Dance Planet, Do it!

My friend Sharon knows how to do the seventies disco dance “the hustle.” This week at work I would sing to her, “Do it! Do the Hustle!” Sharon would stop what she was doing (teaching kids) and “Do it! Do the Hustle!” Ahh, the power disco dance has to make us happy!

This past Saturday I walked into Dance Planet held at Booker T. Washington in Dallas toting my sliver disco ball sequin dance shoes ready to Do it! Do the hustle. I staked my claim at the front of the room next to the instructor, John Chaparro and my fun at Planet Dance began. 

John Chaparro

Dance Planet is the oldest and largest free dance festival in the United States.  For sixteen years this free festival has been for all ages and offers so many different styles. People are so happy to have such wonderful opportunities and new experiences to be exposed to.  There were thirty styles represented: hip-hop, ballet, tap, jazz, cirque silks, samba, cha-cha, folklorico, swing, modern, drill team, kabuki, flamenco, hustle...They even had one-on-one Pilates workouts.

Bruce Wood, my favorite choreographer

Imagine meeting and learning from someone you really admire. I have wanted to take a class from Bruce Wood ever sense he created his The Bruce Wood Dance Company in 1997 and more recently the Bruce Wood Dance Project. Actually, what I really wanted was to be in his company. His classical modern style is what I was born to dance…but que sera sera! Thanks to Dance Planet, I had the pleasure of meeting this brilliant choreographer and taking class as if I WERE in his company (if only for one hour).

Bruce Wood turned up the music to Ray Charles’ I Got a Woman in studio C at the Booker T. Washington School of Visual Arts and tried to remember his choreography to an excerpt of Smoke, a very fun and sassy dance that easily puts a smile on your face.

Melissa Young, dancer from the Dallas Black Dance Theatre, stepped in to give Bruce Wood a hand when she noticed Bruce was leaving out details from the reparatory class. Bruce Wood has said, “I usually don’t explain dances.” He is very much like Nike with the Just Do It attitude and an in the moment, get inspired by the music kind of dancer. He graciously accepted Melissa’s help and we learned the exact choreography from Smoke.

Teresa Espinosa

The most popular style at Planet Dance was hip-hop. The TV show, So You Think You Can Dance has attracted so many more kids. It was hip-hop dancer and choreographer Teresa Espinosa who headlined Dance Planet this year. She has worked with superstars Britney Spears, Pink, Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and more. The acclaimed hip-hop dancer got her start on Janet Jackson’s HBO special, The Velvet Rope. Espinosa is a Dallas native and Booker T. alumni who lives in LA and teaches at the Debbie Reynolds Studio.

Espinosa says this about dance, “If dance were a food, it would be a stew. For me, dance is more than just steps, it’s about how it all marinates together and comes out with a distinct flavor and a distinct message. It all comes down to expression.”

I think of dance as a language. I love the romance of France (ballet) and the spirit of Spain (flamenco), but we should all be exposed to many languages and styles to understand what Martha Graham said, “Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body.” It’s up to the audience to translate, and it’s up to us to Do It!

Moulin Rouge: The Ballet

Stepping in to the Eisemann Center in Richardson, Texas on Friday night was an exhilarating feeling. Entering the theatrical atmosphere, the audience saw the signature red windmill lit up and slowly spinning. It made me feel as excited as I was when I saw the Moulin Rouge in Paris. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet set the stage for an evening of pure entertainment…Parisian style.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet theatre’s artistic director Andre Lewis and choreographer Jorden Morris teamed up to celebrate the most famous cabaret in history, the Moulin Rouge. Moulin Rouge: the ballet is Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s highest-grossing production ever.

The seventy-two year old Canadian ballet company’s of twenty-six dancers made this fascinating time period of the Belle Époque (beautiful era)come alive. The romance and excitement of twentieth-century France could be felt both on stage and en pointe. Ballets usually tell love stories, and what better than a romance from the turn of the century.

Morris’ ballet is the romantic tale of Nathalie (Amanda Green), a laundress, and Matthew (Dmitri Dovgoselets), a painter. It is a love story of two innocent lovers in Paris. Nathalie is discovered by Zidler (Amar Dhaliwal), the owner of Moulin Rouge. Toulouse-Lautrec (Nurzhan Kulybaev) is such a character in the ballet, he was known for his bohemian lifestyle. In the ballet, he was a man who could dance a jolly, jaunty, jig… especially after consuming absinthe.

