The Frederick Wiseman documentary La Danse, about the Paris Opera Ballet, which I loved (particularly the parts with Laetitia Pujol), is going to air in several segments on PBS beginning on June 16th. Excellent!
MARCELO DANCING MANON PDD WITH TERESHKINA
One of my Facebook friends and blog readers found this video of Marcelo dancing MacMillan’s gorgeous Manon pas de deux with Viktoria Tereshkina. I think I missed her when she toured NY with the Kirov but she is a really beautiful dancer, like a feather. I so love MacMillan — why why why can’t we see more of his work here? And the music is really gorgeous as well. So I’m posting it. Happy Friday everyone!
DANCING WITH THE STARS MOVIE NIGHT
Here are my thoughts on this week’s Dancing with the Stars.
I was going to post a video of Tiler Peck for all the Huffington Post readers who’ve never heard of her, since she was seen so little on last week’s results show, but sadly — shamefully really — except for a couple of rehearsal videos from last year’s Vail Dance Festival, there are virtually no videos of her on YouTube other than last week’s DWTS.
DREW JACOBY’S DANCE PULP LAUNCHES ON HULU VIA TENDUTV
Since following her on Twitter, I’ve been waiting for magnificent ballerina Drew Jacoby’s DancePulp to launch. (photo of her above taken from here) And I just received a press release that it has — on Hulu, via TenduTv. DancePulp is a series of interviews with movers and shakers in the world of dance — don’t know when it’ll air but remember her tweeting that she was interviewing David Hallberg — conducted with Jacoby herself. Click on the “continue” link below to read the full press release.
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MISNOMER’S "MISNOMER"
As usual, I am very behind on blogging. My friends Chris Atamian, Mika and I all went to see Misnomer Dance Theater last weekend at Symphony Space uptown and I haven’t had time to review. So instead I’m going to link to their live-streaming of the show, which I was told is available on video from their website (and which should be much more interesting to you than my review anyway!) I didn’t have time to post about their live-streaming beforehand but I think this is an EXCELLENT idea for dance companies. People everywhere can see the performance, not just those who live in the locale where they happen to be performing. It’s like TV.
Anyway, I’ve always thought of Chris Elam and his troupe as one of the most original choreographer / performers in dance today. Elam, who’s traveled widely and picked up a lot of his movement from his study of foreign cultures, has won many awards; he also choreographed Bjork’s Wanderlust video. When I’d blogged about So You Think You Can Dance a couple seasons ago, you might remember I’d said I thought Mark Kanemura would fit in with this group. This is the first time I’d ever seen their dance titled “Misnomer” which eventually became the company’s name, and I was really floored by the humorous, playful, sometimes provocative shape-shifting. Anyway, see for yourselves: here or here.
Above image of Elam from the company’s flickr page.
I'M A BLANK SLATE WHEN IT COMES TO KATE GOSSELIN, I CAN'T HELP IT!
Dancing with the Stars: Controversial Stars Steal Show – More free videos are here
Hahaha, I sound like a total dumbass! Seriously, I don’t watch reality TV (other than the dance competition shows, if you want to call them that), so I’m a total blank slate when it comes to many of the celebs on DWTS every season (remember when I didn’t know who Kim Kardashian was…). Well, apparently Kate Gosselin has a bad reputation for something. But I’m basically seeing her for the first time now, and her “Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into,” combined with that look of utter horror on her face really resonated with me, having signed up to do my first big comp before I saw myself on video. And that fear that she really kind of had to force herself to turn into determination… I do think she seemed sweet on Monday’s show!
Ha, it’s just funny hearing someone else say your words! She pronounced my first name right though (many people say Tone-ya).
WATCH NY EXPORT OPUS JAZZ WEDNESDAY NIGHT ON PBS!
Tomorrow night, Wednesday, March 24th, at 8:00, the new film made by New York City Ballet dancers Ellen Bar and Sean Suozzi, along with directors Henry Joost and Jody Lee Lipes, will air nationally on PBS.
I was sent a preview tape but I’d rather wait until everyone has a chance to see it to discuss. It’s about an hour long. The first 45 minutes is a movie of current New York City Ballet dancers dancing the original choreography of Jerome Robbins’s 1958 dance New York Export: Opus Jazz. The dance is really like an abstract version of Robbins’ more popular West Side Story suite — same jazzy rhythms, same jazzy movement, but without a clear linear narrative. The dance made its first televised appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show to popular acclaim. But it’s since kind of fallen out of the repertoire, with Robbins’ other ballets being more often performed. Critics have said this piece doesn’t really have the timelessness or genius of his other work, like West Side Story.
Anyway, the NYCB dancers have done something very cool: instead of just filming the dance in a studio, as it originally appeared on Ed Sullivan, they’ve filmed the same dance sequences at various locations around New York City – and not touristy ones, but “real” locales. It’s fun!
I’m interested to know what people think not just of the filming (which I find very clever) but of the choreography itself and the extent to which it’s dated. I think it’s interesting how you can kind of see the origins of hip hop. And I love the music, by Robert Prince. My favorite scene is still the balletic pas de deux between Craig Hall and Rachel Rutherford on the pre-redeveloped Highline. But yours may be different.
The second part of the program is a series of interviews with some of the people involved in this production as well as those who knew Robbins, and there are some clips of the original Ed Sullivan Show performance. Definitely worth watching. Go here for more info on the movie, and go here for your local schedule.
BALLET INSPIRED BRIDAL FASHION FROM MARTHA STEWART
Starring… some ABT dancers.
And here are some photos of the fashion shoot.
Via ABT’s Twitter feed.
BARYSHNIMOSS
So now Baryshnikov and supermodel Kate Moss are making a ballet movie together. I know — all of these ballet movies! Moss is reportedly taking ballet lessons in preparation. The film is by Michael Clarke and shooting will begin in July in Marseilles. It’s not clear how widely the film is to be distributed but it’s to premiere at a fundraiser in England and later will be shown in galleries as a work of art.
Interesting: according to New York Magazine via British Vogue, Moss shouldn’t have too hard a time learning to dance on pointe since toe shoes aren’t that different from 6-inch heels. Toe shoes even include padding. What do we think about that one?
Above image from Leibovitz gallery on PBS.org.
BECKII CRUEL CRAZE IN JAPAN
Have you guys seen this? Apparently, UK teen Rebecca Flint, aka Beckii Cruel, is the latest YouTube dance sensation — at least in Japan, where her video clips have been viewed by over eight million people.
She says she has training in ballet and modern dance. She has a dancing DVD soon to be released. Here is the interview with her on MSNBC.com where she talks about why she thinks she has become so popular in Japan.
Go here to see more of her YouTube videos.
BEST SUPERBOWL COMMERCIAL BY FAR, EVER, NO COMPETITION – DUH
Okay, I can’t really say “ever” since I’ve never watched the Superbowl before. But seriously, who is Mark Sanchez!
ADAM SHANKMAN ON CHOREOGRAPHING FOR THE ACADEMY AWARDS
Here’s a video of Adam Shankman talking about the upcoming number he’s choreographing for the Academy Awards. According to SYTYCism, Jakob Karr will be performing in that number, and those auditioning included SYTYCD alums Billy Bell, Travis Wall, Katee Shean, Russell Ferguson, Jaimie Goodwin, Legacy Perez, Ellenore Scott, and Kathryn McCormick.