Holy Cow!  Natalie Portman is PG with Millepied’s baby!  Congrats to the Black Swan couple.

Hat tip:  TenduTV

The final voting round has begun at Dance Advantage for Top Dance Blog of 2010!  Please cast your vote for Rogue Ballerina!

Just click on this link:  Top Dance Blog Contest to cast your vote.  Voting ends at 10:00 am on Thursday.  RB is in the Dance News/Criticism category – then scroll down and vote for RB as your favorite dance blog overall.  You can only vote once, but feel free to spread the word.

Thanks in advance for your support 🙂

Happy Holidays!

Dance Advantage – a Houston-based dance blog by dancer/writer/mom Nichelle Strzepek — is holding a contest for top dance blogs of 2010. She was kind enough to bring this to my attention, so let’s do this!

Here’s the deal:  Show your support for Rogue Ballerina in the Dance News/Criticism category by commenting on this post.  That’s it!  All comments are welcome (please don’t curse!)…say why you like RB, a post you particularly enjoyed, things you’d like to see more of, whatever.  The 10 blogs with the most comments will advance to a voting stage.

After commenting (before December 22nd!), don’t forget to check out the Dance Advantage site here.

Joffrey dancer Anastacia Holden with children in Party Scene. Photo by Herbert Migdoll.

Tomorrow night is something RB looks forward to all year — opening night of Joffrey’s The Nutcracker!  One of the myriad things I love about this particular production is the way they incorporate young dancers  — 116 to be exact! — into almost every scene.  The dolls that come to life to help fight the mice in Battle Scene, then show up in Act 2 escorting each variation (and hanging with Clara to watch them dance), the Polichinelles that pop out from under Mother Ginger’s skirt and, of course, the children with the honor of being friends with Fritz and Clara in the Party Scene.

To be honest, I used to think of the Party Scene as the boring part (even when I was in it!) you had to get through until the real dancing started…25 minutes or so until the battle begins, but there really is a lot going on.  A gift exchange, some dolls, some dancing, some drinking, some nuts being eaten, a creepy Uncle with awesome gifts, a young love story, bratty boys, pretty girls and holiday magic.  Like any good party, there is planning involved (and not just in a Mrs. Dalloway kind of way).  The dancers and children have been rehearsing their parts for weeks, coming together physically for the first time yesterday in the studio and again today on the stage at the Auditorium Theatre.  Head planner for this party is Katie Garwood, on faculty at the Joffrey Academy of Dance and chief in charge of the kids this year.

At rehearsal, Garwood corrects a boy without missing a beat.  “You think I’m kidding,” she says.  “I’m not.”  With over 30 kids in the room, one could get overwhelmed, but she isn’t phased (or, at least doesn’t let it show).  She treats the children with respect and expects them to perform at their best.  In return, the children do as requested and get the experience of a lifetime.  For rehearsal, she uses a dvd of a live performance to make sure she doesn’t forget a cue.  “There is so much happening in Party Scene,” says Garwood.  “It’s so much more than doing the steps right.”  Plus, with the applause in the audio, the kids will know much more of what to expect when finally performing in front of an audience.  At Joffrey, the standards are set high and that includes the children.  With classes and rehearsals, along with school, the time commitment can be daunting, but these kids don’t mind.  “Only the best of the best make it,” she says, then adds, “I forget what an impact it can have.”

One of the children performing on the Auditorium stage for the first time tomorrow is Audrey Senne, who was featured on RB a few months ago here.  At age 9, she is one of the youngest in the cast, as well as one of the littlest.  “The little ones are such a blessing.  They’re in level three at the Academy and have really good technique,” says Garwood.  “They really are the leaders, since the smallest ones are always first in line.”  Alternately excited and nervous for tomorrow night (“it’s about half and half”), Senne is ready.  Although she finds dancing with a boy “kind of weird”, she loves dancing and can’t wait to be on stage with one of her teachers, dancer Fabrice Calmels.  Look for Senne in the children’s dance (her favorite part) and dancing with an arabian doll in her arms.

