Turning Point: Houston Ballet's Shelly Power to judge Prix de Lausanne

Shelly Power

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

The Prix de Lausanne is the Cannes of the ballet world for young dancers. This week, Houston is about to have a major Prix presence as Houston Ballet associate director Shelly Power heads to Switzerland to judge the prestigious international competition. Power attends every year with competing Houston Ballet students, but this is her first year as a judge.

"I'm honored and nervous," says Power. "It's such an important competition. It's also just amazing to be there. The entire city comes alive with the Prix. You see it advertised on buses."

Over the past three decades, the Prix has become internationally renowned and attracts the best young dance students from all over the world. Attending can springboard a student into a professional career with a top ballet troupe.

Think of the Prix like the NFL football draft. Companies come from all over the world to scout new talent and make job offers. Artistic director Stanton Welch regularly offers a Houston Ballet II slot to anyone who places. "This is just a great place to be seen," Power says.

Hundreds of aspiring dancers between the ages of 15-18 send their DVDs with hopes of qualifying. Only 200 are invited to attend, with 80 in round two and just 20 in the finals. A mere six return with honors. Last year Chilean wonder Sebastian Vinbet, then a Houston Ballet II dancer, was one of the lucky six. Vinet is now a promising apprentice in the company. Other Houston Ballet Prix veterans include company members Emily Bowen, Charles-Louis Yoshiyama and Nozomi IIjima. This year, Houston Ballet II members Aaron Sharratt, Emanuel Amachastegui and Liao Xiang will be taking the Prix plunge.

With her chestnut brown hair, tailored suits, and warm but professional style, Power looks more like a bank president than a ballet school director. She brings a background in studio ownership, business, dancer health and wellness along with decades of helping young dancers blossom under her leadership. She and Welch are credited with elevating the Ben Stevenson Academy to international status.

She's no stranger to the international competition world either, and has served as a judge all over the world. Many of the company's international dancers have come to Houston because of Power's contacts. Her talent-spotting track record is spot-on—consider the number of Houston Ballet II and academy students who have risen through the company's ranks.

As for her judging mantra, "I am looking for potential, not perfection, and that little something special," she says. '"I am also watching how they respond in class."

The Prix is unique in the dance competition biz because the judges observe the students in class (ballet and contemporary) and in a classical and contemporary performance. Dancers choose from a short list of classical variations and will perform a contemporary piece by rising-star ballet choreographer Christopher Wheeldon.

"We get to spend a whole week with these students," Powers says. "So they have many chances to impress us."

Unlike American stages, the European stages are raked, and that takes a bit of getting used to. "Dancers are remarkably adaptable," quips Power. When asked what she intends to wear, a look of panic spread across her usually smiling face. "I know I should think about that," she says. "My daughter will be my stylist."

The finals will be streamed live at 3 p.m. Sunday followed by the awards ceremony.

Reprinted from Culturemap.

Jon Lehrer finds enlightenment in dance

LehrerDance

Photo by Mike Canale

Every season the Jewish Community Center selects one nationally known troupe to feature during Dance Month. This year it's LehrerDance, a spunky touring company known for its fearless dancers, snappy choreography and headstrong leader. The troupe performs in Houston this weekend.

Founder and artistic director Jon Lehrer has led a charmed dance life. After starting dance late in life in college, he caught up at lightening speed, and enjoyed stints at the Erick Hawkins Dance Company and Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, where he rose to be associate director. Now he heads up LehrerDance, based in Buffalo, NY, where he has a special partnership with The University of Buffalo.

There's been no shortage of fanfare for this busy troupe, which spends about half the year touring. A cover story in Dance Teacher, a Dance Matters interview in Dance Magazine, and consistently strong reviews position Lehrer on the national dance map. He bring us into the world behind the buzz.

Q: I know you are famous in the dance world but this is Texas, and forgive us, we don't know your work here. How would you describe your aesthetic?

