Master Motivators

Guest Artist Teresa Espinosa teaching an intermediate hip hop class at Dance Planet 16.

Dance Planet 16 successfully introduces a variety of dance styles through free master classes

Dallas – Hundreds of performers, dancers and dance enthusiasts filled the hallways of Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts March 31-April 1 for Dance Planet 16, presented by the Dance Council of North Texas.

With more than 30 FREE master classes to choose from I had a difficult time selecting my Saturday classes. After much thought (mainly how sore I was going to be later) I ended up taking Modern with Joshua Peugh, the associate director of the Bruce Wood Dance Project, and Yoga with Nicole Payseur who currently holds a 500-hour certification from Yoga Works.

No matter how old you are or how many dance classes you have taken walking into a new class with an unknown instructor is still intimidating. It didn’t help that the class, which was held in Studio C on the street level of Booker T., was packed with some 50 plus dancers dressed in sport tops and tiny shorts showcasing their long limbs and toned bodies. Even the young men appeared loose and limber in their form fitting pants and T-shirts. Ages ranged from early teens to late twenties and even a few more seasoned dancers. Many of the dancers go to Booker T. but I also spoke to some people from Colin County Community College and Eastfield College.

Peugh began class with an improvisational exercise that had us rubbing imagery oil all over our bodies.  Peugh aided our explorations with saying such as “Feel the warm of your hand on your body. Feel the softness of your knees, shoulders and hips and your passion to move. Now start moving around slowly.” His soothing voice helped me let go of my technique and simply enjoy moving. As our movement quickened Peugh encouraged us to surprise ourselves. “Have the ability to laugh at yourself. Today’s class is about connecting you to your love for dance and your love for movement.”

The rest of class was dedicated to a short combination filled with quirky swirls, walks, turns and body pops. And Peugh surprised us all when he turned on a Pit bull song. He then broke us into four groups and told us to go for it. Everyone gave it their all and each group was rewarded with hoots and applause. The entire class was filled with excited energy and a sense of unity that only occurs in the right place with the right teacher.

The Yoga class afterward was a more intimate affair. About 20 of us stretched on our mats while Payseur went around introducing herself and asking each of us about our problem areas. Her calm energy immediately put me at ease. We started class with a couple of breathing exercises to help us clear our minds before moving into some familiar Yoga poses i.e. child pose, plank and downward facing dog.

Who knew breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth would be so difficult. I kept taking shallow breaths and had a hard time relaxing my jaw. Add in some very still asymmetrical stretches and my body was spent. At the end of class we breathed in peace, exhaled fear; breathed in prosperity, exhaled doubt; and breathed in love, exhaled hate. I left class feeling pleasantly tired. I am now in search of my next Yoga class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A: Jelon Vieira

Jelon Vieira. Photo: ATTPAC

The artistic director and choreographer of DanceBrazil talks about the company’s broad appeal and the Capoeira dance style.

Dallas — For more than 30 years DanceBrazil has been dazzling audiences across the U.S. and around the world with its unique fusion of Afro-Brazilian, contemporary and Capoeira dance forms.

Formed in 1977 by Jelon Vieira and the late Loremil Machado, DanceBrazil’s mission has been to educate communities on the Brazilian culture primarily through the Brazilian dance style know as Capoeira. Capoeira (pronounced “cap-wed-a”) originated in Africa and evolved in colonial Brazil as a means of fighting enslavement. Capoeira draws inspiration from other movement forms including acrobatics and martial arts.

TheaterJones asks Vieira about DanceBrazil’s role in the communities it visits, his dance training growing up and the traits that make DanceBrazil so appealing to audiences.

You can see this one-of-a-kind company perform at the Wyly Theatre in Dallas April 13-14, presented by TITAS at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

TheaterJones: What has DanceBrazil achieved over the past 30 years?

Jelon Vieira: Our mission has been to educate as many as we can about the Brazilian culture through our performances and workshops. Since moving to this country in the 1970s, this has been my mission and my passion. We used to do week-long, sometimes month-long, residences in the communities, but because of the economy in the last few years we had to stop. This was my favorite because we could leave the community with something and we could also take something away, like a cultural exchange. Now we perform and leave. I like it when we can really interact with the community, as I think it creates a strong connection between us and the audience.

Was educational outreach always part of the company‘s plan?

Yes! I believe we can learn from the community and we have to give back to them. You also have to promote your art and get people interested. This makes people stronger and helps them enjoy more of what they see. When they get to know the artist and really get to share in the moment, that’s my mission. To get people to know your culture, you can’t just show them; you have to get them involved and feel the soul of what we do.

When did you begin training in Capoeira?

