Disclosure: I was a guest of Vail Local Marketing District, who hosted my experience at the Vail International Dance Festival.

Last Saturday night I experienced something very special: a night at the Vail International Dance Festival.  I was in town for a few days which happened to coincide with opening night, which celebrated its 25th anniversary.  In celebration of that, the festival featured a bill of repertory highlights at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater stage.  We were privy to some of the finest dancers in the world, including Charles “Lil Buck” Riley, Maria Kochetkova from San Francisco Ballet, Jeffrey Cirio from Boston Ballet, Analia Centurion and Gabriel Misse performing tango, dancers from the NYC Ballet and best of all, a performance of “Serenade” by the Pacific Northwest Ballet, bathed in natural moonlight and accompanied by full orchestra.  Each act had something both interesting and beautiful about it, either in the performance or the message.

Sitting in the beautiful amphitheater, surrounded by art, music and dance lovers, smack between the beautiful mountains of Vail, I was struck by a city’s love of life and culture.  There were people who must come to the festival year after year and respect the Artistic Director’s opinion of who the most important dancers are in the world.

That person is Damian Woetzel, who has been Artistic Director since 2007 and since then, the festival has grown immensely and is considered a nationally recognized summer showcase for dance.  He also heads up the Director of Arts Programs at the Aspen Institute, where he creates programs aiming to further the value of the arts in society, focusing on education, economics and cultural diplomacy. Among his recent projects, he produced and directed an arts salute to Stephen Hawking at Lincoln Center for the World Science Festival, and directed the first performance of the White House Dance Series, which took place in the East Room of the White House and was hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama. He clearly puts a lot of thought into each act chosen to dance in the festival, based on his background, knowledge and passion.

The setting is also interesting because there is no curtain, it is totally outdoors and during intermission, we watched the Pacific Northwest Ballet warm up wearing fleeces, necessary in the chilly Colorado weather. Woetzel pairs up dancers from around the world with great skill.  Some of them have never met or danced before hitting the Vail stage.  He announced this being the case with the first act of the evening, “Don Quixote”. Choreographed by Marius Petipa, the father of classical ballet, and premiered in 1869 at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, the re-staging for Vail was performed by San Francisco Ballet’s Maria Kochetkova and Jeffrey Cirio of Boston Ballet. You never would have known they had never met.

My favorite act of the evening was the kooky and vibrant “I Can See Myself in Your Pupil,” performed by Jonathan Royse Windam and Francesca Romo. Apparently, it was his return to Vail, where he first performed at age 10 in a community production of Annie.  And I loved “Gangsta Walk” performed by the hip hop dancer Charles Riley, who is currently a featured performer in Cirque di Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE in Las Vegas.

Source: DenverPost.com

The Vail International Dance Festival, going through August 9th, is quite an experience, so there is still time to get tickets and go.

Monday features five new pieces by choreographers Paul Taylor, Larry Keigwin, Fang-Yi Sheu, Brian Brooks and LilBuck.

Tuesday offers a “Dance for $20.13″ program that brings back LilBuck and adds Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild from the New York City Ballet, Keigwin + Company and others. Thursday’s main event is the legendary Paul Taylor Dance Company.

All tickets on the lawn are $20 each for every performance and offer good views.  Food and drinks are served at every performance, and the menu is very varied.

All performances are at 7:30 p.m. at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. Prices vary. 970-845-8497 or vaildance.org.

Set to the classical music of Tchaikovsky in a tiny and magical kingdom beneath the roots of a lush, giant tree, the ballet tells the story of Princess Aurora, the evil spell cast on her 16^th birthday, and the gallant prince who breaks the curse with a kiss. A cast of fourteen dancers brings to life one of the most beloved fairytales of all time.

To enhance the experience, Artistic Director Diana Byer will hold a 5-minute workshop before each show to educate the children on the inner workings of the production. As a section of Sleeping Beauty includes mime, Ms. Byer asks the children to stand at their seats and learn the mimed sections. She explains what each gesture means so they can easily follow the ballet.

