Get Illuminated-Dominic Walsh and Jane Weiner plan The Illumination Project at The Hobby

First off, mark your calendar, World AIDS day, Wednesday, December 1st, The Illumination Project 2004, Hobby Center, 7:30 pm. Forget the West Wing, that left wing (my favorite kind) president would rather have you attend this event. Call 713-315-2525 or visit http://www.thehobbycenter.org/. Tickets are $35 for one $60 for two.

I was at the height of my dancing days (if there was such a place) during the beginning of the AIDS crisis. I lost friends, teachers, and colleagues. The ranks of the Washington, D.C. dance scene were thinned by the loss and it left a tremendous hole in the arts community. This scenario happened in major cities throughout the US. The AIDS crisis is not over; it’s currently the fourth leading cause of death globally. This disease is still with us and we need to pay attention.

Choreographers Jane Weiner and Dominic Walsh dreamed up The Illumination Project because they thought awareness of AIDS/HIV had dropped off the radar. “AIDS/HIV is the forgotten disease,” says Weiner. Walsh has a vision for the future. “My hopes for The Illumination Project are that it will grow and serve Houston and be on par with Chicago's ‘Dance for Life’ which has raised over $2 million in its 13 years, ” states Walsh.

Now in its third year and bigger than ever, a star-studded evening is planned. Weiner has re-furbished her duet, Objects in the Mirror are Closer than they Appear. “It’s about support, commitment to the support, and being there when the other is not looking,” states Weiner. Dominic Walsh and Mario Zambrano will perform in the duet, 2 and 1 for Mr. B., created by Spanish choreographer Gustavo Ramirez Sansano in honor of George Balanchine. The work is set to an original composition by Luis Felipe Serrano and Alejandro Delgado.

Also on the program: A rare Houston appearance by Texas Ballet Theater in Ben Stevenson’s Vivaldi pas de deux, The Houston Ballet in Stevenson’s, Three Preludes, Allan Tibbitts in a vintage Doug Elkins work entitled Lil’ Prints, Suchu dancer and choreographer Daniel Adame, The Gay Men’s Chorus’ smaller ensemble, Vocalease, and Rob Bundy of Stages Repertory Theater.

All the artists have donated their services along with The Hobby Center. Proceeds of the event benefit Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative and Bering Omega Community Services. Weiner and Walsh acknowledge the support of Sixto Wagon (DiverseWorks hosted the first two “illuminations”), Ben Whittle of BFM Printing, and Michael Taormina at The Hobby Center for making it all possible.

It is estimated that 42 million people were infected with AIDS/HIV by the year 2002. The fight isn’t over. On a personal note, I am impressed that two artists who are knee deep in planning their own artistic endeavors have taken the time and effort to put this event together.

According to the City of Houston, Department of Health and Human Services, between 18,000 to 20,000 are estimated to be HIV-infected in Harris County and over 10,300 individuals have died of AIDS. Think for a minute, how many dances never got to be danced.

Learn more global facts about AIDS at www.unaids.org.

Learn more about Dominic Walsh Dance Theater's January Concert at the Hobby, Contemporary Baroque at www.dwdt.org.

Learn more about Jane Weiner's company Hope Stone at www.hopestoneinc.org.

Quirky Works Covered by Brangwen

Choreographer Michele Brangwen took the lean state of dance writing in Houston into her own hands. Mind you, it’s me saying it’s lean, not Brangwen. There are four dance writers in the fourth largest city in the US, which results in a lot of dance not being covered. Brangwen’s concern that the recent collaboration between Fly, Chrysalis, and The Houston Met went uncovered resulted in her own report on Quirky Works. "It's important for artists in the dance community to have a forum where they can write about performances they have seen; sometimes I see some really good work by colleagues that didn't get a review. Perhaps it was reviewed, but I have a different angle I'd like to express. If we take an interest in and support each other, that will spread to greater audience development and a more comprehensive dialogue between the community as a whole," states Brangwen. You can read Brangwen’s review of Quirky Works at http://www.houstondance.com/.

Brangwen is the Artistic Director of the Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble and has written theater reviews for the Tomball Sun. Brangwen’s review opens the field for the idea of peer review. Amazon.com has been doing it for years, why not DANCE! Not all dance reviewers have dance backgrounds. Many do, and it’s a unique perspective-to have actually walked the walk so to speak.

When Brangwen is not writing dance reviews she is busy working on her next performance at Barnevelder. The Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble presents a special concert program inspired by FOTOFEST's recent 10th Anniversary Biennial Exhibition and Forum dedicated to the theme of water.

Her new work, Black Rain, with live music by composer Thomas Helton, explores the dark poetry of rain by looking back to the fallout at two Ground Zeros -- Hiroshima, and Lower Manhattan after the 9/11 attacks -- and with a cautionary look into the future under radioactive world leadership.

Performances are at Barnevelder Movement Arts Complex January 29 & 30, 2005, at 8:00 p.m. Saturday and 4:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 General Admission and $10 Student and Senior and can be purchased at the door. Call 713 5333-9515 or go to www.brangwendance.org. Let’s hope another dancer/writer steps up to the plate to cover this event.

Hairspray-An Almost Dansical

I caved into my recent case of the Broadway bug and went to see the last performance of Hairspray at the Hobby. The Broadway bug is like the flu but more expensive. It all started when my kids brought home a Wicked CD. Now I can sing any tune from Rent and it’s not pretty. Back to Hairspray, and what brings a Dancehunter to such an event.

