For dancers, dance teachers, and those who love dance. – Page 8 – A website for dancers, dance teachers and others interested in dance

10 Questions With Alice Klock

April 28, 2018 by Rachel Hellwig

1. How did you first become involved in dance?

I’ve been dancing as long as I can remember.

After having seen me improv my way through the living room for years, my mother asked if I’d like to try a ballet class. I was eleven and I’ve been at it ever since.

2. When/how did you realize you wanted to become a professional dancer?

I attended the San Francisco Ballet’s summer program at 13 and would watch the company work and rehearse whenever I could find a moment to sneak to their studio door. It was thrilling.

There was something so beautiful about the way the dancers interacted, the sense of company life, and I decided it was something I wanted to experience.

3. Was there ever a time when you thought of quitting dance or second-guessed your decision to pursue a professional career? If so, what helped you through that time?

Honestly, no. My commitment to this field has been pretty unwavering.

My path was tumultuous at times, but through set backs, injuries, and disappointments, I’ve never felt like quitting. I’ve felt the need to shift my environment, or my role within the profession, but that to me is an exciting evolution.

I would recommend to any struggling dancer who is wondering if they should quit to ask themselves if perhaps they are just in the wrong place, or if they are trying to be something they are not. The dance world is vast! There are more options than we sometimes suppose.

I am now at a point where I am transitioning out of dancing full-time so that I can choreograph more, but even that feels like an evolution rather than a departure.

https://vimeo.com/218059438

4. When/how did you realize you wanted to pursue choreography?

It is hard to say when/how, I’ve always loved choreographing!

I have been super lucky to have the support of my choreographic work that I have received at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and from my amazing boss Glenn Edgerton. I believe that Glenn has been instrumental in my journey to becoming a choreographer as he gave me the space, encouragement, and opportunities to truly nurture and find my voice. I’m incredibly grateful for that.

5. What inspires you as a choreographer?

Everything.

6. How would you describe your choreographic process?

My process is quite random, but always focuses on really using the dancers in the room.

I always strive to find the individualism in each artist, and unlock as much of their “personal genius” (something I believe each of us has) as I can. This means I seldom come in with too many preconceived notions about the piece I will make.

That being said, my movement is highly conceptual at its source, and is often directly derived from words or ideas. For example, I might ask a dancer “what is your favorite word?” or “what is the most amazing thing you have ever seen?” and then I shall construct a movement phrase out of their answer.

7. What’s the best advice you’ve received about choreography?

“Don’t hold anything back”

https://vimeo.com/218062887

8. What are some things you’d like to explore in your choreography career and dance career in the future?

I would like to work with a vast array of dancers, artists, and institutions. I love the unexpected and being put into contact with the unusual.

I would like to work with huge groups, with ballet dancers, with competition dancers, with non-dancers. I’d like to experiment with it all and to push the boundaries of what we think dance is.

I believe that as a creator it is paramount to create work that is inclusive and socially conscious and that breaks out of the often inappropriate antique norms that still exist in the art form.

As a dancer, I would like to continue to explore performing new and different work. Last year, Florian Lochner (a fellow Hubbard Street dancer and Choreographic Fellow) and I formed “Flock” which is a project in which we co-choreograph pieces that we then perform.

I am interested to grow this further and to see what that can open up for me as a performer. Dancing in our work is a particularly wild and satisfying experience and very different from the years I have spent in a rep company.

I also look forward to expanding “Flock” out further into the world and to see what that leads to.

9. You’re headed to Utah in May for SALT Contemporary Dance’s inaugural LINK dance festival. How did you first become connected with SALT?

SALT has been on my radar for some time as a place where I would love to create work. Their dancers are beautiful and varied and their mission is strong and inspiring. I was honored and excited to be asked to participate in their LINK festival.

10. What are you most looking forward about LINK?

The dancers! Like I said, I love being thrown into a studio with new dancers and this will be a particularly exciting process as our creation time is only a week! I am looking forward to see what we concoct!

https://vimeo.com/226251438

Disclosure: Rachel Hellwig serves as marketing director for SALT

The Commitment to Pursue

April 22, 2018 by Rachel Hellwig

Rehearsal at Miami City Ballet. Photo by Daniel Azoulay.

The regular physical pain of a professional ballet dancer’s life can be overwhelming. Every dancer experiences a different pain level during their careers. At a young age, the dancer is taught how to overcome and tolerate these types of pain whether it is physical or mental.

