Dance: Page 11

Portland’s Whitebird Dance Presents Twyla Tharp, Oct 14, 2015

Dance

How can one possibly review a great artist like Twyla Tharp? Her work spans fifty years – this is the 50th anniversary of her dance company – which deserves its own accolades in the arts-funding parched USA. 50 years of collaborations, discipline, technique, of musical explorations, theatrical endeavors, of making her mark, of being herself, of being a woman in a male-dominated field, and a strong, focused and no-nonsense woman at that. She’s a role model for creativity and the shrewd confidence needed to sustain growth over time and space. Continue reading →

Ballet Fantastique’s Cirque de La Lune 10.11

Dance

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 →

First-Annual Screendance Expo

Dance

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 →

Spin City

Dance

“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 →

Tapped Out

Is tap — one of dance’s most accessible and affordable forms — fading out?

Dance
Erin hennessey practices tap routine with Jean Nelson at eugene ballet academy

Tap has long held both the glamour of Fred Astaire and the grit of early vaudeville. Even so, its popularity has been inconsistent in the history of dance. Tap has enjoyed peaks on Broadway in the 1920s, the funk tap show Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk in the ’90s and even made appearances on So You Think You Can Dance as of late. As a whole, however, the scuffs and stamps of tap don’t seem to compete with the pirouettes of ballet or the chest pops of hip hop — especially in Eugene.  Continue reading →

Dance Listings

Dance

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 →

Center Stage

Head to Portland’s White Bird for national and international dance companies

Dance

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 →