Presented by the Joyce Theater Foundation

David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, NYC
12 April 2013

By Leigh Schanfein.

For its performances at Lincoln Center, Nederlands Dans Theater presented Sehnsucht and Schmetterling, both choreographed by the company’s resident choreographers Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, who have been choreographing together since 1989. I have seen León and Lightfoot’s work before, as well as older repertoire of NDT, and the work I saw this time was quite different from what I’ve previously experienced. As a dancer, I don’t know that my eye was fulfilled from this performance. However, as a human, as someone who experiences social intricacies, shares history, and feels intensely, I was thrilled by the two pieces presented on this evening’s program. 

Sehnsucht involves a man in white, a man in black and a woman in white as a couple, a corps of men and women in black, and a large room holding the couple that floats over the middle of the stage and rotates. As the man in white dances alone on stage, the couple appears and starts to play out what seems to be a troubled relationship while shifting and leaning on the various surfaces of the room; only on one occasion does the man in white approach the room to take the woman overhead and over the borders of her box before returning her without further acknowledgement.  

In the second part of the piece, the man in black departs from the room, and the room disappears as a corps, all in black, takes to the stage with the man in white left glaringly different from the rest. Here, with the enormous stage at their disposal, the dancers charge through brilliantly expansive movement with a clearly visible root in classical steps taken into the contemporary realm for a precise, authoritative effect. At a certain point there is a shift: subtly but determinedly the man in white appears to take over the subconsciousness of the corps, bringing the bold dancers under his reign with a quiet power. At the end of this thunderous section filled with massive leaps and fast-paced synchronicity, the man in black emerges, only to seemingly be shut out from those who bear his likeness. 

In the third part, we return to the initial scene. The man in black returns to the room where the dance is slightly more reserved, the woman having distanced herself and eventually leaving the room herself before the man in black leaves once again; all that remains is the man in white, alone. Sehnsucht is not a piece about dance; we are not watching this because we like dance and it will not make us fall in love with the very steps of dance. This piece was about something, these men, this woman, and the separation of forces. Who is this man in white? Does he represent the woman, changing her mind about the man in black? Is he something about the woman within the man in black’s consciousness? Is everything we see behind and around him all in his mind? The question mark is made even stronger as the man in white stays on stage in front of the curtain while we break into intermission. Eventually, about halfway through intermission, he unfolds himself and very slowly makes his way across the stage, pausing every minute or so to gaze out over the audience or look back over his shoulder. The funny thing is that it isn’t just an interesting way to get through intermission; he looks like he is judging us, like we are the ‘weirdos’ coming here to view this, his life or his subconscious or the reality of his imagined state. He is the figment but he is the one with the right to be there.

The intermission blends into the next piece, Schmetterling, when a woman dressed in a child’s long red coat begins to tiptoe across the stage. We watch as she transitions from a fragile child to a bolder, even bratty kid sometimes breaking into song and mimicking adult movement. At the end, when we know intermission is over and we are entering into a new realm, a solo man crosses, solemnly, and when he is done the curtain opens and commences a duet between the solemn man and the woman from before, but now she has gray hair and is an old stooped woman. A lifetime has occurred, a lifetime experienced by this woman, and about which the strong young man knows little. As they dance, she seems to be laughing at him, laughing at what he does not know. From there, Schmetterling roves through a series of short dances that are mostly set to lyrical music by The Magnetic Fields. These vignettes, mostly solos and duets, appear to depict sincere individuals, couples, and trios wearing mid-century ghetto attire, who should be demonstrating strife and daily tasks but are instead mostly silly and farcical. Because the dancers are so talented and the choreography is seemingly trivial, the lyric “sometimes transcendent, and sometimes just dumb,” stood out prophetically early in the work. 

Towards the end of Schmetterling, the few serious moments come to a head as the final portion of the work turns towards the transcendent. The young man and the old woman come together once again and now I am left with the impression that everything we just witnessed was her life in stories, seen in the way that she told it to this young man as he grew up, almost entirely humorous and often just plain silly. But the man is not amused, and their duet paints a clear conversation in my mind, one where he asks, “Why do you make light? You have experienced love, hatred, controversy, turmoil, exquisite happiness…and you laugh.” To that she responds, “This is it, all we have. We cannot take ourselves seriously. This is not just the impression of age, it is the extremism of humanity. You grab that forbidden fruit and you make apple pie out of it.” She makes it clear that life may have shoved her around but she grabbed it by the balls and laughed in its face. I may be too much like the young man, not unlike many of my generation, finding the travails of humanity too great to dismiss. I couldn’t quite latch on to the levity when the dancers flounced about in ghetto garb, but when the work took a somber twist, it hit like a ton of bricks, with the weight of the world.

There were motifs that appeared in both pieces such as the men and women generally wearing the same costumes, as if gender played no role, or dancers striking poses where the leg is held in the air by the arm. Even though the dance vocabulary alone did not impress me this time as it has done many times over on the dancers of NDT, I am still left with absolute conviction that NDT is one of the best dance companies right now on the world’s stages.

To find out more about NDT, visit www.ndt.nl/en.

Photo source: www.ndt.nl/en/ballets/50

By Laura Di Orio.

Ashley Carter probably chose the name DoubleTake for a reason. At first glance, it’s another dance company. Looking deeper into it, though, DoubleTake (DT) Dance Company is a rare fusion of different dancers and genres of dance, with each work being completely different from the next and each with a strong message. The company’s repertory includes works that are tango, theater, jazz, contemporary, tap and neoclassical, a range that may be standard for large companies but less prevalent among smaller dance companies.

Co-directors Carter and Vanessa Martinez de Baños built New York City-based DT from scratch when Martinez de Baños saw something in Carter and encouraged her to start teaching and choreographing. From there, other companies began to ask Carter to choreograph on them, and after a while she just started submitting work under her own name and came to find she was getting a good response.

DT as a company and name was born in 2010 and since then has continued to grow. The company performed at NYC’s SummerStage last year and continuously performs throughout NYC festivals and venues, and has even performed in Madrid. Carter and Martinez de Baños only hope that their joint hard work can take them further.

“I never really planned to have my own company,” Carter says. “It’s something I sort of fell into. And I’m really glad I didn’t try to do it alone. It’s hard enough with two of us!”

Carter and Martinez de Baños come from entirely different dance backgrounds. Carter, primarily New York-trained, has performed with companies and artists ranging from Pilobolus to Nicki Minaj. She enjoys doing artistic company work but has also had the chance to dance in music videos, commercials and industrials for brands such as Nike, Lush, Microsoft and Nokia. Carter has also taught at such renowned dance studios as Broadway Dance Center, Steps, Ballet Arts and Lines, and for the past few years has successfully maintained her own contemporary jazz class at Peridance. As a choreographer, Carter has created work for a FuseTV commercial incorporating pop and breakdance and also for a sci-fi movie that required modern and contemporary.