A: Organic Athleticism. Expect to see dancers doing feats of strength and beauty. Blending jazz and modern is my signature.

Q: I've had the opportunity to watch your company class and I find myself amazed by how far you stretch movement. Bodies look so elastic in your hands. You are just a beast for flow.

A: I will be a "beast for flow" any day. There are no straight lines in the human body, in nature for that fact. We think arcs, circles and spirals and try to get through a whole day without ever using the word "line."

Q: What did you take away from working and dancing around the legendary jazz pioneer Gus Giordano?

A: The importance of accessibility. You don't need to know a thing about dance to enjoy a LehrerDance show. Gus also stressed classicism, and we train that way. In class we are pure, while in choreography we can be as stylistic as we want to be.

Q. Your company is not for the faint of flying, jumping and falling. Sometimes I find myself gasping when I watch your dances. Where do your risk-taking dance habits come from?

A. I grew up poor in a tough neighborhood of Queens, NY. We made up games with stuff we found on the street. Jumping off fences, running through traffic, and other dangerous acts kept us amused. Risk taking was part of how we had fun. We didn't have a lot of traditional toys so we had to be physical, which, as you mention, is now a huge part of my work. Gasping is good. We want to excite you.

Q. I understand we will see a snippet of your rock opera in the works, An American Siddhartha: The Way Within. What brought you to Hermann Hesse's classic mystical tale? Seems a bit out of the jazz/modern realm.

A. I was searching for a subject for a rock opera and a friend gave me a copy of this book. I never read it in high school like everyone else. Siddhartha goes on a journey, literally walking the earth, trying to find himself. Dancing is about finding a new part of myself that I had not previously known about. Siddhartha is naked for much of his story and any artist can you tell that's exactly the way they feel. Starting Lehrer dance was like Siddhartha crossing the river. Hopefully, one day I will also sit under the tree of enlightenment.

Reprinted from Culturemap.

Review: The Voyeur

Clare Dyson
photography by�Rachael Parsons

Company Clare Dyson
DiverseWorks Arts Space
January 23, 2010


It feels a little odd to be reviewing The Voyeur, performed by Company Clare Dyson because I had a hand in choosing how I watched the piece. I fully disclose that subjectivity turns in on itself here, and this is as much a review of my own ability to watch as it is their concept.

Let me set the scene. When the audience arrived at DiverseWorks last weekend, they found the seats covered with plastic and a gigantic cardboard box with various size peepholes on stage. Inside the box sit Dyson and Jonathan Sinatra, along with a record player, some records, and other items you might find in a room. Usually the audience is in captivity; here, the performers are the ones in the cage. Headphones labeled "Clare's text" or "Jonathan's text," which consisted of an hour-long recording of various personal and somewhat confessional secrets supplied by Dyson and Sinatra, hang on the wall. Monoculars are also available for closer inspection. The audience selects how and where they watch and listen. They can also see others watching from across the box. So, as you watch the dance unfold, it's framed against a sea of face fragments and eyeballs. Many were faces and sets of eyes I recognized which added to the feeling of audience as an instant community. Dyson speaks to the history of this piece in her Dance Source Houston interview.

Not only do you choose the size of the peep hole, but how you wish to frame what you see. So by moving your body, you re-position what you see. I found myself drawn to the tiniest of square holes, just big enough for one eye. Sometimes I remained still and let things move in and out of my vision. The light changes often, giving more possibilities for framing. I made dark and moody Johan Vermeer-like paintings with Sinatra sitting motionless in the dark with his back at the edge of the frame.

Dyson and Sinatra carry out a mix of dancing and ritual-like tasks inside the box, from writing on their own skin, to a tender scene where she washes his hair. There's a juicy passion fruit eating scene performed with a kind sexy glee by Dyson. They put on records and rock out here and there too. At times they do very little, in a way, asking us to do more.

