dance

'Black Swan' Good for Ballet Ticket Sales

Filed under: Events

Darren Aronofsky's hit film, "Black Swan," may do more for the arts than earn Natalie Portman a slew of best-actress awards. It may in fact have helped to boost professional dance companies - at least the ones performing the ballet "Swan Lake," which the film is centered around.

To prepare for the film, Portman trained with former New York City Ballet dancer Mary Helen Bowers. That company performs "Swan Lake" each year and this year its two-week run (which will end on Saturday, Feb. 26) sold extremely well, according to City Ballet spokesman Rob Daniels. The company sold out tickets to all nine of its performances in the 2,500-seat David A. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center.

Tags: academy awards, ballet, city ballet, culture, dance, film, natalie portman, new york city ballet, oscars, oscars 2011

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American Ballet Theater Cancels New York Fall Season

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events

In another example of how the arts have been suffering during the economic downturn, the Wall street Journal reports that ABT will not be doing a fall season in New York this year. The dance company does not have its own theater and has previously conducted its fall run at the New York City Center. One of America's leading cultural institutions the company offers touring productions including performances in Chicago and Los Angeles this spring and summer. The company will also be in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera House for its traditional spring season.

American Ballet Theater is still planning to come to New York area but not until December and this time to Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Academy of Music has committed to a five year contract of ABT's new production of "The Nutcracker" choreographed by Alexi Ratmansky. Traditionally "The Nutcracker" is a big money maker for regional dance companies around the country and ABT is looking to cash in on that more predictable revenue source. David Koch, the Vice Chairman of ABT's board has already donated $2.5 million dollars towards funding the production.

New York City already has one "Nutcracker" performed annually since 1954 by the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center. It is considered by many to be the traditional holiday dance performance to which on should take children, both who live locally and those who are visitng family, during the holiday season. It will be interesting to see how the competing versions of "The Nutcracker" fare against each other given the already limited interest that exists in classical dance.

Tags: ABT, american ballet theater, AmericanBalletTheater, ballet, BAM, dance, New York City, NewYorkCity, NutcrackerBallet

Groove with Me, Charity of the Day

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity, Charity of the Day

Groove with Me is a charity organization located in New York City that offers free dance classes and programs to underprivileged young girls. The goal is to give them a safe place where they can express themselves and develop the self-esteem, confidence, and leadership skills necessary to be successful later in life. The program is run by volunteer dance teachers and program directors who encourage the girls to develop cooperation skills, creativity, pride, and discipline, building the skills they'll need to face adversity. Many of the girls see improvements in grades, mood, conflict management, and school attendance as a result of being in the program. Originally founded in 1996, currently Groove with Me Inc serves 220 students spread over two locations -- one on the Lower East Side and one in Spanish Harlem.

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Tags: charity, charity of the day, CharityOfTheDay, children, dance, dancing, groove with me, GrooveWithMe, new york, new york city, NewYork, NewYorkCity, nyc

Ballroom Dancing Robot

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

Ballroom dancing is gaining popularity with amazing speed thanks to shows like Dancing with the Stars, so a competition that once only interested a small portion of the public is now prime-time viewing. But doing something is a lot more fun than watching others do it, so dance lessons and competitions are becoming more popular, as well. One of the biggest obstacles that a dancer faces is finding the right partner and, at least for men, that search just got a little easier thanks to Ballroom Dancing Robots. The robots are battery powered and can sense and anticipate their partners' movements. They reportedly move with a fair amount of agility, too. Each one will sell for about $300,000, and you can download a video clip of them here.