March 7, 2016
Graham technique is notoriously difficult. Dancers everywhere will tell you that it’s just really, really hard. There’s no way around it: to achieve the aesthetic that Martha Graham herself wanted, you can’t just copy the shapes. The entire technique revolves around intrinsic sensations of the body, around feeling stretch and contraction the way they are supposed to feel, not in relation to the placement of your leg or the angle of your elbow.
February 1, 2016
By Celine Kiner
A single and momentary exhale enveloped PED 207 on Tuesday: in the midst of a demanding period with Victor Quijada and the extreme physicality that his movement requires, two dancers from Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan quite literally graced us with their presence. Chou Chang-ning, rehearsal director and senior dancer, led the class.
December 29, 2015
By Celine Kiner
As we face 2016 and reflect on our first semester, we want to keep the expansive wisdom from our USC Kaufman faculty in mind. Here are the top ten quotes from 2015, coined by our favorite professors, guest teachers, and artists-in-residence:
December 24, 2015
Zippora Karz has the most beautiful long legs; her line is impeccably clean. Working with Professor Karz as one of USC Kaufman’s artists in residence is not just humbling, but engaging–her story is so incredible that it is almost unbelievable, until you hear it straight from her mouth.
December 16, 2015
By Celine Kiner
This post is addressed to this year’s USC Kaufman applicants: those who have submitted their essays and résumés and eagerly hit refresh each day, awaiting an invitation to a live audition.
First off, last December, I didn’t even think I was going to receive that invitation. The invitation email both surprised and terrified me; if I was going to attempt an audition, I would have to shape up. Applicants, don’t worry. Should an invitation come to you, take a few deep breaths, and sign yourself up for lots of classes before your audition date.
December 6, 2015
By Celine Kiner
Sometimes, this program is so surreal that I have trouble grasping the idea that I am a part of it.
Usually, my blogs read in sequential order of whatever weekly events have transpired. This one is going to be different, because it absolutely has to start at one particular moment–a moment that made sense out of my entire semester, and simultaneously made me realize how very fortunate I am to be here.
November 19, 2015
By Celine Kiner
William Forsythe returned to USC last week after working with the Paris Opera Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago; his first words to us were, “It’s good to be home.”
In the two weeks that he was here, engaging and innovative principles flowed endlessly out of his thoughts and into the space; he directed us into structured improvisation that sparked not only movement, but also thought.
November 10, 2015
By Celine Kiner
Monday’s repertory class barely left time for introductions; Tobin Del Cuore (who has danced with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, BalletX, Aszure Barton, and more) launched immediately into the choreography from Alejandro Cerrudo’s Lickety Split. The movement was detail-oriented, softly punctuated, smoothly shaped, and sentimental. Employing these many facets at once took every ounce of mental engagement, but it was well worth the exertion–Cerrudo’s choreography is notorious for its subtle, yet fluid beauty.
November 7, 2015
By Celine Kiner
Tiler Peck is barely more than five feet tall. Upon her arrival in our studio in PED 207, of course we were starstruck by her presence. Of course a series of gasps burst out at first sight of her, and of course we automatically assumed our best ballet positions when she took her place at the barre to begin teaching our class. But the most shocking thing about her presence was her being barely more than five feet tall.
October 31, 2015
By Celine Kiner
So many things were happening at once.
Class, rehearsal, costumes, trying to fit in a decent dinner break, rolling out our muscles as much as humanly possible, warming up; suddenly, everything came to a standstill. We, the USC Kaufman BFA class of 2019, gathered into a circle in PED 207 (summoned by Professor Grimes’ cypher call, of course), and we created our pre-show ritual.
