A preview of The Seldoms new work Marchland premiering this weekend at the Museum of Contemporary Art and later, a post-performance wrap-up with Artistic Director Carrie Hanson where we’ll also discuss the troupe’s upcoming trip to Russia.

Prior to the mid-April stop on American Ballet Theatre’s spring tour, a talk with ABT soloist Daniil Simkin who will be performing in Chicago for the first time.

A one-on-one interview with long-time Joffrey dancer Calvin Kitten — an audience favorite that is retiring after this season.

*If you have any ideas or requests for stories, interviews or reviews (yes, I might break down and do them) – please put them in the comment section!!

Seven years ago, a young student at Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida went to an audition mainly to avoid a 6-hour rehearsal scheduled for that afternoon.  “I’ll hang out in Fort Lauderdale,” he said.  “That’s fine.”  That day of playing hookie got Matthew Adamczyk a job with the Joffrey Ballet.  They offered it to him on the spot.  Fast forward to today and he is cultivating an ever-expanding repertory of Joffrey roles, while honing his other artistic passion — painting.  From custom building blocks for a friend’s nursery to a mural painted at a regional theater while on tour for The Nutcracker to hand-painted clothing (oh, he’s also thinking of getting into fashion design), Adamczyk is keeping busy and keeping his creativity cranked at full force.  He can be seen performing this weekend as an Ugly Stepsister and a cavalier to the Fairies of the Four Seasons in the Joffrey’s production of Cinderella at The Auditorium Theatre.  On a rare day off – thanks MLK! – we sat down to talk about his dance career and his growing portfolio of artwork.

Rogue Ballerina:  You’ve been at Joffrey since 2003, what’s your favorite part you’ve done so far?

Matthew Adamczyk:  I would have to say “Iago” in Othello – hands down.  I think that will always be my favorite…

Adamczyk as Iago in Othello - photo by Herbert Migdoll

RB:  You were perfect for it. Was it hard to prepare for that role?

MA:  It was pretty difficult.  Fortunately they had the professional filming of San Francisco Ballet and I got a chance to really study how Parrish Maynard did it.  He’s just a phenomenal dancer to begin with.  I really had a good opportunity to kind of play with the character and Lar (Lubovitch) was very open to the idea of me finding my own Iago, which was great.  I read the story.  I studying different aspects of the story through Shakespeare, through movies…and just kind of tied a little bit of everything together, kind of old Hollywood ideas.

RB:  So, going from that to Ugly Stepsister…

MA:  I’m still a villain.

Adamczyk as Ugly Stepsister

RB:  Just a funnier version.

MA:  The reason I asked Ashley (Wheater) if I could do Stepsister was to be able to work on my comedic abilities.  Because I can do drama really well, that’s not an issue, but to actually be funny on stage is a big stretch for me.  I’ve never delved into that yet.  So, this will be a first.

RB:  You and Willy (Shives) will be the Stepsisters…for the entire run?

MA:  There are two casts.  Willy and I are together and Michael Smith and David Gombert are together, which is a deadly duo, I must say.

RB:  Are you enjoying comedy or do you find it hard?

MA:  I enjoy it.  I enjoy comedy, it’s a good challenge.  It’s fun.  The thing that will make it the hardest is that the costume weighs about 30 pounds, with the bustle, the dress, the two petticoats underneath…it’s a lot.  (Laughing.)  It’s going to be a funny, funny production for sure.  I enjoy it.  You can’t really be over-the-top with…either being a villain like Iago or being a comedic…timing is key for everything.  I’m also one of the four cavaliers.  I have to say that is the hardest thing…to have an hour of rehearsal in heels doing something bad to having to switch gears and go right into double tours and men’s steps.  I give credit to any woman who wears heels.

RB:  What’s after Cinderella?

MA:  The Spring program with mixed rep.  Two world premieres and Gerald Arpino’s Reflections.  I’m in both world premieres and I’m in Reflections.  It’s going to be good.  It’s challenging for me.  Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to do a triple-header, which I would prefer…to do all three ballets in one night and then have a night off.

RB:  Then you get the summer off?

MA:  We have 9 weeks off, which is convenient, but it’s also unemployment.  That’s why I’m really pushing to get paintings done, so come May I can sell some and have some form of income.

RB: Nice segue.  Let’s talk about your paintings.  Have you always painted?  Did you study it in school?

I did.  When I was in high school, I took art classes constantly and my senior year I took Advanced Placement Portfolio.  That was a really good opportunity to focus on my technique, my style…

RB:  Was it building a portfolio or creating one so that you had something to show?

MA:  Both.  There were still guidelines that you had to follow…using this medium, drawing this item…to really kind of fine tune your talents.  Fun story.  When I was in school, my teacher selected one of my paintings to enter into the Arts & Writing Competition…the Scholastic Arts & Writing for the state of Florida and it won a Gold Key.  All Gold Key members, from all the state competitions, went to be judged nationally.  So, it was on display at the Guggenheim Museum for two months.  It didn’t do anything at nationals…but still, it was at the Guggenheim.  That my claim to fame so far with my paintings.

RB:  That was a good start, I’d say…while still in high school.  Do you sketch, paint, acrylics, multi-media…?

MA:  I do mostly acrylic paintings now…I also do charcoal drawings.  Those are the two that I focus on.  The acrylics are very Lichtenstein/Andy Warhol.  That’s where I find a lot of my inspiration, from pop art.  The charcoals are very lifelike.  A lot of people ask, when they look at the tiger…ask if it’s a photo.  I like doing charcoal – it’s just extremely time consuming.