With time and patience, the disciplines required to pursue this life become normality. Early on, while in ballet school, I learned that it was inevitable to work with a commitment level of an adult. We are forced to heighten our judgement to guide us through the challenges.

As I sit and think about how to write this article, I am struggling to put it in to words. First off, I must say how truly lucky I am to do what I love every single day. I am one of those people who jumps from bed ready to tackle another day of dance. As I take you through a typical daily routine, I want you to keep this in mind.

Tolerance

As you can imagine, dancers typically have a high pain tolerance because of the demands put on their bodies. When I was first starting out as a professional ballet dancer ten years ago, my days began at 9:45 a.m. and finished after 6 p.m. Then when I joined my second company, the schedule changed to 10 a.m.– 5 p.m. with no lunch break. Now, at Miami City Ballet, I attend class each morning beginning at 10 a.m. and finish rehearsals at 6:30 p.m. with an hour lunch break.

Experiencing scheduling at a variety of companies has taught me that there is always intention behind the day. Typically, a rehearsal day is a combination of multiple ballets over the course of seven hours in preparation for our performances. Throughout the season, depending on our performance schedule, the weeks shift from Monday through Friday to Tuesday through Saturday. Our performance weeks leave us with just Mondays off.

I find the most difficult time during the year to be when we rehearse various genres of dance all at once. Although extremely rewarding, your body certainly feels the changes your muscles endure.

Working alone during downtime at Miami City Ballet

For example, shifting from a modern work where you might be in flat shoes rather than pointe shoes puts a different pressure on your quads and calves. You may develop blisters on different parts of your feet where the skin has not callused over.

Typically, our modern works require a grounded intention and these requirements can make the day more challenging. Each hour leading up to 6:30 p.m. may be scheduled for a different ballet. Preparing your body, the right point shoes, and making sure to review the choreography before presenting it to the room are all components of the day. I find it helpful to plan out an hour at a time. This makes it easier to approach physically and mentally and eventually a dancer develops the habits in which are needed to tolerate this level of work.

Our season can include 10-15 works of which we learned the bulk of between the months of August and October. During the month of January, we shifted from Nutcracker season into rehearsals to finalize the rest of our repertoire. We recently performed our Jerome Robbins Centennial Celebration (Program Two) featuring five of his works. During this time, we rehearsed Tuesday through Friday, performed Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and rested on Monday. During the week leading to our performances, the company rehearsed works from Program Three and Four while still keeping Program Two fresh. These works included choreography by George Balanchine, Alexei Ratmansky, Brian Brooks, and Jerome Robbins. Once we approach the end of our season, we may begin work on our repertoire for the next season before April and May pass. When I explain what I do to people outside the ballet, they always wonder how I keep all the ballets I learn straight. Honestly, it takes time to learn and absorb all the material. I typically write down my material once I have learned it and then spend time on my own in the studio or at home to watch videos or review. It is one thing to remember a work in the studio, but it is another to know it well enough to perform it on stage without the mirror.

Patience

“Patience” is probably the most important word in the world of dance to me—patience that is both physical and mental. The minute a dancer is unable to endure the wait without negativity is the minute all improvement ceases. Unfortunately, the life of a dancer is full of heartbreak and frustration. This is the part of the job that the audience does not witness.

People will ask me what I do during the day and sometimes I hesitate because it is so challenging for me to explain what goes on in a mind of a dancer during a 12-hour period. There can be so many ups and downs and moments where you feel completely alone, but as a person living in this unbelievably rewarding and sometimes confusing career, ballet dancers are some of the strongest, toughest-skin human beings I know.

Mental Stability

It goes unnoticed because of our gracefulness and ability to maintain calmness, but the day can turn negative quickly. After several years of practice and training, I have found ways to compartmentalize the positive and the negative aspects of the day. For example, the casting board is a major component of a dancer’s day and overall season. Learning to tame your emotions when you do or do not see your name on the cast list is vital to the focus of the day. If you learn to understand the casting and not internalize it will help you move forward. There is usually a reason for why or why not you have been cast in a specific role. These moments can fuel motivation to make a change or improve. Another aspect of the day that impacts a dancer is morning class. Class is a time to work on yourself and find an overall balance for the day. Most non-dancers do not realize that professionals attend ballet class every morning to warm their bodies up. We face a lot of challenges in the first hour and a half of the day. As my own critic, internal questions surface about overall appearance, placement, or why or why not I receive corrections during class.

