Sometimes I need a break from all this politics (like right now!), and one of the things I turn to is dance. Most often ballet. Specifically, certain dancers of my youth, who now, to my joy, are readily available for … Continue reading →
…[drum roll please]: dancers and choreographers. At first this puzzled me. But then I realized that (duh!), although the photo is of ballet dancers, exotic/erotic dancers fall into this category, too. Which would explain a lot.
Continue reading →Enjoy this brief interlude, while they sweat without showing it:
Continue reading →The late, great British dancer Stanley Holden was a dance teacher of mine. One doesn’t ordinarily think of comedy in connection with ballet dancers, but Holden was a master of it, best known for originating the en travesti character Widow … Continue reading →
Surfing on You Tube recently, I came across a 2001 video of then-nearly-seventy-year-old Violette Verdy coaching French dancer Isabelle Guerin in Jerome Robbins’s “Dances at a Gathering,” teaching her the role that was first created on Verdy herself in 1969. … Continue reading →
I first saw the Paul Taylor Dance Company perform in 1970. I was immediately impressed, even though it’s a modern dance company and at the time I tended to prefer ballet. But Paul Taylor’s work had a unique set of … Continue reading →
In both ballet and ice skating, the best jumpers tend to be more compact. Jumping not only takes extreme athleticism and coordination, it also requires exceptionally strong legs—particularly the thigh and butt muscles. Conversely, the more elongated the torso and … Continue reading →
Ice dancing is a funny sport. Even more than other types of ice skating, it accentuates the showbiz aspects and plays down the athleticism—although just try it yourself for a moment and you’ll see how much of the latter is … Continue reading →
If you want to take a break and watch a glorious dancer you’ve probably never heard of, take a look at a 1979 clip of Lynn Seymour performing the bedroom scene from Macmillan’s “Romeo and Juliet” with David Wall’s Romeo, … Continue reading →
By now you’ve probably read the news that Patrick Swayze has died. Swayze was an actor and dancer who became famous for the surprise blockbuster film “Dirty Dancing.” But I liked him best in “Ghost,” which didn’t even feature his … Continue reading →
A while back, in a post on the subject of turns in dance, I wrote: Certain people are…that rare phenomenon known as “natural turners.” Some strange trick of brain and inner ear, some unusual sense of centered balance, allows them … Continue reading →
Yes, the following clip of Carla Fracci is almost irredeemably corny. It features one of the oldest (and most old-fashioned) ballets in existence, “La Sylphide.” And Nureyev as the male dancer looks exceedingly uncomfortable. The restrained and delicate style required … Continue reading →