Salvatore Capezio Theater, New York
May 2012

By Laura Di Orio.

For its second season after a hiatus from 2007-2010, the Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, under the direction of Igal Perry (who originally founded the company in 1984), took the stage at its home theater, the Salvatore Capezio Theater.  Over two weekends, May 5-6 and May 12-13, the company presented an evening of works not only by Perry but also by guests Sidra Bell and Kristin Sudeikis. Jose Manuel Carreño also joined the company during its first weekend, as he danced a Perry solo, Ave Maria.

Even without the ballet star and obvious crowd draw, PCDC danced to a sold-out house during its second weekend of shows, proving its professional and artistic worth. The 10-member ensemble executed an impressive and expansive evening of interesting work. Most of the dancers performed in every piece -a seemingly exhausting feat – but came back refreshed and ready at the start of each work.

The evening opened with the premiere of Perry’s Conflicted Terrain, which began with a lone dancer, the tiny yet powerful Midori Nonaka, dragging a rope connected to a platform carrying an empty musician’s chair and music stand. A live string quartet quietly started to play, with each musician on a similar platform. One by one, and two by two, the dancers appeared in dim light, welcoming us to a series of recurring partnerships.

Joanna DeFelice and Leigh Lijoi in Kristin Sudeikis' 'I am you'. Photo by Krista Bonura.

Perry seemed to play with the sense of space and also the occasional separation or unity of audience, stage and “orchestra pit”. When the dancers performed a traveling box-like step, the stage appeared to move; and the space transformed again each time the dancers dragged the musicians to change their formations.

Conflicted Terrain was an opportunity to showcase the talent and technical capacity of the PCDC dancers. Leigh Lijoi’s long lines and Joanna DeFelice’s striking presence became recognizable right away.

In I am you, a premiere choreographed by Kristin Sudeikis, the dancers appeared almost bare (the women wore nude halters under their black leggings) and seemed to embody the phrase “dance like nobody’s watching” as the piece opened in a light, fun way as the dancers swayed and interacted with one another. In a musical change, the dancers moved in near slow motion.

The dancers soon lined up to face the audience and voiced self-proclamations: “I am so nervous,” said one dancer. They were naked in a new way – their honesty was exposed and raw. The moment passed, however, and the performers broke into fits of dancing freedom. Despite the musical changes seeming slightly too random, Sudeikis’ piece did showcase the PCDC dancers as once again being talented artists and movers.

During a pause in the program, the house proceeded to fill into a foggy cloud. This was an interesting effect, although it may have made the audience in a small, converted studio-theater space feel uncomfortable at first. Nikki Holck opened Sidra Bell’s The Ungathered with a stunning solo, and she became an interesting character and mover to watch throughout the remainder of the work. The dancers, dressed in variations of black leather bondage, continued to become more trapped, more possessed, in a cell-like world, at times pulling at the walls to try to escape.

Bell created interesting shapes, even in a sickled foot or a simple balletic grand plié. She also incorporated repetitive tendus – a darting of the foot as it slides along the floor to point – that made the step appear tedious and mad. Bell is interesting in her vocabulary and ideas, but the story of The Ungathered went on for just a bit too long.

The audience seemed to be most excited for Perry’s El Amor Brujo, the program’s closer. Perry impressively placed almost an entire orchestra at the back of the stage behind a cloudy scrim, and the live music was so nice in such a small concert venue. El Amor Brujo was a dramatic piece filled with Spanish dance nuances and a lovely balance of structure, stillness and movement.

Attila Csiki made his first appearance of the evening in El Amor Brujo and was a stand-out in the work, serving as a partner for Holck and as a remarkably fluid performer on his own. Holck and Csiki looked lovely together, and again eyes were also drawn to DeFelice.

Flamenco singer Marija Temo wandered on and off the stage, singing and acting as a storyteller for the love tale. Nothing seemed forced in El Amor Brujo; rather, the piece was seamless and natural in visual swings and levels, and also in mood.

PCDC is a wonderful ensemble of dancers, and the works presented in this season’s program allowed a chance for each to individually shine. I am glad that Perry also welcomed the work of other choreographers, as it was a nice balance for the audience and also for the dancers.

Top photo: Midori Nonaka and Kentaro Kikuchi in Sidra Bell’s The Ungathered. Photo by Karli Cadel.

By Katherine Moore.

On a wintery afternoon in late January, nervous young dancers gathered in the School of American Ballet to audition for The Carreño Dance Festival, a three-week summer intensive in Sarasota, FL, led by international ballet star Jose Manuel Carreño.

Assisting Carreño in the audition was Robert De Warren, co-founder of the Festival and renowned teacher, director, and choreographer. As Carreño led the eager students through barre and centre exercises, De Warren sat at a table, intensely evaluating this year’s potential crop of students for the Festival’s third annual season.

With “Learn from the Stars and Dance With the Stars” as the Festival’s slogan, the standards are high for acceptance into the program.

“We can already see who we want,” Carreño said, in an interview after the audition. Who they want are students with excellent technique, an advanced understanding of line and projection, and perhaps most importantly, potential. “These kids have the potential to be really good dancers,” Mr. De Warren said.

