Another Hello at the DNB, Part 2

Just a PS...

Have you looked at the DNB's staff listing lately?

Go to the DNB's About the DNB page and then click "Board and Staff."

Look at the staff listing.

That's a lot of people.

With a whole lot of credentials.

And a ton of energy.

And an insane amount of talent.

Just one more metric by which the DNB is doing really well. Not just surviving. Nope. Thriving.

Hooray!

Another Hello at the DNB

Another new face at the DNB!

The Dance Notation Bureau is very pleased to announce that Oona Haaranen has joined our staff as Director of Education. Oona is a choreographer, educator, and writer -- and she has a BFA from Juilliard, an MA from City College of New York, and is currently pursuing her PhD in dance. We are excited about working with Oona and look forward to a productive future.

Actually, Oona's not really a new face. She's been involved with the DNB for many years, and she's been writing the DNBulletin for a couple of years. But this is a new position for her -- and for the DNB. It will be exciting to see what happens at the DNB now that there's a Director of Education!

Starting on the Queue of Things I've Been Meaning to Post

A few days ago, Leonard Lopate interviewed Suzanne Farrell on WNYC. Most of the interview concerned Suzanne's reconstruction of the Balanchine ballet Pithoprakta, a "lost" Balanchine ballet from 1968. The recreation of this ballet was especially challenging because Suzanne only had an incomplete film and fuzzy memories to rely on. And the film wasn't just incomplete, it was seriously incomplete: it was shot one day when Arthur Mitchell was out, so it's missing all of the male lead's parts!

Yet again, the perils of recording dances on film only!

Suzanne also said fascinating things about the music, but I was making lunch while I listened, and the sink and the stove drowned out some of the details. I should listen to it again. And you should listen too!

Click here to listen.

Farewell to Nancy, Hello to Kristin

A major announcement from the DNB:

As of September 1, 2008, Nancy Allison, our Director of Programs, has departed from the DNB staff to pursue personal projects . We thank Nancy for her outstanding contributions and energetic presence and wish her well. Kristin Jackson is the new Director of Programs. Ms. Jackson is a former member of Laura Dean's Dance Company and has staged Dean's works (including one piece that was notated). She has taught ballet, modern, choreography and kinesiology and has connections to university dance departments in the US and Asia. She earned a M.F.A. in Dance from New York University. We welcome her addition to our staff.

Good luck to Nancy! And welcome to Kristin!

And a big old scolding to Jill, who has not been keeping up with the blog. I have a long mental queue of things to post, but I've just been so busybusybusybusybusy. Workworkwork, eateateat, sleepsleepsleep. But I really need to blogblogblog.

Soon, I hope!

A Break from Laban, A Bit about Eshkol-Wachman

Curious about other forms of movement notation?

Learn a little about Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation from Deborah Friedes' recent Winger post.

Learn quite a lot more from her interview with Michal Shoshani, who worked closely with Noa Eshkol (yes, as in Eshkol-Wachman).

Both of the above show you what Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation looks like. Very different from Laban!

August Additions to the Theory Bulletin Board

In August, there were two great additions to the DNB's Theory Bulletin Board. (The title of this post could be "August August Additions to the Theory Bulletin Board.")

• The first is a response by Janos Fugedi to the Motif Theory Discussion on June 8. Janos carefully analyzes "passing touches" and "spring point."
• The second actually predates the first: it's the minutes for the January 2008 open theory meeting. The meeting attendees discussed "far" relationships and African dance.

I feel magically smarter having read them. Maybe you will too!

New(ish) Theory Meeting Minutes

Two more sets of minutes from DNB theory meetings went on the Theory Bulletin Board in July:

• The November Open Theory meeting covered Dance Forms software and several possible ways that the DNB and notators in general could use it, as well as possible ways to notate not just nearness but degrees of nearness.
  
• The June Motif Theory meeting covered numerous Motif topics, including phrasing bows, indications of "the same" and "different," and diagonal paths.

No point trying to summarize here. The really interesting stuff is in the minutes!