Congratulations, John Neumeier

John Neumeier © Steven Haberland 

The Center sends congratulations to John Neumeier, director and chief choreographer of The Hamburg Ballet. Mr. Neumeier will be awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse 2013 for his lifetime achievement in dance. The Benois de la Danse is one of the most prestigious ballet competitions. Statuettes are given to the winners in the categories of lifelong achievement, ballerina, danseur, choreographer, composer and designer. The award ceremony will take place at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. He became the director and chief choreographer in 1973 and was named Ballettintendant in 1996. 

John Neumeier's Liliom. © Holger Badekow

Neumeier has received many other awards, including the Herbert von Karajan Musikpreis in 2007 and the Deutscher Jubiläums Tanzpreis in 2008. In 2003, he was appointed to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor by French President Jacques Chirac. He was made an honorary citizen of the city of Hamburg in 2007. Last year he accepted the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation. In 2011, Neumeier founded Germany’s National Youth Ballet. The company of eight young dancers is based at the Ballettzentrum in Hamburg. 

The Center has presented the Hamburg Ballet three times. They have performed the U.S. premiere of Neumeier’s Nijinsky and the West Coast premieres of his Lady of the Camellias, Death in Venice and The Little Mermaid.

Silvia Azzoni and Alexandre Riabko in John Neumeier's The Little Mermaid. 

© Chris Emerick

Taft Elementary Principal Steve Longacre Honored

Steve Longacre with Center VP, Education Talena Mara at OCMAA Awards.

Steve Longacre, principal of Taft Elementary School in Santa Ana, was honored for his 35 years as an educator and 25 years at Taft Elementary during the recent Orange County Music and Arts Administrators awards celebration. He earned the Outstanding Administrator Award for his superior dedication to support arts education at Taft Elementary. Taft has been a Center ArtsConnect partner since 2004. The Center has collaborated with Steve and his faculty on many projects, including those specifically designed for the deaf and hard of hearing students. Through the years, teaching artists such as Andrew Grueschow and the cast of STOMP have held special workshops and performed for the Taft Tigers. Congratulations, Mr. Longacre! 

Andrew Grueschow conducts workshop for deaf and hard of hearing students.  

Cast of STOMP performs for Taft Tigers.

Guest Blogger: Jean-Christophe Maillot of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo

”There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them.”
 – Vicki Baum

During National Dance Week (April 26 – May 5), we invited notable artistic directors, choreographers and experts for a special posting on Center Scene. Here, Choreographer-Director Jean-Christophe Maillot of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo reflects on the complex yet enjoyable nature of narrative dance forms. Segerstrom Center will present Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo dancing their production of LAC (Swan Lake) March 6 - 9, 2014 as part of our International Dance Series. 

LAC (Swan Lake) by Jean-Christophe Maillot Ballets © Laurent Philippe

By Jean-Christophe Maillot
Choreographer-Director, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
www.BalletsdeMonteCarlo.com

One could believe that the narrative ballet, in case it’s telling the story, would bring the audience from the point A to the point B, on contrary of so called abstract ballet that stays open to all the possible interpretations. It has been now 30 years that I experiment the narration in my pieces and finally things don’t seem so simple. For example I am not sure that all the people in the audience arrive to the same conclusion at the end of my performances. The point B is obviously not the same for everyone. So we could ask ourselves if the narration is a support for the comprehension or ... on contrary, as I think, a walking stick to venture off the beaten tracks. Inversely, the intrusions that I allow myself in the more abstract forms are not necessarily difficult to understand. 

Cendrillon by Jean-Christophe Maillot © Marie-Laure Briane

Certain movements talk by themselves, starting up simultaneous emotion in spectators. The reason for this is that we all have a body and in a certain way we are « already always » connected with what the dancer is doing on stage. If he jumps, if he curls up, or shakes, our body feels in its flesh what is happening and the sensations are more direct than through the story. 

It happens that Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo return today to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts to present LAC (Swan Lake). It is a narrative piece that confronts us with uneasy characters, filled with the contradictory desires that are conspiring against each other. The narration in this case complicates things but unveils more and lets everyone to the self-interrogation until the point they choose to reach. This is why I love narration. Because it cures us of the environment where the messages and codes are simplified to the extreme in order to satisfy populist stakes.

Catch Us At Macy's South Coast Plaza

The Catch Me If You Can Tour Company  © Carol Rosegg

During their “American Icons Celebration of The People, Places and Things We Love,” Macy’s South Coast Plaza is promoting the June 25 – 30 engagement of Catch Me If You Can at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Now through Monday, catch the CMIYC display located just inside the Jewel Court entrance to Macy’s. Take your photo near the three authentic Pan Am flight attendant uniforms from the glory days AND enter to win tickets to Catch Me If You Can. Be sure to share your photos with us via Twitter and Instagram @SegerstromArts using #CatchMeOC.

Macy's South Coast Plaza Catch Me If You Can display

FLASHDANCE Behind the Scenes: Nick Hurley

Expressive tenor Matthew Hydzik is Nick Hurley, Alex’s smitten boss and steel mill heir. In this interview, Hydzik shares stories on growing up in the show’s Pittsburgh setting and how his character becomes a positive force in Alex’s world by encouraging her to achieve her dream of training as a ballet dancer. 

FLASHDANCE – THE MUSICAL is currently playing at Segerstrom Center now through Sunday, May 19.   For more information, please visit www.SCFTA.org. 

FLASHDANCE Behind the Scenes: Gloria

 

Meet Kelly Felthous who plays Gloria, protagonist Alex Owen’s bubbly best friend who travels down a different road than the strong-willed Alex. Here, see what the actress has to say about living in her own fantasy world on stage, being dramatic like Gloria and how classic Hollywood stars such as Gene Kelley continue to inspire her. 

FLASHDANCE – THE MUSICAL is currently playing at Segerstrom Center now through Sunday, May 19.   For more information, please visit www.SCFTA.org. 

SCFTA Prepares to Intercept "The Intergalactic Nemesis"

In 2010, the Long Center in Austin, Texas presented a whole new form of theater: Live-Action Graphic Novel. The Intergalactic Nemesis, Book One: Target Earth was an instant sensation and began booking its multi-year world tour after only ten days of performances. The creators took artwork from an original comic-book story, projected it panel-by-panel on a two-story video screen while three actors voiced the characters, one performer created sound-effects, and a keyboardist performed the score.

On May 31 and June 2 IN enters the artistic orbit of Segerstrom Center for the Arts as the climax to the 2012 – 2013 Family Series. Book Two: Robot Planet Rising, will join its sister opus on November 9 and 10 to open the 2013 – 2014 Series. Prepare for your encounter – learn the true origins of The Intergalactic Nemesis by viewing the fascinating documentaries created by KLRU-TV in Austin. Visit www.KLRU.org/artsincontext/episode/the-intergalactic-nemesis. 

Safe landing…

Jason Phelps, Danu Uribe and Chris Gibson in The Intergalactic Nemesis
© Sarah Bork Hamilton

The stage of The Intergalactic Nemesis Book One: Robot Planet Rising © Sarah Bork Hamilton