by Jeff Maisey | Feb 21, 2023 | Dance, Stage & Film
(Tianna Reed will present three pieces of choreography, all performed by ODU classmates, in the winter showcase. Photo by Lauren Sinclair.) By Kate Mattingly Being an artist requires a ton of hard work, and few artists work harder than dancers. It’s the only art form...
by Jeff Maisey | Jan 18, 2023 | Dance, Stage & Film
(Eri Nishihara and Zacchaeus Page in Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner by Jennifer Archibald. Photo by Sarah Ferguson.) By Kate Mattingly A ballet company takes a risk when commissioning a choreographer to make a new piece. “Neither side knows exactly what is going to be...
by Jeff Maisey | Nov 15, 2022 | Dance, Stage & Film
By Kate Mattingly Learning a dance is a lot like playing a game of telephone: movement leaves one body and is passed to another, transformed by that person’s anatomy and style, and then transmitted and transformed again, and again. For Eli Motley, a...
by Jeff Maisey | Oct 1, 2022 | Dance, Stage & Film
(Choreographer Dwight Roden) By Kate Mattingly Dancers form unique friendships. Endless hours spent training, rehearsing, performing, plus partnering and sharing dressing rooms, lead to bonds that are long-lasting and steadfast. A perfect example is the friendship...
by Jeff Maisey | Apr 22, 2022 | Dance, Stage & Film
By Jerome Langston The February 2019 world premiere at TPAC’s Polk Theater of Nashville Ballet’s Lucy Negro Redux, a provocative and illuminating work of contemporary ballet that embraces spoken word poetry, narration and a range of acoustic music, garnered...
by Jeff Maisey | Apr 18, 2022 | Dance, Stage & Film
By Jim Roberts Jennifer Chapman lives in Virginia Beach but works for Richmond Ballet. Her job—even before the rest of the world embraced telecommuting—is to help the dance company build an audience beyond Richmond and specifically in Hampton Roads. In the...