DoubleTake Dance Company dancers, including co-directors Vanessa Martinez de Baños (center) and Ashley Carter (right), in performance. Photo by Stephanie Crousillat.

“It’s the huge range of work that prevents me from ever getting bored and it challenges me every day,” Carter says. “The variety is something that I also try to bring to DoubleTake Dance.”

Martinez de Baños, on the other hand, was born in Madrid, Spain, and began her career as an actress, which led into musical theatre and then a love for dance. She moved to NYC after receiving a scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Culture. Martinez de Baños has danced for many choreographers, including Guillem Alonso, Lynn Schwab and Ryan Beck, and has choreographed for musical theatre and contemporary companies. She has also taught master classes both nationally and internationally.

Like Carter, Martinez de Baños strives to continue to learn and push herself further. “I’m passionate about my job and nourish every opportunity that comes my way,” she says. “I try to do as much as I can, which makes me versatile and stops me from ever getting bored.”

The variety of Carter and Martinez de Baños’ background has clearly fueled the direction of DT. The repertory has a wide range, and the company’s dancers, although all athletic, technical and musical, tend to be very different in terms of their strengths, body type and dance background.

“One of our main goals as a company is to create each new piece of work to be as different as possible from the rest of our rep,” Carter says. “We also try to use different ideas for props or costumes or influences to make the pieces meaningful.”

Last summer at SummerStage, DT premiered a piece that Carter calls an “experiment,” where they fused sign language with contemporary dance and used those movements to tell the story of how it feels to be an outsider. The company’s latest piece, Shirt Off My Back, is a work that utilizes the company’s technical strength and floor work to express homelessness and how the community of relatively “privileged” people responds and reacts to it. Carter and Martinez de Baños even gave their dancers a “homework assignment” – food to hand out to people in need as they came across them on their daily commutes. Carter says this was to “both help out and help our dancers understand the emotional connection to the story.”

DoubleTake Dance co-director Vanessa Martinez de Baños. Photo by Olivia Alvarez.

This broad spectrum of repertory not only makes DT unique as a small company, but it also helps set them apart in a place like NYC, where there is a sea of dance companies.

Remaining afloat in NYC remains to be difficult for almost any small dance company, but Carter and Martinez de Baños keep their standards high and the dancers’ priorities up front.

“Being able to always pay our dancers is challenging,” Martinez de Baños explains. “In a business where the new trend is to pay to perform instead of the opposite, it’s hard to stay afloat and do the right thing. We believe in the art, we believe in our dancers and respect their time and talent, therefore we always compensate them. We never pay to perform, unless renting a theater, and we don’t perform or rehearse in places that are not appropriate for dance.”

Carter adds to that list of challenges: the scheduling, and the technical, administrative, financial and logistical details.

Still, however, amidst these stresses there are rewards. “Watching our finished products is always rewarding,” Martinez de Baños says. “And seeing how our audience is moved, especially when they aren’t dancers. SummerStage is an example. When you see that hundreds of people decide to stay and watch despite a violent thunderstorm approaching, you know you must be doing something right.”

Next up for DT is a split-bill showing on April 19 at NYC’s Secret Theatre, where the company will present 40 minutes of rep. Further down the road, Carter says she hopes DT will continue doing what they’re doing, but bigger and better.

Martinez de Baños agrees. “We hope to get more people to know and fund us,” she says. “We have some projects in mind that can’t be accomplished without funds, so hopefully one day… And maybe have a place and not have to pay rental space. We would love to offer free classes to our dancers.”

For more information on DoubleTake Dance or to show support to their next venture, head to www.doubletakedanceco.com.

Photo (top): DoubleTake Dance in performance. Photo by Maverick Sean Photography.

By Tara Sheena.

Spring is in the air and with that comes many things: warmer weather, spring cleaning, flowers blooming, a budding love interest (or, maybe I’ve just been watching too many romantic comedies). However, the spring season always means an unusually busy New York City performance calendar. From uptown to downtown, the dance geek in me is reeling with a certain type of joy this time of year brings – dance shows galore! Whether you’re a Broadway lover, a renegade ballerina or even a budding neurologist, the next couple of months have a little something for every dance lover out there.

Below is a list of the top five events I am most looking forward to, in no particular order of course (who could choose?!). Catch them while you can…the light breeze of the spring air has the summertime heat hot on its heels and these performances will be gone with the wind before you know it!

Matilda The Musical at the Shubert Theatre, previews began March 4

Roald Dahl’s famed children’s book finds a life beyond the page this month on Broadway. After a wildly successful run across the pond at the Cambridge Theater in London, the sprightly bookworm finally makes her way to The Big Apple. This electrifying interpretation of Dahl’s signature story, with music written by Dennis Kelly and original songs by Tim Minchin, is already an early favorite for this year’s Tony Awards. Better yet, the inimitable Peter Darling (Billy Elliot, anyone?) brings his signature rhythm and flair to the choreography, having won last year’s Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer. Plus, I hear there are some pretty outrageous costumes involved. Sounds like a very new spin on an old favorite and I cannot wait to see it! More information can be found at http://us.matildathemusical.com.

Harkness Dance Festival at 92Y, February 22-March 24

In a month-long stretch of back-to-back dance performances, the 92Y brings in contemporary dance’s gentle giant, Doug Varone, to curate a selection of today’s most innovative and thrilling artists. This festival is wonderful. Not only does it take place in the vast expanse that is Buttenweiser Hall, but it seems like a reunion of sorts in the way Varone is bringing his peers together for such an exciting performance series. Let the dance community rejoice! Varone’s company of physically luscious movers kicked off the festival on February 22 and upcoming highlights include the zany theatricality of Faye Driscoll (March 1-3) as well as the purely constructed work of Liz Gerring (March 8-10). All information, including a full calendar of events, can be found at www.92y.org/HARKNESSFESTIVAL.

Live Ideas at New York Live Arts, April 17-21

In its inaugural year, Live Ideas will host a five-day festival exploring the mind-body connection through the work of acclaimed neurologist and author, Oliver Sacks. Through a series of panel discussions, film screenings and live performances, ideas surrounding the physical and environmental pressures against the human body will be the focal point. Sacks’ work illuminates his range of interest, from weightlifting to stereoscopy, and for the first time, the myriad concepts behind his neurological practice will be displayed in this public forum. With discussion topics ranging from “The Natural World: Ferns, Cycads, and Cephalopods” to “Minding the Dancing Body”, this intriguing convergence of art and science is not to be missed. The best part? Many events are under $20 and some are even free! More information can be found at www.newyorklivearts.org/liveideas.

Dancing the Gods: Nrityagram’s Surupa Sen and Bijayini Satpathy at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, April 6-7, 2013

Surupa Sen and Bijayini Satpathy make a rare New York appearance with this magical and transformative performance of Odissi, the oldest classical dance form in India. Co-presented with the World Music Institute, the women will display this statuesque and emotionally-driven dance form in a series of solos and duets. Both principal members with India’s famed Nrityagram dance troupe, the women bring years of experience to this awe-inspiring style of dance, one that is rarely seen on the American stage. Tickets are bit pricier than my other choices but I think now you understand why. More information on this all-too-short performance run can be found at http://nyuskirball.org/calendar/dancingthegods.