The Nutcracker run through December 26.  For ticket information:  call 800.982.2787 or go to ticketmaster.com.

RB went to the Harris Theater three times last weekend.  HSDC, as usual, brilliantly brought their talents to the stage.  (Warning:  gushing ahead.)  Meredith!  Penny!  Robyn!  Jessica!  No wait – the men!  Ben, Jesse, Kevin, Pablo, Jason…Alejandro!!!  And Ana Lopez — Ana and Ben, Ana and Pablo, Ana and Christian, Ana and Alejandro…Ana and anyone = stellar.  There really isn’t a weak spot in the company.

From Ohad Naharin’s Tabula Rasa (which I’ve seen many times, but never enjoyed/appreciated quite as much), to Alejandro Cerrudo’s newest offering Maltidos (you can really recognize his movement vocabulary now and he seemed to expand on what he started with Deep Down Dos) to long-time audience favorite Petite Mort (gorgeous), the company showed complete control and understanding of their craft.  The strength, grace and beauty of the dancers is, at this level, expected, yet somehow still surprising.

HS2 also had a strong presence with the Chicago premiere of Getting there, staying here (nice dive rolls boys!), but really wowed the younger crowd with their charming matinee interpretation of the children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon.

A quick note on the show’s closer, Jirí Kylián’s Petite Mort.  The opening image of the men walking backwards, practically naked, balancing swords on the tip of their fingers…then turning front, with the audible swoosh of the foils slicing the air is breathtaking.  Gets me every time.

What used to be known as an apprentice company, a training ground for those wishing to get into Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC), has finally stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight.  Hubbard Street 2 (HS2) is not only growing as a force in the Chicago dance community, but by showing their stuff alongside the main company in this week’s engagement at the Harris Theater along with the Chicago premiere of their new interactive children’s program Harold and the Purple Crayon:  A Dance Adventure, they prove that this second company is anything but second rate.  Under the impassioned direction of Taryn Kaschock Russell, former Joffrey Ballet and HSDC dancer, HS2 is growing high-caliber artists and engaging the community with inspiring and inventive educational outreach.

The young artists of HS2 (six company members and two apprentices) are an extension of her family — husband Greg, a former Joffrey dancer as well, and son Donovan.  A birthday gift to her son from colleague Terry Marling — Crockett Johnson’s children’s classic Harold and the Purple Crayon — sparked an idea that soon became a labor of love for everyone involved.  “As I’m reading the book to him, I’m thinking ‘this is choreographic process’,” she says.  “This boy is creating his own world from scratch.  Nothing exists before it.  It’s his imagination and he’s empowering himself.  What a great connection for children to understand.”  The details fell into place quickly.  HSDC Artistic Associate Terence Marling and HSDC dancer Robyn Mineko Williams agreed to choreograph.  Williams had the brilliant idea to use local composer Andrew Bird, who opened his entire library for the team to pick from.  Literary rights were easily obtained after finding out the executor of Johnson’s estate (Stewart I. Edelstein) is a big fan of HSDC.  Other staff on board for production,  Rebecca Shouse (costumes), Matthew Miller (lighting), Ryan Wineinger (scenic and projections) and long-time board member Joel Cory, a professional voice actor, agreed to lend his voice the read the story. By utilizing in-house talents for almost all aspects of the production, Harold is a Hubbard Street collaborative masterpiece.

Jamal Rashann Callender as Harold.

Costumed in onesies — complete with a saggy butt!  — the cast takes the audience on Harold’s journey in a new and incredible way.  Dancer Jamal Rashann Callender, new to HS2 this season, plays a dreaming Harold as the curtain goes up.  With extensive training (Eliot Feld program at Ballet Tech, Professional Performing Arts School/The Ailey School, graduating from Julliard and a year with Atlanta Ballet), he has found a happy home here in Chicago.  “I had a bookmark on my computer for Hubbard Street,” says Callender.  “It’s still there.  It’s been called different things like ‘my dream job’, but now it’s just called Hubbard Street.  It’s been my dream to be in this environment…where there is such an interaction that I don’t think you get at other places.”  That interaction starts with company class every day with the main company and working with in-house and handpicked choreographers that will challenge the young dancers to grow and expand their experience and knowledge base.  Working with veterans like Marling and Williams proved to be a new process for Callender.  “When we first started, it was a mesh between improv and set choreography,” he says.  “They both came in with a very open canvas.  They were giving us phrases and then seeing how we could manipulate those phrases.  It was very interesting to work that way.”

