Tag: Guest posts

Is it worth the time? is it worth the price?
Do you see yourself in the white spotlight?
Then play the game tonight.

– Play The Game Tonight by Kansas

Hi there, This is R. Crap Mariner, your Dance Correspondent.

I’ve been photographing dance shows for over a year, but one thing I promised myself was that I’d stick to shooting dance. I wouldn’t get all involved in the whole scene, I wouldn’t blog any of it, and God forbid I ever think of taking the stage myself, let alone choreograph my own routines. “No, no, no, no, no, no.” I said when people taunted and tempted me. I was not going to give in.

Point. Shoot. Leave. That’s the plan. Stick to it.

Well, I kinda screwed that all up. Because I début at Guerilla Burlesque’s pitshow on April 13th.

You see, in order to better understand dance performance, I figured I had to perform at some point. Especially if I were to get away with some of the jokes with my Don’t Make Me Call The Dance Police column. It’s a case of “put up or shut up.”

But it wouldn’t just do to ride someone else’s mover and be their puppet. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, and the times I’ve done that have been fun…

https://www.flickr.com/photos/isfullofcrap/27138148058/in/album-72157674461229002/

(Had to fight Terri to get that last Club Image mover, but she got even with me by shivving me in the lunch line.)

But I felt that I had to try to make my own. Kind of like how Hunter Thompson immersed himself into a story with Gonzo and George Plympton would put on a helmet or strap on some cleats in his participatory style. Or Gonzo the great would… erm… okay, he was a Muppet. Never mind.

Building my own act would give me a better appreciation of what it takes for a choreographer to put together a routine and also to learn the different styles that each director and choreographer brings to the table. Finally, everybody’s got their short cuts, tricks, and signature elements in an act, so building something to work with allows them to say, “Hey, there’s an easier way to do this…” or “I know of a better version of this object…”

Looking back over the process and the plan, I’m going to share my journey with you. It’s the order in which I did things, and not necessarily the right order to follow. Also, it’s not a cookbook with individually numbered steps to follow to build your own act. You’re going to need to fill in some of the gaps and details on your own or in your class or with your teacher.

Most importantly, maybe you’ll read my story and think “If that dingbat can do this, maybe I can, too?”

WARNING: This article is long. Really, really long. I’d break it up into multiple parts, but… nah. Anywhere you slice it, you’re cutting into my soul. Let’s just mark this edge here as the cliff from which you can dive into the madness. Wheeeeeeeee…

… splat.

“You think that something’s happening…”

When I start anything, I watch Internet Genius, Motivator, and Commentator Ze Frank’s Invocation For Beginnings.

Yes, the man who challenged the world to dress up their vacuum cleaners and make an Earth Sandwich. That man. Internet God, he is.

This video gets me in the mindset to be patient, forgiving, persistent, and accepting. If you’ve got a ritual or routine or motivator, use it to get in the right frame of mind.

Plus, he’s got a lot of good quippy quotes over the years of using the Internet as a playpen, even if he isn’t a pretty princess.

“But it’s only what you’re hearing…”

The longest journey begins with a swift kick in the ass, so yeah, I started to watch performers and learned from what I saw, asking questions and opinions from others in private chats for what they thought worked well, what didn’t, my thoughts on the routines and what I took away from the experience.

This was both easy and hard. I mean, yeah, I enjoy going to performances and shooting photography, but I also needed to learn the language of dance and what made a good performance with dances, sets, costumes, etc. And also, learn what didn’t work, such as overwhelming particles, slow-rezzing sculpties, too many textures, dance moves that just didn’t fit the song, acts that were too small for the stage, costume changes that fail due to lag, etc.

The Basics

Here’s the basic components of a dance act:

• The event list contains the commands for a performance engine to run. It’s a run-down of animations, positions, and shouted commands to various effects or your costume changer.
• The movers pass along the movements and animations to dancers as well as objects on the set.
• The way points provide a path along which the movers travel, and they mark the speed and pauses along that path.
• The packlist contains a list of all the objects for the set, including the movers.
• The camera list contains all of the camera moves that you want the viewer to experience, but we’re not covering that here.
• You pack everything into the performance engine, including dance animations and set objects. The engine controls everything in the act.
• You set up folders for your costume, and RLV folders for any costume changes.
• The stage contains a centre-point to let the performance engine know where things go or happen.

Put them all together, and… okay, you’re dancing to silence. Gotta hand a song track to the host/deejay/music director too.

