2 the Pointe...
The United States Congress has recently honored ABT by recognizing its service as "America's National Ballet Company." In identical congressional resolutions, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives expressed appreciation for the "cultural and educational contributions of American Ballet Theatre."
Sponsored by Senators Charles A. Schumer and Elizabeth Dole, and Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Thomas Reynolds, Louise Slaughter and Christopher Shays, the resolution passed without objection in both houses, receiving the support of elected leaders from all 50 states in recognition of ABT's continued artistry and national community outreach.
Commenting on the resolution, ABT Executive Director Rachel Moore said, "We are greatly honored by this special recognition from Congress. With the support of our nation's leaders, this resolution will further strengthen ABT's ability to bring dance to audiences across the nation."
The 13th annual Seattle Festival of Alternative Dance & Improvisation takes place August 7-13, 2006 in Seattle, WA. SFADI is an annual week-long dance festival featuring master classes with internationally-recognized faculty, public performances, discussions and jams. Local, national, and international dance artists converge upon Seattle to teach and perform a wide variety of dance and improvisational movement techniques. Classes include: Contact Improvisation, Contemporary Dance Technique, Performance, Contemplative Dance Practice, Solo & Group Improvisation, Voice, Feldenkrais Method(R), Yoga, Body-Mind Centering(R), Skinner Releasing Techniquetm, and Character...Plus Nightly jams (including a silent jam and a music/dance jam); Panel discussion; Faculty & student performances; Daily Contemplative Dance; Practice sessions; Private sessions with faculty. For more info and to register: www.sfadi.org; info@sfadi.org.
The Milwaukee Ballet's Dinners for Tutu are back and this summer they are hotter than ever. Fourteen extravagant dinners will take place at the gracious homes, clubs and public venues of Milwaukee Ballet hosts May 31 through August 10, 2006. All proceeds from the dinners go directly to support Milwaukee Ballet programs and performances. Each of the 14 dinners has a different theme and the seating is limited. Prices range from $75 - $500. For reservations, contact Loretta Wilkes, lwilkes@milwaukeeballet.org or 414-902-2101. For more details and to view the complete menus of each event, visit www.milwaukeeballet.org.
Cincinnati Ballet announ-ces the appointment of Paul Kaine as the new executive director... Columbia City Ballet's Executive & Artistic Director William Starrett has promoted Regina Willoughby to the rank of Principal Dancer for the 2006-2007 season...Ballet Arizona opens its 2006-07 Season with free outdoor performances throughout the Valley, September 21-23 and 28-30. For more information, visit www.balletaz.org
Not since Lincoln Center, Sydney Opera House or Disney Hall has a city hand-cut a "musical crown jewel" as prominent as the Miami Performing Arts Center, scheduled for its grand opening October 5-8, 2006. Designed by
world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, the Center will become one of the largest performing arts centers in the world upon its completion and will stand as an iconic landmark in downtown Miami.
The 2,400-seat Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House is an elegant setting for opera, dance and Broadway, while the 2,200-seat Carnival Concert Hall provides the ideal venue for a range of events. The Center also boasts a comfortable 200-seat black box Studio Theater and the Peacock Education Center: 8,200 square feet of workshop and classroom space. Uniting all these elements across Biscayne Boulevard is the expansive Plaza for the Arts.
MPAC's inaugural season includes: Dance: Flamenco choreographer Eva Yerbabuena, Chinese choreographer and dancer Yin Mei, tango-jazz show AvanTango and the world premiere of a new work from Tamango's Urban Tap.
Pack your picnic and blanket for a festival of fun, featuring free outdoor ballet performances from Kansas City Ballet. Three FREE performances of Ballet in the Park are slated for September 9-14, 2006, throughout greater Kansas City. For further information, please call the Kansas City Ballet box office at 816. 931.2232 x375 or visit the website at www.kcballet.org...Houston Ballet's latest acquisition to its 2006-2007 Principal dancer roster is Rolando Sarabia, 24, who hails from
Havana, Cuba.
The Joffrey Ballet promoted Warren M. Davis to Director of Develop-ment...Pedro Ruiz, former Principal dancer with Ballet Hispanico, is now on the faculty of Scarsdale Ballet Studio...Lincoln Center Out of Doors 2006 presents Martha Graham Dance Company, Aug. 16 at 8pm at Damrosch Park Bandshell and Garth Fagan Dance on Aug. 25-26 at the same venue. For more information about the events, go to www.lincolncenter.org or call 212.LINCOLN during the festival for a daily schedule and program updates.
The 26th annual Carey Rose Winski Dance Scholarship Competition will be held this year on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 11am in the Lou Conte Dance Studio - Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. The competition is open to any dancer, male or female, in the US, between the ages of 13 and 18. Scholarships totaling $1500 are given to the winners. The winners choose the schools for their further training. This competition is in memory of Care Rose Winski, who lived and received her dance training in Michigan City, Indiana. She was 17 years old at the time of her death in 1980. The Carey Rose Winski Memorial Foundation was formed to perpetuate Carey's memory and her love of dance.