With a full house, I often had to wait for a pair of headphones. Sometimes I just found myself watching another person listening, carefully watching facial expressions change depending on what they were seeing and hearing. Here, I assumed the role of the voyeur of another voyeur. Easedropping is yet another job of the voyeur.

If you get close enough to the box's walls, you can hear the secrets as a kind of whispered blanket of sound. It's like a box with a past.

When I grew fatigued from peeping, I just walked around the perimeter of the box, Once, I stopped to gaze at the box with all these people stuck to it like barnacles. It's weird and a bit lovely too, as light comes through the areas not blocked by bodies. There could have very well been a person behind me, watching me watch the group watch, and we could end up in a little M. C. Escher loop. It occurred to me that the Dysons consider that very scenario part of the piece.

Mark Dyson's lighting makes a strong presence throughout, changing the environment enough to keep refreshing our vision. Light changes abruptly at times, and we have to reconfigure our viewing. There's a marvelous section near the end, where Sinatra seems to pause to acknowledge the lookers, as if to say, "Oh, you are here, and I see you too." It's a poignant moment. Just about then, the lighting shifts to glimmering little boxes of light, as if to throw a nod to all of us watchers. Regardless of what we believe, we are always just looking through the peephole of our minds' constructs. I wrote more about this in my Culturemap piece. With portals as passage, audience as active and seeing as an art in of itself the Dysons point towards an included watcher. And why not, we bring something to everything we see, The Voyeur gives the audience a seat at the table.

Better Brain, New Body

Do you lose your keys now and then? Afraid of the ever-increasing senior moments, where you walk into a room and forget why you are there? I started getting those in my teens. My mother would ask me to go down to the basement to get some potatoes, and I would come back two hours later, usually without the potatoes. Do you know that expression, “You would lose your head if it weren’t attached to your body?” My mother testifies that she said it first.

Now that I am a 54 year-old space cadet, I’ve noticed that’s there a growing number of brain fitness programs to come to the rescue. But really, how does the brain get fit anyway? It’s not that different than arm flab, folks. It’s a use it or lose it situation. But it’s the “how” to use it that brain researchers are are honing in on. Spending all day doing crossword puzzles is fine and dandy. You may, in fact, get very good at crossword puzzles; however, we don’t see the same brain action as in learning a new dance step. Apparently, the brain needs a little movement to sharpen itself. But, keep in mind, mindlessly running on a treadmill is not the equivalent of learning a new movement either. Our brain needs challenges, something new; it’s an organ that thrives on novelty. New connections in the brain are most easily established through learning movement, so a dance class, a new swim stroke, or even taking a walk down a different hiking path could forge new pathways in the brain.

MaryBeth Smith, a certified teacher of the Feldenkrais Method and the director and founder of the Feldenkrais Center of Houston, has been helping people increase their neural pathways for the past decade through gentle movement classes called Awareness Through Movement (ATM) and one-on-one sessions called Functional Integration. Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, a mechanical engineer and physicist, first identified that movement was the key to improving the nervous system.

While lying in a quiet room on a soft mat, Smith leads her students through a gentle sequence of movements designed to improve a particular function such as reaching, bending or twisting. The trick is that she throws in some weird moves too, such as the eyes moving one way and the knees going another. “Novelty doesn’t have to mean high risk,” says Smith. “You don’t have to be doing the most demanding yoga class to get the mental benefits.” The movements may be easy to do, but they are often complex and involve a little figuring it out time. The movement sometimes feels strange and awkward; you actually feel the dust flying off those rusty brain gears. Afterwards, you feel taller, lighter and more mentally sharp. It seems our smarts are inexorably linked to our bodies. “We seem to accept that our brain can direct our bodies, but communication goes both ways,” says Smith. “Our body can change our brain too.”

