Ten Tiny Dances

Backhausdance - Ten Tiny DancesWe just wrapped up a great series of performances as part of the Teny Tiny Dances which was part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Off Center Festival. I had a blast as an audience member both nights and felt that SCFTA really did well in bringing this show to Orange County

Ten Tiny Dances is an ongoing experiment in constraint. Create a 5-8 mins dance for a 4x4 foot stage. I know I'm a little biased, but Jenny turned out a spectacular piece called Margin. Four of our dancers, Amanda, Liane, Zak and Tawny performed beautifully and took a lot of risks to turn out a very high energy and beautiful performance. It's no easy feat to jump and turn with 4 people in 16 square feet. If you see any of them this week have them show you their bruises. Every rehearsal seemed to produce a new batch.

The other highlights for me were Wade Maden's simple yet beautiful and funny imaginary strip tease, I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby, and Angelle Hebert's bizarre and super interesting Splinter. The Floor of the Samueli Theatre will never be the same.

As most good art does, Ten Tiny Dances made me think. In this instance, what is "dance?" Smarter people than me have been debating what constitutes dance for a long time. For me, personally, I wouldn't call half of what I saw this weekend "dance." Performance art that involved some movement? For sure. Dance? For me, no. Does this take away from the work? I don't think so at all. Good stuff is good stuff, I just get hung up on the semantics. It was good programming, a great venue and perfect atmosphere. And it was nice to see Orange County come out to support something new and original.

Finally, here's a brief write-up that the LA Times gave. 

A big thanks to Mike Barber with TTD, and Terry Dwyer & Judy Morr with SCFTA for a great opportunity. And if you are a fan of BD and came to the shows, thanks! You're why we do this. 

New Season, New Performances

We're very excited to start off our 10th season as we go into our busiest January yet. First we're heading to New York for the annual Arts Presenters conference where we'll be showcasing work and seeing a lot of friends and colleagues from across the country.

From there we'll be premiering new work at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California where we'll be performing in the "10 Tiny Dances" show. The next week brings us to Palm Springs to be part of the inaugural Dance for Life: Palm Springs, which brings the 20+ year Chicago event to Southern California to raise money for a fantastic charity. 

We've got a lot of other performances and events in the works so make sure you're on our mailing list to get the latest information and continue to check out our upcoming performances page.

Save $$ - BD at SCR

We're about two weeks away from our show at South Coast Repertory and getting more and more excited as we get close to the show dates. We really hope everyone takes the opportunity to see us at this great theater. It's up close and intimate. This is a very unique way to see Backhausdance perform if your used to seeing us in bigger spaces. 

And don't forget about the debut of a new piece called Duet(s). Amazing choerograhy, amazing dancing and amazing costumes. We're really looking forward to showing off this new work.

Finally, to say thank you to our supporters we've arranged for a special discount. Type in 5291 when you buy your tickets online (or mention it at the box office) and you'll get $5 off per ticket. What a deal!

Incandescent After Party

Like Us On Facebook and Get In for $5We've teamed up with a huge supporter, Bluewater Grill in Tustin, to host an exclusive, private after party right after the Incandescent performance on Saturday, April 30th. We'll have full run of the place and you'll get a drink with entry, specials on sponsored drinks and happy hour prices on drinks and appetizers until we close the place out. All this for just $10 with your ticket stub. Come celebrate another successful run at the Barclay.

Bluewater Grill Tustin
2409 Park Avenue
Tustin, CA

Purchase your ticket for the Private After Party here:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=KSDD8V73QFJQS

LIKE us on Facebook and get in for only $5. Visit our Facebook "Exclusive" page to purchase your ticket at the discounted rate. Go to www.facebook.com/backhausdance

Platform Registration Open

Workshop registration for Backhausdance's Platform 2011 is now open!

Platform is a weekend focused on up-and-coming, pre-professional dancers to be held June 3rd through 5th, 2011. This exciting new venture is presented in partnership with Irvine Valley College Dance Department.

Come and participate in Platform 2011: The Workshop and Backhausdance Summer Intensive scholarship audition with Jennifer Backhaus and other exciting master teachers including Jodie Gates, Terri Best and more. Workshop classes are open to the entire dance community, ages 14 and up, training at a high-intermediate to advanced/professional level.

Discounted group registration rates are available. Individual participants may register now. Please visit the Workshop Registration page to save your spot in this exciting two-day workshop. More information can be found on the Platform page.