New York City Center
December 16 2012

By Leah Gerstenlauer.

For an iconic dance company with a successful, history-rich repertory and a loyal following, the notion of newness can pose a problem. To strike a balance between inevitable forward motion and the grounding force of tradition is no trivial undertaking. But in his second year at the artistic helm of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Robert Battle is tackling the challenge with grace and guts to rival those of his dancers.

The company’s New York City Center season featured four premieres and over a dozen pieces, by various choreographers, selected from the vast Ailey archives. I took in a collection of new works delightfully varied in tone and illustrative of the company’s remarkable adaptability — nowhere more evident than in Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort, the first ballet by the Danish dance-maker to enter the Ailey repertory.

The elegant athleticism of Ailey’s dancers proved a refreshing and powerful alternative to the neoclassical angularity characteristic of the artists normally seen in Kylián’s choreography. With a pair of Mozart’s piano concertos providing the soundtrack and not-so-subtle sexual imagery laced throughout, Petite Mort requires both daring and delicacy of its six-couple cast, and the dancers indisputably delivered. Agile Alicia Graf Mack slipped into Kylián’s movement with liquid ease, while Linda Celeste Sims and Glenn Allen Sims offered a duet delicious in its playful, expertly-timed contortionism. As a group, the dancers seemed to relish the technical demands of a piece unlike any other they have experienced with AADT.

Battle’s own Strange Humors spurred a sensation of a different sort, sending palpable electricity through the theater. The dynamic male duet, originally devised for Parsons Dance Company, is an apt outlet for the adventurous physicality of Ailey’s younger generation of dancers. Renaldo Gardner and Michael Francis McBride seamlessly blended Battle’s mixed bag of genres — classical modern dance, hip-hop, latin social dance, even gymnastics — into a performance equal parts personal statement and convivial dance duel. While executing simultaneous solo work, the two men moved in different dialects, yet easily unified their language during phrases of synchronized action. The result: two dancers and an audience collectively bereft of breath and ready for a second round.

The high-energy evening continued with Kyle Abraham’s Another Night, an infectiously upbeat world premiere that paid homage to the Big Band era dance hall scene. Rachael McLaren exuded an irresistibly arresting charisma throughout, Daniel Harder served up a solo notable for both its humor and mercurial movement quality, and every other artist in the ensemble-centric creation had more than a moment to shine. Abraham’s choreography, though mildly monochromatic at times, generated an exhilarating atmosphere that the dancers clearly savored.

A new production of Robert K. Brown’s spiritual and spirited Grace, originally set on AADT in 1999, closed the program with cheer-inducing vivacity and a message of mindfulness for the audience. Linda Celeste Sims’ rich solo segments were well complemented by the superb musicality and technical precision of the corps, particularly that of Demetia Hopkins, whose vulnerable magnetism drew the eye. By the end of the piece, viewers were on their feet and applauding the entire collection of deserving dancers. If this night of new works was any indication of Ailey’s direction under Battle’s dexterous hand, the already thriving company has nowhere to go but up.

Top photo: Alicia Graf Mack and Jamar Roberts of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Petite Mort. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

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The Academy Theatre, Avondale Estates, GA
Sunday November 11 2012

By Chelsea Thomas.

On a Sunday afternoon in a small theater outside Atlanta, the new City Gate Dance Theater Company debuted its four-member ensemble with a dramatic, heartfelt evening of contemporary and lyrical ballet.

The company was founded in January 2011 by the husband-and-wife duo Robert E. and Jennifer L. Mason. Seeking to combine “performing and visual arts, dance theater and cinema into one stimulating and timeless event,” the pair pulls from their individual backgrounds in theater and modern dance.

Holding a B.F.A. in dance from Florida State University, Jennifer L. Mason is a triple threat in the dance world: muscular, flexible and graceful. With an inclination towards drama and a knack for breathtaking extensions, she also calls upon her training with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with Lester Horton-inspired movement.

City Gate Dance Theater Company of Atlanta presents ‘Just Be’. Photos by Richard Calmes.

Before marrying Robert and founding the company, Jennifer danced with Urban Ballet Theater, Dance Iquail and Surfscape Contemporary Dance Theater. She has also been a guest artist for local Ballethnic Dance Company and a soloist for UniverSoul Circus. While she is relatively new to choreography, it appears she takes no dreams captive.

Her husband Robert E. Mason brings a dramatic, theatrical flair to the close-knit outfit. Also sharing instruction under Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, he mostly received formal training with Atlanta Ballet. Recently, he was a member of New York’s Amalgamate Dance Company and he has toured with the cast of Oprah Winfrey’s National Tour of The Color Purple.

The couple’s company is clearly their love child, making evident his theater experience and her contemporary balletic style. Opening the show, the couple performed a short, yet extremely intense pas de deux.

Set to the music of Carmina Burana, the work Bold was certainly just that. Fusing solemn expressions with many jumps, lifts and tricks, the Masons exhibited their clear trust in one another. Unfortunately, the small stage size limited their ability to feel and dig into the work. The space constrictions left the piece feeling restricted and somewhat jilted. This attendee is left wondering how Bold might have appeared in a larger venue.

