This weekend come check out the UMS presentation of Hubbard Street Dance. Performing a piece inspired by Marc Chagall’s America Windows and written by Hubbard Street’s first resident choreographer, Alejandro Cerrudo, the performance is sure to take your breath away. Cerrudo, when interviewed, commented on how windows shape and distort images – this is the inspiration of the piece. They use water effects, like mist curtains, and special backlighting to exemplify the beauty of the dancers. It is sure to be a spectacle of a performance, so get on those tickets, folks!
Tag: Dance
PREVIEW: Julian Allen Senior Recital
Julian Allen Senior Recital
It’s recital season. This means that every venue in Ann Arbor is jam packed with parents, friends, and artistic talent on any given day of the month. On Saturday April 27th, The Yellow Barn hosts the Julian Allen Senior Recital. A musician in the School of Music, this performance will feature original music and lyrics by Julian Allen and multi-media collaboration with local artists. Both jazz and electronic, vocals and rap, this dynamic and varied recital will explore a number of themes, techniques, and messages. In conjunction with Dance BFA student Julia Smith-Eppsteiner, local hip-hop artists Tree City and Kadence, and a number of U-M School of Music students and alum, this performance will run the gamut of Ann Arbor talent. The show starts at 6 pm. The Yellow Barn is located on 416 W. Huron Street. See you there!
PREVIEW: DANCE MEDITATION
Dance Meditation
Dance Meditation is a meditative, community dance party happening in Ann Arbor this Sunday. Originated by Michael Patrick Peters, the practice started in Detroit and has migrated toward our town for the weekend. Based on the yogic movement techniques, the practice is inspired by an experimental healing ideology called Transforming Tension Through Creativity. Dance Meditation involves letting loose and moving the body however it needs to in order to expel tension or creative blockage. Two of my friends wo are U of M grads that recently moved to Detroit attended the original Detroit variation. They claimed it was the most invigorating experience they had ever shared with their new community.
For an energetic, cathartic, liberating, rejuvenating, creative evening of dance, don’t miss this unique opportunity to let loose and be free. The event will start at 5:30 pm on Sunday February 24th at Concourse Hall (4531 Concourse Drive). $15 at the door includes space to dance and tea following the meditation. Check out the Facebook event for more details and directions. See you there!
REVIEW: Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET
Last weekend, the Aspen Santa Fe performed at the Power Center. It was a rainy Sunday and I spent the morning eating brunch at a hole-in-the-wall cake shop on the Old West Side called Jefferson Market and then watching the matinée performance. The indulgent outing felt both classic and obsolete: When was the last time I, a.) attended a ballet or b.) went to a matinée that was preceded by brunch on the town? My only justification was that going to the performance was required for my ballet class. But I am very glad that it was because the dance itself was truly a spectacle.
The show was visually stunning, incredibly professional, tightly rehearsed, and impressively physical. The presentation was a breath taking combination of artistry and athleticism that I have rarely seen. The costumes revealed a great deal of skin and muscle on both males and females that really made me wonder how many crunches they all do per day. Half the drama of the show was simply the chiseled appearance of their abs and buns. I’m serious.
The piece was comprised of three acts; Square None (2012), Stamping Ground (1983), and Over Glow (2011). Each act differed from the next in its score, its choreography, its costumes design, and its lighting scheme, but it was clear that they were intended to be a part of a unified, coherent performance.
The first piece used grey lighting and darker musical tones while the second used no music and bright lighting. The first two appeared to make commentary on modern culture: the first was structured around bionic, wind-up-doll-like gestures. The second was very animalistic and primitive, using the body as a drum to make rhythms rather than electronic sound. (The second piece was by far my favorite; it was the most animated, relatable, and story-like whereas the other were more theoretical and abstruse). The last piece was the prettiest, with pastel colors and graceful lifts, leaps, and pirouettes. It was lovely to watch, but was my least favorite act because it felt sort of flat in comparison to the creativity in the previous two.
One thing I have not mentioned yet is the fact that this kind of ballet is not like Swan Lake or The Nutcracker. It’s not classical ballet, its neo-classical; its contemporary. It uses the same structure and techniques as ballet (straight legs, delicate fingers, turned out feet) but also incorporates movement that more resembles modern dance. Contemporary ballet allows for a greater breadth of movement and does not adhere as strictly to the lines set forth by the original forms of classic ballet. In many ways, especially after seeing Aspen Santa Fe’s performance, I find myself drawn to this genre. It is still both pretty and recognizable, but also fluid, creative, and unusual.
