March 24 through today!

I've been really behind with posting links to the San Francisco Appeal. Eek and sorry! But if you want to read everything in real time, the best way to do that is to add the Appeal's RSS feed (or just mine, if you'd like) to your reader (or whatever you use to manage blogs, rss, etc.).

On March 24, I wrote about dance anywhere, an annual event where "people [dance] wherever they are at the same time: noon here in San Francisco, 3PM in New York, 8PM in Paris, etc."

On March 31, I spoke with Aline Wachsmuth, a dance/collaborate with LEVYdance who says that "[b]eing a dancer in this particular company has given me room for growth as a mover, a choreographer, a dance viewer, and a person. I'm really grateful to have such an amazing collaborative relationship with Ben [Levy]."

And on April 7, I previewed Stephen Pelton Dance Theater's The Dance Hour. Pelton said that, "I chose the framing device of a radio hour, as a way of prompting the audience to expect varying points of view. So it is a very eclectic program. But as many of the performers have been working together for some time, it feels as if the ensemble really shines as a whole."

Today, I reviewed SF Ballet's Program 7. About Jerome Robbins' The Concert, I wrote, "The 21 dancers, clad in powder blue leotards, tights, and shoes, funnel in to see a concert, and from there we zoom off with them into music-inspired daydreams."

dance flash @ the appeal: Q&A with chitresh das

This week, I Q&A-ed Chitresh Das at the SF Appeal:

How did you two [you and Jason Samuels Smith] meet and what prompted this collaboration?

We met several years ago while practicing backstage at the American Dance Festival at Duke University. I started to dance and Jason said. "How can you do that with your bare feet?"

dance flash and review @ the appeal: hope mohr and sf ballet

Two things from last week at the SF Appeal:

A Q&A with Hope Mohr:

"I made many detours away from the path of dancing, but I finally heard--and listened to--the voice inside that was still saying, "Dance!" I had to return to dance to be true to myself."

And a review of SF Ballet's Program 4 (which was held until this AM b/c of a backlog):

"It's almost like a battle: think Eminem in pointe shoes (oh gee, what an image), battling with his body instead of his mouth."

dance flash @ the appeal: an interview with dv8's lloyd newson

I interviewed Lloyd Newson, the artistic director of DV8 Physical Theatre, for the San Francisco Appeal. Here's an excerpt.


What does physical theater mean? Could you give me a little more information about how it's different from other forms?

We call it physical theater instead of dance theater because it's often driven by meaning as opposed to theater or dance. And because it's highly physical as much more than just talking heads, hence physical theater seemed appropriate.

[That was a short response. Maybe I won't push on that. I mean, we went round and round and round and finally the guy agreed to call me from England, the home of Posh Spice and Harrods. But is dance not driven by meaning?]

I was reading on your website that you're moving towards more text-based work as opposed to movement-based. Is there any specific reason for that?

Well, if you try just saying in dance, "This is my sister, " it's going to take you a long time.

Hmm...[Really. I said that aloud.]

For the complete interview, go here.

"To Be Straight With You": Image of Ankur Bahl. Photo by Matt Nettheim

dance flash @ the appeal: burning dance questions 101

this week's dance flash is up at the appeal, and it's the beginning of a bi-monthly Q&A.

"Q: What's a tutu? And I wear an XXL, so where can I buy a fourfour?

A: Female ballet dancers may wear a tutu, aka a poofy skirt, in ballet performances. There are many different styles and lengths of tutus, but the one that you're probably thinking of is the really, and almost indecently, short one that's designed to show off a female dancer's intricate foot and leg work. Professional tutus (of all sizes) are custom-made, but cheaper ones can be purchased at dancewear stores."

for more, go here.