Tonya Plank's Blog, page 20

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Will Receive National Medal of Honor From Obama Today at 1:45

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Today at 1:45 p.m ET, Ella Baff, director of Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (which is an excellent summer festival – loved it the year I was able to go), will receive the National Medal of Honor from President Obama. It will be live-streamed on the White House's website, here.

Other recipients include James Taylor, Harper Lee, and Meryl Streep. Does this mean Harper Lee will make a rare public appearance to receive her award as well?

Click on the link below to read the entire Jacob's Pillow press release with info about the festival, the award, and prior recipients.

Above photo of Flamenco Revolution performing on the Pillow's Inside/Out stage, by Kristi Pitsch.

JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL AWARDED NATIONAL MEDAL OF ARTS

HIGHEST ARTS AWARD GIVEN BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK AND AMERICA'S LONGEST-RUNNING DANCE FESTIVAL

FELLOW 2010 HONOREES INCLUDE HARPER LEE, JAMES TAYLOR, AND MERYL STREEP

March 1, 2011 – (Becket, Mass.)  President Barack Obama will honor Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival with a National Medal of Arts, the highest arts award given by the United States Government, on March 2 at 1:45pm. The National Medal of Arts is awarded to individuals or organizations who "are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States." Named a National Historic Landmark in 2003, Jacob's Pillow is the first dance presenting organization to receive a National Medal of Arts.

Fellow 2010 honorees include Harper Lee, James Taylor, Quincy Jones, and Meryl Streep. Since the awards were established in 1985, National Medal of Arts recipients include musicians Wynton Marsalis and Yo-Yo Ma; film icons Clint Eastwood and Gene Kelly; visual artists Georgia O'Keefe and Jasper Johns; dancer/choreographers Twyla Tharp and Judith Jamison; writers Maya Angelou and John Updike; and more than 250 others. In the past 25 years, only 17 arts organizations have received this honor.

Jacob's Pillow, founded in 1933 by Ted Shawn, a pioneer of American dance, is home to the nation's longest-running international dance Festival; The School at Jacob's Pillow, among the most prestigious dance training centers in the world; and rare and extensive dance Archives dating back to the early 1900s. Jacob's Pillow has been lauded as the "hub and mecca of dancing in North America" by TIME Magazine, "the dance center of the nation, and possibly the world" by The New York Times, and "one of America's most precious cultural assets" by dance legend Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Ella Baff, Jacob's Pillow Executive and Artistic Director, comments "Jacob's Pillow is tremendously honored to be recognized with the National Medal of Arts. Along with a sense of immeasurable pride and celebration, it is our hope that this most distinguished award inspires increased interest in and support for dance and all the arts. We share this signal honor with the pioneering artists who have enlivened Jacob's Pillow, our audiences and supporters; and all those who recognize the vital role that the arts play in our society and communities."

Joan Hunter, Chair of Jacob's Pillow Board of Directors, comments "Receiving the National Medal of Arts is an enormous honor for Jacob's Pillow, and it is a validation of the visionary leadership of Ella Baff. In addition, this award reflects the dedication and efforts of the Pillow staff, Board of Directors, and all who have served the Pillow throughout its history. We will continue to strive for excellence and work to preserve the Pillow for future generations."

Unlike other arts awards, the National Medal of Arts is not limited to a single field or area of artistic endeavor. It is designed to honor exemplary individuals and organizations that have encouraged the arts in America and offered inspiration to others through their distinguished achievement, support, or patronage. The Medal's genres and forms encompass arts education, crafts, dance, drawing, film, graphic/product design, interior design, landscape architecture, literature, classical and popular music, painting, patrons/advocates, photography, presenting, printmaking, sculpture, theater, and urban design.

The medals will be presented by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in an East Room ceremony at the White House on March 2 at 1:45pm and streamed live from http://www.whitehouse.gov/live. The President personally selected the recipients from nominations submitted to him by the National Council on the Arts, a group of Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed individuals. The Council's recommendations are culled from hundreds of nominations submitted by citizens across the country. The National Medal of Arts, the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence, is a White House initiative managed by the National Endowment for the Arts.

"The National Medal of Arts recipients represent the many vibrant and diverse art forms thriving in America," says NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. "As America's longest running international dance festival, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival not only supports the creation and presentation of dance, but also provides education programs and preserves extensive dance archives for future generations. I join the President and the country in saluting them."

