Having your own dance company is great – except when it comes to all the stuff that has nothing to do with dancing. There are performance spaces to rent and publicity to drum up, not to mention the pesky business of raising money. But five clever graduates of the Mills College dance program found a way to avoid drowning in the non-dance details. Four years ago they formed Propel-her Dance Collective, an organization that allows them to share resources, ideas, contacts, fundraising efforts and administrative duties. Having all those extra hands – and feet – around frees up each member to spend more time focusing on the business of creating. Read More »
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From Coquina, photo by Julieta Cervantes
Back in 1980, when Douglas Dunn was invited to choreograph a piece for the Paris Opera Ballet, he was about as far removed as one could get from the classical world of danseurs and etoiles, pointe shoes and tutus. His provenance was postmodernism — he danced with Merce Cunningham Dance Company and was a member of Grand Union, a collective of dancer-choreographers who staged improvised performances in the 1970s. Until he received the Paris Opera Ballet commission, he hadn’t even choreographed to music, preferring instead to set his dances in silence or, in the spirit of Cunningham, use music without actually dancing to it.
But France was experiencing a modern-dance boom at that time, and American choreographers were in high demand. And Dunn’s resulting work, a 40-minute modern ballet set to Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, was a great success.
Starting tonight, New Yorkers will have a chance to see a reprise of this landmark work at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, which is currently hosting the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival. Douglas Dunn & Dancers will perform through Sunday in a program that includes Pulcinella and the premiere of then boss in man?, featuring live music by classical guitarist Tali Roth.
After the jump Dunn talks with us about Pulcinella then and now, and offers a few hints about his new work.
Read More »
Lil Wayne, Coldplay vie for Grammys: Grammy nominations dropped yesterday and Lil Wayne leads with eight nominations — no surprise after his album, Tha Carter III, was the biggest seller of the year. Coldplay’s also up there with seven nominations, followed by Kanye West and Ne-Yo with six. The coveted Album of the Year Grammy will be a toss up between Lil Wayne, Coldplay, Radiohead, Ne-Yo and a collaboration between Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. [Reuters]