Toulouse-Lautrec is a bad influence on Matthew and soon he too is drinking absinthe and is visited by three beautiful green fairies who dance with Matthew under a green Moulin Rouge windmill.

Moulin Rouge: the ballet was well composed with beautiful music from famous period artists like Edith Piaf and Claude Debussy. The music flowed perfectly with the period costumes. I also appreciated the authentic nature of the hair being down on some of the gypsy dancers because it was informal and more realistic of that free and optimistic time of the Belle Époque.

Morris’ very witty choreography earns him laughs from the audience with a funny tailoring scene when little gay men bourrée like prissy Barbie dolls on their tiptoes to change Matthew into a man of class. The best part was when the merry men lifted Matthew up and dropped him into his pants. Talk about a quick change!

Morris’ since of humor in his chorography reminded me of the musical The Producers when the doorbell rings in the (very gay) DeBris’ apartment and plays “I Feel Pretty.” It’s that same playful and sexual reference that Morris created to make the audience roar with laughter.

My favorite scene was when Nathalie and Matthew are at a bridge by the Eiffel Tower dancing a romantic pas de deux to Debussy’s Claire de Lune. It is dreamy, lovely, heavenly…and I didn’t want it to end!

The Moulin Rouge’s famous dancers, La Goulue and Jane Avril, were both painted by Toulouse-Lautrec around 1892. Red-headed La Goulue’s audacious behavior can be seen in Morris’ ballet as Royal Winnipeg Ballet dancer, Jo-Ann Sundermeier teased the male dancers. We see her cheeky and edgy movement choreographed in the ballet. Sundermeier is fiery and feisty just as I would imagine La Goulue was in her heyday.

My ballet teacher, Glenda Norcross, often talks about her former ballet teacher, Bill Martin Viscount, who was a Royal Winnipeg Ballet company member. When Glenda is teaching class, she likes to say something she learned from him, “One last time before we repeat the combination.”  A ballet class with Viscount must have been at least three hours long. I imagine the rehearsals for Moulin Rouge: the ballet would have been Viscount-style because it is obvious that the RWB dancers are exceptionally well trained and have heard the Viscount phrase, “One last time before we repeat the combination.”

One of my few complaints Friday night was that the tango scene from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet seemed mild compared to the raw and sensual tangos I’m used to seeing. A tango should be a strong dance of expression and passion. I wanted more emotion from the dancers and more steam from the choreography. But then again…ballet is not usually sensual. The tango was beautiful en pointe but I think Morris could have asked more from his dancers. They certainly had all the components to make it happen…music, costumes, long legs, a backdrop to step back in time to the Belle Époque and an audience that would have been thrilled to see more passion and energy.

Dances like the cancan and the tango are both seductive forms of entertainment that you don’t imagine ballerinas performing. That is why I really couldn’t wait to see this ballet! I love the unexpected...to find the beauty of ballet made less classical and more mysterious is exciting and something that there are few opportunities to enjoy.

The cancan en pointe is something to see. It’s not what you imagine classical ballet to be and certainly not how we might imagine that La Goulue and Jane Avril danced at the Moulin Rouge in the 1890’s.  As much as the ballet dancers disguise themselves as showgirls, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet dancers are ballerinas first.

The Eisemann audience gave Royal Winnipeg Ballet a standing ovation. As I was applauding I was reminded of a quote from Moulin Rouge! (the movie): “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to be loved in return.” I was thinking the greatest thing you could learn would be to appreciate the past and where you are in the present.  Merci RWB!

Watch this video for a taste of Moulin Rouge: the ballet  and this sample of steamy tangos (some from Moulin Rouge! the movie):

Bei mir bist du schön: means ‘American Ballet Theatre’ is grand

One of the most beautiful sights you can see in a theatre is the American Ballet Theatre in a live performance. ABT is the country’s oldest surviving ballet company, but the word ‘old’ doesn’t suit ABT. This past weekend the company displayed an exciting mix of traditional and avant-garde in Dallas’ performance.  It was a HUGE honor for Dallas to be graced with their appearance at the Winspear Opera House. After all, it was thirty years ago that they last visited us; so this was an event not to be missed.

We were so lucky to watch the ABT greats of the last several decades including Julie Kent, Paloma Herrera, Misty Copeland, and Jared Matthews. American Ballet Theatre’s Artistic Director, Kevin McKenzie (former Principal Dancer) keeps the company current with an inspired variation of contemporary and classic pieces.

