March 31 2012

Rehearsal for an event at the US Grant Hotel. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Zoe Marinello-Kohn and Max Tchernychev. Sometimes, we get requests to do industrials or conventions or private parties.

Rehearsal for an event at the US Grant Hotel. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Zoe Marinello-Kohn and Max Tchernychev. In this case, a wedding convention at the US Grant wanted some highbrow entertainment in March, so they paid presented us. As the theme was weddings and we had just performed An Evening of Romance in February, we simply had to dust off the pieces we had just worked on.

Daily Stuff - Well, I didn't win the Mega Millions Lottery yesterday, so there goes SDB's gazillion dollar budget. But we are still accepting donations from all of our patrons, so feel free to give :)

March 30 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Arielle Meads and Evegeny Korsakov. The last pas of the first act was set to the song Little Darlin', also from the ballet Backseats.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Arielle Meads and Evegeny Korsakov. It's an audience pleaser because it's a fairly non-stop, bouncy, blaze of bravura. It is also extremely difficult to get a photo of it that is not a blur.

Daily Stuff -  Met with Steve Gunderson regarding some arrangements he is doing for a personal project. The ballet school and company will be on vacation for a week, so I didn't have to go in today. However I will still blog.

March 29 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Zoe Marinello-Kohn and Max Tchernychev. Drama.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Zoe Marinello-Kohn and Max Tchernychev. And more drama.

Daily Stuff - More Zoot Suit Auditions today. i also had to go down and pick up and sign paychecks. See its a business just like any other. :)

March 28 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Zoe Marinello-Kohn and Max Tchernychev. These sort of highlight evenings are great, because they allow us to give all of our dancers opportunities to shine or extend themselves.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Zoe Marinello-Kohn and Max Tchernychev. Case in point... Zoe. A new dancer to the company, Zoe has been very diligent about being a good company member this season. While her sky high extensions were always apparent in class, she didn't have a chance to show off her other gifts... until this performance.

Daily Stuff - Started the day at the zoo. Orangutang's and hyenas were the stars today. Now off to more Zoot Suit callbacks and teaching at SDSB tonight.

March 27 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Zoe Marinello-Kohn and Max Tchernychev. The last section of the first act of the evening featured a couple of dances from a ballet entitled Backseats. It was a series of pas de deux's loosly structured around the music you might have had romantic experiences to while listening to the radio in your car.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Zoe Marinello-Kohn and Max Tchernychev. The first of the pas de deux was set to that old favorite, When A Man Loves a Woman.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Zoe Marinello-Kohn and Max Tchernychev. It was a nice surprise for Max when I told him that for the male the pass was pretty much just acting and slow partnering. At first, he didn't quite get why there was so little choreography for the music. Once he got the idea, I think he rather enjoyed the minimalism.

Daily Stuff - Off to teach at Florence. Have a surprise for the boys today. Brand new ballet shoes!

March 26 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Janica Smith and Robert Ryan. The song used is Mendelssohn's Spring Song. It may not be recognizable by name but the moment you hear it, you will have visions of cartoon characters in euphoric states. Usually after they have been hit over the head with a mallet.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Janica Smith and Robert Ryan. Obviously what also makes the pas tricky is having to negotiate a donkey head. The dancers who have played Titania have always been very supportive of the guys, as they are in essence, partially blind during the pas.

Daily Stuff - Zoot Suit callbaks at the SCPA.

March 25 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Janica Smith and Robert Ryan. As the show was about romance, we decided to include the brief pas de deux for Titania and Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream for a few reasons.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Janica Smith and Robert Ryan. A chief reason was that at the beginning of the season, we were considering remounting the entire ballet for a spring show. Unfortunately, my bout with kidney stones kept me out of rehearsals for about a week and a half. So we had to change plans. However, we still wanted to dip our feet into Midsummerland.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Janica Smith and Robert Ryan. Another reason is that I have always been fond of my use of the interpolated music I chose for this pas de deux. There is no actual score for A Midsummer Night's Dream. Only incidental music that Mendelssohn wrote for a production of the play. So when you choreograph the ballet, you need to decide not just what you are going to keep, but what order you are going to put it in and if you are going to add anything to it.

