danceDC Weekend Event Guide 4/9-4/10

April 8, 2011 by Leave a comment

New York City Ballet performs at the Kennedy Center this weekend.

Looks like The Kennedy Center is the place to be this weekend. The New York City Ballet is in town to perform and also to teach a creative movement workshop for non-dancers. I’ll be at the Sunday matinee. It’s my first time seeing them perform so I’m really excited! The Washington Ballet will also be in the house finishing out their production of Le Corsaire. If you follow them on Twitter, you may have been amused by their pirate tweets  promoting the show. Finally, if you love cultural dance then make your way to the National Cherry Blossom Festival Performance Stage at Sylvan Theater. Hawaiian, Panamanian and African step dance performances are scheduled for the closing weekend.

Saturday, April 9th

Sunday, April 10th

Filed under Events Tagged with , ,

danceDC Weekend Event Guide 4/2-4/3

April 1, 2011 by Leave a comment

Emerging Arts Leaders SymposiumThis weekend, I’m looking forward to networking and learning at the Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium at American University. The event features three panel discussions: Getting the Experience and the Job, Global Connections in Arts Management and What Makes a Good Arts Leader?, followed by a keynote address from Rachel Goslins, Executive Director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. I’ll be sure to put together a post with key takeaways for those of you who can’t make it. Shout out to Charm City – lots going on in the Baltimore dance community this weekend including BDCP, The Collective and Peabody Dance.

Saturday, April 2nd

Sunday, April 3rd

Filed under Events Tagged with , , ,

danceDC Weekend Event Guide 3/26-3/27

March 25, 2011 by Leave a comment

National Cherry Blossom Festival

TAKE Dance performs at the opening ceremony of the National Cherry Blossom Festival this weekend.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival starts tomorrow March 26th. The event kicks off with Family Day at the National Building Museum. Shizumi Kodomo Dance Troupe and The Washington Ballet are scheduled to perform! Immediately following Family Day is the opening ceremony featuring New York City based TAKE Dance, who recently performed at Dance Place. Other Cherry Blossom Dance Festival performances are listed below. Where will I be? Selling tickets at Culture Shock DC’s 2011 Youth Showcase. Come support these young, talented dance groups and do some dancing of your own at the Youth Showcase Workshops on Sunday at DC Dance Collective. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Saturday, March 26th

Sunday, March 27th

  • 12pm-12:30pm: CHERRY BLOSSOM The Warrenton Ballet Company at Performance Stage at Sylvan Theater
  • 12pm-2pm: Workshops with nicholas leichter dance at Dance Place
  • 12pm-3pm: Culture Shock Youth Showcase Workshops at DC Dance Collective
  • 12:45pm-1:15pm: CHERRY BLOSSOM Gamelan Wrhatnala USA at Performance Stage at Sylvan Theater
  • 1:30pm: Proteges III at the Kennedy Center
  • 3pm-3:30pm: CHERRY BLOSSOM Rhythmaya School of Dance at Performance Stage at Sylvan Theater
  • 6pm: Khuree Tsam Mongolian Ritual Dance at Artisphere (Arlington)
  • 7pm: nicholas leichter dance presents The Whiz at Dance Place
  • 7pm: SOLD OUT Studio to Stage Showcase at Joy of Motion/Friendship Heights

Filed under Events Tagged with , , ,

March 2011 Random Roundup

March 22, 2011 by 2 Comments

I wish there was some technology that could transcribe my thoughts about various dance experiences into a blog post while I’m riding the Metro back to Dupont Circle. Alas, there is not so I don’t get to share as much information about classes, workshops and performances as I would like to. Instead of complaining that this technology does not exist, I thought it might be fun to do a random roundup of my most recent experiences.

