November 12, 2008 at 4:32 am · Filed under ballet, dance, dance event, savannah, Nutcracker, VERONICA, the STUDIO, peformance
Minnie(Alston Macgill), Lola (Alexa Bridges) and Smokey (Justin Fuller-Green)
We did our photo shoot today for the STUDIO’s December performance of “Swingin’ at Club Sweets”, our twist on the Nutcracker set in a depression-era speakeasy.
The dancers have grown and changed so much! They are getting really good at this sort of thing.
I’ve made a few changes in the cast, mainly a “new” Minnie and Lola. I went with a new photographer too…..We went downtown to City Market and did a few shots at Garibaldi’s Restaurant as well. It was a pretty fun day! Thank you to everyone for doing such a great job.
I am looking forward to this year’s performance with only 3 weeks left to go, the kids are looking great!
Recent Posts by veronica moretti niebuhr
June 29, 2008 at 8:29 am · Filed under dance, performance, performances, performance art, BENNY, bennyroyce royon, montreal, peformance
Hello guys,
I just wanted to share some photos and the press release of a show I put up last week-and-a-few here in Montreal with Kyra Jean Green, my friend and collaborator who graduated with me from the Juilliard School in 2006. This was my first evening show… ever! The evening was composed of little dances that we both choreographed individually. We linked them all with interesting transitions and made it a cohesive program lasting less than an hour. We received lots of compliments and great comments. We plan to do the show again sometime soon because of the enthusiastic demand for the show to happen again. Both Kyra and I were very happy and thankful for all who made the show possible. The dancers, volunteers, and the audience. Merci!
“Seamless” choreography Bennyroyce Royon, dancer Roxane Duchesne-Roy, photography Franco Nieto
“Seamless” choreography Bennyroyce Royon, dancer Roxane Duchesne-Roy, photography Franco Nieto
(Kyra, Kyle, Roxane, Franco, Benny)
(Kyra Jean Green and the cushion seats.)
We performed at a studio loft for the first night and ran into the problem of figuring out how to seat the audience. So Kyra decided that we should buy blow up mini-inner-tubes and have the audience use them as seat cushions. The audience loved it! They particularly loved the blown up dolphin and Dalmatian dog. It was a really fun evening!
PRESS RELEASE
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Kyra Jean Green and Bennyroyce Royon present MUSIC DANCE FUN WOW !, an exciting collaborative dance show between two talented choreographers. Both graduated from the Juilliard School and currently dance with Cas Public. The event will be presented on Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 9PM at STUDIO SPACE and on Friday, June 20, 2008 at 9PM at THE POUND. They have enlisted a stunning group of Montréal-based dancers. The program, which is a little less than an hour, includes several new works by both choreographers. Musical selections include music by Dani Siciliano, Cocoa Rosie, Archive, Venetian Snares, Ellen Alien, Autechre, and Animal Collective. Ms. Green’s talents have been praised by The Washington Times stating that “CityDance Ensemble is impressive. [One of] its greatest strength[s] is new dancer Kyra Jean Green…” She has also been acclaimed by Lisa Traiger a member of the Dance Critics Association, Carmel Morgan of “Ballet Dance Magazine, and by DC dance blogger Amanda Abrams who expressed that “Kyra Jean Green was terrific… clean movements, beautiful and a compelling presence.” Likewise, Mr. Royon’s dance and choreographic talents have been applauded by the Boston Globe, the Berkshire Eagle, and by Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times who expressed that Mr. Royon’s “keenly focused, succinct way with movement” was a pleasure to watch. Kyra Jean Green was born in France and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. She received her B.F.A. in dance from Juilliard in May 2006. Upon leaving Juilliard she danced and choreographed for City Dance Ensemble of Washington, D.C. Ms. Green was one of three winners selected from a pool of 114 applicants to participate in a one-week residency to create an original work for Hubbard Street II. She has also choreographed for Bosma Dance of Washington, D.C. and had an evening of her work presented at the Kennedy Center. In September, Ms. Green will be choreographing a new piece for the Michigan based company Eisenhower Dance Ensemble. Mr. Royon was born in the Philippines. He started professional dance training at age 16 with the Evergreen City Ballet Academy and received his BFA degree at the Juilliard School in 2006. Mr. Royon joined the Metropolitan Opera Ballet for its 2006/2007 season where he performed in the new production of Madama Butterfly, choreographed by Carolyn Choa and directed by Anthony Minghella. He also appeared in other MET Opera productions. In summer of 2007, he joined Rasta Thomas’ new all male company “Bad Boys of Dance” with a debut performance at Jacob’s Pillow as part of its 75th anniversary season. Mr. Royon’s choreographic works have been presented in Montréal, Maryland, Seattle, New York City, and at Jacob’s Pillow in Beckett, Massachussetts.
(Happy to tell friends about the successful evening!)
Recent Posts by bennyroyce royon
May 22, 2008 at 5:38 pm · Filed under dance, TONY, Ashley Byler, ASHLEY, dtw, peformance
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Tonight I am going to see Ashley Byler’s Champions of Dance: Make Millions! at Dance Theater Workshop. Since last fall Ashley has been in creative residency at DTW as part of their STUDIO SERIES. The residency consists of a 100 studio hours culminating in a final showing.
Tickets for tonight and tomorrow are sold out though I have one extra ticket if someone would like to accompany me this evening. dance_plan at yahoo dot com. The showing starts at DTW’s rehearsal studio at 7:30. Act now, this dance is a hot commodity.
I have had the ongoing pleasure of visiting rehearsals during the process of making this dance. I have learned much from these visits about directing dancers and the elusive art of how one actually makes a dance. This is something that confuses me to no end and to which the Bylerian science provides many answers.
The Science
- Start with dancers. Caitlin Koch, Jeremy Pheifer, Sarah A. O. Rosner, Elizabeth Schafer, Lynne Schlesinger-Rudeman and Enrico Wey. These are your subjects. Love them and rule them.
- Understand that a dance consists of real human beings. Step back motion capture, we cannot extract the dance from the dancer. This is a social science. Cultivate interactions between subjects.
- Communicate by any means necessary. Use sound. Stron Softi. Use video. Give descriptions or rules for improvisatory trials. As in cybernetics, communication is control so be expressive to your subjects.
- Curate, harvest and distill movements and qualities. Take what you like and burn the rest. Be the master of your dance. You are caesar so fill out every cranny in your aesthetic universe.
- Make their organs move. This means being funny and sexy. Dont be afraid to show a little skin or body hair (respectively).
I cant wait for tonight when everybody turns up and the dancers turn on. I have lots of favorite parts in this dance and I don’t care if thats oxymoronic. Caity’s solo, Lynne’s monologue and when Sarah goons on Jeremy are tops. Other jewels are when Enrico gets kicked in the stomach and when Elizabeth lifts her leg.
You too may be a champion of dance if you act now for the only ticket left on the entire planet.
dance_plan at yahoo dot com
Recent Posts by tony schultz
