Listen to her reminisce about her career here, and enjoy!

Interview with Trinette Singleton from the Joffrey

If you are interested in learning more about the Joffrey and its history, be sure and keep tabs on the new documentary, Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance, slated for release in 2012. More on that soon….

Start out at the majestic  JW Marriott Chicago and enjoy signature appetizers and cocktails in the Lobby Lounge, then attend the performance.

The package includes:

• Luxury hotel accommodations
• Two drinks in lobby lounge
• Two orchestra seat tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet
• Noon check-in available upon request
• Package rates range from $409-$459; availability December 9 – 27, 2011

Reservations for all packages can be made by calling 312 660 8200 or online.

About JW Marriott Chicago

JW Marriott Chicago, which opened November 2010, is located in Chicago’s historic landmark, the Daniel Burnham-designed Continental & Commercial National Bank building at 151 West Adams Street in the heart of Chicago’s financial district. This luxurious hotel underwent a $396 million restoration blending Burnham’s famous architectural style with elegant, modern surroundings. The property features 610 oversized guestrooms including 29 luxurious suites. In addition, the property boasts VALEO, a 20,000-square-foot spa and fitness center-an amenity not found in most city center hotels-and The Florentine, a modern Italian, fine dining restaurant.

MSG Photos/Avi Gerver Eileen Grace, Rockettes Director and Choreographer, rehearsing with students during the Rockettes Summer Intensive.

Rockettes Summer Intensive Auditions

If you aren’t already familiar with the Rockettes Summer Intensive, let me explain. It is a week-long program, running June 24 – August 3, 2012, hosted at Radio City Music Hall in the actual studios where the Rockettes rehearse for their starring roles in the annual production of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Dancers accepted into the program rehearse daily from 9:30am to 5:30pm, with group education seminars in the evenings.  This distinctive style transcends a multitude of dance disciplines including jazz, tap, musical theater, lyrical and of course the legendary Rockettes kick line.  The curriculum focuses on original choreography and formations from the Rockette repertoire that will culminate in a student showcase.  To be considered for the Rockettes Summer Intensive, dancers must be at least 14 years of age (by June 22, 2012) with a minimum of 5 years training in tap, jazz, and ballet.

Here’s the current audition schedule:

Durham, NC – November 13, 2011

Nashville, TN – December 4, 2011

Boston, MA – December 27, 2011

Chicago, IL – January 8, 2012

Orlando, FL – January 8, 2012

Austin, TX – January 14, 2012

Miami, FL – January 15, 2012

Pittsburgh, PA – January 15, 2012

Detroit, MI – January 22, 2012

Los Angeles, CA – January 22, 2012

Washington, D.C. – January 22, 2012

NYC – January 28 & January 29, 2012

For audition times and locations, as well as more information on the Rockettes Summer Intensive, please visit Rockettes.com.

Opening Night — The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular

November 16th is opening night for The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular, and to kick things off, they will be participating in a lighting ceremony at the Empire State Building at 11:00 a.m. that day. The lobby of the building is where this event will take place, and the holiday colored lights is just the beginning of what is t come this season!

America’s favorite holiday show is about to re-define the Christmas Spectacular featuring a new 3DLive video game adventure, new Rockette performances, new musical compositions and heartwarming songs, dazzling new costumes and state-of-the-art technology that will immerse audiences in the magic of Christmas like never before.

If you are interested in attending this fun show, you can learn more at their website.

The work of over 200 Chicago choreographers will be showcased at the Festival, which continues from November 2^nd to November 20^th at Stage 773. Ron de Jesus, internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer and founder of Ron de Jesus Dance, will present elements of ‘B-Suite’ on First Night, November 2. A lead dancer with Hubbard Street Dance for years, de Jesus will also present ‘Wham of Sam’ as part of the Choreographers’ Showcase on November 20. Other companies on First Night include, Giordano II, NoMi LaMad, Jus’ LisTeN, Full Effect Dance Theatre, Mexican Dance Ensemble and others, all featuring the work of 12 Chicago choreographers.

For more information–including how to obtain tickets and a schedule of all the various dance groups that will be performing at the festival, visit Dance Chicago.

Discounts at www.facebook.com/dancechicagofestival

If you missed this fun event last year, join the large gathering of tap dance professionals (and students!) for 4 days of instruction, exploration and networking in the Garden State.

Held in Bloomfield, New Jersey, classes are offered August 25th through August 28th, from 10 am to 6:30 pm, and events for the public take place at 7:30 pm each evening.

Over 30 dance classes will be offered, and there is something for every level of tap dancer.