I must admit, I’m a little obsessed with Julie Kent. I think she’s one of the most beautiful women in the world and knowing that she’s the mother of two and forty-three is enough to make me want to bow down and raise my arms up and down.  

I think most people hear ABT and think Swan Lake, Giselle, and Sleeping Beauty but ABT does progressive contemporary ballets oh so well. It feels fresh and right to see a classical ballet company dancing modern. Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Martha Clarke, Merce Cunningham are just some of the modern choreographers that have worked with ABT. 

Company B has the zippy feel of the 1940s with the swinging lindy and fast-paced polka. Listening to the Andrew Sisters brings back the spirit and hopefulness that Americans had during World War II. ABT danced to Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Tico-Tico, Bei Mir Bist Du Schön … Paul Taylor originally created Company B for Houston Ballet in 1991. The audience was swaying along with the dancers as they moved to the Andrew Sisters, even singing along…

I could say bella, bella, even say wunderbar
Each language only helps me tell you how grand you are
I've tried to explain, bei mir bist du schoen
So kiss me, and say you understand

Also on the ABT bill was another modern pioneer, Merce Cunningham who choreographed a set of charming Duets for six couples back in 1980. Duets mesmerized the audience with their abstract but balletic and playful movements. The bold colors of the costumes and movements had a clarity and preciseness that kept the delighted audience thoroughly engaged during the John Cage electronic drumming music.

In Duets, each couple related to one another in a gentle but exacting manner. Watching their bodies, I felt like they had on point shoes because their lines were long and their length kept building with the percussion of the music. The music made me imagine South Africa but the dance style reminded me of Ireland because the arms laid low and the focus was on the power of the lower half. I loved the end when all six duets returned to the stage in a fiery rush of controlled chaos.

I’ve always been fascinated that Merce Cunningham worked without music first. True to Cunningham’s form, the piece Duets was rehearsed without music and to keep the ABT dancers on their ‘modern’ toes, the music was mixed into eight variations so they wouldn’t get in the habit of predicting the music. Merce Cunningham only recently passed away in 2009 so it was a lovely tribute to him and helps keep his dance alive.

Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas is what most people imagine contemporary ballet to be…free, flowey, and fresh. The pure white costumes matched the emotion of the piece. I found myself leaning into the stage and moving toward the dancers. The pianist, Barbara Bilach, was on stage with the dancers and only increased the mood. You can’t beat live music.

Alexei Ratmansky (artist in residence) choreographed this beautiful piece that made the audience gasp with delight. It was delicate and flirtatious. Julie Kent played the perfect coquet as she teased Alexandre Hammoudi then abandoned him on stage. He kept looking back to see if she was watching him dance. When she reappeared, she pointed to him and he shook his head yes. The art of flirtatious gesturing made Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas my favorite performance of the night.

Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux from the 1960s was breathtaking with the lovely Paloma Herrera. She is faster that a jackrabbit. Tchaikovsky’s music was originally meant for Swan Lake and this Pas de Deux is a little treasure that almost never happened due to a cast away Tchaikovsky piece.

With ballet, everything is up, light, and effortless; modern dance is the opposite, with everything being grounded into the Earth. To have ballet dancers dance modern was a pleasure for the eyes as well as the soul. As with everything, you must go down to go up. Classical modern is my favorite style, it’s just beautiful! I really admire the ABT dancers in this performance because it is exceedingly challenging to switch from ballet to modern in the same show.

As the audience retired, the Andrew Sisters song, “I Can Dream, Can’t I” happily stuck in our heads…For dreams are just like wine, and I am drunk with mine. Thank you ABT, for the pleasure of leaving the Winspear intoxicated by the champagne of ballet. Please don’t wait another thirty years to return. Bei mir bist du schön!

Pilobolus Dance Company: charming audiences with their je ne sais quoi

You know that feeling you get when you dream you're flying? Well, that’s the feeling created by watching Pilobolus; watching them is like being in a dream world. I imagine the Paul Klee painting "Fish Magic" scene because only in this dream world would underwater skating and roly-poly people co-exist. Pilobolus Dance Company recently performed to a sold out show in Dallas at the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House. They are known to morph into words, animals, flowers, cars…

Pilobolus is based in Washington Depot, Connecticut and was formed by six Dartmouth College students in 1971. Most of the original dancers are now the artistic directors and the company still remains small like they began with four men and two women. This modern dance troupe turned forty this year. They have appeared on the Tonight Show, Sesame Street, and CBS’s 60 Minutes and performed all over the world receiving numerous awards.

