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No wonder local swing dancer Nick Davis has fallen hard for Lindy hop. It’s sexy, funny and fresh. It’s the most goddamn exhilarating movement I’ve seen. Watching a video of dancer Frankie Manning swing his partner with such centripetal force — linked solely by fingertips, momentum building like a merry-go-round — it’s easy to imagine that, were they to let go, each dancer would ricochet into outer space. Continue reading
The fall dance season kicks off during First Friday ArtWalk with Lane Arts Council’s Fiesta Cultural salsa dance party 5:30 to 8 pm Friday, Sept. 4, at Kesey Square; free. Also during First Friday: “Come to the last #instaballet of the season!” co-founder Suzanne Haag suggests. “This is your last chance until 2016 to help Eugene Ballet Company dancers make a ballet with audience input.” Catch #instaballet 5:30 to 8 pm in The Studio at the Hult Center; free. Continue reading
The city of Eugene has lined up lots of family-friendly dance happenings as part of its EUGfun festival in August. Continue reading
We hear that the Oregon Country Fair new movement arts program will feature performances and workshops on a dedicated stage, the spiffy new Dance Pavilion, during the weekend (July 10-12) of the OCF. Look for Salseros Dance Company, the Connexus dance collective, Track Town Swing Club, Danceability and more. A full schedule is available at oregoncountryfair.org. Continue reading
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, 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
“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
“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, 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
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