Yet, for all the constraint evident in Bold, the next work, perhaps the most natural and seamless of the evening, Transformed, held a graceful, freeing sensitivity. Even though more dancers filled the stage, audience members forgot about the small space and were allured into the vulnerable, aching movements.

Perhaps the most memorable image is that of the dancers pulling upon their loose dresses’ soft fabric, almost Martha Graham-esque. When pulling the thin fabric from their bodies their hips would jut out to the opposite direction and their heads would fall back, portraying a deep, burning desire to be liberated of the dresses’ emotional bondage.

Although the meaning was left broad and undefined, Transformed still accomplished an intimate rendering of the classic redemption story – women struggling, women triumphing. In the end, the dancers removed their dresses, representing their burdens, and welcomed life free of guilt and pain. If City Gate Dance focuses on this work’s vulnerability and its soft, organic storytelling, they will have a successful, relevant company that will make it through the rough economy.

Next on the bill was Loved, a humorous, albeit strange, duet. Regine Mayter, an experienced modern dancer hailing from Haiti, joined Robert for a back-and-forth love affair that first introduced him as a drifter and then as a desperate lover. Set to a montage of various love songs, the three-part work climaxed with Mason’s dramatic, gesture-heavy pleas for Mayter to come back to him. At its worse it was playing the border of interpretive dance as Mason cried and plunged to the floor with the lyrics, yet at its best, the work gave the show passion and the audience a good chuckle.

The last two works of the evening were contextually confusing, one vague and bewildering, and the other somewhat unrelated. However, the Masons managed to pull them into the broad theme of Just Be with heart and candor.

The work Fearless came first, with a contradictory and ominous underlying subtitle of “broken hearts” in the bulletin. At first introducing the recently-transformed women dancers as confident and reaching for the stars, the piece took an unexpected turn with odd adulterous sentiments and manipulative ties. While the movement was strong with smooth transitions, the context distracted from the evening’s larger tone.

The shows final piece, Healed, was a reworked dance originally performed at Atlanta-based Dance Canvas’ fourth annual showcase in January 2012. Interestingly enough, Healed resulted in death when the protagonist passes away from breast cancer. It was a touching, yet an unusual choice for ending the company’s debut performance. At once it exhibited the company’s strengths – lyrical, tender movement with strong extensions – and it’s weaknesses – the tendency to push too far for the theatrical and the predictable.

All in all, keep an eye on this company. The Masons have drive and passion that may mold and breakthrough with the times.

By Emily Yewell Volin.

Career Transition For Dancers’ (CTFD) 27^th Anniversary Jubilee Gala Jump For Joy, presented by Rolex, will be at New York’s City Center on November 5. Anne Marie DeAngelo is producing and directing the gala and describes it as “art as entertainment.”

“Part of what I look for is introducing new dancers, groups, talents and genres not only to the public but also to introduce them to the organization”, says DeAngelo.  “It’s a way of bringing dancers together, meeting other dancers and learning more about what the organization (CTFD) has to offer.  The mission is two-fold.  One is to get an eclectic mix of talent and the other is to bring onboard new people so they also learn about the organization.”

CTFD Executive Director Alex Dubé adds, “We are all about gratitude because if you were to compare our evening programs where we list all of our sponsors, our donors and our patrons, if you were to lay the Playbills side by side, you would probably see somewhere around 68-73% of the same names year after year.  It’s extraordinary that we have the type of devoted people and organizations who want to be part of our program.”

American Repertory Ballet performs at last year’s CTFD Gala. Photo by Richard Termine

CTFD set a $1.1 million fundraising goal for this year’s gala, which includes the performance, a Supper with the Stars event during which guests mingle with table-hopping stars from the performance and a 10-13 “one of a kind” live auction of items Dubé describes as “things you normally can’t buy, the type of things you can only get through a friend-of-a-friend.”

All funds raised from Jump For Joy are used to support the absolutely free-of-charge programs and services CTFD offers for dancers.  Dubé categorizes these offerings as the “marrow and heart” of the organization.  “The marrow of CTFD is the organization’s dynamic career counselors – one in each of the offices (NY, LA and Chicago) and then two additional counselors who usually do our national outreach projects.  We usually do six national outreach projects a year. This is when we take our programs and services on the road with our professional counselors and we go to cities throughout the United States where there is a very heavy dancer population. We are usually there 2-3 days, meeting with the dance population in a series of master classes, workshops and seminars.  The counselors usually see about 12-15 clients at the end of each day for 30-minute sessions, just to give them a taste of our programs and services.  Hopefully, they will sign on with us and can continue their counseling long-distance or even in person.”

Each Career Transition For Dancers’ office also usually holds six or seven Career Conversations a year.  These seminars deal with ‘hot topics of transition such as going back to school, writing a better résumé, and how to get a bread-and-butter job.  These are topics that need to be faced when a dancer moves on or actually starts to think about a transitional track.

Career Counselor Lauren Gordon providing a one-on-one consultation after ‘Stepping Into Hope and Change 2011′ seminar in New York. Photo by Dirty Sugar Live

“We are the dancer’s safety net,” says Dubé.  “We plant the seed of the inevitability of transition to avoid crisis.  We want to start by going into the schools.  We want to make sure even the parents are on board and that the parents know about our organization, especially if they are going to send their child to a college or a university and they want that child to major in dance.  It’s important to know that their child is going into a profession where unfortunately the average age is 29 ½ years of age for a career. Then he/she faces the question of ‘what am I going to do with the rest of my life?’”  CTFD plants this seed early “not to frighten the student or the pre-professional, but to let them know that while they are pursuing and enjoying a fantastic dance career, there are things they should and could be doing at the same time they are dancing professionally to prepare for the day when they have to look at a transition.”

