RitzDolls

November already?

myron — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:11:17 +0000

Stay tuned for many new posts from me starting in November. Nutcracker time!!!!!

I am sure I will have plenty to talk about. Between now and then…enjoy Halloween.

2 days…..

myron — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:29:43 +0000

2 days until we open our season….exciting. Also, only 2 days left to purchase season tickets. They are an amazing deal so please check out the details…..I know you always mean to make it to the Dolls shows but sometimes time goes by so fast. The season ticket is a good way to support The Dolls AND always see the new shows, in great seats of your choice PLUS discounts with all of our neighborhood partners. Hurry….48 hours left.

One week until the curtain goes up!

myron — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:07:07 +0000

The last week of rehearsals are always amazing. We move to the stage from the studio and I get to step back and see the dances from a distance. The set, lights and costumes all added on and then…… it hits you that the show and the dances you made up are what is going to be seen by the audience in a few days. Too late now to make any major changes…..polish them up, pay attention to detail but that’s about all you can do now. So exciting actually for me. The first day on stage is like Christmas. Opening a present. Keep in mind that we don’t always love every present we get and I don’t always love every show, at first anyway. Sometimes the dances that make me the most nervous that first day are the ones I love the most after the final work is done. All this to say…I am so excited for Pas de Quatre! I think it’s going to be surprising, funny, intriguing and beautiful. The dancers look so beautiful. The costumes are very sparkly and you know how much I love that. The dances are created so specifically for the performers that this event will only happen this one time….I really hope you come and see it.

2 weeks from opening

myron — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:32:10 +0000

Well, we are into week 4 of rehearsals. Cleopatra complete. The Firebird complete. Le Bleu Dieu complete. Scheherazade 3/4 complete. My brain is reeling from music, twirling, kicking, bumping, stomping and counting. In week 1 I was full of enthusiasm. In week 2 I was kind of wondering why I picked 4 ballets in 4 weeks. In week 3 I got nervous and anxious. Now, in week 4 I am excited and full of enthusiasm again. Not sure anyone really cares what goes on in the mind of a choreographer but it is really a roller coaster ride. I guess I love going in the studio and having these beautiful faces staring at me wondering what Iwant them to do and of course not having any idea. Something about those faces (friends and colleagues) that suddenly I have all the ideas I need and off we go. Tonight we are performing for the Metro Magazine Block Party. I forgot to figure out what we were gonna do. In the past 2 hours we got it together….no drama, no bad attitude….just eager artists ready and willing. So, tonight we are performing a solo from Cleopatra and a duet from The Firebird. Costumes are not done yet so ,I am going to announce to the audience that I will not let the costumes be seen until opening night. That should work right? Who would know. We’ll be lucky if we get the costumes together before then……”I love the theatre”.

Today we were working on Scheherazade and Cassandra (famed bellydancer and director of Jawaahir Dance Company) generously came by to work with the dancers. Amazing!!!! The dancers were so thrilled and grateful.

Yesterday a friend of the Dolls; Tara, called to say that she wanted to donate some of her costumes from Afghanistan! Wow! She said ” they come from a famous designer in Uzbekistan who designs costumes that are too “over-the-top” for anyone here except for us. “I can’t wait to see what you do with them” she said. Tomorrow she is dropping them off as a donation. Wow! This alone should help change your mind if you had any reservations about coming to see “Pas de Quatre”. Speaking of which, season tickets are selling very well. You only have 2 more weeks to get all four shows for a rediculously low cost. Plus, discounts for our neighborhood partners; Modern Cafe, Erte, Northeast Social Club and 331.

Enough for now……the block party is starting in a few minutes.

Planning a Season

myron — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:01:21 +0000

It’s that time of year again to plan what you are going to be spending the next year working on. It’s a daunting task. One that I used to put off until the last possible minute. I have learned however that if I choose interesting ideas and don’t try to imagine what in the world I am going to do with those ideas….it’s less frightening. It also makes the lives of the dancers easier. They can look and see what kind of worlds they might be playing in over the next 10-12 months. Nice of me eh? I do have to say that the dancers here at the Dolls are the best! They are so patient and willing to adjust their lives according to when my imagination actually kicks in and I am ready to go to work. There are times when rehearsal has been scheduled for a Monday and I have to call and say “nope, not yet” and then an hour later call and say “I’ve got it! Get over here right now”….and they do. So sweet! So here is the list I ended up with:

Pas De Quatre- a tribute to The Ballet Russe. I don’t worry about not having ideas for that. I could start right this minute…VERY exciting.

Nutcracker-not so suite. Well, no ideas yet but in the past 20 years my imagination hasn’t let me down so I go blindly forward with that one. As soon as the snow falls we will already be dancing spritely around the stage with our best holiday spirit, awesome costumes and filled with good cheer.

Johnson-Rydberg- Our Way. I am nervous, excited and honored to be working with Steven Rydberg again after many years apart. He is a brilliant composer and I can’t wait.

The Dance of the Pink Flamingos. YIKES!!! Finally….back to my roots. Campy, naughty, B-movie style. No worries about this one. I was born to be bad. Bring it on!

So, enough for now. Hope you join us to see how these new works turn out. That’s the cool thing about the Dolls….you never know until you actually get in the seat and the lights go down, what we might have in store.

“Don’t expect anything original from an echo…”

myron — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:44:54 +0000

“Don’t expect anything original from an echo”

I pondered this statement with a smile and proud sense of “pat myself on the back” because I know how true that statement is and how deeply I believe in adhering to it. It seems like a simple rule to live by, yet it is easier said than done. Originality takes work. Whenever I make a good dinner and try to just do the same thing again the next time, my expectations are never met. I must have been in the moment the first time and then just tried repeating myself but without the passion and excitement the second time around. Writing, singing, dancing or cooking off the top of your head is so filled with wonder and anticipation…..you never know how it is going to turn out.

In 1991, I had tremendous success with a show I created called “Romiette and Juleo.” I only remember how it felt to perform and how the energy of the audience felt during the show. Last summer I decided to put it on this season. I didn’t know at that time that we had no record of the show. Not a video. Not a score. A few photos and a program was all I could find. Hallelujah! My temptation to go back to an old recipe was removed. I would indeed have to create a new story from where I am today. How exciting, mysterious and energizing the idea is now. It won’t be an echo…..it will be an original. I hope you come to see how it turns out.

The 2009-10 season at the Ritz Theater is developing into quite a courageous list of artists and ideas. For the Dolls season I have decided to stick with what I know about myself and that is “if I do something funny then I will want to do something serious after that and then something wacky, tacky and kitschy followed by something beautiful.” That’s the good thing about having Ballet of the Dolls for 24 years: You get to know yourself and what your patterns are. The echo we create next season is sure to be heard around the world!

Fall: “Pas De Quatre” – “4 dancing divas”
Holiday: The Nutcracker (not so suite)
Winter: “Our Way – Johnson & Rydberg” A new ballet to the music of Steven Rydberg.
Spring: “Dance of the Pink Flamingos”– a shining example of bad taste.

Thank you for all of your support this season and we hope to see you time and again. Have a beautiful summer.

XO, Myron