There is tremendous pressure to reach the look you desire without psyching yourself out. I have grown to understand myself and feel confidence in myself by reaching smaller goals that I set up. This helps me continue on a steady path upwards rather than being beaten down or defeated.

The audience does not see that side of us, but a dancer goes through quite a wild mind ride when it comes to rehearsing and performing for nearly 40 weeks a year up to 40 hours a week.

Working on Juliet with Roger Van Fleteren (Alabama Ballet)

Developing this maturity starts through the structure of a typical ballet class which we take every day. Classes require the dancer to stand in formation and judge themselves. Critiquing your arm, head, and leg positions in class forces us to be our own teacher too.

Oftentimes, it can be extremely difficult to stare at yourself in the mirror. I remember one year, which I will not discuss, where I went home and literally cried every night because I was not happy with how I looked or felt. Winning the competition with yourself can be the most difficult competition of all.

Consistent coaching and reviewing before approaching the stage is all worth it, but there needs to be a balance. Perfection does not exist and ballet is not simple. My ballet teacher of 21 years always says, “If ballet were easy everyone would do it.”

Samantha in George Balanchine’s Emeralds from
Jewels (October 2017) Photo by dancer.

Samantha Hope Galler. Photo by Daniel Azoulay.

Contributor Samantha Hope Galler, a Bedford, Mass. native, spent 13 years training with The Ballet Academy, Inc., under the direction of Frances Kotelly in the Cecchetti Method. She performed six seasons with The Northeast Youth Ballet under the direction of Denise Cecere. She continued training, on scholarship, with Boston Ballet School and received the PAO Merit Trainee Scholarship. She received the NFAA Honorable Mention Award in Ballet. Galler spent summers training at Boston Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Boston Conservatory. She danced with Cincinnati Ballet in their 2008-2009 season under the direction of Victoria Morgan.

Samantha spent five seasons with Alabama Ballet under the direction of Tracey Alvey and Roger Van Fleteren. During her tenure there, she was promoted to principal dancer. She had the honor of performing some of her dream roles including Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, The Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, The Sylph and Effie in La Sylphide, Myrtha and Moyna in Giselle, Dryad Queen and Mercedes in Don Quixote, the Rancher’s Daughter in Agnes De Mille’s Rodeo. Her Balanchine roles included Dark Angel in Serenade; The Sugarplum Fairy, Arabian and Lead Marzipan in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™; and the principal roles in Allegro Brillante and Tarantella. She has also performed in Jiří Kylian’s Sechs Tanze, and Van Fleteren’s Shostakovich and Romancing Rachmaninov, both world premieres.

Samantha joined Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2014. Since joining Miami City Ballet, Samantha has performed in various roles including as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and as the Harp Soloist in Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations.

Follow Samantha on her website and blog.

10 Questions with Eldon Johnson

April 17, 2018 by Rachel Hellwig

Eldon Johnson. Photo by Christopher Peddecord.

1. How did you first become involved in dance?

I first became involved with dance through the Polynesian side of my family. My mother was a hula dancer, along with her brothers and sisters growing up, and as they all began to have kids, they started the next generation of performers.

It was also part of our culture to pass on these traditional dances to your family. I did not start my formal dance training until I was basically 17. Hip hop was originally what I intended to train in, but after taking jazz, tap, and ballet, per the requirements of the studio I trained at, I fell in love with more classical forms of dance.

2. When/how did you realize you wanted to become a professional dancer?

I knew I wanted to be a professional dancer after seeing a Janet Jackson music video. “If” and “Together Again” were the ones that really sparked my interest to start taking dance classes. My goal was to be a backup dancer for her.

3. Was there ever a time when you thought of quitting dance or second-guessed your decision to pursue a professional career? If so, what helped you through that time?

Through my 20 year career, there have been many times where I questioned whether dance was a sustainable way to make a living. I never questioned whether dance was right for me, but I often question whether I am good enough for dance.

Dance has always been a way for me to express myself, my passion for movement, and my desire to inspire emotion in those who may be watching me dance.

Many times, still to this day, however, I wonder if I am enough. I question if what I have to offer, as a dancer, artist, and performer, is good enough, meaningful enough, thoughtful enough, or will be enough to please an audience. It is the bane of being a dancer, or artist for that matter.

Making a living through dance, that is fulfilling, and not just repetitious, will always elicit those questions as well.

[Read more…]

Dancing While You’re Pregnant

March 11, 2018 by 4dancers

Aloha and Happy Spring!