RB:  More so than painting?  Is it the shading?

MA:  It’s the shading, the blending, getting the texture just right where the painting, because it’s a pop art style, it’s just bold colors, stripes, dots…although I have to say the dots, the benday dots are extremely time consuming too.

This is the Guggenheim painting.  It’s actually a scratchboard.  You start with a black, Indian ink-covered piece of paper and you scrape away the highlights with a little razor blade.  One wrong stroke and you have to start again or you just make it white.

RB:  What do you want to accomplish with your painting?

MA:  Right now I’m just working on a collection.  I’m getting a lot of commission work, but unfortunately with that, the painting is out the door as soon as it’s done.  Hopefully I can career transition into painting full-time.  I figured I’d get a jump-start now.

RB:  That’s smart.

MA:  Yeah, with dance, you never know.

the prince will come.  Complete with a broom, seasonal fairies, stars, a pumpkin-esque coach, a grand ball and bumbling sisters en travesti, the classic Perrault-based fairy tale, Cinderella comes to the Chicago stage this week via The Joffrey Ballet.  In a nine-performance run at The Auditorium Theatre, the local troupe has the honor of performing Sir Frederick Ashton’s original choreography that tells the tale of a down-trodden maiden and her luck (with a little help from her Fairy Godmother) finding that ever-elusive perfect-fitting shoe and discovers her true love attached to the other end.

Premiering at the Sadler’s Wells Ballet of London in 1948, the evening-length ballet was set to a new Prokofiev score.  The Joffrey was the first American company to perform Ashton’s Cinderella (in 2006) and retains the exclusive rights.   Along with that comes Wendy Ellis Somes, owner and custodian of the ballet.   Ms. Somes inherited the rights from her late husband Michael Somes — protege to Ashton, former Assistant Director of the Royal Ballet, danseur noble and Cinderella’s original prince.

Her long career with the Royal Ballet included such prestigious roles as Juliet, Aurora, Titania and Sir Kenneth MacMillan created for her the roles of Princess Stephanie in Mayerling and a role in Gloria.  Ms. Somes, who has been in Chicago since January working with the dancers, was kind enough to take a few moments before rehearsal to talk with us.

Rogue Ballerina:  You had a 21-year career with the Royal Ballet.

Wendy Ellis Somes:  From 1969 – 1990.

RB:  That’s amazing.

WES:  I suppose.  People tend to stop earlier now days.

RB:  Were you ever Cinderella?

WES:  Oh yes.  I played Cinderella a lot.

RB:  What was it like working with Mr. Ashton?

WES:  One didn’t realize how important or how extreme it was as I do now — historically.  It was an every day occurrence.  It was wonderful.  He was very detailed, very particular…extremely detailed in everything he did.  You’d do about three steps and you would stop and he would say this, this, and this.  It was an amazing time.  I’ve often said, I’m just a phone — a telephone telling the youngsters of today what he told me, but in my own way, of course.

RB:  Are you as particular as he was?

WES:  Yes, because we were brought up that way.  My late husband too was extremely detailed.

RB:  Can you describe the Ashton style?

WES:  Mainly the Ashton style is very, very musical.  The musicality has to be almost foremost.  Then, the Cecchetti style of port de bras.  The wonderful epaulment and the lines, the actual texture of the lines of the arms the dancer makes — that is what is so incredibly important.

RB:  How long have you been staging Cinderella?

WES:  Since my husband passed away in 1994.  Those four years that I had after I retired from dancing…in those four years, Michael taught me everything to do with the stage.  When you’re dancing, you don’t take much notice of it because you’re thinking of your own performance, your own steps, your costume…you’re thinking of yourself very much.  It’s a different kettle of fish when you’re on the other side and you have to see to everything.  Not just the dancers, but the costumes, the lighting, the scenery, the sidelines, the music, the conductor, the orchestra…everything.  I learned a lot in those four years.  He really taught me everything about what I do now.

RB:  Did you set Cinderella on the Joffrey when they performed it in 2006?

WES:  Yes…completely, from scratch.

RB:  How long does the rehearsal process take when you’re starting from scratch?

WES:  It takes about 3 weeks to teach it.  That’s just teaching the steps.  Then another 2-3 weeks to polish it, clarify it and stage it…very much depending on the actual dancers.  Some companies can take longer.

RB:  How do you like working with the Joffrey?

WES:  I love it.  I’ve really been happy here.  It’s really a fabulous company.  Everybody is wanting it to be good.

RB:  What is your favorite scene in Cinderella?

WES:  I’ve always loved the seasons.  I just love that part…and I think the very end is beautiful…that walk up the stairs.

RB:  What do you tell the ballerina that has to make the Act II entrance walking down the stairs en pointe (while looking forward)?  What is your advice?

WES:  That is also to do with the partner, because he has greeted her hand right at the top of the stairs and what she has to do is slide the side of her shoe down the corner…the crease in the stair…the toe meets the next step.  When she gets to the bottom, he squeezes her hand again and she bourres to the next step.  That’s how you do it.  You have to trust your partner 100% and trust yourself.  It’s an amazing entrance, isn’t it?

RB:  Do you find that dancers have a difficult time counting the Prokofiev score?

WES:  Well, they have to know it.  They have to listen to it a lot.  It’s not easy.  It’s not Tchaikovsky.  It’s much more difficult obviously.

RB:  Did you change anything from the last time you set it here?

WES:  The choreography never changes, but there may be a few little changes that you’ll have to look for in the transitions.  You look for it.  I’m not going to tell you.