Sunday brunch and a matinée at the Power Center is one of the easiest assignments I’ve ever been given. Oh, and one last fun fact about the costume design from Square None was that it was designed by Project Runway celebrity contestant Austin Scarlett. Who knew.
Preview: Dance for Mother Earth Powwow
From the Native American Student Association:
The Native American Student Association is hosting the 40th Annual Dance for Mother Earth Powwow next weekend, March 17 and 18, at Pioneer High School. Powwows are gatherings that Native American people use as a place to meet, dance, sing and otherwise renew and strengthen our rich culture.
These gatherings are held year-round and many Native people travel great distances to attend them.
Today, the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow is one of the largest university powwows in the nation; according to USA Today Travel, it is one of “10 great places to be wowed by American Indian culture.” The 2012 Powwow will continue the tradition of providing a gathering place for Native Americans to celebrate and share their culture with one another, and for others who are interested in learning about our country’s strong indigenous heritage. This year’s Powwow will host over 150 dancers, 12 drums, and over 33 vendors/artists from across the nation and throughout Indian Country. In addition, there will be special celebrations to pay tribute to 40 strong years of powwowing for Mother Earth.
Blue Michigan buses will be running from the Michigan Union every half hour all Saturday and Sunday.
REVIEW: Pina
The Oscars happened last Sunday and The Artist was a sweep. But this time next year, look out for the film Pina. See it in theaters now, remember it when awards season rolls around in a year. This spectacle is bound to be a hit.
Based on the life and work of German choreographer Pina Bausch, this 3-D film mixes an explosive combination of mediums: film, dance, choreography, set design, music, sound, lighting, language, graphics, special effects, cinematography. A sensational splendor.
Pina’s work in modern dance escalated in the 1970’s and continues to be influential today. Her role as a director is most prominent in Tanztheater, which translates to “dance theater.” She spearheaded a company in Germany by the same name, though throughout her career she worked with the gamut of cross-continental dance fame. In Tanztheater, Pina created celebrated pieces such as Rite of Spring (1975), and Café Müller (1978). Both are exemplary of her outrageous style: in the former, dancers move about on stage completely covered in soil and in the latter, they aggressively crash into chairs and tables on a café set. Both are reenacted beautifully in the film.
Image from Café Müller
Image from Rite of Spring
So thats the overview of who Pina is: a creative, expressive, and innovative movement artist. And now about this crazy movie that she inspired: Oscar-nominated film maker Wim Wenders has been a fan of Pina since the 80’s and decided to document her work in action. His crew followed hers long before the project took off, building artistic relationships between those in front and behind the camera. Unfortunately, days before the shooting began, Pina died unexpectedly of a sudden cancer. The fim, therefore, began a tribute to her life more than just a portrayal or her work ethic.
The sets incorporated a wild combination of elements. Here, I mean earth elements: dirt, mountains, water, plant life. Some performances were filmed on a traditional stage, while others sought peculiar venues like rooftops, subway trains, swimming pool decks, or glass paneled houses in the woods.
The dance numbers were performed by professionals from Pina’s company. Their segments were separated by close- ups combined with voice overs in the variety of languages spoken by the worldly crew: Spanish, French, German, Portugese, Japanese, Chinese, English, and more. They talked of Pina as a guiding artist and all that her ingenuity and freedom of expression taught them about themselves, their bodies, and their work.
Counter to the common conception of dancers as always youthful, these workers ranged vastly in their ages. I found this point to be very curious. It spoke to the life long development of artists and how they become enriched as they ripen in their craft. Their ages may be have been evident on their skin, but the astounding strength and nimbleness of the dancer’s bodies far from gave them away. In fact, there was one piece in which dancers of various eras of life were dressed in identical outfits, confusing the audience about who was who. It was a number that could only have been performed for screen dance. I don’t see how this switching of characters could be performed live without the trickery of editing.
I asked my cousin, who works as a professional ballet dancer for the Boston City Ballet, his opinion on the work. “I thought it was beautiful,” he said. “She’s so unique in her choreography.”
And I agree! Watching Pina was one of the most visually pleasing experiences I have had in a long time.It was creative, stunning, marvelous, and inspirational beyond belief. I would feel badly for anyone who misses the opportunity to experience it.
Hurry up and see it! I’m serious, this was a very powerful artistic undertaking. The documentary has already swept up The European Film Awards and German Film Awards, as well as receiving nominations or Official Selections from The Academy Awards, New York, Telluride, and Toronto Film Festivals. Pina is only playing at the Michigan Theater through this Sunday, March 4th. Check the Michigan Theater website for show times. Also, here’s and interview with director Wim Wenders from the New York Times. For more background on the production, check out the movie’s website .