Edgeworks Dance Theater

EDGEWORKS Dance Theater (photo credit: Isaac Oboka)

Week of March 7th – I met with three talented dancers on three separate days this week: Rachel Bell of DancEthos, Kelly Mayfield of Contradiction Dance and Helanius J. Wilkins of EDGEWORKS Dance Theater. It was great to catch up with these artists and find out what they’re working on:

I also finally had the chance to take class with Esperonto Bean on Thursday, March 10th. He was a special guest instructor at Culture Shock Company Class at DC Dance Collective. Check out the YouTube video of the combination. In addition to teaching his choreo, Esperonto shared some words: “Every one of us is writing the books of history,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to be more than just dancers, but also to be historians of our culture.”

Bloggers Brunch (photo credit: C. Fox Communications)

Week of March 14th – Last Friday, I attended a Bloggers Brunch hosted by C. Fox Communications and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. Carrie Fox of C. Fox Communications moderated the media panel which included: Christie Garton of USA Today, Mike Grass of Washington City Paper, Maura Judkis of TBD.com, Amy L. Kovac-Ashley of Patch.com, Jessica McFadden of A Parent in Silver Spring, Greg O’Neill of Greg’s List and Jackie Trescott of The Washington Post. This event might not seem dance related, but most of the journalists featured cover arts and culture. You may be able to apply some of their advice to your own dance organization. Here are some useful tidbits from the discussion.

  • Story ideas: When looking for story ideas, Jackie Trescott of The Washington Post turns to ArtsJournal.com for a digest of arts and culture information. This site could be helpful to find ways to tie in your story with a larger trend.
  • Facebook: Maura Judkis of TBD.com will often attend events that she finds out about through Facebook. I was surprised by this because I loathe Facebook event invites, but I do find them useful for putting together my weekend event guides.
  • Twitter: Four out of seven reporters raised their hands when Carrie asked if they use Twitter for gathering story ideas. Jessica McFadden of A Parent in Silver Spring said it’s a great place for inspiration, but warned that it’s not a full proof way to communicate.
  • Events: Promoting an event? Anyone can contribute to event calendars on Patch.com. The hyperlocal news venture of AOL has several sites that cover specific communities in DC, Maryland and Virginia including Georgetown, Bethesda and Reston among others.
  • Photos: Most of the reporters said their media outlets don’t take user generated content. They do however love photos! Christie Garton of USA Today asked that you send photos after a reporter has expressed interest in your pitch. Photos take up valuable e-mail space.
  • Pitches: Mike Grass admits that Washington City Paper can be hard to pitch. He detests packaged PR and advises not to pitch several news organizations in the same way. They’re looking for the local, quirky angle of your story.
Ajnin Precizion

Kendrick Santiago (photo credit: Justin Jaro)

Last Saturday, I made my way to Gaithersburg for Ajnin Precizion’s Intensive 2 at Halo Dance Studio. Ajnin Precizion, established by Kristin Santiago, is a group of individuals joined by the love and passion of dance and self-expression. The intensive featured four classes for $18 taught by Ajnin Precizion members David Specht, Kendrick Santiago and John Cheng, and special guest Billy Ta, former director of Major Definition. Each class followed the same format – warm up, break down of choreography, then groups, but featured a different style of hip hop. My favorite class was Kendrick’s, which featured upbeat house choreography. Loved his energy! For more information about Ajnin Precizion, follow them on Twitter.

Filed under Events Tagged with , ,

danceDC Weekend Event Guide 3/19-3/20

March 18, 2011 by 2 Comments

Ajnin Intensive 2Tomorrow I’ll be making my way to Gaithersburg, MD for Ajnin Precizion’s second intensive workshop at Halo Dance Studio. $18 for four classes is a great deal and if you don’t think you want to dance for five hours (but who wouldn’t?), you can pay $5 per class. KODACHROME also hosts their monthly workshop. This time, they’re down in Williamsburg at William & Mary College. When are you guys making your way back up to NoVa or at least somewhere Metro accessible? Shout out to DC Fit Week which starts next Monday. In case you missed it, check out my DC Fit Week blog post ‘Don’t Fear the Dance Studio.’ Finally some news you can use:

Dhoonya Dance celebrates Spring this week with its Dhoonya Dance Holi Week! It started Monday and lasts til this Sunday. Click here for more info.

