Archive for so you think you can dance
June 1, 2008 at 10:54 pm · Filed under ballet, dance, new york city ballet, dancers, media, video, podcast, SUSAN, dance and technology, abt, youtube, myspace, companies, marketing, dance companies, dance online, american ballet theatre, so you think you can dance, internet
The Arts & Music section of today’s Los Angeles Times takes a look at the growing popularity of Internet publicity among dancers and dance companies.
The YouTube video that seems to have prompted the article:
The connection between the video above and the rest of the article is, to me, a little fuzzy. Overall, though, the article is pretty neat. Especially cool is that Looseleaf recognizes certain notables, including Daniil Simkin, Rolando Sarabia, Anaheim Ballet, Grover Dale’s Answers4Dancers and, of course, New York City Ballet’s website and YouTube channel. (Congrats, Kristin!)
The full text of the article follows below for anyone who might be interested. Take a read!
My favourite quote: Asked what company co-founder and choreographer George Balanchine would have thought about the Internet, [NYCB’s General Manager Ken] Tabachnick replies, “He was an innovator. Balanchine loved change and didn’t shy away from new things. I imagine he would have loved it.”
:-)
Read the rest of this entry »
Recent Posts by susan kim
October 9, 2007 at 5:05 am · Filed under dance, SUSAN, abt, performances, california, festival, american ballet theatre, so you think you can dance
Performance Artist Mia Kio(?)
The annual Laguna Dance Festival returned to Laguna Beach this past weekend for the third year in a row. Just as in years past, I joined the motley crew of varied casts and characters in my usual capacity, helping out where help was–or, as was more often the case, hands were–needed.
The festival is proving itself to be an increasingly successful endeavour organized and presented by caDance, the brainchild of Artistic Director Jodie Gates. (Apologies to all who find me to be at all presumptuous for my last statement; I feel somehow qualified to judge because I’ve been involved (in the periphery, at least) since the first Festival two years ago.) Every year, the process becomes smoother and more streamlined. And, every year, the guest artists and dancers seem to create groups that are more and more diverse not only in origin, but also in choreography and dancing.
This year, I found myself in the audience during two performances. The first was the Gala Performance, which opened with surprise guests Heidi Groskreutz and Benji Schwimmer (both of So You Think You Can Dance fame). As can only be expected by what we saw of them on television, their performance turned out to be a flashy compilation of what must have been every single one of the partnering tricks featured on the show in the past two years. (Yes, Heidi grabbed her ankles and slid down Benji’s body, donut-style, just as Sabra did down Neil’s.)
Without intending to be at all mean, I am going to be a harsh critic: Except for one or two exceptionally inspiring pieces in the program, the Gala Performance was, for me, thoroughly disappointing. My heart nearly stopped (with sorry sorrow) multiple times during the program. (At times, I found myself willing it not to beat ever again, so that it might have to bear the torment that was most of that night’s performance.) Did I imagine it? Or did Stella Abrera–one of my favourite dancers–forget Odile’s choreography during her White Swan pas with husband Sascha Radetsky? Why on earth would Yuka Iino choose to perform a pas de deux from Stowell’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” without tights to cover her legs (which, like everyone’s tend to do, would undoubtedly become splotchy from exercise)? Why could not the Complexions dancers, with their amazing extensions and exceptional musicality not keep in synch in “Lux,” a piece otherwise rightly a luxurious work of art? And, God bless Gerry Arpino (whose “Light Rain,” when I last saw an excerpt from it, blew my mind out of its usually foggy haze and up above the clouds), but… well, what happened in the pas de deux?
Altea Nunez in Forsythe’s “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated”
(courtesy of the Royal Ballet of Flanders)
The night was far from being a complete loss. Sascha and Stella more than redeemed themselves post-White Swan with a phenomenal rendition of Weir’s Jabula. And, simply seeing Desmond Richardson walk onto the stage is always a welcome sight for sore eyes. For me, however, that evening’s true saviours came in the form of the three guests from the Royal Ballet of Flanders: Altea Nunez, Alain Honorez and Wim Vanlessen. Together, they performed first the solo and the pas de deux from Forsythe’s “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated.” Mmm… It was phenomenal. The first “real” (I hope that makes sense?) moment of the night.
Following the performance, there was a Gala Reception at Le Club Fantastique (a costumed Laguna Art Museum).
A (guiltily snapped) peek at the star-studded guest list.
The true star of the evening: A drag artist who took control of the catwalk in the various and distinct forms of Linda Eder’s character in “Jekyll & Hyde” and Catherine Zeta-Jones’s charcter in “Chicago.”
(I apologize for the disgraceful quality of these snapshots. My unreliable camera battery gave out on me early in the evening and so I was left to my sole remaining resource: my mobile phone.)
The next day (Sunday) Sascha Radetsky taught a master class at a local space in Laguna Beach. It’s been years since his days as being Charlie of “Center Stage,” but it’s quite obvious that he still holds the title of ballet celebrity/heartthrob in the hearts of the younger ballerinas (and, also, ballerinos?). Certainly I got the nagging feeling that many of the students were far less interested in taking class than they were in taking class from Sascha Radetsky. (I suppose, though, that that’s always part of the mentality in most master classes…?)
