Upcoming Bay Area Dance Performances

Tango Dancers
Originally uploaded by -N-Root-

The dance season is coming underway and I am very excited to see some wonderful talent in the bay area in the next few months. Lines Ballet, ODC, Company C and Margaret Jenkins are a few companies that will take the stage soon in addition to SF Ballet. In the meantime, I thought this shot of tango dancers interwined is inspiring and so sensual.

Swan Lake at Stern Grove

Ballet Nacional de Cuba
Originally uploaded by rayparnova

We went to Stern Grove festival this afternoon to see the San Francisco Ballet in all its grace take the stage at the free outdoor festival. It was the most crowded I've ever seen the festival and still was a treat to see three different pieces danced, one being Swan Lake. The dance company is beautiful to watch and the grove is like a breath of fresh air with trees surrounding you and people relaxing or taking a picnic. It was Olivia's first ballet experience and she squealed with delight after the first pause to clap. I think she liked it even with her toddler attention span. Just being outdoor and people watching was good enough for her while I was able to see supreme artists do their thing.

Toddler Ballet Class

My daughter Olivia is just 15 months and just took her first ballet class. I know some people may think I'm nuts, that she's too young, but I think not. She loves to dance at home and if you say the word dance, she starts to move. The whole experience was sweet. She wore a baby blue leotard and matching skirt, with pink and navy stripped Juicy Couture leg warmers. Olivia knew something special was about to happen, and was excited just to wear her ballet dress. Then there were the other kids dressed alike and she was in heaven. The Tutu school looked like a little girls dream land with lavender walls, bamboo floors and various tutus gracing the walls. The teacher, Miss Abby, wore pointe shoes and was dressed in black and pink ballet garb. With her encouraging smile and miles of patience and guidance, Miss Abby completed the whole ballet magic of the class. They danced to Stravinsky's Firebird in a large circle and ran around. It was a delightful Saturday morning and when we came home, she went straight to sleep for a long nap!
Stay in line, girls!
Originally uploaded by Sonic Armin

ODC Ballet

Ballet Dancer & Ballet Jumps: Grande Jeté "Ballerina in Flight" - Dance Portraits in Columbus, Ohio
Originally uploaded by WB - CMH

This weekend I took a tough ballet class from Augusta Moore at ODC Commmons www.odcdance.org in San Francisco. Having not a lot of time lately for dance, I was not in top shape but managed to power through the inventive class armed with my technique. Moore's modern style and inspiring choreography kept me pointing my toes through and through. I survived with just a little muscle soreness and came out with better posture. Can't wait to dance again! It is my crack.

I came across a funny article recently. The members of the ODC Dance Company challenged Cal Berkeley's athletic department to a toe to toe competition to see who is more fit, the dancers or the athletes. The dancers went against members of the men's water polo, volleyball, soccer, track & field, golf and swimming teams. This is the third year that they've competed and I really want to attend next year to see it myself. It turns out that ODC beat CAL again this year when it came to strength and agility. And I see why, their bodies are fine tuned artistic and athletic machines.