Oh my…

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMXfjFQDqC0]

Julio & Tamara.  The setting.  The audience.  The love.  The sheer talent.  (Um…2:07 balance.)

Wow.

Shout out to Brian W for the video link!!

and in with the new.  Dances, that is.  Thodos Dance Chicago presents New Dances 2010 this weekend at The Dance Center at Columbia College.  Now in its 10th year, New Dances is celebrating a century of dance creation with nine world premieres — eight from TDC company members and one from a guest artist collaboration.  The New Dances concept isn’t new, in fact it was re-introduced by Artistic Director Melissa Thodos in the organization’s eighth year from a program she participated in at her very first professional dance gig.  Now that program is one of her favorite parts of the job — giving her dancers the chance to choreograph and present their own work.  “To see how the artists grow,” Thodos says, “that is what’s rewarding for me.  That we’ve been able to provide a platform for them to grow.  It’s that simple.”

RB caught up with Thodos while dancers rehearsed ensemble member Jessica Miller Tomlinson’s new work Big Technique at their studios in the Drucker Center.

Thodos Dance Chicago in "Architecture: Splintered & Cracked". Photo by Cheryl Mann.

RogueBallerina:  Ten years…congratulations!  Tell me about New Dances.  How did it start?

Melissa Thodos:   The seed of it was part of my history in dance here in Chicago.  After graduating from  college, I went around for a year auditions at different places and ended up landing a job back here.  I’m actually from Evanston originally, so it worked out great.  And that particular company, which is no longer around, the Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, had a neat structure to it.  That structure related to the idea of activating each of the artists as educators and choreographers in addition to dancers.  I went in very passionate about performing and touring and we did all of those things a lot, then got much more involved in teaching, which is something you don’t necessarily do so much in college.

RB:  It’s a different skill set.

MT:  Completely.  However, I noticed when I began teaching that I became a much more thoughtful dancer, because it forced me to articulate and think about what was important and transferring information and how to do that.  What really inspired me was the opportunity to choreograph.  New Dances is the title of the choreographic component that I’m so excited about and that’s entering its 10-year anniversary with this organization.  When the company was eight years old, I was able to have enough infrastructure formed to launch this project.  The title actually came from Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble.  I had called the co-Artistic Directors of the company since its folding and asked for permission to use the name.  They were delighted that there was interest in continuing the mission and the idea of that component of their organization.  I really wanted to implant it and grow it.

RB:  It’s a fantastic idea.

MT:  What’s neat about it is that we’ve really taken what it was in that organization and we’ve really evolved it.  It really feels like each of these artists really run their own company for three months.  They are completely in charge of structuring the rehearsals and hiring the dancers.  We supply them with all of the resources they need to do that.  It’s also a nationally unique project for the company.

RB:  Are all of the dancers from your company, or do they audition other dancers for the show?

MT:  We structure an audition for the project.  The dancers can hire anyone they want from the community.  We have an immense amount of community involvement in it.

RB:  You also have guest choreographers.  Is this the first time?

MT:  We’ve always had a guest choreographer.  It’s a specific spot that is set aside for a Chicago-based choreographer for them to develop and evolve their work.  This year we have a collaborative team.  Because they’re Chicago-based I kind of have my ear to the ground about who’s out there and what they’re up to.  Stephanie Martinez (Bennitt) I’ve known for a very long time from her work with River North.  She’s partnered with Francisco Avina, who had an amazing career with Hubbard Street and then did Celine Dion’s show.  The dancers have loved it.  They loved working with both of them.  It creates a nice fresh environment for them to work.  I love bringing people in from the outside.

RB:  Tell me about the panel and the mentoring process.

MT:  Every year we look for artists in the community who have varied perspectives on process and development.  I will choose independent artists who have done a lot of different things.  (This year’s panel includes Jeff Hancock, Same Planet Different World, founding member of River North Dance Chicago, independent choreographer, Glenn Edgerton, Artistic Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Michael Anderson, former dancer at Joffrey Ballet and independent choreographer, and Anna Sapozhnikov, founder and Artistic Director of MOYAMO Dance.)  I always try to get an Artistic Director and others from the community that have their own thoughts on process.  It’s the process of it.  We have a very specific time together before we begin with the artists talking about how to…not how to give feedback in terms of teaching it, but to talk about the environment we create because the feedback that we really look to give to the artists is one that is very neutral.  Really talking about what it is we see.  It’s like a mirror.