In testament to CTFD’s dedication to serving a larger population of dancer clients, Dubé shares that his highest wish for the organization would be an $8-10 million endowment used to sustain and stabilize the organization.  “Last fiscal year (2011) CTFD provided 8,660 hours of free-of-charge career counseling at the accepted rate of $110 per hour for a total of $952,600 and awarded $488,000 in scholarships, totaling a $1.4 million worth of services to their dancer-clients. Next year (2013) our budget is $1.6 million.  Every year we have to raise that money from scratch, each and every year, because the organization does not have an endowment.  We’re a service organization.  We do not compete with any other dance organizations or dance companies.  As a matter of fact, for dance companies we are the perfect bookend.  As dancers come into the company, into the schools, we will be there as dancers exit and go into another career. And, we are with dancers throughout their lives because sometimes dancers go into a career and it may not be the right fit, so they will come back into CTFD again and pick up where they left off.  We need to do even more for the dancers, we need more money for scholarships, we need to increase the dollar amount of our scholarships.  We need to provide even more in-depth programs and services for our dancers.”

For more information visit www.careertransition.org

Top photo: Career Transition For Dancers seminar Stepping Into Hope and Change 2012, held in Chicago. Photo by Rose Yuen.

By Stephanie Wolf.

The New York dance scene is saturated with burgeoning choreographers and dance companies, giving Manhattinites an overwhelming catalogue of dance happenings to attend on any given night.  With so much established and new dance in the city, how is an ambitious choreographer to stand out?

Recognizing this surplus of dance, former New York City Ballet Soloist Tom Gold has decided to follow a less conventional approach to showcasing his choreography. By building an international touring company, Gold has succeeded in establishing a global presence with his troupe of dancers and avoided getting lost in the crowd. Now, riding on recent momentum from sold-out performances at the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, Tom Gold Dance is evolving rapidly and ready to make its balletic mark on American soil.

Tom Gold Dance's Russell Janzen and Likolani Brown

The origins of TGD are almost out of the movies; glamorous and serendipitous. He formed the troupe in 1999 when he was invited to bring a group of dancers to the South of France. Word spread quickly and, shortly after, acclaimed international ballerina Alessandra Ferri asked Gold to help her assemble dancers to tour Italy.  From there, the Guggenheim in Bilbao extended an invitation to TGD and the company just completed its fourth year of performances as part of the museum’s Works & Process series. One opportunity led to the next, including tours to Bermuda, upstate New York, and more recently, Israel. Now Gold had a fledgling company. He enjoys the process and being “in charge of his life…and able to call the shots”—rather than at the mercy of an artistic staff’s creative will.

Yet founding a ballet company has not always been Gold’s ambition. He began experimenting with choreography in his high school years at the Chicago Academy for the Arts. But when Gold moved to Manhattan to join the New York City Ballet, “choreography took a back seat.” He asserts, “I’ve always loved dancing and choreographing,” but he was fully focused on dancing during his performing career. It wasn’t until well into his time with New York City Ballet that the choreographic itch came back into his life.

In a trend of edgy, contemporary dance, Gold sticks to what he knows best, classical ballet.  His company performs “ballet at its best [with] beautiful movement and beautiful dancers.” The repertoire is a “nice range of American ballet,” including works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, as well as Gold’s own choreography. There’s usually a narrative because Gold loves to use movement to tell a story, and he often pulls his choreographic inspiration from music. “I always try to do something that is challenging, educational, but entertaining for the audience. I want the audience and dancers both to have a great time,” he says enthusiastically, “like sugar, but it’s educational. It goes down easy but it will teach you something.”

Currently, the company is mostly comprised of dancers from major companies like New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. But Gold hopes to build his own roster of dynamic artists and, eventually, bring in more emerging choreographers. It’s still in “the infant stage,” but prospering rapidly. Recently TGD gained its nonprofit status and is now actively fundraising to enable more domestic performances and expansion.

The company is based in Manhattan, using the city as a “springboard.” And while Gold intends to build a stronger national presence, particularly in New York, he loves travel and believes “global growth” will always be at the heart of Tom Gold Dance.

Down the road, the company has a lot to look forward to. At the beginning of November, it tours to Cuba for the International Ballet Festival of Havanna, performing works by Tharp, Balanchine and Gold. It’s a huge honor for the troupe as the festival is one of the oldest of its kind in the world and occurs only every two years. Additionally, Gold plans to expand the company’s New York performance season and there is the possibility of a tour to Hawaii in 2014. Energized and excited for the future of his company, Gold’s passion for choreographing, his dancers, and the art form in general shines through. His infectious attitude will surely take the troupe far.

Top photo:
Tom Gold Dance’s Amanda Hankes, Sara Mearns and Abi Stafford. Photo by Arthur Elgort.
Photos courtesy of Dan Dutcher Public Relations.

By Emily Yewell Volin.

