Dancing
Dancing in the Wake
Submitted by Elizabeth Isaacs on Mon, 02/06/2012 - 01:33Jan Bolwell, Crows Feet's Director has a new play opening this week called 'Dancing in the Wake'.
The play tells the story of Lucia Joyce, daughter of James Joyce, who had a brief career as a dancer (the young Lucia is played by Sacha Copland of Java Dance Company).
You can read about the play and what inspires Jan in this Dominion Post article: www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/culture/performance/6365764/Creative-Catalyst
'Dancing in the Wake' is playing at the Museum Art Hotel (cnr. Cable & Tory Sts) from 9 - 12 February
Dancing kicks and punches
Submitted by Rachel McAlpine on Sun, 11/06/2011 - 05:35Women's songs of the 1960s and 1970s. That's what our new show will be based on. We are starting with a powerful dance to Helen Reddy's 'Don't Mess with a Woman.' Watch out, here come the Crows! By the end of rehearsal we go into the night all fired up, mad, bad and dangerous to know. Seriously, there's nothing more satisfying than a mighty hip-high sideways kick at an imaginary opponent.
Novel about Bolshoi Ballet star: Russian winter
Submitted by Rachel McAlpine on Thu, 05/26/2011 - 23:20
I was swept away by this terrific novel about Bolshoi Ballet star Nina Revskaya, who defected to the West in 1952. The intensity of her life as a dancer is unforgettable. So is the human story and the mystery that pervades it. A professor who believes he may be Nina's illegitimate son prompts her to auction all her famous jewellery in self defence.
Paris danse en Seine — not!
Submitted by Rachel McAlpine on Sat, 08/28/2010 - 09:10I wanted to see the Parisians dancing in the streets. But either I was looking in the wrong spot, or the fun is cancelled for August, or a sprinkle of rain scared the dancers away.
Instead I did get to hear the amazing voice of Michel Godin des Mers, almost throat singing his incomprehensible poetry. In a false beard and caftan he sang his heart out about... democracy? Civil revolution? Human beings? Darned if I know.
A taste of Belarusian dance
Submitted by Rachel McAlpine on Thu, 05/20/2010 - 01:25
Tania's teaching us a dance from Belarus, where her family comes from. This is fun! Tania hopes to see the Gramnitsy choir / dance group from the State University Culture and Hertitage Department when she visits Minsk in May. Meanwhile the photo gives a tantalising hint of the flavour and quality we should be aiming for.
Monstrous Red Dress at Te Papa
Submitted by Sally Latham on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 01:01
Six dancers from Crows Feet were involved in a performance at Te Papa in December. The piece entitled "The Monstrous Red Dress" was the work of Lauren Skogstad, and formed part of her studies in Spatial Design for Massey University.
Kathak class in Jaipur
Submitted by Elizabeth Isaacs on Wed, 12/23/2009 - 07:44
I have just returned from India where, with fellow Crows Tania and Carolyn, I attended 2 classes in the classical Indian dance form Kathak. Here we are in our dance costume, tightly wound round with a long scarf, what you cannot see are the beautiful bells tied to our calves that tinkled as we rhythmically stamped our feet. We only touched on the basics but that was still quite a challenge!
Working on the pastry dance
Submitted by Rachel McAlpine on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 19:24
We're working on our next show, whose name is still a mystery to me. But these are my notes on a little section of the Pastry Dance. I was finding it hard to remember because A. we keep changing it and B. my granny brain makes me a little slower to catch on.
Afro-Cuban Contemporary dance class
Submitted by Elizabeth Isaacs on Tue, 08/04/2009 - 07:05Last night I went to a fantastic contemporary dance class with Rafael Ferrer of Cuban-Fusion. This is an open class for people new to Afro-Cuban dance, aimed at "developing technique and building flexibility" it certainly was non-stop, challenging and a lot of fun. The classes run every Monday at Tarrant Dance Studios in Cuba Mall, from 5.30 - 7pm.
For further information see www.cubanfusion.co.nz
Dancers dancing older - a growing movement and force!
Submitted by Tania Kopytko on Tue, 07/21/2009 - 10:01I recently returned from a trip to the uk (June 09) and had the good fortune to see two excellent examples of older adults performing. This is now no longer becoming unusual but in the past 5 or 6 years seems to be a growing movement. The first example was a wonderful BBC programme in the Imagine series about a Sadlers Well's project and the second was the Belgian Les Ballets C de la B showing how wonderful a dance company can be when its dancers are not uniform in size shape or age.