Ericka Simpson MD, a neurologist at the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston, helps us understand connection between movement and the brain. “Movement activates more your brain at once because it involves spatial intelligence, coordination, strength, visual perception, emotion and joy all at once,” says Simpson. “It forces us to make stronger connections. We call it synaptic density.” Not all movement has that property. “Tapping on my desk is not the equivalent of taking of salsa class, which forces me to learn something new,” she adds. Simpson compares making new neural pathways to road building; with new movements, we go from a foot path, to a dirt road to a busy highway.

The new buzz word in the field is neuroplasticity, which is a fancy way of saying that we can continue to get smarter well into old age. Recent research suggests that even 90 year-olds can increase their vocabulary. Remember that Verdi composed Falstaff at the ripe old age of 79. So take up that tango lesson, drive a different way home from work or try one of Smith’s Feldenkrais classes. “Engage in a lifestyle where you challenge yourself, do things that make your brain work,” advises Simpson. “And don’t worry about being good at it. Novelty is indeed the key to an active brain.”As for forgetfulness, apparently a touch of it is normal, but if you happen to find my keys, will you call me?

For more information on the Feldenkrais Center of Houston, visit Houfeldenkrais.com.

Reprinted from Absolutely in the Loop.

Review: HGO Elixir of Love

_{Ektarina Slurina (Adina) HGO Chorus. Photo: Felix Sanchez.}

Attention sensitive men of questionable self esteem, sometimes you get the
girl, and if you are lucky, the money too. So it goes in Gaetano Donizetti's
*The Elixir of Love*, a beloved “Melodramma giocoso.” Although Donizetti's
prolific tendencies were legendary, we only know a handful of his operas.
It's no wonder *Elixir* survived, it's short, sweet, chock full of colorful
characters and includes one killer tenor tune that tears at your
heartstrings just when you are least expecting. Houston Grand Opera opened
their season with a rousing *Elixir*, packed with enough star power, charm,
and soaring voices to get any opera lover on board for the treats that await
them throughout the year.


The tale of Nemorino's undying love for the learned Adina contains just
enough of a plot to get us rooting for the smitten underdog. Even when the
narcissistic Belacore woos her with his good looks and spiffy uniform, Adina
can't quite get the heart-on-his-sleeve little guy out of her mind. Enter
the con man, Dr. Dulcamara with his potion for love, and the usual hilarity
ensues. And for added intrigue, Nemorino inherits a boatload of cash from
his uncle.


The cast—all terrific-- are particularly gifted in the comic timing
category, a necessary component for any *Elixir.* John Osborn, in his HGO
debut, bestows the smitten Nemorino with the right dose of bumbling
humbleness, then pulls out all the stops for the famous aria, “Una furtiva
lagrima” (a furtive tear). Osborn digs deep here, looking inward, and
finding the heart and soul of this otherwise rompish opera. Russian soprano
Ekaterina Siurina also makes a stunning HGO debut as Adina, bestowing the
smart, land-owning girl with the confidence and bright sound necessary to
pull off a believable change of heart. HGO studio alumnus Liam Bonner is all
swagger as Belcore, the irresistible man in uniform. Bonner's commanding
vocals and presence make a perfect fit for the self-obsessed soldier.
Renowned Italian bass-baritone Allessandro Corbelli delivers a zesty and
virtuositic performance as the quack conman doctor. Charles Gamble lends
considerable talents in psychical theater as Dr. Dulcamara's assistant,
ramping up the hilarity. Catherine Martin's Gianetta is rich with charm and
substance as well.

Annabel Arden directs with robust pace and an eye for physical comedy. Lez
Brotherston sets his *Elixir* on what looks like a 1950s film set in an
undisclosed quaint Italian village. Giuseppe di Iorio's lighting adds to the
overall “stage within a stage” effect.

Richard Bado, HGO's chorus master, and conductor Edoardo Muller contribute
to the evening's sparkling polish. The curtain goes down on this bel canto
treasure with a shower of pink confetti in a pitch perfect season opener. So
let the meek survive, thrive and party on.

