A Winning Choreographer Gives the Campus a Whirl
by KARIN LIPSON for the New York Times
published: April 8, 2007

The work, called “Studies With Mask,” has been a collaboration between teacher — she prefers the term “provocateur” — and students ranging from freshmen to seniors.

...

This has been a challenging undertaking for the 62-year-old artist, who gained fame with her seminal 1984 production, “The Garden of Earthly Delights” (based on the fantastical Hieronymus Bosch altarpiece), which sent performers flying, tumbling and spinning through the air. She has won multiple awards, including an Obie (for “Vienna: Lusthaus” in 1986) and a 1990 MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant.

But Ms. Clarke had never worked with liberal arts undergraduates before this semester.

How They Boogalooed It!
by DEBORAH JOWITT for the Village Voice
published: April 10, 2007

The version of Deuce Coupe that William Whitener set for the Juilliard students’ spring concert couldn't be expected to have quite that impact. For one thing, it’s a version Tharp revised for Joffrey dancers alone, in order to make it practical for touring. The graffiti artists who created the backdrop onstage during the piece were replaced by Santo Loquasto’s bright, ersatz-graffiti drop.

Ballroom dance finals May 12
in the MIlwaukee Journal Sentinel
published: April 11, 2007

The Mad Hot Ballroom project, organized by Danceworks Performing Company and originally involving 1,500 students from 25 Milwaukee-area schools, will culminate with a final competition at 1 p.m. May 12 at the Bradley Center, 1001 N. 4th St.

20 years later, the dream dances on
By Robert Taylor
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Article Launched: 05/06/2007 03:09:42 AM PDT


WHEN Richard Cammack and Zola Dishong took over the Contra Costa Ballet Centre in Walnut Creek -- painting over walls that looked "Pepto-Bismol pink," while their friend Michael Smuin helped refinish the floor -- they may not have imagined future student productions of "Swan Lake" and "Les Sylphides," 16 annual versions of "Nutcracker" and, this week, a gala performance celebrating 20 years of their leadership.0
The ballet school and the Contra Costa Ballet, where advanced students perform, were already established, but Cammack and Dishong expanded classes, attracted an international faculty and brought in guest soloists to pump up the professional level of performance.

AROUND SAN RAMON: MONICA LANDER
Souls revealed through dancing
Contra Costa Times
Article Launched: 05/30/2007 03:03:34 AM PDT


JOAN WINTON BIDS adieu to the San Ramon Valley and is heading to the Pacific Northwest for a new, quieter life, leaving in her wake a legacy more than 40 years in the making.
A veteran of the San Francisco classical ballet community, Winton's vision of establishing a dance academy that would promote good classical ballet technique in the San Ramon Valley grew into the San Ramon Valley Dance Academy, with a faculty of almost two dozen highly trained professional dancers.

About 1,600 students are enrolled year-round in a variety of classes from ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics and other specialty dance classes.

‘Billy Elliot’ pupil leaps to the fore with best results
by NICOLA WOOLCOCK for the Times
published: August 24, 2007

Daniel will stay at Brighton College to study A levels and hopes to become a professional dancer after university. The school focuses on the arts, with dance lessons compulsory for pupils up to the age of 14.

A teenager from a school that was on the verge of being closed 10 years ago has achieved some of the best results in the country.

Showtime: Danville teen ready to dance in famous footsteps with performance at legendary Apollo Theater
By Jeanine Benca

DANVILLE -- The year was 1956. The place was the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City.
As the now legendary story goes, a no-name singer from Georgia showed up at Amateur Night, sans dancing shoes or costume. Twenty-three-year-old James Brown brought the house down with a groundbreaking performance that would cement his future destiny as the Godfather of Soul.

It is just one of the epic success sagas that Jhia Jackson, a 17-year-old jazz dancer from Danville, hopes to channel on-stage at the Apollo Theater this weekend. The Monte Vista High School senior was chosen from among hundreds of hopefuls at a July open call in Oakland to appear on "Showtime at the Apollo," the syndicated performance competition-style TV show based at the theater.

Dancing his way to a better world
By Lynn Carey
STAFF WRITER

Adrian Flores was a gang member before he became a dancer. In fact, he belonged to several Richmond gangs, including one that rode with the Hells Angels in their heyday.

Now, he's dedicated to doing it right. At 56 he is devoting all his energy -- and a big chunk of money -- to developing a dance program that keeps other kids from making the same mistakes he did.

Antioch woman leads national dance organization
Contra Costa Times
Article Launched: 12/14/2007 03:14:26 AM PST


Mimi Costa-White, owner of Doreen's School of the Dance in Antioch, was installed for a second term as president and CEO of Dance Masters of America at a recent gala in New York City. Dance legend Jacques d'Amboise and 600 DMA members and their students attended the celebration and installation.

Costa-White has been recognized by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for her work with the youths of California and the nation for promoting the art of dance.