Tuesday 7 May 2013
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Let`s dance UK
"Welcome, year three and Let’s Dance International Festival (LDIF) is going from strength to strength, bringing the best in international dance that reflects the cosmopolitan nature of Leicester. This year’s LDIF celebrates International Day of Dance with a programme from Guadeloupe, Iran, India, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, UK and Brazil; where the artists have focused on traditional styles and updated them to reflect contemporary culture by marrying basic structures, identity and dance styles.
This year LDIF has introduced a new strand with Serious About Dance: A Black British Dance Think Tank that looks at dance practice, unpacking the history of British Black dance. It unearths a hidden political history, a new dance aesthetic which had a place here and abroad, the role of race and identity and a vision for the future as the cultural landscape economically challenges the arts infrastructure. Speakers for the conference include Hilary Carty, Paul Gilroy, Bob Ramdhanie, Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp OBE and Sue Harrison, all engaged in a dialogue that sits alongside work which illustrates the diversity to be found in Black dance today."
Sunday 17 March 2013
Tuesday 5 March 2013
Monday 4 March 2013
Sunday 3 March 2013
Falling Angels...
Falling Angels (1989) by Jiri Kylian's "Black and White Ballets"
The Nederlands Dans Theater
Choreography: Jiri Kylián
Music: Steve Reich
Directed by Hans Hulscher
"Falling Angels was created in 1989 as one Kylián’s Black and White Ballets. The Black and White ballets consisted of six pieces, with Falling Angel being dance 6.
It is choreographed to Steve Reich’s Drumming (Part One) created in 1971, which was based on ceremonial ritual music from Ghana (West Africa). Throughout Fallen Angels there is the use of mesmeric choral movement and repeated phrases.
Falling Angels is for 8 women and depicts female dancers in their aim to achieve perfection but succumb in various stages to the human female psyche and female events such as ambition, seduction, pregnancy, birth, death, motherhood and self-awareness.
Kylián was influenced by surrealism and minimalism during the creation of this work and the ‘black and white ballets’. In this ballet we see the combination of classical lines and sharp percussive movements that give unpredictability to the piece as a whole."
By New York Dance Stuff
http://nycdancestuff.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/falling-angels-jiri-kylian-nederlands-dance-theater/
About Jiří Kylián
http://www.ndt.nl/mensen/18
Tuesday 26 February 2013
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch - Vollmond - Sadler's Wells - LondonDance
"It is full moon: you don't get drunk"
REVIEW: TANZTHEATER WUPPERTAL PINA BAUSCH - VOLLMOND - SADLER'S WELLS
PERFORMANCE: 22 -25 FEBRUARY 2013
REVIEWED BY GRAHAM WATTS - MONDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2013
It is hardly a coincidence that the main image from Pina – Wim Wenders’sensational posthumous film for Pina Bausch – is taken from Vollmond. There is so much beauty contained in her long-lasting collaborations with Peter Pabst(set design) and Marion Cito (costumes), that Wenders had an overflowing treasure trove of iconic images to choose from but somehow Vollmond seems to trump the rest. (Incidentally, although the price tag may seem a hefty disincentive, for a fantastic two-dimensional overview of the artistic output of this amazing trio then I recommend investing in the book, Peter für Pina Wenders and Pabst, which is, in itself, a gorgeous work of art).
It may seem strange to describe Pabst’s designs as simplistic: after all, this is a man who covers the stage in carnations (Nelken) in the rubble of broken breeze blocks (Palermo Palermo ); or commands it with a water meadow (Wiesenland ) or even a giant whale fin (Ten Chi ). These ideas are always basic, but writ large.
In Vollmond it is a massive rock that dominates the back area of the stage, bridging a shallow trench of water. In all other respects, Pabst’s set is simply dressed in black. Yet it has a visual impact that outrageously gains in emphasis through this ingenious simplicity. When the rain comes, beautifully lit, with Ditta Miranda Jasjfi – a tiny, almost timid but remarkably tensile dancer from Indonesia – performing a wavering solo replete with apparently indigenous homeland flavours in her sublime arm movements, we are given the most amazing spectacle. It is as if time is suspended with the viewer transported from just yards away from a busy road in North London to being voyeurs onto a moonlit waterfall in some utopian Shangri-La. It is, in fact, unsurprisingly Jasjfi’s image – governed by those amazing arms – that Wenders chose as the one to best illustrate his film.
