Tonya Plank's Blog, page 38

ALVIN AILEY'S DENISE JEFFERSON HAS PASSED AWAY

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I received word yesterday that Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Denise Jefferson passed away over the weekend. She was one of the three women (along with Judith Jamison and Sylvia Waters) to whom Mr. Ailey had entrusted the future care of his dance company at the time he passed away. She was currently heading the Alvin Ailey School. She died of ovarian cancer. She was 66. How sad.

Click on the link below to read AAADT's press release.

(Above photo by Andrew Eccles).

The Ailey family is...

MARCELO IN FIRE ISLAND

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Here's a photo fabulously informative reader Jonathan sent me of our Marcelo Gomes dancing this past weekend in the Fire Island Dance Festival. I was unable to attend unfortunately. This is the festival Danny Tidwell had danced in last year but I am told he did not dance this year as he is touring with Rasta Thomas's "Bad Boys." Other dancers however included Travis Wall and Nick Lazzarini (So You Think You Can Dance winner from season one). Argh. Someday I am going to have to make it out...

DAVID HALLBERG ON DANCEPULP!

HERE!!

Above photo by Erin Baiano from The Winger.

MY FRIEND TAYLOR GORDON IN THE NEW YORK TIMES

There's an interactive feature with my friend, dancer Taylor Gordon, in the New York Times today. She talks about her career as a freelance ballet dancer – from performing in Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular to taking extra work in ABT Met season productions, to venturing into jazz and contemporary roles. Yay Taylor!

Photo above by Rosalie O'Connor, taken from Explore Dance.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE WEEK 5, OR POST ALEX, SOB!

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Photo from Jonathan (which Alex posted on Twitter).

Uh-oh, where's Ashley? Oh, another injury – a rib problem. So, she'll be in the bottom three tomorrow night, could suffer same fate as Alex.

First on is Lauren dancing a Tahitian dance with Mark Kanemura. Wow, fun costumes. And music! At first I couldn't take my eyes off of him, and then I couldn't take my eyes off of her. It was repetitive movement — knees shaking for the man, hip shaking both side to side and front to back for her. It...

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED

I don't know what I'd do without my Facebook friend and longtime reader Jonathan! He sent me this link announcing the schedule for the upcoming SYTYCD tour. (Thank you, as always, Jonathan, and so nice to meet you the other night at ABT!)

So looks like they'll be at Radio City Music Hall for one night, which good because if I decide to go I don't have to schlepp all the way out to Nassau Coliseum again.

IS SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE "CULTURALLY RADICAL"?

Here's an interesting perspective from the Huffington Post's Miles Mogulescu on So You Think You Can Dance:

"Here, the culture wars of the past 30 years appear over, at least for an hour or two, and the progressive side–which has stood for racial equality, gender equality, and gay rights–is the undisputed winner, without the need even to overtly comment about it. I'm not sure what Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, or the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal would have to say if they were...

I WRITE LIKE … NABOKOV?!

I write like
Vladimir Nabokov

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Okay, I'm having a bit too much fun with this, which I just saw on Galley Cat. When I put in a couple paragraphs from the opening pages of my novel, I got Nabokov. Which was kind of funny – thought for sure I'd get Nick Hornby or Helen Fielding or perhaps Martin Amis. But Nabokov?! But then when I put in an excerpt from one of my blog posts I got J.K. Rowling. Hmmmmm.

I write like
J. K...

MORE PHOTOS OF OSIPOVA AND HALLBERG IN ROMEO AND JULIET

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Some more photos of Natalia Osipova and David Hallberg in Osipova's Romeo and Juliet debut at ABT Saturday. Both photos by Gene Schiavone. The second one shows one of the moments I wrote about loving in my review. So sweet!

CARLOS ACOSTA TURNING TO MODERN DANCE

I was just about to suggest – to beg rather – Kevin McKenzie to try to lure Carlos Acosta back to ABT since, in light of this season's slew of principal injuries, we clearly need more big men; plus, I've never seen Acosta dance and am really dying to! But then my friend Susan sends me this.