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Dance

San Francisco

Breathtaking Photographs of Alonzo King LINES Ballet Dancers

By Bonnie Chan on

As of this year, Alonzo King has spent three decades changing the face of ballet, sculpting a traditional classical dance form into a modern template for fluidity and cross-pollination. In his choreography for San Francisco’s own Alonzo King LINES Ballet, King has collaborated with numerous artists and musicians representing traditions from all over the world, including Baka artists from the Central African Republic (People of the Forest, 2001), Shaolin monks from China (Long River High Sky, 2007), tabla master Zakir Hussain (Scheherazade, 2009), and actor Danny Glover (Before the Blues, 2004). … Read More

San Francisco

Flavorpill Guide to the Week’s Top 10 SF Events

By Bonnie Chan on

Along with temperate weather, a surf-friendly beach, and nearby state parks for days, San Francisco is also home to a breathtaking diversity of cultural events. Between our fair city’s world-class museums, restaurants, bars, art galleries, music scene, festivals, and clubs, between all that is weird and quirky and purely San Franciscan, there’s something going down, somewhere, every single day of the year. What’s an engaged culture hound to do? First step: Check out our newly launched Flavorpill social discovery engine, where you can create and share events with friends, follow our carefully curated editors’ picks, and connect with other people who have similar interests as you. Below, you’ll find Flavorpill’s top picks for this week. Just a little bit of help as you set out into this beautiful wide world of SF’s happenings.  … Read More

New York

Flavorpill Guide to This Week’s Top 10 New York Events

By Mindy Bond on

For our (unconscionably high) rent money, the best thing about living in NYC is its endless supply of fun, odd, and inspired cultural events. But with so many options, it can be hard to know where to even begin planning your week. To help you make sense of it all, Flavorpill Deputy Editor Mindy Bond shares the very best of what’s on offer this week. It’s just a taste of what you can find on the new Flavorpill, so if you like what you see, be sure to sign up. … Read More

Art

Photographs of Nude Dancers Like You’ve Never Seen Them Before

By Marina Galperina on

How do you capture pure dance? Strip the dancers of those distracting clothes. Slow down time. Japanese photographer Shinichi Maruyama shot his dancer models in the middle of graceful, complicated maneuvers. He captured the paths of their thrusting limbs and swaying torsos as a series of shapely blurs and fleshy swirls. They are like 3D canvases covered in hurried brush-strokes, like abstract living sculptures. For stationary images, they are very charged. Pretty great, huh? Don’t dismay. With a properly unlit warehouse, some umptz umptz umptz, and a lot of glowsticks, you could get a similar effect. It won’t be as aesthetically sophisticated, but it will be similar. Check out the series recently profiled by Designboom in our slideshow. Umptz umptz umptz. … Read More

Art

Incredible Photos of Ballet Dancers Poised on City Streets

By Alison Nastasi on

Delicate, lithe limbs and satin-encased feet are an unusual match for concrete sidewalks strewn with trash, but Paris-based photographer Little Shao (aka Thinh Souvannarath) unites the two in his dance-inspired photo series that we spotted on Cuded. His beautiful artworks depict athletic, graceful ballet dancers — many in pedestrian clothes — set in urban environments. The grittier setting complements each dancers’ incredible strength and flexibility, but also interestingly contrasts with the delicacy and elegance of their bodies and impossible poses. The duality is at once vulnerable and powerful. Click through for beautiful ballet dancers poised amongst graffiti-covered walls and busy Paris streets. … Read More

Performance Art

Marina Abramović Is Seeking Yogis

By Alison Nastasi on

Marina Abramović — who recently completed her quiet The Artist is Present at the Museum of Modern Art — is once again embarking on a project of “sustained stillness and silence.” The Serbian performance artist has issued a casting call for dancers, yogis, and actors of all ages to participate in a gala… Read More

Photography

Photo Gallery: Dancers Among Us

By Emily Temple on

Jordan Matter’s extensive series Dancers Among Us documents professionally-trained dancers using their extraordinary talents in ordinary situations and settings around New York City. Matter shoots everywhere from Harlem to the Natural History Museum to the Highline, on an apparent mission to take a picture of a dancer everywhere in the city. “Strangely,” he says, “I find the persistence of Chumbawamba’s ‘Tubthumping’ an apt anthem for my approach to my Dancers Among Us photographs. When I ask to shoot somewhere, I get turned down, but I ask again. And again. And then I sneak in! And get kicked out.” Well, as much as we think “Chumbawamba” shouldn’t really be uttered in the same sentence as “art,” we’re glad Matter was persistent. See even more Dancers Among Us and the rest of Matter’s work on his website. … Read More

Music

The Newest Dance Craze for 2011: The Creep

By Emily Temple on

Yesterday we posted about the biggest instructional dance crazes of the 2000s, and now we just have to add one more. John Waters himself presents: The Creep! This one is pretty universal, since we’ve all dealt with some creepers in our day. All you do is dress up like a sketchy nerd with a pencil moustache and then dinosaur arm your way into women. Or, as they say it, “let your arms flop ’round like a marionette / pop your knees up and down / and chicken your neck.” Or if you’re Nicki Minaj, just sneak into a boys locker room and see if they feel weird about it. See Nicki Minaj and The Lonely Island perform the creepiest dance craze we’ve ever seen after the jump. And don’t forget to smile… … Read More

Dance/Opera

All the Right Moves: Dance Movie Types and Tropes

By Chelsea Bauch on

Kitsch-appreciation and guilty pleasures aside, dance movie scripts are formulaic at best. But, really, we all know that the plot is just a vehicle, a secondary excuse, for the choreographed routines themselves. As our previous posts on essential movie dance sequences have illustrated, dance routines run the gamut of styles and, in most cases, aren’t just there for theatrical flair. They have a particular significance to story and scene, communicating essential information about the characters, plot, and narrative tension — especially given the genre’s established conventions in recent years. So whether you’re someone who’s foolishly dismissed the dance movie category, or someone who already mentally choreographs routines for your own life, here’s a guide to understanding the different types of dance sequences and what they each… Read More

Dance/Opera

Exclusive: Bill T. Jones Talks Dance

By Paul Laster on

Bill T. Jones is a mover and a shaker. He’s one of the most widely recognized dancers and choreographers working today, as well as the artistic director of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Performing and creating dance and theater works for more than 30 years, Jones is celebrated for his hybrid mix of movement, drama, and staging. An educator who has taught nearly as long as he’s performed, Jones is one of the nine mentors — along with Placido Domingo, Frank Gehry, Julian Schnabel, Liv Ullmann, and others — taking part in HBO’s Masterclass. We recently spoke to Jones about mentoring and his creative process, and he had lots to share. … Read More