Dance

SF Ballet’s amazingly fluid and graceful ballerina:

An Alvin Ailey Dance Company classic:

Saw this Russian ballet company at Berkeley, CA in the early 2000’s:

Also saw the Bolshoi at Berkeley around the same time:

Sue Roe in her book Montmarte: Picasso, Matisse and Modernism in Paris, 1900-1910 on the debut of the Ballets Russes in Paris:

The audience watched the leaps, spins and turns of traditional Russian folk 
dance with quiet absorption until about halfway through, when Nijinsky 
danced a pas de trois with his sister, Bronislaw Nijinska, and Karsavina. 
There was an audible murmur of appreciation. A ripple of whispers 
ran through the auditorium. Then something completely unexpected happened. At 
the end of the piece, Nijinsky should have walked off the stage, but that 
night, instead, he spontaneously exited with a leap: ‘He rose up, a few 
yards off the wings, described a parabola in the air, and disappeared 
from sight. No one in the audience could see him land; to all eyes he 
floated up and vanished. A storm of applause broke; the orchestra 
had to stop . . . all reserve thrown away, the evening worked up into a 
veritable frenzy of enthusiasm . . . You would have thought their seats 
were on fire.’*

*final quote is from Tamara Karsavina's Theatre Street: the Reminiscences 
of Tamara Karsavina

Great documentary narrated by Tilda Swinton:

The Lindy Hop scene in the film Hellzapoppin’ (1941):

San Francisco’s Smuin Contemporary Ballet uses pop music:

Features some great tap dancing by the Nicholas Brothers:

Saw a show at this place in the early ’80s:

Great documentary on flamenco music and dance by famed Spanish director Carlos Saura:

One of the best traditions in San Francisco is the Ethnic Dance Festival which features around 20 dance companies from the Bay Area over 3 weekends each year. Here are some of the best:

*******************************************************************

Sufi dance with music by G. I. Gurdjieff, Turkish mystic:

**********************************************************

Figure skating could be seen as a form of dance, particularly when performed with the grace of 13-year-old Alysa Liu:

Another athletic performance that verges on dance was UCLA gymnast Katelyn Ohashi’s perfect 10 on floor excercise on Jan. 12, 2019:

SF Ballet’s amazingly fluid and graceful ballerina:

An Alvin Ailey Dance Company classic:

Saw this Russian ballet company at Berkeley, CA in the early 2000’s:

Also saw the Bolshoi at Berkeley around the same time:

Sue Roe in her book Montmarte: Picasso, Matisse and Modernism in Paris, 1900-1910 on the debut of the Ballets Russes in Paris:

Great documentary narrated by Tilda Swinton:

The Lindy Hop scene in the film Hellzapoppin’ (1941):

San Francisco’s Smuin Contemporary Ballet uses pop music:

Features some great tap dancing by the Nicholas Brothers:

Saw a show at this place in the early ’80s:

Great documentary on flamenco music and dance by famed Spanish director Carlos Saura:

One of the best traditions in San Francisco is the Ethnic Dance Festival which features around 20 dance companies from the Bay Area over 3 weekends each year. Here are some of the best:

Sufi dance with music by G. I. Gurdjieff, Turkish mystic:

Figure skating could be seen as a form of dance, particularly when performed with the grace of 13-year-old Alysa Liu:

Another athletic performance that verges on dance was UCLA gymnast Katelyn Ohashi’s perfect 10 on floor excercise on Jan. 12, 2019:

Share this:

Like this: