Maria Tallchief Memorial

This Sunday, May 5 at 3 pm there will be a memorial tribute at the Francis W. Parker School (330 W. Webster Ave.) in honor of the late ballerina Maria Tallchief Paschen. The public is invited to celebrate her life and legacy with  distinguished speakers, a music tribute by pianist George Lapauw and a film tribute by Donna LaPietra.

Contributions can be made to the Maria Tallchief Scholarship Fund. Please send a check (with “Maria Tallchief Scholarship Fund” in the memo) to:

The School of American Ballet, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023.

Shh…It’s a Secret!

Dancer/choreographer Emily Stein. Photo by Nadia Oussenko.

What do you get when you put 15 dancers from diverse backgrounds in a large dance center with live piano and an explicit interest in re-learning ballet via improv and manipulation? Secret Experiments in Ballet #2, a collaborative experience of three performances this weekend at Visceral Dance Center. The mad professor leading this experiment, “playing in the intersection of ballet vocabulary and improvisation”, is dancer/teacher/choreographer Emily Stein.

Most local dancers know her as the petite ballet teacher with articulate feet and impeccable technique and as a performer and Associate Artistic Director of Zephyr Dance, the company she left amicably in 2011. Since retiring, or “redirecting”, Stein has been teaching – a lot! – and taking classes (with Peff Modelski). In February 2012, she attended a three-week residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts where she had the opportunity to take time to think about what she wanted to do next and the ideas for Secrets began to percolate. The entire concept finally hit her while on a much-needed vacation with her husband. “I really wanted to play with ballet,” she told me over tea and coffee in late April. “A lot of what I’d been working with in the studio were the seeds of ballet language that you learn when you’re a kid. What you think it means and what you think it is, then exploring it through the improvisational techniques and things I’d learned working in the other side of the dance world. In particular, what I learned when working with Deborah Hay. They couldn’t possibly be further apart. I love ballet, but rarely do I go to the ballet and say, ‘Wow!’ There are people doing interesting stuff, but what else? What else that’s not about just extrapolating the vocabulary and taking it out to a really extreme place. I wanted to see what else is there in the vocabulary that we know. ”

Using the Cechetti seven movements of dance (plié, relever, sauté, etc.) as a base, she set out to see “what else?”. Taking the Cechetti definition, the French definition and the English translation of the word and having the dancers create movement phrases was a jumping off point. Adding in her own combinations and manipulations, Stein constructed a six section work that is sure to entertain and perhaps educate. “I’m trying to develop the dance from the inside out,” she said. “I want something based on glissade. How many different ways can you think of glissade or do glissade? How far away from glissade can you get and still have some semblance of it? The meanings re-learned. When you actually translate the words in the correct context, the meanings are myriad and more complicated. I’m taking those translations to create movement. I think part of it is coming to improv later in my career and having people say ‘that looks like an arabesque; take that out’. But that’s in me. That’s not something that I do, that’s something that’s in me, because I’ve done it for such a long time. You speak with an accent and you move with that accent. Some people can learn another language in life and not have an accent, but some can’t. That’s an interesting continuum to create in.”

Another essential part of the project is that it moves throughout the entire Visceral space using dressing rooms and corners in the hallway as the stage. “It’s not an installation; it’s definitely sequential,” Stein said. “I didn’t want to have a studio showing, but wanted the stage magic and quality of performance into these spaces. When we take class, there’s a performance quality and certainly when you’re teaching. I wanted to bring the audience into the space and have them be close to the dancers…to be this far apart from the dancers and hear them breathing and see the details. That’s what I love about teaching. I get really involved in someone’s foot. Ok, maybe I’m just a geek, but I think there’s something there. Other geeks will appreciate it.”

Emily Stein presents Secret Experiments in Ballet #2 at Visceral Dance Center, 2820 N. Elston Ave., Saturday, May 4 at 8 pm and Sunday, May 5 at 2 and 6 pm. Tickets are $25 ($15 for students and seniors); call 773.844.8988 or visit www.emilysteindance.com. *Cash and checks only at the door. May pay by credit card online.

 

Dancer/Actor Needed for Book Trailer Shoot

Wanted: Actor/Actress for book trailer

Looking for a young actor or actress who fits the criteria below, for a young adult book trailer project. Shooting date May 18.

• androgynous looking
• BLUE, GREEN OR LIGHT HAZEL EYES
• 18-28 years old
• skinny
• tall
• previous experience in acting or dance
• non-union

Please send full body shot, facial close-up, and your acting background.

Location: Chicago
it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Compensation: $50/hour, minimum of 3 hours guaranteed
Original URL: http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/tlg/3769936482.html

Breaking News: Luna Negra Dance Theater

Gustavo Ramíraz Sansano. Photo by Jonathan Mackoff.

As of today, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano is stepping down as Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater. He will still remain involved with the company artistically. In May, the board will begin an international search to replace him as Artistic Director.

A sad start to the week. His childlike spirit and artistic vision will be greatly missed. Kisses and kudos. Here’s some of the fantastic work created during his time in Chicago with Luna.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Oad5JbzgY]

Guest Review: Joffrey Ballet’s Othello

Joffrey dancer Fabrice Calmels in "Othello". Photo by Cheryl Mann.

How cool is this? My friend was so impressed with Joffrey Ballet‘s Othello that she took it upon herself to write a review! And the fact that we both led with the same Shakespeare quote proves that brilliant Libra minds think alike. Thanks Joc 🙂

REVIEW: Othello by the Joffrey Ballet
By Jocelyn Fuller

“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!

It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock

The meat it feeds on.”

– Iago in Othello

Note from author: I have NO IDEA how to critique or write about dance, so please don’t be offended.

“How are they going to pull this off?” That’s what I asked myself when Rogue Ballerina invited me, a ballet novice and Shakespeare fanatic, to Othello by the Joffrey Ballet. The Bard is known as a wordsmith, not a choreographer. And Othello, my favorite Shakespeare story of manipulation, jealousy and death? I owed it to myself and all Shakespeare fans out there to see it for myself. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a Joffrey believer. I’ve been to four or five shows and never been disappointed, but Shakespeare? Hmm….

Not only am I believer, I may be the maker of the Joffrey kool aid now after seeing this show. It wasn’t just the stunning choreography by Lar Lubovitch, or the dancers, or the chilling sets, or perfectly crafted costumes; it was the riveting score of Elliot B. Goldenthal performed by The Chicago Philharmonic that made the show so electrifying. The way in which this performance told the tale of such a tragic, gut-wrenching story through movement and music was astonishing to me. I found myself more connected and emotionally attached to the characters of the ballet than I have of most theatrical performances I’ve seen in years past.
Fabrice Calmels as Othello was breathtaking. The only other man I’ve seen play Othello on stage who exposed his soul to the role more was James Earl Jones – and that’s probably only due to his bellowing tone and 40+ years he probably has on Calmels. I felt Calmels’ pain, his jealousy, and his rage with every movement as the Venetian Moor.

Oh, Iago. One of the most hated men in all of Shakespeare. How I love to hate thee.  Matthew Adamczyk was spectacular with his sharp movements of scheming and evil, making you feel hatred at his every step. He would make the old Bard himself proud. Many find Othello to be the star of this play, but I always lean a little more towards Iago.

The rest of the cast was equally as talented. April Daly as Desdemona was sweet, innocent and angelic, just as Desdemona should be. Her story telling through her dance was exquisite.

I will most certainly be raving about this show for weeks to come. My passion for Shakespeare has been reignited once again with this powerful performance by a very talented group of people that this city should be so proud to call our own. I am a believer.

 

Joffrey Ballet’s Othello 2.0

Joffrey dancers April Daly and Fabrice Calmels in "Othello". Photo by Cheryl Mann.

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!

It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock

The meat it feeds on.

Othello: Act III, scene iii

Nobody does drama like Shakespeare. The Bard, who had a birthday this week, adapted the story Othello from a 1566 work by Geraldo Cintio and in turn, Lar Lubovitch, who just turned 70, adapted the tale into movement for the dance stage. Add in an original, chilling score by Oscar-winning composer Elliot Goldenthal and the incomparable opening night cast of Joffrey Ballet principals and you have something extraordinary. Last night, Othello: A Dance In Three Acts, the story, the choreography, the music and the cast all came together in a perfect spiral of love, deceit, beauty, betrayal and death. Joffrey performed this ballet in 2009 to great reviews, but the second time around is even better.

