The Spring 2012 Faculty Concert

http://www.csulb.edu/depts/dance

Usually I will only like one or two pieces in a typical Cal State Long Beach Concert. Sometimes the pieces I like are good but could withstand some changes. However, last night was an exception where the first  four of the six dances were quite nice. Some of these pieces could have used some changes, but the last two pieces of the evening were nice ideas that never truly came to fruition. I have chosen to discuss the first piece.

The opening piece, “Set and Drift, choreographed by Lorin Johnson www.lorinjohnson.com in collaboration with the dancers with music by Grieg, was wonderful from start to finish. The program notes said that the female octet was dedicated to Johnson’s wife, Lisa, who is “beautiful, fun, and a bit quirky.” The vibrant choreography and music did just that, with hands reaching from the wings of the stage, waiting to be grabbed, bouncing up and down as if to start sprinting in a race, followed by an ending where one dancer after another pushes each other down to be queen of the stage.  The reigning “queen” who is the last one standing suddenly has her leg grabbed, as if she might fall down too, but then the lights go out.

The music, costumes, and lighting went well with the choreography. The painted flesh-colored pointe shoes the women wore along with their short shiny dresses accompanied by less shimmery pants were also eye-catching. There were two girls dressed in each color; navy, royal, turquoise, and purple. The cooler color combination went well against the cobalt blue backdrop. In return, the bright stage lighting went well with the lively choreography and music.

Although the piece could have used more rehearsal with every girl in unison with smoother transitions at all times, the dance was still one of my favorite pieces of the evening. In addition, some girls were better at sharing their emotions than others. Audience member and dancer Michael Phillips agrees. “The choreography was really nice,” says Phillips, “but the kids just didn’t have it together musically.”

Not Just Another Johnson at the Beach

Lorin and Lisa Johnson in Reunions, 1998, www.lorinjohnson.com

There’s something about the Johnsons when it comes to the dance department at Cal State Long Beach. Lorin and Lisa Johnson are husband and wife and have both taught ballet at the university, among other things . Keith Johnson http://www.csulb.edu/depts/dance/faculty_pages/full_time/kjohnson/k_johnson.htm is a modern teacher there. Holly Johnston http://cfa.lmu.edu/programs/dance/faculty/part/johnston.htm taught modern dance there last spring but is currently at Loyola Marymount University www.lmu.edu. However, for this blog post, I decided to interview Lisa Johnson, my ballet professor this semester at California State University Long Beach, who has been teaching there since 2006. Here is her bio on the CSULB website: http://www.csulb.edu/depts/dance/faculty_pages/part_time/ljohnson/lisa_johnson.html



Lisa Johnson www.csulb.edu

Born in Long Beach, California, Johnson began dancing at the age of five at Audrey Share School of Dance in Long Beach. She trained in the Royal Academy of Dancing Method (RAD) http://www.rad.org.uk/ for five to six years. Johnson has vivid memories of her teacher, Audrey Share.  “She was a cute little English lady,” says Johnson. Johnson remembers dancing in a Russian gathering of the green and with a bird cage under Share’s tutelage. In 1981, David Wilcox bought the school and changed the name to Ballet Arts Center of Southern California http://longbeachballet.com/history.html.
 Johnson continued there for another eight years, attending summer programs on scholarship at Marin Ballet http://www.marinballet.org, Cleveland Ballet http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CB2, the School of American Ballet http://www.sab.org, and Toronto’s National Ballet School http://www.nbs-enb.ca/about/default.aspx. In addition, Johnson was awarded first place in Marguerite A. Hoffman national ballet competition at UCLA and was a semi-finalist in the Prix de Lausanne. http://www.prixdelausanne.org Johnson then accepted an apprenticeship with the National Ballet of Canada http://national.ballet.ca/ when she was 18. Apprentices got to train with the school and dance with the company. Johnson enjoyed a western tour of Canada where she danced in Napoli http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoli_(ballet) , Giselle, and La Bayadere http://dance.about.com/od/famousballets/tp/Classical_Ballets.htm.