The 2010 recipients of the National Medal of Arts include:

Organizations

* Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

Individuals

* Robert Brustein, Theatrical Critic, Producer, Playwright, and Educator

* Van Cliburn, Pianist and Music Educator

* Mark di Suvero, Sculptor

* Donald Hall, Poet

* Quincy Jones, Musician and Music Producer

* Harper Lee, Author

* Sonny Rollins, Jazz Musician

* Meryl Streep, Actress

* James Taylor, Singer and Songwriter

ABOUT JACOB'S PILLOW:

Currently celebrating its 79th season, Jacob's Pillow is a 163-acre National Historic Landmark located in Western Massachusetts in the town of Becket. "The Pillow" is home to America's longest-running dance festival, presenting more than 300 free and ticketed talks, events, exhibits, tours, and performances each year, including more than 50 dance companies from around the world. The Boston Globe comments "the grand dame of U.S. dance festivals always offers a provocative mix of traditional, experimental, and ethnic dance from around the world" and The New Yorker states "…intimate and surrounded by nature, Jacob's Pillow, in Becket, Mass., is an ideal place to watch dance." Festival 2011 runs June 18 through August 28, and includes more than 160 free and ticketed dance performances by companies hailing from Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, and across the United States. For more information, visit http://jacobspillow.org/.

Jacob's Pillow commissions, the annual $25,000 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award and Creative Development Residencies, in which dance companies are invited to live and work at the Pillow and enjoy unlimited studio time, all support visionary choreographers.

The School at Jacob's Pillow is one of the most prestigious professional advancement dance centers in the U.S., and offers professional training programs in Ballet, Cultural Traditions, Contemporary, and Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance. Each year, dancers from around the world audition and apply for 100 coveted spots and the opportunity to work with internationally-acclaimed choreographers, directors, and artists. The Jacob's Pillow Intern Program offers incomparable training for young professionals from around the world in arts administration, documentation, and production. The Pillow's extensive Archives, open year-round to the public, chronicle more than 80 years of dance in photographs, programs, books, costumes, audiotapes, and video. Each season, hundreds of talks, rehearsals, performances, classes, events, and oral histories are filmed and added to the Archives.

The Pillow's Community Programs enrich the lives of children and adults through classes, residencies in area schools, and more than 200 free public events. Through Jacob's Pillow Curriculum in Motion®, artist-educators work with Berkshire County teachers and students grades K-12, transforming existing curricula such as biology, literature, science, and history into kinesthetic learning experiences.

Jacob's Pillow is building online audiences for dance through Virtual Pillow, a new series of digital programming that provides unique, insightful, and entertaining Jacob's Pillow experiences. Virtual Pillow offerings include select artist interviews and PillowTalks on FORA.tv, an online historical tour, and DanceClips+, a pilot series of short video clips of performances, classes, and artist interviews. On March 28, the Pillow will launch Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive, a curated online video collection of Festival artists from 1937 through 2010. Dance Interactive features rare performance videos, including footage of Ted Shawn's Men Dancers and the only known moving images of Asadata Dafora (the first artist to introduce authentic African dance and music to American audiences), and corresponding facts about the artists. Virtual Pillow is made possible by the Leading for the Future Initiative, funded by the Doris Duke Foundation, which selected ten "artistically outstanding organizations" nationwide and invested in them to take on a transformative challenge. To experience Virtual Pillow, visit http://jacobspillow.org/Virtual-Pillow/.

In 2011, director Ron Honsa will release Never Stand Still, a new documentary film about dance, dancers, and Jacob's Pillow. The film, shot at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, features high-definition performance footage and exclusive interviews with Marge Champion, Merce Cunningham, Suzanne Farrell, Joanna Haigood, Nikolaj Hübbe, Bill Irwin, Judith Jamison, Mark Morris, Gideon Obarzanek, Paul Taylor, Rasta Thomas, and others.

JACOB'S PILLOW HISTORY:

Jacob's Pillow began in the late 1700s as a New England farm owned by the Carter family. Knowing the Biblical story of Jacob, who laid his head upon a rock and dreamed of a ladder to heaven, the Carters aptly named a large boulder on the property "Jacob's Pillow." In the 1800s, Jacob's Pillow played a role in American history as a stop on the Underground Railroad for slaves escaping to Canada. In 1931, modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn bought the farm as a retreat. At that time, Shawn and his wife, Ruth St. Denis, were America's leading couple in dance. Their Denishawn Company had popularized a new dance form rooted in theatrical and ethnic traditions rather than those of European ballet. Their trailblazing work and cross-country tours paved the way for the next generation of modern dance performers and choreographers such as Martha Graham, Charles Weidman, and Doris Humphrey, who were all members of Denishawn. But Shawn and St. Denis soon separated, personally and professionally, and in the fall of 1931, Shawn conducted the last rehearsals of the Denishawn era at Jacob's Pillow.

