AUDITIONS: Open Call for the World Premiere of The Ugly Duckling

Serenbe Playhouse in collaboration with Brooks & Company Dance presents The World Premiere of: The Ugly Duckling

An Original Adaptation Created by Joanna Brooks, Brian Clowdus, Chip Epsten and Rachel Teagle
Directed by Brian Clowdus, Choreographed by Joanna Brooks, Text by Rachel Teagle, Music by Chip Epsten
July 2nd-August 28th 2pm (every Saturday & Sunday) with 3 special performances for Camp Serenbe in July

The Ugly Duckling follows an awkward misfit duckling on his journey to acceptance and self discovery. This new adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Andersen story will be told through theatre and dance in a beautiful outdoor setting. This show is being created as a direct response to the bullying epidemic that we are experiencing on both a local and national level. We are going back to one of the oldest childhood tales of diversity with The Ugly Duckling but giving it a modern twist with a production that will move children and adults of all ages. We will be celebrating the differences in each of us and have audience members questioning those differences that seem to still be creating barriers, even in 2011. This will not be your typical Children’s Theatre Experience and will have a level of sophistication that will have parents on the edge of their seat as well with half human/half animal bird dancers and a set built out into a lake in Serenbe allowing dancers and actors to be in and out of water, just as these characters would be in their natural environment. This show will be a fusion of live music, fantastical costuming, witty writing, and modern choreography with performance on land and in water.

Casting The Following Roles:

Narrator -male/female- someone engaging and sympathetic who brings the audience into the story

Ted -male- our ugly duckling, must be a strong dancer and actor

Female Actor who plays:
Mama Duck - our well-meaning, misguided matriach
Alberta - a loose Canadian Goose
Chicken - the meanest and most popular hen in the barnyard

Male Actor who plays:
Captain Honks - the intrepid goose flock leader
Cat - Chicken's snooty sidekick

Two Male Dancers to play our graceful and mysterious swans (named Neil Swantrick Harris, and Tony Kushwan)

Two sets of two young boys (ages 7-14-ish) to play Ted's duckling brothers. The roles involve speaking and some dance.

Open Call will be held March 30th at The Alliance Movement Studio on the the 3rd Floor of The Woodfruff Arts Center. Times are as follows:
3:30-Youth Roles
5:00-Actors who Move
7:00-Dancers

*Please bring headshot and resume and be prepared to Dance first. Cut will happen after dance call and sides will be handed out at Audition, no need to prepare a monologue. Dancers should wear form fitting clothing.

Dance for Parkinson's Spring Session

Brooks & Company Dance is pleased to announce an

11 week session of Dance for Parkinson's classes at the

Atlanta Ballet Michael C. Carlos Center for Dance!

• Each Monday from March 14, 2011 through May 30, 2011
• Mondays from 12:30 - 1:30 PM
• Atlanta Ballet at 1695 Marietta Blvd. NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
• Due to spring break, there will be no class on April 4, 2011

Members of the Brooklyn Parkinson Group at the Mark Morris

Dance Center. Photo by Katsuyoshi Tanaka

Classes are open to anyone with Parkinson's, families, friends and

caregivers. No dance experience is necessary. Students are welcome

to use walkers or wheelchairs.

Thanks to a special grant from the Mitchell Foundation, the class is

free to participants, although donations are always welcome to keep

the class alive.

Dance for Parkinson's, originally pioneered in 2001 through a partnership

between the Brooklyn Parkinson Group and the Mark Morris Dance

Group, is a dance class for people with Parkinson's Disease, their

families and caregivers (http://danceforparkinsons.org).

Each class is designed to engage participants in an enjoyable

and supportive environment with trained dance professionals.

In addition to the benefits of physical activity, Dance for Parkinson's

focuses on the increased quality of life dance can bring to the mind,

body and soul.

Martin Thall, a member of the Brooklyn Parkinson Group,

and David Leventhal at the Mark Morris Dance Center.

Photo by Katsuyoshi Tanaka

Dance for Parkinson's incorporates many dance styles:

modern, ballet, jazz, tap, musical theater and modified

excerpts from Brooks & Company Dance's unique repertory.

Class begins with seated warm-ups that target correct posture,

full range-of-motion movements and the use of good breathing

to inform the movement. The class then progresses to the barre

followed by exercises in the center of the studio and then

moves across the floor. Rhythm creates an additional cue to

each exercise while the melodies encourage individual artistry

throughout the movements.

