Les Ballets Eloelle is a great way to enjoy dance. Laugh out loud as you watch male ballerinas who will entertain and astound you. Featuring an international cast of male dancers, The Men in Pink Tights Tour in Australia and New Zealand  brings a fresh, hysterical twist on the dance classics that are sure to make you  LOL.

For full tour dates and cities visit balletlol.com/upcoming-performances

By Laura Di Orio.

Dance and Broadway fans have a lot to look forward to this year with the new musical drama, Smash. With an all-star cast, exciting choreography and Steven Spielberg behind it all, this newest show to hit the dance television craze is sure to be a … well, smash.

Smash, which premieres in February on Foxtels’ W channel, tells the story of producing a Broadway musical – the ups and downs, the casting issues and real-life drama that threatens to hinder its progress. Debra Messing and Christian Borle play Julia and Tom, a successful songwriting duo, who hope to freshen up the Broadway scene and create a new musical based on Marilyn Monroe. Angelica Huston plays the musical’s producer, and other big stars like Uma Thurman and Bernadette Peters will make appearances throughout the series.

As if the theatre drama wasn’t enough for the characters, issues in life outside – an adoption and a potential divorce, just to name a few – make things even more difficult. But, like in life, the show must go on, and Smash’s Monroe musical must fight its way through opening night, when it’s up to the audience to determine its success.

Cast of Smash in rehearsal. Photo by Will Hart/NBC

The team behind Smash is a strong one – many with a Broadway past – and everyone is attached to the idea of making the show as realistic as possible. Spielberg will team with Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, both adept in Broadway shows and musical-inspired movies (they produced Chicago and Hairspray), as Smash’s executive producers. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, songwriters from Hairspray, will write Smash’s catchy tunes.

Josh Bergasse, a NYC-based choreographer and faculty member at Broadway Dance Center, is the show’s lead choreographer for season one. Bergasse himself has danced on Broadway in Hairspray and The Life, and also on tour in Movin’ Out and West Side Story. With Bergasse in reign of the moves, Smash’s numbers will be exciting and athletic.

Already there is a strong online community for Smash’s fans, who have begun to proclaim themselves as ‘Team Ivy’ or ‘Team Karen’ and many of Smash’s songs will be available for sale on iTunes each week.

When the show starts airing this month, tell us what you think by posting your comments below.

Top photo: Megan Hilty as ‘Ivy Lynn’ in Smash. Photo by Will Hart/NBC

Collaboration The Project is proud to present Immersed Melbourne Dance Industry Night 2011, this month. Immersed will be held at The National Theatre on Monday September 12 at 7:30pm.

Melbourne’s dance scene will amalgamate on one night, to immerse the entertainment industry with their peers and show what it is that makes their city hum!

Immersed will be the Melbourne dance industries premier night of entertainment with a host of established and up and coming choreographers showcasing their work. 

Immersed Performances include; choreography by Paul Malek and Collaboration The Project,  Team Rocket (Australia’s Got Talent), contemporary jazz company Vertical Shadows directed by Stephen Agisilaou (SYTYCD), International Choreographer Leroy Curwood, RickStix Productions headed by Adrian Ricks (Mr. Mistoffolees CATS), Australian hip hop champions Dance Virus Productions, hip hop crews Sole Symphony, The Collektive & all girl crew, Hollabak Dance Crew.

There will also be student performances by full time institutions Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance, Dance World Studios, Patrick Studios Australia, Youth dance Company Project Y and a myriad of other exciting acts.

For more information visit www.collaboration-project.com

Video: Courtesy of youTube. Dance Informa takes no
responsibility for the content of any videos viewed through youTube.

Photo by Belinda Strodder

Gasworks Theatre, Albert Park, Vic
August 12

By Grace Edwards

Ignite The Dark’s latest work, The Earth, the Sea and the Moon is a story about a neurotic artist named Moon and his ever-growing obsession with the girl of his dreams, the waitress who works in the café beneath him. Falling further into a world of fantasy and neurosis, Moon creates an alter ego intent on foiling his every move.

The choreography showcased a range of dance styles including jazz, tap, ballroom and ballet, each of which was used to highlight aspects of the storyline. A ‘tango pasión’ introduced the sexually-charged character of the alter-ego, a creation of Moon’s imagination, whilst a ballet scene sought to highlight his romantic chemistry with Moon’s love interest.

The structured format of the show was clear and the storyline consequently easy to follow. The choreography and the dancing was at its best in the jazz-inspired commercial dance numbers, particularly the unison ensemble sections in which the dancers appeared well rehearsed and in sync. However, many elements were surprisingly derivative for a company that describes itself as “innovative”. There was little evidence of experimentation in the choreography, and many of the movement sequences and steps seemed so familiar as to result in dance sequences that were rather extreme clichés of their genres. There were also one or two conspicuous moments in which the use of moving props threatened the safety of the performers and needed to be more closely choreographed.

The piece is structured in a series of chapters, connected by dialogue, video, text and storyline. There were moments in which the video was used well to articulate the inner world of our hero, but the dialogue sections were somewhat jarring, at times giving the impression of a school play. This impression was not helped by the lack of attention to details in the setting, such as the untidy handwritten paper sign used to denote the ‘Pie in the Sky’ café at which our waitress/heroine worked.

The dancers struggled technically through a number of passages, and this was most obvious in unfamiliar genres such as ballet. The choreography demanded of the female performers a number of passages en pointe and the dancers appeared worryingly unstable. Attention needs to be paid to the finer details and to the feet and leg extensions in jumps and lifts.