Reprinted from CultureVulture.

Review: HGO Lohengrin

_{Simon O'Neill (Lohengrin) and Adrianne Pieczonka (Elsa) in Wagner's Lohengrin
Credit: Courtesy of Houston Grand Opera; Photo by Felix Sanchez}

What is it about do-gooders who want to remain anonymous? Whether it's the Lone Ranger, Spiderman, or Lohengrin, the greatest rescuer in all of the operatic canon, they wish to blow into town, fix things, fall in love with the damsel, and remain nameless. After a long break, Houston Grand Opera marks a return to German opera with their dazzling production of Richard Wagner's Lohengrin, a co-production with Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Wagner's tale of redemption involves a wrongly accused Elsa of Brabant, who is rescued by a messenger from the Holy Grail, who agrees to marry her providing she never ask his name and country of origin. Elsa crumbles during her marriage night, asks the question which Lohengrin must respond to, sending him back to his father Parsifal and Holy Grail duty. Somewhere in the middle, the jealous Ortrud and her husband Friedrich of Telramund cause a whole lot of trouble for the otherwise happy couple.

New Zealand tenor Simon O'Neill makes an impressive HGO debut in this role. He's full of the right amount of stranger swagger, and has full command Wagner's nuances. American Soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, also making her HGO debut, is a portrait of innocence and purity as Elsa of Brabant. Her bright sound and convincing acting combine to create a seamless performance. Soprano Christine Goerke endows the wicked Ortrud with a devilish glee. She galvanizes our attention with her powerful sound and presence. Gunther Groissbock bestows King Heinrich with a noble grace, while HGO Studio alumnus Richard Paul Fink delivers a lively performance as the scheming Friedrich of Telramund.


Downplaying the religious dichotomy between Christianity and paganism, director Daniel Slater sets his opera during the 1950s, in an unnamed Eastern European country undergoing considerable political strife. Set and costume designer Robert Innes Hopkins places the opera inside a rather utilitarian library, where ransacked shelves are half empty. Is this a fascist state where all the books are banned? Sure, it's a little odd to have this medieval story unfolding while the women are dressed like Jackie O, but it's also intriguing in a strange way. Why not re-imagine Wagner? Who needs to see that white swan anyway, it's in the music and libretto.

Despite the somewhat controversial setting, it's the music that reached sublime heights. Conductor Patrick Summers stirs an ocean of sound in a triumphant performance by the expanded HGO Orchestra, marking their first-ever Wagner. The on-stage trumpeters also deserve special recognition. Equally impressive are the members of the HGO chorus, under the direction of Richard Bado. HGO proved, without a doubt, that they are on solid ground to launch their much-awaited return to German opera.

Reprinted from Culturevulture.

A Princely Chat with Peter Franc

Peter Franc in Stanton Welch's TuTu

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

Houston Ballet demi soloist Peter Franc finally gets his night as the Prince in The Nutcracker. Franc been been steadily moving forward and will also be dancing up a storm in the upcoming Jubilee of Dance: 40^th Anniversary Celebration. Franc fills us on what’s on his dancing plate.

Houston ArtsWeek: Tell us about the prince. Why is this such a rite of passage role?

Peter Franc: He’s such a prince! It’s fun and challenging because there are so many different levels to the part. It’s a dynamic role that requires a great deal of control. I also get to add to the character to make it my own.

HA: What about your partners?

PF: Well I have three girls to take care of as the Prince: Clara, Snow Queen, and Sugar Plum Fairy. With Clara, I am mostly an escort, but I dance quite a bit with Snow and Sugar Plum.

HA: Elise Judson, your Sugar Plum, is also making her debut in the role.

PF: We have great chemistry because we both have been trained in the Academy, are eager to do well, and have strong work ethics. Plus, we are the perfect size for each other. She’s just a lovely dancer too.