Along with Harold, this weekend brings HS2’s Chicago premiere of a work by Samar Haddad King, winner of HS2’s 2010 National Choreographic Competition.  Getting there, staying here is a true collaboration with the dancers.  Coming in with a few phrases of movement she created with her company in New York and some key words and ideas (dive, pointing, grabbing), King worked with the HS2 dancers to create a unique and emotional piece.  Enlisting writing and acting exercises to help focus the abstract narrative of her work, during her two-week initial visit in September, was definitely different.  “We created everything in the first week,” King recalls.  “Everyone was kind of shocked, but that’s how I work…get a shell out there, then work backwards, editing, editing, editing.”

Yarinet Restrepo and Nicholas Korkos performing Getting there, staying here. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

Implementing acrobatic moves (“I’m really into dive rolls right now.”) and using phrases of imagery like ice skating to feel a sense of gliding and freedom or referencing the movie Avatar to get the dancers to really feel a connection, King brings an edge to the broader theme of people feeling resistance and being stuck, but coming together and trying to find a path out.  Russell says the company has really grown after working with King, and it shows.  HS2’s success and growth, along with hard work and trust, comes back to Russell and her nurturing enthusiasm for these dancers, their education and their careers.  “I’d say, hands down, that Taryn is one of the best directors and leaders of a dance company that I’ve come into contact with,” says King.  “She’s such a great person.  She’s nurturing and smart.  I could sing her praises for years.”  The bond she shares with her dancers goes on after they leave HS2.  She works hard to make sure they are prepared for whatever comes next and actively helps to find them homes in other companies if there aren’t any spots open at HSDC (and openings are extremely rare these days).  This mutual affection was on display last night at the Harris, when Russell ran up to former HS2 dancer Eduardo Zuniga (now dancing with Luna Negra) to give him a huge hug and excitedly chat with him during intermission.

Hubbard Street Winter Series runs through December 5^th at the Harris Theater.  Harold and the Purple Crayon:  A Dance Adventure has its last performance Saturday, December 4^th at 3 pm.  (This show is SOLD OUT.)

Ending their 20th anniversary season and ready to start off season 21 with a…um, bang (of sorts), Chicago Human Rhythm Project heads to the Harris Theater for the holiday weekend to tap, clap, stomp and give back.  Global Rhythms 6 will showcase over ten percussive arts ensembles on Friday, November 26 through Sunday, November 28th.

Along with the concert is a shared revenue program, in the spirit of the holiday, called Thanks 4 Giving.  Partnering with 75 non-profits, Global Rhythms will give 50% of your ticket price to the charity of your choice (each one has its own code).  “The number of charities has gone up over the years from about 12 to 75,” says CHRP Artistic Director Lane Alexander.  “Each year the percentage of ticket sales with our partners goes up.  That really helps, especially at the end of the year when everyone is scrambling to cover their budgets.”  Thanks 4 Giving — on what is arguably one of the busiest theater weekend of the year — is a creative way for donors to offer additional support, and with ticket prices ranging from only $15 – $55, it is affordable and what Alexander likes to call “a people’s benefit”.

Stephanie Paul performing with Be the Groove.

Performing for the first time at Global Rhythms is local troupe Be the Groove.  Headed by co-founder and artistic director Stephanie Paul, BTG is excited for these performances.  “We’ve gone as a group to see this show for the past few years,” says Paul.  “We’re pumped that our time at to hit the Harris stage for Global Rhythms has come!”  While attending Northwestern University Paul was a member of the drum/dance ensemble Boomshaka and after graduating founded BTG to continue creating.  BTG is also strongly committed to education, sharing their mission with as many people as possible.  “It’s about learning what you can do with your body and identifying the tools and instruments that you carry with you every single day, specifically the body and the voice,” Paul says.  “Opening a young child’s eyes to that and seeing him rock out is pretty much the best thing ever.”