Ballet v6.0 at The Joyce Theater, August 6-17
(Ok, so this is in summer, but it had to be mentioned)

The end of summer seems like a far cry from the brisk winter we have been experiencing in New York City lately, but The Joyce Theater is offering something different for the ballet lovers out there, and rightly so, since most ballet companies take the summer months off. Highlighting ballet companies that are working outside of a traditional large company hierarchical structure, the six companies of Ballet v6.0 represent a range of styles from across the United States. Troupes to look out for include the edgy and experimental BalletX from Philadelphia (August 6-7) and the contemporary athleticism of Company C from Northern California (August 9-10). For more information and the full line up visit www.joyce.org.

By Stephanie Wolf.

Atlanta, home of the Braves, hotspot for experimental foodies, site of the 1996 Olympics – it’s a city known for many things and a deep melting pot of diversity. Over the past several years, it’s also become a destination for artists interested in bringing Atlanta to the forefront of the nation’s contemporary art scene.

Lauri Stallings came to Atlanta in 2006 as the resident choreographer for Atlanta Ballet. She had no particular expectations from the position. But Atlanta bowled her over with its deep sense of community and rich arts. Thus, in 2009 after three years with the Atlanta Ballet, she decided to make Atlanta her home and carve out her own choreographic space in the city.

With four months of down time in between commissions, Stallings started meeting with local artists. There was no particular intention other than to “generate material, create synergy, and keep laboratory-ing this language of movement [that was developing],” says Stallings. Yet, something significant emerged out of the collaboration, an artistic entity that would become gloATL.

gloATL performs ‘Act of Devotion’. Photo by Thom Baker

In a free public performance on July 24, 2009 at the Woodruff Art Center in Midtown Atlanta, gloATL debuted its vision to the world. The response was overwhelming.

“It caused a bit of a torque in the city…some were outraged and some were completely enthralled,” says Stallings. The evening “reoriented all of those preconceived notions about the experience of contemporary dance” in Atlanta. Stallings saw a chance to “give the public a role [within the city’s art] and the courage to conduct their own dialogue as the art is happening.”

“There are folks in our city who don’t know what to call it…is that dance? Is that performance art? Is that experience?” This is the conundrum of contemporary dance. So, perhaps it is indefinable and Stallings seems to prefer this. It’s constantly changing and Stallings is always on the hunt for new spaces and ways to challenge her artists, thus generating and motivating dialogue about the art form and how it affects Atlanta.

What is especially unique about gloATL is its accessibility and adaptability to space. No street, building, museum or historic landmark is off limits. “gloATL is a vehicle for conversation and for folks to not to have to come find us, or wonder what seat can I afford,” says Stallings.

She talks about her process in creating these often free, site-specific works, claiming she is “turned on by the architectural bones…or the mapping of a public space.” At the beginning of the creative process, Stallings spends a lot of time alone in the space as a pedestrian rather than a choreographer. Her body will respond to the building or space’s “skeletal system”. And she follows up these initial visits with research to discover the “architectural residue,” as she calls it.

gloATL performs ‘Float’ in Atlanta’s famous Piedmont Park.

After completing this preparatory work, Stallings brings her dancers to the site, observing their instinctual physical responses to the space. “After digesting it, I throw it all away and get into the studio to generate lots of material,” says Stallings of the next step.

As the movement evolves in the studio, Stallings gradually goes back to the space and re-embraces its magic and mystery. “It’s like I marry it, divorce it and come back to say this relationship is great.” She calls the process “fairly layered” and says it “comes very slowly.” But the resulting work inspires all five senses of the human body, bringing about a dance experience unlike any other.

For the first three years, Stallings focused on defining gloATL’s identity. She describes these initial years as a “rather dense level of work and endurance to find that undeniable identity.” Ultimately, gloATL’s vision thrives on collaboration, providing for what Stalling calls a “collective platform.” Her dancers react to their instincts, an inclination to “be in the studio moving, dissecting, and sharing.” Dance is something inherent in them, something they have to do. “I ask them to do courageous things,” says Stallings admirably.

Now that this identity has been secured within the Atlanta community, she’s ready to start bringing in more outside choreographers to share in the vision.

As the company’s artistic vision grows and expands, the business side of the company must adapt as well. Currently, glo has no full time administrators, pouring its financial resources in the company’s five full time dancing artists. But Stallings does attribute much of the company’s success to Richard Carvlin, who is the stage manager for the Atlanta Symphony and has served as glo’s acting General Manager since its inception. She’s also grateful for her dancers, whose commitment to their art ensures the future of gloATL.

After three years of passionate work, the burgeoning company has much to look forward to. Right now, Stallings is shaping the company’s first Southeastern tour to expose rural areas to contemporary art. “It’s time to create bridges with artists in other communities,” she expresses. She hopes to continue to network and bring more contemporary artists to Atlanta for gloATL’s experimental art platform, Tanz Farm: A Dance Anthropology— a contemporary dance festival that brings artists and companies from all over the country to Atlanta’s Goat Farm Arts Center for a collaborative performance experience. Past performers have included Sidra Bell Dance New York and Seattle’s zoe/juniper.

Down the road, Stallings hopes to add one full-time administrator and expand the company from five dancers to seven. She would also like to continue to grow gloATL’s international reputation. Above all though, she stresses, “we don’t want to get bigger, we just want to get better.”

Top photo: gloATL performs. Photo by Thom Baker.

By Chelsea Thomas.

For a person who is hearing and sight disabled, his or her world often revolves completely around touch and feel, that kinetic, physical sense of being and form. For the historical heroine Helen Keller, who became deaf and blind at 19 months old, feeling and touch were everything, giving her a sense of not only her surroundings, but also the people who loved her.

The physicality of dance offers a special vehicle for portraying Helen’s story, and award-winning choreographers Ann Reinking and Melissa Thodos recently joined forces to choreograph a work celebrating it. The creation resulting from this pair’s second collaboration together is A Light in the Dark, the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, which was premiered by Thodos Dance Chicago last month and performed again March 2 and 3 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago.

‘A Light in the Dark’ choreographers Melissa Thodos and Ann Reinking. Photo courtesy of Thodos Dance Chicago.

A full-length contemporary story ballet, A Light in the Dark is an ambitious, creative work telling an intimate family story about the extraordinary woman who was deaf and blind, yet went on to become a world-famous writer, political activist and inspiration to all. Co-choreographer Melissa Thodos, founder and artistic director of Thodos Dance Chicago, said the idea for the work first came about in March 2011 in response to a suggestion by dance legend Gary Chryst. The company had just finished performing The White City: Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, a Reinking and Thodos collaboration that was named “Best Dance 2011” by the Chicago Sun-Times, when Chryst recommended a dance work about Helen Keller’s inspirational story.