I know it’s spring performance season, but I hope you can take a moment to read our new post from Ann. F Cowlin – a long time dance colleague of mine in New England. Ann has worked at Yale University for many years, and has a medical background. She founded “Dancing Thru Pregnancy” in 1979 – I learned about this program in the 1990’s, and how valuable this information can be – and am so glad we now have the opportunity to share it with you.

And on a brief personal note — you won’t be hearing “Aloha” from me after this, as I have just moved back to CO (Denver / Boulder) after 6 years on Kauai. Glad to be back and integrating again into the

wonderfully diverse metro dance community. If you’re ever in this part of the country – would love to hear from you!

Aloha (for the last time!) and Happy Spring performances! – Jan, Editor/Dance Wellness

“When a normal, healthy child is born, usually in the father’s compound, the women perform the nkwa to rejoice. Then…they sing and dance their way to the compounds of the mother’s kin to inform them of the joyous event through the dance-play, gathering additional dancers as it moves from compound to compound. In this nkwa, in which only married women who have given birth perform, the dancers highlight procreative body parts, birth exercises and child care gestures.” – page 164, Hanna JL, To Dance is Human: a theory of non-verbal communication, 1979. Rev. ed. 1987.

About Dancing Thru Pregnancy®

by Ann F. Cowlin MA, CSM, CCE, Founder/Director, DTP

From its inception in 1979, Dancing Thru Pregnancy® (DTP) has been inspired by this passage from Judith Lynne Hanna’s amazing text, in which she describes how the Ubakala of Nigeria “announce” the birth of a child. The dance serves a dual purpose – it tells of the birth, while it teaches the uninitiated how pregnancy and birth occur.

As a professional dancer, I long ago recognized the transformative power of dance to make experiences accessible. Through Hanna’s writing we see how dance is itself one of the earliest and most profound ways in which common human experiences are taught and learned. Contemporary culture often removes this type of learning from our environment.

Employing dance to help women approach birth has always struck me as an obvious first choice in preparing women for the physical, emotional, identity-forming and joyful process of birth. From its start – under the auspices of the West Virginia State Health Department’s Improved Pregnancy Outcome Project and the WVU Medical School Ob/Gyn Department – through its ongoing development at Yale University, DTP has undergone a perpetual choreographic process toward the most beneficial way to help women cope with this major life event.

In the intervening years, science and technology have reinforced our understanding of how non-verbal
learning happens. In the process, DTP has trained thousands of movement teachers and trainers about pregnancy and postpartum fitness, bringing activity to millions of moms-to-be worldwide. Our own programs, based at Yale, have a 14% cesarean rate over 35 years.

Mirror neurons are key to how empathy and understanding of experience are produced when people view and learn movement and gesture. The mere perception of an action sets off a low level firing of the neural pathway that executes the actions we are seeing. A most excellent discussion of mirror neurons appears in Acharya and Shukla’s article, Mirror Neurons: Enigma of the metaphysical modular brain, J Nat Sci Biol Med. 2012 Jul-Dec; 3(2): 118–124. The authors provide a thorough grounding in the history of how we have come to recognize that mirror neurons exist and how they work.

There are more arenas in which dance also shines as a preparation.

Appropriately choreographed, dance enables excellent physical fitness and includes all the elements of physical activity that research demonstrates are effective for optimal health in pregnancy and coping with the rigors of birth. From the perspective of exercise physiology, labor is an ultra-distance endurance event, followed by a strength test (birth), a physical recovery period, and 18 years or more of sleep deprivation.

What fitness elements contribute to a healthy pregnancy, powerful birth, and short- and long-term health for mom and baby?

Cardiovascular Fitness

Achieving cardiovascular endurance (aerobic fitness) is essential. There are so many benefits of aerobic fitness that a full recitation and hundreds of citations will not fit in this blog. Check DTP’s website Research pages and our Facebook page for references. But, to summarize: cardiovascular fitness improves implantation, enhances nutrient and oxygen delivery, reduces the incidence or severity of some pregnancy disorders, reduces the risk of fetal distress, reduces stress on maternal cardiac reserve while pushing, reduces the risk of cesarean, hastens recovery, helps maintain a healthy weight, alleviates anxiety, builds body-image confidence and enhances long term maternal and fetal health. The two forms of cardio or aerobic activity most often cited for effectiveness are running and aerobic dancing.