Paul has worked with Alexander before, but most recently by way of an internet-based choreography/videography competition CHRP offered as part of the summer festival called Virtual Rhythms.  Be the Groove‘s video Beat won and was screened at the Museum of Contemporary Art.  (Watch the winning video here.)

Along with BTG, the shows feature BAM!, Diabolus in Musica, JUMP RHYTHM Jazz Project, Step Afrika!, Ensemble Español and their youth company, Tatsu Aoiki and The Miyumi Project,  St. Alphonsus Academy & Center for the Arts, Fulcrum Point New Music Project and the South Shore Drill Team.  Alexander says each performance is extravagantly different, so put away your turkey leftovers and head to the Harris for a weekend of rhythm, dance and fun.

For ticket information:  312.334.7777, harristheaterchicago.org and visit chicagotap.org for full performance details and a list of participating charities.

A San Antonio native, Mauro Villanueva moved to Connecticut at age 16 to study at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts.  One of his teachers convinced him to audition for The Joffrey after graduating, so he hopped a train to New York and ended up dancing directly in front of Artistic Director Gerald Arpino for the entire audition.  In the ten seasons since, he has danced for Joffrey.  Villanueva, now 28, has made quite a name for himself working his way up from a young apprentice to leading roles like the Prince in Cinderella and the Cavalier in The Nutcracker.  I sat down with him at the Joffrey Tower studios right after the company wrapped their run of the All Stars program.

Q:  Did you have Joffrey on your radar after you graduated from Nutmeg?

A:    No.  There were some New York companies and I though about going back home to Houston Ballet at the time.  Joffrey just kind of came out of left field.

Q:  And you’ve been here ever since.

A:  Yes and that’s a good thing.  I didn’t realize I would like the mixed repertoire we do here.  It’s nice.

Q:  You were going for strictly classical?

A:  Nutmeg is a Vaganova-based school, so they’re all about the classics.

Q:  What do you like about the mixed rep?

A:  It makes you explore yourself.  It’s always interesting to see where you can get yourself to go, as far as how to approach something or where your motivation is coming from.

Q:  Is it exciting having all of these new choreographers coming in and setting things on you?  For instance, Crossed was so different from what we’re used to seeing Joffrey do.

A:  I thought it was really different and I liked it.  Jessica’s (Lang) process was very interesting.  It was relaxed, but she was informative as well.  Some choreographers are very vague.  She was very straightforward.  She probably had the longest audition process.  We were all in the room for a good week before she cut down.  I think she wanted to give us time to be able to assimilate ourselves with her movement.

Villanueva dancing with Stacia Holden.

Q:  You had a big season last year with Othello, Crossed, the prince in Cinderella…what was your favorite part?

A: I would say Othello was the best, which is interesting.  It’s not me.  I’m not a dark person, but once we went on to the rest of the season, it was like “that was really fun”.  It was such a big leap as far as my character as a person and the character of Iago.  That was the most challenging and the most interesting.

Q:  What are you looking forward to this season?

A:  The Merry Widow.  I’m looking forward to the spring show.  We’re starting with Ed (Liang) today and I’m very much looking forward to that.  Yuri Possokhov was here already and I will be in his piece, but I wasn’t a part of the creative process.

Q:  What parts are you doing in The Nutcracker?

A:  Cavalier, Nutcracker doll, the Rose pas de deux in Waltz of the Flowers.  I’m old enough now that I don’t have to do snow.

Q:  What would your dream part be?

A:  The lover in Lilac Garden or Romeo.  I like the tragedies.

Q:  How was it dancing with Suzanne (Lopez) for her final show?

A:  Stressful and emotional.  You know, it’s the last time she’ll be on the stage and you want to make her look the most amazing, as she always does.  For that responsibility to be in your hands…it’s quite…it was heavy.  She was fine.  I was crying and she said I was silly.  It was an amazing moment in my life for sure.