“When the idea of doing a story ballet on Helen Keller was first thrown out there it got kind of quiet,” Thodos remembered. “There was something very resonate about that idea.”

Reinking, a Tony Award-winning Broadway star, said the idea definitely stuck with her as well, saying, “It was a suggestion that just didn’t go away.”

Soon thereafter Thodos and Reinking decided to embark on the project, which was to be very different from their first work. To prepare they traveled to the Helen Keller National Center on Long Island in April 2012 – an education center that works with persons who are deaf and blind.

Thodos Dance Chicago’s Alissa Tollefson as Anne Sullivan and Jessica Miller Tomlinson as Helen Keller in ‘A Light in the Dark, the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan’. Photo by Todd Rosenberg Photography.

“We spent the entire day there with staff members and an interpreter who had worked there for 17 years. We learned a lot kinetically about how those who are hearing and sight disabled can navigate through space, how they hold themselves,” Thodos said.

In addition to watching and observing for that physical and kinetic information, Thodos and Reinking sought to learn about Helen Keller’s life and “what she accomplished and what it stands for.” Also at the center, they got to experience what it is like to be deaf and blind.

“We were put through an exercise where we were blindfolded and given earplugs and then led through a building. We learned about those very specific places of the body that interpreters interact with. There is a code of vocabulary for interpreting when you need to speak with them,” Thodos recalled.

Reinking was also impacted by the experience. “When our guide took my arm and started directing me down the hall, I immediately felt the huge difference of moving without being able to see or hear. I could feel the difference of the floors, from linoleum to carpet to grass, and the difference between going up and down stairs and around corners. All of a sudden your movements feel bigger.”

Their visit to the center influenced the work that took shape in the studio back in Chicago. Thodos and Reinking talked to the dancers about their visit and asked them to “really think about how they would move without those elements available to them.” The dancers even learned the manual alphabet of signs, a language based on the shapes and formations of one’s hands. In many ways, sign language is a dance of the hands, involving specific movements, locations and spatial orientations.

“We really worked on the dancers thinking about the two components of sight and hearing being taken away,” Thodos said. “We asked them to think about how that would feel and how they would kinetically react to that. Out of that we also did improvisation sessions in the studio.”

In A Light in the Dark, Helen and Anne are the central characters, but the story also includes Helen’s mother (Kate), Helen’s father (Arthur), Helen’s brother (Philip), Anne’s brother (Jimmie, who died young in an asylum) and Anne’s students at a school for the blind where she taught before becoming Helen’s teacher.

Reinking shared that the story of Helen inspired her because “human miracles inspire the soul.” She said this family-friendly ballet “really portrays how necessary it is for people to work in concert to take things to the next level.”

Thodos added, “It’s a really amazing story in history that we think should be told and that people should know about.” She also acknowledged that it is about disability awareness in many ways too.

As part of the performances, the company partnered with the Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired. Specific initiatives, developed in consultation with Sandy Shinner, known in Chicago’s arts and access communities for advocating barrier-free arts for persons with disabilities, included pre-show touch tours for patrons who are blind or have low vision, printing complimentary braille and large print programs, and assembling a program to teach students through dance about living with disabilities.

Reinking perhaps expressed this important component of the show’s mission best when she said, “The more society learns about disabilities, the further we can advance, understand and progress in our ways of addressing it.”

Thodos Dance Chicago, a contemporary dance company more than 20 years old, seeks to tell American stories. A Light in the Dark is one of many performances celebrating the American voice in dance through producing American choreographers’ works.

However, Reinking said the work is something everyone can relate to. “We have all gone through this in some way, shape or form. We’ve overcome adversities.”

For more information on Thodos Dance Chicago, A Light in the Dark, the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, community engagements and initiatives, or upcoming performances, visit www.thodosdancechicago.org.

Photo (top): (from left) Thodos Dance Chicago ensemble members Brian Hare, Jessica Miller Tomlinson and Alissa Tollefson in A Light in the Dark, the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, co-choreographed by Ann Reinking and Melissa Thodos.  Hare portrays James Keller, Helen’s brother. Tomlinson is Helen Keller. Tollefson plays Helen’s teacher, Anne Sullivan.  Photo by Todd Rosenberg Photography.

Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
February 16 2013

By Chelsea Thomas.

New York-based Gallim Dance first left an impression on Atlanta early last year at the inaugural Off the EDGE dance festival. Artistic Director Andrea Miller’s Dust was a festival favorite as two male dancers performed an intimate duet about confronting loss.

On February 16, the contemporary dance ensemble returned to Atlanta’s Rialto Center for the Arts for one night to present two works, Mama Call and Pupil Suite. After spending a few days in the city visiting Kennesaw State University’s Department of Dance and leading master classes at CORE studios in Decatur, Gallim had secured a large crowd that was bursting with eager fans and excited supporters. And Gallim Dance didn’t disappoint.

The evening started with Mama Call, a work that addresses Miller’s Sephardic-American heritage and themes of displacement. The first image was that of two dancers standing side-by-side facing a large moving spotlight onstage. As the light was pulled away from them (it was operated by another dancer) the two shuffled their feet in little steps forward, slowly and achingly seeking to follow the light. Their heads were tilted down, as if focused on their journey and the many steps to come.

Yet, the slow, weary movements did not last long. They only returned in intervals of intimate embraces and later, brief group clusters. Soon Miller’s work dived into the angst and anxiety that accompanies those who drift without belonging.

In ways only contemporary dance can achieve, one quartet of women expressed the pinnacle of alienation. Responding with fierce, explosive jumps, flinging arms and heavy stomps, they seemed to be saying, “No I will not accept this persecution. I will not go unnoticed.” In the beginning, they bounded back-and-forth in place like a pendulum being pushed right-to-left, slicing the air but not quite cutting. As their anger became more pronounced in aggressive movements a voiceover got increasingly fast, mirroring the dancers’ breathlessness.

Mama Call, at about 30 minutes total, closed with a beautiful, haunting duet. Miller said in a post-show discussion that it was meant to represent a “floating rootlessness.” Whereas a few props had been integrated up until this point, one being rootless trees strapped to dancers backs, the two dancers were now left to themselves. Dancer Francesca Romo scaled and mounted fellow dancer Austin Tyson’s body, seeking to always avoid the ground. Her suspension over the floor, achieved by Romo’s subtle strength and balance, constructed a tangible image of one floating.

Next, the mood lightened considerably with Pupil Suite, an assortment of excerpts from Miller’s 2008 piece I Can See Myself in Your Pupil. Set to the infectious music of Israeli band Balkan Beat Box, the choreography was wildly quirky and wholly enjoyable. It was described as “a joyous romp” and that is just what it was. Miller skillfully showcased her humor and wit through imaginative solos and duets.