The story. Although Lubovitch doesn’t directly follow Cintio or Shakespeare’s versions, the essence of the story is embedded in his movement. Ballet steps get a contemporary twist with a flexed foot, bent arm or parallel leg. Corps scenes take an ominous edge with twitchy, staccato moves. Each principal’s character is revealed in everything they do. The simple turn of a head or placement of a hand relates the intention in a second. The dancers don’t have to act for the story to be told, yet this cast acted their roles to perfection.

The choreography. For me, Lubovitch’s genius lies in the intuitiveness of his partnering. Sweeping, circular lifts with unexpected holds float to the floor and back up again with amazing fluidity. The strength required for most of his partnering is immense, yet the dancers never look taxed.

The music. Dark and dangerous like the plot, this music isn’t your typical ballet score. Loud timpani drums, saxophone, and oboe punctuate the lighter notes of the marriage pas de deux. Iago’s sharp, thrashing solo is all but dictated by the angry horn section’s shouts. The Act II tarantella speeds to its conclusion carrying the storyline along with its pace. A few Psycho-esque moments let us in a fracturing mind that’s ready to kill. The difficult score was beautifully played by the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra led by Scott Speck.

Joffrey dancers Fabrice Calmels and April Daly in "Othello". Photo by Cheryl Mann.

The cast. This cast. The originals. Bravo for bringing back the five original principal dancers. Fabrice Calmels (Othello), April Daly (Desdemona), Matthew Adamczyk (Iago), Valerie Robin (Emilia), and Aaron Rogers (Cassio) were completely committed to their characters as if letting them simmer and age for four years made them exquisitely ripe. Calmels was strong, fierce and frightening, cutting an imposing, yet ultimately fragile figure on the stage, his solos impassioned and impressive. Daly made an impression with her first solo (the “Look, he gave me a hankie!” dance) with her bourrees as fast and light as butterflies and beveled extensions to the skies. The two together created something magical with her tiny, delicate, light frame next to his tall, chiseled and dark body. I really can’t say enough about how beautifully these two dance together. Adamczyk personified evil, lurking on the edges spider-like, then creeping in to weave his tragic web with one raised eyebrow revealing the murderous thought in his head.  Robin, a seriously strong dancer, played the battered wife role with aplomb. You have to be that strong to be thrown around like that and make it look easy. Rogers, always delightful, brought his precise technique and ballon to his wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time role. Stacia Holden stood out as the sassy Bianca and special shout outs to Mahallia Ward, Amber Neumann and Michael Smith for their extra reckless abandon in the tarantella.

Cast, composer, conductor and choreographer were all on stage for the ovations and applause, recognition for a job more than well done. This is your last chance to see Lubovitch’s Othello, as it is being retired from Joffrey’s active rep. There are nine performances left. You should get your tickets NOW.

Joffrey Ballet presents Lar Lubovitch’s Othello at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy. through Sunday, May 5. Performance times vary. Tickets are $31-$152; call 800.982.2787 or visit joffrey.org.othello.

Joffrey Affinity Night: Othello

Joffrey Ballet dancers April Daly and Fabrice Calmels in "Othello". Photo by Herbert Migdoll.

Next Wednesday, May 1st – May Day! – the Joffrey Auxiliary Board is hosting an Affinity Night for the Joffrey Ballet‘s production of Othello. The event is FREE and will include a short performances of excerpts from the ballet, a Q&A and refreshments.

Attendees will receive a code for 50% off of tickets to next week’s performances of Othello at the Auditorium Theatre. RSVP here!

 

Location: Joffrey Tower, 10 E. Randolph St.