Q:  Do you have any pre-show rituals?  What do you do on a performance day?

A:  It kind of depends on what I’m doing.  Sometimes I don’t eat very much.  Sometimes I eat a lot.  During Nutcracker I jam out to some sort of heavy, intense stuff.  Nutcracker is such a ritual you can get into a rut, so you have to sort of jump yourself out of it.

Q:  What would you jam out to?

A:  Sometimes…Beyoncé all day or something like Green Day or My Chemical Romance.

Q:  Do you guys jam out in the dressing room?

A:  Sometimes.  We try not to step on each other’s toes.

Q:  Do you get nervous before you go on stage?

A:  No.  I feel like I’ve learned now that nervous energy doesn’t help you do any better.  That’s not true.  I give myself like eight counts at the beginning to be nervous and then I tell myself that after this phrase, you can’t be nervous anymore.  It has to go away and it does usually.  It’s so mental.

Q:  What would be your last meal?

A:  Pizza and ice cream.  I like meatball and mushroom pizza.  I’ll eat anything Ben & Jerry’s.  I’m so spoiled; I won’t eat any other ice cream.

Q:  If you weren’t a dancer, what other profession would you like to be?

A:  My other passion in life is interior design.  When I eventually stop dancing, that’s what I want to do.

Q:  What’s your favorite part about living in Chicago?

A:  The 18-month long winter season.  Summers in Chicago are my favorite, but I go to Texas (to teach at the Joffrey workshop in San Antonio).  I love movies and music in the park, all the free stuff you can do and eating outside.

Q:  Do you have a favorite story or memory of Mr. A?

A:  In Nutcracker, in the finale, he used to always yell bravo! from wherever he was.  Even in my head, I still hear his voice whenever we get to that part.  It’s so weird.  It’s not the same without it.  I think we have a recording where you can still hear him in it.

This interview will also appear at The Joffrey Ballet’s blog, J Pointe.

This article is cross-posted at J Pointe – The Official Blog of The Joffrey Ballet.

Be on the lookout for a petite female with an infectious smile, dark amber hair, strong feet and a penchant for jumping and turning.  Amber Neumann, at 19 and in her second season with The Joffrey Ballet, is also ambitious.  “I want to do it all,” she says from an empty studio before company class.  “I would love to dance (Jirí) Kylían and really classical stuff like Don Quixote.  I want to dance barefoot.  I want to dance in pointe shoes.  Everything!”

Neumann began her training in Indiana with Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik, now the Artistic Directors of Joffrey’s Academy of Dance.  She followed them to Chicago and the rest, you could say, is history.  Picked to partner now fellow Joffrey dancer John Mark Giragosian at the New York International Ballet Competition in 2009, Neumann stepped up and won the Silver Medal in the Women’s Division.  Shortly after, Ashley Wheater offered her a contract with Joffrey.  “I had gotten an offer from Miami City Ballet…but I love the Joffrey and Chicago,” she says.  “I was so excited to come here, because it’s a really different company and the fact that it’s unranked has allowed me to do so many things I never would have done in my first year at any other company.”  Some of those things include Autumn Fairy in Cinderella, a featured part in The Concert, Spanish solo in The Nutcracker, Tarantella (where she whipped off a perfect triple pirouette like it was nothing) and in this season’s Nutcracker she will dance the Sugar Plum Fairy.  “This job was the best thing that ever happened,” says Neumann.  “It’s amazing!  I still can’t believe I’m here.”

Neumann in the gown she designed for Couture & Cocktails.

In her spare time, she also does independent dance projects, like Danceworks Chicago’s Dance Chance with her sister Corey, a dancer and choreographer in her senior year at Western Michigan University.  “I love working with my sister,” she says and gives Corey credit for starting her love of ballet.  “She was in dance and I had to do everything she did, because she’s my big sister.  After a while, I realized that it would be really cool if I could do this for a living.”  Coming from an artistic family — Neumann’s parents are both musicians — didn’t hurt either.  With Dad playing guitar and banjo, Mom on piano, Amber on drums and everyone singing, she likens them to the Von Trapp family.  Other interests include fashion design.  In fact, she designed and wore her own gown for Joffrey’s annual fundraiser Couture and Cocktails.