Muntu Dance Theatre, based in Chicago, is currently celebrating its 40^th anniversary season.  Founded in 1972, the company is the largest African dance company in the US and holds central its focus to present authentic and progressive interpretations of contemporary and ancient African and African-American dance, music, and folklore. The Muntu company is acclaimed for its gripping ability to transform a space with infectious performance energy.  It’s also revered for honoring the Bantu word for which it is named – ‘muntu’ translates to mean ‘the essence of humanity.’

Dance Informa spoke with Artistic Director Amaniyea Payne and President Joan Gray who share that “the response (to Muntu) is the same no matter where” they are performing.  Ms. Payne describes it as a “collective energy…Muntu brings an energy that interconnects with the audience. People leave (our performances) with creative, spiritual and artistic rewards.”  Gray adds “the company is not happy unless people are trying to jump up on stage.  We don’t like it if people are sitting and quietly clapping.  When you come to a Muntu concert you will see people from the cradle to the grave…we like it when the audience does the ‘amen’ of what we’re doing!  We see our cultural connections to each other as world citizens and the art making we do as being that connection. We want to share it.”

Photo by Marc Monaghan

Muntu is best known for its historical works and, according to Payne, frequently collaborates with elders, scholars and practitioners who specialize in the study of a particular dance in order to honor both the research and creative responsibility associated with this type of work. Payne says, “We project the most authentic aspects of (the work) to complement the creative.” Gray adds, “It’s very important for us to present positive and accurate interpretations of the culture.  We are very interested in how African culture has influenced dance and music of people in countries around the world where Africans are now settling.  For example, we spent several weeks in Brazil researching cultural connections between Brazilian culture and African culture. The resulting choreography reflected the convergence of these cultural styles – what we call the race memory.”

Muntu frequently shares concert billings with other dance companies; often in the crowd pleasing position of opening or closing the show.  However, during this anniversary season Muntu will perform its first ever collaboration with dancers from another company.  Muntu and DanceWorks Chicago were awarded a grant from Audience Architects to broaden audiences by going to venues where they had not previously presented themselves. So, on the weekend of May 11-13 DWC and Muntu will perform at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, IL.  Payne beams as she discusses the project. “DanceWorks Chicago opened up its studio for our dancers to engage in the genre of ballet and I will be going to teach at the Ruth Page Dance Center to engage the DWC dancers, and that community, in an African Dance experience.”  The grant provided the two companies the opportunity to bring in a dynamic choreographer, Monique Haley, a former Company member of River North Dance Chicago.  “She has been able to put a piece on both companies that we will perform during the shared performances in May and separately while the companies are on tour independently”, explains Payne.  The piece is titled See (in) Me and wrestles with issues of stress, stamina and trust; all set to a rhythmically inclined score.  Payne adds that it has been rewarding to see the dancers and artistic directors, “have the opportunity to work, share, and inform each other.”

Photo by Marc Monaghan

The community qualities that are essential to the collaboration with DWC are evident throughout all of Muntu’s work.  Muntu maintains a teaching presence in 11 Chicago-based schools and community organizations and offers open adult division classes to the community.  Gray says, “Muntu has a dual function, we are definitely a professional performing arts company that performs around the world and self produces our season every year.  But equally as important to me, is that when there is an important event of significant happening in the community, Muntu is called upon to bear witness to that and to bring the appropriate cultural celebrations.”  Muntu is ‘honored’ to regularly perform for weddings, funeral celebrations, parades, block clubs, and during visits of foreign dignitaries.

Dance Informa asked Gray and Payne what advice they would give to fledging dance companies.  Gray advised, “be sure that you have a vision for your work; and you have to have clarity about how you are going to express that vision. You’ve got to have something to say. You also have to set realistic goals and objectives for your work and how you are going to advance that work and take it one step at a time. You have to think about a model of operations for the resources that you have or you will have in the foreseeable future. When Muntu first started it was the artists who did all the management stuff, too.  We weren’t paid at that time…we had to do everything.  If you are not prepared to do all of those different types of things until you get to the level where you can contract people, you shouldn’t get started. I don’t believe that every dance company has to have a vision of (lasting) into perpetuity.  Every dance company that gets started may not want to be an institution.  They may want to survive the lifetime of its founding director.  Be clear about what you want to achieve.  If it’s for a single choreographer’s vision, that’s fine, just explore different ways you think. Holistically, it can work for you.”  Payne adds, “you cannot do this by yourself.  It’s important to get a trustworthy team that shares the vision.”

When asked to reflect upon a single wish for Muntu during this anniversary year Payne confided, “one of my single wishes is a wonderful facility in order for Muntu to continue to do the valuable artwork and share it with the community.”  Gray adds to that, “where the whole organization could be under one roof.  We know we could deepen our impact and our expression, and make it easier for everybody, if we were all under one roof.”

Connect with Muntu’s website www.muntu.com to learn more about the company and this season’s 40^th anniversary celebrations.  As Payne said in closing, “be part of the celebration!”

Top photo: Muntu Dance Theatre. Photo by Marc Monaghan.

Published by Dance Informa digital dance magazine – dance news, dance auditions & dance events for the professional dancer, dance teacher and dance students.

By Emily Yewell Volin.