I love the fact that Pilobolus has worked with one of my favorite children’s writer and illustrator, Maurice Sendak. Also impressive and fitting for Pilobolus is their work with the writer for SpongeBob Square Pants, Steven Banks. The dance company has a flair for slapstick so it’s suitable that they worked with Banks who graduated from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.

Their dance is a mix of athleticism and illusionism. They create art by defying gravity with gymnastics and weight sharing. They are strong…incredibly strong. I’ve always associated Pilobolus with Cirque de Soleil for the way they make you say wow, how did they do that? Everything they do is so filled with magic and wonderment that you can’t help but gasp and say ahh!

Watching them dance is like watching a curious child make a new discovery. I felt like I was in another world…a mysterious underwater or outer-space backdrop where everything is in slow motion. 

Their dancing is poetic; sometimes poetry can be hard to understand, and as with all art, everyone will take and see something in their own way. What I read into most of the dances were the stories were about LOVE…counting on someone you trust to be there for you, to pick you up, hold you, hug you, support you…

My favorite performance of the night was SpongeBob’s writer Banks Transformation, in which a woman is playfully transformed into a half-human/half-dog creature by a giant hand that molds her. Transformation has a puppet-like feel and is whimsically delightful to watch.

Gnomen took me to Africa with it's tribal like feel. It explored balance with four men showing amazing control. Pilobolus breaks the seriousness when you don’t expect it. The audience was tickled when some of the men performing Gnomen pretend to bang the head of their partner to emphasize the gong sound in the musical score by Paul Sullivan.  In the end they raise one man up to the heavens and the audience was led to willingly believe that he would really start floating up.

Duet was a gentle and slow spiral dance that left you feeling calm.  The medieval Norwegian songs also induced a bit of a trance while watching the dancers circle around.

Like many dance companies, Pilobolus gives back to their community and works with children and adults. They like to watch them use their untrained natural abilities to make organic shapes on their own. The company members are teaching creative thinking and how to be both a leader and a follower.

Artistic director of Pilobolus, Robby Barnett says this about making connections outside of the dance floor, “The more I do outside of dance, the more I have to bring to my interest in dance. It’s sort of like cross-training I guess.”

Giselle: bringing romance back to life

A poor peasant girl falls in love with a man out of her league. It’s a story we’ve all heard before, a young girl who yearns for what she cannot have. Remember that feeling you had when you first fell in love….there's a dance your heart does and Giselle’s heart was shining through her every delicate jeté.

“Giselle” is one of the most important and popular ballets in dance history. As a lover of French romanticism, it has always been my favorite. People go see romantic ballets like “Giselle” for the same reason we continue to see Shakespeare’s plays… the story is so good that we always discover something new that we hadn’t seen before. “Giselle” is still relevant today even though it was first performed in Paris in 1841.

My impressionable five-year old daughter had tears in her eyes watching “Giselle”; she was obviously moved by the ballet. When I asked her the next day what she thought of “Giselle” she said, “Oh Mommy, don’t make me think of Giselle, it breaks my heart!” Well, “Giselle” is a French ballet and the French do tend to have dark themes much like Disney…there’s always a dark side, a wicked queen, and a spooky forest…just enough to make a sensitive little girl emotional.

Going to see the Texas Ballet Theatre’s production of “Giselle” that Ben Stevenson (the artistic director) staged was a treat for all ages. The matinee was an audience full of little girls oohing and ahhing, especially when Giselle flew like Tinkerbelle across the stage. One child remarked, “Where’d she go?” “Giselle” was created during a time when ballet explored elevation and weightlessness. The ballerinas glide, float, and fly across the stage.

“Giselle” is a dark French tale of a young peasant girl who lives with her mother in a small village of the Rhineland in a medieval German town. A royal hunting party passes through Giselle’s village.  A young village girl, Giselle has fallen obsessively in love with the royal Albrecht, an old-world duke who poses as a villager in order to steal her heart.

Hilarion, a real villager who also loves Giselle, becomes very jealous and plots to reveal Albrecht’s true identity. Albrecht declares his love to Giselle and promises to be faithful. Giselle playfully tests his promise with a daisy, plucking “he loves me, he loves me not” petals.  She realizes with sadness that her last daisy petal shows Albrecht doesn’t love her. Albrecht patches up the daisy and Giselle is joyful again as they dance together.  Hilarion arrives and tries to separate them and he is scolded by Giselle.

