Dance on TV

Last week saw a return of Dancing With the Stars, a rematch between John and Kelly. My retention of this show is a little lower than normal, because I watched half of it before evacuating for Hurricane Rita and half afterwards. Both couples did a Latin dance, a Standard dance, and a freestyle dance. IMHO, Kelly and Alec do a better job with the Latin dances, and John and Charlotte do a better job with the Standard dances. John and Charlotte's Waltz was just beautiful. It was good to see Kelly and Alec put more dance and fewer tricks into their freestyle routine; unfortunately for them, the routine they came up with was not so interesting. John and Charlotte's freestyle had all their usual charm and character, plus a Bluebird lift! I was happy to hear that John and Charlotte won this time around. It gives everyone something to feel good about. While I was at my mom's, I finally got to see an episode of "So You Think You Can Dance." The field had been narrowed to six dancers. I can't say that I particularly liked any of them, although some of them were quite good technically. The format doesn't lend itself to expressive dancing, so we saw more turning and jumping than artistry. It's great that dance is getting more exposure on TV, but is the kind of dance we want exposed? To paraphrase Monty Python: "I object to all this dancing on television. I mean, I keep falling off!"

Fallen Sindhur, September 17, 2005, Barnevelder

I thoroughly enjoyed this performance by Urban Indian Beat, even though I was so tired I could barely sit up in my chair. Sindhur, as explained to me by an Indian-American friend, is the red powder that married women wear in their hair. The company strives to combine classical Indian dancing with Western forms of dance (ballet, jazz, modern). This piece had themes of the struggles of Indian women to forge a unique identity, or at least I think it did, as I was unable to understand the spoken poetry. I can only guess was in Hindi or Bengali; it would have been nice, and furthered the company's mission of bringing Indian culture to the Houston community, to have had translations in the program.

The dancers had various strengths, with some strongest in the Western styles and some in the Indian styles, but most of them did a good job with both. The choreography kept my interest, but the first half lacked compelling movement in the short partnered sections between men and women. Fortunately, the second half did not suffer this shortcoming, and there were some nice song-length duets. For me, the most notable dancing took place at the end of the show in the form of a breathtaking solo by one of the women, whose name I unfortunately do not know. Like the recent FrenetiCore performance of Deviations, this show combined music, poetry, and projected images. Some nice pictures can be seen on the Spacetaker website. Unlike the FrenetiCore style, the projections were abstract images that served more as an extension of the lighting design than a separate element.

One Last Dance (movie), September 10, 2005, my mom's living room

Like The Company, I ran across this movie at Blockbuster, having never heard of it before. Of course I recognized Patrick Swayze, and my mom recognized his wife, Lisa Niemi. They both star in the film and were involved in writing, directing, and producing it. While the plot of the movie is Oscar-worthy compared to The Company, it still is somewhat predicatable and forced. But it's a dance film, so that's not the point, or should I say pointe. By the way, one exception to that rule is "Save the Last Dance;" it may succeed where others fail because the story line doesn't include numerous performances and therefore doesn't rely on them to keep the audience's interest. The plot line in this film revolves around a gala performance the company puts on after the artistic director's death (or stroke - I wasn't paying that much attention) in order to save the company from bankruptcy. The choreography comes from Alonzo King (Alonzo King's LINES ballet), Patsy Swayze, Dwight Roden(?), and Doug Varone (Doug Varone and Dancers). It also appears that many of the dancers, who are all first-rate, come from the two companies. Except for a few scenes where Patrick Swayze is performing his inner struggle manifest as dance, the choreography is quite appealing. Why does every film about ballet have an arrogant asshole of an artistic director? If that's the way the ballet world is, and I suspect it's true more often than not, I'm glad I didn't choose dance as a career. Do such people really think that abuse leads to the best performances? Maybe the best technique, but not the best art. I wanted my mom to see Shall We Dance (the American Version - mom's not into foreign films), so I watched it again with her. I was rather surprised how many more of the steps I recognized after only a month and a half.

