[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!!
This was supposed to be an interview with Alejandro Cerrudo about the world premiere of his new piece Deep Down Dos, but due to issues with the musical rights (archival v. commercial), the premiere has been postponed until next season. In its place the company will revive Jorma Elo’s Bitter Suite, originally created for Hubbard Street in 2009 and currently in the touring rep. Elo continued to “re-work and tweak” the piece throughout the 2009 run, so this version will be new to most of the audience. Bitter Suite will be first on the program, which opens tonight at the Harris Theatre for Music and Dance, and is followed by a world premiere of Untouched by Aszure Barton and the return of Toru Shimazaki’s Bardo. It sounds like it’s going to be a spectacular evening of dance.
Still, it is disappointing that Cerrudo’s new work will not be shown. RB did get to talk with him about choreographing and his new piece and found him to be open, honest and charming (and fyi, he’s even cuter in person than on stage!). That interview will run next season when Deep Down has its premiere. Audience anticipation of his newest creative feat will continue to build, but two new projects — setting new choreographic works in Germany and for NDT II — will keep him busy over the summer. Look for him on stage during the Summer Series (June 3-6) in all three works.
Earlier this week at Andy Warhol’s Silver Cloud exhibit opening at Crown Hall (IIT campus), HSDC II dancers performed a structured improv to live cello accompaniment amidst the floating silver balloons showing that the future of HSDC is definitely bright. HSDC Artistic Associate and Rehearsal Director Terence Marling chatted with RB on the music rights issue and subsequent reshuffling of the 2010-2011 season schedule, which is already out. He jokingly suggested they may need to have an entire evening of Cerrudo choreography as the Spanish choreographer is set for another world premiere here in December. That wouldn’t be a bad thing IMHO.
Aszure in action. Photo by Liz Laser
“I feel very lucky,” she says.
At 34, Aszure Barton, a Canadian-born choreographer/dancer and founder/director of Aszure Barton & Artists, has received world-wide acclaim for her work and has choreographed for legendary performers like Alan Cumming, Cyndi Lauper and Fan-Yi Sheu (Martha Graham Dance Company) and an international array of top-level companies. She has worked closely with Mikhail Baryshnikov, who was so impressed, he made her the first artist in residence at The Baryshnikov Arts Center in 2005. She still holds that position today, as well as being the artist in residence at The Banff Centre (Alberta, Canada), former resident choreographer (2005-2008) for Le Ballets jazz de Montreal and is the Ambassador of Contemporary Choreography (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). And those are only a few of her accomplishments. Lucky might be an understatement.
Obviously, she also has the talent to back it up. Barton is no stranger to rave reviews. Her work has been hailed as “beautifully mad” by The Edmonton Journal, “deliciously revealing” by the Santa Barbra Independent, “brilliant” by the San Francisco Chronicle, “audacious” by the New York Times, and “fearless” by the Palm beach Daily News. The accolades keep her busy. Very busy. She’s already booking well into 2012.
Right now, she’s in Chicago working with one of our own internationally-acclaimed companies, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Having seen HSDC perform in New York, she was very interested in them as a group of amazing dancers. She’s especially intrigued by the “grounded strength” and power of the women. Setting the piece in four weeks is a bit of a change (she normally likes to take about six weeks). “I like to take my time,” says the energetic artist, who is known for incorporating the quirks and personalities of the dancers. She likens her process to making little families. “I’m moved by the people I’m working with and try to set up a really positive atmosphere, so (they) can trust and feel involved. That takes time.”
Rehearsing with the dancers on stage. Photo: Todd Rosenberg Photography 2010
The new work, with a working title Untouched, will make its world premiere next Thursday, June 3rd at the Harris Theatre for Music and Dance at Millennium Park. The finished product, of course, is a collaborative effort utilizing fellow Canadians Njo Kong Kie and Curtis Macdonald, as well as her friend Liv “Ljova” Zhurbi for the music. She brought the rest of her “team” with her from New York including assistant Jonathan Alsberry (you may remember him from a brief stint with Luna Negra), costume designer Fritz Masten (“an amazing eye”) and lighting designer Nicole Pearce (“magic”). Barton says, “I’m in awe of the people I get to work with and the place I’m in and the opportunities I get to have in this lifetime are pretty amazing.”
This summer Barton will get some much-deserved time off, which she finds a bit scary. What will she do? Relax, spend time with family, travel…you know, “real people things”, she says with a laugh. “It’s hard for me to just do nothing.”
See the music, hear the dance.
In a twist on the famous Balanchine quote, the Harris Theatre for Music and Dance announced its 2010-2011 season line up with performances representing a wide arc across the artistic spectrum. A violin concerto by Philip Glass, John Waters, Alan Cumming and a Japanese Butoh company. The See the Dance portion of the line up is just as intruiging. Chicago favorite Lar Lubovitch, Ballet Hispanico (newly under the direction of Eduardo Vilaro — founder of Luna Negra), Pilobolus turning 40! and Mark Morris’ Chicago premiere of his take on Romeo & Juliet (considering what he did with The Nutcracker/The Hard Nut, we can’t wait to see this). Get your tickets now!
