Post-IBC Update
June 28, 2010
Whew! What a whirlwind the last three weeks have been. Three weeks ago I was packing and moving my mother from Palo Alto, CA to Little Rock (talk about culture shock!), took a breather at a showing of “O” in Las Vegas, then spent the last two weeks in Jackson, Mississippi at the International Ballet Competition! I came home exhausted but with a smile on my face.
Everything about the IBC experience was wonderful…from the moment each of the faculty (including myself) and jury walked onto the Thalia Mara stage, to the teaching, to the competition, to the parties to the final evening and gala. How rewarding to have the honor of not only meeting but teaching alongside so many of the dance industry’s luminaries. And the students were so open-minded and hungry; it made teaching easy and a joy. I even cried, and if you know my teaching, you know that that’s a good thing.
Now, to catch my breath before I start teaching at Shuffles for the summer program!
Everything about the IBC experience was wonderful…from the moment each of the faculty (including myself) and jury walked onto the Thalia Mara stage, to the teaching, to the competition, to the parties to the final evening and gala. How rewarding to have the honor of not only meeting but teaching alongside so many of the dance industry’s luminaries. And the students were so open-minded and hungry; it made teaching easy and a joy. I even cried, and if you know my teaching, you know that that’s a good thing.
Now, to catch my breath before I start teaching at Shuffles for the summer program!
Spring Update: Season's end, Ballet Intensive, England and more!
May 05, 2010
Ah! Ballet Arkansas’s season came to an end on Friday and truthfully, I breathed a big sigh of relief! I’ll get about a nanosecond to breathe. We had a very successful season and will continue our performing with Jonathan Bostick and Kelsee Green at Arts Week at the River Market in Little Rock next Friday (May 14th).
Meanwhile, I’m off to Point Park University in Pittsburgh to observe their graduating class for potential dancers for the company. Looking forward to that with great anticipation! Thank you Kiesha Lalama-White for making this happen.
Ballet Arkansas will commence its Ballet Intensive on May 7th and I’ll be teaching the first week before I go to USAIBC. We are very lucky to have Shawn Stevens and Stan Roberts teaching for us this summer.
In August, I team up with Dr. Kenneth Laws for a conference in Pennsylvania: “Science and the Art of Dance.” This conference will be a hands-on experience with health professionals, dance educators and students.
And last, but not least, I have been asked to be part of a forum at the next International Alliance for Dance Medicine and Science to be held in Birmingham, England. Donna Krasnow asked me to be a part of her team that speaks about “The Practical Application of Science in the Dance Classroom.” Exciting stuff!
Meanwhile, I’m off to Point Park University in Pittsburgh to observe their graduating class for potential dancers for the company. Looking forward to that with great anticipation! Thank you Kiesha Lalama-White for making this happen.
Ballet Arkansas will commence its Ballet Intensive on May 7th and I’ll be teaching the first week before I go to USAIBC. We are very lucky to have Shawn Stevens and Stan Roberts teaching for us this summer.
In August, I team up with Dr. Kenneth Laws for a conference in Pennsylvania: “Science and the Art of Dance.” This conference will be a hands-on experience with health professionals, dance educators and students.
And last, but not least, I have been asked to be part of a forum at the next International Alliance for Dance Medicine and Science to be held in Birmingham, England. Donna Krasnow asked me to be a part of her team that speaks about “The Practical Application of Science in the Dance Classroom.” Exciting stuff!
Happy New Year!
February 01, 2010
Happy New Year! It is embarrassing to think that six months have passed without a word from me even though the time has been jam-packed with activity. What follows is a reverse chronology of events.
January 2010: Ballet Arkansas had a guest choreographer residency two weeks ago. Kiesha Lalama-White from Point Park University was commissioned to set a new work, “Pressing On,” on the company. The piece, set to familiar rock/blues music, is infused with inventive movement and super aerobic dancing. In Dance Magazine, she was cited as one of 25 choreographers to watch in 2009. We were so fortunate that she was able to squeeze us into her busy schedule. Ms. Lalama-White is a down-to-earth, intelligent artist who brought a high positive energy and creativity, and hopefully we managed to cement an ongoing association.
December 2009: Ballet Arkansas enjoyed a new production of Nutcracker. I was lucky to have two collaborators: Jana Hendrix (owner of Shuffles and Ballet II Dance Studio) and Jonathan Bostick (one of BA’s dancers). Together we created a production that sparked new interest in the standard classic work.