Just one of the many memorable moments was a delectable solo performed by dancer Emily Terndup. Playing upon the audience’s sympathy, she tried with much difficulty and humor to lift and direct her suddenly limp legs. Sitting on the ground, she tied herself into knots again and again, showing off her significant flexibility.

Another section that rocked the theater was a comical, physical duet between Romo and fellow dancer Jonathan Royse Windham. Zany and inventive, the two dancers fell, jumped, pushed, shoved and jammed with abandon. Later, Miller even used her artistic freedoms to poke fun at classical ballet with a trio set to an opera by Bellini.

Overall, both of Miller’s works perfectly exhibited contemporary dance’s trending wit, invention, abstraction and lush movement vocabulary. Self-described as a Jewish-Catholic-Spanish-American, Miller’s rich familial history is in some ways a perfect mirror to her choreography, which is just as rich in diversity and multiplicity. It is easy to see how she is influenced by her experience with Gaga, an improvisational movement technique developed by Ohad Naharin.

It will be exciting to watch Miller and her small company continue to fearlessly challenge movement possibilities and command space, quality and intention. As the group continues to climb into the limelight Atlanta should be glad they have been exposed to this youthful, imaginative troupe.

Photo: Gallim Dance performs Pupil Suite. Photo by Franziska Strauss, courtesy of Rialto Center for the Arts. 

Korean Cultural Service, NY
January 30 2013

By Leigh Schanfein.

Only four months after assuming the role of Consul General of the Republic of Korea in New York, Se-joo Son welcomed a small but interested and intrigued crowd to the first Open Stage performance of 2013 at the Korean Cultural Service NY. We were about to see a “modern and multi-disciplinary” take on Korean dance that would be very different from the other performances produced this year by the Service, which are more traditional by the standards of Korean culture.

The performance this evening was with Yoo and Dancers, a small modern dance company led by Artistic Director and choreographer Hee Ra Yoo, who hails from South Korea. Yoo made her way to the US via Russia and Australia where she performed with companies as recognizable as The Kirov Ballet and Canberra Dance Theatre.

Though she has danced with major ballet companies, Yoo’s company has focused on exploring the modern genre with which she became engrossed though an MFA at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Since 2009, Yoo and Dancers has presented modern dance in and around NYC, but it seems Yoo is branching out, or rather reaching back into her ballet arsenal.  For this performance, we see a somewhat multi-disciplinary take, not just in this presentation’s departure from Korean influence but also in Yoo’s crossover back into the realm of ballet.

This evening’s program includes three new works in two parts under the title of Glass Ceiling.  The opening work, Without a Net is a fairly literal expression of the title as well as Yoo’s description of Glass Ceiling – that it twists the audience’s perspective as to what is up, what is down and in what direction gravity is pulling.

Without a Net begins with two dancers traversing the stage on their sides with a string under their feet, sliding along the floor as if they are walking a tightrope, immediately establishing a new vertical. As jaunty and spry tunes tickle our ears, delightfully played live by pianist Jonathan Howard Katz, the dancers continue to use the string as a surface, walk on the wall, climb up the floor, “fall” to the wall, and nicely portray a silly story about trying to progress in this world with odd orientation, all the while gesturing liberally to let us know they are flustered but they will work together.

If the piece were to end with the duet, it would be a delightful, playful snippet successful in making the audience grin in seeing something different though not innovative. However, it continues with more dancers joining the duo on stage by “falling” from a doorway to the wall, and all using the walls as their floor to alter the definitions of up and down. Problems in execution begin to arise out of the dancers’ inequivalent strengths, which is quite apparent in this piece where the dancing is stripped of vocabulary and converted into theater with comedic gestures, mimicry and acts of physical strength. The variability in acting ability is acceptable in this small venue where we can accept the less expressive personalities because we can still make out their dull features as well as those of the dancers who exaggerate as if for a larger theater.

Yoo and Dancers

The leggy Lauren Camp emerges as a leader in the group with her clear depiction of clownish emotions that ranges from exasperation to elation within only a few moments. She also maintains throughout the kind of physical connectivity and clarity required in a floor-based work when the audience can mostly only see the dancer from above.

A highlight of Without a Net is a short break in the gesturing and crawling wherein Camp and her partner Yuki Ishiguro break into a ridiculous ground-bound pas de deux with all the bravura of the ballet spectacle, with lifts and leaps that are really splats and layouts on the floor. An almost-duel breaks out when a second couple, made by Lindsey Mandolini and Sean Hatch, counter the classical couple’s pompous process with a wall-based tango. Hip swivels and twisting legs are well seen from above as the couple battles for dominance at a 90-degree angle.

If the piece were to end there it would be a fun piece that lets the audience forget the usual overwrought dramatics of the theater and a more basic degree of dance with elementary gestures and a fun repositioning of perspective. It continues, however, with what now sums up to too much gesturing, too much crawling, and too much silly without substance. I enjoy the frivolity and theatricality of the piece but at the length it reaches, the wit turns to mush, and it goes from being a sweet treat to leaving a slightly saccharine taste in my mouth.

The second half of the program consists of two parts together titled The Unwritten. These two parts are completely different and I can’t imagine why they are coupled. Nonetheless, The Unwritten offers an alternative view of the creative starting point of choreographer Hee Ra Yoo – one that is more mature, creative and developed than the first. It is also her foray into ballet.

The first part is a group piece with five women en pointe in black ballet-gritty costumes with ribbon wrapping their legs, which mimics the red and orange-hued ribbons that adorn the walls in basic geometric shapes.

The choreography retains some of the literalism so exaggerated in Without a Net to define and bend boundaries established by the ribbons pulled from the walls and across the stage by the dancers to create a web of containment. The dancers interact with the ribbon as a barrier, a boundary they’d set for themselves. Pressing, stretching, twisting and plucking the ribbon, the dancers act both in defiance and with reluctant acceptance of their confinement. The piece develops into an exciting display of calculated movements that are precise and demanding, interlaced with frustrated flinging release embodied by thrown limbs. It becomes a thrilling combination.

The ballet would benefit greatly from a slightly different cast, one in which all members are equally and well adept at pointe work and the technical aesthetic of ballet. Mary-Elizabeth Fenn and Rebecca Walden stand out as strong, proficient dancers who convey a power and prowess over the movement and the gallery. They seem not as disturbed by the ribbon, the strength of their bodies en pointe matched by strength of character. Walden blends balletic and contemporary movement to powerful effect in a short, precise, well-structured and well-acted solo.

I am not sure at first why this segment of The Unwritten is en pointe. Why would a modern dance company create contemporary ballet? It is easy to see why Hee Ra Yoo could go in that direction with her background as a ballerina with exemplary companies around the world, but her own company has a focus on the modern genre. It leads me to take her for her word that Yoo and Dancers is without borders. After seeing a well-made contemporary ballet like this, it’s exciting to know that as a modern choreographer Yoo has successfully transferred her sensibility of movement to the pointe-clad dancer.

