A Standing Ovation For Misty Copeland

On  June 30, 2015, Misty Copeland became the American Ballet Theatre's first African-American principal ballet dancer. Misty's autobiography, Life In Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina chronicles her struggles and triumphs, from the first ballet class she took at a community center. Misty began taking ballet at the ancient age of thirteen and was en pointe within three months; a feat that normally takes several years of training to accomplish. That same year, Misty began to perform professionally, despite the hardships of her personal life. She succeeded in achieving her highest goals, despite not fitting into an elitist mold of what some extremely myopic companies desired.

Misty Copeland's commercial for Under Armour featuring her dancing prowess to a voice over of her reading a ludicrous rejection letter has received over 8 million hits on YouTube. Her interview on 60 Minutes also touches on her book's themes of perseverance and an inherent love of ballet that she wants to share with other young dancers in need of enthusiastic mentoring, needed to break obsolete barriers.

Even though she was battling six stress fractures, Misty's breakout role in the Stravinsky ballet Firebird, was her first full lead role in an American Ballet Theatre production. Misty has also written a children's book Firebird: Ballerina Misty Copeland Shows a Young Girl How To Dance Like the Firebird, illustrated by Christopher Myers.

For additional inspiration, check out the following books and DVDs about the lives and legacies of various ballet dancers, choreographers, and ballet company directors.

Ballet 422 directed by Jody Lee Lipes

The Visual Dictionary of Ballet for Children  produced by Rosemary Boross

Balanchine  (DVD): The Father of American Ballet

Like a Bomb Going Off: Leonid Yakobson and Ballet As Resistance in Soviet Russia by Janice Ross

First Position (DVD)

Nureyev: The Life by Julie Kavanagh

Dancing On My Grave: An Autobiography by Gelsey Kirkland with Greg Lawrence

Nijinsky by Richard Buckle
  
Holding On To The Air: An Autobiography  by Suzanne Farrell 

Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance (DVD)

 

Festival Flamenco Internacional de Alburquerque

Every year the University of New Mexico's College of Fine Arts comes together with the National Institute of Flamenco to present an amazing display of Spain's flamenco dancing culture. Four of the most celebrated flamenco companies in Spain come to Albuquerque to bring the best of their world to ours.

From June 8th to June 16th Festival Flamenco will host dance and music workshops for interested participants and also present 9 performances of their own to the community. These performances will be held at the National Hispanic Cultural Center as well as the Rodey Theater at UNM.

Check out the workshop schedule and the performance schedule.



Courtesy of Lieven SOETE



Flamenco dancing can be traced back to the Spanish gypsies, beginning in the 18th Century and evolving as an art form continuously until today. The art of flamenco consists of three basic parts: Cant (song), Baile (dance) and Guitarra (guitar). Very rarely will any of these three parts be missing from a flamenco performance.

The expression of the dancer, or bailaores, develops as she feels the progression and emotion in the music. The bailaores might incorporate hand clapping, foot stomping and arm motions as she moves into the beat and begins the passionate dance. Every dancer will portray their emotion differently through intense facial expressions and various body movements. It is truly an individual artistic expression of each dancer performing flamenco.

To peruse a list of flamenco-related items in the library catalog, you can do a keyword or subject search using the word "flamenco".

¡Olé Flamenco!

Got a child who loves song, music, & dance? When I was a kid, it was all ballet & tap lessons,but not anymore! Look no farther than ¡Olé Flamenco!, a photo-essay by local author George Ancona, for a young person's guide to everything flamenco. Ancona's book "demonstrates that the art form is alive today in Spain ... and in New Mexico. In fact, the book opens and concludes with a focus on the young flamenco dancer Janira Cordova, who is a member of the Santa Fe dance company Flamenco's Next Generation," says David Steinberg in the Albuquerque Journal. George Ancona is a photographer & children's book author whose photographs have been featured in over one hundred books, two thirds of which he has also written.

Santa Fe author Ancona will discuss and sign his newest children's book at Bookworks on Saturday, February 5th, at 3 PM.

To find out more about flamenco (for all ages), visit the library catalog.

Included in Ancona's book are New Mexico's own Eva Encinias Sandoval, founder of the National Institute of Flamenco, and guitarist Joaquin Gallegos. To learn more about The National Institute of Flamenco, visit the website.

The Flamenco School documentary trailer:

Check out Flamenco class at the NIFNM!