Video Interview About Soledad Villamil
October 5th, 2011Video Interview about Doug Elkins’ “Fräulein Maria”
September 28th, 2011Video Interview About Colin Dunne
September 20th, 2011Check out the interview with Dwight Currie from the Ringling Museum about Colin Dunne.
The Dance of The Sound of Music
September 15th, 2011
Yes – those hills really are alive! In the indescribably wondrous performance of Doug Elkins & Friends’ Fräulein Maria, the Swiss Alps are really a graceful, moving wall of dancers covered in colorful fabric. It’s just one example of the magnificently and continuously evolving magic in this inventive choreographic interpretation of “The Sound of Music.”
First performed at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater in New York City, Fräulein Maria was created by Doug Elkins after he had repeatedly watched the classic film with his children. His playful staging follows the familiar story, but in a whirlwind of choreographic twists (using the original cast soundtrack), a pop-icon movie is transformed into an artful and irresistible celebration of pop culture.
Doug Elkins did not start as a musical theater choreographer – far from it. He began his career as a “B-boy,” break dancing with a New York City dance group that traveled and performed worldwide. Elkins then formed his own dance company, which has toured internationallly for 15 years, earning him of a roster of awards and commissions that includes the prestigious BESSIE AWARD (New York Dance and Performance Awards, awarded annually for innovative achievement in dance and related performances) for Fräulein Maria.
Elkins earned an MFA in Dance from Hollins University/ADF in 2007. He currently teaches at The Beacon School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. His permanent status there is the subject of “Where the Dance Is,” a short film by Marta Renzi.
Roslyn Sulcas of the New York Times raves, “Fräulein Maria is a work of art encompassing everything that is brilliant about Mr. Elkins’s choreography: his skillful craftsmanship; his musicality and timing; the effortless melding of every kind of dance technique you can think of, mediated by his own inimitable, highly coordinated physical style. Elkins and his company have re-imagined a familiar show, making what was once familiar new and exciting into a wondrous celebration.”
Riaf 360° Rounds out Programming for the Ringling International Arts Festival
August 30th, 2011Sarasota, FL —Aug. 29, 2011 — With Opening Night still almost two months away, sales for the upcoming Ringling International Arts Festival have prompted organizers to increase the array of the festival programming with RIAF 360º – “everything before, after, during, and all around RIAF 2011.”
The Ringling International Arts Festival, launched in 2009 and now known popularly as RIAF, is presented by The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the Baryshnikov Arts Center of New York. From October 11-16, the theaters, galleries, and grounds of the Ringling Center for the Arts in Sarasota are the setting for six days of music, theater, dance, art exhibitions and more. The powerful combination of relatively brief programs (most performances last 60 minutes or less) and affordable pricing (tickets start at just $20) is credited by many as the cause for the new festivals early success.
“We still have hundreds of great seats,” said Dwight Currie, Festival Director, “but tickets are going fast. In the past month, we have seen a jump in ticket buying for all eight core productions, but every seat in these theaters is a good seat.”
With the anticipation that festival stage productions will be sold out, organizers have in turn increased ancillary programming and reduced museum admission prices so that more people can experience RIAF 2011. Oct. 12 through Oct. 16, admission to all the venues of the Ringling Museum is only $10 for adults and $5 for children 5-16. The ticket includes the RIAF 360º Experience of exhibitions, performances, forums and tours that occur before, during, and after the stage productions.
For RIAF 2011, the 360° offers a showcase exhibition of the mechanized kinetic sculptures of Swiss artist Zimoun, the Festival Forum with the Ringling Museum’s new Executive Director Steven High moderating two panels of arts professionals about the rewards and risks of creating, producing, and presenting contemporary visual and performance art; Jazz Sunsets on the Bay presented by the Jazz Club of Sarasota; Ringling Legacy/ RinglingVision a special estate tour celebrating the 100th anniversary of John and Mable Ringling’s arrival in Sarasota, and Sculpting Sound / Sculpting Light a lively and interactive exploration of kinetic sculpture and dance in the Courtyard of the Museum of Art.
“We wanted to make RIAF and the 360º Experience accessible and affordable for practically anyone,” said Currie. “For as little as $10 festival patrons can experience the electric atmosphere, and excitement of this festival.”