We’ll cover all of these things, plus a few frustrations and surprises along the way.

Continue reading “Do you see yourself in the white spotlight?” →

Hello there! It’s your Dance Correspondent, R. Crap Mariner.

From the Wikipedia entry on Autism:

Autism is a developmental disorder characterised by troubles with social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behaviour. Parents usually notice signs in the first two or three years of their child’s life. These signs often develop gradually, though some children with autism reach their developmental milestones at a normal pace and then worsen.

SouthernComfort Magic (SoCo) organises and runs the Lighting The Way series of events as an awareness campaign for Autism, and here’s the announcement:

The past three years, the Lighting The Way Organisation within Second Life reached out to the dance community to take part in a weekend filled with dance and music for Autism. We have had such a huge response to this that we began running out of time slots. So this year, we will be having it on two separate weekends with many events running during the week. This year we will also have sponsors and business owners on the sim as well advertising their items.

The weekends for the shows will be Saturday, April 14th, Sunday, April 15th and Saturday, April 21st. The times for the shows can start as early as 6am SLT until 8pm SLT. If there is a specific time that works for you, just get with SouthernComfort Magic and we can work it out.

Not only are dance teams invited, but individual dancers and choreographers as well. We will have 2 variety shows during the 2 weekends. We will get everyone and anyone involved in raising awareness that would like to be a part of it.

Now, with that being said…. I would like to personally invite you to come and participate in this wonderful event. What I am hoping to accomplish again this year is for dance teams all over Second Life as well as individual choreographers/dancers to come together and perform for Autism.

That’s the TL;DR, but I want to learn more about the Lighting The Way event. What is it that got SoCo into raising awareness for Autism?

I know I want to know. So, let’s go exploring, shall we?

Lighting The Way To Lighting The Way

Soco teleported me over to the Lighting The Way build, which consists of a beautiful forest glade, a path that winds through rows of booths for event partners to show their support, and a performance stage with plenty of room for audience members to enjoy the shows.

(I felt a sense of accomplishment navigating around the water and fountain near the landing area, but SoCo told me that she’d put a transparent prim over the area to keep people from falling in.)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/isfullofcrap/41061762331/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/isfullofcrap/41061761791/in/photostream/

I asked her why she started Lighting The Way in Second Life.

“The reason I started Lighting The Way was because of my two children,” she says, “whom both are on the autism spectrum. It was during this time I craved a means in which I could play an instrumental role in lighting the path from darkness for people who were diagnosed autistic.  My son suffers from the most severe form of autism while my daughter has the milder form known as Aspergers, so I decided to utilize SL as my platform for building awareness.”

Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD).

“When my son was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2, Autism affected 1 out of 150 children. Today it affects 1 out of 68 (1 in 42 boys). Over the course of 11 years, I have watched my son go through changes that I would never wish upon anyone. However, he is the most lovable child that I have ever known, he is truly an angel from heaven. He has taught me more about life & the person that I want to be more than I ever thought possible.”

So the next time You are at a restaurant or at a mall & You happen to see a child throwing themselves down on the floor, screaming and/or shaking things, stop & think before You judge. Not all disabilities are easily seen.  Sometimes all one might see is the symptoms & without knowing the full situation, You’re judging someone incorrectly & unfairly.

Where did she get the name “Lighting The Way” ?

“I needed to have an official name for raising awareness and I thought of a lighthouse,” she said. “It was strong, firm, always there, it’s beacon shining brightly for those who were lost. So I incorporated that into this event. We all come together to stand firm to help light the way for those on the spectrum.”

Continue reading “Lighting the Way with SoCo in Second Life” →

Hi there! It’s your Dance Correspondent, R. Crap Mariner.

Where do I begin with Idle Rogue and the Guerilla Burlesque group that performs there? They were the first group I saw performing in Second Life, although I should have seen them sooner if I hadn’t have been such a lazyass with all those invitations, oh, how I regret my foolish ways!

When I was listening to Grace McDunnough perform at After Dark, why did I not cam around the sim and see that theatre and get curious? Is Grace that mesmerizing with her sweet, dulcet tones?

Damn you! Damn you and your sweet dulcet tones, siren! The path of my life is paved with the cement of regrets and tears.

But let us not live mired in sorrow, but look to the future. And in Idle Rogue Production’s future we see their upcoming show Cirque du Nuit:

Idle Rogue Productions are presenting the very successful Le Cirque de Nuit again this Easter, with performances at 7pm on March 30th, 31st and April 1st , and a matinee performance at 3pm on March 31st.