Giselle is unaware that Albrecht is engaged to the beautifully dressed Bathilde, daughter of a Duke. Bathilde is charmed by Giselle and presents her with one of her expensive necklaces from her neck. Giselle’s mother senses trouble and her daughter’s impulsive dancing reminds her of the ill-fated Wilis. Her mother is also worried about Giselle’s fragile and delicate heart.

When Giselle learns that Albrecht is betrothed to Bathilde, she takes off the necklace and loses her mind. Her hair tumbles down wildly and she puts her hands to her head and rocks back and forth. Going mad, Giselle stabs herself with Albrecht’s sword. Although Giselle takes her life with the sword, her death is actually a result of her weak heart.

After Giselle’s death, the second act takes the audience into a moonlit forest near the tomb where Giselle has been buried. A strange and supernatural forest is haunted by the Wilis, spirits of the betrothed girls who have died as a result of being betrayed by unfaithful loves. Each night they rise from their graves, waiting for young men that they will dance to death.

At the stroke of midnight the white veiled Wilis appear, led by their proud and ghostly Queen Myrtha. Hilarion has come to the tomb to grieve for Giselle. He is discovered by the Wilis and they drive him to the lake with a dance of exhaustion.

Myrtha summons Giselle from her grave to be welcomed into the sisterhood. Albrecht also comes to Giselle's grave to mourn her. The eighteen Wilis form a beautiful white barrier of long diagonal lines and hop in arabesques as they crisscross the graveyard. Giselle is possessed with a forgiving love and begs for his release, Myrtha denies her request but lucky for Albrecht, he is saved by the bell once day breaks and the Wilis retreat to their graves. Giselle's love has saved him and by not surrendering to feelings of hatred for Albrecht, Giselle is freed from any affiliation with the Wilis' dark sorority, and returns to her grave to rest in peace.

Fairies and Fairy Tale Wishes

When you have young children, you become a believer in all things make believe like you did when you were younger.  It is a Child's belief in fairies that make fairies real to everyone. Mermaids, unicorns, fairies...are all part of a happy childhood.

My daughter Zooey recently had a visit from the tooth fairy and we've had many discussions about how fairies look, sound, and smell.

With very serious thinking, my daughter has decided she will be a tooth fairy when she grows up. Zooey was in tears the night she told me of her future job and said, "Oh Mommy, I'm going to miss you so much because tooth fairies don't live at home, they live in castles." To calm my emotional little girl down I agreed to be a tooth fairy with her!

According to Zooey a tooth fairy looks like Tinkerbell, sounds like whispers and wind, lives in a beautiful pink castle in the sky, and smells like cinnamon.

When I think of fairies, Peter Pan's Tinkerbell is the first to come to mind, Abby Caddaby from Sesame Street is another fairy we are very familiar with, and my favorite ballet (Giselle) has many fairies in the magical romantic forest and mountain regions known as the Rhineland where the Wilies dance from midnight until four o'clock in the morning. I would imagine the Rhineland to be like Pixie Hollow and the Wilies to be the most beauiful of fairies.

Fairies bring joy, magic, and laughter whenever you think of them. Like butterflies... fairies are light, whimsical, and beautiful to look at; lathered in pixie dust- they are full of magic. To touch a butterfly is like being kissed by a fairy and if you're lucky enough, they will leave some of their pixie dust from their beautiful wings with you. Anything related to the touch of fairies and butterflies is laced with magic.

One of my second grade students, Emma, has a wonderful grandmother who knows of a special tree that fairies like to play in. They leave Emma little fairy treasures as small as her thumb for her to play with like a tiny journal with her name, a little fairy broom, and the smallest hair brush you've ever seen. Emma is very proud of her fairy treasures and she made other children believers when she shared them.

After all, don't we know that all the best things in life are invisible? Magic happens everyday-sometimes we just have to think of the right thing and be willing to believe in order to "see" it. Though they may not last forever, dreams do come true... Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo!

Photos: One of my daughter's favorite things to play with, "My Fairy Sandbox" and a wonderful book to read when you lose a tooth, "My Tooth Fairy Tale."

Martha Graham: The Body Says What Words Cannot

Do you notice that when you get back from a great vacation your memories make that vacation seem even better because you constantly replay the good times in your head? The same is true with a great dance performance; you think about it and replay favorite parts that are forever etched in your memory. It becomes bigger and better long after it’s over. Dance is an art form that lives in your memories unlike a painting that you can see again.