October 2009: The “new” Ballet Arkansas premiered at Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts. Both the company and junior company were met by enthusiastic audiences and garnered a positive review.
I am gearing up for plans for the coming year: Ballet Arkansas’s spring production “Four By Four” will once again be presented at Wildwood Park. We will not only be showcasing Ms. Lalama-White’s new work but also performing two other premieres, one featuring the Junior Company of BA and the Arkansas Youth Symphony Orchestra playing Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony conducted by Maestro Geoff Robson.
In late June I will travel to Jackson, MS to teach for USA IBC. My composer, Clark Erickson, was asked to accompany classes for the school so hopefully, we will have classroom CDs prepared for sale! Summer plans also include a week-long dance science workshop in Pennsylvania that physicist, Dr. Kenneth Laws and I have been brainstorming since last year.
January 2010: Ballet Arkansas had a guest choreographer residency two weeks ago. Kiesha Lalama-White from Point Park University was commissioned to set a new work, “Pressing On,” on the company. The piece, set to familiar rock/blues music, is infused with inventive movement and super aerobic dancing. In Dance Magazine, she was cited as one of 25 choreographers to watch in 2009. We were so fortunate that she was able to squeeze us into her busy schedule. Ms. Lalama-White is a down-to-earth, intelligent artist who brought a high positive energy and creativity, and hopefully we managed to cement an ongoing association.
December 2009: Ballet Arkansas enjoyed a new production of Nutcracker. I was lucky to have two collaborators: Jana Hendrix (owner of Shuffles and Ballet II Dance Studio) and Jonathan Bostick (one of BA’s dancers). Together we created a production that sparked new interest in the standard classic work.
October 2009: The “new” Ballet Arkansas premiered at Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts. Both the company and junior company were met by enthusiastic audiences and garnered a positive review.
I am gearing up for plans for the coming year: Ballet Arkansas’s spring production “Four By Four” will once again be presented at Wildwood Park. We will not only be showcasing Ms. Lalama-White’s new work but also performing two other premieres, one featuring the Junior Company of BA and the Arkansas Youth Symphony Orchestra playing Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony conducted by Maestro Geoff Robson.
In late June I will travel to Jackson, MS to teach for USA IBC. My composer, Clark Erickson, was asked to accompany classes for the school so hopefully, we will have classroom CDs prepared for sale! Summer plans also include a week-long dance science workshop in Pennsylvania that physicist, Dr. Kenneth Laws and I have been brainstorming since last year.
Book Release!
August 05, 2008
Physics and the Art of Dance is now available for purchase!
Synopsis (courtesy of Oxford University Press):
Physics and the Art of Dance gives all who enjoy dance - whether as dancers, students, teachers, or fans - an opportunity to understand what happens when human bodies move in the remarkable ways we call dance. How, for instance, do dancers create the illusion of defying gravity? Or of starting to spin when in the air with no source of force to act on their bodies? You may observe some dancers using their arms in a way that allows some to jump higher than others. What is that technique, and why does it work?
In this second edition, author Ken Laws - a physicist with years of professional dance training - teams with veteran dance instructor Arleen Sugano to provide new step-by-step experiments for dancers. "What you see" sections describe the way physical principles form the framework within which some movements exist. The complementary "What you do" sections allow dancers to experience how those physical analyses can provide them a more efficient means of learning how to carry out those movements. Throughout, the book shows how movements are first artistic expressions, and secondly movements of the body within the framework of easy-to-understand physical principles.
To read the entire synopsis and purchase the book, visit the OUP site or Amazon.com.
Synopsis (courtesy of Oxford University Press):
Physics and the Art of Dance gives all who enjoy dance - whether as dancers, students, teachers, or fans - an opportunity to understand what happens when human bodies move in the remarkable ways we call dance. How, for instance, do dancers create the illusion of defying gravity? Or of starting to spin when in the air with no source of force to act on their bodies? You may observe some dancers using their arms in a way that allows some to jump higher than others. What is that technique, and why does it work?
In this second edition, author Ken Laws - a physicist with years of professional dance training - teams with veteran dance instructor Arleen Sugano to provide new step-by-step experiments for dancers. "What you see" sections describe the way physical principles form the framework within which some movements exist. The complementary "What you do" sections allow dancers to experience how those physical analyses can provide them a more efficient means of learning how to carry out those movements. Throughout, the book shows how movements are first artistic expressions, and secondly movements of the body within the framework of easy-to-understand physical principles.
To read the entire synopsis and purchase the book, visit the OUP site or Amazon.com.