Directed by Blaze DeVivre, with the assistance of Sho Kyong, and produced by chryblnd Scribe, this year’s production will feature new acts, new dancers, new art installations and perhaps a little something we haven’t done before.

Billed as “a steampunk circus in black and white”, Le Cirque de Nuit pays loose homage to The Night Circus, a novel by Erin Morgenstern, which tells the tale of an enchanted circus traveling the globe during the Victorian era. Our production features dance acts with themes of circus, illusion and steampunk, and the strictly black-and-white acts are interspersed by colourful art installations from Second Life artists and musicians.

This production debuted in 2014 and has since presented some of the most innovative dance creations in Second Life. It is beloved by all who have seen it, with its breath-taking special effects and an elegant ambiance you will not forget.

The opening night performance on March 30th will be exclusive to members of the Guerilla Burlesque Exclusive group.

Production enquiries should be directed to chryblnd Scribe. Media inquiries should be addressed to Aubreya Joszpe.

As for bookings:

Bookings for the 2018 season of Le Cirque De Nuit open on March 22nd at 4:00pm. From that hour onward, you will be able to IM Saturday Melody in-world to add your name to the allocation list, time stamps will ensure bookings are processed fairly. Leave a message indicating your first and second performance preferences and the names of those in your booking. Be sure to check the Auto-response message that will be generated when you open Saturday’s IM for updated details for any scheduling changes.

NOTE: Idle Rogue’s fan group – Guerilla Burlesque Exclusive – receive first and best preference to all shows on Idle Rogue. This affects bookings as follows:

March 30 – 7pm performance – Guerilla Burlesque Exclusive only
March 31 – 3pm performance – 20 seats for exclusive group, 20 seats for general admission
March 31 – 7pm performance – 20 seats for exclusive group, 20 seats for general admission
April 1 – 7pm performance – 20 seats for exclusive group, 20 seats for general admission

The sim will be locked to all but those whose names are on the access list at each show, unless the seat limit of 40 guests total is not filled, at which time the sim will be opened for general audience intake. Please allow for the Linden Lab limitation of 10% of the avatar limit (5-10 avatars)held for premium memberships. While we will do everything within our capacity to ensure you can access the sim on the night you have booked, please note this arrangement is a courtesy only and no obligation is implied.

That’s the TL;DR, but I want to know more. What is Idle Rogue about and what do they do there? What’s the appeal of Cirque du Nuit and how are they going about to create this in Second Life?

I know I want to know. So, let’s go exploring, shall we?

DIRECT ME TO THE DIRECTOR…

Blaze DeVivre is directing this year’s Cirque de Nuit, and she teleported me to the build in-progress to talk.

Beyond the wrought-iron fence and gates at the landing area, a gigantic big-top tent with the stage and seating was coming together. Underneath the stage, artists were loading their interstitial builds for the production.

Before we got into Cirque de Nuit, I pretended not to know what Idle Rogue and Guerilla Burlesque are, despite shooting photos of them for over a year and getting to know the performers, just so we could start off with a good introduction to this interview.

“Guerilla Burlesque started as a troupe of dancers who would do back-up for live performers in SL,” said Blaze, playing along. “Idle Rogue has always had a live music component to it, and Cherry managed some performers, then brought her two loves, dance and live music together. They started doing dance shows around the time I was rezzed, wanting to expand on the fledgling Virtual Burlesque movement that came about at that time.”

GETTING HER START

Where did Blaze get her start in all of this?

“I was going to events at IR before performing with GB, enjoying many good laughs and fun nights from DJs to live music. Early on, I got hooked up with the Aussies because I am a night owl. I lurked at their shows for about a year before I found out they were auditioning for new members. I had always had in interest in dance and particularly burlesque but not the ability to make it happen in RL, besides it is way better in here (and cheaper to create).”

Because I was working on a not-so-to secret project of a dance performance to demonstrate to y’all how easy or hard it is to do, I asked Blaze was it hard to learn dance performance? And, more importantly, how fun is it?

“it was hard. I had a steep learning curve in SL since I did not come from a gaming background, it was all new to me, but that difficulty was exactly what kept me coming back. The ability to create something here that was a composite of my love of visual art and music just grabbed me like no other art form ever did.”