Time: 5:45 – Registration, 6:00 – Performance/Q&A, 6:45 – cocktails & hors d’ouevres

 

Creative Partners: The Unexpected

What happens when you put dance, theater/puppetry and live music on the MCA Stage on the same night? The Unexpected. Thursday, April 25, Lucky Plush Productions, Blair Thomas & Co. and eighth blackbird, aka the arts collective Creative Partners, invite you to witness this innovative, interdisciplinary partnership for the first time. Each group will perform an excerpt of current repertory work with video interludes interspersed telling the tale of how they came together.

Three years in the making, Creative Partners began as Julia Rhoads (artistic director of Lucky Plush) was working with a consultant and learned of a three-theater share. “I was experiencing a little burn out from wearing every hat, which I do and have done for a long time,” she said. “I knew I couldn’t hire higher-level staff without paying a lot of money. I thought there could be a higher-level share.” She sought funding through a few avenues that ultimately didn’t work out, but was certain she was on to something that would work. Working on a grant from Arts Work Fund, Rhoads and a consultant did a year of research on resource-sharing models. When it came to selecting the companies to work with, she felt strongly that they needed to be interdisciplinary. “I felt that the inherent nature of insularity of the fields wouldn’t allow for some of the ancillary benefits, which I was hoping to see, like audience development,” she said. “You’re going to get true growth by putting Lucky Plush in front of a music audience that doesn’t know they like dance.”

Enter eighth blackbird, a Grammy-winning sextet that tours nationally but is looking to build its Chicago presence, and Blair Thomas and Co., a Chicago-based puppetry/theater company Rhoads admires. “Even though we’re all at different places organizationally, there’s a shared value system in the art itself,” Rhoads said. “We’re all interested in creating work that is intellectually engaging, but also broadly accessible.” They quickly realized the help they needed was in development. Working with the Northwestern Entrepreneurship Law Center for a year (pro-bono), they developed the contract and terms of the working relationship, tackling tough questions as they came up like how to structure the partnership financially. “We determined we didn’t want it to be a 501(c)3 because that would require another board of directors,” said Rhoads. “As we grow, if we grow, we may move toward that with more clarity, but for now, we determined we would be a dba of eighth blackbird, because they had systems in place for staff and for health benefits. The money is going through a dba, Creative Partners. We’re trying to divvy it up, so it’s an equal share. To start, it’s a quarter-time share. A quarter-time, the development team will be spent on each individual organization and the remaining quarter will be on the collective. There’s a real possibility there will be individuals and funders that will be excited about the collective narrative, so the financial model is that anything that comes in to Creative Partners is split three ways between the companies. Anything that comes in to an individual company goes to that company. It may very well be that there’s more money out there for music than dance or theater than music. It won’t be an equal share when you look at all the numbers, but whatever Creative Partners gets is very much equal.”

Add in a three-year grant from the MacArthur Foundation and Creative Partners is off to a great, slightly delayed start celebrated by the launch on Thursday. “It’s been super exciting,” said Rhoads. “We’ve already hired our Development Director and an Associate is coming on later this month. We wanted to fully vet it before we did it. It was way more important to cross the T’s and dot the I’s and do the work with the Northwestern Law Center to really make sure all of our boards were completely committed and engaged and behind it. It’s not a small thing. I know it’s the flavor of the day to share, but the fact is, we’re all unique and we’re all trying to figure it out in really thoughtful, intelligent, sustainable ways. It’s been three years in the making. I’m still in shock that it’s happening.”

Creative Partners: The Unexpected at the MCA Stage, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Thursday, April 25 at 7 pm. Tickets are $40. Buy here. 

 

 

Joffrey’s Fabrice Calmels on being Othello

Joffrey Ballet's Fabrice Calmels and April Daly in "Othello". Photo by Herbert Migdoll.

At 6’6″ and 216 lbs, this 32-year-old Joffrey Ballet dancer stands out on stage…or anywhere. In 2009, landing the lead role in Lar Lubovitch’s Othello solidified him as a star. “It’s the ultimate role,” said Fabrice Calmels*. This week he revises this life-changing role as Joffrey presents the three-act ballet for a two-week run at the Auditorium Theatre before it is retired from the active repertory.