That photograph is also monopolised by droplets of water cascading around the airborne dancer and water is the lead influence of this work. Beginning with two men swishing open empty plastic bottles to capture a noise, it is a while before the uninitiated realise that the dark recesses of the stage hold a “stream” but when it arrives the water – and its rocky sentry – remains the ever-present feature. Most of the dozen performers took turns to splash in it, swim in it, dive into it, fish from it, party beside it, and one even draws up buckets to take a shower from. And if they weren’t playing in the trench then it was other water-based tricks that took centre stage: two guys with puffed cheeks lay side-by-side and spat jets at each other; a man filled a woman’s glass from a plastic bottle and just kept on pouring from an ever-greater height beyond the glass being full, peremptorily wiping her chest with a towel when the overflow had gushed all over her.
Made in 2006, Vollmond is generally a lighter, more contextualised work than much of the earlier Bausch repertoire, containing regular elements of humour and a great deal of dance. The comedy comes in several shades – from the dark surreal one-liner, stand-up of the irrepressible, gravel-voiced ‘narrator’ Nazareth Panadero (“What is better – one big love or just a little love every day”) to knock-about, sexy visual jokes: Azusa Seyama tries to teach two guys to beat their personal best times in unhooking her bra (one succeeds while the other is sent for an early bath); Dominique Mercy (an outsider distant from all these activities) lies on the ground facing the audience and suddenly a piece of rope flicks over his thighs as if he possesses an excited animal’s tail; Helena Pikon squeezes lemon juice over herself before excitedly exclaiming “I’m a little bit sour”.
The dance in Vollmond is superb. I lost count of the number of outstanding solos we saw from across the cast, each of which articulated the inner character of the performer, such as the beautiful but yet strangely cautious work by Jasjfi and a frenetic, sexy solo by Julie Anne Stanzak dancing as if to save her life in a strapless, backless black gown (I don’t know why but her solo always reminds me of Anita Ekberg’s drunken striptease in La Dolce Vita). Then there is the dance of joy, led by the swaying Fernando Suels Mendoza who is joined after a few bars by the rest of the crew in a rhythmic, oscillating ode to the moon. It is a few moments of sheer Terpsichorean magic.
It has been said that Bausch’s repertoire might consist of just one long work, cut up into show-sized chunks, each of which contain the same or similar elements in eclectic world music, elegant gowns and close adherence to a structural choreographic pattern that arcs from strong solos to a processional, almost ritualistic ensemble routine and then often – as here – back to repeat initial sequences at the close. A few Bausch works fail to fit this pattern (Le Sacre du Printemps being the most obvious) but by and large it is a DNA that can be found in the genetic make-up of most of the Tanztheater Wuppertal repertoire.
Of course, what make it all the more formulaic is the ever-present cast with the same dancers sticking to their character across all these works. There was just one change in this ensemble from the cast at the premiere, almost seven years ago, withPablo Gimeno replacing Kenji Tagaki. Although this is a work set on six men and six women, there appeared to be an extra male dancer on the stage at the end. Also, it seemed to me that one or two elements were cut from this performance, especially in the second act, but perhaps this is just a natural evolution over time?
The global success of Tanztheater Wuppertal has much to do with our comfortable familiarity with these performers, each squeezing such range out of the same simple characterisations. They are a Carry On-style ensemble with an intellectual accreditation, sharing the same bawdy humour, titillating sexiness and even the same stereotypical characters (Panadero for Kenneth Williams, Mercy forCharles Hawtrey ?!).
It is the continual, unfailing achievement of great collaborative design that hallmarks the Pina Bausch legend. Vollmond is quite possibly the jewel in the crown (though there a several other prime contenders) of this remarkable artistic dynasty that continues to astonish (although no longer to make new work) nearly four years after the great ringmaster’s death.
Graham Watts writes for londondance.com, Dance Tabs, Dancing Timesand other magazines and websites in Europe, Japan and the USA. He is Chairman of the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in the UK
Tuesday 19 February 2013
Martha Graham
The impact that Martha Graham dance caused on stage is often compared to the influence that Picasso was to painting, Stravinsky in music or Frank Lloyd Wright in architecture. Their contributions transformed the art form, revitalizing and spreading it around the world.