Shawn had long harbored a dream of legitimizing dance in America as an honorable career for men. In 1933, he recruited eight men, including Denishawn dancer Barton Mumaw and several physical education students from Springfield College–then a men's school–for his new company. The tall and burly Shawn and his athletic dancers were intent on challenging the image of men in dance; they forged a new, boldly muscular style in dances celebrating Pawnee braves, toiling sharecroppers, and Union machinists. When not training or touring, they built many of the structures still used today at Jacob's Pillow.

The Men Dancers began to perform for the public in 1933, and the Pillow's programming expanded to encompass other artists after the Men's company disbanded in 1940. Despite wartime hardships, such as gasoline and tire rationing, audiences climbed the hill on foot and horseback to attend a wide array of programs: ballet, modern dance, mime, ballroom, folk, and classical dance of many cultures. In 1942 the Ted Shawn Theatre opened, built by architect Joseph Franz as the first theatre in the U.S. designed specifically for dance. Throughout the intervening seven decades, Jacob's Pillow has continued in Shawn's trail-blazing spirit, presenting emerging artists and acclaimed dance companies from around the world. In its 79-season history Jacob's Pillow has presented such distinguished artists as Alvin Ailey, Alicia Alonso, Nina Ananiashvili, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Pina Bausch, Merce Cunningham, Margot Fonteyn, Savion Glover, Cynthia Gregory, Gregory Hines, Judith Jamison, Bill T. Jones, Carmen de Lavallade, José Limón, Mark Morris, Ann Reinking, Antony Tudor, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Edward Villella and literally thousands of others. For a full list of Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival artists 1933 through 2010, visit http://jacobspillow.org/exhibits-arch....

In the twenty-first century, the Pillow's national status has been underlined with noteworthy distinctions. In 2000, it was included on the Dance Heritage Coalition's list of America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2003, the federal government named Jacob's Pillow a National Historic Landmark for its importance in America's culture and history, thus distinguishing the Pillow as the country's first and only Landmark dance institution. In 2007, the Pillow was formally dedicated as a site on the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail, which celebrates people and places that hold pivotal roles in key events of African American heritage. On March 2, 2011, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival will receive a National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama.

As of February 2011, major support for Jacob's Pillow has been provided by The Kresge Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; The Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation, Inc.; The Leir Charitable Foundations, In Memory of Henry J. Leir; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts; Leading for the Future Initiative, a program of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; MassDevelopment; National Endowment for the Arts; National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius; Save America's Treasures; CEC ArtsLink and the Open World Leadership Center; Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York; Frances Alexander Family Fund; ALEX®; The Legacy Banks Foundation; Quality Inn; Jacob's Pillow Business Alliance; and Jacob's Pillow Members.

Major endowment support is provided by The Barrington Foundation, Inc.; The William Randolph Hearst Foundation; The Leir Charitable Foundations, In Memory of Henry J. Leir; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Onota Foundation; The Prospect Hill Foundation; Talented Students in the Arts Initiative, a collaboration of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Surdna Foundation; and Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Alice in Wonderland and Twitterland

Photo of Lauren Cuthbertson as Alice, by Johan Persson of the Royal Ballet, taken from here.

Christopher Wheeldon's Alice in Wonderland premiered tonight at the Royal Ballet in London. BalletNews has already posted a detailed review. And the Ballet Bag ladies live-tweeted the event on behalf of the Royal. They had backstage privileges and were privy to all kinds of insider info so definitely check out the hashtag they tweeted under, #AliceInWonderland – they've got pictures, reviews, etc. etc. I was also told NYCB's Maria Kowroski was in attendance. I'm currently searching the hashtag tweets for the photo of her.

I've been really excited about this ballet since I first heard about it. Can't wait for it to tour!

Dancing With the Stars Season 12 Cast

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I can't believe I watched The Bachelor for this! I hate reality TV shows!

Anyway, if you missed ABC's announcement / mini press conference, here's the season 12 cast:

Sugar Ray Leonard

Chelsea Kane (Disney star)

Romeo (hip hop artist)

Ralph Macchio (Karate Kid star)

Petra Nemcova (supermodel and UN spokesperson)

Kendra Wilkinson (reality TV person)

Hines Ward (footballer, Steelers)

Mike Catherwood (missed who he is, sorry)

Wendy Williams (talk show host)

Chris Jericho (wrestler)

Kirstie Alley

Not horribly excited about this cast. Most interesting to me at this point are Sugar Ray (duh!), Kirstie Alley, and Ralph Macchio. Okay, those are the only ones I really know anything of. Whenever new casts are announced it always drives home how out of it I am pop culture-wise

Anyone you guys are particularly excited about?

Top photo from here.

