Pina (2011) - Official Trailer. With Willing Spirit, a Reprise for Ailey Dancers. Kylli Sparre’s Surreal Conceptual Photography Influenced by Dance. After years of training to become a professional ballet dancer, artist Kylli Sparre realized it wasn’t the path for her and instead channeled passion for dance into photography and image manipulation.
The influence of her past career is immediately apparent when viewing her conceptual photographs that depict posed figures, taunt with energy, at the peak of choreographed motion. You can follow her work over on Facebook, Flickr and prints are available by request. (via Fubiz) Ballet's problem with non-white performers. Right from the start of my career, I've noticed a lack of ethnic people in ballet.
In a corps de ballet, especially for women, the idea is to be identical: you're trying to move the same and not call attention to yourself. For someone who isn't white, that's difficult. You're left with a choice: you have to either become so great a dancer that you're not left in a chorus or a line, or embrace your beauty and hope others do, too – seeing it as beautiful, even if the symmetry is disturbed. It wasn't difficult for me to embrace myself, because I was born in Washington DC around lots of black people, so I grew up confident in the fact I was black.
I never felt apologetic. It's important to embrace yourself and say: "I'm beautiful – and if that person doesn't see me as beautiful, then they're mistaken, because I'm amazing and I'm such a great dancer that it's undeniable that I'm able to do this. " C(H)ŒURS - Alain Platel ¦ C(H)ŒURS ¦ La Monnaie ¦ De Munt. Pointe Blank. A few small steps from Ballets Russes ... one giant leap for dance historians. The Ballets Russes, founded in 1910 by the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev, was one of the most dazzling creative movements of the 20th century.
At Diaghilev's insistence, the company was never officially filmed, and although there are many contemporary accounts of its performances – reviews, reportage, reminiscences – it's always been assumed that there was no visual record. Until last week, that is, when Jane Pritchard, curator of dance at the Victoria and Albert Museum, had her attention drawn to a 30-second scrap of newsreel film on the British Pathé website.
Having examined the clip, Pritchard said: "I think we now have to say there is a tiny fragment of film of the actual Ballets Russes. " For dance lovers, cultural historians and all those mesmerised by the company and its stars, this is sensational news. The silent, black-and-white clip shows a sequence clearly recognisable as part of Les Sylphides, a plotless ballet with music by Chopin and choreography by Mikhail Fokine. Inside Ballet Black as the company prepares for world premiere. L'Afrique danse contemporain - une vidéo Art et Création. The wild world of freestyle dance.
Swing open the doors of the Freestyle Dancing World Championships in Blackpool and there's no real warning that you're about to be overwhelmed by glitter and vibrant chaos.
Covered in spray tan and makeup, these young dancers are wearing costumes ostentatious enough to make Lady Gaga feel dowdy. Welcome to the world of freestyle dance. Barely heard of in the mainstream, freestyle has been left to flourish into its own surreal and awe-inspiring discipline. Godmother of freestyle Anna Jones developed the dance form in the early 80s from the ashes of disco, which is why it's often known as "disco dancing". A former Latin dance champion and ballerina, Jones introduced those styles to the mix, which other teachers have also incorporated as freestyle has expanded. The Latin influence is obvious – even taking to the dancefloor is an act of assertiveness. When the dancers reach the judges, they launch into mini-routines, having only seconds to prove their ability in front of each one.
11 Was zum Hockern! - SALZIG Sporthocker. PINA BAUSCH - LE SACRE - une vidéo Musique. The Rite of Spring – a rude awakening. At the first performance of The Rite of Spring in May 1913, even well-informed members of the audience had no idea what they were experiencing.
Afterwards, the critic of the French periodical Gil Blas recorded a conversation about the beginning of Stravinsky's prelude to the ballet: "'What instrument produces these sounds? ' Sexism in dance: where are all the female choreographers? As a nation we are well supplied with choreographers.
Matthew Bourne, Akram Khan, Wayne McGregor, Liam Scarlett, Christopher Wheeldon… the list goes on. All are highly acclaimed, players on the world stage, their services booked for years ahead. So why are their female colleagues struggling for visibility? Why, when British dance was founded by women like Ninette de Valois and Marie Rambert, and has always employed more women than men, are there no high-profile women choreographers? It's 14 years since a woman was commissioned to create a main-stage ballet at the Royal Opera House. Even in contemporary dance, historically a territory marked out by choreographic pioneers such as Martha Graham and Pina Bausch, men are much more prominent than women. In classical dance, female choreographers are rare indeed, and the dynamics of vocational ballet schooling are at least partly responsible.
And to date, those who do have found the cards stacked against them. Fenton and I corresponded. The Royal Ballet: just how 'British' do we want it to be? Beau comme un vieux qui danse.