|
Over the holidays I had the pleasure of embarking on an adventure to New York, the dance capital of the world. Hitting Broadway and the New York theatre district is a must for any keen dancer. The history, the depth of talent and the atmosphere are amazing.
I began my adventure by meeting with Queen’s Nubian Gents. A hip hop, stepping group, the Nubian Gents are a troupe of young teenage male dancers with a purpose. Recently touring Australia last year, the Nubian Gents directed by Lamont O’Niel, grew out of an extra-curricular junior high school step team into a dance troupe of excellence that now tours globally. Originally designed to provide young high school boys with a positive activity to keep them out of the streets and out of trouble, the team now travels, spreading a message of hope and acceptance to young teens everywhere. They are an inspirational team of young males, with a unique dance talent. Click here to see footage of their dancing.
The first performance I saw was the famous Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. A must see Christmas event, the Rockettes were celebrating their 75th year, and a long New York history. The Rockettes are a famous precision dance company of 32 talented dancers. During the Christmas season the Rockette dancers perform 5 shows a day, seven days a week! The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is the most-watched live show in the USA, with more than 2.1 million spectators annually. And it wasn’t hard to understand why when watching the performance in the huge and opulent Radio City Music Hall. The show included beautiful dancers performing a mix of tap and jazz dances, with costumes ranging from full Santa suits with beard, large stomach and all, to classy white dress suits with fur caps. The show didn’t miss anything, featuring a huge spinning bus on the stage, flying Santa and children, Rockette raindeer, 3D movie section and flashing imagery on the Music Hall walls with falling snow. There was also a huge Santa’s toy factory, a spectacular nativity scene complete with camels, a comical take off of the Nutcracker and beautiful singing. It really was an enjoyable show and entertaining for a varied audience. The highlights were the famous kick line, very neat foot work, much patterning and tight group work, all with an amazing show of flexibility.
As I am friends with one of the famous Rockette’s, Cheryl Cutlip of Project Dance, I was lucky enough to receive a back stage tour after the show. It was an honour to walk onto the massive Radio City Musical Hall stage, see all the props and stage scenery up close, the costume rooms and dressing rooms, not to mention meeting the camels!
My travels then took me to Broadway! The world’s theatre street! Here I enjoyed a lyrical jazz class at Broadway Dance Center. Broadway Dance Center is a prestigious open dance studio, holding classes and workshops that attract dancers from all over the world. In the gorgeous large studios on 45th Street classes were packed. The waiting room/entrance had 6 large television screens showing those waiting what was happening in each studio. I was honoured to watch Sabra and Kameron of SYTYCD dance in one of the studios, as Kameron taught a class as part of the centre’s Winter Workshops. (See exclusive interview with Sabra)
I enjoyed my class, although space was tight as the studio was full of eager dancers. The style of teacher Derek Mitchell was fresh and challenging. A renowned artist, Derek has collaborated with Joe Zee in styling Justin Timberlake and his dancers for Nickelodeon, Cameron Diaz, Hilary Swank, Britney Spears, JC Chasez, Kelis, Mary J. Blige and dancers for Gap and most notably Madonna and Missy Elliot’s dancers in their 2004 Gap commercial. Derek has taught all around the world for various dance conventions including Dance Olympus, Dance Masters, Thunderstruck, TamJams, Summerclick and Pick The Stars. He is co-founder of Dvography Workshops, which travels around the world teaching dancers, of all ages, music video technique and original choreography.
New York has a wealth of dance studios to choose from with amazing techers like Derek. Others include Steps on Broadway and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Studios, both in Manhattan.
And what would a trip to Broadway be without seeing A Chorus Line, the dance classic. A famous dance musical dating back to 1975, A Chorus Line returned to Broadway in 2006. It is the story of 17 audition hopefuls, all vying for a place in the chorus line of a Broadway show. It is comical and entertaining, as we learn about the lives of the audition hopefuls and see who makes the cut. The opening dance scene where dancers fight to be noticed was the highlight of the musical. The dancing was technically demanding and very fast, but performed with ease. The high level dancing just left me wanting more throughout the remainder of the show, but unfortunately the stage show did not feature as much dancing as the classic movie, one which we have all seen numerous times. The show could have definitely featured much more dancing, as the performers were more than capable.The stand out dancer for me was Jessica Lee Golydn, who played the flirtatious and body obsessed Val. She was a very sharp and precise, attacking dancer. My eyes were drawn to her in many of the group numbers. |
|
|
 |
|
| The Lights of Broadway! |
 |
|
| The Nubian Gents in Melbourne last year |
 |
|
| The glitzy Radio City Rockettes on stage |
 |
|
| The Rockettes celebrate 75 years |
 |
|
| A Chorus Line on Broadway |
 |
|
| A spectacular Broadway finale in A Chorus Line |
 |
|
| Alvin Ailey in Firebird. Photo: Paul Kolnik |
 |
|
| Ailey's Alicia J. Graf and Jamar Roberts. Photo: Andrew Eccles |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
And to finish off a week of dance I was honoured to see Alvin Ailey perform in their New York City Center Season. A packed audience enjoyed a trio of dance delights as the company’s best performed The Road of the Pheobe Snow, Flowers and Firebird. Look out for the review in the next edition of Dance Informa.
New York is an amazing city with an overwhelming theatre culture. It is worth a visit for any dancer, no matter what your preferred style. Dance is everywhere. It is even in the subway stations as talented breakers busk to large crowds. You could visit several times and still not see everything. My next trip will have to include the American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Baryshnikov Arts Center and the stage show The Lion King, not to mention hundreds of more Broadway and off Broadway spectaculars. And with so many shows and performances continually running throughout the year, you can go at any time. Check the international section of Curtain Up and Curtain Call for several New York dance events and auditions. Why not fit them into your next trip?
To see what’s currently playing on Broadway visit www.broadway.com |
|
|
|
|