Megan Quiroz as Cinderella (photo by Herbert Migdoll)

Cinderella runs February 17-28 at The Auditorium Theatre, 50 E Congress.  Tickets are available at the Joffrey Box Office in the lobby of 10 E Randolph, at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University or at Ticketmaster:  800.982.2787 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

“My Mother made me,” she says.  “I’m not kidding.”

Being forced to go to ballet class once a week turned out to be a good thing for Cheryl Mann.  Dancing not only saw her through a traumatic move from Knoxville, Tennessee to Orlando, Florida at age 11, but grew into a ten-and-a-half-year, critically-acclaimed career with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) and eventually opened a new creative door for her as a professional photographer.  Ballet class wasn’t her thing, but once she opened her eyes to other styles, she was hooked and at 17 landed a job dancing at Disney World.  Taking class from Chicago dance heavy-hitters Claire Bataille, Ginger Farley and Frank Chavez while still in school, Mann set her mind on a career in dance and after graduating early from Point Park University, set her sights on Chicago.  “Since I was 14, I knew that I wanted to dance at Hubbard Street,” she says.  “I moved here knowing I didn’t get the job…but I was committed to getting it.”  Instead she landed a job with the up-and-coming River North Dance Chicago where she danced for three seasons and made strong, lasting friendships with the other company members.  “We learned everything about who we wanted to be during that time,” says Mann.  On the side she also did commercial gigs.  For a Clairol hair show, they made her dye her hair bright red, which turned out to be the spark she needed to get her dream job in May of 1997.  Lou Conte (founder of HSDC) noticed her hair.

Chicago audiences soon learned that to watch her dance was to fall a little bit in love with her.  I sat down with Ms. Mann at the photography studio she shares with Todd Rosenberg for a “This Is Your Life”-style Q&A.

What are some of your favorite memories from HSDC?  Favorite pieces?

“Rassemblement”.  It means “The Gathering”.  It was choreographed by Nacho Duato.  We did it in ’99…?  It was the first time Lou Conte brought me into his office and he had tears in his eyes and he said, “You’ve exceeded every expectation I’ve ever had.”  And that was huge – it was sort of my breakthrough piece.  It took that long for me to prove myself to him…to earn my place, and I think that’s what everyone wants to do.  It takes him a long time to get used to you.  I felt like I really achieved something special.

What I love about the company is that every piece is so different, so it’s hard for me to choose favorites because I didn’t want to dance for a company that had one choreographer.  I grew up doing all kinds of different styles and that’s what I wanted to continue to do.

What I remember most about the company is not performing — it’s the people.

You were there with the “big guns”…Ron DeJesus, Shan Bai, David Gomez (we both giggled over having a huge crush on David)…

I did ”Georgia” with Ron…my first year in the company, he (Conte) cast me in “Georgia” for the 20^th anniversary…and we performed at the Auditorium Theater, which was horrifying for me because…A) dancing with Ron, B) it was Claire Bataille’s signature piece, and C) it’s my first year and it’s the 20^th anniversary at The Auditorium. It was a surreal experience.

What year did you win the Ruth Page award?

2002?  I think.  It was for “Cor Perdut” another Nacho Duato piece.   That was the biggest moment, I remember thinking, because Shan had gotten one, Joe Mooridian had gotten one, Sara Bibik, Harrison McEldowney, Claire (Bataille)…all of these people that I had the highest respect for had been rewarded by the city…they’d been noticed.  I always wanted to print two off because my partner was a huge part of that…Tobin Del Coure.  I felt like he should’ve been recognized too.  It was a duet.  I’m in the air because of him.  I felt like both of our names should have been on it.  I can’t believe he was never recognized for all the roles he did.

Tell me about your back injury.

I herniated my disk.  I had surgery in ’99.  We were in rehearsal for “The 40’s”…and I was doing an around-the-world lift with Ron DeJesus and I slammed down 2 feet and I felt the compact happen.  I didn’t really know what I had done, but my herniated disk broke off.  It actually broke off from the spine.  I kept dancing, so it worked its way down my spinal cord and strangulated a nerve. So, when I cooled down, I had this shooting pain…I couldn’t take my foot off the floor an inch…it was so debilitating…the most pain I’ve ever been in.  And then five days later, I had surgery.

Weren’t you terrified?

Yes, I was terrified.  It sounds so bad, but I was back on stage in 5 weeks…in “Rassemblement”.  It was unbelievable.  It only took 40 minutes for the surgery and they didn’t have to cut any muscle.

You were back on stage in five weeks?

Yeah, I’m really blessed with really amazing therapists…who are really good friends of mine today.  Julie O’Connell with Athletico.  She went in and watched my surgery, so she knew what was going on and she really got me back.  I’ve been going to her ever since.

And you had a knee injury?

I tore my knee in Jan of 2006 in rehearsal for “Minus 16” in the studio.  I saw my kneecap dislocate in the mirror and come back in.  My whole leg turned to liquid and I fell flat on my back.  I lay there and I remember…I shook my head and just knew it.  It was never going to be the same.  I had surgery.  (Laughing)  I can always tell when it’s going to rain.

A year later I tore it again on stage.  A week after my surgery, I tore it again a year later in “Gimme”.  Those combat boots…

I had an MRI and they couldn’t see anything because it was cloudy from the first surgery, so they didn’t know.  So for 7 months I danced on a torn ACL and didn’t know it was torn, because I knew I was retiring in October.

You already knew?

Yeah.  I knew I wanted to end in Chicago.  It’s been over 10 years and I didn’t ever want to…I wanted to get back and be 100%, which I was, but when I hurt it again, I had no idea.  In my mind I sort of knew I’d done it again.  But I told myself I didn’t.  I taped it every day, for every show and I just finished it off on my terms not because of my injuries.

