SF DANCE

Thanks For Reading!!

samwaidler — Thu, 06 May 2010 00:20:46 +0000

The end of the semester is just around the corner and with that the end of my posting on SFDance.

It has been a really great experience and I have learned a lot about dance, especially dance in the bay area. It has been great getting to experience so many wonderful performances and to meet so many interesting people.

As a journalist I have also really improved my basic reporting skills and have learned how to work with various forms of multimedia.

Thanks to my sources, my professors and my readers!

Timeline: The San Francisco Ballet

samwaidler — Wed, 05 May 2010 22:01:22 +0000

The San Francisco Ballet is the most prominent classical ballet company in the Bay Area and one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States. They are also the oldest professional ballet company in the United States. In honor of their rich history I have created a timeline featuring big events in the company’s past.

To view the timeline please click here .

Occupational Outlook for Choreographers and Dancers

samwaidler — Wed, 05 May 2010 01:40:27 +0000

I recently read some information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2008 about the occupational outlook for choreographers and dancers. I have compiled some of this information into graphics and facts bullet pointed below:

Dancers often stop working as professional dancers by the time they are in the 30s but can remain in the field as teachers and choreographers.
Both Dancers and Choreographers face intense competition making it difficult to find steady employment in the field.
Employment in dance can be irregular making earning from dance generally low.
Dance has a high rate of nonfatal on-the-job injury.
Both dancing and choreographing can take years of training and experience.
The number of job applicants will always be much larger then the number of job openings.

The graph above shows the median hourly wages of dancers in various industries. The median hourly wage for dancers in performing arts companies was $15.30, $11.56 in other amusement and recreation industries, $ 10.00 for schools and instruction and in locations serving alcoholic beverages the median hourly wage was $8.03. (The median annual wage for salaried choreographers in 2008 was $ 38,520.)

The chart above shows the number of dancers and choreographers employed in 2008. There were roughly 13,000 dancers employed and 16,200 choreographers.

Bay Area National Dance Week

samwaidler — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:32:41 +0000

It is Bay Area National Dance Week from April 23^rd to May 2^nd! If you haven’t already participated in some of the great free events that are going on let me tell you about a few coming up in San Francisco:

Tonight: Tuesday April 27^th:

Hot Pink Feathers, Carnaval SF 2010 Rehearsal from 8:45 p.m. – 9:45 p.m. You can either watch or learn to dance as they prepare for the Carnaval 2010 parade. Located at The Hot Pink Feathers Showgirl Academy, 128 10th St., San Francisco. Phone: 415-225-7462 Website: www.hotpinkfeathers.com

Temple of Poi, Introduction to Poi Fire Dancing from 8:15 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Located at the Temple of Poi, 953 Mission Street, Suite 120, San Francisco. Phone: 415.543.4911 Website: www.templeofpoi.com

Wednesday, April 28^th:

ODC School/Rhythm & Motion Dance Program, Flamenco Choreography with Danica Sena from 8:15 p.m.- 9:15 p.m. Located at ODC Dance Commons, 351 Shotwell St., San Francisco. Phone: 415-863-9830 Website: www.odcschool.org

Zambaleta World Music & Dance School, Afro-Samba and more from 6:30:00 p.m. – 9:30:00 p.m. Located at Zambaleta, 2929 19th Street, San Francisco. Phone (415) 341-1333 Website: www.zambaleta.org

Thursday, April 29^th:

ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco, Adult Basics Capoeira Class from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Located at ACSF Studio, 3221 22nd St., San Francisco. Phone: 415-206-0650 Website: www.abada.com

CIRF and CounterPULSE, Contact Improvisation Classes and Jam from 6:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. Located at CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission Street, San Francisco. Phone: 415-335-6384 Website: www.ciResearchForum.org

Friday, April 30^th:

Vima Dance Studio, Country Two Step from 8:10 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Located at Vima Dance Studio, 560 Third Street, San Francisco. Phone: 415 977-0203 Website: www.vimadance.com

Smuin Ballet, Understanding Petit Mort from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.Watch Smuin Ballet dancers rehearse excerpts of Jiri Kylian’s Petit Mort. Located at City Dance Studio, 10 Colton Street, San Francisco. Phone: 415-297-1172 Website: www.smuinballet.org

Saturday, May 1^st:

Intimate Embrace Tango, Tango Revolution Orchestra and guests in concert and Milonga from 8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. Located at the SF Community Music Center, 544 Capp Street (b/w 20th&21st St.), San Francisco. Phone: (415) 661-1852 Website: www.intimateembracetango.com

Sausan Academy of Egyptian Dance, Egyptian Style Belly Dance from 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Located at Al-Masri Egyptian Restaurant, 4031 Balboa Street, San Francisco. Phone: (415) 876-2300 Website: www.sausanacademy.com

Sunday, May 2^nd:

San Francisco Ballet, Open Company Class from 11:45 a.m – 1:00 p.m. Located at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness, San Francisco. Phone: 415.865.2000 Website: www.sfballet.org

Swing U, swing dance with fun lesson from 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Located at the Live Art Gallery, 151 Potrero Ave., San Francisco. Phone: 415-305-8242 Website: www.SwingChampionships.com

For even more great events click here to go to Bay Area National Dance Week’s website. Put on your dancing shoes and get out there this week!

