Dance: Page 13

This month’s dance kicks off with #instaballet

Dance
‘Francia’ in Bricolage Cirkus

This month’s dance kicks off with #instaballet at the First Friday ArtWalk. “Watch Eugene Ballet Company dancers make a ballet!”#instaballet co-founder Suzanne Haag writes. “Audience members get to suggest steps (feel free to get inventive and a little crazy) to create a ballet to be performed at 8 pm.” Catch it 5 to 8 pm Friday, June 5, at 771 Willamette (between 7th and 8th); come and go as you please. More info at instaballet.org; free.  Continue reading →

The UO presents its Student Dance Concert

Dance
LCC dancer Jessica Ealy will perform a duet with her horse Faith

The UO presents its Student Dance Concert, featuring nine emerging artists, 8 pm, May 7-9, in the Dougherty Dance Theatre, Gerlinger Annex; $5-$10. “Audiences can expect to see a diverse set of dance works that range from the concept of energy flow to an exploration of group relationships,” a UO press release says.  Continue reading →

Glass Slipper Redux

Ballet Fantastique brings back Cinderella: A Rock Opera with the help of Shelley & Cal

Dance
Krislyn Willes. Photo by Greg Burns.

“There’s something that just feels right about the Cinderella story,” says Hannah Bontrager, choreographer and executive director of Ballet Fantastique. “This person has a gut feeling, against all odds, that she is meant for something greater,” Bontrager says. “Everyone can relate to that.”  Audiences will have an opportunity to see Ballet Fantastique’s new spin on the classic tale when BFan presents Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet May 8-10.  Set in the 1960s, this Cinderella is anything but stuffy.  Continue reading →

Shedding Layers

‘Fluctuating Hemlines’ tests Eugene Ballet Company’s dancers

Dance

“I like new contemporary work that will push me to the next level,” says D.C.-based Washington Ballet’s Jared Nelson, who was in town last fall to set a demanding new dance on the Eugene Ballet Company.  Nelson’s handiwork, the Eugene premiere of Washington Ballet artistic director Septime Webre’s pulsating “Fluctuating Hemlines,” will serve as the performance opener when the 15-member Eugene Ballet Company performs it, along with Tommy The Ballet, April 11 and 12.  Continue reading →

Spring blasts off with Quixotic Fusion’s Gravity of Center tour

Dance
The cast of Eugene Ballet Company’s Tommy.

Spring blasts off with Quixotic Fusion’s Gravity of Center tour, whose performance culminates the city of Eugene’s two-day (sub)Urban Projections digital art and media festival. Hailing from Kansas City, the brainchild of percussionist and artist Anthony Magliano and theatrical designer Mica Thomas (who studied at Southern Oregon University in Ashland), Quixotic combines movement, music, digital art and aerial athleticism to create cutting-edge new work. Continue reading →

Igor Stravinsky’s famous dance score

Dance
Tomoki Sage and Kiyota Sage of nanda perform in the glow variety show.

This week, visiting London professor Stephanie Jordan’s lecture “Rites of Spring: A Century of Tradition,” looks at Igor Stravinsky’s famous dance score, from its riotous premiere to its many creative permutations, at 1 pm Thursday, March 5, on the UO campus. And next week, Pablo Luis Rivera presents an interactive evening of music and dance, featuring Puerto Rican Bomba, a traditional musical style combining Spanish, African and Taino cultures, 7:30 pm March 12; $8-$12. Continue reading →

The Age of Reinvention

Ditch the daily drudgery and catch Work Dance Company’s Mechanical Dancer at the Hult

Dance
The cast of Work Dance Company’s Mechanical Dancer: Reinv3ntion. Photo by Michael Brinkerhoff.

In the Information Age, it can be difficult to assess where routine ends and passion begins. The monotony of the daily grind can make you downright maniacal. Luckily, Work Dance Company director and choreographer Nate Boozer is here to give you a reboot.  Boozer and more than 100 dancers, that is. Work Dance Company’s presents Mechanical Dancer: REINV3NTION Feb. 21 at the Hult Center.  Continue reading →

Dancing in Memphis

The Tony-winning musical Memphis, coming to the Hult, tackles the Civil Rights era

Dance
Photo by Kirstine Christiansen

The musical Memphis follows stardust hopeful Felicia Farrell and disc jockey Huey Calhoun on their ascent from underground juke joints to rock ‘n’ roll fame.  A Broadway smash from 2009 to 2012, Memphis won Tony Awards in 2010 for Best Musical, Best Book (by Joe DiPietro) and Best Original Score (by David Bryan and DiPietro). Now on its second national tour with new direction and choreography by Amy McCleary, the 22-person touring version of Memphis performs at the Hult Center Feb. 23 and 24.   Continue reading →