January 26th, 2010 by soullldiva
Ok, well not really. It’s only for today’s round of NYC auditions. Lucky ducks, those dancers! Hopefully she’ll
return for more auditions, or one week of the top 20 shows. One can only hope!
January 25th, 2010 by soullldiva
Cirque du Soleil, (Circus of the Sun) is a self-described “dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment”. (Thanks, Wikipedia!) The production company is locate in Montreal, Quebec and was founded by two street performers, Guy Laliberte and Daniel Gauthier (later director Franco Dragone would join on as a director).
Certainly more theatrical than the traditional 3-ring circus (and there are no animals), what really drives Cirque is the original characters that develop during the show. Yes, there are clowns, but does Barnum & Bailey’s tell a story of a clown watching his own funeral, inspired by “The Grand Parade: Portrait of the Artist as Clown” on display at the National Gallery of Canada? I think not.
Cirque artfully blends many types of performing: dance, acrobatics, music, acting, wire, ring and fabric work, and even the sets and costumes are themselves works of art. Sometimes it’s almost too much for the senses to take in!
Here is an example, from their 2005 show Corteo (about the clown mentioned above). There are highwire acts in circuses, but what about a dancing highwire artist in TOE SHOES? Kid you not. And just drink in the other wire work being done (angels who assist her), and the beautiful classic flamenco guitar music and other performers dressed as harlequin clowns.
Eye candy, right?
There are also transformation of normal things in Cirque to extraordinary, fun things. Like turning trampolines into beds and having the “kids” bounce on them! They bounce so high and keep their lovely lines, toes pointed. Really fun.
I had an acting teacher who encouraged us to go see Cirque when it came to town, because it wasn’t a circus to show us animal tricks, it showed us the amazing things that human beings could do. And amazing it is. It’s really about being completely submersed in a cornucopia of art forms for two solid hours. Heaven.
Do you have a favorite Cirque show? Let me know!
January 22nd, 2010 by soullldiva
It’s time to pick a hip hop number, and it’s also time for a group number. I really love group numbers, it’s the time when (even though it’s ONE MORE dance for the kids to learn), they can let loose, just be free and have fun. No pressure of critiques or phone calls. You really see them enjoy themselves.
Here’s the Season 4 Top 18 Group Hip Hop to Flo Rida’s “Elevator”. Choreographed by Shane Sparks. Just loooove the suits, don’t you? And the girls get to wear those cool zoot suit pants and corsets. This number is pretty stunning and slammin’ with lots of tricks, and just plain good ‘ol steps. Plus, you get the token bootie shake by all the girls. Priceless.
January 21st, 2010 by soullldiva
More from my muse, the ever-lovely Miss Isadora Duncan:
If we seek the real source of the dance, if we go to nature,
we find that the dance of the future is the dance of the past,
the dance of eternity, and has been and always will be the same…
The movement of waves, of winds, of the earth
is ever the same lasting harmony.” Isadora Duncan
Reads like a poem, doesn’t it? I like the idea of dance being part of the earth, of the universe, like it has been and always will exist. Hmmm…very nice. ;o)
January 20th, 2010 by soullldiva
Think you got what it takes to dance for Adam Shankman on the 82nd Academy Awards telecast? Well then, get your buttinsky over to Burbank, CA this weekend and audition! Eat your Wheaties
and “Break a Leg”!!!
Check out Adam’s video invitation to dancers and the press release here on the Oscars.org website. Ciao!
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