Ticket sales start today!

Did you see this is ST Life! pg 3 today big and bright? Click through to get your tickets now!

love, the da:ns team

Watch out for upcoming posts on Project X, by RAW Dance Company ft. Last For One.

Einstein said...

Dancers are athletes of God.

Tomorrow:

- Ticket sales start

- Website launch

- Big ad in ST Life!

Just so you know.. :)

love, the da:ns team

Shift Ticket packages

further on my previous colin dunne post, his performance is part of the Shift series. For our Early Bird special till 25 Sep, buy a package of 3, including a ticket to Out of Time, VOID and Transmission of the Invisible for $70. UP $90, thus making savings of more than 20%. not bad huh!

more on VOID and Transmission of the Invisible in posts to follow but as a brief intro

VOID - Jendela Peradaban (Window of Civilisation) marks renowned Indonesian choreographer Boi Sakti's return to the international dance scene. This is a da:ns 2009 commission that searches the soul and questions the meaning of 'Civilisation'. Performed by T.H.E Dance Company.

Transmission of the Invisible is a compelling tribute to the recovery and rebuilding of the arts in Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge regime. Performed by Tribal Crackling Wind, it tells, through dance, of the resilience of the human spirit.

da:ns 09 tickets go on sale next week!!!! Get excited. and keep checking back for up-to-the minute information and juicy tidbits.

love, the da:ns team

Paloma Herrera is coming..

.. and she will be partnered by none other than fellow American Ballet Theatre Principal Marcelo Gomes.




Here is a clip of her performing Don Quixote, a role that she is famous for, with Angel Corella. Sorry can't embed! Youtube disabled it. but click and watch, believe me, it's worth it.

Dancing with Herrera and Gomes are Yuan Yuan Tan and Tiit Helimets (principal dancers, San Francisco Ballet), Iana Salenko and Marian Walter (principal dancer and soloist, Staatsballett Berlin), Mizuka Ueno (principal dancer, Tokyo Ballet) and Ashley Bouder (principal dancer, New York City Ballet).

Don't miss

An Evening with Paloma Herrera, Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre

26 & 27 Oct 09, Mon & Tue

8pm, Esplanade Theatre

Tickets from $20 - $120

TICKET PRICES.. wawaweewah

Hear ye, hear ye. i know you will like this.

Enjoy reduced ticket prices at da:ns 2009 - and some delicious special ticket packages. This year, tickets start at $20. And schools can get tickets for as little as $10.

CENTRESTAGE

Spectacular productions from around the world take centrestage in the Esplanade Theatre and Concert Hall

Dunas

by Maria Pages and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

23 & 24 Oct 09

$20, $40*, $60**, $80, $100

$10 for school bulk bookings

An Evening with Paloma Herrera

Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre

26 & 27 Oct 09

$20, $40*, $60**, $80, $100, $120

Project X

by RAW Dance Company featuring Last For One

26 & 27 Oct 09

$20, $40*, $60**, $80
$10 for school bulk bookings

RE-

Parts I, II, III

by Shen Wei Dance Arts

$20, $40*, $60**, $80

$10 for school bulk bookings

*$20 for students, $28 for NSFs and senior citizens

**$30 for students, $42 for NSFs and senior citizens

Shifting your notions of dance.. with Colin Dunne

This one's kind of fun.



I spoke to some friends, trying to cajole them into watching shows at dansfest. One of them looked at me and said flatly, "But I don't like dance." Maybe I need some new friends.



Anyway, I asked him what he liked. He said, "Humour. People poking fun at things. I relate to speech and talking more than i do dancing."


To which I laughed and said, "We actually have something like that."


*

The purpose of our dansfest SHIFT programme is to showcase contemporary work that challenge the notions of what dance is and can be. One of our programmes this year is 'Out of Time' by acclaimed Irish dancer Colin Dunne.

Another first for dansfest! We've never showcased Irish dancing before. Colin Dunne is a highly acclaimed, former dancer from Riverdance - The Show, and his performance here includes a big multimedia screen where footage of traditional Irish Step Dance, including him as a child training to be a step dancer will be projected.

But riverdance this is not. Colin will interrogate the style, form and culture of Irish stepdancing in this personal and provocative solo work, peppered with trademark Irish humour where he talks to the screen, addressing his younger self and other dancers. All this while he is zipping across the stage in a blaze of percussive footwork which will then be digitally processed to form a soundscape in real time. Wow. That was a mouthful.

