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| LE REVE |
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5.04.10 THE MONTECITO SCHOOL OF BALLET
is not in montecito, not even close. it is buried behind
a hedge, very near several mechanic garages on guitierrez street. yet, there is something going on here. I used
to go to Santa Barbara Dance Arts, but, an instructor didn’t not show one evening so I wandered over to MSB. these
are decent dancers, though nothing that i have encountered in a class has ever matched the dance class i took in oakland several
years ago, where the black instructor was on the floor practically having an orgasm as his choreography was illucidated by
the most exquisite jazz/ballet display of dance i have ever witnessed. yet, there were lines of note being created, especially
by one rather tall young woman who just about got into what i would call a decent arabesque. it is not the serious application
of a city dance center, more a hodge podge, but, i’m sure if one seeks a bit, one will find an extra special occurence
of human form. the instructor is descent. as for me, i haven’t found my way yet in this new generation of
enlightened, or, should I say enheavied dancers, for they have aquired some weight over the last, thanks to the ongoing corn
syrup infestation brought to you by the american dream. we shall see if anything can be made of it. perhaps there are
some photographs to be taken somehow. at any rate, i’m not as sore this week as last time i attended.
4.29.10 COMPANIA DE DANZA- Santa Barbara City College A primarily ballet oriented class given by the
company dance manager in english, spanish and some french. 2 hours. very rigorous. a couple of the females
were pretty competent and pulled off the final combination well. the floor was hard. had to dance in socks. about
30 people.
4.25.10 MONTECITO SCHOOL OF BALLETa fast and furious jazz class with the
under 30's crowd: is there any other?. good teacher. good dancers. about 15 students.
3.1.10
I danced at the J. Niel studio a couple of saturdays. My desire to try to live
up to the instructor choreography has waned tremendously. Because of time conflicts, and, commuting so far to take the
classes, I have decided to reject the whole approach of taking dance classes. So, I won't be going there anymore while
I examine other avenues of movement expression
12.20.09
THE SANTA BARBARA DANCE ARTS STUDIO, calle cesar chavez, santa barbara, california.
a
jazz one class, but more like a jazz 3 class. maria is the insturctor. mixes up styles and music, challenging
moves. small class, only 3 or 4 on a regular basis. 1hour and a half. long.
8.27.09 welcome to wichita, kansas; the MGM dance studio. take a class, beginers jazz, just right to ease back into it.
a bit hip hoppy, kind of fun, great instructor. then down the road to the bay leaf cafe to play some songs, cowboys and alternatives,
some good talent. very loose format, good PA practice. this is the day to day of the song and dance man keeping in shape.
eastside bookstore, reading about william de kooning who was a taurus, an alchoholic painter. they didn't know back then
about the toxic paint chemicals effect on the nervous system. it drove them all to drink. and about mark rothko. nice little
bookstore in a nice obscure neighborhood in wichita
6.29.09 lizard lounge, mass ave, cambrige; take red line into cambridge; go down into the basement on mass ave. signed
up sheet. i get a paper bracelet. mc cracks some jokes. various other perfomers. i sing two songs.
6.25.009 j. neil dance, boston: point your toes; make a shelf before a high developpe; go in; another dynamic class with
jn. this one almost mastered; 2nd line success.
6.18.09 jneil dance studio, boston: jeanette is back; a blistering two hour class; jass one mean 5 years of experience.
i was a bit slow; it's jass all the way, no LA street here; many gorgeous dance queens, hot shots; amazing the way some
women can dance the art of dance. dancing in synch with them is a lot more fun. jn's 30 or 40 years of teaching shows up
again; a really great warm up; smooth and to the point. i've got the highest kick in the class; took forever to learn the
combo which i never really mastered.
6.15.09 jndance studio, boston: the sub teacher is an irish theater woman. she shows us a routine that is more broadway
than anything else complete with dialogue. an amazing teacher. when you swing out a leg, swing the foot not the leg, it
is a much easier concept and seems a lot less work. hold yourself up, no slouching, or, dragging down. dance with every part
of your body. perform; she a bit bawdy and of couse is suffering from the obvious effects of the standard american diet.
if she only knew how long whe could extend her dancing career by using the proper fuel.
Passims, Cambridge, MA 5.9.09: The sacred stage of Folk Music is alive and well; down a little stairway; a tiny little
place; pa's good and the acoustics aren't bad either; a bit of atmosphere lots of folkies. played two songs; can't do much
in two songs, but got the point across..
6.6.09 jn dance, boston, ma
2 hour jazz; dance first with your feet then with the whole body; once the steps are learned then dance it with
your whole body; then perform it. very good; for wrapa round turns think of moving the foot into position; also for jette's,
extensions; easier to move foot into place rather than thinking of moving the whole leg which is too arduous. use auditory
cues to describe what you are doing until its proper learned. visualize during warm up. a class reveals its level in warm
up. teachers pay attention to their students warming up to find level of the class. don't walk around boston after a 2 hour
jazz class; the leg pain intensifies from the stone, brick, pavement, cement.
3 june 2009; jeanette neil dance studio, boston, mathe green line screetches in such a high pitch it sounds like your
in a nightmarish fun park ride. i stand near the air conditioner with my guitar case. boylston wouldn't cough up the sprint
store for a phone fix so, i went back underground toward north station. a big celtic shamrock on the old brick building.
upstairs i waited. floor too slippery for shoes. heroux put us through the warm up which was different; a bit of yoga; just
like a twenty something. where's jeanette, she doesn't throw yoga into a dance pose. the rest was difficult but i didn't
sweat it. i wasn't there to ace a warm up. dance: a vertical expresion of a horizontal desire. writhing on the the floor
with well built young woman. i didn't notice them much. one is taught by the wondering eye that age differences are not
condoned in public, just in private. i'm in my fifties; they are in their twenties; i know the secrets of youth and energy;
they are in the secret unconciously. was there art to this class. well yes, but, a pretty traditional approach, no LA street
here. heroux gave a sharp flashy routine that wasn't too difficult. i did a hand stand after the class emptied. ate three
oranges, grabbed a train to cambridge to check out club passim. a bearded grey haired 60's throwback greeted me enthusiastically.
i'm sure he had a history with the place. my first glimpse of the famous passims folk club, where baez et al hung out was
of a room full of dark haired hopefulls. the room is drab, very appropos for such a historical venue. authenticity is everything.
i stayed a minute to get a sound byte on the pa. then off to the underground, i looked at the god in an inebriated gentleman
across the isle from me on the red line back. it picked him up quite a bit. didn't sing tonight, didn't want to hang for
two hours while 15 people sang 2 songs each. i've done enough of that. the whole stage or nothing. tonight it was nothin.
but next week will be a different story.
jeanette is an excellent
teacher, typically plump as an older dance instructor in the height of diet deficiency aught to be, she's been at it for 30
or 40 years and ordinarily doesn't miss a thing. really top notch. not of the blatantly creative variety which is perfect.
leave that to us. but couldn't be better at nailing all the jazz moves and stringing them together with efficiency and grace.
i'm at her class tomorrow. can't wait.
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