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Rachael Carnes has written for Eugene Weekly as well as The Stranger in Seattle, since the mid-nineties. Covering dance, theater, performance art as well as human interest stories, Rachael enjoys meeting new people and seeing their creative process in action. As the founder of a local non profit, Sparkplug Dance, she spent 15 years teaching movement to kids in our community who juggle any number of risk factors, and now dedicates most of her time to supporting Arts Integration in area Middle Schools, through her work with the Educational Policy Improvement Center.
Ballet Fantastique presented its season opener, Cirque de la Lune, in the Hult’s Soreng theater October 9-11. The closing show performed to a full, mostly rapt house. Tracing the experience of an innocent young gal, who joins a travelling depression-era circus, Cirque de la Lune played with color and light, weaving its narrative with stellar live accompaniment by Mood Area 52, Betty and the Boy and Troupe Carnivale. Continue reading
Teatro Milagro’s national touring production of ‘Searching for Aztlán’, written & directed by Lakin Valdez, (son of Luis Valdez), was a rare treat. Presented by Lane Arts Council, he performance took place Friday, Oct 9th at Oregon Contemporary Theatre to a sold-out (and enthusiastic) house. Continue reading
The first-annual Northwest Screen Dance Exposition leapt onto the screen at the Bijou Cinemas Tuesday night (10/6), with a collection of short works that highlighted the burgeoning relationship between dance and film. Organized by producers John Watson and Dorene Carroll, the effort was sponsored by the UO and LCC Dance Programs, and served as a benefit for Danceability International. Continue reading
The Jayanthi Raman Company performed for a small but appreciative audience Saturday night, October 3. The performance featured choreography, design, costumes and lighting design by Raman, to varying effect. Continue reading
Don’t miss the chance to see classical South Indian dance, Bharathanatyam, one of the world’s most ancient dance forms, performed by seven dancers and led by Portland’s Jayanthi Raman 7 pm Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Hult Center. Continue reading
Eugene artist Perry Johnson has a gift. His work is inquisitive and multidimensional, at once rooted in a folk art tradition while branching out towards something more visceral and visionary. Employing color, shape and text, Johnson’s pieces are composed, developed and hauntingly autobiographical. Continue reading
“Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made,” choreographer Ted Shawn once said. It’s a quote that my first dance teacher had on a poster in her studio, and it’s an idea that carries to the dancer, the dance company, even to the community itself. Welcome to Eugene Weekly’s 3rd annual Dance issue. Continue reading
Award-winning playwright Aaron Posner grew up in Eugene. And since Oregon Contemporary Theatre’s season opens with Posner’s Stupid F@#*ing Bird, it seemed a great excuse to ask this renowned artist about his old paper route. Chekhov’s The Seagull inspires Stupid F@#*ing Bird. How did you plumb Chekhov’s “Theatre of Mood” for the funny? Continue reading
Eugene has a thriving dance community, rich with classes and performances of many kinds. But the opportunity to see visiting national or international dance companies has waned in recent years. The Hult Center is no longer presenting its dance series, which once hosted heavyweights like Pilobolus, David Parsons and Bill T. Jones. And though LCC and the UO regularly host residencies with visiting choreographers, these events are usually on an appropriately smaller scale and may not have a public component. Continue reading
On a hot, sticky summer day, three dancers move with all their might through intricate and instinctual movement exploring relationships and memory. The piece they’re working on is for an informal performance the following night, but the work they’re doing, the act of creating, is for something much bigger. They’re building community, one move at a time. Continue reading