Thursday 14 February 2013
Danza preparata
A sweet tribute with Portuguese signature...
Music John Cage Choreography Rui Horta.
Music John Cage Choreography Rui Horta.
As part of Ether's celebrations of the 100th anniversary of
John Cage's birth, pianist Rolf Hind, one of our great interpreters of modern
piano music, collaborates with acclaimed choreographer Rui Horta, dancer Silvia
Bertoncelli and a cat named Mia in a new work that showcases the genius of one
of the twentieth century's great artists.
Wednesday 13 February 2013
La magie de la versatilité, Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Plisetskaya (Ма́йя Миха́йловна Плисе́цкая), born in Russia in 1925, frequently cited as one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Plisetskaya danced during the Soviet era, and became prima ballerina assoluta of the Bolshoi in 1960.
Wednesday 6 February 2013
All different all equal... from Paris to Buenos Aires
"Porque puestos a soñar fácil es imaginar esta humanidad en harmonía"
Wednesday 30 January 2013
It is also about love... from Tel-Aviv to São Paulo
Inspiration 1 Human Symbiosis
Inspiration 2 Vertical walking
Inspiration 2 Vertical walking
Monday 28 January 2013
Faithless Sensual Dreams
At the moment I am working in one of the brand new London' sensation production!
The project is directed by a versatile and creative choreographer/dancer and performed by a cast mainly from west end, all of them with an considerable International experience.
This show reveals the perfect fusion between dance and circus. It is very sensual calling the audience deepest desires. Plenty of mystery and secret. It is all about a who is who, who wants what!
The magical performance was carefully designed with very special outfits and superb light effects.
The project has a very experienced and solid team behind the scene. The whole show has a very rich worldwide background!
The idea of this production was to show all types of performer' styles and show the sensual side of each without having to show nudity, just make it all about movement and how the audience feels.
By highlighting it is all about movement and using all our creative sides to entertainment, faithless created a sensual dream as effect where your mind is stimulated with the idea of what is going on .
By using the name sensual dream we are able to capture all types of genres of sensuality and naming characters in the show after fetishes we come up with lace, leather, latex, rope and silks. Using all 5 of theses materials we take you through all different types of dream sequences.
Using magic the audience never actually sees how the cast arrive or leave during the show, almost like a dream when you never quite get to the end and see what you wanted to see.
Saturday 19 January 2013
Spirit of the Dance
Spirit of the Dance is a recognized show, with more than 15 years touring around the world with a big acceptance by a wide and horizontal public!
20 dancers on stage and a "magical" team behind making the delights of any audience! This show is mainly Irish influenced but besides has a range of sounds from all over the world! From Scotish till Spanish intersecting Cabaret or even Ballet!
I have been working with this production for the last European and Middle East tours. In early 2012 Spirit of the Dance Iberia Tour was my first experience with the group as Project manager and Producer, being in charge of the promotion, technical production management, logistics, venues, ticket sales and also tour management.
The cast performed in venues such as Teatre Coliseo in Barcelona or Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon.
At the end of 2012 Spirit of the Dance performed for 3 weeks at Teatro Apolo in Madrid. Just after a 2 weeks tour of 12 Tenors - also a Spirit Productions show. For both shows I worked as Technical project manager and Stage manager.
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After the great Iberia tours I worked in the Israel 2012/2013 Tour. An incredible experience! Performing along 14 days all around the country with a total of 25 shows and 30 artists on stage!! The tour included a corporative show for Ikea.
The expectation was big and the results amazing!
New tours of this show are coming in 2013!
The expectation was big and the results amazing!
New tours of this show are coming in 2013!
Friday 18 January 2013
Ballet, sweet passion
Working with ballet I have managed projects as Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (for kids), among others. With performances of the Crown of the Russian Ballet, the Russian National Ballet or the Kharkiv National Ballet Company.
Touring across Europe, in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, etc.
Herewith the muic projects I always kept the art of movement, the body expression of the soul emotions raised with the melody, in my diary!
Ballet is definitely a passion!!
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