Dance/USA, established in1982, is a national dance service organization operating with the mission to do work that sustains and advances professional dance by addressing the needs, concerns, and interests of dance artists, administrators and organizations. A member organization serving over 400 dance companies, service and presenting organizations and individuals, Dance/USA enhances the infrastructure for dance creation, education, and performance. Based in Washington DC,  Dance/USA also has branch offices in Philadelphia and New York City.

“In my 25 years of dance management, no single association has done more than Dance/USA to support my organization’s work through its advocacy, data gathering, and networking activities  or played a more important role in my own professional development and that of our staff,”  says Glenn McCoy, Executive Director of the San Francisco Ballet.

Amy Fitterer, Executive Director of Dance/USA since January 2011 has an infectious enthusiasm for the organization’s dedication to “embrace all things and move forward.” She spoke with Dance Informa regarding Dance/USA’s overarching goals, the people it serves, her personal background in the arts and Dance/USA’s exciting preparations for the 2012 conference during this, its 30^th anniversary year.  Amy says, “Dance/USA has made some very important strides over the years in advocacy and ensuring dance has had a place at the table in Federal policy discussions.  Dance/USA is the sole member based national association for professional dance.”

Amy Fitterer, Executive Director, Dance/USA

What is your background and how does it impact your work as Executive Director of Dance/USA?

“I grew up training as a classical ballet dancer and also as a classical pianist.  I allowed those two art forms to comingle and to impact my education and my career. I was able to run a small music school, perform as a concert pianist, and also perform in a regional ballet company in California until my late 20s.  Then I became very interested in where art meets government.  I decided to get a Masters in Arts Administration and went to Columbia University, which had Student Advocates for the Arts (it was founded there and is a national student-run arts advocacy network). Right before getting into Columbia I was active in everything I could get my hands on with advocacy and policy.  I was able to interview a variety of city council members in NY on their arts policy backgrounds and platforms and I organized students to go to Albany to lobby for the NY State Council of the Arts. I also began to coordinate with Student Advocates For The Arts to come down to Washington to lobby on the federal level for arts policy.  So, it was actually through my graduate studies and my work in government affairs that I encountered Dance/USA.  I was hired after graduate school to be the Government Affairs Director for Dance/USA, which is a shared position with Opera America.  So, for about 3 years, I was able to be on the Hill and at the Federal Government agencies speaking to members in the opera and the dance field around the country about federal advocacy issues.  So I bring to this role both my hands-on experience in making art as a dancer and pianist but also my passion for policy.”

Dance/USA’s work is viewed in 3 umbrella categories:   Leadership & Learning, Research, and Advocacy.  Tell us more about Dance/USA’s work in these areas.

Dance/USA Advocacy:

“Dance/USA maintains a registered lobbyist on staff and we are a founding member of the Performing Arts Alliance, the national advocacy coalition representing over 28,000 members including dance, opera, orchestra, theater, arts presenters, chorus and so forth.  Dance/USA has tracked a variety of issues with the coalition. The top issues we have always been paying attention to include visa policies for foreign guest artists, arts education, cultural exchange, charitable giving laws, and funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Recently, we’ve been lobbying on issues related to wireless microphones and the internet so we’ve been having meetings with the Federal Communication Commission.  All of these policies impact the work that dance companies do in this country.  Dance, in coalition with the rest of the performing arts, needs to have a seat at the table.”

How can people support the advocacy being done by Dance/USA?

“People can sign up to be part of the Dance Advocacy Network, a member listserve we have that sends timely advocacy information, including information about recent meetings on the Hill.  They can respond to calls to action over email action alerts.  Those do make a difference and legislative offices track those records and those responses.  What’s also very important is that anyone working in the field of dance views themselves as an advocate, in the broadest sense, for the art form.  And that they talk about their work not just with their friends and family but with other people they come across.  We all have the responsibility on our shoulders to continue to raise the visibility and the recognition of the public value of our work.”

Dance/USA Leadership and Learning:

“Leadership and Learning goes back to the way Dance/USA was started, it creates a national network of dance leaders.  One of our core membership structures is called ‘Councils’. We group our membership into different Council categories where managers, agents, artistic directors, students and educators can sit in a closed room discussion with their colleagues from another part of the country.  They also get to participate in conference calls and listserves throughout the year.

Also, the national conference for professional dance (hosted by Dance/USA) is the largest annual convening of dance professionals in the United States.  It includes a variety of keynote speakers, break out sessions, council meetings  and dance performances and allows us to focus in on one dance city each year and really try to raise the visibility of dance in that city.

We also do professional development in this category throughout the year.  Right now we have a partnership with NTEN, on a technology leadership training program for individuals in the dance field and a program called The Institute for Leadership Training, which allows for one-on-one coordinated mentorships with individuals across the country and participation in a leadership training seminar.”

Dance/USA Research:

“One of the longest standing programs of Dance/USA is the financial and data surveys it does each year.  It allows participating dance companies who fill out these surveys to see a variety of data points compared across companies.  They can see overall organizational expenses, how ticket revenue is doing and what shows are being performed.  They can also look at staffing size, different staff and board and the breakdown of different revenue sources.  It really allows a dance manager to check in and say, ‘Okay, how am I doing?’.  It’s hard to work in a dance organization because you can feel very isolated.  So, to be able to stop and see how you compare to a fellow dance organization of the same budget size is very informative.”