You last show was amazing.

You know what…I was so happy.  I felt so young and I felt like it was my first show.  The best part is that once “Rassemblement” started – it was the last piece – I was so relieved to have gotten there and my knee didn’t go out or anything.

When “Rassemblement” started, the lights didn’t come on.  There was a effect on the light board that got messed up.  So it starts with a solo in a special and the special never came up.  I did the whole beginning in darkness.  Most of it I faced upstage, but I remember having a smile from here to here.  It was so perfect that the lights didn’t come on because I’m so accident prone and I have so many stories of falling flat on my face…in that piece a lot…but I remember thinking “this is perfect”.  It was my moment – I know what I’m doing – it was a very personal moment for me…and I had a huge smile on my face. But the lights came on right before everyone else joins and everything was fine.

When did photography come in?

The surgery.  I started shooting in the wings.  When I was off for the two weeks, I would just sit in the wings and take pictures.  I got some great pictures.  I started shooting pictures in the wings and I would give the dancers a photo and their reaction to it made me so happy.  It made me feel so good to accomplish something that night – I wasn’t just out of commission.  I could still do something worthwhile here.  So the next night, I’d try a different wing or a different angle…try to do it better.  It became this strange passion of mine.

Where you interested in photography before?

I took a photography class in high school and my mother…it’s because of my mother’s photo albums.  They were these awesome black and white. My Mom used to sing in a band.  She was this famous rock star in Vietnam and she had long hair and the costumes…flared arms, go go boots and short dresses.  She was amazing.  I remember just flipping through these photo albums almost every day.  I used to love going through her albums.  There are pictures of her that people had taken – I think a million guys were in love with her – and she has these amazing shots.  I felt a certain connection to that.  I was intrigued by them.

My first gallery show was at our first Inside/Out performance at the Arts Club.  2001?  I did one portrait of each dancer, an intimate portrait of each dancer not dancing, but something involving HSDC props…something to tie it in to HSDC, but a more conceptual shot.  I got to lay out the exhibit any way I wanted and I could use any prop and it just became this whole display showroom of my work.  I didn’t really realize how that would impact me…for my future.  I had no idea.  One of the dancers wrote a poem for each photo, so we collaborated.  Hedy Weiss bought two of my prints!  They weren’t even priced.  She made me price them…she gave me my first lesson in worth.

Then I met Todd Rosenberg, who is the photographer for HSDC – I share this studio with him now.  In 2002, he took me under his wing and showed me how to use studio lights.  I have this invaluable knowledge from really good people that invested in me.  Ever since then, I’ve been getting more and more experience, more and more people call me.  All dancers need headshots.  All dance companies need promotional shots.  They trust me for my eye and my timing, knowing how dance works and knowing what a preparation looks like…I’ve never seen the piece, but I know someone is about to jump, I someone is about to turn, I know something is going to happen, so my instincts are correct and I just shoot.  That’s the advantage of being a dancer first.  I don’t know how people shoot dance that have never danced.  I’ve heard it’s the hardest thing to shoot, but for me it’s the most natural.  If I could just shoot dance, I’d be happy.

Then it got more serious.  I started getting galas and social events and then weddings; it’s become a full-time job now.  I incorporated my business in 2008.  I incorporated the name Cheryl Mann Production.

www.cherylmannphoto.com

How do you like doing the weddings?

It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  I never had stage fright dancing, but I now know what stage fright is.  Before a ceremony, I feel it.  You can’t reshoot it.  It’s so unpredictable.  There’s so much stress.  You’re capturing someone’s day.  Usually I know the people, so I’m emotionally invested too.  No matter what, I’m going to be emotionally invested in all of my work.  It’s an extension of who I am.  For dancing, you get to a certain level of achievement.  With photography, I don’t want to be a mediocre photographer.  I want to be the best that I have to be now.

I work with a make up artist now.  She is changing my life.  She does make up for my clients and by the time they get to me they already feel beautiful.  It makes the biggest difference in my editing.  It’s even-toned.  Normally, I can edit everything.  I don’t just take your picture and hand you a cd.  I crop it, tone it, we change the light, put your name on it, we make a composite – we do it all right here, that day.  She helps me.  She changes the make up for different outfits.  We have a really good rapport.   Rue DeBona, she has a company called Ruege, Inc.  We’re going to open a studio together.  She’s going to start her own make up line in a year.  I’m so thankful to have her.  Everything just kind of falls into place…

You sometimes perform with the Mature Dance Project (started by Sherry Zunker).

Yes.  It’s very sporadic.  It’s amazing.  It’s therapeutic.  It means something so much to all of us to have a place to go.

I feel like dance has gotten so serious…we should be reminding people there is so much joy that comes out of dance.  And people’s relationships on stage…I’m missing that.  I don’t see a lot of people making eye contact.  I don’t believe people anymore.  I would love to coach at some point.

Now for some fun questions.  What are some of your favorite places you’ve traveled?

Jerusalem.   I loved it there.  I loved Poland too.  We had a blast in Poland.  We had an amazing tour in Italy.  We were treated like rockstars there.

What’s your favorite dance step?

It’s like an inverted to an outverted passe’ pirouette.  It runs in and then out and you sit into your hip.  The movement is from “Strokes Through the Tail” (choreography, Marguerite Donlon).

If you could be a super hero, what would your super power be?