Daily Stuff- It is threatening to rain tonight and tomorrow. We shall see.

March 24 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancer: Noriko Zaragoza. About a week before the show, I decided I needed another piece from "How How High The Moon" to keep the first act from seeming too episodic. So I asked Noriko if she was up to repeating her solo from the ballet. Like a trooper, she said yes.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancer: Noriko Zaragoza. The solo originally had a series of fouette turns within it. But since one of the other pieces being performed also featured the same step (which is actually not one that I love all that much), I changed the sequence in the solo to a series of pas de chats and releve passes. So now there are two versions of this solo.

Daily Stuff - More of the same. Not much to report today.

March 23 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. Transitional movement out of a lift. At this point, the song that is being sung mentions "un angel." It kind of goes over the audiences head, but I like knowing that for a split second, she looks like an angel.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. Continuing the transition.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. Run. Run Run. Arabesque to the floor.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. And drag her offstage.

Daily Stuff - More of the same. Consolidated meetings. Congratulated former SDB dancer Chesly Meiss on a great review on her debut in National Ballet of Canada's The Seagull. Bought my lottery ticket.
On a lighter note, a  few days back I mentioned that I hoped the rhinos would be frisky on my Zoo constitutional. I said this because the SD Zoo rhinos are a pair of brothers. And if you are lucky, when you get there, they are chasing each other around. Which their size is impressive. They also have a Australian keeper who is straight out of an Animal Planet show. Well be careful what you wish for. When I arrived at the zoo, I was in for an education. Being the first day of spring, one of the rhinos was being frisky in a different sense. I will just end by saying that Michael Fassbender has nothing on a rhino and I had no idea that a certain part of the anatomy could be prehensile.

March 22 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. Halfway through the opening movement is repeated but instead of facing away from her partner, the female dancer does the complete series facing him. Just makes things a little more "direct."

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancer: Stephanie Maiorano. Stalking across the floor.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. Anyone who tells you that there isn't a sensual element to dance is not being entirely truthful.

Daily Stuff - Very nice class yesterday. The students are starting to get a better understanding of placement. Today, I had a conceptual meeting for Zoot Suit. It was mainly about the size of the cast and whether people should play more than one role.

March 21 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. Male dancer in penche arabesque.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. Female dancer in penche attitude.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. Just hanging out.

Daily Stuff - Well, the Florence kids got their ice cream yesterday. They did their dance combination to the right and the left. Never knowing what the kids like, I purchased 4 different flavors... Vanilla, Rocky Road, Birthday Cake, and Rainbow Sherbert. Now, given the developed palate of an adult, I personally would not have thought of all of those flavors being complementary. But such was not the thought of the kids. Most of them ended up with all four flavors mixing into a glorious, gloppy, sugary ooze.

Today, I observed an audition for the company and will be teaching tonight at SDSB. Even with the office work that I have, that leaves a hole in the middle of my day. Which means that I am going to zip off to the San Diego Zoo for a mid-day constitutional. Hopefully, the rhinos will be frisky. :)

March 20 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. This is the Besame Mucho pas de deux from a ballet we premiered last year entitled How High The Moon.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. Like the "Strange" pas, this one came together rather quickly when it was first choreographed.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Stephanie Maiorano and Lyndon Dou. The piece has a nice symmetry. Adagio. Girl solo. Adagio. Boy solo. Adagio. Repeat First Adagio. All in about 4 minutes.

Daily Stuff - Another day teaching at Florence Elementary. The kids had homework. They were supposed to reverse a combination. If they do well, they get ice cream. :)

March 19 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Caitlin Sullivan and Matt Carney. I was happy that this year's program gave us the opportunity to revive pieces. Not only did it give new dancers a chance to shine, but I was able to revisit old friends.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Caitlin Sullivan and Matt Carney. This particular pas was originally choreographed for a shorter couple. It was fun seeing what would be highlighted with a taller one. And it did change. As always Matt was a stalwart partner and Caitlyn channeled my favorite 50's high fashion model, Suzy Parker.

Daily Stuff - More Zoot Suit auditions tonight.