RB:  So, they meet a few times throughout the process to give advice or answer questions?

MT:  All of the above.  We set a whole day aside two times within the process and it’s a very strategic time..about one month into the process, then at about two months in.  Following that, each of the choreographers and their dancers come in and are given a 30 minute slot to show their work and to sit and to just talk.  What’s really neat about the project, the artists come out at the end of each of the performances and talk to the audience about their work and answer questions and receive impressions from the audience — a post-performance curtain talk.  It’s such and important component to it all.  I really believe as an artist you have a responsibility to be able to articulate and talk about your work.

RB:  Every piece has an underwriter.  Do the artists have to find a sponsor, or does the board find sponsors?  How does that work?

MT:  We have a very structured sponsorship campaign…a honed group of New Dance fans in our system.  We work in development very strategically, so…no, the dancers aren’t required to do that.  However, they are required to organize and to execute fundraising activities for the project.  This year, because we are the teaching company here, we have a school of over 100 kids and we have a recital every year.  So this year we had a deal with A New Leaf and sold flowers at the recital.  Any profit would go to New Dances.  The dancers also organized a collaborative sneak peak event at the Serbian Cultural Center.  We have a regular accompanist with Thodos Dance Chicago that plays for our modern classes, who is in a band called District 97, so they shared a performance experience.  At the end the dancers organized themselves to do some sneak peaks and talk about their works.  Then the band played afterward.

The dancers also organized an art auction, a silent auction (to be held in the gallery space at The Dance Center during the performances).  We got donations of art from various artists in the community.  They will be displayed for people to bid on.  And finally, we came up with a really neat fundraising initiative called The Box Project.  Each dancer received a nominal budget of like $25 to create a box…a very creative box which audience members can put money in.  So each dancer will have their own box and in order to vote for your favorite artist, you have to vote with your money.  Put in your bus change, put in a check…we’ll take anything.  To be part of this project, it is required that you participate in fundraising activities.  That dimension is really important because the artists learn about that facet of the industry and it makes them that much more independent.

RB:  Do you enjoy having a show where you don’t have to choreograph?

MT:  Yes and no.  It gives me a break and allows me to focus on other components of the organization where I need to be.

RB:  Less stress?

MT:  I don’t know if it’s less stress.  It’s different work.  Actually, I’m so happy in the studio.  That’s where I get jazzed is in the studio teaching and choreographing.

New Dances 2010, July 16, 17 & 18

The Dance Center of Columbia College

Ticket information:  312.369.8330, www.colum.edu/dancecenter

Former ABT superstar, Cynthia Gregory is celebrating a birthday today. Known for her strong, dramatic stage presence, strength and technical prowess, Gregory wowed audiences for 30 years.  She is most often associated with the dual roles from Swan Lake of Odette/Odile in which she debuted in 1967.  It was also her farewell performance with Fernando Bujones in 1991.  RB had the good fortune to see Gregory and Bujones perform Swan Lake in Chicago in the late 80s.  Gregory did a balance in the Black Swan pas that was RIDICULOUS!  It stopped the show.

Check out some of her balancing power in this excerpt from Sleeping Beauty (Rose Adagio).  Chills!

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB0pjYItVUQ&feature=related]

Or was.  HSDC’s Inside/Out Choreographic Workshop performance was a few weeks ago — Thursday, June 17th – in the Modern Wing at the Art Institute.  With a dance floor flush on the main floor, the company and second company (including Artistic Dir Glenn Edgerton and Artistic Associates Taryn Kaschock Russell and Terence Marling) milled about in a organic sequence that morphed into playful taps, hugs and kisses.  It looked like a behind-the-scenes, pre-show ritual.  A glimpse into what the artists do behind the curtain before a show.  This was confirmed by Communications Manager Farrah Malik.  What a nice surprise!

The evening was a showcase of the dancers taking their stab at choreography.  Little vignettes installed at various points and times throughout the galleries offered another view of what the dancers have been working on.  A great night for art, for sure.  With so much going on, plus the beautiful backdrop of the museum itself, it was difficult to decide what to watch.  A large audience gathered of dance fans, art fans, random lucky people that happened to hear about the free show, a few off-duty Joffrey dancers and tourists alike.  It is always so nice to see a large mass gathered for dance, but it was hot – and crowded.  So Rogue Ballerina stepped out on the patio for some fresh air and a glass of champagne.  Much better.  As luck would have it, a duet was performed right there, with one dancer inside and one out (get it?) in the garden.