Each seat at the intimate Florence Gould Hall offers an excellent view of the stage. Tickets are $31 for children and $36 for adults and can be purchased at www.nytb.org, Ticketmaster (800-982-2787) or the box office at 55 East 59th Street (212-355-6160). Group rates are available. For all other locations please visit venue website for price and purchasing information.

Or you can enter to win a pair of  tickets to Sleeping Beauty at the NY Theatre Ballet! 

All you have to do to win is leave a comment below and let me know which show you would choose – March 10th or 11th – and who you would take.  Please be sure to leave an email address or Twitter handle IN YOUR RESPONSE below (this is important!)

Winners will be chosen on Friday, March 2nd at noon.  The winner will have 24 hours to accept the prize or it will go to the runner-up.

Disclosure: Giveaway courtesy of  the NY Theatre Ballet.

Source: www.nyc-arts.org

Gibney Dance celebrates 20 years of evocative choreography with a retrospective season at The Ailey Citigroup Theater.

Retro-ACTIVE will showcase Gina Gibney’s richly textured and intellectually challenging choreography featuring excerpts from Several Truths (2001), Time Remaining (2002), unbounded (2005), Thrown (2004), and View Partially Obstructed (2009). Curated by current company members Natsuki Arai, Andrew Avery, Courtney Drasner, Lily Ockwell and Joshua Palmer, four of these five pieces were adapted to include male dancers.

Ailey Citigroup Theater at the Joan Weill Center for Dance
The Joan Weill Center for Dance
405 West 55th Street
(at Ninth Avenue)
New York, NY 10019

Tel: (212) 405-9000
Fax: (212) 405-9004

$15.00 children, seniors, students, $20.00 general.
VIP Reserved Seating: $40

Dates
Thurs, May 12, 2011 – Sat, May 14, 2011

Hours
Thurs – Sat: 8 pm – 9 pm

The Culture Mom Disclosure: I was not compensated to print this guest post or promote this event.

New York Theatre Ballet's Sleeping Beauty

New York Theatre Ballet presents Sleeping Beauty, a delightful one-hour ballet that will engage children ages 3 to 12 and charm the entire family.  Show times are Sat, May 14 @ 11 am & 1pm &  Sun, May 15 @ 11 am, 1pm & 3:30 pm at family-friendly NY Theatre Ballet Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59^th Street (between Park & Madison avenues – closest subway 59th street & Lexington), where each seat provides a close-up view of the dancers and all of the activity on stage.   Tickets are $40 for adults and $35 for children age 12 and under (plus a $1 facility fee).  Go to www.nytb.org, or call Ticketmaster at 800-982-2787 for tickets and more information.

Before the show Artistic Director Diana Byer will spend a few minutes with a short, interactive lesson on the art of mime in story ballets.

Choreographed by James Sutton, the Sleeping Beauty ballet delivers the magic of Princess Aurora’s 16th birthday, the mystery of the enchanted spell, the magnificence of the wedding, and a perfect storybook happy ending.  The story unfolds when Princess Aurora is bewitched by the evil Carabosse, then the benevolent Lilac Fairy places the princess and her kingdom into a deep, protective sleep.  She awakens when the noble Prince breaks the spell with a kiss.

Mr. Sutton is a Master Teacher of Dance (Ballet) at the Tisch School of the Arts, and has taught dance at Juilliard, the University of Wisconsin, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Ballet Hispanico of New York, and other significant schools and venues around the world.  His choreographic commissions include the Dallas Opera and the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut.  Mr. Sutton has appeared as principal dancer with Houston Ballet, Chicago Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Milwaukee Ballet and DANCERS.  He is also a contributing writer for Ballet Review.

Based on the original Sleeping Beauty by Russian choreographer Marius Petipa, New York Theatre Ballet’s one-hour version is danced to music by Peter Tchaikovsky.  The elegant costumes were designed by Metropolitan Opera costume designer Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan.  The setting – a tiny, fanciful fairy kingdom situated beneath the roots of a giant tree – was conceived and created by set designer Gillian Bradshaw-Smith.

You can win family pack (4) of tickets to see the Sleeping Beauty at the New York Theatre Ballet today on The Culture Mom!