Natalie Portman's Black Swan Acceptance Speech at the Oscars

So what did you guys think of it? I tried to find a YouTube video but couldn't find a free one. Interesting that companies are going to start charging for subscriptions for that kind of thing… Anyway, I love that she thanked and named all the professional dancers who trained her this time, and that she expressed how wonderful and enlightening it was to work with them all. She honestly elevated the film with her speech in my opinion.

And how sweet was it for her to try to bring Millepied up with her onstage! I watched E!'s red carpet show – mainly to see her – but she arrived last and seemingly without Millepied (since she was interviewed alone). I was like, where is he?! But he was there, of course.

Speaking of the red carpet show, I loved Mila Kunis's dress.

And Scarlett Johansson's, though it didn't seem to go over too well with Kelly Osbourne and the other woman who was hosting the show:

And Helena Bonham Carter noted that her dress was by Colleen Atwood, who is the costume designer who ended up winning best costume design for Alice in Wonderland. She said she preferred to celebrate the movies rather than fashion on this night:

I thought all of the best actor and best supporting actor speeches were good. Loved Colin Firth's, loved him in King's Speech, but still love Jesse Eisenberg as well. Love that in her excitement, Melissa Leo used profanity. How'd they bleep that out so quickly? And did Kirk Douglas actually grab her butt? Someone on Twitter said they thought they saw that. He was kind of acting in an antiquated sexist kind of way, with all his flirting with Hathaway and all, so I totally believe he may have. He would have made me so nervous if I were Leo. Poor Leo, I thought. This is her moment, not his. Interesting (and proper) move, to include Douglas as a presenter, because Anne Hathaway and James Franco seemed to keep sending the message that they were invited to host because they represented the young, hip generation. Is that true? She seemed like a big, clumsy, awkward goof – probably the nerves, and he seemed to have taken a bit too much Valium (or something else) to calm his. Does Hollywood feel the need to pander to the young 'uns too? Like ballet and the opera? How odd – movies are generally for the younger generations, I'd thought… Anyway, they bored me, those hosts. And Kirk Douglas scared me. Isn't there, like, someone in between, who's not too unsophisticated to take on that kind of role but who can also keep from violating current-day boundaries?

Anyway, overall a decent night. The end of the evening speeches made up for the poor hosting. Kind of.

Guggenheim Live-Streaming Tonight and Tomorrow Night's Dance Performances: Ashley Tuttle Dancing

Tonight and tomorrow night (Sunday, February 27th and Monday, February 28th), the Guggenheim will again be live-streaming their Works and Process event. This event consists of choreography by Donald Byrd and Pam Tanowitz set to music by John Zorn, and one of the dancers performing (probably the star dancer) will be Ashley Tuttle (of Movin' Out and Come Fly Away fame; above photo by Allison Michael Orenstein from TONY). Again, you can watch live at the Guggenheim's ustream channel, and you'll be able to participate in the live chat there. You'll also be able to participate in a chat via Twitter, under the hashtag, #JohnZorn or by following @worksandprocess.

It begins at 7:30 both nights, and will be archived for future viewings on the Guggenheim's ustream channel.

I'm watching the Academy Awards tonight (with all the ballet peeps in the audience, who could miss it?!) but plan to watch the Guggenheim live-stream tomorrow night. I know nothing about Byrd, Tanowitz, or Zorn, so it'll be educational for me. Join in the live chat if you can – they're fun.

Click on the link below to read the Guggenheim's whole press release with info on the program and bios of the dancers, choreographer, and musician.

For over 25 years and in over 300 productions, Works & Process has offered audiences unprecedented access to our generation's leading creators and performers. Each 80-minute performance uniquely combines artistic creation and stimulating conversation and takes place in the Guggenheim's intimate Frank Lloyd Wright-designed 285-seat Peter B. Lewis Theater. With performances often sold out, Works & Process on Sunday and Monday, February 27 and 28, 2011 at 7:30 pm, will livestream the sold out performances of John Zorn's Music Interpreted – New Choreography by Donald Byrd and Pam Tanowitz.  In this program choreographers Donald Byrd and Pam Tanowitz each create new works, commissioned by Works & Process, set to the music of composer John Zorn. Byrd, known for his beautiful yet volatile work, will choreograph a piece with his Seattle-based company Spectrum Dance Theater set to Zorn played by pianist Stephen Drury. Tanowitz, known for her unflinchingly postmodern treatment of classical dance, sets a work to Zorn's Femina, written as a tribute to the rich legacy of women in the arts. Working with seasoned dancers, including Ashley Tuttle, Tanowitz draws from the sensuality, spontaneity, and fantastical imagination of the Romantic ballets for this new work. The performance will be interspersed with discussion by Byrd, Tanowitz, and Zorn, moderated by composer Charles Wuorinen.

The Winger's Candice Thompson will moderate the real-time online chat on February 28. The video will be automatically archived and can be shared and viewed in social networks.