Dancer Laura Halm. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

The dancing was as diverse as the music.  The first piece had the dancers singing (who knew?) and other musical choices ranged from classical (loved the live cello!) to quirky (Eep Op Ork Ah Ah!, which I think is originally from The Jetsons cartoon).  HSDC2 performed Silver Clouds, which RB had seen recently at IIT.  It was nice to see it again, without the silver clouds, which is to say, the piece and the dancing holds up without the art installation it was created for.  Also of note, was a solo danced by Laura Halm.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-pv2Bs_JDM]

Ballet X marks its 5th anniversary with performances at Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater July 21 – 25th.  The Summer Series 2010 will feature two world premieres and one revival.  One of the premieres is choreographed by former Joffrey dancer Matthew Prescott.  The company also features former Chicago dancers Jennifer Goodman (Joffrey)and Tobin Del Cuore (Hubbard Street).

RB loves the look of this company!!  I hope they tour to Chicago soon.

Audrey Senne and Haley Lampariello want to be ballerinas when they grow up.  It looks like they’re getting a good start on that dream.  The bff’s just moved up a level at Joffrey’s Academy of Dance (they get to wear black leotards now instead of light blue!) and are taking private classes at Mazi Dance Fitness in preparation for the big Nutcracker Children’s audition at Joffrey coming up in September.  Their teacher is none other than Joffrey star Fabrice Calmels.  The girls love taking class with him, but say it’s scary because he is so tall.

Haley (left) and Audrey with Joffrey dancer/teacher Fabrice Calmels.

These Bucktown natives (Lampariello 9, and Senne, who turns 9 in August) met at dance class and are like two peas in a pod.  Rogue Ballerina was hard pressed to find anything they disagreed on when we talked after a summer dance camp recital as the girls split some chicken tenders.  They both attended Camp Broadway in New York City last summer studying acting, singing, set and costume design.  Their favorite show –  Billy Elliott, favorite dance step – pirouettes (especially when assisted by Calmels) and favorite style of dance – ballet.  They even have the same dream role:  Clara in The Nutcracker.  Lucky for them, most companies have more than one cast.

So what happens if their professional dreams don’t come true?  They have it all figured out.  Their fall-back plan?  Veterinarians, of course.

Zephyr in action. Dancers: Emily Stein, Anne Kasdorf, Nicole Scatchell. Photo by: Nadia Oussenko.

Zephyr Dance is celebrating 20 years in the Chicago dance community with performances of In the Looking premiering at Epiphany Episcopal Church this weekend.  20 years!  That’s quite an accomplishment, especially for someone that studied political science, not dance, at Notre Dame.  Founder and Artistic Director Michelle Kranicke somehow had the vision and fortitude to make it work.  What began as a group of pick-up dancers hiring themselves out, evolved into something much more intriguing.  “Slowly…people went in different directions,” says Kranicke over coffee.  “I guess I just was the person who was interested enough to continue.  I was the lone woman standing.”  Now, Zephyr has a core of four committed female dancers, with one eager apprentice, and long-standing working relationships with a lighting guru (Rich Norwood), costume designer (Amanda Francke) and musician/composer (Michael Caskey).

This weekend Zephyr will showcase two works.  Kranicke’s The Trace of Her is Barely Visible dives into the abstract by asking challenging questions about movement and pushing spatial boundaries with the audience.  Described as “a movement palimpsest”, the new work invites more than just visual senses to participate.  Also on the program is Some Fabulous Dance, choreographed by Associate Director Emily Stein.  Sprouting from her early work for soloists, Bonsai #2 and #4 (which are also on the evening’s roster), a new trio formed.  Stein’s work — always pristine, but complex — utilizes her thoughtful approach and skillful teaching to enhance the improvisational process.

Known for continually pushing boundaries, Zephyr takes it one step further in this performance by changing the boundaries of the stage mid-show.  One piece in the round, another alters to make the audience more interactive.  Speaking of interactive, Zephyr, with Kranicke at the helm, has left a big mark with their educational programming which has been cultivated since 1994.  A few of their accomplishments are:   Dance is for EveryBODY (1996), artists in residence at Holstein Park since 1997, TAIL – Teaching Arts Integration Laboratory (2006), M2:  Math in Motion (2009), along with various workshops, senior outreach and performing arts camps.