Tell us more about this year’s Dance/USA conference, which will convene in San Francisco from June 27-30.

“This year’s Dance/USA conference celebrates 30 years by looking forward and moving forward; change is now the norm.  So, with this year’s conference our goal is to embrace trying new things.  We’re partnering with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and ODC Dance Commons so all our conference sessions, breakouts and performances will be held in arts venues (dance studios and theaters), rather than in a conference hotel.  We are trying to bring the art form more front and center so we have a dance performance during the day that everybody at the conference can attend. We are getting proposals, booking speakers, and coordinating with the host company in San Francisco to decide the themes and threads we want to touch upon.  I’d say the three threads that have come out so far are diversity, community partnerships and technology.  We have a great keynote speaker, Simon Sinek, who not only loves dance but has really innovative approaches to leadership.  I know he is really excited to work with the dance community.”

Learn more about Dance/USA and this year’s conference at www.danceusa.org and www.conference.danceusa.org

New York City Ballet’s 2012 Spring Gala on Thursday, May 10 will feature a one-time-only salute to France titled À La Française, and will feature two World Premiere ballets, one by NYCB’s Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins to a score by the French composer Marc-André Dalbavie, and the other by French-born choreographer and former NYCB Principal Dancer Benjamin Millepied. The evening will also include a major revival of George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, which was created for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1947 to a score by the French composer Georges Bizet.

Actress Natalie Portman will serve as the Honorary Chairman for the gala evening, with Emily and Len Blavatnik, Charlotte Moss and Barry Friedberg, and Marie-Nugent-Head and James C. Marlas as the gala’s Chairmen. The entire evening, which will take place at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, is sponsored by Christian Dior and Swarovski.

The new work by Benjamin Millepied will be set to a commissioned score by contemporary classical composer Nico Muhly who is a graduate of Columbia University and the Juilliard School of Music. Muhly is currently one of the music world’s most sought-after young composers, and has written numerous orchestral and choral works, as well as scores for dance, opera, and film.

A former dancer with New York City Ballet, Millepied joined NYCB in 1995 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2002. Before retiring from dancing with NYCB last year, Millepied danced a wide variety of works in the NYCB repertory and originated roles in ballets by Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, and Mauro Bigonzetti, among others. As a choreographer, Millepied has created three previous works for New York City Ballet – Quasi Una Fantasia (2009), Why am I not where you are? (2010), and Plainspoken (2010).

This will be the fourth time that Muhly and Millepied have collaborated on a ballet, following previous works for American Ballet Theatre in 2007 (From Here on Out), the Paris Opera Ballet in 2009 (Triade), and the Dutch National Ballet in 2010 (One Thing Leads to Another).

Peter Martins rehearsing Lauren Lovette and Taylor Stanley for his upcoming ballet which will premiere on May 10, 2012. Photo Paul Kolnik

The new work by Martins will be set to the French-born composer Marc-André Dalbavie’s Trio No. 1, for violin, cello, and piano, which was composed in 2008. A graduate of the Paris Conservatory of Music, Dalbavie is one of the most frequently performed composers of his generation, having received commissions from such prestigious orchestras as the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Orchestra de Paris, where he served as composer in residence for four years. The new Martins ballet will mark the first score by Dalbavie to enter the repertory of the New York City Ballet.

The final ballet on the 2012 Spring Gala program will be a major revival of the George Balanchine masterpiece Symphony in C, which NYCB last performed in 2008. Balanchine created the piece in Paris in 1947 to an early, and at the time, mostly unknown score by the French composer Georges Bizet. The four-movement ballet was originally called Le Palais de Cristal when it was first performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. The year after its premiere Balanchine staged the work in New York for Ballet Society, a precursor of New York City Ballet, and renamed the work Symphony in C. The ballet was also included on the program for NYCB’s first performance on October 11, 1948.

Now a signature work of the New York City Ballet, Symphony in C returns to the repertory this spring in a major revival with new costumes designed by Marc Happel, NYCB’s Director of Costumes. The fully-redesigned costumes will be embellished with Swarovski Elements, and the production design will also feature all new crystallized tiaras and headpieces created by jewelry designer Robert Sorrel.

Former NYCB corps de ballet dancer Jamie Wolf, now a well-known jewelry designer, is creating original earrings, also made with Swarovski Elements, which will be worn in the production. Wolf will also launch a line of earrings inspired by Symphony in C that will be available for sale with a portion of the proceeds benefiting NYCB.

New York City Ballet’s 2012 Spring Season will take place from May 1 through June 10 at the David. H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, NYC. For more information and tickets visit www.nycballet.com or call 212-496-0600.

Top photo: Benjamin Millepied rehearsing Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle for his upcoming ballet which will premiere on May 10, 2012. Photo Paul Kolnik.

Published by Dance Informa digital dance magazine – dance news, dance auditions & dance events for the professional dancer, dance teacher and dance students.

By Emily Yewell Volin.

DanceWorks Chicago is a contemporary dance company committed to working in a “culture centered around a generosity of spirit and building community,” says Artistic Director and Co-founder, Julie Nakagawa.  The company is currently celebrating its 5^th anniversary season of working within the model of bringing together people with a “wide range of skills, approaches, and experience”, shares Nakagawa. “I think that many dance companies select dancers based on who would be good for them, who is best able to serve the repertoire.  For us the conversation also goes the other way.  How can we at DanceWorks Chicago serve these dancers?”

