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If you could peer into this critic’s embryonic soul, I suspect you’d find A Chorus Line lyrics. I wore grooves into my album of the … Continue reading
Xcape Dance Company presented X last night, at the Hult Center’s Soreng Theatre. Artistic director and choreographer Vanessa Fuller offered a high-energy evening, with her own company, and visiting guests. Continue reading
Stop binge-watching Stranger Things on Netflix and get out into the dance community! XCape Dance Company presents X at 7:30 pm Friday, Oct. 7, at the Hult, featuring Work Dance Company, ZAPP, The Dance Factory, Flex Studios and music by Isaac Turner and Shelby Trotter. “X embodies the freedom of movement, self-expression, dedication, determination and passion exemplified by the Xcape Dance Company in their unique and inspiring shows,” says artistic director Vanessa Fuller. Tickets at hultcenter.org. Continue reading
Paris, September 1793: The Bastille has fallen, feudalism’s dead and the Rights of Man have been declared. (That all sounds pretty good, right?) But wait, there’s more: Enter brilliant playwright Lauren Gunderson, who illuminates a murky, muddling moment in history with her bold new play, directed with strength and humor for Oregon Contemporary Theatre by Elizabeth Helman. Continue reading
It makes me all fizzy and giddy to see men dress up like women. There’s something so joyously liberating about it all. And I don’t think I’m the only one who finds female impersonators a total hoot and super sexy. Gay, straight, bi, femme, butch, blah blah blah: Just about everyone I know gets chirpy at the sight of an aging queen squeezed into a sleek satin dress and bellowing “I Will Survive” like a diva in heat. Continue reading
Fall performance gets rolling with Dance in Dialogue’s D.i.D.#10 6 to 8 pm Sept. 29 at the Friends Meeting House. “Dance in Dialogue inspires the making and discussion of new work to invigorate the contemporary dance culture in Eugene, by providing a forum for artists to present innovative works-in-progress in a process-oriented setting with audience feedback,” D.i.D. co-founder Shannon Mockli says. Check it out. See yourself in sweatpants? There are a number of community auditions and classes on tap: Continue reading
Since inaugurating the monthly SPIN dance roundup in 2014, we’re pleased as punch that it’s taken off, gathering enough momentum to warrant two columns per month. Hopefully you’re clipping it out and tacking it to your fridge or sharing it online: We want this to be an inclusive, fun way to keep up with what’s happening in the world of local dance. And if you’re an artist or presenter, we sincerely hope that this regular coverage brings some shiny new participants and patrons right to your door. Continue reading
All that! Dance Company Ballet, contemporary jazz, tap, hip hop, ballroom allthatdancecompany.com 541-688-1523 Ballet Fantastique Ballet balletfantastique.org 541-342-4611 Ballet North West Academy Ballet, tap, modern, jazz and Broadway dance bnwa.net 541-343-3914 Celebration Belly Dance and Yoga Bollywood, zumba, samba, capoeira, African, 40-plus Continue reading
Choreographer David Parsons’ signature piece, Caught (1982), features more than 100 leaps in six minutes by a solo dancer who is repeatedly trapped in mid-motion by the strobe lights he controls, creating an illusion of flight. Seen live, the work is unforgettable; I saw it once here, in Eugene, at the Hult Center, danced by Parsons himself. Caught seems an apt metaphor for dance: vital, powerful yet ephemeral, almost fragile. Dance requires a nutritive base to thrive, constant support and a collaborative spirit. Any dance venture is a leap of faith. Continue reading
Mysterious forces drew Bonnie Simoa to Bali, Indonesia to study the legong dance, which she has now been practicing for two decades. Simoa founded a dance company in Davis, California, and as the company was beginning its seventh season, she says she needed something more from her dance life. “I wanted to go some place where dance and spirituality and life were more integrated,” she says. By chance, Simoa came across Bali and then disbanded her company, put her things in storage, left her dog in the care of her sister and relocated to Indonesia for six months. Continue reading