Flexigirl from “The Incredibles”.  Is that her name?  Then I wouldn’t have to bend down to pick anything up.

photo by William Frederking

On the last weekend in January, The Dance COLEctive (TDC), currently in its 14th season, will present a concert at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts entitled, “Meet Me There“.   The performance is comprised of three works:  two world premieres and a returning work by Shirley Mordine.  The concert title comes from the process of converging the works and bringing them together from different directions.

“Taking Hold” is a work for eight dancers created by Artistic Director, Margi Cole which takes a look at the hobby of collecting. It takies a peek in to what and why we hold on to things and/or people and when/why do we let go.   A wide range of questions confront the dancers:  What do we collect?  Why?  How?  Do you share your interest with others?  How does it make you feel?  How would you feel if you suddenly had to part with your collection?  This last question can evoke very different responses.  Cole cites two examples of things she has collected:  Beanie Babies and Fiestaware.  Both are stored away, but one is a fun hobby from her youth and the other carries familial and generational attachments.  The dancers also looks at the collecting or creating of relationships.  After journaling on some of these prompts, the dancers started creating duets and trios at random, then layered the movement by adding relationships.  This was a new way of working for Cole.  She adds, “this is not a finished work”, but will be continually evolving.

“IMe” is another world premiere and a collaboration between Cole and Jeff Hancock (Associate Director, Same Planet Different World Dance Theater).  A co-collaboration, or a “co-co” as they like to call it. “I’m loving the co-co!” says Cole.  The partnership provides insightful feedback from two very different backgrounds.  “IMe” explores self-possession, self-promotion and personal reflection in today’s all-access, electronic society.  How do you identify yourself in a public forum (Facebook, Twitter, Match.com) or do you allow the forum to identify you?  While revealing yourself, are you being narcissistic and an exhibitionist or a voyeur?  What are the boundaries?  TDC performed an except at The Other Dance Festival last fall.  After working on it, a smaller, more focused piece has emerged.  For a fun and meaningful twist, the dancers will be wearing t-shirts with their avatars printed on them.

TDC will also be performing a reconstruction of Shirley Mordine’s “Three Women“.  Originally set in 1974, Mordine (founder of the Dance Center at Columbia College and Artistic Director of Mordine & Company Dance Theater) explored the different life stages of women, from childhood to maturity.  Cole, who quickly came back from a knee injury in 2008 to perform at Mordine & Co’s 40th anniversary gala, is dancing Ms. Mordine’s original role.  “I think it’s important to still put myself out there,” says Cole, finding herself at a place of humility.  “The group of dancers I have are lovely, serious and smart.  I’m proud and lucky to be working with them.”

“Meet Me There” – January 28-31, 2010 at 8pm

Ruth Page Center for the Arts

1016 N Dearborn, Chicago

General Admission:  $22

Student & Seniors:  $18

For tickets, go to:  www.dancecolective.com

As mentioned in my prologue, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with fouettes for as long as I’ve known what they were.  Intrigue and fascination quickly turned to obsession.  Unfortunately, I turned (ha!) out to be more of a jumper and toe-hoppin’ kind of gal and the tricky tours grew into my arch-nemesis/bane of my existence.  I still get oddly hypnotized by them and I’m in awe of those that can do them correctly and consistently.

So my new obsession is watching You Tube videos of famous ballerinas performing these breathtaking series of turns.  Here are some of my favorites so far:

Nina Ananiashvili, who had her farewell performance after 16 years with ABT last June, is also the Artistic Director of the State Ballet of Georgia.  Don Q coda.  She doesn’t even use her arms for the first eight!!

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

Svetlana Zakarova, principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet.  Don Q coda.  Throwin’ in some doubles.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC1mBBscVHg]

Ekaterina Maximova, who passed away last April, danced with the Bolshoi Ballet 1958-1980.  Look Ma – no hands!!  (Maybe it’s something in the water over there?)

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3S1BQJLcLc]

Nina again, Black Swan pas coda.  Maybe the trick is to go really fast?

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky_bW3T60J0&feature=related]

Alicia Alonso, former ABT ballerina 1940-60, Black Swan pas coda.  Doing it old school.  Starts at 0:35.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkYaPv-eRDM]

Ok, now I’m dizzy.  Maybe I’ll dream of doing 32 perfect fouettes tonight.

For a fun end-of-the-year post (well, I started it at the end of last year), I thought I would list some of my favorite performances I saw in Chicago in the last 10-12 years. I say “Ten Top” — not “Top Ten”, because they are listed in no particular order (as I would surely have a most difficult time deciding which was my favorite).