Strength & Flexibility

Two other elements of dance that are useful for pregnant, birthing and parenting moms are strength and flexibility. There are many movement actions derived from numerous dance forms that promote both power and elasticity in the muscles, connective tissue and skeletal structure. Some effective positions, movements and skills are shared with other disciplines: Traditional childbirth preparation, weight training, gymnastics, physical therapy, yoga, t’ai chi, pilates, boot camp, plyometrics, proprioceptor neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) techniques, Feldenkrais, Alexander, somatic therapies, posture training, etc.

Mind/Body Skills

An arena in which dance shines is building mind-body skills. Dancing relies on centering – aligning with gravity to produce the greatest efficiency for movement (balance) – along with breathing as a component of movement.

Align
Breathe
Focus on the breath
Sense the movement within

Then, allow the body to dance…

Centering also reduces the load on the nervous system and allows the brain to modulate into the parasympathetic nervous system state, also known as the relaxation response (autogenic training, hypnosis, meditation, progressive relaxation), the zone (athletes’ term), mindfulness (big in research presently), the trophotropic response (the scientific term), or the alpha state (the current fad term). Dancers sometimes refer to this as tuning in to the unconscious or flow. The actual coordination of motions, such as pushing, is primarily unconscious. The conscious piece is keeping a clear image of the goal, while allowing the body to work. This is the skill that allows the birthing mother to follow her body’s urges, flowing with the labor rather than trying to control what is going on. It gives her access to the cathartic and euphoric nature of birth as a dance.

Muscle Bonding

A part of the dance experience I truly enjoy is a phenomenon known as muscle bonding. When a group does vigorous physical activity together – dancing together, a sports team, a dance company – a special kind of bond forms. Part of the euphoria is this muscle bonding experience. The wonder of it is what the Ubakala women experience moving together to announce the birth of a child.

When I am dancing with my pregnant ladies and we are in the grove with our modified hip hop
routine, we are smiling at each other and feeling completely alive. We are breathing hard and working hard, but we are strong. My hope is always that when she senses that labor and birth are starting, a mom-to-be can get in that groove with the baby and support personnel. Birth becomes a dance.

A Caveat

No blog on pregnancy or birth is complete without a caveat. Every pregnancy and birth is unique. Sometimes things go wrong. But, mostly they go right! And, moms can optimize the experience. One of the greatest dangers to pregnancy and birth is sedentary behavior. Regular, vigorous, strength-inducing, flexibility gaining, mindfulness, relaxing, muscle bonding fun is available. Take advantage of it.

In future posts, we will discuss specific items that help the body and mind prepare for birth and motherhood.

Ann F. Cowlin is a movement specialist and dance instructor in the Yale University Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation; coordinator of the Childbirth Education Program at the Yale Health Center; and former Assistant Clinical Professor in the Yale University School of Nursing. She founded Dancing Thru Pregnancy^®, Inc. in 1979, and is the author of Women’s Fitness Program Development, and chapters in Varney’s Midwifery (3^rd, 4^th & 5^th ed.) and Sports Nutrition (4^th ed.). A former professional ballet and modern dancer who received her MA in Dance from UCLA, she is a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) and the Society for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD).

Dancing ‘Glass Pieces’ And Finding Flow

February 6, 2018 by 4dancers

Joffrey dancers — *Valeriia Chaykina and Luis Eduardo Gonzalez rehearse Body of Your Dreams*
*Choreographer: Myles Thatcher © Todd Rosenberg Photography 2018*

by Luis Eduardo Gonzalez

“Dance is low on the totem pole of the arts, because you’re not left with a painting…a book that will stay there, a score you can read.” ~Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins (born Rabinowitz) was a visionary whose energetic and comprehensively eclectic approach to dance lead him to conceive a body of work which has proven to be as poignant and invigorating today as it was upon its creation. The quote above is one of my favorites of his because it sheds light on the parallels between dance and the course of life. A dance performance, for the performer as well as for the audience, is an experience that is shared in that specific way only once. As every moment passes by; every connection, and every expression that takes place on stage, is gone forever. All that is left are the memories that are burned into the minds of all who took part in that exchange.

Glass Pieces is one of the 61 ballets that Robbins choreographed and I was exited to hear that it is one of the four works included in The Joffrey Ballet’s winter program. Having read much about his life and accomplishments, as well as being an admirer of works like West Side Story and Fancy Free, I wanted to know what the experience of dancing one of his works is like.