HA: You are also in intense rehearsals for the annual “Jubilee of Dance.” What will we see you dancing that evening?

PF: I will be doing the “Blue Couple” in the finale of Stanton’s Tu Tu. It’s all big jumps and partnering. I have a solo in Stanton’s world premiere, 40. I start off the men’s section. I love the music, it’s Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol Op. 34.

HA: Last season you turned heads in Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun. What did that role mean to your career?

PF: I was so privileged to dance Faun. It’s such an iconic ballet, so smart, and there are so many details that make the piece work. Also, I got to dance with Mimi (Mireille Hassenboehler). It has to be my favorite moment in my career so far.

HA: You also got a chance to dance Louis XVI in Marie.

PF: Yes, with Sara Webb too. It was a huge opportunity for me. Last year was a good year for me.

HA: What are you looking forward to dancing in 2010?

PF: La Bayadere, Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free, Christopher Bruce’s Hush and Balanchine’s Apollo. I love all those pieces.

HA: Any last thoughts on your adventures in prince land?

PF: Well my mom and other family members are coming. It’s my biggest role yet and I hope to do it well. We have a very high standard here at Houston Ballet. I can’t wait.

Reprinted from Houston ArtsWeek.

Review: Replica

_{Photo: Michael Hart}

Space is ripe with drama in Jonah Bokaer's Replica, recently presented as part of the RE: NEW RE: PLAY residency series at the New Museum in New York. Replica examines duality, the power of two, suggesting the mythic tension of the opposites. Coupling and uncoupling, joining and parting, edges between bodies, surfaces, and projected images appear and fuse, creating generative new forms. With space comes time, and there's that too, in an evocation of memory, the pull of the past and the push of the future.

In Replica, choreographer and media artist Bokaer collaborates with visual artist Daniel Arsham, choreographer and performer Judith Sánchez Ruíz, composer ARP/Alexis Georgopoulos and video editor Nicoletta Massignani.

Replica features a white cube-like structure with visible fissures designed by Arsham, who also performs in the piece. A fractured, angled set of white walls sets up a tension that becomes a central thread throughout. Bokaer is joined by Ruíz in another potent pairing. To say they finish each other's movement sentences would be an understatement; their duet passages speak to a call and response rhythm—a bodily listening that brings with it an uncanny intimacy. What makes this pairing so curious is that it straddles a fine line between a sensual and functional union. They seem to be answering each other's kinetic questions with an earthbound chemistry. Both move with a refined quality of efficiency and understated elegance. Ruíz, stunning in her solo sections, assumes the role of Bokaer's double and a separate presence. She plays with the lightness of a curve amidst a sea of lines in these luminous passages. Bokaer, also a marvel to watch, dances with an accuracy that doesn't disturb an extra space molecule. He's like one of those Olympic divers who enters the water with the least amount of splash.

Visually, the piece offers much for the viewer to decipher, from Rorschach projections to intricate partnering, to the dismantling of space itself. Bokaer possesses an eye for scale, carefully considering the larger container of the work. Visual ideas are so well framed that a delicate intimacy develops as the piece builds to its final resolution. As with most of Bokaer's work, seamless transitions between film and live performance render a completeness rare for media-based work. For a piece so full of action and image, it's surprisingly uncluttered.

In Replica's lighter moments, Arsham dislodges the cracks in his structure, dropping chunks of wall and creating a cavernous hole in his cube. The wall scraps, possibly pointing to our fondness for making memory concrete, lie strewn on the floor. True, the past is a crumbling thing. The hole beckons, like a vortex, eventually luring Bokaer and Ruíz through its tempting portal.

Reprinted from Culturevulture.