(*Full disclosure:  Rogue Ballerina was  a member of Zephyr for the ’99-’00 season.)

RB talks with Michelle Kranicke about the new concert and her thoughts on reaching the 20 year mark.

RB:  So, 20 years — Congratulations! Did you ever think…?

MK:  No, I never, ever thought…especially because when this whole thing came about, a bunch of us were dancing for somebody else and we decided to leave and start our own company.  As Zephyr began, we actually hired ourselves out as a group of dancers who always perform together, so therefore we had a kind of…cohesive relationship and you weren’t hiring just a bunch of pick up dancers who had never worked together before and had to create the cohesion in a short period of time.  But every time we finished a show, the choreography wasn’t ours to recreate.  Then we began hiring choreographers and as I became more interested in creating dances, I guess I just was the person who was interested enough to continue and slowly as people went in different directions, I was the lone man standing – the lone woman standing.  Then when Emily came into the company and after she had been in the company for several years and I decided to ask her to be Associate Director…it sort of just took off from there.  You know, it’s definitely been up and down.  We’ve had years when we’ve had much more touring, more funding, more education work and years where things have been lean.  We’re in a lean period now.

RB:  Everyone is in a lean period right now.

MK:  The thing I really like about the company now is I feel really, really comfortable with my own aesthetic and my own investigations into dance making.  The research process to create a work has gotten a lot longer, but again, I feel comfortable with that.  And I have, right now, a group of dancers – one that’s been with the company for six years, one that’s been with the company for five years – we’ve formed a core of four main members.  They’re really committed, as well, to this process.  It’s been really great to have them there, to have them to build on from piece to piece to piece to piece.  So that makes what I feel a really deep complex relationship that is actually visible in the end product.  I have to say that’s sort of what keeps me going – the commitment of the people I work with.

RB:  Where do you find inspiration for a piece?

MK:  My thoughts and ideas about creating work are moving into much more abstract realms.  I used to use a narrative as a jumping off point, but I’ve sort of completely abandoned that.  I really want to be as abstract as possible from my beginning point.  Right now I’m inspired by really abstract questions about movement.  Can you erase movement?  What does that mean?  My inspiration comes from basically thinking about movement and what can happen to it if I place a specific group of rules or set of ideas on that movement.  Can it be erased?  What does it mean to dissolve?  Where’s the negative space?  How can you create tension?  Those are the things I find really challenging in rehearsal.

RB:  Did you have the music in mind ahead of time – or did you start working with movement?

MK:  I just started working with movement.  For a few years now, I haven’t started with music.  Music will often present itself midway through.  The last section of htis piece began with music, then I pulled it out for the past three or four months and I’ve just recently come back to adding music to it.

RB:  Is it the same music you started with?

MK:  Actually, it is the same music I started with, so I’m surprised about that because usually that doesn’t happen.    For this particular piece there are three compositions and some original music by Michael Caskey, who I worked with on Just Left of Remote, so I’ve been working with Michael for a the past couple of years.

RB:   How did you come up with the title?

MK:  It kind of goes back to the palimpsest idea.  Part of this whole erasing thing came about when I’d seen the Brice Marden show.  He’s a visual artist.  One of the things I really like about some of his works was that you could see small, little traces of color beneath this canvas that had been washed over with another color.  The depth of the canvas came not from the color palette that was on top, but more from what was underneath…the layers that were almost imperceptible, but then lent a definite weight to the work.  The improvisations that we were doing…exploring ideas of erasing movement, leaving traces behind…there is always some residue left from those exercises.  It’s like you can’t shed it.

RB:  It does stay with you and enhances the work.

MK:  That’s the thing about dance.  It’s so elusive.  You’re there, you watch it, it exists in your memory.  Whether you’ve gone to see something familiar with 2,000 other people or you go to see something unfamiliar and there’s only ten other people in the room, your connection to those ten other people is the memory of that work and the experience you had together watching the work.

RB:  Why Epiphany Church?

MK:  It’s such a great space.  It’s fantastic.  For this piece in particular, it was a conscious choice because of the spatial quality that it allows.  The majestic feel of the room, the height of the ceiling, the stained-glass windows…Meigan Cameron is the priest there.  She is an incredible supporter of dance.  I can’t say enough about her.