The second part of The Unwritten is the highlight of the evening for much of the audience: a very nicely constructed, delightful and moving duet between a curious girl and a living statue (Mary-Elizabeth Fenn and Sean Hatch). Off to the side a girl sits at the piano, turning pages but not commanding the keys. She listens to music that stirs in her a daydream that begins with a man, solitary and frozen, seemingly in the midst of movement. In her fantasy, she approaches. What does he depict? What would his movement be? Could it be a dance with her? Hee Ra Yoo’s characteristic gesturing with stylized hands and serpentine head lead the girl through her analysis of the statue that provokes him to life.

The piece itself takes on tremendous life along with the statue as he and the girl begin moving together, shifting with ease between rollicking phrases and playful partnering, describing a newfound camaraderie as if on a playground with a new friend. Things change abruptly though, and the newly-awakened statue is suddenly stopped and shunned by the girl who, without explanation, changes her mind about her playmate. We are left at a loss as to why she changes her mood or has become too mature for her playmate’s naive enthusiasm. Yoo should take more time to tell the story here. Quietly, the girl puts the statue back as he was, his wakeful consciousness rebelling and not understanding as she who awakened him returns him to his frozen state. She, regaining her staid complexion, returns to the piano bench and exits the dream.

While I would like to see this piece from a greater distance so that I cannot see the little things about the statue that are too lifelike, such as eyes that address his partner too early before he has awakened, and so that the piano could be on stage with the dancers, I enjoy this dance with my eyes and my heart and am pleased that it does not give into the cliché of its premise.

Overall, Yoo and Dancers gives its appreciative audience a diverse program with expansive dancing that speaks well for the versatility of Hee Ra Yoo in exercising both ballet and modern forms on the stage. I would like to think that Consul General Se-joo Son and the Korean Cultural Service NY find inspiration and insight in what Yoo presents using the breadth of her knowledge and background even though it avoids the trappings of Korean culture. With some talented new ballerinas along with the modern dancers in her hand, Yoo has the skill to take her company in many intriguing directions.

Find out more about Yoo and Dancers and Hee Ra Yoo as well as upcoming performances at yooanddancers.com. For more information on the Korean Cultural Service NY and Open Stage, visit koreanculture.org.

Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, Atlanta
Saturday, February 2, 2013

By Emily Yewell Volin.

CORE Performance Company produced Secret within the majestic space of the historic Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta. The February 1-3 performance event featured music by Bent Frequency and choreography by CORE’s Artistic Director Sue Schroeder and guest artist Becky Valls (Web).

Audience members entered the Callanwolde space to encounter the feeling of being within a game of Clue brought to life. The gothic-tudor style mansion was especially stunning at night. White wooden folding chairs, lighted trees and musicians were scattered within the stark foyer. Those visuals, along with the rich smell of a space filled with history and a performance entitled Secret, created a multi-sensory delight.

Secret explored most of Callanwolde’s main floor spaces and the performers and audience members were in close proximity and constant motion. The dancers, however, did hold to preserving the fourth wall and that proved distracting to the work.  I became intrigued with continuing my premise that the seven cast members each represented the spirit of a historical character from Callanwolde’s vast history acting out a game of Clue.  Each dancer seemed coy about something within them, sharing snippets of fact and disclosing nothing. Ah, it was Professor Plumb in the library with the iron bar after all!

The dancers may well have embodied bare-footed spirits carrying their shoes in hope of transcending the space. It seems the characters ultimately realized a latent desire to remain at Callanwolde for eternity. Therefore, as the mansion became their eternal home, shoes were placed aside as unnecessary formalities.

The performance event transcended time and elicited wonder about whether the characters knew each other from similar periods of life span or some after-life encounters within the Callanwolde space. Secret proved itself as a mysterious and satisfying work of performance art and the collaborative spirit of the work seemed paramount to its creation.

Secret was conceptually dense and that proved to be its shortfall. The components seemed inspired by Callanwolde but transferred into the space, rather than created within it. CORE Performance Company’s dancers exhibited a range of technical and stylistic capabilities, though neither quality seemed challenged to the top range of the dancers’ abilities. Most of the movement presented held the dancers back from their full technical potential and employed a post-modern tendency to shun technically challenging movement in favor of the cerebral. The work did present glimpses of technical virtuosity. However, having seen several of these dancers perform other work in the Atlanta area, I was disappointed to acknowledge this was not a performance showcasing their technical and stylistic prowess.

Highlights of the night were a piece viewed triptych-art-style though opened doors and the closing, featuring the ensemble on the grand staircase. The triptych work capitalized on the depth and texture of space available within Callanwolde and the closing captured the essence of multi-generational spirits co-existing within a confined space.

CORE Performance Company deserves accolades for envisioning this project. The collaborative spirit of the work is sincere and CORE’s potential is palpable. Secret made it clear that CORE Performance Company has more to tell and I look forward to seeing the next chapter in their creative journey.

By Stephanie Wolf.

The recent onslaught of commercial dance in mainstream media is bringing more awareness to the art form in general, but its portrayal of “contemporary dance” is vague and not always an accurate depiction of the current professional dance world. Audiences, choreographers and dancers alike pose the question, “What is contemporary dance?” Perhaps what defines the genre is within the question itself, a motto that choreographer Uri Sands uses to guide his Minneapolis/St. Paul-based company, Tu Dance, through its pursuit for artistic exploration and integrity.

“I can’t say we’re just a ballet company because we’re not that. And I can’t say we’re a modern company, because we’re not that,” Sands said when asked to describe the aesthetic of Tu Dance. “I’ve had to fight through a number of labels and categories to make it in the professional world, so I try to stay away from any categorization.” Drawing on his own training in classical ballet and modern dance, as well as interactive social dances, Sands, who was born during the break-dancing era and is still fascinated by its athleticism and grace, leads Tu Dance to present innovative performances that are bigger and more diversified than words alone can describe.

Toni Pierce-Sands of Tu Dance. Photo by Ed Bock.

For Sands, his wife and co-director, Toni Pierce-Sands, and his ensemble of dynamic dancers, movement is a conduit for human interaction. Everything about Tu Dance—how Sands and his wife find dancers, what he looks for in dancers, the creative process, even the business side—is about the power of connecting with one another and building relationships, whether these relationships are with the audience or within the organization.

Sands, a Miami native, met Pierce-Sands in 1995 when he joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. It was Pierce-Sands’ personal ties to the Twin Cities that drove them to venture to the Midwest and build the company there. She grew up in St. Paul, receiving her formal training at what is now the Minnesota Dance Institute, and often spoke to Sands about being one of only two dancers of color in the school. Upon returning to Minnesota years later, Sands-Pierce discovered the Twin Cities had changed dramatically, yet the dance scene did not reflect the same cultural growth.

Curious why the dance scene was not as diversified as its cultural surroundings coupled with Sands’ own battles of racial inequality throughout his career, had the two feeling that it was time to generate a new dance experience in Minneapolis/St. Paul—one that was diversified and engaged with the community.

