How To Work With a Lighting Designer
The word “design” implies both planning and execution.
Many people
think lighting design is created in the technical rehearsal. This is
not so. Others see the myriad pieces of arcane drawings and paperwork
that surround the professional designer and think that they constitute
the design. Again, not so.
The lighting design is created in the
designer’s head over the course of several weeks before the production
loads into the theater. Read on for a perspective on working with lighting designers.
On Mentorship: Dance as a ‘Handed-Down Form’
“Dance is a handed-down art form. We almost take this for granted in the
studio, and don’t even think about it as it is occurring. It is how
young dancers become seasoned and powerful performers; and how
experienced dancers absorb the craft of creating dance work on their
paths to becoming choreographers. But there is a world of opportunity to
pass on knowledge and experience outside of the studio as well, and
this has more to do with opening someone to the possibilities in front
of them – be that artistic or intensely practical.”
Connecting With a Mentor Brings Small Details to Light
As I obtain more experience and knowledge in the field of dance, I hope
that someday I will be able to be a mentor to a young artist like
myself. I feel organizations like Dance/USA and programs like the
Institute for Leadership Training are vital for the future of dance.
The Hunt for New Work: Matching Choreographers to Companies
Selecting new choreographers for a program or a season seems a
straightforward enough process at first glance. Read on to find out how artistic directors
seek out new works for their companies sifting the choreographic gold from the dross.
Safe House: Dancing in the Ivory Tower, Part 1
It’s been said that the university ranks as one of the chief supporters of the arts in the United States. With the migration of more and more working choreographers into university environments, it’s clear that artists are able to continue to create both inside and outside of these institutions. While the halls of academia offer some distinct advantages, most particularly to oft-itinerant and nearly always-struggling dance artists, other challenges and demands can sap their time and energy in their new environment.
From the Sun King to Twitter: Ballet Branding, Then and Now
American Ballet Theatre soloist Daniil Simkin examines individual branding and marketing: “I am branding myself. No, I am not applying a hot iron to my buttocks as cowboys do with steers. But I am doing something that, at least among some of my colleagues, is equally as controversial. I am attempting to make myself into a ballet product.”
Life Lessons from Pina and ‘Pina’
Few choreographers have the power to effect life-altering changes the way Pina Bausch did over the course of her 50-year career, and, even now, three years after her untimely death. That is what Pina does. She changes your life. She changed mine.
The Game-ification of Dance: The Future Is Now
In the dance class of the future every student gets documented feedback on everything she does using the same technology found in today’s video games. The implications for the game-ification of dance are exciting and offer a glimpse of a future that marries artistry, gaming, and digital communication together.
The Importance of Being Still
Can you be still? I mean really still. For just 5 minutes. No scratching or fidgeting. Quiet the mind. Focus on the breath.
You might be saying that’s impossible, your day is already full with early morning planning and development meetings; answering emails and responding to social media; fundraising appointments; marketing strategy sessions; budget reviews; artistic decisions; production issues; and that grant application, it’s due by 5:00 p.m.
The Big Bang, Quantum Physics and the Drive To Make Dances
Dance has always been there and humanity and the tiny musical strands of which it is made have been vibrating in one way or another since the beginning of known history.