Martha Graham was one of the greatest American artists; she broke the traditional mold of dance like Picasso did for art. Her work is classic, captivating, and powerful. She was a pioneer and a revolutionary in dance and her form of art is still relevant to new generations today. Her dance company is one of the oldest and most celebrated modern dance companies in the world.

The great thing about dance is that it continues to evolve and if it really speaks to you, it won’t be dated. Watching The Martha Graham Company at the Winspear last Saturday night, even knowing that many of the pieces were choreographed in the 30’s; I found that they still translate today.

The Martha Graham Company has been around for 85 years, founded in 1926. Graham worked with many famous icons: Gregory Peck, Bette Davis, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Liza Minnelli, Kathleen Turner, Betty Ford…She opened doors and broke down a wall between classical ballet versus modern dance but also all the arts…The skill and tradition that is in classical ballet makes modern dance seem indulgent because it’s so much more self-expressive and complex; but this is what makes you think AND FEEL! Ballet can be equally as radical but it’s not as organic and liberating as modern dance.

Martha danced up into her 70’s (like Margot Fonteyn).  I like the fact that Graham’s dancers are mature; this way they have a greater understanding and feeling of life because they have been seasoned enough to share the beautiful and ugly experiences that life peppered them with. Martha said, “It takes ten years to make a dancer; that’s ten years of training. It takes another ten years to find the being you are.”   

Raised in California, she was strongly influenced by Native American cultures and loved New Mexico. When Graham died at 96 in 1991 her ashes were scattered in New Mexico, a place where she found her greatest inspiration. Like The Doors musician Jim Morrison and modernist painter Georgia O’Keefe, Martha Graham was inspired by the beauty and spirituality of the Southwest that naturally envelops you. She was also, like Isadora Duncan, inspired by Greek mythology. You can see both Native American movements and Greek statuesque arms in her dances; the style is powerful and feminine accentuated by the loose hair and flowing dresses that bring out her liberating style even more.

Graham’s technique is centered in the Earth, unlike classical ballet, she embraced gravity. Movements are driven from the core of the body and breath is where the power comes from. This seems more natural to us today because many people are familiar with the practice of Pilates and yoga and the focus of the core and how breath is the instigator.

The Martha Graham Dance Company has some of the most memorable costumes of any dance company. In her most famous solo piece, Lamentation, a one person performance of a woman struggling in a tube dress shows an expression of grief. The audience feels the emotion of the dancer and then possibly their own. She used her costumes to enhance her dances.

I think the fashion industry should play more into the dance world. It would be such a pleasure to see the two art forms come together more often and collaborate to inspire each other. I’m thinking of a Project Runway challenge. How cool would it be to see the choreographer inspired by a costume and vice versa?   

What I enjoyed about the TITAS Martha Graham concert at the Winspear Opera House was that I didn’t feel overwhelmed by Graham’s powerful style. Sometimes you can have too much “in your face” modern that you need a refresher. I think back to when I was at the Vatican and remember that there was just so much elaborate detail in every corner that I felt like I needed to rest my eyes. But once you started walking out of the Sistine Chapel you could view some modern art in the halls to refresh your eyes.

The same is true for Martha Graham’s dance repertoire; she had some very powerful and aggressive pieces like Panorama which were very military-like. The red costumes highlighted the fierceness of the piece. Panorama was a special performance for Dallas because SMU Meadows dancers were lucky enough to perform with The Martha Graham Company. SMU made Dallas proud and I’m sure Martha too! There were also pieces like Lamentations Variations that made you think in another direction…struggle, grief, and the New York skyline. Every Graham piece has great feeling but each feeling fights a different battle.

To set the mood for the performances, dances opened with a video that explained the times (hardships of the 30’s) with narration and images to take you there. I enjoyed hearing Martha Graham’s voice as a prelude to a dance.

Having my degree in dance I have a strong background in Martha Graham’s history. Looking at the audience at the Winspear Opera House last Saturday night I couldn’t help but wonder how many people were seeing Martha Graham’s work for the first time. My friend was one of those people and she observed that the dances were heavy, powerful, and that they made you think. I’m sure Martha Graham would be happy to know her dances still have (and will always have) the power to speak, be timeless, and be relevant even to a first time viewer.

Dance is a universal language; through movement we feel, speak, and understand with no translations needed. The message doesn't need to be the same for every viewer, but the inspiration and motivation of the dance movement is relevant and successful if it results in causing us to think, and appreciate. Martha said, “The body says what words cannot” and “Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body.” I couldn't agree more.  