Queen Marlene's Toy Theatre

Queen Marlene’s Toy Theatre

Follow “Queen Marlene” of the Toy Museum as she tells the tale of toys from America’s past and around the world only to be tricked by Raggedy, the Toy Museum’s largest doll, as Raggedy creates mischievous and silly fun!  See hundreds of old toys from the 1880s-1980s including classic favorites such as Howdy Doody, Shirley Temple, Raggedy Ann, Toy Soldiers and old toy blocks to Beanie Babies, just to name a few.  Perfect for ages 4 years old and up, and for adults who are still young at heart.  The show is interactive, engaging and educational. The show is 60 minutes, no intermission; price includes admission to the museum.

Where: 157 Montague Street
2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY  11201

Jazz for Young People: What is the Big Band Era?

Even 75 years after the big band era, many scholars and fans—not to mention dancers—agree that it was the period when jazz reached its peak of popularity and musical greatness. In this family concert, Ted Nash leads the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in a program sampling all the major big bands—Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington—that shows what made them swing so hard.

Where: Rose Theater, Broadway at 60th Street, Columbus Circle

Price: $12, $20, $28

Dates & Hours:

Sat, March 26, 2011, 1 pm
Sat, March 26, 2011, 3 pm

Neighborhood Concert Series: Soh Daiko, Taiko Drum Ensemble

NanoDays at the New York Hall of Science

Come explore science at the nano-scale through a variety of hands-on experiences demonstrate how small nano is and how nanotechnology can be applied to everyday life. Activities include discovering the importance of using proper tools, learning how butterfly wings and peacock feathers get their colors, witnessing how nano-sized whiskers can protect clothing from stains, as well as exploring how a material can act differently when it is nanometer sized.

Where: 47-01 111th Street, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, (at 48th Avenue)

Price: Free with NYSCI admission.

Dates and Hours:

Sat, March 26, 2011, 11 am – 5 pm
Sun, March 27, 2011, 11 am – 5 pm
Tues, March 29, 2011, 11 am – 1 pm
Wed, March 30, 2011, 11 am – 1 pm
Thurs, March 31, 2011, 11 am – 1 pm
Fri, April 1, 2011, 11 am – 4 pm
Sat, April 2, 2011, 11 am – 5 pm
Sun, April 3, 2011, 11 am – 5 pm

Urban Word NYC 13th Annual Teen Poetry Slam Semi-Final

Where: Dance Theater Workshop, 219 West 19th Street (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues)

Price: $5.00 children, $7.00 adults, $7.00 general.

Dates & Hours:  Sun, March 27, 2011, 3 pm

Disclosure: This information was provided by NYCkidsARTS, a Web site of Alliance for the Arts, which serves the entire cultural community through research and advocacy and serves the public through cultural guides and calendars.  The Alliance publishes information on the arts and cultural events in New York City as well as studies highlighting the importance of the arts to the economy and to education.

This past Monday, armed with a bundle of colorful pipe cleaners (or “fuzzy sticks,” as they are referred to in most classrooms), I set out for PS 111 in midtown to lead a pre-show, in-classroom workshop for the upcoming perMformance of Mischief at The New Victory Theater. As a New Vic Education staff member and teaching artist, I travel to schools across New York City and lead pre- and post-show workshops in Pre-K to 12 classrooms. The workshops allow the students to actively explore the art form (in this case, dance) of the show they are about to see on the New Vic stage.

My co-teaching artist, Javier, and I arrive at the school. The tables are pushed aside and the students stand in a circle, waiting to see what these eccentric strangers will do. Without saying a word, I pull out a colorful fuzzy stick and bend it into a “C” shape. Javier immediately shapes his body to physically match the shape of the fuzzy stick. A few students giggle, wondering what will happen next. Without saying a word, Javier gestures to suggest that the students create the shape as well. All of a sudden, I change the shape of the fuzzy stick to a “V.” The students now know the rules of the game and they immediately pose in a way that matches the shape. However, each shape is slightly different in translation; they have just made their first choreographic decisions.