RB:  The title of the performance, In the Looking, where did that come from?

MK:  That was specifically chosen because we, Emily and I, are hoping that the way we’ve set up the spaces and the choreography that we present engages people to really look.  I looked  up the definition of “look”.  It’s different from “see”.  To see is…is just going through life and seeing what’s around you, but looking is an intentional act.  We really want people to take in what they find compelling and not worry about what they don’t find compelling.  That’s what we’re asking the viewers that come see this concert to do…to intentionally look, watch, find those places where you are just completely drawn in and be comfortable with that, stick with that if it is to the exclusion of other things within the performance.  I think that’s ok.  You’re asking the audience to be courageous to allow themselves to be confused or to feel uncomfortable…and love it or hate it.

RB:  Why Zephyr?

MK:  I was young!  Because I thought it was pretty.  (Laughing)  I also like the dual meaning.  I like that it meant strong wind, but also the fact that poetically it could also mean a light, blowing breeze…these opposite ideas coming together to create something different, something new from both directions.

RB:  What are some highlights from the last 20 years?

MK:  Performing twice at The Dance Center (Columbia College), getting our great review in The New York Times, working with Emily…and having the privilege to work with all fo the dancers that have come through the company.

Zephyr Dance, In the Looking

Epiphany Episcopal Church, 201 S Ashland

June 24 – 26, Tickets $20 (adults), $15 (students & seniors)

For more information:  773.489.5069, www.zephyrdance.com

Those are his words.

Dmitri Peskov and Aimee Tye perform this weekend at Links Hall.

Russian-born dancer/choreographer/poet Dmitri Peskov — who premieres his dance suite Of Fleeting Things at Links Hall tonight at 8 pm — is heading home.  This summer he will perform his work in multiple cities in Russia.  “This trip is going to be very special,” he says.  “I have never performed in Russia.  My parents have never seen my work.”  Peskov has lived abroad (Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal) and has been in the US for almost 20 years now, but he didn’t start dancing until his senior year of college.  He certainly has made up for lost time.  In the years since, he has served on dance faculties (Beloit College, College of DuPage, University of Wisconsin – Madison), worked with modern artists like Paul Sanasardo, Wynn Fricke and Bob Eisen, performed with the Lyric Opera, won the Dance Chicago Festival Choreographic Prize (2005) and the Illinois Arts Council Choreography Fellowship Award (2008) and became a published poet.

This year, at 36, Peskov founded Dmitri Peskov Dance Theatre, which he describes as “exhilarating, like jumping out of an airplane”.  Tonight marks its first independent concert in Chicago with a world premiere suite of solos and duets titled Of Fleeting Things.  Dubbed a commentary on the nature of dance by Peskov himself, the new work featuring five dancers tells the story of two people of opposing nature.  A human study of light and dark, if you will.  The seven sections’ themes reflect on spirituality, human relationships, meditation, communication and insecurity while incorporating a vast range of movement styles from the slowness of martial arts meditations to more theatrical fare and even some skin (Peskov will be nude for a portion of the performance).

Of Fleeting Things, Dmitri Peskov Dance Theatre, June 11 & 12 at 8 pm and June 13 at 7:30 pm at Links Hall (3435 N Sheffield, Chicago).  Tickets are available at Links Hall or call 773.281.0824.

Check it out! RB is making a fashion statement.

Show the love with a cute tee or tote from Cafe Press (design courtesy of Yoolia Design).

You know you want one…

Fantastic, as usual. Great show flow, amazing dancing…really top-notch all around.

Bitter Suite – was just that…bittersweet. Beautiful music, dancing, etc., but it wasn’t Deep Down Dos, which audiences were really looking forward to seeing. Look for it to premiere sometime next season (maybe in place of Bitter Suite?).

The world premiere of Aszure Barton’s Untouched was truly a theatrical event. The lighting was brilliant, the set wondrous, the costumes, the dancing…it is a piece you definitely want/need to see more than once to take in all of its intricate beauty.  I can’t wait to see it again!   Stand outs – Meredith Dincolo and Alejandro Cerrudo.

Toru Shimazaki’s Bardo rounded out the show.   Always a crowd-pleaser — it didn’t disappoint. (I still can’t get that darn music out of my head.)

Bravo (Glenn & Co) for yet another great, ground-breaking season!!