March 18 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Caitlin Sullivan and Matt Carney. In addition to the opening solo from Sweet Dreams, one of the pas de deux's from the piece was restaged. It was set to a song titled Strange.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Caitlin Sullivan and Matt Carney. The ballet's cast consisted of one soloist and 4 couples. Each couple had a pas de deux interspersed with group dances. All of the girls wore vintage dresses in black and white. The dress Caitlin is wearing was originally worn by the lead. For the highlights show, I wanted the girls to feel comfortable, so I allowed them to wear the costume they liked most.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Caitlin Sullivan and Matt Carney. This particular dress has always been a favorite. Both because it looks great when it spins and because it reminds me of the top of a Hostess Cupcake.

Daily Stuff - More Zoot Suit auditions today. On a meteorological note, we had hail in San Diego today! It only lasted for about a minute, but it was there.

March 17 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancer: Regan Nuchereno. A solo from a ballet called Sweet Dreams.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancer: Regan Nuchereno. This solo originally started the ballet, which was originally performed over 10 years ago and is set to the song Sweet Dreams.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancer: Regan Nuchereno. The whole thing had a sort of vintage/country western feel to it.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancer: Regan Nuchereno. But this first solo was quite simple. A few gestures and lots of bourees.

Daily Stuff - Zoot Suit Auditions at the SCPA today and callbacks for community and some Equity actors in the evening. Nice to see new and familiar faces at both. SO glad I did the workshops at the school earlier in the week. You could really see how so many of the kids had confidence in what they did.

March 16 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancer: Noriko Zaragoza. Still doin that "L-O-V-E" number.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Noriko Zaragoza & Robert Ryan & Ensemble. Let's all make "V"s!

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Zoe Marinello-Kohn, Lyndon Dou & Stephanie Maiorano. Even though this image is a bit of a mess, I like it because it has the energy of the number, which you don't always get in photos.

Daily Stuff -  Today will do the workshop at the San Diego SCPA that was postponed from Wednesday. Then I come back to cover for some jazz classes at SDSB, as KAren has flown off to see her daughter perform with the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto.

March 15 2012

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Noriko Zaragoza & Robert Ryan. Our Romance program consisted of some highlights of past seasons. The first piece was an audience favorite, L-O-V-E from a piece called When We Have The Stars... In it the dancers spell out "Love" in various ways. Here is the first L.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Noriko Zaragoza & Robert Ryan. The first O.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Noriko Zaragoza & Robert Ryan. By the time they get to the first V, the audience has clued in and starts to giggle.

Rehearsal for Romance 2012. Photo by Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Noriko Zaragoza & Robert Ryan. And the first E. Which usually elicits applause.

Daily Stuff - Had a grant workshop today. Pretty much the same stuff as before, but a few nice insights.

March 14 2012

Rehearsal for SDB's Romeo et Juliet. Photographer: Manny Rotenburg. Dancers: Abby Avery & Max Tchernychev. And so our story comes to an end. If I don't have other duties to perform, I love crawling up on the catwalk above the dancers and sprinkling a clear confetti pieces on R and J on the very last note. Like Heaven opening up and crying ever so sightly on them. But I won't let anyone else do it. So if you ever come to see a R and J performance and you see the little "tears", you know where I am.

Daily Stuff - Was supposed to teach a workshop today at the San Diego SCPA for Zoot Suit, but when I got there they had a minimum day and forgot to let me know. Oh well, rescheduled for Friday. Teaching today at SDSB. Right now, I am listening to some music to finalize next year's season.

Mar 13 2012

Rehearsal for SDB's Romeo et Juliet. Photographer: Gregory Olive. Dancers: Abby Avery & Max Tchernychev. Its almost over for Romeo and Juliet.

Rehearsal for SDB's Romeo et Juliet. Photographer: Gregory Olive. Dancers: Abby Avery & Max Tchernychev. This is my favorite muscial moment in the piece. There is a great trumpet that soars through this moment. I always tell Juliet to use it as her moment of clarity, where she decides to kill herself.

Daily Stuff - Today, I am a substitute teacher in public school. I am covering for a friend down at the Performing Arts Highs School in the South Bay. Which is cool because before it became a performing arts school, it was the junior high I attended. So its like old home week. Then off to Florence Elementary in the afternoon to teach.