dance flash @ the appeal: 2010 swan lake

This week, I reviewed SF Ballet's Swan Lake for the SF Appeal.

The prologue, opening to the recognizable woodwinds of Tchaikovsky's score, gives us a taste of what's to come, introducing us to the lovely princess Odette as she's entrapped by Anthony Spaulding's Hulk-crossed-with-Golem (at least in character. In my head, I heard him grrring and grunting as he whispered sadly, "My precious!") Von Rothbart. Is that his full name? Do his friends call him Von? I haven't a clue. But no matter his moniker, he magics Odette into a swan by day and a swan princess by night, and the audience sees this transformation through a projection against a light-colored scrim...

The full article is here.

Photo © Erik Tomasson

dance flash @ the appeal: sf ethnic dance festival auditions!

go check out awesome ethnic dance this weekend! bonus points if you try to conduct exit interviews...

This Saturday and Sunday mark the second weekend of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival auditions at the Palace of Fine Arts. Think of it like a local, multicultural version of "So You Think You Can Dance" auditions, minus the hot tamale train.

the full article is at the san francisco appeal.

dance flash @ the appeal: women on the way

This week at the San Francisco Appeal, I focused on the Women on the Way Festival.

It's an empowering celebration of boobs and hoo hahs at the Women on the Way (WOW) Festival, which starts this weekend and continues through the end of the month, and with 19 vastly different performing arts groups (theater, dance, spoken word, comedy, and aerial work), this festival covers a lot of ground. Artistic Director Mary Alice Fry says that Women on the Way tries "to help women break through to a place where they can recognize where their professional careers might be going and make a commitment to themselves."

For the entire advance, go here.

Photo of Sonya Smith & Dancers
by Lydia Daniller