Smykke: A Jewelry Performance

samwaidler — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 05:03:21 +0000

Smykke: A Jewelry Performance was an exhibition introducing Ane Haugen, a Norwegian Jewelry designer, to San Francisco. The exhibition showed a range of silver necklaces inspired by Norwegian folk art. One aspect of what made the exhibition unique is that the pieces of jewelry were displayed in motion on dancers. Julia Hollas directed the piece, which questions notions of personal space between the performer, viewer and jewelry.

3 Exciting Upcoming Dance Events

samwaidler — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:16:28 +0000

1. What: Compañía Nacional de Danza

When: April 29th- May 1st

Where: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts: Novellus Theater.

Price: $32-$49

Why I am Excited: I saw the Compañía Nacional de Danza two years ago when they debuted in San Francisco and was literally blown away by the performance. The Compañía Nacional de Danza has become one of the finest contemporary dance companies in the world. The show will be a showcase of Artistic Director, Nacho Duato’s, work. Duato, who has been choreographing for the company for 20 years will be leaving the company. This will be the company’s final season under Duato.

2. What: San Francisco Ballet ‘Romeo & Juliet’

When: May 1^st- May 9^th

Where: San Francisco War Memorial Opera House

Price: $60 – $395

Why I am Excited: Well, for starters it is based on the famous play about star crossed lovers written by William Shakespeare and so is bound to be wonderfully romantic. It is a full-length ballet choreographed by Helgi Tomasson and composed by Sergei Prokofiev. SF Gate’s event pages says that, “Helgi Tomasson’s full-length ballet, Romeo & Juliet, is deep in character and rich in humanity. A luscious, hopelessly romantic tale set to the remarkable score by Sergei Prokofiev, this grand-scale production is unforgettable.” The San Francisco Ballet premiered the ballet in 1994.

3. What: Smuin Ballet’s Spring Program

When: May 7^th – June 5^th

Where: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Price: $18- $56

Why I am Excited: I have never seen Smuin Ballet and so am excited to see them perform. Three pieces will be performed:

Petite Mort: Jiri Kylian, Choreographer
French Twist: Ma Cong, Choreographer
Songs of Mahler: Michael Smuin, Choreographer

Interview with Kaitlin Parks

samwaidler — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 22:41:52 +0000

Kaitlin Parks teaches the Creative Movement and Dance Technique Classes for children Ages 3 – 6 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. I interviewed Parks on April 23rd.

Using Technology to Promote Yourself and Your Work as a Choreographer or Dancer

samwaidler — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 03:15:35 +0000

As a photojournalist I have an online portfolio to promote my work (OK actually it has been under construction for over a semester but I should have an online portfolio to promote my work). The idea behind this being that if I want to get a job out there in the real world when a possible employer searches Google or other search engines for my name plenty of my work will appear.

Dancers and choreographers starting their careers or trying to reach a broader audience can do something similar to promote themselves and their work. A great example of an online resume is Julia Hollas’ (I wrote about Hollas’ ballet class earlier this year) website which details her previous work and current projects as well as upcoming performances, classes she teaches and her contact information.

Dance companies and choreographers can create interesting websites that inform readers about themselves, upcoming events and fundraising that they are doing. They can also list their contact information and links to examples of their work. An example of this is Double Visions’ website which includes multimedia (photos and videos in this case) as well as plenty information about the company (Click here and here for posts I have done about Double Vision).

Another way for dancers, companies and choreographers to promote themselves is through social networking. I know I follow a few companies, dancers and dance schools on Twitter including Zaccho Dance Theatre, Maria Kochetkova and the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. I have also seen facebook fan pages used by dance companies. The San Francisco Ballet has a great blog, Open Studio: 455, which allows readers to learn more about what goes into the company’s performances. Choreographers, dancers, ballet masters, and various others all contribute their perspectives.

A Map of Classical and Contemporary Ballet Companies and Modern Dance Companies in the Bay Area

samwaidler — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:33:23 +0000

I have created a map showing the locations of some of the Bay Area’s Classical and Contemporary Ballet Companies.

View Larger Map

Double Vision: Hysteresis

samwaidler — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:56:13 +0000

On Saturday, April 10^thI went to see Double Vision’s show Hysteresis at Dance Mission Theatre. It epitomized perfectly what I think of when I think of good modern dance.

Pauline Jennings, the choreographer and an artistic director of Double Vision, said in a note in the program that “three primary concerns have persisted throughout the development of Hysteresis: (1) the use of systems to prevent static form; (2) the attempt to demonstrate alien-ness; and; (3) the challenge to push myself and all collaborators to explore the unknown.”

Everything about the piece, the choreography, lighting, costumes and musical composition blended well. It made me think of modern architecture, abstract art, geometric shapes and futuristic notions as well as an alien-ness. The music seemed chaotic with bells, whistles, ambient noise and tapping along with more traditional musical compositions, yet it was an organized chaos that matched the overall mood of the piece.

The show has a run time of one hour and five minutes without an intermission. The time however passed quickly and what really impressed me was the dancers’ ability to not only remember an hour and five minutes worth of choreography but also their stamina to perform for so long without losing any of their enthusiasm.

Jennings was the choreographer, sound was done by Sean Clute (Also an artistic director of Double Vision), Andrea Campbell designed the costumes and Ben Coolik did the lighting and set design. Blaine Bookey, Emily Gorman, Wendy Marinaccio, Jennifer Mellor and Cecelia Peterson danced in the piece.

The last performance is tonight, April 11^th, at Dance Mission Theatre at 8pm.