• “Love Poems” – Jan Erkert & Dancers, premiere 1998 – a work for 6 dancers incorporating spoken and written word. I normally don’t like the mix of spoken word with dance, but this piece was so beautifully created and executed that I didn’t mind as much. It also ended with the dancers handing out little poems (japanese?) to the audience, so you took home the mood and feel of the dance and a little inspiration. *Full disclosure (FD): two of my favorite people in the world were in this dance.
• “Lil Roy and the Wierd Sisters” – The Seldoms, premiere 2004 – a nerdy 9-year-old imagines three distictly different sisters after a tragic accident at a carnival. The 3 sister solos, all performed by Artistic Director Carrie Hanson (and originally created in 1997), were creative, quirky and cotton candy cool! This epic piece, set in the cavernous space at Architectural Artifacts, was a fun carny romp with some amazing dancing thrown in (not to mention some big wigs!). A departure from the troupe’s normally more somber themes, Lil Roy was pure fun and entertainment.
• “Concerto Six Twenty Two” – choreography by Lar Lubovitch, danced by Tobin Del Coure and Jamy Meek at Dance for Life (2005??) – a love duet for two men. Set to a beautiful Mozart score, the duet shows the strength and softness of the couple’s love. I think the entire audience was crying by the end of this haunting, gorgeous dance.
• “Giselle” – American Ballet Theatre tour (2006-2007 season), Julie Kent and Jose’ Manuel Carrera. My favorite ballet. Julie Kent literally floated across the stage, so ghost-like (and skinny!) and perfect and Jose’ brought down the house with his Act Two death dance. (He even had to “wake up” after his variation to acknowledge the audience before the show could go on.) Goose bumps, tears, all of it. Brava!
• “Are You Satisfied” – Circuit Mom in Concert, Park West Chicago, 2001, choreography by Todd Michael Kiech, dancers: Tony Peyla, Ruedi Arnold, Francisco Avina, Mark Schulze and Matthew Harvat. This fundraiser/circuit party/dance performance, in its 2nd year was so much fun! This final dance was hot, hot, hot! 5 hot guys dressed all in black a la Matrix, a hot song by Deborah Cooper and a great crowd made for the end of a fantastic night of dancing, charity and love. *FD: again, some of my fave peeps!
• “Surrealium” – Lucky Plush Productions, premiere 2005, choreography Julia Rhoades and Krenly Guzman. This multi-media production is based on a child’s fascination with a helium balloon. It was one of the first perfomances that made me think “outside of the box” dance-wise and like it!  Moving set pieces (a dancer slowly climbing up and rolling down a moving staircase), exotic costumes, balloons and a tricycle…oh my!  *FD:  peep.
• Joffrey Ballet’s Nutcracker – choreography:  Robert Joffrey & Gerald Arpino.  My favorite version of this holiday classic.  The Sugar Plum Pas duo of Maia Wilkins and Willy Shives was a delight to see.  I used to go every year when they were cast to see what they would change or add.
  What a wonderful partnership.  And, of course, the incomparable Calvin Kitten as Frtiz/Snow Prince/Chinese.  His playful, spoiled child antics as Fritz, his quick beats and soaring jumps in Snow(which always got Arpino to yell Bravo!) and his crazy split jumps in Chinese made the show.  This was his final Nutcracker…he will be missed!  And the Waltz of the Flowers – absolutely lovely.
• Hubbard Street Dance Chicago – Oct 2007.  This was company dancer Cheryl Mann’s last performance.  An audience and critic favorite, Ms. Mann was always the epitome of grace, beauty and strength.  Her ten-year career with HSDC ended with a wonderful Sunday afternoon performance followed by a long standing ovation, flowers and tears.  The accolades went on so long that she seemed embarassed, but it was well deserved.  I’m glad I was there to experience it.

The final two performances were so new and amazing to me that I’m not sure I can describe them.  It was my first encounter with both companies and they blew me away.

• Nederlands Dans Theater, June 2009:  The Holland-based company presented three works for their first performance in the States since the ’70s.  Wow!  And double Wow!  Incredible sets (a moving house broken into two stories and three rooms and a huge tree hanging upside down center stage!), beautiful music (one piece to the haunting Phillip Glass), passionate, strong and amazing dancing (NDT’s technique and style is unique and unsurpassed) showed why this troupe is loved world-wide.
• Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company – Sept 2009:  “Fondly We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray” was commissioned by the Ravinia Festival to celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.  Combining dance, live music, spoken text, video, a circular gauze curtain, audio from speeches and debates this mutlidimensional artform was at some points too much to take in, but it was poignant, fascinating and brilliantly performed all around.  The Metra train stopping on the nearby tracks added a live element that perfectly matched the tone and spirit of what the Trib’s Sid Smith called a “monumentally ambitious” work that meditated on teh perks and flaws of our democracy throughout Lincoln’s era to today (there were a few shout outs to our newly elected Pres).  I hope they tour with it.  It was amazing and thought-provoking.  Here is a link to an interview Mr. Jones did with Bill Moyers:  Interview with Bill Moyers

As an honorable mention, I’d like to include what is probably my favorite piece.  “SUPER STRAIGHT is coming down” by Daniel Ezralow, performed by Hubbard StreetDance Chicago.  When I first saw it, the all-star (now alumni) cast included Alberto Arias, Sandi Cooksey, Ron de Jesus and Shan Bai.  The cast was stellar!  They did this crazy horizontal flip-turn thing off the floor and a sort of sideways, flat leap frog sequence…the women too!  I saw it while they were on tour down state and had never seen anything like it and it made me want to be in Chicago to see what else was going on in the dance world here.

*Amendment!  I can’t believe I forgot this one…so make it 12.  Last September, I had the privilege of seeing Mikhail Baryshnikov at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance:  “Three Solos and a Duet“.  Misha!  He could stand on stand and do nothing (which isn’t far from what he did in the first piece – heavy on the pantomime and charm) and I would swoon.  They nailed his first entrance.  No music, just him…HIM, walking out to center stage.  It let the audience get that initial explosion of nerves, excitement and awe out, so he could go on to perform.  The second piece was a mix of him live juxtaposed with video of him dancing in his youth.  Just watching the video of him was worth the price of admission.  On a note of humor they had him prepping for a turn — live — and showed the video of him doing multiple pirouettes.  The real Misha, just shook his head and walked away, while the video sped up and had him turning and turning and turning.  The woman he performed with, Ana Laguna, was a beautiful and unique mover.

‘Tis the season. Now that the weather has decided it’s offically winter, what’s the best way to celebrate the season? Going to see The Nutcracker, of course.  Along with an annual viewing of the Baryshnikov/Kirkland version via dvd (classic!), The Joffrey’s Nutcracker hits the classical tradition spot. From the live children’s choir to the giant Mother Ginger puppet, the sweet innocence of Clara to the technically brillant pas de deux, Robert Joffrey’s adaptation will take your breath away.