To learn more about this event, please visit the website, where you will find information about the instructors, the performances and more.

At 11 am, you’ll be able to see the Rockettes as they unveil both new costumes–and new choreography. Join in the fun as they kick off the 2011 Christmas Spectacular season.

Can’t make this? Then why not enter the “I like Christmas” sweepstakes on Facebook and take a shot at winning $2,011 in Christmas cash and other prizes? All you have to do is “like” the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on this social networking site and you are entered. This begins on August 11th and runs until the end of the month.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, runs from November 11, 2011 through January 2, 2012. Prices range from $45 – $125. Tickets are available online at  www.radiocitychristmas.com or at the Radio City Box Office (50th Street and Avenue of the Americas). Box Office hours are Monday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased by calling the Ticketmaster Christmas Hotline at 1-866-858-0007 or at any Ticketmaster outlets. Ticket prices include a $4.50 facility charge. Tickets purchased via Ticketmaster are subject to service charges. Please call 1-866-858-0007 for more information.

Chicago has a rich dance scene and one of the highlights of the year is always Dance For Life Chicago, a fundraiser for HIV/AIDS prevention and care that also promotes the art of dance in the city. Participating companies this year include Ron De Jesus Dance, River North Dance, The Joffrey Ballet, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and Hubbard Street Dance.

If you have the chance to come out and support this event, please consider doing so. It benefits the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and the Dance For Life Fund – both are wonderful.

4:45 PM – 6:45 PM Gala Reception
7:30 PM Performance

Learn more about Dance For Life Chicago

Through the It Gets Better Project adults in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi and trans) community have been sharing their life experiences (through You Tube) with teens struggling with their own sexuality and all of the intolerance and ignorance that unfortunately can come along with it. (As if growing up wasn’t hard enough.)  The words that are repeated and reinforced in all of the videos are that no matter what hardships you are facing today – life will get better.  No matter how bad your situation is today- it is temporary.

There is so much love and life to live.  This message of love and hope has reached hundreds of thousands of lesbian, gay, bi, trans and straight people all over the world.

Information From www.itgetsbetter.org :

Dan heard about the suicides of Justin Aaberg and Billy Lucas and had a reaction so many LGBT adults had. “I wish I could’ve talked to that kid for five minutes before he killed himself,” Dan recently said. “I’d tell him that however bad it was in high school or middle school…it gets better.” The It Gets Better Project was born.

In September 2010, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. In response to a number of students taking their own lives after being bullied in school, they wanted to create a personal way for supporters everywhere to tell LGBT youth that, yes, it does indeed get better.

Two months later, the It Gets Better Project (TM) has turned into a worldwide movement, inspiring over 10,000 user-created videos viewed over 35 million times. To date, the project has received submissions from celebrities, organizations, activists, politicians and media personalities…The website www.itgetsbetter.org is a place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans can see how love and happiness can be a reality in their future.  It’s a place where our straight allies can visit and support their friends and family members.  It’s a place where people can share their stories, take the It Gets Better Project pledge, watch videos of love and support, and seek help through the Trevor Project( a project determined to end suicide among LGBT youth) and GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network.)

Here are some reasons why this project impacts you:

1.      Even if you do not think you teach kids that are in need of the information available from this project; you probably do. You just might not know it.  You might have a child that doesn’t appear to feel isolated or alone and when that child reaches out to you can be prepared with 3 simple words “it gets better.”  You don’t have to be a part of the LGBT community for those words to make an impact.   Kids in all sorts of turmoil need to know that there situation is temporary.

2.      Dance teachers are mentors, confidants and role models. You can be very influential in the lives of the children you teach. It is your responsibility to make your studio/classroom/theatre a safe place. Create a space that is bully free with a no tolerance policy for prejudice, hatefulness and judgment.

3.      Any teacher who instructs preteens/teens is working with a population that is questioning their identities and trying to find out how to fit in.  Some of what they are discovering about themselves can be overwhelming especially if they don’t know anyone in the LGBT community.

The It Gets Better Project is a lifeline to any teen that is seeing a world where it does not get better.  It shows teens that are being harassed because of who they are and who they love that they are supported.  They can survive the turmoil and look forward to a future that isn’t focused on bullies, stigma, rejection, isolation and intolerance.

As a dance teacher you help your students reach their full potential.  You help them become full expressive beings.  And you can help them if they can’t see a future for themselves.  You can be a lifeline.  Check out the website and the resources available there because it does get better.