Calmels grew up outside Paris, France and began dancing at age three at a small school in Magnanville. By 10, he was studying at the Paris Opera Ballet School and by 16 things really began to change. “I became very tall and it became an issue,” he told me over tea last week. “They told me I wouldn’t do very well in the company, that I wouldn’t be dancing very much.” He came to the States to study and dance at The Rock School in Philadelphia, then traveled across the country auditioning. After a year dancing with Boston Ballet II, he accepted a spot with Joffrey in 2002. He’s now finishing his 11th season here in Chicago.

Being plagued with a back injury (two bulging discs) for almost a year hasn’t slowed him down much. He’s hard at work preparing for the Othello run, bulking up and building stamina. Calmels spoke with RB about dancing this signature role.

You’re almost a week before opening. What was your schedule like today?

We’ve been very meticulously working on the first act now for a few weeks trying to really get all the dancers to understand Lar Lubovitch’s style. Lar has a very specific style that’s very circular and grounded. When you’re dealing with younger dancers who’ve been training in mostly ballet, they’re up, up, up and he wants down, down, down. To get his style ingrained in your brain and to really feel confident takes a while. When you understand, it becomes easier. The second act came together really quick. Now we’re working on the third act. Today we ran the first and second act…not right away. We ran one, then had notes and then the second act and notes. I think tomorrow we’ll run all three acts and start getting momentum, because we need it.

This role made you a big star here. What are you doing to take it to the next level?

I follow different training. I want my body to be very strong and tense. I need that frame to be really solid, so I don’t hurt myself. I needed to gain weight. In a long run, you tend to lose weight because you’re so tired and overburning. I bulk up to become the character, one, and so I have the structure that I can handle the ballet. I’m working out a lot more. I’m working out my legs more. I run more. I do like ten miles every other day to build stamina in my legs. The last production my upper body was strong, but by the middle of the third act, my legs were burning. In terms of character, I want to completely submerge myself in the character and be able to be the character through the three acts. My goal this time is to stay in character, even though there’s intermissions, and see where it leads to. I want to be able to produce that all the way through. The character and the role is as important as the dancing. Otherwise, you lose the audience very quickly. They want to hear the story, they want to care, they want to hate you, the want to feel emotion. What will make a huge difference is what reads. It’s not a battement. It’s the emotion and the acting.

What does dancing the role of Othello mean to you?

The role Othello is really magic. It’s magic. I saw “Othello” when I was younger. Desmond (Richardson)…he’s a legend. There aren’t many that have done the role. To be asked to do it, at first it was a lot of weight. It’s huge. I feel really fulfilled. Thank you Lar. He’s a master to create such a piece. It’s a difficult role physically. It’s tense. It’s a marathon. You have to be powerful all the way to the end. 

You’re dancing with April Daly again. Do you find you’ve evolve as partners in these roles?

Of course. There’s the experience. The second shot. It’s the big problem in ballet, you get that one first shot. Now we can look back and see that we were able to do it, but the first time, it was a challenge for us. They were big roles for us. I think we were taking it a little bit too tense even though it was a good run. It was a huge risk for the Joffrey and it was a big deal. The second time around, we know we can deliver. We know what to do. We know how people reacted the first time, so we can do better. It can only go up. She knows she can trust me.

Are you nervous? Do you get nervous?

I’m a perfectionist. When I do well, I expect to do better. When I don’t get this, sometimes it really pisses me off. I want consistency. I hate roller coaster seasons. I hate roller coaster performances. I think they are the worst. I want to deliver great and above. That’s my only concern. It’s myself. I want to have always great, better, better.

Joffrey Ballet presents Lar Lubovitch’s Othello at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy. Wednesday, April 24 – Sunday, May 5. Tickets are $31-$152. Call 800.982.2787 or visit joffrey.org/othello.

*Calmels performance schedule:

Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30 pm

Friday, April 26 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, May 4 at 2 pm

Sunday, May 5 at 2 pm

Dancer Spotlight: River North’s Ethan Kirschbaum

River North dancer Ethan Kirschbaum in Adam Barruch's "I Close My Eyes Until the End". Photo by Cheryl Mann.

