Diana Vishneva: Beauty in motion - F.L.O.W part III

Snow Dance, from Memoirs of a Geisha

David Borden Tribute to Ruth St. Denis & Ted Shawn.02

Ghosts of the Amargosa Opera House via

The spirit of Marta Becket's creativity permeates the walls of the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley, California. Marta Becket is a still performing 85 year old dance mime who moved to Death Valley from New York City in 1967. Here in the heart of the desert springs her personal oasis of creativity.

On Saturday nights when a profusion of color pervades desert landscape and the world lights on fire, Becket illuminates the stage with a rich blend of mythos, magic and magnetism. Becket's muse led her from an urban lifestyle in New York to the stark absolutism of desert terrain, compelling her to experience deep inner reality, demons and creativity. There are few distractions here she said and like the century plant, Marta Beckett is a rare flower in bloom. The inspiration of her life is as much a gift as her performances and you can read more in her biography, "To Dance on Sands."

Princess Haiku, I thought- Marta Becket's stage of dreams, enchanted mime theater surreal and vast possibilities are just what you need. The walls of the opera house are covered with murals painted by Becket herself of a dream life audience and she is is as zen fulfilled performing for one, none or a full house. The Amargosa Opera House is a place in Death Valley that is a tarot card symbolising rebirth, new beginnings and transcendence.

Twlya Dances to Dylan

"The last thing you think of when you hear Bob Dylan is Broadway. Well, think again. The Times They Are A-Changing" is the brainchild of a flower child: 65-year-old renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp. Anchor Katie Couric reports the new musical, opening on Broadway next week, features more than two dozen Dylan songs. "It's different," Tharp says. Tharp has been down this road before. Three years ago, she won a Tony for conceiving and choreographing "Movin’ Out," a Broadway jukebox musical featuring the songs of Billy Joel. But, she admits, moving from the Piano Man to the Tambourine Man was a unique challenge."

This sounds interesting to me and I hope that I get a chance to see the performance. I think it's great that Bob Dylan is branching out into dance. I could see a problem for this with traditional Dylan fans who seem to think they have a right to tell Dylan what he can do and who he is. It's always like that I guess. The public imprints at a certain stage of an artist's life and that's that.

Here is an Eye to Eye, interview with Katy Couric and Twyla Tharp discussing the production.
I am assuming the show is still touring although, I don't have any info about when it would be in the San Francisco Bay area.

As an aside, Twyla Tharp is quite the happening thing this next coming season at Cal Performance, where almost every dance company in America is dancing to her Sinatra Suites or Songs. I find this disappointing and wish they were presenting a full range of her works. I would go see the Dylan production before I would see the Sinatra Suites for the umpteenth time.

Princess Haiku Discovers Another Cloud Gate Dance Theater Video

I found another, Cloud Gate Dance Theater Video on youTube. This one shows the company, directed by Lin Hwai-min hard at work. You will find other video links and information about them via this link. A wonderful DVD "MOONWATER" can be obtained here.

Snow Dance from Memoirs of a Geisha, said Princess Haiku is...

Memoirs of a Geisha is one of the most visually mesmerizing films that I have experienced. I highly recommend it despite the fact that the denouement falters and historical inaccuracies mar its perfection. It is enough to see this film for its glimpses into the secretive world of the Geisha. The film presents ravishing dance scenes including the famous, "Snow dance" choreographed by John deLucca and superb music. Below is a clip from YouTube and links to other video. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams; performers include Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and Pro Musica Nipponia ensemble. Read an interesting review via DVD Central.

Why, Twyla

Princess Haiku asks, why Twyla Tharp?

Why is she the most prolific woman choreographer in the world?
Why is she so creative?
Why was she able to overcome all the obstacles in her life?
Why was she born to dance?
Why did she become a major influence on the development of dance in America.

Many of these questions are answered in Twyla Tharp's book, "The Creative Habit" but ultimately, nobody knows WHY the muse ever speaks to anyone. Perhaps Princess Haiku will learn more in the book, Howling Near Heaven; Twyla Tharp and the reinvention of modern dance.




Twyla Tharp informs us that video will be the future text of dance.

ODC Dance, SF

Dance-seadance- see the dance- dance sf- view dance-too dance- why dance- all kinds of dance is ODC San Francisco.

ODC Dance was founded by choreographer Brenda Way and has been based in San Francisco for over 30 years. ODC is an invaluable resource to the community. ODC offers over 180 dance classes a week beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at midnight. ODC has multiple components: dance theater, school, dance jam and an educational outreach that provides hundreds of San Francisco school-children the joy of dance.

In their own words:

ODC believes that art is a powerful educational tool and a generative element in personal growth and development. It is central to our mission to work with new audiences and young people to promote dance as a cultural expression of modern life, both on and off the stage. Our outreach in the community revolves around the work we perform and is focused on creativity and an investigation of artistic and social values. ODC can tailor imaginative partnership activities with under-resourced schools and social/cultural community centers.

Jody Sperling: Dream and Dance as Elemental Spirits

Jody Sperling/Time Lapse Dance

"A suite inspired by the mesmerizing spectacles of Loie Fuller (1862-1928). Sperling furls her enormous winged costume–designed by Michelle Ferranti from more than 80 yards of white silk—into eddying spiral shapes. The moving fabric catches luminescent rays, orchestrated by Bessie Award-winning lighting designer David Ferri, that evoke the elements Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether. The hypnotic visuals are set to piano music by Ravel, Chopin, De Falla, and others performed by Jeffrey Middleton."

The dancing of Jody Sperling cascades out of the unconscious; billows into clouds becoming swans, tears, wings and an archetypal pathos I know as intimately as my own breath. When dancing is this perfect its various elements, music, text, visuals and movement become an incarnation of the spirit.

I found this information via a lovely space that I encourage everyone to visit, Japonisme.

Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Dreams

Am I am falling asleep as I watch this exquisite video of Cloud Gate Dance Theater or awake?

Wild Cursive: a dance review

I attended a performance of "Wild Cursive " at Cal Performance in Berkeley California. Wild Cursive is the Final Chapter of Cursive: A trilogy performed by Taiwan's premiere Cloud Gate Dance Theater. Choreographer, Lin Hwai-min's scintillating blend of East/West dance style erupts into a brilliant mythic fusion informed by Kung chao "wild calligraphy." Wild calligraphy represents the pinnacle of Chinese cursive aesthetics in which rules are embraced and broken. -Thus freeing the characters and internal selves of the audience from any set form. To call "Wild Cursive" unique is an understatement; it needs to be understood experientially. As eyes and ears follow the hero/heroine journey of the dancers upon the stage the myriad experiences of our lives unpeel. As the dancers come closer and closer to expressing absolute purity of form/nonform, deep levels of the soul respond.

From a vantage point in a side balcony box, high above the stark beauty of the stage; the drop hundreds of feet below into the stunning graphic simplicity of the stage took my breath away. As Cal Performance describes in their introduction to the dance, "The Cloud Gate dancer's spellbinding movements echo the serpentine lines of black ink as it flows down cascading streams of rice paper onto the stage." Embrace beauty, says Princess Haiku, it is everywhere.



This video clip is of an earlier performance, "Cloud Gate."