Photos: The Martha Graham Dance Company Lamentation Variations, Winspear Opera House

Dare not to be a bird in a cage

Recently, I was listening to Mendelssohn and thinking about the controversy over the Wedding March. There are those who believe that the history, background, and underlying messages with in the well known music should prevent the use of it for a religious based wedding ceremony! I disagree. There’s always a bit of “wild” in a woman and, we should never be birds in a cage or we would end up crazy like the woman in the Yellow Wallpaper.

There are many famous and infamous women in history/books/movies who are trying to find themselves: Josephine Baker, The Woman from the Yellow Wallpaper, Jane Avril, Holly Golightly, Elsa from Lohengrin, and Carrie from Sex and the City. I see them all as feminine feminists even though some may be courtesans or modern American Geishas. Most of these women came from sad and dark backgrounds which I think makes them survivors, not “bad girls.” There have been many movies and songs written about women like these feminine feminist: Bad Girls, Roxanne, Lady Marmalade…

Holly Golightly, is free spirited modern call girl with a crazy streak, a bird in a cage. She doesn’t want to belong to anyone or anything to belong to her. Like Carrie in Sex and the City she is a single girl living in NYC. She’s also a traveler, forever seeking a place that she can call home; a place where you feel at home. She chooses love of money over love of integrity. Tiffany’s was a place that calmed her down “nothing bad could happen to you there.” We all want to find that happy place where we feel safe; a real place like Tiffany’s where we feel we belong.

Josephine Baker overpowered men with her sexuality, but she was a loving woman full of life. She was famous for performing at Folies Bergeres wearing a costume consisting of a skirt made of a string of artificial bananas, adopting twelve orphans she called the “rainbow tribe”, and was awarded the medal of the Légion d'honneur.  Josephine was also a muse to many artist, writiers, and designers. Like the character Holly Golightly, Josephine came from a sketchy past and was searching for a place to call home.

Toulouse-Lautrec gave Jane Avril  everlasting fame. She danced alone at the Moulin Rouge for her own joy. If you’ve ever seen the movie Moulin Rouge, you know the tango scene danced to the song Roxanne. It was dark, stirring, and passionate. Looking at lithographs of Toulouse-Lautrec’s Jane Avril, you see her face was the same. He captured her just as she was, a lost survivor.

The history of the tango suits these women; it is sexual, popular in brothels, and the men are in control. Think about who leads the tango today? In life when you meet a man, the man leads, then woman takes over, finally the children overpower both! The tango is my favorite ballroom dance to watch because it exudes strong passion and life. What I like about “The Scent of a Woman” tango scene is that it’s not about sex, but life. Al Pacino plays a blind man who is hungry to feel the joy of living. Dance is life and life is dance; the body in motion that makes the world go round.

 If men and women are truly equal in society today, they should be able to lead if they want to. The choice allows for creative control. Even if the man leads, the woman has a choice to follow him or not. The tango is an expression of emotion. Women feel the same powerful emotions to lead the tango that a man does.  The question is who is willing to play the role of the object?

I remember reading the Yellow Wallpaper in college; it was one of those haunting unforgettable stories that you can’t peel yourself away from until you finish. The husband in the story controls his wife and labels her crazy; It used to be common to diagnose women with “temporary nervous depression.” This couple had a totally unequal relationship where the woman was given a “rest treatment” and not allowed to care for her children, leave, write, or do anything she would enjoy (a bird in a cage). In the story, she has nothing to stimulate her so she becomes obsessed by the pattern and color of the wallpaper. She is trying to achieve self-worth only to fail. Her spirit is breaking and dying and her husband thinks he’s curing her of depression by locking her in a room to “rest.” There is wildness in women that can’t be changed; it seems much better to have a little crazy spirited behavior than to have no spirit at all.

Mendelssohn’s Wedding March (Here comes the Bride) from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream,  can be heard in Richard Wagner’s opera Lohengrin. This is the most popular tune there is. Mendelssohn’s Wedding March has become a staple in American weddings; but because of its sexually oriented scene, some religions object to using it as a wedding march. In Midsummer Night’s Dream, the march is played as Elsa and Lohengrin retrieve to the bridal chamber. Lohengrin who had won Elsa defending her for being wrongly accused for killing her brother makes Elsa promise to never ask him his real name or where he comes from. Curiosity got the best of Elsa on their wedding night and Lohengrin leaves her, so theirs is a false marriage.