This past January 9, 2011 Works & Process livestreamed a program for the first time, the program featuring Pacific Northwest Ballet generated 728 unique live online viewers and subsequently the program has been viewed over 1,300 times. The livestreaming of sold-out performances allows audiences the chance to see a sold-out performance they otherwise would not have access to and enables artists to reach a broader audience.

Watch the livestream online at www.ustream.tv/channel/worksandprocess.

Follow the conversation on Twitter with @worksandprocess and #JohnZorn.

PROGRAM

New Choreography by Donald Byrd set to John Zorn's cid:image001.gif@01CBC164.804113B0  WORLD PREMIERE

Music: John Zorn

Choreography: Donald Byrd

Pianist: Stephen Drury

Lighting: Philip Treviño

Dancers: Kelly Ann Barton, Ty Alexander Cheng, Kylie Lewallen, Vincent Lopez, and Tory Peil

Choreography by Donald Byrd, commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim.

New Choreography by Pam Tanowitz set to John Zorn's Femina WORLD PREMIERE

Music: John Zorn

Choreography: Pam Tanowitz

Lighting: Philip Treviño

Costumes: Karen Young

Dancers: Christina Amendolia, Jean Freebury, Ellie Kusner, Brian Lawson, Banu Ogan, Uta Takemura, Lucy Wilson and Ashley Tuttle

Choreography by Pam Tanowitz, commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim and created during a residency provided by The Joyce Theater Foundation, New York City, with major support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Performances will be interspersed a discussion with Donald Byrd, Pam Tanowitz, and John Zorn moderated by Charles Wuorinen.

DONALD BYRD

Donald Byrd became Artistic Director of Spectrum Dance Theater in December 2002.  From 1978 – 2002, he was Artistic Director of Donald Byrd/The Group a critically acclaimed contemporary dance company,  founded in Los Angeles and later based in New York, that toured extensively, both nationally and internationally. Byrd has created over 80 works for modern dance companies, for his own group, Spectrum, and the Ailey Company, and also for the Day­ton Contemporary Dance Company, and Philadel­phia Dance Company (Philadanco).  He has choreographed for classical companies, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, Aterballetto, MaggioDanza diFirenze, and Oregon Ballet Theater.  Additionally, he has worked with some of the most prestigious theater and opera companies in the country, including New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, the Intiman Theater, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera and New York City Opera. Mr. Byrd has served on the faculty of the California Institute for the Arts and taught at Wesleyan University, the School of Visual Arts, Harvard Summer Dance Center, California State University Long Beach, and the University of Cali­fornia at Santa Cruz, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Dance Theater Workshop in New York. He was a fellow at The Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at Harvard for three years.  Byrd also served for three terms on the Seattle Arts Commis­sion (Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.)  In 2006, Byrd received a TONY nomination for his choreography for The Color Purple.

PAM TANOWITZ holds a BFA in Dance from the Ohio State University and an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College. During her two years at Sarah Lawrence College, Tanowitz worked closely with her mentor Viola Farber-Slayton who has greatly influenced her work and life. She also studied at the American Dance Festival and Bates Dance Festival and has studied choreography with Martha Myers and Dan Hurlin. She has set works on dancers from American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet dancers Tom Gold and Elizabeth Walker, on Purchase Dance Corp, Oregon Ballet Theater, NYU's Washington Square Repertory Dance Company, The Steffi Nosen Dance Company and The Greenwich Academy dance Corp, where she was an artist in residence in 2005. During the fall of 2006 her company Pam Tanowitz Dance was in residence at Ohio State University, where she set work on the dance majors and incorporated the students in the company's final performance. Most recently Pam was invited by the Oregon Ballet's Choreographic Institute to create a new ballet. She has taught composition at Hunter College, and Master Classes at American Dance Festival. She is the 2001 recipient of the Scripps/ADF Primus-Tamaris Fellowship in Choreography and an Astral Career Grant from the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts. In 2010 Tanowitz was awarded a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant, NYFA BUILD grant and support from The Jerome Robbins Foundation.