I started learning Capoeira movements when I was 10 years old. Next year, 2013, it will be 50 years that I have been learning Capoeira. This is my true art! When I turned 16 I joined a folk dance company where I learned traditional Brazilian dance. This was my base. When I was 17 or 18 I started learning other dance forms like modern and contemporary while also continuing my Capoeira.

Capoeira is present in everything I do. In some of my pieces I use Capoeira as a turning point while other pieces are strictly Capoeira. In one of my pieces I use movement to talk about the world today. I have spent so much time in this country and learned so much, yet I can’t be an artist or choreographer if I totally ignore my Brazilian roots. These dances come from the Sumba and Capoeira culture, and no one moves the way Brazilian dancers move. To do Capoeira you have to practice and become part of the culture.

Photo: DanceBrazil

Do you need acrobatics training to do Capoeira?

Capoeira has a lot of acrobatics, but that doesn’t mean when you’re learning Capoeira that you have to also learn how to be an acrobat. Capoeira has its own acrobatics and you will learn all the flips later on. Capoeira is more like martial arts. To someone new to Capoeira it looks like a fight.

What other dance styles do you incorporate into your pieces?

I use a lot of traditional movement, but because there are so many techniques, I don’t particularly say this is ballet and this is modern. I use anything and everything. Anything that comes to me naturally and makes sense I use in my choreography. It’s really all about how I feel and what I want to say.

What do you look for in your dancers?

I get to know dancers by their body movement and gestures. For me, the most important thing is character and personality because we are going to spend a lot of time together. It’s hard to work with people who have bad behaviors. I need people who are healthy mentally and spiritually to help enhance my work.

During an audition of course I look for character, but I also look for people who can respond quickly to rhythm. I like dancers who become the rhythm: who become what they do and become the dance. I have been lucky to work with lovely dancers and incredible people who have really become like family.

Next year will be your 50th year of Capoeira training. Is there still more that you would like to learn?

I am an eternal learner. I learn from my dancers, from my students and from people like you. And everything I learn I try to bring into my work. And of course I still have a lot to learn in Capoeira, but on another level. Not on a physical level, but on a mental and spiritual level. My goal is to someday reach this level. I will keep working and challenging myself.

Capoeira also keeps me in touch with my ancestors. It’s what I am. They passed it down to me and now it’s my mission and moral obligation to keep passing on the art to other generations. And I will always do this.

This piece was originally posted on TheaterJones.com.

 

 

The Modern Connection

M2DT Artistic Director Lesley Snelson. Photo: Jeanne S. Mam-Luf

Muscle Memory Dance Theatre collaborates with national modern companies in Collateral: Trade Routes in Dance.

Dallas — It was rare to see so many modern dance companies on one stage at Friday night’s performance of Collateral: Trade Routes in Dance, presented by Muscle Memory Dance Theatre. Joining M2DT at LIFE in Deep Ellum was MamLuft&Co. from Cincinnati, Ohio; Perpetual Motion Dance from Oklahoma City, Okla.; and Spank Dance from Austin. The performance repeats tonight.

Viewers got the exceptional opportunity to see multiple modern dance styles from postmodern techniques such as contact improvisation, vocal interaction and unusual recorded accompaniment (at times atonal, electronic and with vocal effects) as well as more contemporary techniques like aerial dance.

Perpetual Motion Danceclaims to be the first company in Oklahoma to incorporate

Kim Kieffer-Williams from Perpetual Motion. Photo: Victor Des Roches

aerial dance into its repertoire. In Trip the Dark Fantastic (2011), Kim Kieffer-Williams bent her body into different shapes and lounge positions all the while twirling on a trapeze-type bar four feet off the ground. Her strength was incredible; one minute she was in an upside down split and the next she had the bar wrapped around her arms and appeared to be walking on air. Aerial dance literally takes postmodern expression to a new plane, opening up a whole new perspective on potential movement.

Ellen Bartel and Amy Myers from Spank Dance took us inside the relationship between two sisters, which spoke to those of us with sisters, in the weirdly witty I Always, You Never(2011). The dancers seamlessly blended horseplay like pushing, shoving, hitting (not little love taps either!) and dragging with their speaking parts i.e. “You’re always late” and “You never share.” Recorded music by Hugh Lobel aided in the childlike atmosphere but didn’t seem entirely necessary in bringing out the characters.

