Johanna channeling Aretha Franklin!

The Triadic Ballet, First Staged by Oskar Schlemmer in 1922

Oskar Schlemmer's 1922 “Triadic Ballet”--an Avant-Garde ballet famous for putting geometry and structure into dance. The video shows the "Bayerisches Junior Ballet München as they prepare to bring Bauhaus center stage again." 

Read more about Schlemmer's experimental production on Open Culture: https://bit.ly/2wwGl2h

Meet the Dancer: James Whiteside

Q&A with American Ballet Theatre's Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside

From Dance Magazine: 5 Reasons We're Obsessed with James Whiteside

Search 1:56 / 2:10 "Sur les Pointes avec une Etoile" Isabelle Ciaravola, Master Class Andrey Klemm

Trailer for the DVD "Sur les Pointes avec une Etoile" with Isabelle Ciaravola, Andrey Klemm, music Sylvain Durand, Master Class on Point by Andrey Klemm at the Opera National de Paris . © 2013

jbDubs Principal Dancer James Whiteside

Maira Kalman and the 'Pursuit of Happiness'

Woman with Face Net, 2000

I found Maira Kalman years ago when my stepmom sent me Maira's 'Pursuit of Happiness' blog, http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/.  My stepmom and I have backgrounds in dance theater and I got my bachelor's degree in theater and dance at the University of Hawaii in Manoa.  I also studied art and acrylic painting, music, and performed with the Governor of Guam's Youth Band, the University of Guam symphony, and 2 Hawaiian dance schools in Virginia - Halau Hula Mahina O Wakinekona DC and Halau Ho'omau I Ka Wai Ola O Hawai'i.

So naturally my interest was piqued when I discovered her collaboration with Mark Morris, one of my all-time favorite modern dance choreographers, and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, another fave.

You can sign up to follow and purchase Maira's artwork on her page, Maira Kalman, which provides visitors with up-to-date Kalman exhibition listings, over a dozen of her works, and exclusive articles.

In her biography Maira says, “People just live their lives, and that amazes me,” she explains. “They get up, put on their shoes, eat a bowl of cereal, endure wars. They go out and make sense of it everyday, and that's what I like to show.”

She transforms her impressions into pared-down vignettes full of lyricism and wit.

Take a look and let me know what you think...

Enjoy!

Full of Words - Axis Dance Company

The AXIS Dance Company is based on Oakland, California.  And when I lived in southern California, I desperately wanted to attend their classes and workshops.  Who knows, maybe even audition for the company... My one biggest regret seeing what I was missing.

These are excerpts from "Full of Words", choreographed by Marc Brew in 2011.

Choreography:  Marc Brew in collaboration with the dancers

Choreographic/Rehearsal Asst: Andrea Basile

Dancers:  Rodney Bell, Sonsherée Giles, Sebastian Grubb, Juliana Monin, Alice Sheppard

Original Score: Composed by Dan Wool, cello by Jessie Ivry and Theresa Wong

Costume Design: Sonsherée Giles

Lighting Design: Heather Basarab

Full of Words has been created as a series of physical conversations, encounters and interventions that reflect what it is to be human. 

To learn more about AXIS and how they change the face of Dance and Disability visit www.axisdance.org

AXIS on So You Think You Can Dance 2011

On June 30th, 2011 AXIS dance Company was featured on Fox Tv's "So You Think You Can Dance?" AXIS dancers Sonsheree Giles and Rodney Bell performed an excerpt from "to color me different" choreographed by Alex Ketley.

AXIS Dance Company

Divide from Guest Artistic Director Marc Brew, draws inspiration from visual artist Carl Andre's designs working in minimalism: Spill, 8 cuts and Copper Ribbon. Divide is an abstract work exploring the divide in human interaction in movement, space and time. This is Brew's first full piece with the company in his role of Guest Artistic Director. The UK-based choreographer first worked with AXIS in 2011 when the company enjoyed a huge success with his Full of Words, which went on to become a favorite on the company's tours.

Axis Dance Company is devoted to changing to the face of Dance and Disability- challenging the idea of what, and who, dancers are.

Concept & Direction: Marc Brew

Choreography: Marc Brew in collaboration with the dancers

Rehearsal Assistant: Juliana Monin

Dancers: Joel Brown, Sonsherée Giles, Sebastian Grubb, Juliana Monin

Original Score: Caroline Penwarden

Costume Design: Keriann Egeland

Lighting Design: Allen Willner

Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers with Pete Seeger

You wouldn't think a young woman from a remote Pacific island would have heard of Appalachian dancing let alone fall in love with it and blue grass music.  But since those early years, the music and dance feels as though I have long lost cousins who have come to share their love of dance and music.

Whether you listen to and dance to Brazilian samba, bluegrass, blues, or Hawaiian slack key guitar, they are universal languages that anyone can speak...

Best Bluegrass Clog Dancing Video Ever Made

Call me old-fashioned or cheesy, but dance of any style never gets old, love bluegrass clog dancing!  Here's one I found on YouTube.