Stream of Consciousness: The Verge of Insanity, August 26, 2005, The Houston School

This show was my first exposure to the dos chicas theater commune. The subtitle of this program is "An Assemblage of Playlets by Local Scribes in Need of Therapy." The show consisted of 11 short stories, and I won't even attempt to describe them all. It was all narrated by Captain Snappy Pants, who discoursed between the stories on such subjects as sex and retribution. If you haven't gotten the picture yet, this is not your typical play, and that's what I liked about it most. The performance space was tiny, probably the smallest black box theater feasible. The actors were great, although some were better than others. I think the most interesting section was "A Time to Confess," in which some disaster has occurred in an apartment building, and three of the tenants are stuck within speaking distance. We never got to see the two men, and we only saw the woman as a sillhouette, pacing back and forth with her cane. Not being able to see the characters, I was forced to focus on the voices. It's a bit like dancers dancing without music.

Ballet and ballroom

Things about ballet that make it easier to learn/do ballroom:

1. The posture (upper body lifted and tilted back, head to side) is just like a back port de bras.
2. The upper arms are held in a similar manner.
3. For turns, especially spin turns, I already know how to hold my center.
4. The way that it feels natural to turn my head is usually the right direction.
5. Waltz steps have the same lilt as waltz steps in ballet.
6. I know how to turn my head quickly (useful for tango).
7. Anything with the leg extended feels like a tendu.
8. I'm used to changing levels (relevé, plié).
9. I'm used to moving my feet quickly (petite allegro).
10. I can step behind myself easily.
11. In the Latin dances, I'm all over turning out and pointing my feet.

Things about ballet that make it harder to learn/do ballroom:

1. Turnout, especially in promenade position in tango.
2. For years it was drilled into to me to always step with the toes first.
3. For years, it was also drilled into me to not stick my butt out, but you're supposed to for the Latin dances.

This list will get updated as more things occur to me.

[11-1-05] Added 11 on +, 3 on -.

Rain, rain, go away

There is little I can say to describe my feelings about the catastrophe that is Hurricane Katrina. It is overwhelming. I send out best wishes and prayers for each and every person affected by the storm. The devastation in New Orleans is particularly striking to me because I was just there two months ago and vividly remember the sights and sounds of the city. I want to take a moment to remember the performers I saw in New Orleans back in June. It was my first real visit to the city (I had stayed one night for work back in April 2004), and I soaked up as much New Orleans jazz as I could. One night I debated having dinner at a pricy restaurant (Arnaud's Jazz Bistro) that featured a jazz trio; I finally decided, well, how often do I get to New Orleans? and had dinner there in spite of having to wait 30 minutes by myself for a table. It was worth it. That restaurant, on Bourbon Street, is likely flooded right now. One evening, I got to cruise along the Mississipi on the steamboat Natchez. On it there was a 7-8 piece Dixieland jazz band, the "Dukes of Dixieland," that played exceptionally. At the end of the night, I got a chance to tell one of the musicians how much I enjoyed the performance. He was touched and said that he had noticed me; it seems I stood out as one of the few people on the boat who actually listened to their music. Hopefully the Natchez survived the storm; it is a piece of living history. Wandering up and down Bourbon Street in search of music, I listened in on half a dozen performances. I remember thinking that New Orleans must have the best street musicians in the world. I stopped for a while in Fritzel's European Jazz Pub, a study in incongruity with its German beer hall decor and Dixieland jazz music. I saw another trio, memorable not only for their great performance but also because all three appeared to be in their twenties. It was good to see some younger blood carrying on the tradition. I also poked my head in Preservation Hall, where I heard a rendition of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." The irony of that memory brings tears to my eyes:

I see skies of blue and clouds of white The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

I hope that the city survives, rebuilds, and regains its vitality. And I wish I'd gotten a beignet while I was there. If I ever do, the sweetness will be tinged with sorrow. If you've ever had the pleasure of listening to a musician in New Orleans, please consider donating to the Preservation Hall Hurricane Relief Fund. 100% of the money raised goes to support New Orleans musicians.