MamLuft&Co. showed off its endurance with Pieces (excerpts, 2012) which was broken into three parts: OverthROW, Sever and DisarRANGE. OverthROW had an air of eerie anticipation and foreboding with music by Animal Collective, Murcof and A Silver Mt. Zion. The seven dancers moved purposely from one side of the stage to the other, gracefully colliding with one or more of the other dancers as they went. In Sever, the pulse of the music (Pole, Four Tet) quickened and the dancers’ movements became more aggressive as they spliced through the air with their arms and legs. DisarRANGE was controlled chaos. The dancers rolled, jumped and flung themselves at each other all the while maintaining their composure. The transitions in and out of partnering were smooth and in line with the concept of the piece set to music by Biosphere, Four Tet and Polmo Polpo. The dancers received a big round of applause when the battle came to an end.

MamLuft&Co. Photo: Jeanne S. Mam-Luft

The host of the evening, Muscle Memory Dance Theatre, showed off its softer side with the ethereal Echoes (2007), choreographed by Michelle Moeller of Perpetual Motion Dance, and its sweet and sassy side with When My Beloved Calls (2012), choreographed by M2DT’s Amy L. Sleigh. But M2DT’s most successful piece of the evening had to be (re)build (2012), choreographed by Lesley Snelson in collaboration with the performers. Using red and white bricks, Meghan Cardwell-Wilson, Alison Mackley and Megan Odom went about building and rebuilding their own structures. Even through the movement was quite literal, it was also well thought out and captivating. Their environment constrained the dancers to linear patterns in and out of the brick formations. The dancers periodically rearranged the bricks meticulously before using them as a way to move across the stage, hopping lightly from one to the next. The clanking of the bricks when moved was accompanied by M83 and Scuba, arranged by Snelson.

In the end two of the dancers laid on top of their incomplete stacks appearing exhausted by the rebuilding process while the third dancer stood over her incomplete stack appearing content and ready to move on, perhaps implying that while the rebuilding process is important, it’s better to move beyond one’s previous state inspired by past challenges.

This review was originally posted on www.theaterjones.com.

Bold Introduction

Photo courtesy of 8&1 Dance Co.

8&1 Dance Company appeals to the senses in its debut, Life’s Canvas, in Plano.

Plano – 8&1 Dance Company made a splash Friday night in front of a full house at its inaugural performance held at the Courtyard Theater in Plano.

In Life’s Canvas 8&1 Dance Co. founder and choreographer Jill S. Rucci put together a program that introduced her eight-member company and guest dancer’s technique, athleticism and versatility. The performance also showcased Rucci’s multi-layered choreography as well her taste for contemporary music (i.e. Adele, Florence + the Machine, Gnarls Barkley) and the blues (Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin).

The show started with a monologue performed by Stephanie Dolph about painting outside the lines in the premiere of Finger Painting. Then, accompanied by vocalist Christa D. Taylor and saxophonist Marcellus P. Walker, one-by-one the dancers emerged from the wings dressed in white and each wielding a different colored streamer (the type used by rhythmic gymnasts). As the dancers swooped, dipped, lunged and jumped they manipulated the streamers in the air, giving the audience the illusion they were painting on the stark white background.

A Round Corner (2006) allowed the ladies to show off their sassy jazz technique in vibrantly colored dresses while the men performed macho solos focusing on their leaps, turns and acrobatics.

The premieres of Nevermind and Woman’s Work (choreographed by Michael Mayes) were softer more lyrical pieces. In NevermindShelby A. Stanley performed an aggressively controlled solo before removing her white T-shirt to reveal the bright blue top and bottom underneath. Stanley moved passionately and uninhibited, making her appear longer and taller than she actually is. The spectacular background image of brilliant blues, green and reds swirled together also got a reaction from the crowd.

Photo courtesy of 8&1 Dance Co.

The second half of the show contrasted sharply from the first with Pointillism (2010) and Work Song (2002). All the bold colored costumes were replaced with neutral whites, nudes and browns. The movement was predominantly African, featuring stomping, clapping, and waving, with some liturgical and ballet steps mixed in and music shifting abruptly from Nina Simone to the Zac Brown Band to the Soweto Gospel Choir. The concept appeared to be intended to display the company’s versatility, as the transition got a bit lost in translation thematically.

But from the performance aspect 8&1 Dance Co. obviously has a diverse but cohesive unit made up of powerful technicians who should be an exciting addition to the DFW dance scene.

This review was originally posted on TheaterJones.com.

 

LCBT Presents “Insights On Dance”

Photo: Nancy Loch Photography

LakeCities Ballet Theatre will close its 27th season with Insights On Dance.

The performance is slated for April 13 and 14 @ 7:30p.m. at the Medical Center of Lewisville Grand Theatre.

LCB wowed me with its rendition of Le ballet de Dracula and enchanted me with its version of Peter and the Wolf, so my expectations are quite high for Insights On Dance.