Carreño teaching a master class

The Carreño Dance Festival, a project of the Sarasota International Dance Festival, offers advanced training in classical technique, partnering, repertoire, contemporary, flamenco, and character dance. The program’s distinctive feature is a special emphasis on professional enhancement and artistry, which is achieved through the teaching and the opportunity to perform with international ballet stars such as Loipa Araugo, Julie Kent, Magaly Suarez, George Cespedes, Rinat Imaev, Gennadi Saveliev, and Eduardo Veytia.

De Warren explained that the program curriculum is organized to mimic life in a professional dance company so that these pre-professional students understand the demands that professional dancers face every day. Another unique feature of the intensive is that daily class actually takes place on the stage of the opera house, furthering the development of advanced performance training.

“It’s one thing to rehearse in a studio. It’s another thing when you go on stage. We want to overcome those difficulties that even professional dancers may face,” said Carreño.

Savannah Samberg, a 17-year old who participated in the program last year, said that training daily on the stage was one of the most influential experiences of attending the Festival. “The fact that there are no mirrors has helped my performing so much,” she said.

Students and teachers come from all over the world to attend the Festival, which culminates in a “Festival of Stars” performance at the Sarasota Opera House and a junior recital for younger dancers, where students have the opportunity to perform and get noticed.

Sarasota Opera House

Carreño explained that one of the goals of their program is to avoid the gap between a dancer’s student and professional life, both in the range of a dancer’s performance skills and in the opportunities that may come to them. In order to be a successful dancer, “You don’t only need talent. You also need luck,” said Carreño.

At the core of their mission, both De Warren and Carreño want to help budding young talent succeed, and they do so in part by offering over $30,000 in scholarships to many of the 100 students who are accepted into the two-level program. “We have a passion for helping the younger generation,” De Warren said. “You can’t say ‘go away’ to a really talented dancer.”

Both men seek to challenge and encourage students to achieve the next level in their artistry. During the audition, De Warren said, “You can see the ones who work with teachers who don’t inspire them.”

Students Allie Burman & Gabrielle Mengden at Carreño's summer program

Carreño believes that performing with the ballet stars he invites to the Festival plays an enormous role in motivating students to new levels of achievement, but he also recognizes the importance of inspired teaching. He has found that a dramatic use of language can be extremely influential in the classroom. During the audition, he directed students through their exercises, interjecting with “SQUEEZE!” or “LENGTHEN!”

“When I use the language, they relax. They enjoy it,” Carreño said. “It’s all about joy.”

For those dancers who are granted the opportunity this summer to “Learn from the Stars and Dance with the Stars,” joy will surely be abundant.

Top photo: Jose Manuel Carreño dancing with Sarah Lane during an end of program performance.

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

January 2012 will kick off the momentous 80th Anniversary of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, a National Historic Landmark, National Medal of Arts honoree, and America’s longest-running international dance festival. Founded in 1933 by modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn as a retreat for his company of Men Dancers, Jacob’s Pillow has been a mecca of dance for eight decades. Nestled in the beautiful Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, “the Pillow” is acclaimed for its rich history, unique and beautiful location and atmosphere, and forward-thinking international programming of the highest quality. The international celebration of dance, music, the visual arts, and culture begins June 16 with the 80th Anniversary Season Opening Gala and continues through August 26.

The 80th Anniversary Season includes an impressive blend of world premieres, U.S. premieres, live music, company debuts, legendary dance companies, emerging choreographers, and more than 300 ticketed and free events, talks, performances, classes, exhibits, and tours hosted at the Pillow’s 163-acre National Historic Landmark site.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in Story/Time. Photo Paul B Goode

Executive and Artistic Director Ella Baff comments, “The 80th Anniversary Season celebrates Jacob’s Pillow’s history-making contributions to dance over eight decades, beginning with early 20th century pioneers Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, and the Men Dancers. This year’s Festival also affirms the Pillow’s steadfast commitment to new and important dance-makers and performers, as well as unique presentations that give artists and audiences opportunities to discover new things about dance. There is no other place like Jacob’s Pillow; it is truly unique. It is a destination – a nexus for dance that generates inspiration and is enjoyed by people from all over the world as well as right down the road. We look forward to welcoming everyone to this year’s particularly special Festival.”

Baff affirms her dedication to presenting dance of many forms and styles from around the world with an 80th Anniversary Festival that features companies spanning nine countries and five continents: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, and the United States. The Hong Kong Ballet, Morphoses, and Vertigo Dance Company are among many troupes that will make their Jacob’s Pillow debuts. Companies with historical connections to Jacob’s Pillow include The Joffrey Ballet, returning for the first time in nearly 50 years, and Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, which made its 1964 U.S. debut at the Pillow.

Once-in-a-lifetime engagements will also be presented. A weeklong homage to Ted Shawn and his Men Dancers will feature a 20-member cast of some of the greatest male dancers and choreographers of today including Lar Lubovitch, Jason Samuels Smith, Arthur Mitchell, David Neumann, Trent Kowalik, Cartier Williams, and Jock Soto, among many others.