This company has some way to go if it intends to rival other professional companies working in Melbourne. However, the broad appeal and youth of the company should ensure enthusiastic support and a wide pool of creative talent from which to draw in its attempts to make its mark on the dance scene.

State Theatre, Sydney    
June 24 2011

By Lynne Lancaster

From a touristy/ethnographic point of view alone this show is fascinating, giving us a glimpse of various Chinese dances we would normally never get the chance to see. At times eerie and mysterious, The Legend Of Shangri La is mostly bold, vibrant, noisy and colourful, with some hypnotic, powerful drumming in Act1 and lots of singing and folk dancing in lines by huge ensembles.

This show is the official opening production of ‘The Year of Chinese Culture in Australia’. Chinese superstar Yang Liping, the company’s artistic director, choreographer and principal dancer, was born in Yunan and wrote quite informatively in the bilingual programme about how she spent more than a year researching the folk dances and songs for the show.

The show opens with the rising of the sun and a creation legend, then takes us on a journey through various areas and climates of the province and on the way looks at some of the dances performed in various areas by different peoples of the province. We are taken from desert to snow in a stunning section called ‘ Pilgrimage’ that among other things features not only Tibetan Long Horns (unplayed) but some incredible Buddhist masks and costumes that are breathtaking. There is a ‘stomping dance’ where the dancers do exactly that in gender defined lines. For one dance we are solemnly informed in an English voice over that the dancers made the costumes themselves and it took a year to do so. The multicoloured, heavily embroidered costumes are superb as is the very effective lighting by Sun Tianwei.

In the ‘Tobacco Box Dance’ the dancers use boxes like castanets and become dragonflies, ants looking for food and other sculptural forms. In ‘Pilgrimage’ there is a wonderful section of rhythmic dance with long red ribbons /scarves. In other numbers the huge lines of colourfully exuberant dancers weave in and out, up and down or side to side, and split and form small groups and circles in huge waves of traditional folk dance movement, performed with precision and verve. At times parts are almost Priscilla Queen of the Desert like, at other times there are small almost break dancing solos or Michael Jackson like choreography. However, the stage is not at times quite big enough to hold the huge number of dancers in the various ensembles, with some of them spilling onto the side steps where necessary. This was quite awkward.

The drumming, especially in Act 1, is incredible. Hordes of boisterous young girls whip themselves into a ferment. There is a section for the young athletic men, acting wild and primitive with long hair and fabulous makeup, who use a giant sun-like disk shaped drum. There is an electrifying solo where the drum goes from a whisper to a tumultuous roar, then everything explodes in a frenzied orgy of energy. 

Yang Liping is featured in two dances. In the first half she performs a moon dance in silhouette, mermaid like with a long skirt emphasizing ‘The Feminine’. Choreographically it is full of rippling arms and at times you could see a Graham and possibly Ailey influence. She also spectacularly performs at the end of Act 2 with a ‘Spirit of the Peacock’ dance. Her almost impossibly articulated arms ripple, fly, whirl and become the head of a peacock. Ethereally beautiful, she has a proud, erect yet sinuously curved carriage of her body in this work. As in many romantic ‘white’ ballets (think Swan Lake, Giselle) she is later joined by an ostentation of other peacocks in stunning parade. There are some exciting, quite effective ultra-violet lighting effects here and a wonderful unexpected visual coup de theatre to close the show.

Overall, a fascinating glimpse of Chinese culture.

Win 1 of 5 Doubles Passes to The Legend Of Shangri La

The Legend Of Shangri La features Chinese living treasure and superstar Yang Liping who is hailed as a dance and choreography tour-de-force in her own country. She will lead 50 dancers and musicians in an extraordinary performance of traditional song and dance fused with modern choreography.

The Legend Of Shangri La will be performed at the State Theatre, Sydney from  June 22 – 26 and celebrates the official opening of the Year of Chinese Culture in Australia.

The show is an exquisite visual feast that combines a surreal setting on stage with dynamic lighting, music and a three-dimensional stage design. Simplicity, joy and warmth blend with the excitement and pageantry of instruments featuring huge drums that reflect the original beats and rhythms of their ancient beginnings.

Win a Double Pass to the June 22 performance.

HOW TO ENTER:
Suggest Dance Informa to 3 friends and you could WIN!

Just Email Dance Informa at info@danceinforma.com with:
 - Your full name, date of birth and address
-  Subject:  ‘Shangri La’
-  PLUS the email addresses of 3 dance friends.

Your friends will be given a free subscription to Dance Informa. If your friends would not like a free subscription they can unsubscribe at any time by visiting danceinforma.com/unsubscribe

NSW Permit Number : LTPM/10/00971CLASS: Type B
Competition opens on May 3 2011. Competition closes on June 6. Winners will be selected at random on June 6 at 5:00pm EST and notified by email. All entrants must provide an email address, a postal address, full name and date of birth with three friend’s email addresses. Friends will be given a free subscription to Dance Informa magazine, which they can unsubscribe from at any time. All entrants who are not a subscriber to Dance Informa will be given a free subscription. All subscribers can unsubscribe at any time by visiting danceinforma.com/unsubscribe. Minimum entry age is 13 years of age. Prizes will be drawn at Mitchell Ave, Highbury SA. Winners will be published at www.danceinforma.com after they are announced. If not all prizes are claimed, a Second Chance Draw will be held.  This competition is held by Dance Informa Pty Ltd of SA. Phone 1300 783 120.