It’s hard to imagine John Water’s involvement in such a family friendly tame production as Hairspray. Didn’t I just hear him on NPR saying he strives to be a negative role model for kids. All that aside, this perky little upbeat Broadway musical aspires to DANSICAL status. Once this baby cranks up it’s non-stop dancing, never mind it’s all about dance. The story, in half a nutshell: Tracy Turnblad lands a coveted place as a dancer on the all-white all-blond Corney Collins Show. She learns her grooves from one savvy mover, Seaweed Stubbs. Then it’s off to sing sing for trying to integrate the show. Tracy’s theory is that dance brings everyone together. Now there’s a concept. Keala Settle as Tracy dances up a thunder storm, never mind she can rock the congregation with her voice. Alan Mingo Jr.’s Seaweed wins the smooth moves award. In the end, Tracy sings (in motion every second), “you can’t stop the beat.” You tell’em Tracy!

Ellen DeGeneres Dancing on TV

I’ve always been excited by dance on television. It’s probably something I should have the professionals check out. Perhaps I was a June Taylor dancer in another life. I don’t know why I love it, but I do. Take, for example, the gap commercials--not bad rip-offs of post modern dance.

For fellow “dance on TV” lovers, there's a new commercial, staring Ellen DeGeneres. I think it’s an American Express commercial, but honestly I was so captivated by Ms. DeGeneres’s dancing I didn’t pay much attention to what she was selling. Her style accentuates her special brand of silliness and comfort in her own skin. There is something downright intoxicating about watching someone dance that doesn’t care what they look like. It makes you want to just jump in and join the party. Just don’t max out your AMEX card.

reView of ABT-SPA

What's a reView? I made it up. For the time being, it's when you get a "view" rather than a review of an entire performance. Let's all agree that Tudor's Pillar of Fire and Balanchine's Mozartina are masterpieces and move on.

I was talking with my father the other day. Naturally, the conversation drifted toward dance. "You know that Kylian fellow, he's not a choreographer, but an architect of space." As a lover of phrases that move, this one was a keeper. I imagine my father was watching a different set of Kylian's works but that's besides the point. As a little visual experiment I decided to let my father's words drift into my imagination while watching the two Kylian works marvelously performed by ABT.

In Petite Mort, the swords chopped up space while those weird lacquered dress/cars really did a number on my spacial perception. When the headless dresses reappeared in Sechs Tanze with the swords sticking out of them I thought I was inside a Magritte painting. Even the puffs of white powder coming off the dancers' wigs occupied space with intention. The back-to-back Kylian pieces seemed an odd choice. I guess it was all about the roving disembodied black dresses. If only my dad lived in Houston. What a rare treat for Houston audiences.

Suchu Dance-Roseburn-Review

This is my third review of suchu dance's Roseburn. I don't want to end up like the Miami critic who plagiarized himself, so I will try to say something fresh about this marvelous new work by Jennifer Wood.

All these years I have wondered what happened to my piano teacher who left my mother's house in a huff after announcing to her that she had never met four such unmusical children in her life. Jennifer Wood seems to be channeling my childhood piano teacher right down to her wardrobe in the character of Madame Olga, the former champion, and now head of the 75th Roseburn International Tableau Contest. Wood's Olga is even stranger than my piano teacher. Wood's accent captures the eastern European flavor from countries that don't seem to exist any longer. Wood spouts wisdom about the loud noise of "perfection's parties" that makes even less sense then what my piano teacher used to say to me to get me to practice. The text, way south of ridiculous, is fabulous.

How wonderful to see Wood back on stage where she belongs adding that touch of strangeness that makes an evening of suchu dance complete. I'd love to see Wood push her weird worlds a little further. She is half way there with Olga.

It seems Olga returns to host this mythical contest and Wood returns to the stage. As for my piano teacher, she, fortunately for the Galeota children and her own sanity, never returned.

Launching Dance Hunter

It all started one day when I found out my son (then age 13) was including tidbits of dance reviews on his livejournal. If he can review dance on his blog, I can certainly try. After all, I actually finished the 8th grade. Over dinner one night I asked him if he thought I could figure out how to "blog." One could hear the "no" from several tables away. Sometimes you just have to prove your children wrong. Still in the baby blogging stage, it will take a while for me to start posting photos. It's tough when my IT department still needs to finish his algebra homework.

Dance Hunter started when I tried to describe to someone what it is that I do. I have been involved in just about every end of dance. What I try to do best is look for signs of motion, everywhere, in my Feldenkrais students, on stage, in schools, in movies.

Dance is disappearing from the mainstream consciousness. Average people cannot name choreographers or other movement pioneers. Sure, there's reasons for this. Movement reminds us that we have a body--a frightening thought to some. Dis-embodiment keeps dance at a distance. It doesn't need to be this way.

I plan to include my own take on reviews, previews, post-views, dance findings, dance facts, somatic news, and reports on the big, largely uncovered, world of movement.

Dance and movement writing is disappearing at an alarming rate. A tiny amount of print is available for dance. A grassroots response is far superior to complaining. I've done my share of whining without tangible results. Blogging seems the way to go.

Dance is out there. Someone needs to go and hunt it down. I have appointed myself to be that person. I really have no idea what I am doing. And, that has stopped me before, but not now. Wish me luck!