Members of the Brooklyn Parkinson Group at the Mark Morris Dance Center. Photo by Rosalie O''Connor.

No pre-registration is necessary. For information call Brooks & Company Dance at (404) 590-0738, or email info@brooksandcompanydance.org or go to http://www.brooksandcompanydance.org

'Ment- TONITE ONLY!

The Artists of Shorts 5

Closing night, don't miss it!

Join us tonight for Shorts 5

Shorts 5 is almost here!

The fifth annual 'Shorts' event!

With new works by Bubba Carr, Beth Lewis, Staci Scaturro, Stephen Loch, Kristyn McGeehan, Stephanie Johnson, Cara O'Grady and Jena Michele Kovash

PLUS...

Guest works by Terry Slade and Redemption Dance Theater, the Good Moves Dance Consort and a very special performance by Adele Myers and Dancers!

Don't miss 'Communicating About Choreography'
a dialogue with the choreographers
7:00 PM Friday and Saturday before the show

TICKETS:
$10 General Admission
$8 Students, Seniors and Artists
$5 with a program/ ticket stub from a recent local dance performance

Email us at info@brooksandcompanydance.org

In case you're wondering what you missed at the workshop last Thursday....

Overcoming Choreographer’s Block – April 1, 2010
A Workshop Review by Jaki Hawthorne

My body aches to the core. It’s the good kind of ache. You know, the kind you get from doing something you love, with people you love, until you are about to drop from exhaustion… and then you do it some more. Get your mind out of the gutter, people! I’m talking about DANCING!

Joanna Brooks of Brooks & Company Dance (http://brooksandcompanydance.blogspot.com) offered up an amazing opportunity to help choreographers with the dreaded Choreographer’s Block… cue dramatic film noir music!

Choreographer’s block is a mentally paralyzing phenomenon which all choreographers experience at one time or another. You create something and you open a door, and with every opening there is bound to be a close…a point at which you just can’t create for a while. It may be just a moment, or maybe a day, perhaps a month or sometimes much longer. The workshop was designed to give you tools to re-open the door to your creative process. The workshop was guided by Staci Scaturro from Orlando, Florida, a 15-veteran of dance choreography and founder of the company Soul Play Modern Dance.

Staci was enthusiastic, inspiring and very real. Her genuine love of dance and quiet way of making you feel welcome in her class, no matter what your experience level, was something to be cherished. She doesn’t take herself too seriously and, speaking for myself, that’s something of great value to find in any kind of instructor.

The class was 9 or 10 dancers of unknown levels…I loved that Staci did not have anyone spouting off their experiences and yeeeeeeeaaaaaaars of dance training… and we just played (yes, played!) for about 3 hours. With varying degrees of guidance, we used props, visual imagery, music, and spoken word to create mini compositions.

One of my favorite games was the 4-corner “Soul Play” where each designated wall of the room had a different station of activity. One corner was the toy box with silly, found objects from the space. Another was a wall for contact improvisation using the wall in as many ways as your brain could conceive. A third was a long list of locations for you to play around with literal and abstract ideas about movement inside a volcano, or on a rollercoaster, or at the Louvre... In between each station was a directive such as to move in a masculine way, or only on the floor, or super slow motion, etc. It was quite something to behold a room full of dancers creating movement with completely unique motivations, and yet it still could have been a composition as a whole.

Yesterday was a revisit to a part of my roots that I had thought was quite forgotten. For me, it was a trip back in time to the world of modern dance. And a joyful and wonderful trip it was. Thank you Joanna Brooks and Staci Scaturro for a unique journey and a bag full of tricks to help break the cycle of the closed, creative door.
__________________________

__________

On a separate note: My girls from Jahara Phoenix were awe inspiring. Several of them stepped so far outside of their box that there is no longer a box! I was genuinely moved by their willingness to experience movement far beyond their comfort zone and to open up and accept whatever is tossed into the dance mix. Amazing!

Shorts 5 Workshop

Overcoming Choreographers Block

Wondering where to begin?

Stuck in the middle?

Can't find the right ending?

Join brooks & company dance on Thursday April 1, 2010 for 'Overcoming Choreographers Block.'

Returning Shorts choreographer Staci Scaturro will guide us through an evening of fun and challenging dance composition exercises in a workshop designed to help you master those "drawing a blank" moments in your creative process.

Workshop fees are just $10 for the general public, $5 for local artists and free for Shorts 5 participants.

