Classroom Confidential: TMI and Honorable Mentions
Dancing together onstage eventually led to a great love affair offstage. Amy and Gene share magic moments…Check out Marty in this new pilot episode on you tube …Lion King tour over and Dana shares great last night pictures with you here. Hope to see you back in class soon Dana….Congrats to Francis Patrelle honored with the Choo San Goh Award for choreography, which will support his newest ballet, "Is That All There Is" to be performed May 2-4th at the DaCapo Opera Theater…Curtis E ( the teacher's pet) is performing in "Jesus Lay Your Head on Da Winda." See the performance corner in this issue for more info…Nate is putting together a showcase with Jenn and a 6 piece band and 3 back up singers on April 2nd. He'll let us know more when it's set in stone…New Feature on your Ailey account! Long into your account online and you can add your picture. Go look and submit a photo of yourself!…!…Elena says we can visit here and attempt to navigate through the site...its all in GREEK! She was chosen to go Greece for So you Think You Can Dance but due to Visa and immigration problems she couldn't go. Oh how disappointing. Now that's she back on the East coast we should see her back in classes. Yes she is still trying to get us a copy of what they filmed…Pam G is in several Irish step dancing events this month and next, including a 2 p.m.-to-2 a.m. pub crawl to every Irish bar in midtown on April 5th! I'm sure her performances will become more and more interesting throughout the night....also Pam had an early morning appearance on the Today show March 1st to promote a new dance fitness class....you step girl!…Aunt Bonnie C. has a new nephew Jack. Zoe, the dog of the house, is good about not licking him too much and follows Bonnie around protectively when she's holding him. "Here are his stats: Date of birth: Wed., February 27th at 5:48PM, Weight: 6 pounds, 8 ounces, Length: 19 inches. He's got a good amount of dark hair and dark blue/gray eyes for now." Thanks for sharing Bonnie…Speaking of babies.…"B" is gunna pop our new ballerina out very very soon and plans to stay in 6pm and pointe class till that time...Her and hubby Taro have a new West side apt with nursery...Amber P plays a young, neurotic mother in the hilarious film "Black Woman." See performance Corner in this issue…Sarah H is headed on vacation to Shanghai and Beijing. Wow! Two weeks in China, bring home the pictures!…Erin A put those pointe shoes on and git back in class, we miss you!…Nancy B is recovering "hopefully better by spring"…Sara B's play was accepted into a festival called "New York's Amazing Play Festival" for new works. She is casting, directing and going to choreograph a little dance for the "Emperor" with 4 or so dancers. Here is the website, although her play's info isn't quite up yet…Noah A is still in Tennessee doing a production of "My Way: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra." He singing his little butt off. This weekend is the last performance and then he is back to NYC to start rehearsals for "Candide" with NYC Opera at Lincoln Center. Pat Birch is choreographing…Gus (Anna) and Erik attended the Mid-Atlantic Dance Jam and took 2nd place in the Cabaret division for their lyrical/contemporary ballet piece. Gus also got 5th (of 50 women) in Beginner Hustle. Congrats!...Taylor, our web master, has a three page article in this really awesome new magazine and another in Dancer Mag. Get your copy...Also Check out Laura di Orio's article No Small Feat in the Feb/March issue of Pointe Mag pg 44, about small ballet company options for dancers....Alice got a role as an extra on the tv show Gossip Girl! yay...and last but not least, Kat's been invited to teach in Alaska in August...brrr!

Tony @ Circular Power: while we are focusing on abs during March , think of treating yourself to a full body work out session with one of these highly skilled trainers

Andros: Over 80 and still teaching: Mr A is a dear friend, teacher and mentor to Kat. He has the answers to all those ballet questions we need tutu know. At Mr. A's big 82nd birthday bash at BAE on March 4th, lots of East side dance teachers were there. Among them: Mr. Patrelle, Wendy Amos (also teaches @ Ailey), Shirley Bassat, & Don Paradise. We had lunch and desserts thanks to the director, Julia Dubno. Also in attendance were many of Mr. A's students, including Julie Pasqual (who is Kat's favorite fouette competition partner. She holds up way past 32), the always endearing Lydell, and also the very handsome Justin Allen. Many of you read his book Slaves of the Shinar. (Stay tuned for his newest release ' The American' to be released hopefully this fall)

Quote of the week:
"To guarantee success, act as if it were impossible to fail."
–Dorothea Brand

Taylor's Tales
A new column by our webmaster, Taylor. This week:
Where is all the Dance Writing?

As some of you know, I've been pursuing a writing career on top of a ballet career, and as few coveted paid positions there are for dancers out there, there are even fewer for those who write about dance. Aside from e-newsletters like this one and a critique every now and then in the New York Times, the world of dance rarely reaches the general public through the media. Perhaps there just isn't the readership for it. But how can dance evolve onstage and in class without an audience to support it?

Last week the Los Angeles Times announced that it would eliminate its staff position of Chief Dance Critic apparently due to financial reductions. Other national newspapers and magazines have cut back on both their dance coverage and writers, including The Village Voice and New York Magazine. How often do you read about this art form you practice besides in advertisements likely far beyond the budget of small non-profits or in targeted, specialized magazines for the professionals?

Luckily, this past week an article appeared in Newsweek Magazine (March 17 issue), not by a snarky dance critic but by a respected male principal dancer with American Ballet Theater. In "Don't Judge Me By My Tights," Sascha Radetsky, whom many may know as Charlie from the film "Center Stage," writes about the challenges he and other male dancers face in the ballet world due to our culture's stereotypes of men in dance.

Though his point is valid and applicable even to male dance enthusiasts who take class for the pleasure of it, I would argue that there are greater issues that could have filled the full page that Newsweek so generously allotted. Radetsky says, "The boy who perseveres in dance must have a genuine hunger for it, must be uniquely motivated and dedicated, and must develop a truly thick skin." Is this not true for girls as well?

With all the issues plaguing the dance world (funding, health issues, development, etc) it seems a shame that the national exposure of our delicate art form is limited to a rare spout of a dancer's frustrations. Why isn't dance given the publicity it deserves?

"Exposure to ballet is all that is needed to open minds," Radetsky writers, "for the combination of athletic movement, ardent drama and beautiful music can instill a profound appreciation in an audience." So spread the word. If the news media won't do it, we as dance-lovers can play a part in promoting the art simply by sharing our respect for it with others. Exposure.