As a teacher and a dancer, I like to think I’ve always brought to my work an awareness and sensitivity of the challenges boys and men face in the dance world. The moment I became a mom to a young son, however, I became more keenly aware of the many “rules” that surround both boyhood and the parenting of boys, especially when it comes to dance. This and more are explored in the recently completed video series by DanceLifeTV called Male Voices which puts a spotlight on some of the young male dancers at the Rhee Gold school.
video
The Nutcracker At It’s Corps With Apprentice, Madison Morris
Houston Ballet apprentice, Madison Morris answers questions about what it’s like to perform in the corps during this busy holiday season. She reveals both the hard work and dedication required of apprentices and the corps and an insider’s view of the sometimes action-packed events going on behind the scenes at Nutcracker performances.
Bessie’s Back
Undoubtedly, the most exciting moment of the evening was Ms. Sexton and Mr. Mizrahi recognizing the ensemble members of Paradigm with a Bessie for “(bringing) into vibrant focus the essence of what it means to dance.” Honored were Artistic Director Gus Solomons Jr. (who called for the tripling of the size of the Bessie committee, to be able to include more works in the selection process!), Carmen deLavallade, Dudley Williams, Valda Setterfield, Michael Blake, Hope Clark, and Keith Sabado.
Sunday Snapshot: Flight
Based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, Marc Benjamin is a Master Photographer, a title earned by less than 2.5% of all the professional photographers in the world. Marc is also a national level speaker, teaching photographers how to position and light and find angles for people to make them look good. He uses a combination of natural light and precision flash photography techniques for his work.
40 More Haunting Halloween Songs
This year I’ve topped that with 40 MORE songs that you can use for parties or for dance class. Go way beyond the Monster Mash with tracks from True Blood, The Ramones, David Bowie, and Kanye West.
One With The Music: Accompanying Dancers Part Two
The studio I work at has three studios – one large and two small — as well as a small theatre space that seats about 100 people. The two smaller studios and the theatre space have an upright acoustic piano, and the larger studio has a baby grand piano. I actually prefer to play on the upright acoustic pianos as I find their tone more appealing – not to mention the fact that I can get more emotion out of these pianos!