“I have created with many media outside of the digital. I worked a lot with fibres and collage, very texture based sensory. I had been an art major at one time, so all the usual drawing and painting as well. I think it is that love of collage that translates best to SL, finding all the bits and pieces, from animations to props and costumes and gluing them together to make acts.”

Continue reading “Idle Rogue’s Cirque de Nuit” →

Coming up on Saturday March 3rd at 3:00PM SLT, the Gypsy Rose Lee Theatre has its grand opening.

Here’s the show announcement:

Burlesque Dolls of Gypsy Rose Burlesque
Saturday March 3 – 3PM SLT

Welcome to the new Burlesque Dolls Gypsy Rose Burlesque Theatre, a tribute to the icon of classic burlesque: the legendary Gypsy Rose Lee, and carrying on the tradition of Lary Correia’s Burlesque Dolls.

We invite you to our grand opening on Saturday, March 3rd at 3:00PM SLT with a range of wonderful acts by Kyshra, Jilley, Queenie, Alexis, Josephine Jinx, Exhi, Corri, Lina and more! And who can resist the sultry tunes and announcements by the irresistible Diamonique Viper?

There will also be a raffle for a 1000L gift card for the excellent fashions of Devious Mind.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SkyBeam%20Stowaway/23/40/2000

That’s the TL;DR, but who is Lina (Melina Aurotharius), and with all the venues and dance groups out there, why start a new one? What does it mean to start a new group, and what challenges do they face?

I know I want to know more. So, let’s go exploring, shall we?

Yes, let’s do that…

Lina invited me over to the new Gypsy Rose Burlesque theatre… it’s still under construction, but it’s impressive so far.

I asked her how she got her start in SL.

“I used to play for a long time in another avatar based client,” says Lina. “People there were telling me SL could be a great place for me to take my shop and my clothing creations and expand upon what I had already done there, plus it was a lot more technically advanced. So, literally 9 years ago today, I logged into Second Life and never went back to IMVU.”

In your face, IMVU! *cough, cough* (Okay, back to pretending to be a journalist. Think CNN… think CNN…) From a career in clothing, how did she get into dance?

“As far as my start in dance it hit me pretty quick. I was fairly bored in Second Life, and a friend of mine stumbled upon a show while he was out looking for strip clubs. He took me to a show for my birthday and I was hooked. I started going to a few shows a week and I was in awe. I watched dances like Baby and Jilly and Queenie (BabyPea Von Phoenix and Jilley of Empire, and Red Queen of… well, pretty much everywhere!), and thought I NEED to do that. Soon I signed up with Winds (of the Sahara) as an extra and made my debut Oct 2017. From that day I was so hooked I did whatever I could to get on stage and have not stopped.”

And nothing’s going to stop her… nothing going to stop her noooooooooooow!

(Okay, I just had to.)

“Dance for me is an outlet for my creativity in many ways like it is for a lot of us,” she says “For me, I use it almost as a kind of therapy. After the Las Vegas shooting, I did the song “Invincible” by Pat Benatar, for example. Most of my acts are inspired by things I have going on in my life and almost an expression of my emotion and stress I deal with in the outside world.”

Dance Therapy, folks. After years of seeing articles about virtual worlds therapies for PTSD pop up on the feeds, maybe it’s time to get the soldiers up on the movers and dancing? Put down the M-16, pick up the HetaHarper Tools, and feel the rhythm!

Let’s Learn With Lina!

Speaking of the tools of the trade, I then asked Lina if it was hard to learn dance?

“The tools, I am always learning,” she says. “I use the SpotOn tools and learned them pretty quick thanks to their YouTube videos. I will admit though I am still learning all the time, different tricks and methods that make things easier. As far as putting together an act, I listen to Pandora until something comes along that makes me want to move, or until I can “see” it in my mind. Some of my acts come to me in the most unsuspecting places, like while I am driving or in the shower, where I sing the most, so I try to keep a notepad in my phone to keep notes and ideas.”

(I’d just like to point out here that using a phone notepad application in the shower is not a good idea, even if it’s “water resistant.”)

What comes from her moments of Eureka?

“I usually do group acts, however for burlesque, which is my favorite I try to stick to being as traditional as possible. Lady Correia (of Main Event’s Burlesque Dolls) was one of my mentors. My burlesque acts are always solos, and a few times I have done couples acts. I really enjoy using a lot of people in my acts, however, and giving the audience a lot to look at.”

(Have you seen my jaw? I dropped it somewhere.)