The company launched officially as Tu Dance in 2004, though it had begun a year earlier as a project-based summer company with the intention to provide employment and a means to stay in shape for friends during the off-season. It was “a vehicle to explore choreographically,” Sands reflected. Additionally, it allowed the two to contribute to an art form that had greatly enriched and shaped both of their lives.

Uri Sands of Tu Dance. Photo by V. Paul Virtucio.

Tu Dance debuted at the Barbara Barker Center for Dance on the University of Minnesota campus. During the final piece of the evening, tornado sirens sounded, forcing the entire audience and company to evacuate to the university stairwells for safety. Dumbfounded by the reality of the situation, Sands had to venture outside to confirm the weather status.

“The beautiful part of it was that the entire audience was in complete dialogue and interaction [about the performance],” Sands said about the time in the stairwell. When it was safe enough to return to the theater, everyone reclaimed their seats and the final piece resumed. If 100 people could overlook natural disaster to see dance then Sands knew the vision had longevity.

Now the company employs ten full-time dancers, who Sands describes as “vulnerable” artists willing to dive into “deep explorations physically, mentally and emotionally.” The company doesn’t currently hold formal auditions, but rather scouts out its dancers, preferring to follow young artists as they mature.

“We can help people get the actual step. We can give them the technique, but we need to know who we are working with,” Sands said.

Both directors believe dance is an exposing art form; there isn’t much to hide behind. So, Sands explains, “I’m interested in seeing how much of themselves I am able to see through their dancing.” He’s also looking at how they interact with the people around them: other dancers, himself and the audience. For him and Pierce-Sands, it always relates back to an interactive experience of mind and body.

Administratively, Tu Dance operates as efficiently as possible so “the majority of the budget can go to the art.” Sands said he is “very conscious about limited overhead,” outsourcing most of their administrative needs to contractors in order to optimize Tu Dance’s funds. “Art is the driver,” he explains. Luckily, Sands has a multitude of marketing, financial and legal resources available to him, enabling the company to function successfully as a business. He also attends conferences and seminars regularly. “I have to have a clear understanding of how to run an arts nonprofit organization or educate myself [on it],” Sands said.

Sands sees Tu Dance as a vital part of the Twin Cities dance community, which he thinks is “pretty great, generally speaking…very rich and diversified.” And, as the community grows, he envisions Tu Dance growing with it. “All we want to do as an arts organization in the Twin Cities is to be a part of supporting what people worked for 20/30 years before we came out here,” he said ardently. Bolstering the community by staying involved, present and pertinent is not an unobtainable feat for a company of such passionate and communicative artists.

So, what does growing in the years to come mean to Sands? More touring, more weeks of work and a more fulfilling contract for his dancers are all on Sands’ wish list. He understands these things will come in time. So, for now, he claims his greatest aspiration for Tu Dance is to “continue to be leaders in dance and advocates for dance.” He wants to pay it forward and inspire future generations of dancers and dance makers. “We have a voice and perspective,” he expressed. “We just want to keep dance alive.”

For more information on Tu Dance and its performance calendar, visit www.Tu Dance.org.

Photo (top) : Toni Pierce-Sands & Uri Sands of Tu Dance. Photo Ingrid Werthmann

By Chelsea Thomas.

Kati Smasne, 16, never dreamed she would win the first global competition of Dance Upon A Dream, a new online dance competition founded by international performer and judge Joshua Horner.

Horner, a judge for Dancing with the Stars Australia and a choreographic consultant for Disney, launched the competition alongside co-host Emily Loftiss, professional dancer, singer and choreographer, to offer competitive dancers a place to compete on an international scale without ever leaving the comfort of their homes.

Smasne was just one of hundreds of dancers to apply under the ‘senior’ division (16 years old or older), with the other divisions being ‘mini’ (7-10 years old), ‘junior’ (11-12 years old) and ‘teen’ (13-15 years old). She said she was “amazed” and “overwhelmed” when she found out she was awarded the Solo Ultimate Overall Winner. Her submission, titled “White Blank Page”, was a video of her dancing a contemporary solo choreographed by her friend Rile Reavis at the competition Dance Magic in Oregon in August 2012.

“I honestly couldn’t even believe I won and that now I’m going to study in New York at Broadway Dance Center. I come from a small town so it’s just amazing. I feel so lucky,” Smasne said.

Smasne was a standout to judge Elizabeth Parkinson who remarked, “Kati represents my favorite kind of dancer! She has a strong technical foundation with a dynamic plié and beautiful line. On top of that she is a performer and fantastic mover so rather than focusing on her technique we get to enjoy the pure joy of her personality!” Judge Peter Gregus of Jersey Boys on Broadway said, “Kati has unerring technique, which she doesn’t let overshadow her presence in her performance. She manages a beautiful marriage of both.”

Young Kati even caught the eye of judge Christopher Gattelli, Tony Award winning choreographer of Disney’s Newsies, who expressed, “Kati is a beautiful dancer with incredible facility and her own unique quality, that shows fantastic potential.  She was the perfect choice to represent Dance Upon A Dream’s premiere overall winner.”

Smasne, who has been awarded a three-month scholarship to attend Broadway Dance Center, has big dreams that come from humble origins. She was raised for most of her life in Spokane, Washington, a medium-sized city of about 200,000 residents. At age seven, she began dancing with her older sister, which spurred her on because of their “sisterly competitiveness.” While her sister eventually stopped dancing, Kati kept going, taking jazz and later ballet.

Kati Smasne. Photos by Scott Martinez Photography

“When I was young I discovered I really loved dancing. I loved being on stage. My dance teacher told me that if I wanted to get better I should take ballet. Soon after, I started,” Smasne said.

Kati began her ballet training at the Ballet School of Coeur d’Alene under owner and instructor Ceci Klein, who danced with American Ballet Theatre in the 1950s and 60s. For almost a decade, Klein has been guiding and teaching Smasne, providing her foundational technique and poise. Klein, who also instructed Andrea Cooper, who went on to be a dancer at Oregon Ballet Theatre, also encouraged Smasne to pursue additional summer training and intensives.

For two summers Smasne participated in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s student intensives. She said, “I really loved that and I knew from that I wanted to be a dancer.” Another experience that inspired her and stayed with her for years was her young participation in the musical CATs. Now, Smasne says her attention is on getting to Broadway and finding her niche in jazz or theater.

“In the last two years my focus has been on jazz and theater because I really enjoy it,” Smasne said. “I’ve come to realize my personality is geared toward jazz – being sassy and expressive. I like the freedom of being able to make a piece my own.”

In her Dance Upon A Dream submission, Smasne’s passion for jazz and theater is evident in her obvious, theatrical expressions and her exposed, vulnerable emotions. The work, originally a duet restaged to be a solo, shows off her excellent technique, undeniable vision, charismatic energy and balanced self-confidence.