Contributor Stacey Pepper Schwartz received her BFA in dance performance at Montclair State University and her MA in dance education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has taught as an artist in residency and guest artist in public and private schools for over twelve years.

Stacey Pepper Schwartz

Stacey is the Founder and Director of Leaping Legs Creative Movement Programs. The focus of Leaping Legs Creative Movement Programs is to help people regardless of age, experience or ability, become educated about their movement potential, develop kinesthetic awareness, and become more physically fit and healthy together as a family, and community.

Leaping Legs promotes its goal through the original Up Down & All Around DVD. The DVD received Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children’s Products Award and 10 Best Active Products Award. The DVD has also been featured in many magazines including Dance Retailer News, The National Dance Teachers Association dance journal dancematters, and Dance Teacher.

Before embarking on dance education, Stacey was a professional dancer and choreographer in New York City.

Get your hand-silkscreened canvas ballet bag now–before supplies run out! I have made 7 of these unique tote bags and will be selling them for only $8 each! Get one for yourself, or as a gift for someone you know–they make a great bag to cart your dance shoes and miscellaneous gear back and forth to the studio, or even to show your love for dance and “go green” at the grocery store.

I got into silkscreening a while back and have been working on developing dance designs for the past couple of years. It’s a long process from photograph to finished product, but I now have several screens and I’ll be sharing the designs with the dance community over the summer months. The nice part about these bags is that you will never see them anywhere else–these are all my own designs.

Soon I’ll add t-shirts to the mix as well, so keep checking back. I’d love to hear what people think about the design–and I’d love for you to help me spread the word!

Here are the specs:

Canvas (cotton woven)

Navy Blue

10.5 x 12.5 inches

$8.00 (plus $2 shipping and handling – continental US prices – inquire about overseas…)

If you’d like to purchase one of these bags, drop me an e-mail at info(at)catherineltully(dot)com and we’ll work out the details.

Thanks!

Dear RE|Dance Group Supporter,

We hope you are having a lovely start to the spring season.  With the flowers finally in bloom, RE|Dance Group is budding with new ideas and charged with the energy to push the company forward.

Our inaugural year was a huge success and we would like to thank everyone for your support.  We had the privilege of presenting our work in San Francisco, CA, Minneapolis, MN and at home here in Chicago, IL.  Also this year we became a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization dedicated to assisting small arts companies.   RE|Dance Group is artistically thriving and in the coming year we hope to build inroads toward financial health.  As we push forward into year two, we hope that you have the opportunity to see the work we are creating.

We are very excited about the beginning stages of two new dance theater works.  Inhabitants of Tall Grass will premiere in January at Chicago’s historic dance venue, Links Hall.  We will preview a works in progress at the Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival in September. The work will have an original commissioned music score and will be performed amidst an installation of tall reed grasses.  The environment is designed to both shield and reveal the dancers as they roam through the installation searching for personal connection.  This piece is being partially funded by an Illinois Arts Council Grant that we have been so fortunate to receive!

The Attic Room is an intimate dance story of escape and desire.  The evening length work for six dancers exists in a small attic room where the dancers, clad in fantastical owl masks, long for a way out, convinced they can find it through objects sprinkled through the space. An old map, a flock of paper cranes, a dusty antique rug, tiny glowing lamps and stacks of books offer the dancers the possibility for departure from a place now so comfortable they are unsure of their desires to escape. The Attic Room is filled with images of balance, travel and desire.  Again this year, we will be presenting our work at the Minnesota Fringe Festival in Minneapolis from August 4th-14th.  Hopefully we’ll see some of you there!

We hope that as you begin to enjoy the warm weather and summer months you’ll have time to consider assisting RE|Dance Group in our continued efforts to create meaningful dance theater.  Our fundraising goal during this campaign is $3,000.00.  This year’s funding campaign will once again help RE|Dance Group return to the Minnesota Fringe Festival and sponsor our Chicago performance season. We could not have made it this far without your support in whatever ways you have been able to provide it.

The easiest way to make a contribution to RE|Dance Group is through our website.  It is easy, safe and secure.  Simply click Donate Now and you will be directed to the Fractured Atlas contribution page. Thanks to our fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas, all donations are now tax deductible!

If you don’t feel comfortable contributing online, you can drop Catherine an e-mail here at info (at) catherineltully.com and she’ll give you a mailing address so you can drop a check in the mail. If you can’t donate, but would like to help, spread the word!

Thank you for your generous support.  We hope to see you in one of our audiences very soon!

Lucy and Michael

Artistic Directors

RE|Dance Group

RE | Dance Group is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of RE|Dance Group must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.