WHEN: 6:00-9:00 PM, Thursday April 1, 2010
WHERE: Atlanta Ballet Midtown, 1400 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30309
WHO: brooks & company dance and anyone who wants to develop their choreographic tool-kit

Email me for more info: ad@brooksandcompanydance.org

Shop and give...at the same time

You already do it; Google anything you want to find online, get your prescriptions from drugstore.com, download that movie or album from iTunes, buy every one's gift at Amazon.com. Online searching and retail shopping have become part of our everyday lives. Now there's a way you can become a supporter of brooks & company dance without writing a check, without any heavy lifting, from the same place you are sitting as you read this and (here's the best part) at NO COST to you or to us.

It's called The Giving Seed and it is a brilliant way to get folks to support non-profits by doing something they are already doing...online shopping. It's simple:

1. Visit http://www.thegivingseed.com/

2. Click on brooks & company dance from the drop down menu
3. Select your favorite online retailer from the drop down menu
4. Shop as usual

It also works with Google search. Simply go to http://www.thegivingseed.com/ and enter what you'd like to search for in the Google window.

I've already made it my homepage...and I think you should, too!

A big thanks to keif for uncovering this incredible company, thanks to the wonderful people I've had the pleasure of meeting from the The Giving Seed and thanks to all of you for shopping, for searching and for supporting BCD!

Saturday Night- RELIEF WORK

brooks & company dance
and eight local dance companies have joined Zoetic Dance Ensemble to present

RELIEF WORK

A BENEFIT DANCE CONCERT TO SUPPORT THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
EFFORTS IN HAITI

January 30, 2010
8:00 PM

7 Stages Theatre
1105 Euclid Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA 30307-1925

TICKETS: $20 general admission, $15 students, senior & artists

CHECK OR CASH ONLY AT THE DOOR OR PURCHASE TICKETS

at

www.ticketleap.com

photo courtesy of Will Day

"Atlanta’s dance Renaissance gets national exposure in Dance Magazine"

Dance educator and critic Cynthia Bond Perry has a overview of Atlanta's expansive dance scene and a retrospective of the Atlanta Ballet, its leadership and its ethos published in this month's edition of Dance Magazine.  Highlights of these articles are featured on the local arts blog ArtsCriticATL in her own words.  Her articles and sidebar and accompanying images do a great job of placing dance around the city and educating readers about the unique aspects of the 70+ artists, companies, schools and studios she names.  As a must-read for those of us on the scene, it's a good starting place to get to know our extended familty.

Mini Mob Makes Dance Debut

Diehard Flashers braved the elements on New Year's Eve to dance for the sheer joy of it.  The Durski's provides this link to video of the mini mob and LynnBob shot this one.  Photos are courtesy of Eddie Hatchett. We were excited that Beth Lewis joined in... she has just returned to the states from completing Pilobolus' Shadowland tour which concluded with a special performance for HM Queen Elizabeth II.  Thursday's dance marked a 50 year celebration for Flasher Susan Asher.  Long time BCD supporters Lynn and Bob were there to specifically start off their New Year dancing among friends!  Other Flashers: Lisa, Su, Honora, Red, Kelley, Christy, Cherlyn & her friend, Jo and Kayte.  Thanks to our supporters for coming along and thanks to photographer Joeff Davis from Creative Loafing for dropping by.  We'll post more video and images shortly.  Also, thanks to @atlantabike of the Atlanta Bike Coalition and @joeventures for helping spread the word about the mob.

Contact us at info(at)brooksandcompanydance(dot)org if you are interested in participating in a Flash Mob.

2009 New Year's Eve Flash Mob Tutorial

Come dance along with Atlanta Flashers in Kenny's Alley (Underground Atlanta) at 5pm on Thursday, December 31st, 2009.  That's right -- it's another Flash Mob and we'll be saying goodbye to the old year and hello to the new one during Underground Atlanta's New Year's Eve Peach Drop 2010.  Jump in for the last three song clips from Miley Cyrus, Michael Jackson and the Black Eyed Peas and you'll be a Flasher, too!

For all you FCAC Contractors for Services, look real close at this video for our celebrity Flasher.  Also, Happy Flasher Birthday to Susan Asher.  Big thanks to Ophelia, Bubba, Paulina & Dance 101 for giving us the space to rehearse.

You can view an extended version of the NYE Dance Tutorial here.

BCD's Composed named one of the AJC's Top 5 Dance Events in 2009

In his opening remarks for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Top 5 Dance Events of 2009, local arts critic Pierre Ruhe states that "Atlanta’s dance scene is exploding — new talent, new audiences, a new ambition that the city is finally ready to be a national-quality hub for the art form. The recession has hampered expansion of the performing arts, yet dance accelerated in 2009, and this year dance fans came here to see what we’re up to."

We agree. We've got great peers here in town and you can find dance all around you year-round.  There are also a number of producing entities that attract top-tier national companies and a smorgasbord of international companies to perform here in Atlanta. Surrounding colleges and universities offer competitive and exciting  dance programs and attract talented students, instructors and acclaimed professionals as guests. There are solid dance schools here that are preparing the next generation of artists & dancemakers and teaching adults every kind of dance style you can imagine.  Music videos and other commercial reels are filled with talented dancers who work it here in the ATL. Atlanta has an exciting, diverse, elegant and expanding dance community---don't miss out on it!

One way to stay informed is to check out the ATLANTADANCES blog and get connected to the local dance scene.  You can also follow local dance critic Cynthia Bond Perry whose recent critiques have been published on ArtsCririticATL.com and in the AJC and Dance Magazine.

Congratulations to fellow dancers with gloATL, Atlanta Ballet and Come Fly With Me, and choreographers Lauri Stallings, John McFall, Mark Godden and Twyla Tharp for sharing this year-end, Top 5 distinction with us.

Here's to a great 2010 for the entire Atlanta Dance Community!

Critic's Review of Composed

Dance critic Cynthia Bond Perry wrote a review of our most recent performance Composed for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the ArtsCriticalATL blog.  Here is a link to that review.

Images from that performance courtesy of Will Day and Eddie Hatchett.

Meet Stephen Loch

Cara, Sally & Stephie do a guest performance this weekend

Well, as if last week's performance at Composed, and the week before that at Volta's Coiled at the Base of Our Spines, wasn't enough work for Cara, Sally & Stephie... they are performing again this weekend as part of Good Moves' production of Until We Dance Again.  Our trio will perform the second movement of 4.3.5 

The young people of Good Moves Consort, Apprentices & Ed Source (and Carolyn & Annette) have put together a thoroughly entertaining show.  You'll see their integration and demonstration of modern dance techniques (Graham, Limón, O'Donnell) coupled with their ballet training (Cecchetti).  They are well versed and solid.  Klimchak makes a special appearance, too.

Performances are Saturday, November 21 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 22 at 3:00 p.m. at 7 Stages in Little 5 Points (1105 Euclid Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307).

A Big Thanks

Thanks so much to everyone of you who came to see our performances of Composed this past weekend.  We had a blast and we're so grateful for your support.

We're glad that those of you at the Friday performance got to see the work of Matt & Emily Kent.  Keep your eyes open for them and their company Pickleshoes.  The two of them have been great mentors for those of us coming up through the ranks in the local dance community.

Also, be on the lookout for work by Joe Futral, who designed the lighting for our show.  He is currently lighting things up over at the Horizon Theatre for their holiday shows.  Our Stage Mgr., Lisa Watson, is getting things going over at True Colors Theatre Company for their upcoming production of Black Nativity (the company and this production are recent recipients of a few Suzi Bass Awards). Other members of our production team, T.O. staffers Christopher Kettrey and Jonathan Summers, will tech-out Theatrical Outfit's upcoming production of  Amahl and the Night Visitors.

We hope you'll get a chance to see these shows and that you'll continue to support the performing arts here in the metro area.  You're the reason we're all on the stage!

So much beauty

I just got home from the theater. And I just got butterflies in my tummy writing the word "theater."

Composed is simply beautiful. I have not see the production as you will, I have only seen the separate elements in development and out of context; the lights as they were being gelled and focused, the costumes in bits and pieces, choreography inside dimly lit dance studios, the dancers in their sweats and t-shirts with hair all over the place.

Each piece of the production is just so pretty. Even though I have yet to see all of those elements come together I am taken by how beautiful, how singularly pleasing to the eye each of these elements are by themselves. It's a little bit like walking through the mall as a kid and seeing that candy store coming up, knowing that in just a few moments all that color, sweetness and fun will be everywhere I look. Even the program covers are gorgeous!

I am so excited to see everything become one work. This production is going to blow you away.

And to top off all that loveliness flying around this weekend...

A very special guest appearance is happening on Friday night only. Matt & Emily Kent will be performing a luscious pas de deux. This dance is the one element I have seen as a complete work. It is absolutely breathtaking. I am humbled and honored to have the Kents bring their beauty to our stage.

So much beauty. You don't want to miss this one.