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“Twenty-five years seems like a significant milestone,” Denise Gilbertson says. That’s perhaps the understatement of the new year for the silver anniversary of the Middle Eastern Dance Guild of Eugene (MEDGE), of which Gilberston is a member. For any nonprofit arts group to reach the decade milepost, let alone the quarter-century mark, is cause for celebration. Continue reading
[Above: A still from the Cherry Poppin' Daddies' new music video for "That Lindy Hop" — see the full video at the bottom of this post.] It’s not everyday you get an email from a musician you love, but last fall local swing dancer and instructor Nick Davis checked his inbox to find an email from Cherry Poppin’ Daddies singer-songwriter Steve Perry. Continue reading
Spring is in the air, and dance offerings are starting to bloom, beginning with “In the Studio” with DanceAbility, an inspiring demonstration from their Everybody Can Dance teen program. Celebrate with local teens across a full spectrum of abilities and disabilities as they enjoy the art of dancing together. Guest professional dance artists led by DanceAbility teacher Jana Meszaros will also show an inspiring choreographed mixed-abilities piece with dancer Kelcie Laube. Continue reading
The Eugene Ballet Company performed boldly Sunday afternoon, with a program that delighted the senses, starting with “White Noise” by choreographer Amy Seiwert. Continue reading
DanceAbility International will be featured on OPB’s Oregon Art Beat and the community is welcome to an open house and viewing party 6:30 to 8:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 4, at 576 Olive St., Suite 208, with the segment airing on TV at 8 pm. Continue reading
A Masterwork for the New Century: La Compagnie Hervé Koubi at WhiteBird Dance A remarkable piece of movement, a triumph, really, Hervé Koubi’s Ce que le jour doit a la nuit, or in English, ‘What the day owes the night’ pulls together threads stretching into the past, the present and the future. Continue reading
On Jan. 8, DanceAbility International will offer a free screening and discussion of Afternoon of a Faun, a critically acclaimed film that tells the story of Tanaquil Le Clercq, muse to choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. At 27, “Tanny” contracted polio, her legs were paralyzed and she never performed again. “She was a strong woman,” writes DanceAbility’s Kathryn Gaines, “emboldened by inner strength and love of life.” Catch the film at 7 pm Friday, Jan. Continue reading
Bid adieu to 2015 and ring in 2016 with dance! The Eugene Youth Ballet tours the town with The Nutcracker 4 pm Thursday, Dec. 3, at Springfield Public Library, 10:15 am Friday, Dec. 4 at the Sheldon Branch of the Eugene Public Library and 2:45 pm Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Waldorf School. The final performances will be at 4 and 5 pm Wednesday, Dec. 9, at the downtown Eugene Public Library, 7:30 pm Thursday, Dec. 10, at Elmira High School and finally 10:15 am Friday, Dec. 11, at the Bethel Branch of the Eugene Public Library; FREE. Continue reading
‘Seed’, at the Dougherty Dance Theatre on the U.O. Campus featured new works by the TRANSform, a collective of dance artists who are all graduates of the U.O. Dance Dept.’s M.F.A. program: Continue reading
Raising the Barre: Big Dreams, False Starts, & My Midlife Quest to Dance the Nutcracker (Da Capo Press) by local author Lauren Kessler begins with the moment, a little over a year ago, when — in the midst of her middle-aged working-mom life — Kessler gets a bee in her bonnet to dance The Nutcracker with the Eugene Ballet Company. Continue reading