Dance Place’s open house was also this week. It ends this Sunday at 3:30pm. $12 special drop-in rate for current students and FREE classes for new students. Check out the schedule on the Facebook event invite.

Eureka Dance Festival has extended its deadline for choreography submissions to March 25th. If you apply, please let Eureka Dance Festival know that Cecile Oreste of danceDC referred you.

Saturday, March 19th

Sunday, March 20th

Filed under Events Tagged with , , ,

danceDC Weekend Event Guide 3/12-3/13

March 11, 2011 by Leave a comment

Clarice Smith Performing Arts CenterGreat Culture Shock DC class with Esperonto Bean last night at DC Dance Collective. Looking forward to checking out his other classes at BTI Dance soon. Tonight I’m headed to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park to check out the Shared Graduate Dance Concert with Angella Foster of alight dance theater. Pretty sure Angella is excited too. UMD is her old stomping grounds. Maximum India is going on at The Kennedy Center and lots of dance performances for the final weekend of INTERSECTIONS at the Atlas. Keep dancing!

Saturday, March 12th

  • 1pm-4pm: Sessions Volume 1: Eric 3D Cruz Popping Workshop at Jamz Dance Center (Pasadena)
  • 2pm: The In Series and The Washington Ballet present WAM 2! at INTERSECTIONS/Atlas Performing Arts Center
  • 2:30pm: Step Afrika! presents Step to the Beat at INTERSECTIONS/Atlas Performing Arts Center
  • 4pm: Metropolitan Youth Tap Ensemble presents Something to Dance About at INTERSECTIONS/Atlas Performing Arts Center
  • 7pm: Ballet Theatre of Maryland presents On the Move at Baltimore Museum of Art
  • 7:30pm: Shantala Sivalingappa presents Swayambhu at The Kennedy Center
  • 8pm: Coyaba Dance Theater at Dance Place
  • 8pm: Dance Box Theater presents Affectations at Joe’s Movement Emporium (Mt. Rainier)
  • 8pm: Dance Performance Group presents SENSation at Flashpoint
  • 8pm: House Dance: A Tribal Legacy featuring Urban Artistry, Coyaba Dance Theater and Good Foot Dance Company at INTERSECTIONS/Atlas Performing Arts Center

Sunday, March 13th

  • 12pm-6:30pm: Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s Summer Intensive & Company Auditions at the Conte/Lubrano Building (Annapolis)
  • 2pm: House Dance: A Tribal Legacy featuring Urban Artistry, Coyaba Dance Theater and Good Foot Dance Company at INTERSECTIONS/Atlas Performing Arts Center
  • 3:30pm-6:30pm: Dissonance Dance Theatre 2011-2012 Company and Apprentice Auditions at Flashpoint
  • 5pm: Joy of Motion Dance Center presents Common Ground at INTERSECTIONS/Atlas Performing Arts Center
  • 7pm: Coyaba Dance Theater at Dance Place
  • 7pm: Dance Box Theater presents Affectations at Joe’s Movement Emporium (Mt. Rainier)
  • 7pm: Paco Pena presents Flamenco Vivo at GWU Lisner Auditorium

Filed under Events Tagged with , , ,

danceDC Weekend Event Guide 3/5-3/6

March 4, 2011 by Leave a comment

Washington BalletTonight I’m heading to Joy of Motion Dance Center for Street Jazz with Maurice Johnson then chilling with my girl Liz. Saturday, I’m excited to see The Washington Ballet perform WAM 2! as part of INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. As always, a shout out to Baltimore Dance Crews Project. Their monthly community workshop Dance 4 B’More takes place tomorrow. Have a good weekend!