DanceWorks Chicago’s commitment to service pervades every aspect of their work.  From audiences being invited into the audition process, to the reciprocal mentorship of dancers and choreographers within the company, DWC is all about “illuminating the work of art”, Nakagawa explains.  “We are about investing in the future.  So many of us individually and collectively are really focused on today, because if we don’t have a good today we’re not going to have a good tomorrow.  And, I totally get that.  But if you’re lucky enough to have a tomorrow, what’s it going to look like if you don’t think about it today?  I’m going to be optimistic and work towards having a tomorrow.  You might as well think about the future and invest in a positive future for everybody.  For us it’s beyond DWC.  We promote personal responsibility within our dancer contingent but we also feel as an organization that we need to have a responsibility to the bigger picture and our art form.  We try to lead by example.  We work to create an atmosphere conducive to young artists doing their best work by listening, challenging, stimulating, supporting, and encouraging them to own their time here.”

DWC presents 'Beat in the Box'. Photo by Cheryl Mann

DanceWorks Chicago artists come from all different kinds of backgrounds. “They look different, they approach dance differently, they have different goals in terms of dance and different ways they want to fit into the dance community. They are learning about those ways as they go through their journey, of which DWC is just going to be a small part”, says Nakagawa. “The opportunity to gather together diverse individual artists makes us richer and stronger as a group. With lots of different voices in the studio and on stage, DanceWorks Chicago has so many points of view, and energy to catalyze vibrant art-making and connections with the audience.”

DWC alumni present a convincing track record for the viability of training within this model.  The company is proud to have 15 DanceWorks Chicago alumni out in the world in places ranging from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Lion King on Broadway, the national tour of The Color Purple, Chicago’s Luna Negra Dance Theater, Los Angeles Ballet, the freelance dance scene and cruise ships to even Chicago Public Schools.

One shining example of DWC’s commitment to gathering individuals is its Dance Chance event.  This event, which DWC hosts in partnership with the Ruth Page Center, attracts and supports the work of Chicago-area choreographers.  “It’s meant to be the start of a conversation”, says Nakagawa. Dance Chance presents three choreographers a month. Following the event, names of self nominated choreographers are randomly drawn from a fishbowl to present work, in the order drawn, during the next Dance Chance event.  “Each person has 15 minutes to show work or talk about work”, adds Nakagawa.  The event is totally non-curated though there is a guest moderator to catalyze connections between the artists and the audience.  Dance Chance attracts both those who already have a relationship with dance and those for whom dance may be a new curiosity.

DWC presents 'Nocturnal Sense' by James Gregg. Dancers: Peabody, Horton & Jackson. Photo by Vin.

Equally interesting are DWC’s modifications to the dance audition process. The DanceWorks Chicago annual open audition is conducted on stage, which removes the judgmental mirror and adds the audience component. Nakagawa explains, “It’s an unedited, very authentic experience. We talk about the muscle of courage and how it’s important to make sure that gets a work out every day.  We start with a ballet class, with eliminations, and move on to repertoire selections taught by DWC dancers so that the auditionees, and audience, get more of a sense of who we are as well as our culture of inclusion and personal responsibility.  The DWC dancers are responsible for sharing the information and are included in the audition process, which gives them a different vantage point.  Feedback from the auditionees has been very positive.  They seem to appreciate the presence of a supportive audience and, while difficult, they also take advantage of the opportunity to join the audience if they are excused from the audition and use it as a chance to observe and continue the learning process.”  DWC welcomes a diverse audience into the audition.  “Reaching for a dream and making yourself vulnerable – these are things we can all relate to”, says Nakagawa.

DanceWorks Chicago enjoys being part of a community as an in-residence company at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago’s Gold Coast. The company partners often with River North Dance Chicago on combined company classes and even events like potluck lunches. “There are connections that happen behind-the-scenes that reflect our mutual respect and appreciation of one another.  In fact, Monique Haley, a former dancer with River North, participated in Dance Chance as a choreographer and subsequently created new work for both River North as well as DanceWorks Chicago.  Her new work See(in) Me is actually a DWC collaboration with another Chicago company, Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago!  The collaborations and the energy continue!” shares Nakagawa.

DanceWorks Chicago’s 5^th year includes many performance highlights.  They are excited to debut in Italy with a three-city tour from April 17-19 and for collaborative performances with Muntu Dance Theater, which will take place at the North Shore Center for the Arts, Skokie, IL May 11-12.  DWC also looks forward to their debut at the Spring to Dance festival in St. Louis on May 25 and to their 5^th anniversary benefit, which will be held in their home at the Ruth Page Center on June 3^rd.

To learn more visit www.danceworkschicago.org

Published by Dance Informa digital dance magazine – dance news, dance auditions & dance events.

By Stephanie Wolf.

Through the pinnacle of ballet’s neo-classism era and amidst the frenzy of contemporary dance, Francis Patrelle remained true to what he loves and does best … dramatic ballet. Over 20 years ago, he found a home for his vision in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan and formed Dances Patrelle (DP). Now, the company continues to establish its own niche in a competitive dance community by using classical steps and human emotions to create theatrical productions.

