Atlanta Ballet's Moulin Rouge (R)

Here are a few articles about Atlanta Ballet's season opener, Moulin Rouge® that continues its run at the Cobb Energy Centre this weekend: two by Cynthia Bond Perry on ArtsCriticATL.com (a preview and review), Pierre Ruhe wrote a review for AJC, and there's another review from Creative Loafing by Andrew Alexander. Those are from the more "established" voices on dance in town--the critics if you will. It's interesting in light of our ongoing arts criticism discussion (see my earlier posts starting with March on the Emory Arts Criticism Symposium) that the Atlanta Ballet apparently sees all online coverage as the same. Their show-specific blog lists write-ups from Fashionado, and Atlanta Events under the heading "Critics Loved Moulin Rouge®". From what I can tell from how the bloggers mention dress rehearsal viewing and backstage access, and are posting the official promo shots on their blogs, the PR guys targeted bloggers right along with critics. And why not? Obviously they want as much coverage as they can get. But it's interesting that they're not at all separating the "critics" from the self-admitted neophytes. And a happy side-effect of the bloggers not being critics per se--they don't criticize! At least these two pretty much stick to gushing about how amazing everything was. Which is great, I'm totally stoked that folks who might not always be into it are going to see dance and loving it. No reason the world at large can't find out how much these folks appreciated the performance...but it's not really the same as a critical review. I personally get a much better idea of what the performance would be like to go see from the more critical reviews. So anything scholarly or "important" aside, what would I rather read? That makes the case for criticism for me.

MAD Festival timing question from Douglas

The 2011 Modern Atlanta Dance Festival is scheduled for April 16 & 17.  These dates were chosen based on the theatre availability at the Marcus Jewish Community Center Atlanta.  The Arts and Entertainment Department at the MJCCA are longtime collaborators in the presentation of the festival.  However, April 17 is Palm Sunday. I'm interested in getting feedback from the Atlanta dance community. Would it be better if the MAD Festival is held for one night only -- Saturday, April 16? 

Please let me hear from you: fullradiusdance@aol.com or 404-724-9663.

Douglas Scott

Full Radius Dance

Review of "Just", and venues

Review by Andrew Alexander for Creative Loafing of the past weekend's performance, "Just," presented by Wormhole and Zoetic. I have been curious about the space over at Fabrefaction, but haven't made it over there to check it out myself yet. Sounds like Mr. Alexander was impressed! Glad to have another venue available to dance in (especially if it's a good one!) And speaking of venues, I had a quick conversation with someone from Eyedrum today--the good news is that in looking for a new space they are thinking about having a performance space in the mix, including with an eye toward dance productions. The current gallery has been a great place for folks to present over the years (mostly because of the supportive folks there, and their ability to make the space not prohibitively expensive, which is great for independent artists especially.) As much as the gallery space gives an edgy, out-of-the-proscenium-box feel to a show, I think having an actual dance-friendly stage would be a welcome addition.

Atlanta Fringe Festival

Atlanta will have a Fringe Festival all its own! So for those of you making dances that need a place to perform them, check it out. Here's an article about it from Cathy Fox of ArtCriticATL.com, and the site itself is appropriately atlantafringe.com.They say the submission forms will go live on Nov. 1 and the festival itself is in August 2011. A good time to have it, in what seems to be practically "dead month", at least in the dance scene last season.

News about upcoming gloATL performance

From Cynthia Perry at ArtsCriticATL.com, news about Lauri Stallings' upcoming project (that held auditions back in late summer.)

Dance Informa sweepstakes

Deborah from Dance Informa sent me this info about their sweepstakes. They have their newest edition online too at www.danceinforma.com. 

Leading Australian Dance Magazine Gives Cash to US Dancers

Dance Informa, Australia’s leading Dance Magazine has entered the USA market with a huge incentive for new subscribers. All dancers who sign up to the bi-monthly online publication receive free entry into a cash draw of $4000 and a new Apple iPad.

Dance Informa is Australia’s most popular dance magazine and dance website and has received immense interest from the active and growing US dance industry. American dancers are literally leaping to sign up to Dance Informa, with each edition containing up-to-date, nationwide and international audition listings, dance event information, interviews, advice, dance fashion and more. With a measurable increase in website traffic since the sweepstake launch on May 15, Dance Informa is enjoying rapid readership growth and industry support.

“Dance Informa is not only informative, but fun. Every edition features ticket giveaways and prizes such as free dance classes, iPods and dance fashion items. Dance Informa also includes audio visual content and interactive features, with every article open to comment by readers, creating a great platform for discussion about dance”, says Managing Director Deborah Searle. “Dance Informa celebrates all things dance!”

Past editions of Dance Informa have featured interviews with such stars as JaQuel Knight (Beyoncé’s acclaimed choreographer), Emmy winning choreographers Mia Michaels, Tyce Diorio and Wade Robson, contemporary ballet legend Desmond Richardson, and a line-up of Broadway, Ballet and Commercial dance leaders and creators.

Dance Informa has wide appeal across the dance industry given its diverse range of information for dancers of all ages and styles. With a new team of dance journalists across the States, Dance Informa will report on the latest dance news and provide US dancers with the information they need to succeed in the industry, in a free and easily accessible format.

“Dancers need to be informed to make it in this industry”, says Searle. “We provide dancers with a tool to keep on top of their game, plus a few bonuses along the way - like our huge $4000 and iPad giveaway!”

So why not enter?
Entry is free and Dance Informa’s sweepstake is open to all US residents 13 years and older.
Enter today at http://www.danceinforma.com

For official sweepstake rules visit http://www.danceinforma.com/win_$4000.htm