Third in the series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRyx5Kyv_vg
All classes are Modern/Simonson Technique and take place at Dance New Amsterdam, entrance at 53 Chambers Street.
Mondays - Beginner Level 7:00-8:30
Wednesdays - Advanced Level 4:00-6:00
Thursdays - Intermediate Level 6:30-8:30
A little series as I enter the home stretch of this second pregnancy:
Dancing While Pregnant - 32 Weeks (8 Months)
This is my second time around but for those of you who have been curious:
I already posted this on Facebook but am posting again because its just utterly shocking. It seems Deborah Jowitt will no longer be writing for the Village Voice because she does not write enough negative reviews:
Via DanceUSA
What I write doesn’t seem like arts criticism as he defines it. To put it more baldly: I do not write enough strongly negative reviews.
The commenters provide great discussion points. Read them through. I think the key phrase is “enough strongly negative”. She critiques but does destroy. Anyone who has read the flippantly derogatory comments in the Times’ reviews understands.
Its been a long time since I have felt the urge to blog but Alistair Macaulay’s latest review just cannot be ignored. With a hat tip to Jezebel’s post, I present to you the following excerpt from his review of New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker:
This didn’t feel, however, like an opening night. Jenifer Ringer, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, looked as if she’d eaten one sugar plum too many;
Really?! I decided long ago to ignore any review of modern dance because of his absolute ignorance but this is appalling. One sugar plum too many? Is this germane to her dancing? Is it even within the realm of reason?
For further perspective on Jenifer Ringer there is a great article on her in Working Mother.
The highlights: She’s a twenty-year veteran, a mom, and has admitted
that she struggled with bouts of both anorexia and compulsive eating
I’m not saying he had to know of her background but for god’s sake can he really be unaware of eating disorders in women and, in particular, dancers?! And that his unnecessary, unprofessional, throwaway comment can have a devastating effect on the health of these and other women?
For a different perspective on Jenifer’s performance please read Leigh’s article:
Act 2 has most of the dancing, and Jenifer Ringer was a Sugarplum Fairy crafted by an expert confectioner. She danced a sophisticated solo, during which she played with the music just enough and no more. You can also see she’s the mother of a toddler herself in the warm way she smiled at the child angels shuffling about her.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, right? Fine. Lets just know up front that he only prefers ballerinas that look a certain way so that we are clear when his bias colors his review. And NYCB? Ban him from your performances and get a reviewer in there who can review the dancing.
Eva Yaa Asantewaa’s Summing Up Alistair Macaulay
The New York Times chief dance critic, an import from London, has been holding down a position of outsized power that he never merited. When he first got here, I thought he’d bring a voice of passion, which I value. But, for the most part, I stopped reading his work when it became clear that his experience and sympathies mainly run to elite choreographers—Balanchine, Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Mark Morris–and a handful of other artists he deems masters of the craft. Ask Macaulay to stray beyond his comfy zone, and he loses it.
http://lauriedevito.com/calendar.html
First performance post-baby.
Come enjoy the Halloween-themed Performance Project concert at Dance New Amsterdam this weekend. I am amongst the choreographers for this show.
Performances:
Fri Oct 31 8:30pm
Sat Nov 1 3pm and 8:30pm
Sun Nov 2 3pm
Tickets: $17 ($12 members, $15 students)
Purchase tickets here.
I’ll be choreographing for Dance New Amsterdam’s latest Performance Project workshop. It
will be an Intermediate level workshop.
Rehearsal dates from October 5-30, 2008.
Times TBA but mostly Sundays and weekday evenings.
Performances October 31-November 2, 2008.
Third in the series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRyx5Kyv_vg