In a wedding, the happy tune is commonly played as a recessional piece. I remember talking to the Priest with my husband about our music choices and being totally floored to hear that the Wedding March wasn’t allowed. Well, we snuck it in anyway (choosing to seek forgiveness even after permission was denied) and I felt very much like a modern feminine feminist as we left the church as man and wife.

Even though times have changed, people hang on to stories as if they’re holding on to a grudge.  I think Jane Avril, Else, Holly Golightly, Josephine Baker were all wrongly labeled as courtesans. They may have been modern Geishas, but they were also survivors. We are all travelers forever seeking that place where we feel at home. It may take some of us longer to get there but we can help those who are down so we don’t end up like the woman in the Yellow Wallpaper. I dare you to march to Mendelssohn, do the tango, and even dance in a banana skirt… find your spirit and help those who have lost theirs. Do you have the nerve to take my dare?

New Year's resolution to "have fun" and "just dance!"

Instead of making a New Year's resolution to "lose weight" or "get healthy" why don't we try making a resolution to "have fun?"

One of my New Year's resolutions is to have enough energy to meet all challenges. When we are strong physically, it's easier to feel strong emotionally. I attribute a lot of my energy to Pilates, ballet, and yoga because all three help me find my center and stay balanced physically and mentally. If you care about your body, you take care of your body.

I love a fusion of ballet, Pilates and yoga because I think the three marry really well together. As a working mom of two young children I also have to be creative about how to find the time to exercise, it's much more fun to do together! I have some favorite DVDs that are fun for the whole family.

Dancing together creates an instant happy environment. We tend to favor music over the TV in our house, my children are happiest when music is on (so am I). If you want to have a blast with your children try: Wii "Just Dance," and Tracy Anderson Method Dance Cardio Workout with the children, I also recommend the New York City Ballet: the Complete Workout, for your dancer body.

 Dance workouts are all the rage because they are FUN; especially if you can do it with little people! There are many places offering belly dancing and Zumba classes; grab a friend and go together. It's much more fun to dance with a partner! Also, these are all things that can be done inside, when the weather is bad.

I have always found ballet, yoga, and Pilates to be mentally and physically challenging. Each has a calming meditative effect that soothes the soul. Listening to music while practicing can inspire creativity and artistry that you can't get in sports. If you think about other forms of exercise like cycling and running your mind is somewhere else. But with ballet, Pilates, and yoga you are mentally in control; you have a sense of power to direct your body to move in a certain way.


Ballet is my favorite! It's one of the oldest forms of exercise. There are movements that have evolved over hundreds of years and are specifically designed to embellish the beauty and grace of the dancer.

Ballet today is the result of centuries of learning how a dancer's body can be made strong and svelte while asserting itself with beautiful daintiness. Ballet is an exercise that is also an art form; because of this, it's never boring! Ballet requires you to move and to stand in a particular and balanced way. It benefits your coordination, posture, flexibility even your emotional well-being. I love that the mind is in tune with the body with breathing, concentration, control, strengthening smaller muscle groups to pull in longer muscles there is not bulk. Dancing can give you beautiful posture, sleek muscles, longer limbs that make you appear taller, a strong core, and flexibility. To me, a ballerina's body is the most beautiful: long, lean, athletic, and feminine. Ballet can actually change the shape of your body into a feminine and graceful structure. It is possible to have a dancer's body and not be a dancer!

Ballet targets and tones specific muscles that you don't use in other sports. Because of this, many athletes have looked to ballet as a rewarding form of exercise. I think of Emmitt Smith, Lynn Swann , and Herschel Walker who have a dance background. Emmitt was so much fun to watch in Dancing with the Stars; he was quick and light on his feet. Football is dancing around a ball. There is choreography, allegro, across the floor, agility, balance, rhythm... That's the benefit to practicing dance; you can carry it over into other activities that enhance what you already do.

I enjoy Tracy Anderson and think it would be a blast to go out dancing with her. At our house, we move the coffee table to the side and dance like crazy to the techno music that my husband says puts him in a trance. Tracy Anderson trains big celebrities like: Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakira , and Courtney Cox to name just a few. She is ballet based and has a background in Pilates. I really like how she uses low weights and high reps. Joseph Pilates set out to make the core of the body really strong, this is why so many dancers do Pilates.

Dancing is one of life's most enjoyable experiences! Discover a new world of beauty for you and your body. Find a friend or a little person and "Just Dance!" The fun you have will make you want to continue what you have started.

Doing this workout will get you swan lake arms!