Throughout the workshop, we encourage the students to make specific physical choices and explore the relationship between the object and their bodies. The result is remarkable – the act of translating the object’s shape to their own bodies unlocks a new freedom and creativity in movement. Soon, the students each get their own fuzzy stick and are asked to make literal shapes (“Turn your fuzzy stick into a square”) and abstract shapes (“Create a shape that represents the emotion of Excitement with your fuzzy stick”). They explore the movement of these shapes, and attempt to mimic this movement in their bodies. In pairs, they create a small human puppet using two fuzzy sticks and a movement phrase for their puppet to perform. Finally, they recreate this movement phrase in their own bodies. In the course of a forty five minute workshop, the students have taken on the role of choreographer, puppeteer and performer.

As a teaching artist, it is amazing for me to watch as the students, who are just becoming aware of their own bodies and the way they move, rehearse and perform dance pieces that they have created. They navigate working as an ensemble, physically executing their own idea, and feeling artistic ownership over their work. Student-centered exploration, or empowering students to work within a structure to artistically create on their own, is one of the guiding principles upon which every New Vic workshop is created.

The experience takes on new meaning when my students come to The New Victory to see a performance (in this case, Mischief) and excitedly exclaim, “We did that!” when they watch the performers on stage. Mischief utilizes colorful foam noodles (a larger version of our fuzzy sticks) that the dancers manipulate, mimic and play with to create a remarkable and fun approach to contemporary dance. A collaboration between a theater company (UK’s Theatre-Rites) and a choreographer (Arthur Pita), it is the first dance piece for family audiences commissioned by the world-renowned dance institution Sadler’s Wells. The combination of puppetry and dance provides the perfect introduction to dance for the youngest audience member. My students bounce out of the theater, ready to create their own dance pieces. Thanks to the performance, and of course the fuzzy sticks, a new generation of artists dance back on to the subway to school.

Jonathan Shmidt is the Assistant Director of Education at the New Victory Theater. He manages the New Victory Education Partnership Program, which provides 30,000 students with access to school-time performances and in-classroom workshops. Jonathan is on the adjunct faculty for the Program in Educational Theatre at New York University. He has collaborated on Theater for Young Audiences initiatives with the Boston Lyric Opera, Theater Offensive and Immediate Medium. Jonathan is the co-founder of YEA: Young Educators in the Arts, a networking group for emerging professionals in Arts Education. He holds a Masters Degree in Educational Theatre from New York University.

Your young ones will love the three short, classic ballets chosen especially for them, and they will also learn simple steps and “fun facts” between each ballet, including:  why a costume closes with hooks and eyes, what a spotting light is, what spike tape is and why it’s on the stage,  how dancers make such straight lines and perfect circles, and why ballerinas turn their legs out.

The show begins with Little Improvisations. By 20^th century master Antony Tudor, it is a whimsical portrayal of two children at play using just their imagination and a blanket to create fanciful scenes on a rainy afternoon, The light-hearted Debut at the Opera, by Agnes de Mille, depicts a young ballerina who has a bad case of the jitters backstage before her performance. Bounces is a fun and lively piece danced to a traditional Irish gig, created by Lotte Goslar for her Pantomime Circus.

The performance is presented by New York Theatre Ballet, which is known for its modern adaptations of classics that keep enthusiastic children – and their parents – coming back for more.  Tickets are $35 for children and $40 for adults (includes a $1 per ticket facility fee) and can be purchased at www.nytb.org , Ticketmaster (800-982-2787) or the box office, 55 East 59^th Street, (212-355-6160).

You can win a pair of tickets to see the New York Theatre Ballet’s Exquisite Little Ballets on The Culture Mom!

Disclosure: These New York City Opera tickets were provided to me, free of charge, with no requirement or agreement of review requested in turn.

Sat & Sun, December 11& 12 @ 11:00 am, 1:00 & 3:30 pm

Sat & Sun, December 18 & 19 @ 11:00 am, 1:00 & 3:30 pm

Tickets are $35 for children and $40 for adults (plus a $1 per ticket facility fee) and can be purchased at www.nytb.org or Ticketmaster (800-982-2787) or the box office (212-355-6160).

The ballet’s one-hour length makes Keith Michael’s The Nutcracker the perfect show for families with small children to enjoy on a December weekend in Manhattan.  The theater is a short walk from the city’s finest holiday shopping, the Rockefeller Center and the magnificent window displays.  Florence Gould Hall is an intimate venue that seats fewer than 400, which ensures good seats for everyone.