Saturday, March 5th

Sunday, March 6th

Filed under Events Tagged with , ,

USA Dance’s 2011 Mid-Atlantic Championships in Bethesda

March 2, 2011 by Leave a comment

If you follow me on Twitter, you might know that I am also an arts contributor for online news site Borderstan. Borderstan covers news, crime, business, arts and entertainment, and food in the Dupont, Logan and U Street neighborhoods. Last Sunday, fellow contributors-editors Michelle Bradbury and Mike Kohn competed at USA Dance’s 2011 Mid-Atlantic Championships in Bethesda. Several Borderstan team members, myself included, were on hand to cheer them on at the ballroom dance competition. Mike and his partner Sara took 5th place in the Adult Novice Latin category. Here’s part of the interview with Michelle and Mike. To read the full story and to see more pictures from the competition, click here.
Mike Kohn

photo credit: Luis Gomez Photos

Michelle: I have been dancing ballroom for the last two-and-a-half years. I got started through school my freshman year. But I did ballet and jazz for seven years before college.

Mike: I’ve been ballroom dancing for seven years now. I started when I was a freshman in college and I got hooked — I’ve been dancing ever since. At the beginning it was more about social dancing and having fun with my friends, but I slowly got more and more into competing, which I do about once every two months or so in a full year.

How often do you compete? What’s the prize for winning?

Michelle: My partner and I currently compete three to four competitions per semester, so somewhere between six and eight a year. But, we don’t compete in the summer because we aren’t in the same state and can’t practice together.

At some competitions the prize for coming in first is a scholarship if that event is sponsored. Often times, making it to the final is an indicator as to whether or not you are ready to be moving up to the next level… placing several times in a row is a pretty good way of knowing that you are ready for the next step. But you don’t have to be number one to make that decision.

Mike: For me, the “prize” of winning has always been an intrinsic one: knowing that I’m getting better, having validation from a judging panel that I’m improving and generally loving being out on the floor. At the highest level, there are some scholarship awards in the competitions that I attend, but they tend to be just enough to offset the cost of registration for the event with a little leftover, not enough to earn a living.

Filed under Events Tagged with , , ,

danceDC Weekend Event Guide 2/26-2/27

February 25, 2011 by Leave a comment

CityDance

CityDance Ensemble performs 'Hold Your Breath Until The End' this weekend.

INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival starts tonight at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Lots of great visual and performing arts to take in. I’m checking out the festival next week since I’m booked this weekend. Tonight, I’m heading to the Cultural Arts Center at Montgomery College in Silver Spring for CityDance Ensemble’s ‘Hold Your Breath Until The End.’ They also perform Saturday and Sunday if you can’t make it tonight. Thanks to Marketing Manager and all around cool girl Anna Sebourn for the ticket! Saturday, I’ll be dancing in my seats while I root for the Syracuse Orange as they play the Georgetown Hoyas at the Verizon Center. And hopefully Sunday, I’ll be joining tons of fun peeps at James Madison University for KODACHROME (sometimes I wish I had a car!). Enjoy your weekend and keep dancing!

Saturday, February 26th

Sunday, February 27th

Filed under Events Tagged with , , ,

danceDC Weekend Event Guide 2/19-2/20

February 18, 2011 by Leave a comment

Edgeworks

EDGEWORKS Dance Theater perfoms at Dance Place this weekend.

I am beyond excited for the long weekend. Are you? Sorry if you don’t have Monday off. That sucks. Luckily, there are lots of dance events going on to keep you entertained. My picks for the weekend include Fly by Night – a dance salon hosted by the Dance Exchange. If you haven’t been to the Dance Exchange, it’s very Metro accessible. Only a short walk from Takoma.

I am also hoping to make it to EDGEWORKS Dance Theater’s performance at Dance Place. I interviewed Founder and Artistic Director Helanius J. Wilkins previously for danceDC and also took his modern class at Joy of Motion/Friendship Heights as part of my 10 day dance challenge. No news you can use for now, but if you hear anything let me know. Happy President’s Day!

Saturday, February 19th

Sunday, February 20th

Filed under Events Tagged with , ,

← Older posts

Newer posts →

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 25 other followers

%d bloggers like this: