The Center Receives Santa Ana Commendation

Terry Dwyer receiving special commendation from Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido.

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido presented Center President Terry Dwyer with a special Award of Recognition at the May 7 City Council meeting. In his remarks, Mayor Pulido expressed thanks on behalf of the city for the Center’s contributions to the schools, students, educators and residents of Santa Ana. Many schools and students in Santa Ana have benefited from a range of programs offered by the Center, including Arts Teach, Summer at the Center and special events conducted by the casts of the Trey McIntyre Project, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, In the Heights and STOMP. 

Guest Blogger: Trey McIntyre of Trey McIntyre Project

”When you dance, you can enjoy the luxury of being you.”
 – Paulo Coehlho, The Witch of Portobello

CELEBRATE NATIONAL DANCE WEEK 
April 26 – May 5 
Join us during National Dance Week for a special posting in Center Scene by a noted artistic director, choreographer or expert. 

Trey McIntyre's Sun Road 

Trey McIntyre © Otto Kitsinger

By Trey McIntyre
Artistic Director, Trey McIntyre Project
www.TreyMcIntyre.com

A dancer approached me recently for some advice about how to be the best participant in the process of creating a new ballet. This was my response:

I really appreciate your checking in and it speaks volumes about you that you want to learn. I can only speak from my own experience as a choreographer and what motivates me in the studio. I go right to a place of exploration and daring, and I want the dancers to do the same. I am inspired by dancers who try fearlessly. Always succeeding is not the point. I am not trying to simply bring an idea into the world that I think should happen. I am trying to discover. So, in that way, the dancer is a full participant in the creation. Whether or not you fall on your face, we don’t know what’s right or wrong yet. The important thing is to commit to it wholeheartedly. I find that dancers find ways to distance themselves from the hard, embarrassing parts of the process. Something goes wrong and you stop to laugh at it or show excessive exasperation, and, in essence say, “that mistake is not me.” But all I see is a wasted opportunity and distancing of oneself from the process…from the vulnerability and the discovery. Those mistakes are, indeed, you and need to be relished and examined. 

Trey McIntyre's Bad Winter © Liz Volles

Another thing to keep your eye on, especially with a new choreographer to you, is that the details of their way of movement are important. It may feel more comfortable to start by translating the information into what you know, but there are reasons for the specificity. So, to the extent that you can digest those things quickly and keep trying them to the point that they are uncomfortable, you are getting closer to what the choreographer is looking for. 

Finally, remember that you are helping an artist to pull something out of the ethereal into the concrete world. That is an uncertain, twisting, winding road that needs coaxing and inspiration. Study the myths of the muses because they really illustrate what I feel is the dancer’s main role in the creation process. Anything you can do to support the fantasy that is being spun … through excited presence, through reflecting the mood of the piece in your person, through doing your homework and coming in the next day better than when you left … you play a pivotal part in making art happen. 

I hope this makes sense to you and is not too big picture to be helpful. If you keep up this attitude of learning and implement what you find in a way that feels positive and growing for you, you will have a great career. Thanks again for reaching out. 

TMP Dancers Bring Arts Medicine to Local Hospitals

TMP dancers at St. Joseph Hospital

Members of the Trey McIntyre Project, who will perform at Segerstrom Center for the Arts November 23-25, stopped by St. Joseph Hospital and CHOC in Orange on Tuesday to visit patients, families and staff members. The smiles and genuine caring from the artists along with some impromptu dance moves shed a bright spot into their day. Thanks to TMP and the hospitals for their great work!

To see more photos from the St. Joseph visit, click here.

TMP dancers meet the CHOC bear before visiting youngsters

Dances combine the art of dance and medicine in front of St. Josephs Hospital

Trey's Back and Costa Mesa's Got Him!

Trey McIntyre Project, one of the nation's most innovative and creative dance companies, has returned to Segerstrom Center and Orange County dance audiences. Trey, in glasses, is seen here with colleagues and stage crew as they prepare for the World Premiere of Ways of Seeing. Four works will be presented by TMP November 23-25: Ways of Seeing (commissioned by the Center and begins in Segerstrom Hall and transitions to the Arts Plaza), The Unkindness of Ravens (a Center co-commission and West Coast Premiere), Bad Winter and Ladies and Gentle Men. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

 

YOU’LL NEVER DANCE ALONE!

The Little Mermaid © Holger Badekow

 

Swan Lake © Gene Schiavone

There are 3,000 seats in Segerstrom Hall. Chances are, we’re not always the only one there solo. So if you love dance and ballet and for whatever reason cannot gather up your family and friends for a night-out, why not Join the Corps?  Members of the Center’s new Dance Corps  are subscribers to the Dance Series who purchase subscriptions for one. You’ll be seated with other Center ‘soloists’ who share your passion for dance. You meet new friends and see them throughout the year. You can find out more by calling the Center’s box office at (714) 556-2787 or visit www.scfta.org/dance. If ever there was a reason to pirouette with joy!

Ashley Werhun, John Michael Schert, Travis Walker
Trey McIntyre Project © Lois Greenfield

Rodin © Gene Schiavone



Inside and Outside with Trey McIntyre Project

Six thousand dance fans on October 2 and 3 enjoyed five works performed by Trey McIntyre Project, including two West Coast premieres and a world premiere commissioned by the Center for the occasion. McIntyre’s vision used several features of the Center’s campus, beginning in Segerstrom Hall, transitioning through the lobby and then out to the community plaza. It became dance meets performance art as the dancers continued to perform individually in specially created kiosks topped with video screens while other images were projected onto the side of Segerstrom Hall. The audience mingled and moved about from one location to another to observe each dancer’s individual character. The performances were the climax of an unprecedented week-long residency by TMP, during which time they also held master classes, free public performances, a bus-in for 1,500 students and company classes with local dancers and dance schools. All photos by Doug Gifford

Photos below: World premiere of The More I See You started on stage and moved outside to the community plaza.

Photos: The More I See You on the community plaza.

Trey McIntyre Project Draws 1,500 School Children to the Center

More than 1,500 youngsters, many of whom have never seen a professional dance performance, attended a special preview at the Center by Trey McIntyre Project on Friday, October 2. Some are seen walking around the set and equipment for the World Premiere piece, "The More I See You," which will be unveiled during the Friday and Saturday evening performances (upper right image).

A Day in the Life of Trey McIntyre Project

Click above to see a video of Trey McIntyre Project’s busy first day in Orange County. The video includes a visit by Trey and Brett to the University of California, Irvine to work with graduate students in Professor Naugle’s choreography composition class and a spontaneous dance event at Huntington Beach Surf City Nights open market. These activities are part of the dance company’s week-long residency at the Center which were designed to expand the artistic experience beyond the stage.

Find A Spurban Near You

Last night, Trey McIntyre Project took passers-by at Huntington Beach Surf City Nights by total surprise when they danced three works at the intersection of Main and Olive Streets. The company calls these performances spur-of-the-moment urban dances and they will be performing more throughout Orange County today, Wednesday, September 30. Below is a list of spurbans with locations and times. Be sure to arrive on time because the dances last only 5-10 minutes. (More photos below.)

11:25 a.m. Chapman University – Fahmy Attallah Ph.D. Piazza, off of One University Drive and N. Glassell Street

Noon/12 p.m. Santa Ana Arts District – Cal State Fulleton Grand Central Art Center at Broadway and 1st next to the Gypsy Den

12:40 p.m. South Coast Plaza at the Carousel Court on the ground floor

1:30 p.m. Irvine Spectrum in front of the Edwards Movie Theater and foodcourt

Tickets to Trey McIntyre Project are just $10. They will perform Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3 in Segerstrom Hall and on the community plaza. More info at http://www.ocpac.org/home/Events/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=961&NavID=86