Vitamin F: Friends are Good for your Health

I always get a boost from spending time with my friends. We enjoy high and low brow chick flickery, theater and wine bar trolling. We laugh, cry, sometimes yell (OK, mostly I do that) and have gone through triumphs, such as the publication of a new novel and the heartbreak of a parent's death. We are our own support group for the grief and joy of the empty nest. I usually leave feeling upbeat and ready to conquer the next challenge. Apparently, I am not alone in this experience because numerous studies report a health boon from spending time with friends. The term “friends with benefits” has new meaning here, benefits like a longer life, a snappier brain, quicker healing from disease and a sense of well-being.

In a study of older individuals published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, researchers found that time with friends significantly delays mortality. The conclusion, “survival time is enhanced by strong social networks,” is enough to make anyone pick up the phone for a impromptu health boosting get together. We need only look at what happened after Katrina to know how important deeply embedded social ties are in creating viable communities. Yet, time with family members, including spouses and children, does not have the same effect; sorry sis! I suspect that's because our friends actually choose to hang around us, where our siblings and family are basically stuck.

Friends not only help us live longer, but keep the old gray matter in top shape too, says a study conducted by Harvard School of Public Health. I can relate. It seems I am attracted to people who are always trying new things; I learn and expand by association. The conclusion, that social integration protects against memory loss and other cognitive disorders later in life, is just one more reason to get more friend friendly.

Before we get carried away; another study published in the New England Journal of Medicine says you have a 60% chance of becoming obese if your friends are overweight. Does that mean, if I gain weight, I am obliged to tell my friends that I have out on a few before our next coffee date?

Rita Justice, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist specializing in the mind body problem, finds nothing surprising about these studies' findings. “People are wired to form connections with other people, we actually feel pain when we are lonely,” says Justice. “Social connectivity played an evolutionary role, we would not have survived without people around us.” However Justice believes that there's more to it than just having a gaggle of friends around us. “Some of us get our battery charged from people, while others are depleted,” she says. “We have level of vulnerability on just how much closeness we need. It depends on our genes and our family history.” Since I grew up in a big Italian family, it's no wonder I prefer a good size crowd while my Swedish Lutheran husband is happy enjoying the company of one or two not-so-noisy people. Never-the-less, both groups have some need for social connection. “Loneliness is bad for your health,” Justice insists. “Studies show elevated stress hormones from spending too much time alone.”

Justice has some concerns about the erosion of true friendship. “A lot of people have superficial connections, and fewer real friends,” she says. “In our parent's generation, true friends were more the norm. Today, people have a harder time being real.”

So what about our virtual friends on Facebook? Do they fall into the category of superficial friends? According to Wendy Parslow-Helton, Professor of Psychology at Lone Star College System, social networking resources make it incredibly easy and convenient to stay connected to friends we've made in the real world. “The resources of the past—long distance calling and letters—were not conducive to frequent contact with close friends who live far away,” says Parslow-Helton. “With Facebook, I can stay connected to people I no longer work with or live near whose friendship I value.” Is it possible that I gain health benefits from knowing that Sandy is baking a pomegranate tart, Troy is cruising through Istanbul and Mandy woke up angry at the world? “The format of FB makes it easy to talk about everyday minutiae, almost as if I still worked with or lived near these friends,” says Parslow-Helton. “It's as if we are still talking around the watercooler or on the front porch like we used to. It would not surprise me if people who regularly have contact on FB with their close friends might get even more of a health benefit, both mentally and physically.”

As the original model for chatty Cathy, I enjoy knowing what a cross section of my friends are up to every single moment. If I happen to run into Sandy later that week, I just might ask her for that tart recipe. And maybe it's just full of antioxidants. So there you have it, we actually do get by with a little help from our friends. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go cook dinner for my 1,123 FB friends.

Good Friends ...

Return phone calls

or emails, text messages and smoke signals; we tend to actually hear from tried and true friends.

Listen more than broadcast.

Yes, I do want to know that you got a grant, an award or whatever other achievement is on the tip of your tongue, but maybe after some real conversation.

Up the fun

Sharing a movie, a new wine or a book is often more fun with your best buds.

