Their piece involves a choppy video from the 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet starring Richard Burton. The actors not only attempt to recreate the movement of the performers from the Burton video, they also attempt to recreate the skipping video and variable camera angles. Although it takes some time for the audience to get used to the frenetic style, the power of the play comes thru and the movement helps highlight and accentuate feelings and speech that might otherwise be missed. If you love Shakespeare and enjoy the challenge of contemporary art, this performance will astound you!

He starts the piece with slow and measured steps to show some of the more basic moves that are common to step dancing. He does this with bare feet so that the audience is focused more on his legs than the tap of the shoe. His dexterity is flawless. He also performs many different dances that change in mood and style to keep the show moving from segment to segment. The show is an extraordinary display of his craft as well as a curious journey both through the history of the dance style as well as his personal story.

After about 5 songs she introduces us to the multi-talented Hermanos Macana, two brothers who give an unforgettable performance of traditional, man-to-man Argentinean Tango. Their skilled dance moves amazed the crowd and the humor that they interject throughout the performance leaves the crowd falling in love with them. If you get a chance to just see one performance at this years Festival, consider this one as it will be something you won’t soon forget.

I kept thinking that it would be great to have a comfortable chair in front of the work with no one else in the room and let the art and sounds lull me into a space of deep thought. I was totally surprised by how the work of the new emerging artist is helping to redefine what we think of as art. A perfect blend of motion and minimalism.

Check out the Zimoun video on our YouTube channel.

Their musical style spanned a wide spectrum of songs from pop to jazz to progressive rock. Most of the songs were extremely danceable, and the gala attendees obliged, creating a parade of musicians and dancers. At times their music would slow down as they would perform slower jazz pieces, but this was an opportunity to hear their musical sophistication. One of their closing pieces was a Frank Zappa song under the statue of David.

The musicians all have diverse and accomplished backgrounds performing worldwide with other musical acts. Their jazz, new music, classical and folk influences all come together to form the most innovative marching there ever was.

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.”

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.