Lisa Johnson www.csulb.edu

However, at five feet eight inches, Johnson was considered quite tall for a dancer. She realized if she was to have a chance to dance better roles, she needed to join a smaller company. She then joined New York City’s Feld Ballet, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Feld a company that was exclusively devoted to performing contemporary ballet choreography by Eliot Feld. However, the turned in movements and pointe shoes didn’t mix very well for Johnson. She soon developed a stress fracture and could not plié, which is a basic ballet step where the dancer bends their knees. “They fired me, “says Johnson, “and I went back home.” Although Johnson notes that this practice is now considered illegal, she was not protected back then.  “I did perform one piece,” says Johnson. “I had healed enough so that I could put on my flat shoes. I learned a lot of their rep as I was forced to go to the theatre every night. I learned a lot by watching.”
Johnson was able to recover once she came back to California. She did a great deal of guesting all over Southern California, including City Ballet of San Diego http://www.cityballet.org/school/index.php and State Street Ballet http://www.statestreetballet.com/ Johnson also did commercial work, which included a Haagen-Dazs commercial which she believes only aired in Japan. Johnson was one of the swans with pointe shoes on a lit stage. The lead girl, also in a swan costume, held an ice cream cone instead of dancing. “They made fake mashed potatoes for ice cream and varnished it; something like that,” says Johnson, “It was pretty funny to see it behind the scenes.”




Lorin and Lisa Johnson in Reunions, 1998, www.lorinjohnson.com

Johnson then danced with Germany’s Hamburg Ballet http://www.hamburgballett.de/e/index.htm in 1995 before retiring from dancing. “I got to experience the classical and contemporary throughout my career,” says Johnson, “I achieved what I wanted to. That’s why I was content to retire at 28. After a period of time I began teaching, and I found that I really enjoyed teaching.” Johnson’s husband, Lorin Johnson http://lorinjohnson.com/, is also part of CSULB’s faculty. They worked in the same building in New York when she was with Feld Ballet and he was with American Ballet Theatre. www.abt.org The experience repeated itself when he was with San Francisco Ballet and she was attending auditions in the same building. However, they did not meet until they were paired up to dance as guest artists with Ballet Pacifica http://balletpacifica.org/. They now have a son and a daughter, a dog, two cats, and two fish. Her daughter, Annelise, is 11 and loves the violin. In the future, Johnson sees herself continuing to teach, but not necessarily choreographing. Although Johnson has taught at several schools, Orange County High School of the Arts http://www.ocsarts.net/ is the only other place that she is currently teaching at. “I enjoy what I do, so I’d like to do it as long as I can,” says Johnson, “I would like to help children succeed in whatever they’re going to do and be there for my kids.”

Ludmila Babkova: A Legend of Her Own



Babkova and I (Photo by Brent Shambaugh)

Babkova with my bunny Giz near Santa Monica Beach

I would like to tell you about an extraordinary person named Ludmila Babkova. She was in my ballroom dance class during my fall 2010 semester at Santa Monica College. Though she turned 80 this past February, she continues to move with such grace, poise, and beauty of movement. In the time that I have spent since that semester, her story has begun to unravel. She was quite the Russian ballerina with what is now the famed State Ballet of Georgia, which toured Royce Hall at UCLA back in February 2008. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hUoRFJmBhE Lali Kandelaki, current dancer of the State Ballet of Georgia in the title role from Chabukiani’s ballet Laurencia

Babkova worked with the legendary Vakhtang Chabukiani, one of the most famous male ballet dancers in history. He is said to have defined the male Russian dancer for generations to come. Babkova was quite surprised when I told her I wanted to interview her, especially since it was in English, a language that I have helped her learn. When she looked through her memorabilia, Babkova was delighted to find numerous photographs and negatives that she thought had been lost forever.

Chabukiani with legendary Russian Ballerina Maya Plisetskaya in Chabukiani's ballet Laurencia
(Photo courtesy Wikkipedia)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NL3ugxp9XQ Tribute to Chabukiani on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NL3ugxp9XQ Chabukiani’s Biography

Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Babkova was an only child. Her parents sent her to recreational dance classes at the age of five. Her teacher recognized her talent and wanted her to attend the Tbilisi Theatre of Opera and Ballet’s choreographic school when she was around nine. Babkova’s parents eventually agreed to let her attend, but they were extremely reluctant. At the age of twelve, a talent scout from Leningrad came to her school and invited Babkova to train in Leningrad. Unfortunately Babkova got pneumonia and her parents wouldn’t let her go. However, though she pitied losing an opportunity of a lifetime, Babkova finished her schooling in Tbilisi and joined the Tbilisi Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Chabukiani was at the theatre and school during her final two years at the school.