JOHN ZORN

Drawing on his experience in a variety of genres including jazz, rock, hardcore punk, classical, klezmer, film, cartoon, popular and improvised music, John Zorn has created an influential body of work that defies academic categories. A native of New York City, he has been a central figure in the downtown scene since 1975, incorporating a wide range of musicians in various compositional formats. He learned alchemical synthesis from Harry Smith, structural ontology with Richard Foreman, how to make art out of garbage with Jack Smith, cathartic expression at Sluggs and hermetic intuition from Joseph Cornell. Early inspirations include American innovators Ives, Varese, Cage, Carter and Partch, the European tradition of Berg, Stravinsky, Ligeti and Kagel, soundtrack composers Herrmann, Morricone and Stalling as well as avant-garde theater, film, art, literature, alchemy and mysticism. In addition to his composing, recording and performing Zorn is a firm believer in community and a tireless champion of experimental music, film, art, poetry and theatre, organizing festivals, recordings and concerts, and helping to establish venues and opportunities for performance. He founded the Tzadik label in 1995 (which has released over 700 recordings of new and adventurous music); runs the East Village performance space The Stone (which has presented over 3000 concerts and 60 musical workshops since 2005) and has edited and published five volumes of musician's writings under the title ARCANA. Honors include the Cultural Achievement Award from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and the William Schuman Prize for composition from Columbia University. He was inducted into the Long Island Hall of Fame by Lou Reed in 2010 and is a MacArthur Fellow. His latest project The Obsessions Collective is an online gallery introducing the work of cutting edge artists to the discerning collector:  www.obsessionscollective.com

SPECTRUM DANCE THEATER

Established in 1982, Spectrum Dance Theater is the largest professional contemporary dance company in Washington, presenting work by Artistic Director Donald Byrd and guest artists, with a focus on Northwest choreographers.  Its mission is to produce and present contemporary dance that challenges expectations and calls forth strong emotions, deep feelings and thoughtful responses. Three organizational components comprise Spectrum: the Professional Company, the School (serving over 500 students), and Outreach Programs. The school provides expert dance instruction in diverse dance forms to all. Through its outreach programs, Spectrum Dance Theater seeks to educate the community about dance as an art form and as a social/civic instrument. Under Donald Byrd's visionary artistic leadership since 2002, Spectrum has embarked on an exhilarating transformation that has attracted world-class dancers, produced some of the most engaging works in contemporary dance, and generated acclaim in both local and national press. Spectrum's educational programs offer 71 weekly classes to youth and adults at the Madrona Dance Studio, its home for over 25 years. The Academy Program, for dancers 14 to 21 years old, was launched in 2006 and has grown to become the only pre-professional contemporary dance training center in the region. In recent years, the company has performed at New York's Dance Theater Workshop, Italy's Spoleto Festival, Houston, Texas and Clearwater, Florida. In 2009, the company presented performances, workshops and residencies at major universities located in five states – from Pennsylvania to Utah.

PAM TANOWITZ DANCE, founded in 2000, and has enjoyed significant success. Tanowitz has received commissions and residencies at coveted New York theaters including Dance Theater Workshop (2009), Danspace Project (2002, 2004, 2010), Joyce SoHo (2005, 2007, 2009), the Guggenheim Museum's Works & Process program (2001, 2005, 2008, 2011), Baryshnikov Arts Center (2010), and Central Park Summerstage (2002). In 2001 Pam Tanowitz Dance was one of only three companies in the United States invited to perform at the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC, as part of the Emerging Generations concert. The company has performed on the Inside/Out Festival at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 2002, 2005 and 2009. In 2010 Pam Tanowitz Dance premiered Wanderer Fantasy at Danspace Project. The work was well received and was created in residence at Baryshnikov Arts Center. In 2009, the company received a Bessie Award for Be in the Gray With Me at Dance Theater Workshop.

Misty Copeland on Tavis Smiley

Apropos of our recent discussion on race and ballet, ABT's Misty Copeland was recently on the Tavis Smiley show. She talks about race, ballet, elitism, her training, her recent appearance onstage with Prince, the immense difficulty of ballet, and of course, Black Swan. She's very well spoken. Go Misty!

Also, speaking of Black Swan, here's an essay by former NYCB dancer Toni Bentley in the Daily Beast. Bentley has more guts than anyone else in the industry, that's for damn sure. Go Toni!

Above photo of Copeland taken from Martini Pink.

Moonlight on the Beach

Happy President's Day everyone! I'm spending the week in South Carolina at my cousin's timeshare – I needed a few days away from New York and the ocean is  my favorite place. (If I ever have money, I'm definitely buying a beach house somewhere.  I could never be one of those New Yorkers who buys a country home up in the mountains. I don't understand those people. Who wants to risk a run-in with a bear or coyote or jaguar? Not to mention deal with permanently cold temperatures…) Anyway, the light from last night's full moon on the ocean was gorgeous. My iPhone is not so good at taking pictures at night, so you'll have to take my word for it

The condo's wireless connection is a bit off and on, plus, it's unexpectedly nice weather here – 71 degrees today, plus I'm supposed to be working on my novel, so I don't know how much time I'll have to blog. But here are a few items of interest:

Roberto Bolle makes his Hollywood debut;

John Epperson talks about his role as "Jaded Piano Player" in Black Swan; and

Our friend Benjamin Millepied is now getting hounded by the tabloids for working too hard and not paying enough attention to Ms. Portman