And her self-confidence is merited. It seems everything Smasne does she does well. A high school junior with a 4.0 GPA, Kati juggles her dance schedule with attending college classes. She is on track to finish her associate’s degree at the same time she graduates from high school. She plans to pursue nursing when she can no longer dance or perform.

Smasne’s jazz instructor, Judy Reavis of the studio Dance Unlimited, said she is proud of Kati’s award.

“We are thrilled at the opportunities Kati will receive as the winner of Dance Upon a Dream. Ceci Klein and I are very proud of Kati. We celebrate her commitment and dedication to the art of dance. It has been a blessing to witness her passion for movement and to nurture her gift,” Reavis said.

After recently competing at New York City Dance Alliance in Portland, Oregon, Smasne now looks forward to preparing for her summer at Broadway Dance Center.

For other dancers looking to compete for this chance with Dance Upon a Dream, the process has been created to be as easy as possible. It’s as simple as uploading a video of a solo, partner or group piece from a dance competition to youTube, selecting an age division and performance category on the Dance Upon a Dream website, and copying and pasting the video link from YouTube to the competition website. For more information, visit www.danceuponadream.com.

Whereas other dance competitions provide dancers with a sense of where they place in their state, their region or their country, Dance Upon a Dream allows participants to see where they rank throughout the whole world. Smasne said she is so thankful for a competition like Dance Upon a Dream.

“Thanks so much to Dance Upon a Dream for the amazing opportunity they have given me. I am so excited to train in New York at Broadway Dance Center. Wow, a dream come true,” Smasne gushed.

Dance Upon a Dream and its array of world-class industry judges, offers various awards for all solo, duo/trio and group winners, including partial scholarships to the Hollywood Summer Tour, a Just Dance 4 game from UBISOFT or a Dance Upon a Dream One’Z to wear. Group winners will also receive a personal invite to the Dance The Magic showcase on Broadway this summer, as well as Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris and Disneyland Hong Kong.

Smasne said dancers should not underestimate the importance of competition in challenging and inspiring themselves.

“It pushes you to be better,” she summarized. “When you compete, you have to be much more refined. Everything has to be disciplined and perfect, so you work harder. You never know where that extra effort or exposure will take you.”

To see Kati’s winning entry visit www.danceuponadream.com/entry/10129.

Entries opened for the next round of Dance Upon A Dream on January 31st. Get your entry in now!

Dance Upon A Dream Season 1 Winners:

Ultimate Winner: Kati Smasne, USA

People’s Choice: Kloe Burke, Australia

Judges Choice: Rhiannon Tringas, Australia
Judges Choice: Harrison Lee, Australia
Judges Choice: Michael Dameski, Australia
Judges Choice: Michelle Quiner, USA
Judges Choice: Maddison Weiley, Australia
Judges Choice: Cassandra Clarke, Australia
Judges Choice: Kelly Webster, New Zealand
Judges Choice: Kayla-Maree Tarantolo, Australia

Mini – Solo – Musical Theatre: Isabel Lacon , USA
Mini – Solo – Lyrical/ Contemporary: Shontaya Smedley, Australia
Mini – Solo- Ballet: Ashleigh Brant, Australia
Mini – Solo – Hip Hop: Manaia Davies, Australia
Mini – Solo – Jazz: Tia Buell, USA
Mini – Solo – Acro/ specialty: Lexie Brown, Canada
Mini – Solo – Tap: Grace Gellie, Australia
Mini – Boys Award: Ashton Schier-Mason, Australia
Mini – Duo/ Trio – Jazz: Alex Burghardt, Meredith Page, Skylar Podziewski, USA
Mini – Duo /Trio – Acro / Specialty: Kailin and Lexie Brown, Canada
Mini - Duo Trio - Lyrical/ Cont: Grace Gellie and Brooke Ainsworth, Australia
Mini – Duo/ Trio – Tap: Grace Gellie and Shanae Holland, Australia
Mini – Duo/ Trio – Musical Th: Cody Ettingshausen & Sophie Piggott, Australia
Mini -Small Group- Hip hop: Zyannna, Xeryus, Justine, Amik,
Alexias, Kaylinda, Dominique, Canada

Junior –  Solo – Jazz: Clare Billson, Australia
Junior – solo – Lyrical/ Cont: Sophia Kaloudis, Australia
Junior – Solo- Ballet: Madison Ayton, Australia
Junior – Solo – Tap: Rudi Palmela, Australia
Junior -Hip Hop – Solo: Chantelle Redzeposki, Australia
Junior – Solo -Musical Th: Hamish Briggs, Australia
Junior – Solo – Acro/ Specialty: Kailin Brown, Canada
Junior – Large Group – Lyrical: Sans Souci Public School, Australia
Junior – Duo/ Trio – Hip Hop: Chantelle Redzeposki, Claudia and Chelsea Robertson, Australia
Junior – Duo/ Trio – Lyrical/ cont: Harley Rodrigue, Mackenzie Van Natta, Darian Callais, USA
Junior – Duo /Trio – Jazz: Jemima Smith and Laurence Neuhaus, Australia
Junior – Boys award: Hamish Briggs, Australia

Teen – Solo – Jazz: Marie Spieldenner, USA
Teen – Solo – Lyrical/Contemporary: Kloe Burke, USA
Teen – Solo – Tap: Zoe Barbera, Australia
Teen – Solo – Musical Theatre: Rachel Moore, Australia
Teen – Solo – Hip Hop: Carla Celesti, Australia
Teen – Solo – Acro/ Specialty: Megha Budhrani, FL
Teen – Duo/ Trio – Musical Theatre: Jason Kidd and Kiarra Vacek, USA
Teen – Duo/ Trio – Lyrical /Cont: Briana Collova & Nicholas Cruse, Australia
Teen – Duo/ Trio – Tap: Matiu and Marie Samuel, New Zealand
Teen Boys Award: Thomas Dilley, Australia
Teen – Small Group -Hip Hop: Madison, Rachelle, Jordan, Migo, Jasmine, Paige, Cassandra, Canada
Teen – Small Group – Lyrical/ Cont: The McDonald College, Australia
Teen-  Large Group –Jazz: RG DANCE, Australia
Teen – Large Group – Ballet: The McDonald College, Australia

Senior – Solo- Acro/ Specialty: Samantha Rybka, Australia
Senior – Solo – Hip Hop: Axel-Roman Allioux, Canada
Senior – Solo- Lyrical/ Cont: Kati Smasne, USA
Senior – Solo- Jazz: Emma Swannie, Australia
Senior – Solo – Tap: Kiana Smith, Canada
Senior – Solo – Musical Theatre: Kiana Smith, Canada
Senior – Large Group – Acro/ Specialty: Lee Academy, Australia
Senior Boys Award: Matt Antonucci, Australia
Senior – Duo/ Trio -Jazz: Tasmin & Eliza Cummins, Australia
Senior Duo/ Trio – Lyrical / Cont: Meg Scheffers and Tiffany Browne, Australia