Show up

Weddings, funerals, poetry readings and award ceremonies, you gotta be there! Garage sales, you can miss.

Reel you in

Spinning out of control? You should be able to rely on your buds to bring you back to the matter at hand.

Keep opening your mind to new ideas

So your best bud is raising chickens, there is a great learning opportunity here.

Share values

You may not agree on everything, but you often share core beliefs.

Let you vent when you need to

We all need to rant, kvetch, whine and complain, it’s better to do with friends than strangers.

Give you a break when you get a flake attack

We all get Cs in budship at times; bute everyone deserves the occasional get out of jail free pass.

Real friends don't just hang around with you because it's good for their health!

Suggested reading:

Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by Dr. John T. Cacioppo

Visit HealthLeader.UTHouston.edu to read more on Rita and Blair Justice’s work

Reprinted from Absolutely in the Loop.

Jane Weiner on Village of Waltz

Photo by Simon Gentry

Jane Weiner, artistic director of Hope Stone Dance and Hope Center, unveils her newest opus, Village of Waltz, at Cullen Theater Friday and Saturday. Weiner developed her dancing chops with Doug Elkin's company in New York, but began to choreograph here in Houston, where she has lived for the past 13 years. Weiner opens the gates of the Village below.

29-95: What is a “Village of Waltz?”

Jane Weiner: It's an idealistic cockeyed optimist's dream of what I wish the world would be.

29-95: What we would find there?

JW: Everybody is accepted at a gut level. We all have to make compromises to get along, but that doesn't mean we have to change who we are inside, what we believe in and our goals and aspirations.

29-95: How do you do that through dance?

JW: That's the hard part. As a choreographer it always seems so crystal clear. What's clear to me may not be clear to the audience. I want to give room for each person's interpretation. If they don't get my story but develop their own, who is to say I am right and they are wrong.

29-95: What was your choreographic challenge in creating the piece?

JW: I am using all live music (composed by Peter Jones), and that scared me.

29-95: Why?

JW: I am very structured girl, and as I get older I get more structured. What if I didn't like what Peter, created or it didn't work. What if it didn't' come together?

29-95: Obviously it did come together. Jones' music is pretty, lush and very repetitive. Was that ever a concern?

JW: The repetition gives room for the dance to come forward. The piece has a cyclical theme. It's very circular, so he brought that idea into his music.

29-95: The photos of the show depict people flitting about in fields and meadows. They are lovely, but look a bit like an allergy medication ad. What were you trying to convey?

JW: Ha! Are your allergies acting up? I got a strong visual for the start from the 1997 Dutch film, Antonia's Line. When I grow up, I want to be Antonia.

29-95: Why?

JW: She's unconditional. She looks at you and sees that you are Nancy and sees me as Jane.

29-95: You are in your 40s. Aren't you there yet?

JW: Did you have burst my bubble today? I am always working on it. I would like to evolve into that kind of person.

29-95: Usually your stages are filled with stuff, like thousands of shoe boxes, TV sets, or bags of flour. What has David Graeve, your set designer, cooked up this time?

JW: It's a little more minimal. I didn't want to collect a gazillion things this year. It's warm furniture, picture and window frames. There's a notion of creating safety and belonging.

29-95: Let's talk about the dancers. It looks like a mix of old timers and new recruits.

JW: It's so great right now. I love my company, but they are dispersing all over the place right after the show. I feel like the coach of the senior football team. We are winning every game, but they are going off to college. We also have had lots of news, a new pregnancy, a baby and one dancer that ran off to join the circus.

29-95: How do you reconcile your various philanthropic causes (Pink Ribbons Project and Kid's Play for at-risk youth) and your creative life?

JW: We distributed 700 free tickets to kids in Houston's schools to see the show. We are also expanding Kid's Play to New Orleans. I think of Hope Center itself as a village.

Reprinted from 29-95.c0m.