After graduating from the school at age 17, Babkova joined the Tbilisi Theatre of Opera and Ballet’s, where Chabukiani realized her talent and began giving her solo roles at a faster rate than the other dancers. “He quickly drew attention to me because I was a very diligent worker, says Babkova. “I was crazy for dance and I was brave. I tried to show what I could and I know that he liked it.” Some of Babkova’s favorite roles include Zarema in The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountain_of_Bakhchisarai_(ballet Mercedes in Don Quixote, and Odile in Swan Lake. In 1965, she received an honored dancer of Georgia award from the CCCP. She also married her childhood friend Artem, a journalist and actor. Together, they had one child named Vadim when she was still a dancer with the company.

After completing her requirement of two decades with the company, Babkova, spent four years at the Georgian Art Institute where she trained to be a ballet master and choreographer. During one of those years, she was also ballet mistress and choreographer for Raro, a well-known variety performance ensemble. “I was always running,” says Babkova. Despite her success with Raro, Babkova declined to relocate with the company to Spain after a year with the company. Babkova’s mother was not well. Chabukiani then invited Babkova to be his assistant as ballet mistress for the company. Together they toured the world, including trips to the Philippines and Bulgaria. At one point, Babkova went to Samara, Russia to set La Bayadere on them, but she was lost without Chabukiani. Babkova did not have experience with lighting, costuming, or setting tempos for the orchestra, but she was about to learn. “It was the best learning,” says Babkova. “Everyone helped me. I was very lucky.” This experience helped Babkova in the future when she choreographed “Carmen Suite” for a professional company in Kutaisi, Georgia. Once in Moscow with Chabukiani at the Festival of Georgian Art, Babkova receive a medal of distinction.

When Chabukiani passed away in 1992, Georgia underwent a great depression and a change of leadership. The new people in the theatre did not like Chabukiani. Instead Babkova choreographed for a dramatic theatre school in Tbilisi. Meanwhile, Babkova’s son was working for the American Embassy. In 1999, Babkova’s son won a lottery ticket to come to the United States. In 2006, Babkova moved to Portland, Oregon to join her son and his family, including his wife and children, Angelica and Denis. After pneumonia took her sons life when he was 49, Babkova moved to Santa Monica two years ago.

Babkova still enjoys dancing. She may decide to teach or choreograph at some point, but she currently enjoys jazz and modern dance classes and performances. Babkova especially admires Hollywood choreographer Denise Leitner’s use of emotions in her work. She also enjoys the work of modern dancer Bradley Michaud, director of Los Angeles-based Method Dance. “His movements are full of surprises,” says Babkova. “I cannot see how he does it.” In addition Babkova also had performers she admires. During a recent Cal State Long Beach concert, Babkova selected Estela McNaughton and Landon Vo as her favorite dancers. Babkova complemented Vo that night with dazzling smile and a heartfelt embrace. Vo was amazed, especially since Babkova had such an incredible background. “She really made my night,” says Vo.

An Improved Diet for Ballet Dancers in a Nutshell

There is so much pressure to be thin in the world of ballet. I am no stranger to these pressures. I also understand why.  I do not think that bags of bones are needed to make a beautiful line. Flab is not the answer either. Beautiful lines are hidden with pudge if you're not careful, but it's important to do it in the healthiest way. Before I knew about the best diet for a ballet dancer, I was very frustrated. I tried being anorexic and bulimia for two weeks at a time and decided that was not the answer either. I weigh much less than I did a few years ago. I did this by discovering the garbage in even what advertisers claim to be “healthy.” It all started when I had some serious medical problems that affected my immune system and changed my life in some ways for the better.

Keep your hands out of the cookie jar..at least on a regular basis (Photo by Me)

More cookie jar temptations (Photo by Me)

Whatever you do, dancer or non-dancer, don't be a beer-drinking couch potato (Photo by Me)

An occasional treat...courtesy of Chado Tea Room in LA's Little Tokyo (Photo by Me)

Tea is great for dancers...as long as it's organic in a porcelain, glass, or stainless steel container...and yes you can bring your monkey too... (Photo by Me)

Strawberries are good...as long as they're organic...otherwise they have a lot of pesticides...forget the croissant and jam though... (Photo by Me, courtesy Chado Tea)

Bird's Nest made out of noodles with seafood and veggies...yummy...an occasional treat, but make sure it's organic and the seafood is preferably Alaskan wild rather than farmed (Photo by Me, courtesy Hop Li, a restaurant in West Los Angeles)

I have heard the idea that we should accept each other as we are. However, a 2009 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index shows that 63.1% of Americans were overweight. We need be more educated about making better choices. Not to the point where we can’t treat ourselves now and then, but to the point where we really know what’s healthy and not what is healthy according to what greedy advertisers tell us. As a result, we can be more empowered and make choices we know will work rather than feeling hopeless and trying to be anorexic or bulimic. I’m not saying that eating disorders will disappear completely, but not being brainwashed into thinking something is healthy when it’s not will certainly help.
Dr. Robin Bernhoft of the Bernhoft Center for Advanced Medicine in Ojai, California, cannot say enough about the importance of organic foods. Bernhoft, who is board certified in environmental medicine and surgery, has been a medical doctor for over 35 years. According to Bernhoft, the Centers for Disease Control said in 2000 that "Virtually all human diseases result from the interaction of genetic susceptibility and modifiable environmental factors." Toxic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, cadmium, lead, and mercury build up in the body and cause pretty much all chronic illness,” says Bernhoft. According to a study done at the University of North Texas approximately 15 years ago, “it is estimated that about 80% of the toxins that cause disease come from food and water,” says Bernhoft.
Bernhoft recommends organic food for two reasons. “Number one it’s a lot cleaner,” says Bernhoft, noting that organic foods do not have things such as pesticides or are genetically modified. “Across the board it has about twice as many vitamins and minerals according to the department of agriculture,” says Bernhoft of his second reason to choose organic food. In addition, Bernhoft recommends the Mediterranean diet, which features some protein, fruits, fruits, vegetables. The diet also features a small amount of carbohydrates and very little flours or sugars. Bernhoft also recommends avoiding soy and processed foods, with the exception of organic soy sauce. Fat satisfies the stomach so you don’t eat too many carbohydrates,” says Bernhoft.
I hope that this information in a nutshell helps to empower dancers as well non-dancers to have a better diet. When I’m dancing, I have less of an appetite than if I am studying all day, which helps. In addition, if you watch the documentaries “Food Inc.,” “Foodmatters,” and “Hungry for Change,” you can start to further unravel what is wrong with the American diet. I Have also heard that "Forks Over Knives" is good. Here are trailers for the films:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4DOQ6Xhqss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MvAM97VDE8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7ijukNzlUg
You can also check out the following links:
www.drbernhoft.com
www.mercola.com (he tries to sell his product but it's good information)
 In addition, check out the environmental working group’s website at www.ewg.org. They have guidelines for a less toxic lifestyle, down to cleaning products as well as personal care products. When there are less toxins in the body, it is easier to lose weight and be the dancer you’ve always wanted to be without starving yourself.

An Event Not to Be Missed

Courtesy Blankenship Ballet

On March 31^st at 8:15 pm, I will be performing in the premiere of “Blankenship Cabaret Theatre.” The event, inspired by the famed Parisian Moulin Rouge, will feature a fine arts cabaret in the Blankenshio Ballet Grand Ballroom, located at the Alexandria Hotel in the ‘historic core’ of ‘Gallery Row,’ located at 501 South Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The event will feature over 23 world-class artists, actors, dancers, and musicians.

Every performer is accomplished if not luminous in their field,” says executive director Mark Blankenship. “It’s a rare treat to watch them perform live in an intimate venue. Our goal is to revitalize historic structures and foment cultural patrimony by creating and producing live performances of classical artists uniquely blended in a way that encourages the community to join together to convene an eclectic venue on an ongoing basis so as to amplify the exhibition of the arts in a way that endures.”

Maykel Solas and Junna Ige, Courtesy Ballet San Jose

The evening will open with artistic director and Cuban ballerina Bertha Suarez Blankenship performing the lead role in the ballet “Carmen.” Opera diva Shana Blake Hill will be singing music from “Carmen.” An assortment of other ballets and operas will be performed, including the historic “Pas de Quatre” and the ever-stunning “Diana and Actaeon.” The event will also include a performance of Madonna’s song “Future Lovers,” choreographed by guest choreographer David Person. The piece will feature most of the ballet dancers, many from the world-reknowned Ballet Nacionale de Cuba, including director Suarez as well as Ramon Moreno, Alejandro Boza, Patricia Perez, and Maykel Solas. It  will also be a piece that I will be performing in as well as Japanese ballerina Junna Ige, who dances professionally with Ballet San Jose, and Tatiana Piche, who just got back from spending a year and a half with Ballet Nacionale de Cuba. The evening will also feature vocalist and dancer Megalyn Echikunwoke performing “Castle on a Cloud” from the hit Broadway musical “Les Miserables,” accompanied by  acclaimed pianist Mark Robson, who will also be featured throughout the rest of the evening. Belly dancer Meliza and “The Jewels that Raq” will be performing as well as flamenco dancer Richard Chavez and Afro-Cuban Master Ramon Ramos Alayo. The event will feature gourmet cuisine from Bravo ‘Top Chef’ Ilan Hall of “The Gorbals” and a full bar.

Ramon Moreno and Patricia Perez, Courtesy Bayer Ballet

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. To purchase tickets, go to www.brownpapertickets.com/event/230403. Visit www.blankenshipcabarettheatre.com or call 1-86-MY-BALLET for more information. If you cannot make it to the event, starting in April, the Blankenship Theatre will perform on an ongoing weekly basis at Downtown LA’s Salvage Bar and Lounge. The company will return to the Alexandria with another grand performance in May 2012. Other performances and venues are yet to come as well. Here is a link of what to expect:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-PfBitj0DU

Last weekend did not work for the filming. This weekend did not work either. The weather was either too rainy or too windy this past weekend to film. Saturday was Gizmorashka's second birthday. Poor Giz would have loved to have gone to the beach, but the weather had other other ideas.
Filmmaker Xi Guan said sand in the camera would be a bad thing. I agree with that, especially since a morsel of sand got in my camera once and it would not close properly. Fortunately, after I used canned air on it a few times, the problem was resolved.

Perhaps sometimes this week will work for filming. Guan will let me know. In the meantime, I decided to share these images (taken by Guan) from the filming. I am in the mask for all of the pictures but one, which is a cast and crew photo.

A Dancer's Worst Nightmare

One of a dancer's worst nightmares is getting an injury. I once had an injury where it hurt to walk. Over a time period of a year and a half, I went to over thirty people, including chiropractors, acupuncturists, body workers, and physical therapists. I finally got better but most people didn't help me despite their reputation. An acupuncturist helped me to walk without pain, but I still couldn't lift my leg more than 45 degrees off the injured side. A physical therapist for San Francisco Ballet did painful body work on me, but I still could not lift my leg past 45 degrees. He seemed mystified why I couldn't lift my leg any higher without pain. When he was not working for a few weeks, my body really fell apart. I then went to the chiropractor for San Francisco Ballet. I was one of the few patients that he had not single-handedly healed. Although my body was in less pain, I still could not lift my leg higher without pain. The chiropractor then recommended a body worker. Within a month, I was back in the splits. I was so happy to be back to where I was. It was very hard for me.
Dancing is life for me. Not dancing is like not breathing to a truly passionate dancer. Without being able to breathe, you die.When you dance at a professional level, you really tend to know your body. You have to learn to live with the pain. In addition, you learn to recognize the difference between sore pain and injured pain. In the end, the show must go on in the professional world. Thus professional dancers do what they can to make all the magic happen.

That being said, I can really identify with the character in the film I worked on this past weekend. My character, Ms. Rabbit, was once a great dancer. "She was in a horrible accident," says filmmaker Xi Guan. The character is now bound to a wheelchair as well as a rabbit mask, that seems to add to her predicament. She sees a dancer dancing and is very sad. White is a theme throughout the film. Although the film starts out in a darkened corridor, the scene then moves to the beach where Ms. Rabbit pours milk for a reluctant toast with an imagined friend. When the milk she is pouring turns to black she is frightened. She stumbles out of her wheelchair and is tormented by demonic masked creatures. She tries to stand but keeps falling down. They throw flour at her. Frightened and sad, she is once again alone. She tries to fix herself with tool reminiscent of the movie "Child's Play." Her legs begin to bleed and she dies. Afterwards, her spirit is released and she dances along the beach, free from the wheelchair and the rabbit mask and back in her tutu.

In partial costume between shots in the cold room

A sunset Friday night while filming at Dockweiler Beach

In between shots with Giz

"I'm sorry to torture you," says filmmaker Guan.This filming was not the easiest thing for me, that's for sure. "You're great," she tells me. I tell her I am thrilled to be in her film. She is in the beginning of the masters program as USC's School of Cinematic Arts, (Univ. of Southern California) which is quite the place. I still have to finish the rest next weekend. Some scenes may need to be shot again at different angles. Perhaps I will wear more fake blood and get "sand burn" (like a floor burn but with the sand). Or maybe I'll be freezing cold at the beach like I was for part of the filming. Maybe my body will be sore like it is today. Perhaps I will be covered with more flour. I'm hoping I won't get any more sunburns. It all happens next weekend.