The New York Baroque Dance Co.

December has been an amazing month.  I taught a workshop at The Place in London sponsored by the Early Dance Circle on December 15^th which was attended by Ann Hutchinson Guest (http://www.lodc.org/about-us/dr-ann-hutchinson-guest.html) and her husband Ivor Guest. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivor_Forbes_Guest)  Exploring ideas of the microcosm and macrocosm from the Renaissance and ending with concepts of Le Mouvement as described in 18^th century sources, we danced and improvised to Playford’s music. I was delighted to have coffee with the attendees afterwards including Barbara Segal  (who organized the workshop), Mary Collins, Moira Goff among others.

The next day I flew to Paris and took the train to Versailles for a conference on early dance sponsored by Le Centre de Musi­que Baro­que de Versailles, l’Association pour un Centre de Recherche sur les Arts du Spectacle aux XVII^e et XVIII^e siè­cles, Le Centre de Recher­che du Châ­teau de Versailles, with the support of the University of Paris-Sorbonne.

It was an honor for me to present my ideas on choreography to Mozart’s ballet music, especially Noverre’s ballet, Les Petits Riens, to such a prestigious collection of early dance artists and researchers.   Indeed, this was one of the most interesting conferences I have attended.  It was exciting to hear the latest thought on interpretations of notation and treatises as discussed by American and European experts with dance practitioners in attendance from Japan, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, USA, France, England, Germany and Italy.  It was also a joy to see friends/colleagues Deda Cristina Colonna, Ana Yepes, Jennifer Thorp, Yoko Ichise and so many more.

 On December 20^th  I attended the dress rehearsal in Paris at the Opera Comique for the Noverre ballets choreographed by Marie-Genevieve Massé and danced by her company, L’Eventail.  The lavish and well-performed production underscored the support early dance enjoys in France for the revival of Noverre’s work on a scale much larger than what is possible in the United States.  Review:  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/48b687e8-5011-11e2-805c-00144feab49a.html#axzz2GP9qw3St   and another review from a musicologist: http://www.musicologie.org/publirem/ballets_de_noverre.html