After training at the Julliard School, Patrelle began his career with the Albany Berkshire Ballet (ABB). Initially, he signed on as resident choreographer, but was persuaded to dance as well and ended up performing with the company for about 8 years. ABB exposed him to a lot of historical work – something he is very grateful for.

Dances Patrelle dancers John-Mark Owen and Julie Voshell. Photo by Eduardo Patino

During his time with ABB, Patrelle was invited by the Julliard School to create a ballet. He titled it Reeked with Class and it was a huge success with audiences and critics. Clive Barnes even said it should be entered into the repertoire of the Joffrey Ballet, which was still in NYC at the time. However, the Joffrey never called. And despite the hype, Patrelle had a hard time getting any big ballet companies to acknowledge his work. “They weren’t interested in what I was doing. My pedigree wasn’t what everybody else’s was. I [didn’t] come from a major company. It was a different curve from what normal choreographers take,” he explained.

This prompted the idea for a small company in Manhattan. Around 1988, Patrelle met with private donors and arts administrators to determine the financial possibilities of starting his own artistic entity. It took about a year to gain a non-profit status and turn the concept into an actualization, but New York was about to witness the birth of a different type of dance company. Since then, Patrelle has created over a 100 ballets, proclaiming some of his favorites to be Judy Garland: Come Rain Come Shine, Macbeth, and The Yorkville Nutcracker – which celebrated its 16^th anniversary this past December.

From the classroom, to rehearsal, to performances, fun seems to be infused in everything Patrelle does. Administrative Director and Company Dancer Justin Allen calls Patrelle “a dancer’s choreographer,” which is why some of the world’s finest flock to work with him. He creates a work environment in which dancers feel safe to be themselves and make a joke or two. Alex Brady, who has been working with Patrelle for six years, agrees with Allen’s sentiments and says the dancers of DP “work very hard, but have a lot of fun too.” After dancing with the Joffrey, Miami City Ballet, and Twyla Tharp, Brady is drawn to DP’s sense of community and proclivity to keeping the work atmosphere light. Egos are left at the door and the focus is on making good art.

Dances Patrelle Presents Gilbert and Sullivan: The Ballet

The idea for Gilbert and Sullivan “gestated for years”, says Patrelle. Dr. Paul Horan, a former accompanist at Ballet Academy East, put the music on Patrelle’s radar. Then, serendipitously, Patrelle continued to run into various Gilbert and Sullivan tunes until he realized the potential for a ballet.

“The storylines are fairly complicated, to say the least, ridiculous, to say the least, and fabulous. And how the [heck] do you make the brilliant words into dance?” He went to Justin Allen, who is also an accomplished novelist, and asked him to write a ballet that would meld the duo’s most famous operettas: The Mikado, Pirates of the Penzance, and the H.M.S Pinafore.

Duke Mitchell as Arthur Sullivan and Dorothy O'Shea Overbey in the prologue of 'Pinafore'. Photo by Rosalie O'Connor

Previously, Allen wrote the script for Patrelle’s ballet Murder at the Masque: The Casebook of Edgar Allen Poe. But this concept presented new challenges. Allen thought Patrelle was “nuts” and worried the convoluted storylines would blend to make “a mishmash of indecipherable nonsense.”

After much analyzing of the stories and lyrics, Allen came up with a solution. Rather than telling the tale of the characters, why not portray the stories of the actors, managers, and Gilbert and Sullivan themselves as they attempt to put their beloved operas on the stage? Thus, Allen created “a series of spiraling stories that touch each other at many points.” With the script finished, it was time to bring in the music director, musicians, and the dancers.

These many components make for an evening of live music, live dance, and, of course, lots of fun. As the company prepares to embark on the production again this spring, Patrelle plans to do some tweaking, but promises the element of light-hearted entertainment will remain.

Down the Road: The Future of Dances Patrelle

When asked about a ‘wish list’, Patrelle replied, “I don’t even wish [for] things I know we can never afford.” In light of keeping his artistic goals realistic, he does have a few obtainable aspirations. In the not too distant future, he’d love to bring back his ballets Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet to create an all-dance Shakespeare Festival. Additionally, he’d like to see his ballet POP (a full-length ballet following 3 different couples on 3 different New Year’s Eves) run the week of Christmas to New Year with a special NYE champagne-induced event. However, Patrelle did confess that his “real dream is to have a summer residency in a non-distracting fashion … to create a ballet with dancers that I love, and have some time to play.”

Patrelle looks towards the future, but he’s also grateful for the company’s rich past, generous contributors, and Julie Dubno, Director of Ballet Academy East, who graciously provided studio space for DP since its inception. What exactly the future holds for DP is uncertain, but one can hope that this chamber ballet company will continue to provide New Yorkers with stunning and entertaining productions for a long time.

Catch Dances Patrelle in Gilbert and Sullivan the Ballet at the Dicapo Opera House, 184 East 76^th St, New York, NY. May 3 – 6. There will also be an additional performance in Montauk Music Festival on May 12^th

For more information visit www.dancespatrelle.org

Top photo: The Dances Patrelle cast in Pinafore. Photo by Rosalie O’Connor.

Published by Dance Informa dance magazine – dance news, dance auditions & dance events.