Also, here are some photos I just received of the magnificent Sara Mearns debuting as the Siren (opposite Sean Suozzi) in Balanchine's Prodigal Son a couple weeks ago at NYCB:

Finally, if you haven't seen Natalia Osipova dance yet, next Sunday, March 6th, will be your chance. She'll be dancing Kitri in Don Quixote with the Bolshoi, in a performance that will be live-streamed direct from Moscow via Emerging Pictures' Ballet in Cinema series. NY performance time is 11:00 a.m., at the Manhattan Big Theater, and she'll be dancing opposite Ivan Vasliev. This is the role that made her famous, and she owns it, so try not to miss it if it's showing at a theater near you. Check Emerging Pictures' website for times and locations.

Okay, that's all for now. Happy holiday everyone!

Jenifer Ringer to Appear on Oprah

NYCB announced today that Jenifer Ringer (the subject of Sugarplumpgate if you're not a regular NYCB dance-goer) will appear on Oprah Winfrey this Thursday, February 17th. She'll appear as part of an episode called "Fascinating Lives." In addition to being interviewed, footage of Ringer in rehearsal and performing Jerome Robbins' I'm Old Fashioned will be shown. The show will air at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, on ABC. Click on the link below to read the press release.

New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Jenifer Ringer will make a special appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Thursday, February 17 as part of an episode exploring fascinating lives.

In addition to being interviewed by Ms. Winfrey in front of her studio audience, the segment will also include rare behind-the-scenes footage of Ms. Ringer shot on location with the New York City Ballet, featuring company class, rehearsals, and a performance of Jerome Robbins' I'm Old Fashioned.

Ms. Ringer trained at the School of American Ballet (the official school of NYCB), and joined New York City Ballet when she was just 16 years old. She was promoted to soloist in 1995, and has been a principal dancer since 2000. During her career with NYCB Ms Ringer has danced numerous leading roles in the Balanchine and Robbins repertory, and has also originated leading roles in ballets by Peter Martins, Christopher Wheeldon, Twyla Tharp, and Alexei Ratmansky, among others.

In New York City the Oprah Winfrey Show airs at 4 p.m. on WABC-TV Channel 7, for broadcast schedule in other areas, please check local listings.

Aesha Ash's "Black Swan Diaries"

In my last post, on NYCB's Swan Lake, I railed against what I saw as race-based casting, which led to a good discussion on race in ballet thanks to some very smart commenters! Marie mentioned the ballerina who'd been with NYCB and it made me nuts that I'd momentarily forgotten her name. So, I did an internet search and found her – Aesha Ash – via Eva Yaa Asantewaa. It turns out she's just started her own blog, Black Swan Diaries. She has some really good posts up already, about dancing Arabian in NYCB's Nutcracker, and about touring Brazil, amongst other things. So another addition to your blog reading!

Photo above from here.

Sara Mearns Was Gorgeous in Swan Lake, But Overall Production Was Lacking

Last week was Sara Mearns week for me (well, for many New York ballet fans, I suspect). On Tuesday night, she made her debut as the Siren in NYCB's Prodigal Son. (I'm still awaiting photos and will post as soon as I receive them!) Sean Suozzi danced the lead role. He did very well, but she just always stands out to me whatever she is in – particularly the story ballets. She was the best, most tantalizing, sinister, seductive, all around captivating Siren I've ever seen. The way she whipped that cape in between her legs, wrapping it around each one, the way she'd bend her knees slowly into a second-position plie while on point, basically squatting over the son's head in a suggestive but also sinister manner, the way she'd raise her hand behind her head with the wrist bent and the fingers splayed to indicate her triumph over the son's will, even just the way she'd walk out onstage on pointe, tiptoeing all around him – everything, every movement was in service of the character and was an integral part of the character's story. I often feel like I'm seeing steps with other dancers. Just steps. The pas de deux between the son and the siren contains some of Balanchine's oddest-looking choreography- especially those lifts – 'here, stand on my knees, wrap your legs around my neck and let me carry you around like that,' etc. I imagine it would feel very odd and foreign doing some of that, which of course was the point. It's supposed to look warped and off-kilter. Everyone has mastered those steps, but to me, Mearns makes it the most deliciously warped. I love her.

Then, on Friday night, the company premiered their Swan Lake (Peter Martins version), and she danced the lead. (Photo above by Paul Kolnik, from Playbill Arts.)