We learned the choreography from stager Jean-Pierre (JP) Frohlich, whose talent in choreographic memory was discovered and encouraged by Robbins himself. JP’s soft spoken but direct demeanor, combined with his irrefutable mastery of the ballet, gave the dancers a palpable sense that we were in good hands. The steps are complex in musicality and after running certain sections it was evident that stamina was going to be a factor. Every piece has its challenges, but the difficulty in this choreography felt dramatically overshadowed by the energy that comes with the steps and with the stimulating Philip Glass score. We could feel the energy in the room after the first run though, an energy that any dancer can relate to as being “in the zone.” The complex musicality and technique required for the choreography demanded a state of heightened focus that lead to a sense of ecstasy and a sense of clarity. We felt exactly what to do from one moment to the other and sense of time disappeared. We forgot ourselves and felt a part of something larger.

*Luis* *Eduardo Gonzalez*
*© Todd Rosenberg Photography 2018*

Moments like these are the reason most of us do what we do, but unfortunately for a lot of us, “in the zone” is not where we spend most of our dance careers. In a perfect world, we would wake up every day free of pain, be on our leg for every turn, politics and favoritism would not play a role in the work we are given, and going on stage or into a new spot in rehearsal to expand experiences and push our limitations would never be a source of anxiety; however, we all know that such a situation is either very rare or does not exist. Dancers have a million things to consider at any given moment, yet at the same time it is that attempt at omnipotent consideration that deprives us of truly living in every precious moment. In doing some research on the subject, I came across an article that psychologically broke down the concept of “in the zone”, more simply defined as “flow” by Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He claimed the secret to “flow” is his Goldilocks principle: “not too hot, not too cold…just right.” In other words, feeling inspired, but not overwhelmed.

Csikszentmihalyi’s concept got me thinking about the definition of luck that my teacher gave me as a student which is simply – when preparation meets opportunity. I realized that we enter “flow” by striking a balance between skill and challenge. In the case of a professional dancer or an advanced student, most of the technical skill has already developed and what needs to be allowed to grow is the artistic development that each new experience can provide. The truth is that growth is available to us only if we strip down our need for control and perfectionism and surrender to what we can learn from the present moment. After diving deep into the history of Robbins’ work and the concepts that some of his quotes suggested, I found myself slowly letting go of my own criticism while I was dancing his steps. Perfection is always something to strive for, but it became obvious that attempting analysis over my work while it was taking place, not only altered the outcome, but defeated the purpose of why the steps were made, as well as why I was getting the chance to dance them.

In the end, I think it is important to keep in mind the simple fact that life is short and that our careers as dancers are even shorter. The impermanence of every moment, situation, and sensation is what makes them so beautiful and precious, in dance as well as in life. In the words of Robbins, “Dance is like life. It exists as you are flitting through it, and when it’s over, it’s done”. Although I understand the concept theoretically, I cannot say I’ve mastered it in practice. There are days when working for yourself and your craft feels easier than others. It is however, through experiences like the one I’ve shared, that one can find moments of “flow”. A life spent chasing these moments, be it through dance or otherwise, in my book, and I think in Robbins’, is one well spent.

The Joffrey Ballet’s Modern Masters program opens February 7th and runs through the 18th at The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University.

Contributor Luis Eduardo Gonzalez joined The Joffrey Ballet in July 2015.

Mr. Gonzalez, is originally from Bogota, Colombia, where he grew up before moving to Atlanta, Georgia. His training came primarily from the continued direction of Maniya Barredo, former prima ballerina of Atlanta Ballet, and current director of Metropolitan Ballet Theatre. Mr. Gonzalez has received the Star Student award at Regional Dance America’s SERBA, been awarded 3^rd place at the Regional Youth American Grand Prix competition in 2008, given first place pas de deux at the American Ballet Competition in 2013, and selected to compete as the only representative of Colombia in the 2014 Jackson International Ballet Competition.

Mr. Gonzalez began his professional career with The Houston Ballet II, where he had the opportunity to dance works by Stanton Welch, among other renowned choreographers, as well as tour both nationally and internationally. At 18, he joined Orlando Ballet where he danced for three years and performed roles such as the Jester in Swan Lake, Peter in Peter and the Wolf, Ghoul’s trio in Vampire’s Ball, Franz’s friend in Coppelia, and Cavalier in the Sugar Plum Pas de deux in The Nutcracker.

« Previous Page
1
…
6
7
8
9
10
…
260
Next Page »