Photo: Nancy Loch Photography

The concept of this show intrigues me. According to a LCB press release the show combines video interviews with the creators of each work along with brief selections of dance history through the ages. After each video the audience will witness that particular dance with a much better understanding of its place in ballet history and the creative process behind its development.

Being the dance history buff I am this sounds right up my alley.

More information is available here.

Dance Planet 16 Coming Soon

CALLING ALL TEACHERS!!!!!

Dance Planet 16 is only 2 weeks away. Are you registered???

Horton Technique class with Melissa Young (LEFT) at Dance Planet 15. Photo: Fermaint Photography

If you are a dance instructor I definitely recommend attending this event.

I went last year and to this day I am still using some of the warm up and across the floor combos I learned in a Horton technique class. I also picked up some new music ideas in a Classical Jazz Dance class. And before and after class I got the chance to talk to the teachers about their teaching styles and got some great advice. And it was all FREE!!!!!!!!! So there is really no excuse not to go.

This year I am planning on taking Modern, Yoga and Hip Hop. There is also Ballet Barre, Hustle, Flamenco, Salsa and Cirque Silks.

DP 16 will be March 31-April 1 at Booker T. Washington in downtown Dallas.

Hope to see y’all there!!!!!!

Harsh Beauty

CD/FW company performing Kakudo.

Contemporary Dance/Forth Worth delivers three new works and some repertory favorites for March Radness.

Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth‘s spring concert, March Radness, proved that hard and aggressive modern movement can be just as satisfying to watch as the soft and fragile.

Along with the group’s previous works Organized Dances (1996), Winter Night (2011) and Kakudo (2011), CD/FW’s Friday night show at the Sanders Theatre at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center also included three new works: Anomaly; The Human Season; and beyond breathing. the uncreated. the unknown.

beyond breathing. the uncreated. the unknown. was a disturbingly beautiful solo by the captivating and long-limbed Jessica Thomas. She hypnotized us with her unfaltering gaze, at times jerky movement and moments of statue-stillness. When she gulped for breath you could physically see it radiate throughout her entire body. Her movements weren’t guided by gestures and storylines, but by some deeper need to move. This need had her running, tripping, falling and then freezing in some contorted pose. It seemed as if time stood still as she slowly uncurled one toe at a time after a back shoulder roll. The recycling instrumental recording she used only added to the hypnotic mood.

Tina Mullone lightened the mood with her solo Anomaly. Starting in a single spotlight, Mullone demonstrated the multiple shapes she could make with her body. She performed a series of quick kicks, flicks, swivels, pivots, runs and glides. As the piece progressed the movement got bigger and traveled across the stage. While lacking some of the depth of Thomas’s solo, Anomalywas upbeat, sturdy and geometrically pleasing to the eye.

Jessica Thomas in beyond breathing. the uncreated. the unknown.

The Human Season, choreographed by Claudia Orcasitas with contributions from the dancers (Ann-Marie Heilman, Julia Nova, Kristin Reed, Jessica Thomas, Jacqueline Todd and Hilary Walker), was an investigation into some of society’s most common causes of downfall, including money, power and greed. The stage lights came up just enough for us to see the six dancers shuffling their feet as they clustered together. They were dressed in suits indicative of men of Wall Street. As the recorded music by Anna Phoebe became louder, the clump broke apart and each dancer performed similar phrases of movement including gestures, hops, turns and falls that at moments had them moving in unison. The repetitive gesture of purposely straightening their imaginary ties was visually arresting.

The piece ended on a surprisingly optimist note. One by one the dancers slowly returned to the stage with their jackets bundled up in their arms. They then unraveled their jackets revealing mountains of leaves that spilled onto the floor. Shuffling, falling, rolling, and tossing motions spread the leaves covering the stage. While some viewers may have interpreted the leaves as representing money with the antagonists continuing to wallow in greed, the prop seemed more to symbolize a changing of seasons, an air of hope that people can change and society can advance. While the dancers could have experimented with the leaves more, the sentiments invoked were an effective way to close the show.

Opening with Organized Dances was a smart choice. Dressed in mostly black and striped pants and tops with ties and lapels embroidered on, the dancers looked like waitresses getting off their shifts ready to let loose after a tough day. The celebration aspect of the performance was upbeat and carefree, filled with Romanian, Hebrew and New Orleans cultural flavor. Winter Night was the opposite with each dancer performing different phrases in soft, methodical ways. A recorded piano line was interpreted through hand and finger pulses representing the falling snow. And while the live flutist’s (Jon David Johnston) role in Kakudo seemed a little disjointed, the sound matched the dancers’’ pure movements.

This review was originally posted on TheaterJones.com.