Wit, humour, virtuosic feet, multimedia, speed.. I think it'll be pretty cool.

Catch
Out of Time by Colin Dunne (Ireland)
27 & 28 Oct 09, Tue & Wed, 8pm
Esplanade Theatre Studio

Sidi Larbi interview with The Guardian

The Guardian did a nice interview with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui on Monday- short answers, informative, personal- it really does give a deeper sense of who he is. I like interviews like that because they add another layer to the artist and allow us to see the human side of the artist and perhaps even get to understand his work more.

What he says about the myth of contemporary dance being inaccessible is true though- and could probably be applied across the board to most performing art forms - don't have preconceived notions, or pre-judge your appreciation of it! Article linked here.

Portrait of the artist: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, choreographer
'I do read my reviews – but only a month after a performance.'

What got you started?
Watching a friend imitate Kate Bush when I was 13. I loved the idea of expressing yourself through movement.

What was your big breakthrough?
Winning best Belgian solo at a dance contest in 1995. I found my own style, mixing hip-hop with classical ballet and African moves – and met major choreographers like Alain Platel. It was only later that I realised I had been very lucky.

Do you suffer for your art?
Sometimes. As a choreographer, your work is quickly owned by other people – dancers, critics, audiences. It's strange when people assume that you have sole responsibility for it.

What work of art would you most like to own?
There's nothing I'd like to own. Art should be there for everyone.

What's the biggest myth about contemporary dance?
That it's inaccessible. You don't judge a book from the first page; so you should learn to see a dance piece from beginning to end before you judge it.

What's the greatest threat to dance?
It might not always be something people get paid for, but I don't think there's any danger of dance going away. It's part of the nature of people to need to move.

What song would feature on the soundtrack to your life?
Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. It's about trying to make a deal with God.

What's your favourite film?
Wall-E, because I like the way he tries to do good. Requiem for a Dream, for making addiction something I can understand. And Shortbus, because it makes you realise we're indoctrinated with ideas about sexuality being bad.

What advice would you give a young choreographer?
Don't be afraid to do work that's like stuff other people used to do. So many people try to find something new, but by continuing a tradition, you will make something new.

Is there anything about your career you regret?
Regret is a word I don't like. My first work of choreography, Rien de Rien, was about not believing in regret – only in making choices.

Complete this sentence: At heart I'm just a frustrated . . .
Musician. I hear music in my head and would love to translate what I hear.

Do you read your reviews?
I do, a month or so after a performance. Everything that's said about me influences me. So if I get a bad review at the time, that's when I want to quit.

DANCE QUOTE OF THE DAY

FOOTWORK TICKETS ON SALE!

The very first of da:ns 09 tickets have gone on sale!

Anyway. My point is. For all of 12 buckeroos (for each class) I can learn all of this.

Footwork workshops starting from August (click for enlarged timetable) :

Click here to book!

I might be on the da:ns team but that says absolutely nothing about my ability to dance. Let's just say it's not my forte. Pure truth, not even marketing schpiel! I hold on to hope that one day I'll try something new (looking at Capoeira at the moment) and realise that I'm a latent martial arts talent waiting to be discovered. Or possess a hidden grace that I know not of. Or, if I signed up for Reggaeton I could potentially realise that my butt and arms could move in opposite directions. I am coordination-challenged, evidently.

Or I could take my dad to Merengue (that would be a scream because guess who I got my two left feet from?) Or I could just go get a good sweat out of Salsa Hip Hop and actually have a good time exercising.

Introductory dance classes on the cheap, and limited spaces only - get your tickets!

Maria Pages interview

A concise, informative interview with Maria Pages on her art and her dance.

On the evolution of Flamenco:

"Both styles have to live together. Tradition is very important because it
is the root of everything we have now but at the same time art needs to evolve
because it's an expression of our time."

On her personal process:

"When I have an idea I have a complete picture, like a film in my head. In a
flash I can see everything. I can see where the dancers are, how the lighting
works, everything. Sometimes it's so fast I don't have time to take it all in -
I've lost many flashes like that!"

For those not in the know, Maria performed Sevilla to a full house at da:ns festival 2007. It's always so good to know that we've built up a rewarding, mutually encouraging friendship.

Sevilla, da:ns 2007