Sascha signs autographs for the delighted students.
Another performance followed the class. It’s a good thing I went to this one. (I was so tempted to skip it after the disappointment I had suffered the evening before.) Everything seemed to be just as it should be (and, thankfully, not as they had been on Saturday night). I of course found fault (as I always seem to) with the music being much too loud and off balance for what the speakers could handle, but the dancing was practically perfect in every way; all the glitches that I saw the night before were no longer. And what had been excellent the evening before was only better.
Rubinald Pronk and Sabra Perry of Complexions Contemporary Ballet.
On a side note, the dancers from Flanders joked that “Complexions” could perhaps change their company name to “Extensions,” as it would suit them just as well (if not better?).
Recent Posts by susan kim
September 21, 2007 at 5:28 pm · Filed under SLOAN, dance, iphone, so you think you can dance, dance with me, television, dance tv
A few weeks ago, I was giving my hip a break from the desk chair and decided to plop on the couch and watch a little tv. I checked out our list of DVR’d items on our cable box, and found two dance shows. (periodically Doug will go through and set it to record new things, and he must have set it to record some dance stuff for me. He’s so cute.)
One program (called Dance New York) turned out to be one of those public access-type stations (I think) and was a half hour of one camera set up in the corner of a gymnasium where a bunch of people were taking an African dance class. Over the footage of the class was text telling you about the class, the location, and the number to call to find out more. Actually kind of entertaining, since the only other way of really seeing what an African dance class is like is to bite the bullet and go to one yourself (something I’ve been interested in doing for a while now).
The second program was an actual full-on tv show, and I was pleasantly surprised. Called “Dance With Me” the show is much like the US’s “So You Think You Can Dance”, but with much less flash, and a bit more substance and artistry (imho). It is a Chinese tv show (broadcast by ImaginAsian TV) that showcases the best in amateur (although they really look like pros) dance talent in China, in a number of different dance genres. This is how their website explains it…
“So you think you can dance? But can you compete with the best dancers in China? Watch as the country’s most respected dance schools come together to compete in classic dance, ballet, modern dance, and more!
Dance With Me is becoming somewhat of an institution in spotting budding talent from all over China. The event gathers the nation’s top young amateur dancers and offers them the opportunity to showcase their talents. Looking at them, however, you would hardly think they were amateurs from all walks of life. Their passion and vigor is as strong as that of any professional dancer.
With dazzling rehearsed performances sprinkled with on-the-spot imitations, improvisation routines and audience input, this show is sure to give off some good vibrations!”
There were many aspects of the show that I thought made it far superior (in terms of showcasing pure dance talent, and staying true to each dance form) to SYTYCD. For one thing, the dancers come as they are… prepared to do a piece that they have created and rehearsed (both individuals and whole groups of dancers compete as distinct units, and only within their dance genre). Once they are done performing, the dancer (or a dancer elected out of the group of dancers by the dancers themselves) is given a trivia question, which is based on something that a dancer in their category should know. Then that dancer is given a source of inspiration (babies first steps, for instance), is given a random piece of music (which they hear a short clip of), and then has to improvise to a few minutes of that music. Very hard, but really interesting and definitely a good challenge for the dancers (who are all impeccably trained).
Each dance genre had it’s own large panel of judges, who were all introduced (very quickly), but were mainly there to give a score (like a skating competition). There was an opportunity at the end of each segment for one judge (maybe there was a main judge out of each group), to give a verbal opinion to the dancer, with some suggestions on how it could have been better. But it was somehow different. Perhaps it seemed less forced than on the American show. (Although to be fair, intonation was lost on me, as I do not speak Chinese, and had to read the translated subtitles instead.)
Another difference is the amount of time each dancer or dance group was given. Some of the pieces must have been at least 15 minutes long. There was no trying to condense every impressive step in their repertoire into a few minutes. They had the time to do exactly what they wanted, just as they would if they were giving a performance in a traditional theater (although with the addition of some flashy lights and camera angles of course).
In the end, I don’t know if the format of “Dance With Me” would be able to hold the attention of a US tv audience as well as SYTYCD has, but it’s interesting to see the approach to tv dance competition by different cultures. Perhaps this is the dance-o-mane’s version of SYTYCD? EIther way, they are both on to something.
I really think that dance on tv in general is a good thing, as long as people understand that it is an altogether different beast than the live performances you would see in a theater, a ballroom, etc. With SYTYCD, they are taking a format that the US tv audience is familar and comfortable with - American Idol - and injecting it with an art form that may be a bit less familiar to most people, and that you usually don’t see much of on tv. No, it’s not a pure representation of each dance genre that is shown (I can’t imagine that people tuning in are expecting to see that, it is a Fox television show after all), but it’s an introduction. I get excited about the fact that there could be a little girl or boy out there, who doesn’t see much pro dancing around him or her, but sees this on tv, and it creates that spark. Who knows where that spark will take them, but it is really something.
And if all this attention were also to spark dance companies to come up with new creative ways to put themselves out there and raise awareness, great! But I think they shouldn’t forget why they are doing it, and remember to stay true to their own style, aesthetic, and purpose.
You can find showtimes for Dance With Me here.
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