Highlights:

• the magical transition (aided by Drosselmeyer) of the Nutcracker from toy to live soldier
• the hilarious Mouse King
• the moment when the Nutcracker turns into the prince at the beginning of the Snow Scene (goose bumps!)
• Arabian variation (ridiculous flexibility – a Joffrey trademark)
• Chinese variation (pay attention!  there’s only two of them, but wow!)
• the adorable gingerbread doll in Mother Ginger (“Gingey”?)
• Waltz of the Flowers  (best version ever)

Preview Pics! Here are some fabulous photos taken by Herbert Migdoll.

Michael Smith as Herr Drosselmeyer

John Gluckman in Chinese variation

Megan Quiroz & Thomas Nicholas in Arabian

Victoria Jaiani in Waltz of the Flowers

Victoria Jaiani & Fabrice Calmels in Sugar Plum pas de deux

Ticket information:

December 11 – 27

www.ticketmaster.com, 1.800.982.ARTS (2787)

Joffrey Tower Box Office, 10 E Randolph, open 12-6pm: M-F

Auditorium Theatre Box Office, 50 E Congress, open 12-6pm: M-F

This Thursday (November 19th) starts the previews of the world premiere of Banana Shpeel, Cirque du Soleil’s newest creative endeavor, at the Chicago Theatre. A blend of tap, hip-hop, slapstick comedy and a zany story, this “new take on vaudeville” is only in Chicago for seven weeks before it heads to NYC.

After watching a short rehearsal, I sat down with brother/sister tap team, Joseph and Josette Wiggins (known as The Double J’s), who are featured in the show. They’ve been tapping since ages 9 and 12 (respectively) and have danced nationally and internationally (42nd Street, LA Tap Festival, ACGI Tap Company) in the 13 years since.

Where did the nickname “The Double J’s”come from?

Our father. He was basically our manager. We were in a competition and we won and he came up with the name The Double J’s…and it stuck.

Where are you based now? LA – NYC?

For the most part we’re both in Los Angeles. She’s been there…

I never left.

I spent about 4 years of my life in New York. For school for one year and then working, but the past year I’ve been back in Los Angeles. So…I’m home.

I’ve always been there. I just travel out.

Was it difficult being separated? Are you used to dancing together?

We would come together for shows…whenever something would happen.

The Los Angeles Tap Festival is one we would always come back and do.

When did you know this was something you wanted to do for a living — or that you could do this for a living?

You can go first.

I was actually about 12. I was riding around in the back seat of our first teacher’s (Paul Kennedy) car. I used to assist him with after school programs…actually both of us (did). I just remember riding around with him one afternoon and I was like, “I can’t believe I’m a tap dancer.” It really hit me. It really hit me because I never knew what I wanted to be. I was always into baseball, basketball…shortly before we started dancing; we were playing piano…so I didn’t know where my life was going. After a while…after being involved in performing…the amount of shows we did with The Kennedy Tap Company…it was like kind of a shock. My life just completely took a different turn. And that was when I realized that I had such a strong connection with the dance – being athletic and artistic.

For me, I kind of fought it my whole life. I knew I loved dancing and I would always dance for my…as long as I could breathe and walk, but I never really saw it as a career. And so, I went from wanting to be a lawyer at one point to wanting to be a human rights activist at another point…um, wanting to start my own business. I even did. I started a coffee business for a little bit and I would say…in every endeavor, my dancing always took me away from it. And so that’s when I finally realized…if this is what I’m supposed to be doing then it’s really making it clear. The dancing is just kind of saying this is where you need to be. And I knew that…it’s always been my escape, it’s always been something I could turn to deal with issues and deal with things. It’s been my coping mechanism to get through life and a passion of mine, but I never say it as what I would do for the rest of my life until now. I’ve finally come to terms with it!

And you look happy.

Yeah.

What made you decide to audition for a Cirque show?

They actually contacted us. They saw footage of us dancing on You Tube and invited us to one of the auditions.

And there are few opportunities for tap dancers today, especially with a company that’s as well known as Cirque du Soleil. When we heard that they were interested in doing something that focused on vaudeville, we couldn’t miss this opportunity of where our teachers come from…that is passed down through the dance, hand-down…the opportunity to pay homage and also…

…to show tap dance, because it’s really not shown on a scale this large. There’s a scene, but it’s an underground scene that tap dancers and people who know about tap dance go to, but on a large like this, tap dancers aren’t really exposed unless it’s in a commercial setting. This is the first time I feel that it’s going to be…best represented in its truest form.

And today, the tap dance scene is busting…

It’s really spreading everywhere. This (show) is going to be huge and they have three finalists on SYTYCD that are tappers…I love it. You don’t see tap everywhere and I think this show will bring it back…really since Gregory Hines…he was the last big thing.

Well, Savion.

Do you know him? Do you guys hang out?

Not hanging out. We know him, but not…

The community is so small, but I don’t have his cell phone number. Many folks that came out of his show that he choreographed…some of who are our mentors and teachers. We learned indirectly from him. A lot of the hoofers that he studied from hands on, we still go back to footage of the dancers that really took this dance in a different direction when they added their own personalities. They did it for 60 years…they did it until the end. They had a different understanding.

Can you explain the difference between tapping and hoofing?

There’s no difference. (Answering at the same time)

There’s no difference. It’s the same thing…a step is a step — a shuffle is a shuffle.

