Archive for the 'Dance' Category
Beat Retreat
July 6, 2011
This week I had the pleasure of attending BEAT RETREAT in Afton, VA and Charlottesville, VA. A group of percussive dancers got together for an intensive week of dancing: teaching, swapping steps, partying, and inspiring one another. There were tappers, flatfooters, cloggers, Cape Breton step dancers, Irish step dancers (that would be me!), and body percussionists. There was a serious amount of talent packed into that rehearsal room, and I was pretty blown away by everyone.
We rehearsed some choreographed pieces by each of our special guest choreographers and, at the end of the week, we had two performances to show off the fruits of our labor; the first was Friday night at the Hamner Theater in Afton, and the second was Saturday night at Live Arts in Charlottesville. It was a tiring and exhausting week, but totally exhilarating.
Matthew Olwell came up with the brilliant idea and hosted and organized the event. He envisioned the Beat Retreat as fulfilling three main goals:
1. Class for those who give class. Those of us who primarily teach these days don’t get much of an opportunity to be really challenged. The retreat enabled us to challenge each other and push ourselves, both in terms of technique and material.
2. Shared repertoire. By learning new choreography together, we could expand our repertoire to include original pieces that could be used in future performances, and would be a refreshing break from our usual formulaic performance steps.
3. A concentrated shot of creative juice. Inspiration for all involved!
I know I personally had an incredible time, and for me all those goals were fulfilled. I needed a little jolt after a year of not taking or even teaching an Irish dance class, and since we focused on tap, clogging, Cape Breton, and other percussive styles besides Irish dance, I was definitely challenged and very humbled.
I cannot wait for next year!
Contemporary Jazz at Joy of Motion, DC
March 6, 2011
I was featured in the Student Spotlight on Joy of Motion’s Dance is for Everyone blog! I go to Ashley White’s contemporary jazz class every Monday at Joy of Motion’s Atlas studio. It’s a fun and challenging class, and I always feel so much better afterwards. Come check it out!
[Also, I mention Nora Chipaumire's film "Nora" in the interview. The film is incredible and very moving. (It's not really a biography of her life, as my quote in the interview makes it sound--it's more of a...poem, a work of art.) She performed her show lions will roar, swans will fly, angels will wrestle heaven, rains will break: gukurahundi at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center last weekend, and it was breath-taking. Go see her if you ever have the chance!]
Video: Waiting for Conrad
May 17, 2010
“Waiting for Conrad” video is finally here! Performed at Keeping Dance Alive! 2010 in Chico, CA.
Choreography by Kate Spanos
Music: “Waiting for Conrad” by Shooglenifty (Venus in Tweeds, 1995)
Performers: Maria Oliver, Kate Spanos, Shannon Sullivan, Rose Trulin, Kelsey Wilson, Abby Zuppan
View all of my videos on YouTube
Reactions: Keeping Dance Alive 2010
April 8, 2010
I have been blown away by the reactions to our Irish dance piece “Waiting for Conrad” at this year’s Keeping Dance Alive. People really seemed to enjoy it! But this just about takes the cake:
anonymous from “Tell It to the E-R” in the Chico Enterprise Record, 2 April 2010:
Irish dancers stole the show
Went to see “Keeping Dance Alive” at Laxson Auditorium and just wanted to say bravo to the Irish dancers. They were so wonderful they literally stole the show. Would love to see more of them. The hip-hop was also good. Have to say the rest of the performances were disappointing, but kudos to the Irish dancers and thank them for all the work they did to bring us such a delightful performance.
My reaction: !!!!!!!!!
To the anonymous caller: whoever you are, you are my new best friend. Thank you! I thought this year’s KDA was particularly good and I thought all the performances were really high quality, so this is amazing to hear. It’s true, we did work hard (and had fun doing it!) so thanks to Maria, Rose, Kelsey, Shannon and Abby for all their hard work!
Review: Keeping Dance Alive! 2010
March 11, 2010
The Chico Enterprise Record published a review of this year’s Keeping Dance Alive today, with the following snippet about my piece:
“Waiting for Conrad,” choreographed by Kate Spanos, was a delightful Irish step performance featuring six talented dancers, including Chico Community Ballet alumna Kelsey Wilson. The performers’ talent was so big that, despite their small number, they filled the stage with quick, light and lively dance.
You can read the full article here: Review: ‘Keeping Dance Alive!’ succeeds with lively performances.
Not mentioned in the article was my personal favorite, “Splatter,” which was a contemporary dance choreographed and performed by Cassie Johnston (a Chico Community Ballet alumna) and two other dancers from Vispo Dance of San Francisco. The strength and quality of movement that these dancer possessed was exquisite, and the long 9 minute piece only left me wanting more.
Congratulations to all the dancers!
Keeping Dance Alive! 2010
February 10, 2010
The annual dance showcase Keeping Dance Alive! is coming up in less than a month, so get your tickets now! This year I am choreographing a contemporary Irish dance piece called “Waiting for Conrad” (music by Shooglenifty, Venus in Tweeds, 1995) that will be performed by dancers from the community and from the Maria Oliver Academy of Irish Dance here in Chico (including myself!).
“Waiting for Conrad” is a contemporary Irish dance piece that emphasizes rhythm and attitude, taking the dance form beyond its focus on competition and athleticism while remaining true to its tradition. As a choreographer, I am aware of the history and influences of Irish dance: many different Irish dance styles contribute to the overall genre (including the old sean-nós style, modern competition style and the theatrical style seen in Riverdance) and Irish dance itself has influenced and been influenced by other percussive dance forms such as tap, flamenco and clogging.
In creating “Waiting for Conrad,” I have started from the traditional base of Irish dance technique that my dancers are familiar with, which is marked by footwork, rhythm and verticality, and have added an element of attitude and expression that is not frequently seen in Irish dance. I have borrowed some movements from tap dance that break the crossed-leg/turned-out foot positions of Irish dance and have incorporated some upper body movement that disrupts the vertical axis of the dancers. In addition, the movement of dancers across the floor creates a spatial map that is non-traditional in that geometric shapes are avoided. Paths have been determined through organic and somewhat random methods, similar to those frequently used in some contemporary dance forms, in contrast to the mathematical precision of traditional Irish céili dance.
Despite having broken a few basic rules of Irish dance in this piece, I have asked my dancers to maintain their best technique and to focus first and foremost on rhythm so that the dance is still undoubtedly Irish. But unlike the steps performed in the competitive realm of Irish dance in which my dancers train, “Waiting for Conrad” conveys a vague story that requires some attention paid to attitude through facial and upper body expression. This contemporary style of Irish dance is relatively new: it goes beyond our “old jigs and hornpipes” as well as transcends the virtuosic glitz of stage shows such as Riverdance, and aims instead for a more subdued exploration of technique and rhythm that may lend itself to more intellectual themes. Irish dance has come from the crossroads of rural Ireland to a new crossroads, where it is pushed to new boundaries of style and form.
Other acts include ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, hip hop, and tribal belly dance. Don’t miss it–it’s going to be a great show!
Image from last year’s Keeping Dance Alive! 2009
Chaos Interne, choreographed by Chelsea Beights
(check it out: that’s my hand, third from the right, with my head right behind it!)
Show times:
Friday, 5 March 7:30 PM
Saturday, 6 March 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM
Laxson Auditorium, CSU Chico
$18 adult, $16 senior, $14 student/child
Order tickets now!
Chico Contra Dance
January 16, 2009
On Saturday (10 January 2009) I went to a contra dance at the Chico Grange Hall, and it was written up in the local Chico News & Review. The dance was called by Mark Goodwin, and music was provided by the Stars of Munster (an offshoot of the Pub Scouts). These dances are great fun and they happen monthly (usually the second Saturday of the month), so check it out!
I’m in the photo in the article…can you spot me?
Rhythm Synesthesia in Irish Dance
December 22, 2008
I have said that I experience rhythm-induced synesthesia, but I’ve never been able to elaborate on this experience. In Irish dance, for me hornpipes are dark brown earthy colors, light jigs are bright green and yellow, slip jigs are purple and pink pastels, reels are bright primary colors (treble reels are the same, but with some black inky undertones), and treble jigs are uplifting blues and green.
I’ve never elaborated because I didn’t know if these colors were actually rhythm-induced, or if they were just my personal associations about how dance steps should be performed to these rhythms. For example, slip jigs are typically meant to be feminine, elegant, light and airy, so my pretty-pastel association makes sense.
However, the other day I was thinking about my set dances. All my hornpipe sets are typically dark browns, such as the Ace & Deuce of Pipering, the Roving Peddler, the Rambling Rake, etc. The Drunken Gauger is a treble jig, and is very light blue and green.
But my Piper, a hornpipe set that I dance at an uncommonly slow speed (73 bpm) is also light blues and greens. I also have another normal speed (~104 bpm) Piper that is dark brown and forest green, just like any other hornpipe. Then I remembered that when a hornpipe (4/4 or 2/4 time) is slowed down enough, it essentially becomes a jig (6/8), in that the multiples of 4, 6, and 8 will “meet” at some point. So this means that maybe these simple mathematics could explain the changing colors of the Piper, going from a brown hornpipe at speed 104 to a light green/blue treble jig at speed 73.
Of course, although this is pretty interesting and it is some compelling evidence, it still isn’t proof that I have rhythm-induced synesthesia. It is totally possible that since the choreographer of the slow Piper (Michael Ryan) was using a slower tempo, and therefore was choosing more jig-like steps, I came to associate the dance more with a treble jig than with a hornpipe. It isn’t that the choreography was originally styled for faster hornpipe, and I’m just doing those faster hornpipe steps to extremely slow music. The steps are actually even faster (physically, my feet are moving faster) than they would be in a hornpipe at speed 104, and the steps feel much more similar to treble jigs that I’ve danced.
My logic has circled back, so again, I’m back to the question as to whether my synesthesia is induced by the actual rhythm, or if it’s just an association that helps me perform the steps in a way that congruent with the music. Anyway, it’s food for thought, and definitely something to experiment with at some point.
Samhain 2008 in Chico, CA
November 26, 2008
Last month I performed with Maria Oliver and Oliver Wong at the Blue Room Theatre’s second annual Samhain celebration. I performed a solo Aoibhell the Fairy Queen, and Maria and Oliver and I danced a treble reel together, with live music provided by the brilliant Ha’Penny Bridge.
It was reviewed by The Orion!
Sound Play
November 2, 2008
Theatrical solo choreography by Kate Spanos for MA in Traditional Irish Dance Performance, University of Limerick. Performance at the Performing Arts Center at the University of Limerick on 27 November 2007.
Music is “The Eccentric” from “Troots” by Shooglenifty, with sound manipulation by John Greewood.
View all of my videos on YouTube