Flamenco at 5:15

¡Ándale! Join an infectious flamenco dance class given to senior students of the National Ballet School of Canada by two great teachers from Spain. This Oscar®-winning film shows the beautiful young North American dancers—inspired by the flamenco rhythms and mesmerized by Susana's extraordinary energy—joyously merging with an ancient gypsy culture.

Flamenco Gypsy Soul - BBC

The Gypsies arrived in Andalucia in the 15th century during the Christian reconquest of Spain.  They were caught up in persecution by the Spanish who were hell bent on casting out all Muslims and Jews.  While they were treated as outsiders, the Gypsies were not alone.  It is believed flamenco evolved from the Gypsies mixing with other cultures and Moorish influences - Greece, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, parts of Africa - then brought that powerfully soulful music and dance to Spain.

Flamenco is now a very popular part of Spanish culture.

Sufism

Sufi Muslims practice tolerance, universal love and peace.  Rumi, world famous for his poetry and writings of love and longing, was a Sufi.

Sufis are heavily criticized by the orthodox Muslims for their use of music, dance, and mysticism.  They are continually prosecuted and killed to this day...

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My Big Sister Joy

One of my former hula sisters, Joy Labez, sadly passed away last year.  I've always thought of her as an older sister I never had and grateful that she was a light in my life.  I'm also grateful that she was part of a larger circle of older sisters, both in the halau and for me...

Joy sent these pics to me in 2006 of the halau's performance at the National Museum of the American Indian concert on Friday, May 19th. The musicians from left to right are: Calvin "Gabby" Gabonia, Kumu Hula (hula master) Manu Ikaika, and Josh, Gabby's son.  Gabby and Josh have gone on to join another halau.

 Joy (in the blue mu'umu'u above) was dancing 'Hi'ilawe', my #1 all-time favorite hula. Written by Sam Li'a Kalainaina, Sr., this song is about a love affair at Hi'ilawe which is the highest waterfall in Hawai'i and Waio'ulu, two waterfalls in Waipi'o Valley on the Big Island. 

The group photo below is 'Hukilau' in which the audience participates in dancing the motions of the traditional fishing and eating at a luau.

In the middle photo, dressed in burgundy and wearing shell leis, Joy was dancing Mai Wakinekona (Call to Washington). 

And in the lower pic (dressed in black), she's dancing 'Pua Lililehua' (The Lililehua Blossom).  At the bottom is 'Ka Makani Kaili Aloha'.

If anyone with Halau Ho'omau sees an error and I've misidentified the pics, please let me know. 

Aloha pumehana e Hau'oli

Best Exercise to Improve Your Posture

While dance is not only fun, and a beautifully expressive form with which to create, it is also one that teaches you proper posture and alignment.  I was taught the term 'alignment', that being to align your body from the head down to the feet, and, believe it or not, dancers can be just as prone to incurring injury from improper alignment.

Read on for more by Monika Volkmar on the critical importance of maintaining alignment on her blogsite, The Dance Training Project, danceproject.ca: Best Exercise to Improve Your Posture?

What Ballet Should Be in This Day and Age

Anthony Mason visits with Misty Copeland, the breakthrough star of the American Ballet Theatre and in "The Nutcracker" ballet this past December, who says change is coming slowly to the world of classical dance. Misty overcame tremendous odds and became the first African American ballerina in the history of American Ballet Theatre.

The power of ballet: Misty Copeland at TEDxGeorgetown

Misty Copeland is an amazing spokeswoman who advocates the need for more opportunities to dancers of color and points out the racial prejudice that continues in traditional ballet.  She has the beauty, intelligence, dedication, and talent that inspires us to strive to be better than we are today. African Americans have a rich history in ballet but have not been brought to prominence because of the prevailing beliefs in the negative stereotypes against male and female African American, and other talented dancers around the world.

Ballet culture is very slow to change, and while it is important to pass on the stories to our youth and carry on this historical and traditional art form alive, it is time to bring in a modern perspective and bridge the gap between generations, gender and classes.  

Dance is more popular now than ever, particularly with the commercial successes of TV shows such as "Dancing with the Starts" and "So You Think You Can Dance.   The classical ballet world can become more relevant by developing choreographers who present modern characters and stories with artistry that speaks of the issues of the day with an international cast of dancers.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. 

Our Deepest Fear

The following was a revelation to me many years ago when I first heard it spoken on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Although it was quoted by Nelson Mandela, it was originally written by Marianne Williamson.  It was the first time I also heard the words spoken by another empowered woman and totally changed the way I saw the world.  It's been repeated all over the world since then, but I'd like to share it here as it remains relevant and bears repeating today...

Palau on superstock.com

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.  

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us, it is in everyone. 
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. 
our presence automatically liberates others.

Actually, who are you not to be? 

You are a child of God. 

Your playing small does not serve the world.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

And as we let our own light shine,

As we are liberated from our own fear, 

- Marianne Williamson.