Ballet Hispanico, Batucada Fantastica. Photo by Rosalie O'Connor
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company – September 22 & 23, 2010
Ballet Hispanico – November 5, 2010
Pilobolus Dance Theatre, Pilobolus at 40: Collaborating on the Future – January 28 & 29, 2011
Mark Morris Dance Group. Photo by Gene Schiavone
Mark Morris Dance Group, Romeo and Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare – February 25-27, 2011
For ticket information: www.harristheaterchicago.org
Box Office: 312.334.7777
Reverence: a feeling or attitude of deep respect; a gesture indicative of deep respect; the last exercise of ballet class where dancers pay respect to the teacher. As two of Joffrey’s most-tenured dancers prepare for their final show this Sunday, reverence will be paid. Respect earned as performers, teachers, family members and friends not only from fellow dancers and staff, but audience members and the larger Chicago dance community will permeate the air of the Auditorium Theatre as Suzanne Lopez and Calvin Kitten take the stage with the Joffrey one last time. Each spent one year with The Joffrey II Dancers before joining the main company, Lopez in 1991 and Kitten following in 1992. The two have been inseparable ever since. “He and I are family for life,” says Lopez. The duo are also the last dancers to have migrated to the Windy City from New York with the company in 1995. “Moving to Chicago was the best thing to happened in my life,” Kitten states. In NYC, the company mainly toured and performed Billboards, but Kitten says moving here allowed them to dance Artistic Director Gerald Arpino’s choreography and “have more of a home”. A home with a surrogate family, friends and love. Both met their husbands/partners while with the Joffrey. Lopez married Joffrey Master Carpenter Keith Prisco in 2005 and now has two little girls. Kitten will be joining his long-time partner Michael Andrew Currey, current Director of Production for Ballet West in Salt Lake City.
Kitten as Snow Prince (photo by Herbert Migdoll)
For 19 and 20 seasons respectively, Kitten and Lopez have been synonymous with Joffrey lending their expansive creative energy and talents. Kitten, known for his impish charm, incredible speed and levity in his jumps is arguably most famous for his role in The Nutcracker as Fritz/Snow Prince (you may have seen his image as Snow Prince flying high over the city’s many billboards for years), but he credits the title role in Prodigal Son (for which he won one of his two Ruth Page Awards) as a turning point in his career. He also was featured on the cover of Dance Magazine in 2001. Lopez, with her precise, consistent technique, sprightly pointe work and effortless beauty is a joy to watch. There is a sparkle in her eyes when she dances that lets you know she truly loves what she is doing and a calmness in her confidence that betrays her talent. In other words, she makes everything look easy.
Lopez as Cinderella (photo by Sasha Fornari)
Here are some highlights and memories of their years with Joffrey.
RB: What were some of your favorite roles? Where there any roles you wanted to dance, but didn’t have the chance?
SL: I can actually say that I got to dance everything on my list. Some of those roles were also my favorites…Juliet, Sugar Plum, Arpino’s L’Air D’Espirit, Birthday Variations, Lilac Garden and The Moor’s Pavane. I realized a little later in my career that I really loved acting roles. They’re so much meatier and interesting to me.
CK: My over-all favorite thing to dance probably has to be Fritz/Snow Prince in The Nutcracker. It was the first thing I danced at Joffrey and was a challenge every time I did it. I also loved doing Prodigal Son. And anything Arpino. I love the energy it takes to dance. I have no regrets about roles. I have been so fulfilled and blessed in my dance and normal life. What more could you ask for?
RB: What was it like filming the Robert Altman movie The Company (2003)?
SL: That movie was a blast to film. Our wedding is featured in The Company! I have such fond memories of Robert Altman and working with him was inspiring…he was so respectful to the dancers.
RB: What was it like rehearsing and performing Billboards? Did you know what a big hit it would be?
CK: I had no clue it was going to be a hit. The process was so much fun. How could it not be…working with four great choreographers and listening to Prince music all day. It was my first year in the company and all I could think was “I am being paid for this?”.
SL: The rehearsal process was really new and exciting. It was the first (and only) time I’d ever had a full-length ballet created on me and I was given many great opportunities within that ballet. I got to travel the world with Billboards.
RB: Can you share a story or memory of Mr. A?
SL: That’s really hard to answer. These days, even the bad stories are some of my favorites because I miss him so much. We were on a bus…I think we were all singing Christmas carols. Now we all know Calvin is a phenomenal dancer, but his singing voice leaves something to be desired. My singing voice isn’t great, but [I] can certainly carry a tune. We were sitting right behind Mr. A, singing our hearts out, and Mr. A turned around and said, “Calvin, you really have a lovely voice!” — my jaw dropped to the floor.
CK: Mr. Arpino did the New York Times crossword every day and when he needed help, he would ask someone for the answer. Suzanne also does the crossword and is really quite good at them. We were on the tour bus…he must have asked Suzanne for half the answers. Then he asked out loud, “What is a five-letter word for chocolate?” I actually knew the answer and shouted out “Fudge!” Mr. Arpino said, “That’s right!” and proceeded to praise me and tell me how smart I was. Suzanne was sitting next to me. The look on her face looked like she could just kill me.
RB: What is it like deciding to leave your “family”?
CK: It was a hard decision, but I felt it was time. I always wanted to leave with people saying, “Calvin retired too soon”, not “He should have retired a few years ago”. I have done everything and more than I thought I would ever do with my career.
SL: I will miss my extended Joffrey family. I can’t imagine any other job where you make such close and personal friends.
Post Joffrey plans for both involve dance. Kitten will still be making guest appearances and teaching at Ballet West and Lopez will be working with the Gerald Arpino Foundation setting ballets and hopefully teaching. For their final performance (Sunday, May 9th), in addition to the Eclectica program, Mr. Kitten will be dancing Balachine’s Tarantella with Yumelia Garcia and Ms. Lopez will be dancing Helgi Tomasson’s Valses Poeticos with Mauro Villanueva. Bring your Kleenex, it is sure to be an emotional show.