Flamenco Chicago Productions This is my new booking site for our flamenco dance shows in Chicago and the Midwest. Take a look -- especially if you're interested in booking a flamenco show or flamenco guitarists for a corporate event or private party. Flamenco can also be an interesting wedding reception idea: we've performed flamenco dance sets for several weddings. And for wedding reception music, our flamenco guitarists are adept at adding just the right note.
Men Who Danced This is a charming new site designed as a gathering place for men who once danced professionally. But it's open to women, too. The site is just getting underway, but it's a fun place to eavesdrop on the reminiscences of guys who made dance a way of life back when that was a more perilous undertaking than it is today.
alt.arts.ballet I'm listing this because it is the original voice of ballet on the internet. All of today's big dance message boards have trolled alt.arts.ballet to lure this newsgroup's posters to their sites. And now, this great newsgroup is in a lull, with many of its knowledgeable posters (teachers, artistic directors, critics, adult ballet students, and more) spread thin all over the internet. So I'm trying to help resurrect this great forum. A recent posting there revealed that many of the original "greats" are still lurking there, waiting for your questions and for substantive ballet discussion. Let's go there, post, and not be lured away by webmasters with their own agendas. (Please note: The link above is to google groups. You can also access a.a.b from AOL through its newsgroup feature. Each ISP seems to have its own way of connecting to newsgroups.)
Attitudes in Motion This is an amateur adult ballet performing company based at The Ballet School of Stamford. (For more on this, check out our Recommended Teachers page for Connecticut.) The group performs on a volunteer basis, and is a wonderful chance for adult ballet students to perform, as well as to spread the love of ballet (and perhaps the spark to take class) among adults in their audiences. One of our Blue Diamond newsletter subscribers is a new performer with this group, so perhaps one day soon we'll see photos of her on the AIM website!
The Yoga Site. Wondering if yoga might help your flexibility (or lack thereof)? This very nice site gives basic asanas (poses), teacher listings, research on how yoga impacts conditions from carpal tunnel to asthma, and a backgrounder on various styles of yoga so you can choose what's best for you.
From Russia With Love: Costumes for the Ballets Russes 1909-1933. Starting to think about costumes for that competition that accepts adult entries, or your debut in the local recital? Take a look at what are indisputably the most fabulous dance costumes of all time. Bow down before the altar of Goncharova and Bakst.
Scenery Collection of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. And what about scenic design? Take a look at two dozen backdrops of the masters, plus additional scenic drops in the Butler University collection. These are truly dazzling.
Figure Skating Journal: Reflections of an Adult Figure Skater. Did you think you were the person with the strangest avocation on your block? Yes, hoary danseuses and danseurs, you're not alone anymore. Enter: the adult beginning figure skater. Check it out; you'll enjoy reading about the perils and pleasures of Kay as she continues to go for the double axel.
Adult Skating FAQ. Okay, why another figure skating site? But, this is a really good one with many parallels to the beginning ballet experience. A fabulous FAQ dedicated to the inspired lunacy of adult figure skating. Here's an excerpt:
3.3 Adult-Onset Skating Syndrome (AOSS)
So you're 30-something or 40-something and have never skated, or skated a bit as a kid. But the sight of the skaters on TV gets something going in the pit of your stomach so you get some skates and take a few lessons. Next thing you know you're hooked! Some of the symptoms of this disease are:
1) You start dreaming about sit-spins and double jumps.
2) You find yourself practicing spread-eagles while waiting for the bus.
3) The major factor in choosing an apartment/vacation destination is a nearby rink. Corollary: You know the day/hour of every skating session within 50 miles.
4) You start planning your work and family life around your skating sessions. Corollary: Your dog fetches your skates on command.
5) You put off buying clothes to pay for more coaching. Corollary: The clothes you DO buy are made of lycra and sequins.
6) You break in your skates by wearing them at work and slip on the way to the printer, suffering a black eye.
7) You forget to take work clothes to the rink and end up spending your work day in your skating costume. None of your colleagues seems surprised.
8) You hype your Alpha test so much at work that your coworkers think it's a qualifying event for Nationals.
ballet.co. If you've been wondering, "Well, exactly what IS British ballet?" and "Is it really as boring and stuffy as I've heard?", it's time to go directly to the source. Here you'll find gorgeously written bios of British ballet legends; lots of reviews; pages for many British ballet companies; nice, long, dishy interviews (this month, Sylvie Guillem) with that self-conscious, detail-oriented, witty Brit feel; and devilish bits by a wag called Blandine. Plus very helpful video reviews, many of them comparing various versions of ballet classics (e.g., a comparison of three versions of Giselle). You won't be disappointed.
Don McClane's Dance Photography. If you've visited The Men's Page here at Blue Diamond, you may have read Don's story. He's a former adult ballet student who was sidelined by an injury. Since then, he's channeled his love of ballet into a passion for dance photography. In his pictures, you'll see that he has a talent for capturing the heart and soul of movement and its instrument: the dancer. You may be inspired to interpret dance through one of the visual arts yourself.
This Month in Dance History. I just love this page because you can check out who-did-what-and-when for any date in the current month. Mentally celebrate (or go out and toast) the birthday of your favorite dance luminary!
Tom Parson's Ballet-Modern FAQ. Part 2 is especially great for someone wondering if he/she can begin ballet or modern dance as an adult. Covers what to wear, how to build a ballet barre for home use, how to survive your first dance class, and much more. Also, click on Confessions of a Ballet Junkie for Tom's own odyssey as an electrical engineer discovers the joys of ballet class.
Pavlova's Dog: A Regular Guy's Book of Ballet. To those who appreciate highly individual use of language: you must visit Keith Knox's most excellent site. I submit that Keith is hardly a 'regular guy,' with the La-z-Boy inhabiting, paunch-scratching images that term implies. The site is a collection of Keith's posts from various dance newsgroups; more accurately, I'd call them glorious, often amusing, essays of various lengths. Men starting ballet: Make sure to read the essay 'Leap of Faith: Memoirs of a Ballet Guy.'
Miguelito's Wonderful Website for Flamenco in Washington, DC Huh? That's what I thought. But if you are into flamenco, imagine, you'll actually have fun at this site. No shirt-ripping, gut-wrenching ay-ay-aying. No 'I-can-imitate-gypsies-better-than-you' attitude. It's graphically beautiful, has lots of fun features (which I won't ruin for you by describing), links to most of the major flamenco websites, gives international sources for flamenco stuff, and, get this: Insiders' how-tos for taking a flamenco excursion to New York including classes, clubs, food, and cheap places to stay. (Miguelito has recently written in to say that he's not updating his NY information as frequently as he had hoped, but I'm leaving this link up simply because his site has much more content that most for the flamenco aficionado. Check out the new Desert Island feature, and contribute your own list of top ten flamenco CDs you'd take with you to Survivor Island.)