Rare and valuable are the projects, where, in their midst, one is aware of how much they are learning and growing. My recent experience as the choreographer on the FSU Opera CANDIDE has been one such project. I became involved with the Opera through a classic case of "you know a guy who knows a [...]
Tag: holly stone
How Long is Too Long?
Hi Internet. It's been a while, I know. The life highlight is this: so long Syracuse, bye bye Boston, felicitations Florida. More to follow. Let's move on to something I've been tossing around in my brain for the past couple weeks. Before I left Syracuse, I had a conversation with a couple dancer friends about [...]
Vampire Video!
So once upon a time I directed and produced a Showcase. And in that process I had the pleasure to collaborate with a Michigan-turned-Syracuse fellow by the name of Andrew Banas. The story of how we came to work together is convoluted, but needless to say it was a good time and resulted in that [...]
A Day at Jacob’s Pillow
HI Internet--it's been a while, eh? Long story short --> Vermont, New Hampshire, Boston, Syracuse, back to Boston. Leaving for Florida in less than a week. (!) More on that later. Yesterday I voyaged across Massachusetts to see dance haven and curatorial powerhouse Jacob's Pillow in real life. Long I have heard tell of this [...]
Why NaturalOpposite?
Hi Internet-- Now that this site has gotten a bit of a make-over, I thought we could have a little chat about the title. Why NaturalOpposite? It's a reference to a common turn of phrase in ballroom--the follower and leader often perform the "natural opposite" steps from one another. For example, the leader could step [...]
In Which I Join the 21st Century
Hi Internet--just a quick update for you this week. I am happy to announce that I have finally joined Instagram. I swear, I'm not anti-technology or anything, but it's taken me several years to catch up on all the hip new apps. I still don't *really* understand Snapchat. (Oh. Apparently Instagram was first released for [...]
Syracuse Ballroom Showcase: Things I Learned
Hello internet--it's been a busy few weeks. I am currently sitting at home in a haze, still riding the high of the show last night. What show, you say? The Syracuse Ballroom Showcase, of course. The path to producing this show has been a long and interesting one, and I thought I would take today [...]
Syracuse Ballroom Showcase
Hi Internet! So by now you all know that I'm a dancer. And a choreographer. And a do-er of things. And in just two weeks one of my largest projects ever is coming to fruition. It is.... the SYRACUSE BALLROOM SHOWCASE! This is going to be a super cool event--the first of it's kind in [...]
Thoughts from A Guest-Teaching Gig
Last week I had the pleasure of guest-teaching an intermediate-level ballet class at a local studio. It's been a while since I taught ballet, and I was nervous I would forget the correct terms/tell a dumb joke to a crowd of teenagers/generally make a fool of myself. But luckily, it went rather well! And in [...]
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