Volume 5, Issue 1: January 2010 www.katwildish.com

A NEW LOOK FOR THE NEWSLETTER Happy New Year! Welcome to Kat's new & improved newsletter for 2010! KAT'S CALENDAR *January 2-30: Pointe Technique Classes Wednesdays & Saturdays at The Ailey Extension. Details below. *January 18, MONDAY: The Ailey Studio's are sadly closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day *February 15, MONDAY: OPEN for President's Day *March 14: Daylight Savings Time begins. *March 21: Our Student Showcase performances, marking one whole year in the theatre. Details below. *April: Easter Weekend (April 3), we are open for your classes on Friday & Saturday *May 31, MONDAY: Memorial Day, The Ailey Extension is OPEN! Two classes: 10:30, and as always 3pm Holiday Class. Make your plans to be here in New York City for The Memorial Day Weekend! *August: Adult Summer workshop intensive with performances

POINTE CLASSES January Pointe Technique @ The Ailey Extension 4 week course on improving your technique and confidence en pointe! Jan. 2-30 Open Level Sessions: Wednesdays 12:15 -1:30pm Saturdays 6:15-7:30pm Regular class cards may be used for Pointe Technique classes in January. February Pointe Technique with Variation Classes @ The Ailey Extension Variation of the month: Cupid (Amor from Don Q. Act 2 Dream Scene) Open Level Sessions: Wednesdays 12:15 -1:30pm Saturdays 6:15-7:30pm *This workshop is subject to a minimum of 15 participants. SIGN UP HERE

PERFORMING IN NEW YORK REPERTORY WORKSHOP 2010 Starting January 6th, look for our new spring Performing in New York Repertory Workshop: three months/11 weeks of rehearsals one night per week each Wednesday night: 9:15-10:30PM, under the watchful eye of Kat . Don't miss any of these rehearsals so we can set and run the big group pieces. Our first production of 2010 Performing in New York Showcases will run through March 21. Please mark your calendars for this wonderful Sunday of dance! Two performances: Sunday 3/21/2010 at 4pm Sunday 3/21/2010 at 7pm at The Ailey Citigroup Theater Sign up to participate now! Ladies & gentlemen will be rehearsing "Paquita." (Video clips here and here.) Now remember, if you are not sure you want to participate, come to a few rehearsals and see. It's a lot of work & dedication for all involved, preparing for these productions and learning your part. **Buy tickets to our March 2010 spring performances here. **Pictures from our last performances are posted here and videos here on our Facebook Fan Page!

TOO MUCH INFORMATION Chrisi C. talks about her passion for dance during rehearsals for the Corpus Christi Concert Ballet's production of The Nutcracker…Meryl's low profile blog about Halloween 09…Lauren P. is hooked on her ballet classes…Taylor G. was interviewed for Culturebot...Tracey P. misses NYC and is really psyched about her first "article marketing" piece she wrote for a client. Good work Tracey keep writing...Check out Kristina S.'s new boutique, which had it's grand opening Dec. 29...Allie P. says Happy New Year! "Please tell everyone in class I said hey - I hope to see you all soon!"...Did you know that Vic DiMonda's Theatre Dance class is at 7:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays @ Ailey? You know cross training is THE quickest way to improve your dancing!...also ahhh, Melt classes, 9:15am just before Kat's class Monday + Friday, usually in the same studio. Plan to cross train all year we have the best here at the Ailey extension look deeper into the schedule...and I am delighted to announce that Alvin Ailey is introducing an additional Ashtanga yoga class on Wednesdays at 7:30pm starting January 6th. Of course, this is in addition to the Sunday 5pm yoga class, which Kat wouldn't miss! PERFORMANCE CORNER *Dance From The Heart|MEN January 11 & 12 at Cedar Lake Theatre (home to Cedar Lake Ballet) Tickets: $30 for the 6:30pm performances, $75 for the 8:30pm performances. Info Here *Daphne H has tickets for Cirque du Soleil's Wintuk at Madison Square Garden Sunday January 3 at 1pm. 3 adults at $70/each, 2 kids at $50/each. Email Daphnehagadone@mac.com or call 917 674 5955 or 212 714 9578 AUDITIONS *Ashley Carter is looking for male and female contemporary dancers for March showcase with Kat and other future performances. Dancers should be athletic, technical, expressive, and willing to take risks. Partnering experience a plus. Audition in early January. If interested please submit resume, headshot, and any questions to NYCDanza@gmail.com *The John W. Engeman Theater is seeking teaching artists and Musical Directors/Pianists with professional experience for its School Of The Performing Arts. For information on teachers needed visit our "Children's Program" at engemantheater.com. Please send resume and references to vdimonda@engemantheater.com

RE'VE'RENCE *Dick Andros Dance teachers can hold a special role in our lives. We look to them for inspiration and support - and that physical emulation we strive for, like a baby bird learning by watching his mother's flight. We're in admiration of their knowledge, with respect for their experiences. We insure the trust that they'll prevent us from injury. Such generosity they have with wisdom, in class and in life – and their faith in improvement, pushing us every day. Lucky is the dancer who finds not only a role model in a teacher, but a friend. It is with great sorrow that I must announce the passing of ballet teacher Dick Andros. I've known Mr. A since early the '80s when my coach at the time sent me to him to learn how to move in petite allegro. Today I still use his petite allegros in our classes, and our first foot combination at the barre is from him. He had a funny, practical sense in how he challenged and presented steps. He used to grab his foot and stretch to a la seconde, with great extension. He was a dignified man: dance royalty. Once he took a New Jersey transit bus out to Hackensack in a terrible snowstorm, crossing the slippery highway just to see me perform the Sugar Plum Fairy. Wow, did he grouch about that trip forever! But he assured everyone it was well worth it. I could call him at any hour to ask technical questions. He always had the answers or he would find them in his vast array of ballet contacts. I was honored to attend many functions with him so that I could hunt down the chair for him to sit or just slowly assist him up the stairs. His hangouts with friends were Uncle Nicks, lil Nicks, and the Greek Kitchen, to name a few. We shared paying for dinners together once each month, and he still owes me one... In late '80s I wanted to give up my career due to age, difficulties finding appropriate work, lack of funds…I was just so down and depressed, but Mr. A called me with his inspirational words. He pulled me out of a deep hole and back into the love of dance. "You must do it because it's what make you the happiest," he told me. At the end of October/beginning of November he was diagnosed with acute incurable leukemia. After a week or so of chemotherapy on the oncology wing at St. Luke's Hospital, he chose to spend his remaining days at the Calvary Hospital, a hospice in the Bronx, where friends & family visited daily. At 9:20am Dec 31st 2009 he finally succumbed to the leukemia. His obituary will appear in Sunday's NYTimes. Please visit his memorial page here and his ever informative ballet website here. RIP Mr. A. You will be greatly missed. "Our teachers taught us the use of space, performing skills, taste and style, musicianship, attention to details, love, creativity, professional discipline, and above all else they encouraged us to dance. What they taught was not only for the stage. – Dick Andros, "Sixty and Still Counting," Sept. 1998 --- *The dancers and staff of American Ballet Theatre sadly note the passing of Ballet Mistress, Georgina Parkinson. Ms. Parkinson, a cherished member of ABT's Artistic Staff for more than 30 years, died Friday, December 18 after complications from cancer. A highly acclaimed Principal Dancer with The Royal Ballet, she was appointed Ballet Mistress with American Ballet Theatre in 1978.

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