dance writer

Creating dances for actors requires a special skill set. Although an actor may possess great body awareness, that does not necessarily go hand in hand with the ability to grasp actual dance steps, retain them, or perform them with any sort of stylistic grace. So the mindset to approaching this kind of work from the choreography perspective necessitates patience and knowledge that compromise will be the way to best achieve the desired outcome. Often dance rehearsals for a theatre play are brief, as the actors primary focus is on scene-work and blocking. This differs from dance rehearsals in which studio rehearsal time is often dedicated to improvising and creating the movement on-site. In theatre, a choreographer must enter the rehearsal with steps and a design in mind already. But being prepared is not enough. The most important ability that a good choreographer brings to a theatre collaboration is that of story-telling. Even though a dance within a play might appear to be stri...

Last week Dancing at 100 grandly celebrated a century of the presence of dance training on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. The four-day festivities included an historical photo exhibit, lectures, dance video screenings, concert performances and a traveling site-specific work. Several concert performances featured a blend of faculty and alumni choreography and dancers presenting the overwhelming aesthetic of strong technical dance training. There were no tricks here, only pure and beautiful dance. The choreography never hid behind gymnastics or gimmicks and very few dances in the three studio concerts used any sort of props or text. Most resonant were those pieces with a narrative thread. Ann Arbor Dance Works, the local faculty dance collective, presented a strong evening of works ranging from a sensual intricate ménage a trios choreographed by Amy Chavasse, to a simple compelling love story duet created by Bill DeYoung. DeYoung’s piece, At Last Departs , made in ...

Medical findings rate dancers among the most prolific sub-series of athletes who have scoliosis. (Gymnasts and swimmers also rank near the top.) But do not fear! Dancing does not cause scoliosis! This statistical data, most likely came from medical records of adolescents who noticed the spinal curvature and sought a professional opinions (Non-athletes perhaps do not use or look at their bodies enough to even recognize the presence of scoliosis until they experience back pain later in life.) Being active, constantly scrutinizing ones physique in a mirror and aiming to move in symmetrical patterns is possibly why postural variations are most often noticed in dancers in the first place. And a teacher’s good eye can also detect muscle or bone imbalance. The main concern for early detection of scoliosis is to help reduce the possiblity of complications with aging. Progression of scoliosis can lead to back pain or arthritis in the spine, negative body image, and in severe cases, incre...