New York Theatre Ballet is known for its “pint-sized” ballets that are perfect for young children’s short attention spans, while entertaining the entire family with style and substance.  NYTB tours nationally and is the most widely seen chamber ballet company in the United States.

Bright new costumes were designed by Metropolitan Opera’s Resident Costume Designer Sylvia Taalsohn Nolan and colorful sets, based on the English Toy Theatre of the early 19th Century, were created by Gillian Bradshaw-Smith.

The Nutcracker is the first ballet in New York Theatre Ballet’s Once Upon A Ballet series, which continues with Cinderella (Feb 12 & 13), Exquisite Little Ballets (Apr 24 & 25), and Sleeping Beauty (May 14 & 15).  A subscription to all four Once Upon A Ballet performances  is $112 per child; $140 per adult & a subscription to any three ballets is $87 per child; $108 per adult.

Now you can win a PAIR of tickets to The Nutcracker right here on The Culture Mom for a performance on December 11th only.

All you have to do is comment below and let me know if you and your child have seen a production of The Nutcracker and what the show means to you (think childhood memories!) Please send me your contact information.

Earn extra opportunities by doing the following:

-Join my Facebook page and tell me below.

-Join my Twitter account and tell me below.

-Join my RSS feed and tell me below.

I’ll select one random winner on Friday, November 19th at noon to attend a performance of The Nutcracker on December 11th only.

Disclosure: These tickets were provided to me for this review, but no opinion was expected of me. I will also be attending a performance of The Nutcracker at no cost.

The games are easy enough for kids to figure out.  They stand in front of the TV and move the same way the characters are moving on the Wii game, which turns into one big dance party.

There are five choices of game play on the Kidz Bop Wii game: free play, challenge, shop, dance off and dress up.  My kids typically have played the game together, but my son has played alone, too.   When I asked my daughter what she likes most about the game, she said she likes creating different characters to join the dance party.   She also likes earning points for the outfits and accessories.  She said that when you finish the game, you unlock the Mii so they can dance in the game.

The Kidz Bop Dance Party Wii is available on Amazon for $39.99.  I guarantee you that this is an ideal gift for your child, and it’d be perfect for the holidays.  Mine are ages 5 and 7 and they can’t get enough of this new game.  It’s also good exercise for them -  they’re using their hands and feet while they play, so I feel less guilt about them standing in front of the television set.  It’s also a great game for them to play with their friends who come over for play dates and it’s quite active.

Plus, my kids have become much better dancers as a result of being taught some dance moves, which is more than I could ever teach them!

Disclosure: This game was provided to me at no charge, but no opinion was asked in return.  The opinions are all my own (and my kids).

The DUMBO Arts Festival — an arts extravaganza — featuring more than 500 local and international artists — will offer many fun-filled family activities during a weekend of arts festivities.  Acrobuffos: Waterbombs! (a water balloon gladiator show), Yogi Bean (family yoga), Makedo (an innovative system for creating objects from recycled materials) LuAnn Adam’s storytelling, kite flying, and more.  Revelers will also enjoy family friendly workshops, including comic book, book making and music. The Festival will take over the entire DUMBO waterfront community — its street corners, parks, bridges, galleries, storefronts, performance venues, and studios — from Saturday, September 25 through Sunday, September 26. Best vantage point is at 45 Main St. between Water St. and Front St. in Brooklyn.In addition to family activities, the DUMBO Arts Festival will feature world-class visual art, monumental art installations, performance art, open studios and more. For the first time, art revelers will also enjoy scores of street musicians and live concerts, instrument workshops, drum circles, parades and dance companies, as well as walking tours and readings by notable authors.

The DUMBO Arts Festival, co-produced by Two Trees and Dalzell Productions, is expected to attract more than 150,000 visitors.

Visit www.dumboartsfestival.com for the schedule and more information.

EVENT:                 DUMBO Arts Festival

DATE & TIME:      Saturday, September 25 & Sunday, September 26 (10 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)

COST:                   FREE

LOCATION:          Entire Neighborhood of DUMBO
45 Main St. between Water St. and Front St.
Brooklyn

CONTACT:          www.dumboartsfestival.com