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
May 9, 2007 at 7:13 am · Filed under dougie, artists, friends, designers, recommendations, DAVID, japan
| | Posted by David
Just thought I would “re post” something I first posted for my trip to Japan in September. In honor of all of our favorite t shirt store! Welcome to NYC!
One of the things I was most looking forward to on arrival to Tokyo, was visiting and buying out the complete “Graniph Design” store here in Japan. This store commissions designers to create a line of t shirts to sell in their store. Granted, there is such a wide array of styles of t’s there, its a feast for the eyes (and the wallet). I discovered this store on my last trip here and fell maddly in love for it. It is the type of innovative Japanese design that attracts me to Tokyo and the people here. When I returned to NYC, I got so many compliments on the t shirts I bought at Graniph, and wore them throughout the whole year.
Well, upon my return, one of my first stops was to Graniph… As I am browsing through the t’s, loving them all, I come across a name that I am VERY familiar with… none other than Kristin’s boyfriend extrodinaire… Doug Jaeger. I was so excited to see his name there, and in a store I love so much, commissioning artists with complete individuality. And, here I thought I was so alone in Tokyo… but ‘family’ is right where you left it!
Bravo Doug!
A blurry pic of Doug’s name under his t shirt.
Doug’s t shirt is the gray one on the first shelf.
| | Posted by David
Recent Posts by david hallberg
January 27, 2007 at 9:49 am · Filed under ballet, dance, choreographers, dancers, modeling, designers, composers, art, japan, germany, fashion, EVAN MCKIE, dancing, athletics
Hi. My name is Evan. I am a bun-head. No denial.
…I have tried to be less-bunheady and I have millions of other hobbies but still, put a hard2find vintage dance vid infront of me and I become kind of a sucker…
…which is why I, ummmm, shamelessly troll through youTube.com when I get a chance. (am I the only one?..) It would be literally impossible to gather all of the golden gems (legal or not…) that the mega-site has to offer.
I found this random clip of the old Frankfurt Ballet having fun doing some Stephen Galloway choreography for an Issey Miyake show in the early 90’s (?)…. I know a few of the dancers(§$%&ing fantastic still..) and it’s so cool to see them rocking out! I love this time when Frankfurt Ballet wasn’t just on-the-map, it kind-of WAS the map! Because so many artists were so inspired by the Forsythe brand of movement from that period, there has been alot of similar stuff being produced all over the world ever since. Infact, I think we’ve sort of come full circle now in Europe…where old is new is old is new is….yeah so either way, I wish I coulda been there at that moment! I mean, I was like 8 but whatev!…
hmmmm maybe we should have a vintage youTube(or whatever tube your watching) week where everybody posts a rare clip that they’re kinda fond of for whatever reason….!!! (nice sentence-structure, thx)
sound fun?? yes? ok!
:)
-E
Recent Posts by Evan McKie
October 30, 2006 at 6:01 pm · Filed under dance, dance event, culture, recommendations, DAVID, art, japan, butoh, france
| | Posted by David
Sankai Juku anyone? No I didn’t sneeze…
I have put this Paris-based Japanese butoh group on one of the top five performances I have seen… ever..
Now, that is quite a bold statement I agree, but I wish you all could have seen this performance of “Kagemi, beyond the metaphors of mirrors”.
Butoh I believe is best described as momentary meditative movement, therefore the artist is completely in the moment of the performace and looks as though they are in a trance, which then brings the audience in with them. These aritists all have their heads shaved and paint their whole body in white chalk, which comes off in a powder as they move.
What made the performance so compelling for me was not only the visual aspect (as you can see in these pictures) but the complete dedication of the aritsts to what they believed. The director of Sankai Juku, Ushio Amagatsu, had clearly spent his lifes work evolving this form of butoh. And the result of it, as an audience member, was almost a voyeuristic approach to seeing him in their habitat.
The piece opened with dozens of Lotus flowers hanging on the floor of the stage, only to rise to the ceiling once the performance started. Seeing these flowers gradually rise, made me feel as though the whole show was underwater.
It is art like this that motivates me to be an artist. Performers like these inspire not only fellow dancers and artists but the general public as well. The whole audience around me was captivated and entranced… Entranced with this movement that seems so hard to put into words.
Photo Credit: Jacques Denarnaud
Recent Posts by david hallberg
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