It’s not just a style difference?

No, hoofing is what tap dancers call…tap dancers that really spend a lot of time with improvisation. They really perfect the expression of…their own expression through tap dance.

Their voice. They find their own voice.

They can create, they can choreograph, but they’re really defined by how well they can create a picture, a story visually right on the spot.

Right on the spot. (Again, at the same time.)

Just like any of your best jazz musicians. Like when Bunny Briggs was still alive, he would perform with Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Earl Hines and create performances that people would think were choreographed, but were really made up on the spot.

Do you prefer improving or set choreography?

I prefer improvisation, personally.

I like both. I know I spend the most time on choreography, but it’s better when I can improvise and know myself. I really enjoy both.

For Banana Shpeel, is it a lot of set choreography and then you get to improv as well? Or were you involved in the process of creating the choreography?

Well, right now the show is changing so much and for the moment…for our featured segment, we can choreograph also. We have the artistic opportunity…

Of your section?

Yes, for our section.

Gregory Hines came up with this term “improvography,” where there are certain ideas that are outlined and we have artistic room to make that change…to make any changes on stage or that happens beforehand. We’ll have elements of both.

So, when you work together, who’s the boss?

Both.

We both are.

We have – so far – found a way to compromise. Give and take.

…It kind of flows naturally. I think the one you might have seen us perform, we choreographed in four hours.

I read that you did it two days before you performed it at 3 o’clock in the morning.

On carpet.

It was kind of fun.

*video of New Orleans Bump from the 2007 LA Tap Festival

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwSWWTKvoq4]

Did you guys really used to practice in the kitchen in your socks?

Laughing…

Yes, when we first started that’s how we…because I started three months before him and once he started, I was so excited because I had someone to practice with and someone to share this new thing with.

And it was summer, so we had time…

We had so much time, so we’d just go in and went for it. I remember when finally school came around, we had to go to school, but we would go to bed and then wake up and go into the kitchen and practice.

So do you think you have a…kind of psychic physical thing where you know what the other one is going to do because you’ve worked together so much and know each other so well?

Yeah, we don’t call it psychic, but we definitely have a…We pretty much know each other very well. I know her probably closer than any other…in this career. She’s 26, I’m 23 – we’re just three years apart.

We were raised together.

I’ve probably spent the most time with her than anyone else in my life.

To see The Double J’s and the rest of the cast of Banana Shpeel, go to: www.thechicagotheatre.com or call 800.745.3000 for ticket information.

The Glissade Series focuses on artists in various stages of transition.

In May 2008, Willy Shives was gearing up to perform in his final performance with The Joffrey Ballet.  This bittersweet occasion coincided with my first professional writing job.  We sat down one chilly morning to discuss his career and thoughts on retiring.  Now, 18 months later, Shives is thriving in his role as the Joffrey’s Ballet Master.

WILLY THE KID

Cue Curtain – Up
Cue Music – Copeland’s “Hoe-down” (Think “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner” ad)
Cue Lights – Fade In

Act I
A young farm boy on his paper route in south Texas stumbles across a dance studio. Rapt, he starts mopping floors and washing mirrors so he can take class. He befriends a local girl also studying dance. At age nine, he receives a full scholarship to study at a famous ballet school in New York City. More scholarships follow. He and the girl fall in love. At 19, he lands his first professional gig, marries the girl and moves to NYC. He dances all over the world, receives rave reviews, has two children and lives happily ever after.

Set this love story on a ranch, throw in some boots, a cowboy hat and a lasso and you’ve got Rodeo, Shives’ favorite ballet (his wife Evie was his first cowgirl). Really, you can’t make this kind of story up.

Intermission
Looking out over Lake Shore Drive, he says, “I lived my dream.” Truly.

His entire face lights up when talking of his charmed life and love of dance. At 46, he takes class every day. His execution deemed the “equivalent of velvet” by Chicago Tribune Arts critic Sid Smith, is still spot on. So why retire now? His official retirement has been in the works for over three years and he says the time is “right”.

He’s attempted retirement once before. In 1999, injured, tired and with a second baby on the way, he was ready to head home to Texas. Enter Gerald Arpino, co-founder and Director Emeritus at the Joffrey Ballet. Mr. A (or “Uncle Jerry” as the Shives girls call him) convinced Willy to dance for him in Chicago and for nine stellar seasons he has been center stage and an audience favorite.

Act II
With a career spanning 27 years (33 years if you count the jobs he was getting paid for at the age of 13), eight major ballet companies, international tours, critical acclaim and a role in a Robert Altman movie, Shives seems to have nine lives. His next step will be transitioning into full-time Ballet Master for the Joffrey.

Affectionately called “grandpa” by some of the younger company dancers, he thrives in the mentoring role. He is gifted at teaching and enjoys watching dancers embrace his direction and make it their own. Whether through his coaching, character roles or his daughter’s future career (yes, at least one is planning on following in her parents’ footsteps), his presence will be on the Chicago stage for many years to come.

For his final performance (Sunday, May 25), Shives will be dancing Ruth, Ricordi Per Due with long-time partner Maia Wilkins, who is also leaving the Joffrey after this season. Created for the pair, Ruth is a memorial piece in which one lover is left grieving. This duet holds an additional artistic challenge for Shives; he has to cry onstage. When asked if those tears would be easier to access this time, he quietly says no. He is ready to move on and is “cherishing every moment” until that last curtain call. My guess is there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

Music Ends

Cue Lights – Fade to black

Cue Curtain – Down

Applause.

Here is the article as it appeared in the May 2008 issue of CS Magazine: shives_CS_May08