On a performance day, she has a specific routine, which starts with a trip to Dunkin Donuts to pick up a bacon, egg and cheese bagel and coffee (and sometimes some Munchkins for the dressing room!)  At the theater and ready to go way too early, she usually ends up listening to music and waiting. Maybe she could use that time pursuing yet another passion:  working on beating her own pirouette record.  So far, it’s ten, flat and en pointe (and yes, she has witnesses).  Does she get nervous?  Sometimes.  “When I’m dancing in a group, I think I get more nervous,” she says.  “If I mess up, I mess myself up and it’s my own fault.  I don’t want to mess other people up.”  Look for Neumann this December in The Nutcracker as the maid, party scene parent, Columbine doll, snowflake, Spanish, flower in Waltz and Sugar Plum Fairy.

For Nutcracker ticket information:  800.982.2787 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen River North Dance Chicago consistently.  I’ve seen certain members perform in galas like Dance for Life, but haven’t watched an entire season recently.  RivNo has always been known for its strong technique, athleticism and speed and the current crew definitely holds up, but Saturday’s program was hit or miss for me.  While waiting for the show to begin, it started late because of the massive long lines at the box office (always a good sign), a colleague made an observation.  “They don’t do slow,” he said.  He was right.  The opening number by Kevin Iega Jeff incorporated nice movement, but the barely there costuming kept my focus on the dancers extreme muscularity rather than their artistry.  No one would ever claim these dancers are not in shape.  Even the women had shredded abs.  At times it was distracting (and, no, I’m not just jealous!) creating shortened lines and a general stiffness.  Maybe the sheer speed of the dance was a factor too since there were quite a few times when the timing was off.

The next solo Beat, danced by powerhouse Christian Denice was, by itself, worth the price of admission.  Having seen the piece performed years ago by petite firecracker Lara Tinari, I was impressed by how Denice took his large frame and made the partially-improvised solo his own pushing the limits of tempo, balance and space (the solo is performed in a downlit center spot).  Strength, speed and control, thy name is Christian.   The world premiere of Sidra Bell’s Risoluta showed promise with its intricate partnering and fast footwork.  I’d like to see it again after the dancers have more time with it.  There was so much going on and so quickly that it came off as under-rehearsed.

In the second act, Denice wows again, this time joined by Michael Gross (a doppelganger of RivNo alum Ruedi Arnold, at least from where I was sitting) and Ricky Ruiz.  Choreographed by new Ailey director Robert Battle and set to pulsing percussive beats, Three was a frantic and funny technical feat reminiscent of 1988’s Wired (also in the RivNo rep).  Lauri Stallings new work was quirky and fluid, just like the choreographer, and showcased the dancers’ sexy sides.  Red-headed Hanna Brictson was a stand out.

The last piece, Forbidden Boundaries, by Artistic Director Frank Chaves was an all-white meditation on overcoming obstacles (namely ourselves) going for our dreams.  Each dancer wore tiny costumes, wrapped in fabric bondage and a sheer shell with sleeves that were relentlessly used to hold or pull back the dancers.  It was a bit gimmicky, but created some really nice images and again showed the company’s physical strength.  The highlight of the four-movement dance was the trio Hidden Truth with Michael Gross and Ricky Ruiz literally making Lizzie MacKenzie fly.  With extended sleeves used to suspend and fling her tiny frame about the stage, she looked at times like an albino bat desperately trying to escape capture, then alternately, a beautiful soaring dove.  By the end of Boundaries, all the dancers escape their bonds by taking off the shirts and defiantly throwing them to the ground.  Again, a bit cheesy, but the audience ate it up.

The second act was stronger and better rehearsed than the first.  I would have liked to see a little more variety in tempo.  Even Chavez’s pas, The Mourning, was so speedy that my colleague joked, “I think she died because it was so fast!”  The dancers seemed to gain steam as they went along, ending with a take that attitude that had the crowd at its feet and wanting more.