In sum, I loved her; I wasn't in love with the production. I went with several friends, two of whom don't regularly go to the ballet, and that seemed to be the consensus. Everyone was excited to see Mearns dance again, but not to see that production. She was wonderful for all the same reasons I've written about before – she's like a Veronika Part to me; she does such a full job of developing character, she brings you so fully into her world, you feel all of her pain with her. But of course she's also an excellent dancer. She has a way of arching her back so, of working her arms and hands so, of extending her leg so high in arabesque, of extending her line so beautifully and making such full shapes – it's a cliche, but her adagio / White Swan is just breathtaking. It almost makes you want to cry, and one of my friends did!

But she excels in the Black Swan / allegro role as well – not so much because she can do athletic feats like Gillian Murphy or Natalia Osipova (there were "just" a bizillion fouettes during the pas de deux, not a bizillion fouettes divided by multiple pirouettes and wild swan-like port de bras thrown into it all) but because she can do that all perfectly fine while still making it all about the character. When she does a series of lifts with Jared Angle where she spreads her legs into a straddle split in the air above his head, it's just so wicked! And even at the beginning of the Black Swan, when she makes her entrance and presents her hand to the queen – it's clear she's up to no good. But she also doesn't overdo it. She's conniving and sinister but with a sweet face.

But the rest of the production: Jared's an excellent partner, that's clear. Mearns was way off her center of gravity in much of the White Swan partnering, and he securely held her balance, freeing her up to make those gorgeous shapes, and to act it all out the way she so brilliantly does. But in his own dancing, he just, like practically all dancers these days, goes for the cliche. It all looks so fake. I don't believe he's in love with her, or that he's ever longing for what he doesn't have, and that he's devastated when she leaves him in the end. It's all her sorrow and longing alone. So the performance was so unbalanced. I wish so much I could see her dance this with Marcelo Gomes, who really brings Prince Siegfried's internal conflicts to life like no one else.

The other major issue I have with this production is the costumes – the costumes and the sets. I always forget about them until I see the ballet again, and, especially when I go with friends. My friends Friday night really found it hard to look beyond those costumes. For some reason, I kept thinking of the Flinstones, my friend, Marie, called them Jackson Pollack on speed or something to that effect (I haven't read her review yet but will after I finish this post), and the others we went with just couldn't stop talking about the brash colors. I remember my friend in the fashion industry saying of the Romeo and Juliet costumes (Per Kirkeby designed sets and costumes for both Martins productions) that the colors needed to be muted; these brash, bright, almost neon colors made the characters look like cartoons. Same with the Swan Lake costumes. Cartoonish is NOT what you want to go for in serious ballets like this.

Also, the RACISM. This is another thing I hate to admit I often forget about until I see the ballet again with a friend, and the friend is horrified at the fact that a black man is playing the evil character. Must von Rothbart always be danced by Albert Evans or Henry Seth? Are we not living in the year 2011? I mean, this is a huge reason why young people are so turned off from the ballet. And none of the very educated critics ever seem to be calling Martins on this. What's up with that? Seriously? I think once you go to the ballet a lot you begin to forget about these things, you become immune to them. Which is horrible. But really, asking your audience to associate black men with evil is a horrible insult to that – probably very educated – audience.

Another problem here: Faycal Karoui (the conductor) was seriously on speed. He was flying through the first half. The poor dancers couldn't even express the story. They really had to rush falling in love. If I'd never have seen this ballet before (and there were probably some such people there due to the Natalie Portman film), I don't know if I would have gotten much out of the White Swan pas de deux. And that's kind of an important part of this ballet…

All other dancers did well – I particularly liked Ana Sophia Scheller and Anthony Huxley (filling in for Sean Suozzi as Benno) in the first act Pas de Trois, and, in the second act, Abi Stafford and Joaquin DeLuz in the Divertissement Pas de Quatre, and Antonio Carmena in the Neapolitan Dance – but everyone did very well (those were just the ones who stood out to me). Oh and I loved Daniel Ulbricht throughout as the Jester. With his immense skill at jumps and turns – and combo jumping turns – and his comical sensibilities, he is perfect for such a role, as he is for Puck in Midsummer Night's Dream – my favorite roles for him.

But I have to say, I was floored when none of the other dancers came out and took bows at the end of the production. Why? Whose idea was that? Only Mearns and Angle and Evans took bows. I realize the dancers are all very hard-working and probably needed to get home to get sleep for the next day's matinee. But this severely cut Mearns's bow and curtain calls short. It reduced the celebratory aspect of a production well done. Worse, it also really makes it look like none of the other dancers cared about Mearns, and about the production. It made it look like the company is not really a company of dancers who all work together and support each other. I've honestly never seen such a thing before. I've seen it where dancers who only dance during the first act will take their bows and curtain calls after the first act and not at the end of the whole, but the dancers who danced in the last act always come out for their bows at the end. Anyway, it really stood out to me. What did other people think?

Here is my friend Marie's write-up.