I Choose To Dance

Thoughts about life as a dance and other non-categorized amblings.

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Location: Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Monday, November 30, 2009

New Talent and Familiar Faces

3 September 2009

Walking into a Wylliams/Henry rehearsal in studio 108 this summer it was a pleasure to see a familiar face, former Kansas City Ballet dancer Christopher Barksdale. Chris, who retired from KCB after this last spring season (2009) may be moving into "old" country for a ballet dancer (at age 36) but he is still a performer and is working at an expanded set of performances from dance to theater. Here he was rehearsing for Trap Door Party by 21-year old Josh Beamish from Vancouver whose dance reputation is rapidly expanding. His 4-year old company will be in traveling across Europe and Asia next year.

Young and "old" working together. The dancers themselves range in age from Josh's age to beyond Chris's age (21 to early 40's). Trap Door Party is an intricate and complex work, alternating between slow and high energy movements. This is a special edition modified from the original length of more than an hour to around 20 minutes.

2-Steppin - no moves from the tables

23 August 2009

When I heard that this 2-Steppin dance was going to be held in the KC Power and Light District my first thought was to the screw-up over a Hip-Hop artist a few months ago. That was a PR dumb play, which followed an already bad reputation among KC's black population due to dress codes which were considered aimed at keeping out African Americans.

KCP&L is already being called the KC Power and White district. Maybe, I thought, this was an attempt to make amends for the Hip-Hop artist incident which was initially suspicious of the KCP&L story and then totally disbelieving of the KCP&L story when I heard the longer account of events that evening.

One of the claims was that the DJ had blown out the house speakers, even though they continued later with other sound. I shoot events (video and stills) and am often hooked up to a line feed from the sound person. While the feed is sometimes too hot at the start, that is what the sound checks are designed to root out and make right, before the performance. In my own opinion (not having been there) the KCP&L story is still fishy, but, maybe this is a trek back to the right direction.

The management of Maker's Mark was not going to move back the tables to make room for dancing. So, organizer De Barker sent out text messages saying, no dancing. Just socializing and music listening. That, to a large group of folks who like to get out and really dance, not just slosh the sauce.

View from the top side: the four-tops in the center are un-occupied and the dancers are relagated to space outside the area or between tables.

The turnout was light. The tables stayed were they were even though they were not filled. The dancers were forced to find what room they could between tables and to the sides of the room, used as an aisle from front to back. All the occupants were from the 2-steppin' crowd.

The floor overall is a nice, hardwood surface. No special dance area, it covers the entire floor. Whatever area is opened up makes a nice dance area. It just needs more area (read, move the tables).

Kacico Song and Dance Project

Kacicos Song and Dance project is even more satisfying that the first time it was released. Now, it seems to fit like and old shoe and the performers are just as familiar with it. They are turning in practiced and polished performances. The Song And Dance project puts musician/composers together with dancers and choreographers in performance. As with the familiarity of the performance itself the Song And Dance project keeps adding new material and returning to primary material. These are funny and dramatic and fun and real. They are songs of life and living and flights of fancy.

Program for July 2009 (Fringe)
Kacico Dancers (For Fringe 2009 Concert):
Shandi Fine, Lindsay Spilker Tate, Tuesday Faust, Allison McKinzie, Holly Noel Harmison, Kathryn Cowan, Maggie Osgood, Chris Dunn, Michelle Diane Brown (artistic director)

Words
Music Laura Lisbeth
Choreography Kathryn Cowan
Dancers Lindsay, Holly, Michelle

Walls
Music Erik Karlsson
Choreography Michelle Diane Brown
Dancer Shandi

The Duct Tape Song
Music Dave Patmore
Choreography Michelle Diane Brown
Dancers Shandi, Lindsay

Handful of Air
Music Rick Malsick
Choreography Lindsay Spilker Tate
Dancers Maggie, Shandi

Aftermath
Music Laura Lisbeth
Choreography Shandi Fine
Dancers Holly, Tuesday, Shandi

Desgarrada
Music Karim Memi
Choreography Michelle Diane Brown
Dancers Lindsay, Michelle

Special Kind of Blue
Music Erik Karlsson
Choreographer Lindsay Spilker Tate
Dancers Kathryn, Tuesday, Lindsay, Maggie

I Fell Down Twice Today
Music Dave Patmore

Nobody's Place Like Home
Music Rick Malsick
Choreography Holly Noel Harmison
Dancer Shandi

Blendomatic (music duet)
Music Karim Memi, Dave Patmore

Athena Suite
Music Rick Malsick
Choreography Michelle Diane Brown
Dancers Kathryn, Lindsay, Shandi, Tuesday

Costumes: Choreographers and Laura Powell

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