Thursday, April 9, 2009

A Blog 4 Dancers - April Issue: Media City Ballet Dancer's News


In the News...

Get ready to spice up your life with the passion from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Learning to dance tango, among other styles is the latest craze. Dance is abundantly shown in the media now. Wether your a novice, planning your wedding dance, or hitting the nightclubs - dancing Tango will set you apart from the rest.

Who would have thought that a dance from the ghettos of Buenos Aires would flourish into what it is today. It was common knowledge to dance tango in our grandparents' time and luckily it's back even more popular than before.

On May 28th, 2009 Miriam Larici & Leonardo Barrionuevo, "SuperStars of Dance" Best Couple Winners along with Media City Ballet will host "Tango, Tonight". A night you'll never forget.
First with a dance class, then a delicious dinner while you watch this amazing couple perform and finally dancing the night away with drinks and the new dancer in you. At Woody's Cafe from 6:30 - 10pm.



Get tickets HERE.


Also, In the News...

Philippe Leibzig of Studio City has been appearing in musicals for the last 22 years. He has been seen on television as a swing dancer on “Gilmore Girls.” He also made an appearance as a mime in 1993, along with a student of Marcel Marceau. On April 25, 2009 6:00-8:30, Mr. Leibzig will teach a Master Swing Class. Call Media Dance Centre for more info. (818) 972-9692

Don't forget to visit us on youtube page at http://www.youtube.com/mediacityballet. In the next few weeks the MCB dancers that choreographed for our latest showcase will share the inspiration and motivation behind their artistic creations.



CALENDAR

  • April 25,2009: "Swing Master Class" @ Media Dance Centre, Burbank, CA (818) 972-9692


  • April 27, 2009: "A Dancer's Work" Part I, www.youtube.com/mediacityballet


  • May 28, 2009: "Tango, Tonight" @ Woody's Cafe, Woodbury University Burbank, CA (818) 972-9692

BALLERINA SECRETS

Ugly Feet?? The $30 foot stretcher from DanceDistributors.com works!!! Get the one with the pad, otherwise it will hurt
your heel pretty bad. You may experience soreness on the top of your foot, careful not to strain your achilles tendons. Always do counter stretches and relax while using the stretcher. Doing a few exercises with your theraband immediately after stretching your foot is a good way to build pointing muscles.

DANCER of the MONTH


Kristine Gregorian is celebrating her fifth season with Media City Ballet. She has appeared regularly in MCB performances since 2004, including The Nutcracker, Pasion de Espana, Hansel
and Gretel, Madame Butterfly, and The Making of a Dancer. Kristine was originally trained by Dame Nadezhda Kalmanovskaya and continues her training at the Media Dance Center. She
recently appeared as the Lead Nymph in L’après-midi d’un faune, and one of the Captive Maidens in Prince Igor in MCB's Men of the Ballet Russe. With soloist roles in Don Quixote and recently appearing as a featured dancer in "A Dancer's Work", Ms. Gregorian truly embodies the delicate yet strong dancer that MCB is proud to have.

BALLET HISTORY 101

The Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor

"The Polovtsian Dances" from "Prince Igor" is a dance within an opera that became famous on its own, Middleton said. The piece was originally set by Fokine in Russia. The composer's inspiration for the piece is the East Slavic story, "The Tale of Igor's Campaign," which centers on a 12th-century Russian prince (Igor Svyatoslavich) and his campaigns against the invading Polovtsian tribes. The choreography consists of quick high jumps and turns in the air that are very challenging, said Tyler Nelson, who portrays one of four warriors in the dance. "It's very aerobic and physically very exhausting," he said.
"We are trying to portray a warrior's primal quality. This is a recreation of Michel Fokine's original choreography. He had a very grand style. All the movements and mannerisms are very big." The Ballet Russe style broke many of the rules of classical ballet, he said. "It was the first style that went outside the box," he said. "Natasha and Ruben have to be well versed in the Ballet Russe style when they are teaching it to us. It's a style you don't teach in ballet class."



Taken from the Burbank Leader, 6/2/07 issue



The Polovetsian Dances (or Polovtsian Dances) are perhaps the best known selections from Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor (1890). They are often played as a stand-alone concert piece as one of the best known works in the classical repertoire.[citation needed] In the opera the dances are performed with chorus, but concert performances often omit the choral parts. The dances do not include the "Polovetsian March" which
opens Act III (No. 18), but the overture, dances, and march from the opera have been performed together to form a suite from Prince Igor. In the opera Prince Igor, the dances occur in Act II (in the original edition). A typical performance lasts between 11 and 14 minutes.


Taken from Wikipedia




Editor: Raquel Cordova


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