The Ringling International Arts Festival is part of the Ringling Museum’s Art of Our Time initiative and its renewed commitment to modern and contemporary art, encompassing performing and visual art. To purchase tickets, contact The Historic Asolo Theater Box Office at 941.360.7399 or visit www.ringlingartsfestival.org.
General Admission includes the Ringling Museum of Art, special exhibitions, Ca d’Zan Mansion, Circus Museum, and Mable’s historic Rose Garden, all on 66 acres of lushly landscaped grounds. Adults are $25; senior citizens (65 and over) are $20; children ages 6-17 are $10. Free Admission for children 5 and under accompanied by an adult, museum members. Advance tickets are available by calling 941.358.3180. Visit www.ringling.org for more information.
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Florida State University, is one of the largest museum/university complexes in the nation. It preserves the legacy of John and Mable Ringling, educating and enabling a large and diverse audience to experience and take delight in a world-renowned collection of fine art; Cà d’Zan, the Ringling historic mansion; the Circus Museum; the Original Asolo Theater; and historic architecture, courtyard, gardens and grounds overlooking Sarasota Bay.
VIDEO: Company Stefanie Batten Bland Coming to RIAF 2011
August 26th, 2011Company SBB provides an awe-inspiring lesson for the eye in modern movement. Stefanie Batten Bland’s choreography will wow your eyes and confuse your brain in a wonderful way.
ENTER WEEKLY TO WIN
August 25th, 2011Enter weekly for a chance to win…
**Grand Prize: (total value $1,000)**
- 2 Night Hotel Stay
- 2 Tickets to Opening Night
- 6 Pairs of Tickets to Shows
- $50 Gift Certificate to Treviso
- 2 RIAF 360° Passes
*And Weekly Prizes*:
- Two Tickets to one of the many shows at RIAF!
(Each entry enters you in for the Grand Prize)
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See Stefanie Batten Bland’s Choreography in Action
August 24th, 2011
See Stefanie Batten Bland’s choreography in action on the Ringling International Arts Festival’s YouTube channel
The hit dance competition show So You Think You Can Dance? features some of the best dancers from across the country. So what does it take to be a choreographer who teaches these phenomenal talents? Just ask Stefanie Batten Bland, guest choreographer for So You Think You Can Dance- Poland.
As a native New Yorker, young Stefanie began dancing at the age of four and has been making headlines ever since. After appearing on an episode of the TV show Dance Fever at age six, Stefanie moved to L.A. with her parents, graduated from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and launched a successful early dance career. She has been a soloist for Lar Lubovitch Dance in Chicago, danced for several companies in Germany and Switzerland and served as assistant choreographer to Georges Momoye.
Her dance career has taken her across Europe, Asia and the United States. Her choreography has been included in luxury galas for Louis Vuitton and ads for Guerlain perfumes and Arpels jewelry, and her innovative projects have earned her recognition at choreography competitions, film and dance festivals in Greece, Germany and across the United States.
Stefanie is a choreographer on the move. In 2008, she founded the French and American bi-coastal contemporary dance company, Company Stefanie Batten Bland (CSBB), to fuse her dance heritage with multi-media collaborations.
“We are bridge builders who illustrate the synergy of American ardor and European subtlety,” said Stefanie in a March 2011 interview with the blog Hello I Am Dancer.
In her most recent piece, Terra Firma, Stefanie creates movements about “immigration—the search for solid ground” across bodies of water. In an interview with Kickstart, Stefanie said that the inspiration for the piece came from a conversation she had with Baryshnikov about her choreography dreams.
“I told him I would like to explore boat travel, migration, and people. Since he’s an immigrant, and well, I have also immigrated to three countries (France, Germany, and Switzerland), he was excited and wanted to hear more.”
There are no sharp points in Stefanie’s Terra Firma choreography, but rather one fluid line moving throughout the piece, a force that carries both dancers and audience on a journey of hope, yearning, and ultimately, belonging.
“You have to stay true to who you are as a person, appreciate all that has come before and celebrate it in the now,” advises Stefanie. “Accept the accidents as great opportunities to explore, even when they occur on stage. Breathe in and smile.”
Experience the fluidity of Terra Firma in The Historic Asolo Theater Wednesday, Oct, 12, Friday, Oct. 14, Saturday, Oct. 15 and Sunday, Oct. 16.