Monday night I stopped by the Ruth Page studios to peek in on the end of an adult jazz class. A group of women were dancing a short combination to a slow GLEE version of Florence + the Machine’s Shake It Out. Leading the combo was River North Dance Chicago (RNDC) dancer Ethan Kirschbaum, 25, who was sub teaching for a friend. Even though he was marking while demonstrating, emotion and easy enthusiasm oozed out of his body. You could feel how much he loves to dance.

Kirschbaum grew up in Oakland, California and began studying dance on a bet from his babysitter. He and his brother had to take a class and if they didn’t like it, she would buy them a Slurpee. “We went and pretended we hated it to get our free Slurpee,” he said. “But a week later, we were taking classes. We started out in jazz together and slowly started adding classes until I was basically living at the studio. My brother broke off into more hip hop and I went more classical.” His training took him to the San Francisco Ballet School and summer programs with Alonzo King LINES Ballet and the Juilliard School. He was also a performing apprentice with Reginald Ray-Savage’s Savage Jazz Dance Company.

He attended college at the Ailey School/Fordham University in New York where he had the chance to perform with the Ailey company in his sophomore year, travel to the Holland Dance Festival and perform a work by Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato. “I got a lot of great opportunities in school, but I felt like I wanted to get closer to contemporary work,” he said. “The summer of 2007, I was doing my first paid gig with the Santa Fe Opera and I had this epiphany. I should dance with Hubbard Street 2!” He auditioned, got the job and moved to Chicago with college friend Jacqueline Burnett, also joining HS2 (now in Hubbard Street’s main company) in January 2008.  After two and a half years, director Taryn Kaschock Russell suggested he audition for Marguerite Donlon’s company while they were touring in Germany. He did and, shockingly (snark), he got in and moved to Germany in 2010. “It was probably the hardest thing I’ve done to date,” he said. “I’d never lived alone. I’d never lived in another country. I had a boyfriend in Chicago at the time. My heart was here, but my career was there. My friends were here, but my future was there. It was rough, but it brought me a lot of self-awareness.”

Back in Chicago after a season with Donlon Dance Company, he auditioned around town and found a home at RNDC. He’s now concluding his second season. “I think I was intrigued by going back to my jazz roots,” Kirschbaum said. “I think River North has a good balance and a good rep. There was something familial about it. After being in a foreign country for a year, where I felt like I didn’t belong, I wanted to be somewhere that felt like home. It’s been a good fit so far. I love the people I work with. We just have fun every day. We laugh at each other. That’s one thing I’ve really learned. It’s not so much the job, but the people you work with. The day-to-day, in-the-studio is your life as a dancer. It’s not the two minutes on stage; it’s the hours in the studio.”

This weekend, Kirschbaum and his RNDC family perform at the Auditorium Theatre as part of the Music + Movement Festival with the world premiere of Havana Blue, a collaboration with Orbert Davis’ Chicago Jazz Philharmonic (CJP). Davis and RNDC artistic director Frank Chaves traveled to Havana together for a nine days of research, immersing themselves in Cuban music and culture. Also on the program for the one-night-only show are three pieces by CJP and Chaves’ Eva, which premiered earlier this month at the Annenburg Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, coincidentally the same theater where he first auditioned for HS2 (“full circle moment!”). Kirschbaum said of the new work, “It’s very musical, very emotional, very expressive…quintessential Frank. It’s always amazing to have live music on stage next to you. There’s energy. You can make eye contact. You can play off of each other. It’s something special.”

Saturday’s performance is the last of the season for RNDC. Kirschbaum will spend the hiatus teaching – take his 11:30 am intermediate modern class at Conte’s on Saturdays! – before returning to rehearsals in July to start his third season. Eventually he may want to explore other contemporary avenues, but for now, he’s happy where he is. “I love my life,” he said. “Right now, I’m very content with where I’m at. I love my home environment. I love to connect with the community. I love the fluidity of the relationships and how quickly you can all become friends.”

River North Dance Chicago & Orbert Davis’ Chicago Jazz Philharmonic premiere Havana Blue at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy., Saturday, April 13 at 8 pm. Tickets are $32-$76; call 800.982.2787 or visit auditoriumtheatre.org/musicandmovement.