Historic Ted Shawn Theatre at Jacob's Pillow. Photo Christopher Duggan

Three specially selected “Back by Popular Demand” productions will be discovered anew by audiences. Ella Baff comments, “I hope to encourage the public to consider more contemporary dance works as classics, to be revisited in the same way that we enjoy and deepen our appreciation for classic works of music, theatre, and the visual arts.” This series includes Tero Saarinen’s powerful Shaker-inspired Borrowed Light, which premiered in the U.S. at the Pillow in 2006; 2011 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award recipient Crystal Pite’s stunningly accomplished work Dark Matters; and Doug Elkins’ insightful and hilarious Fräulein Maria, first performed at the Pillow in 2009.

At The School at Jacob’s Pillow, faculty includes an extraordinary range of master artists: Michael Corder formerly of the Royal Ballet; Judith Jamison, Artistic Director Emerita; Ariel Freedman of Batsheva Dance Company; Jose Manuel Carreño, recently retired from American Ballet Theatre; Cynthia Harvey, former star of The Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre; tap legend Dianne Walker; and many others.

While the Festival is a centerpiece of the 80th Anniversary Year, programming takes place year-round. Throughout the year, new additions are constantly contributed to Virtual Pillow, an ever-growing online collection including PillowTalks, educational resources, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive, and contemporary and archival dance videos, which have amassed more than 800,000 views to date worldwide. Artist residencies bring the innovative Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion® program to schools, using movement to advance and enhance classroom learning for students and teachers. Visiting scholars and fellows from around the world use the Jacob’s Pillow Archives as a vast and unique resource for significant dance research.

Wei Wei and Jin Yao of the Hong Kong Ballet. Photo Gordon Wong

Year-round Creative Development Residencies support artists as they create new work in the Pillow’s retreat-like setting; these new works often premiere at the Pillow. On March 24 and 25, the Pillow and MASS MoCA will co-present Australian contemporary company Chunky Move in their newest production, Connected.

A signal Anniversary celebration includes the release of Never Stand Still, a feature-length documentary about dance, dancers, and Jacob’s Pillow by award-winning director Ron Honsa, narrated by Bill T. Jones. The film will make its New York City premiere at the 2012 Dance on Camera Festival on January 27.

www.jacobspillow.org

Top photo: Erica Essner Performance Co-Op performing as part of the free Inside/Out performance series at Jacob’s Pillow. Photo Christopher Duggan

 New York Farewell Scheduled for Thursday, June 30, 2011 at Metropolitan Opera House

Jose Manuel Carreño, a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre since 1995, will retire from the Company in August 2011 following performances on the Company’s tour to Asia. A New York farewell is scheduled for Thursday evening, June 30, 2011 at the Metropolitan Opera House. The evening will be highlighted by a special performance of Swan Lake featuring Carreño in the role of Prince Siegfried dancing opposite Julie Kent as Odette and Gillian Murphy as Odile.

Jose Manuel Carreño was born in Cuba, where he received his training at the Provincial School of Ballet and the National Ballet School. He won the Gold Medal at the New York International Ballet Competition in 1987 and the Grand Prix at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi in 1990.

Carreño joined English National Ballet in 1990, where his repertoire included Solor in “The Kingdom of the Shades” from La Bayadère, the Prince in Cinderella, Franz in Coppélia, Albrecht in Giselle, the Prince in The Nutcracker, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew and leading roles in A Stranger I Came, Études, Graduation Ball and Prince Igor. In 1993, he joined The Royal Ballet as a principal dancer where his repertoire included the Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, Basilio in Don Quixote, Oberon and Puck in The Dream and a leading role in Herman Schmerman.

Carreño joined American Ballet Theatre as a Principal Dancer in June 1995. His repertoire with the Company includes the title role in Apollo, the leading role in Ballet Imperial, Solor in La Bayadère, Franz in Coppélia, Conrad, Ali, the Slave, and Lankendem in Le Corsaire, Basilio in Don Quixote, the third sailor in Fancy Free, Albrecht in Giselle, Des Grieux in Manon, the Cavalier in The Nutcracker, the pas de deux Diana and Acteon, Grand Pas Classique, Other Dances, Sinatra Suite and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Sergei in On the Dnieper, the Man From the House Opposite in Pillar of Fire, the Warrior Chieftain in Polovtsian Dances, the Son in Prodigal Son, Jean de Brienne in Raymonda, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Prince Désiré in The Sleeping Beauty, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, the second movement in Symphony in C, the first and second variations in Variations for Four and leading roles in Push Comes to Shove, Theme and Variations, Without Words, Clear, Études, Overgrown Path, Petite Mort and Rabbit and Rogue. He created a leading role in Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison.

Carreño has appeared as a guest artist with companies throughout the world. Following his retirement from American Ballet Theatre, he plans to continue performing as a guest artist.    

Photo: Courtesy of www.abt.org 
Jose Manuel Carreño with Natalia Osipova in Don Quixote during the 2010 season at the Metropolitan Opera House. Photo: Gene Schiavone. Copyright  2003-2008 Ballet Theatre Foundation, Inc.
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