I was curious about this… when you think burlesque, what do you think? And what’s the real definition of the art of burlesque?

In a world that the media portrays as a forest of dance poles and worse, how does dance performance and burlesque stand out and keep its standards?

Lina explained it for me: “Well anyone who knows me and has seen me on stage knows I am not shy and will do just about anything and… show just about anything if the dance calls for it. Burlesque however when it is performed traditionally is more about the tease than the please, I love the idea of leaving them wanting a little bit … more. I have seen acts that seem more about the dancer just showing off the goods than it is about the art. I have also seem some gorgeous acts that are full striptease. I support any dancer to express themselves as they can imagine, that is what is so beautiful about second life is that limitless boundary of expression.”

And the rewards can be great: “When an act goes great it is almost like a high, the dances don’t crash, your music hits the right spots and the particles rez it is a blast. I try not to take it too seriously. I have not literally cried over a bad night (yet) but when it happens, and it does happen to all of us, I try to take it as a challenge, learn from it and make it better next time. When things do go wrong, ask for help too. the dance community really is a huge family and there is always someone willing to help each other get past a block or a problem.”

To give thanks…

As we’ve seen with everything in Second Life, the groups aren’t just groups, And it isn’t just for dance, it’s more like a family…

“They really are and many of us dance at all different venues together. I have seen us support each other through things too in ways that really touch the heart outside of the dance world, family tragedies, illness, marriages and births, we really can be supportive towards each other in ways that go far beyond the keyboard.”

“I did want to be sure to thank everyone who has supported me and encouraged me along the way, especially people like the staff at Winds, A&M and Empire Room who have always made me feel at home and Antonio who has always pushed me to be my best in dance and give me a good kick in the butt when I needed it.

Speaking of Antonio, I asked him for his thoughts on the new place:

[17:44] R.: want to toss in a few quotes?
[17:44] Antonio: who me?
[17:45] Antonio: for her interview nah this is all her, I just support and encourage her, I stay in the background.

The longest journey begins not with a single step, but a kick in the butt.

Starve a cold, Antonio a… FEVER!

A kiss to build a dream on…

Which then leads us to why she is starting the new Gypsy Rose Burlesque Theatre:

“I love to watch just the huge variety in dance period. Some people make the creepiest things like tentacles and snakes, which terrify me look amazing and then the next act might me something so beautiful. I find for myself though that burlesque comes most naturally to me. I love the movement and the mood of the tease. I guess that I why I chose to open my own after Lady C closed the Main Event Showroom.”

Lady C’s burlesque was a very special place to many of us, it was a place that would bring you back in time. She made her dance into an art and taught us all to do the same. Feathers and sparkles and lushly textures stages all set to the music that could be anything from tongue in cheek suggestive to some that were cute, or downright sexy. She held her standards high and taught us all how beautiful it is, I felt there was a void left to be filled and jumped on it with the support of my friends encouraging me along the way I am making it happen.
From my early days in Second Life dance I have always kind of had the idea of running a show in the back of my mind.”

It isn’t just “I have a barn, let’s put on a show” for dance, because it takes a whole lot more to put together an event-friendly venue:

“I have picked up little things here and there from different venues I have danced at, I chose a building with simple textures and a design and color scheme that would leave the focus on the stage and hopefully be welcoming to everyone. My main goal is not to fill seats but to have everyone enjoy themselves and want to come back. I want a venue that runs smooth and is relaxed and a place that my dancers and audience wants to return to and looks forward to every month. A venue that does not belong to “me” per say but to all of us who enter those doors.”

So, why the name Gypsy Rose Lee?

“Well the name Burlesque Dolls of Gypsy Rose Theatre is a nod to Lady Corriea. She has been such a huge influence in my dance. When I took her burlesque class she spoke about Gypsy Rose Lee and her style and talents and her influence in the burlesque world. It is my way of thanking Lady C for all she has done for me with her teaching and encouragement.”

What have you got planned for the opening?

“Performances are already planned by Kyshra, Jilley, Queenie, Alexis, Lina, Exhi, Corri, and Josephine Jinx. And a few more that may join in. Diamonique Viper, with that sexy voice from Lady C’s, is the DJ.”

Ohhhhhhh myyyyyyy. Now Diamonique’s voice… yes, yes she is.

She is also planning a give away with a gift card to Devious Mind for L$1000. “Great place, too, I love her designs!”

Let’s wrap this up…

Thank you, Lina. It was wonderful to talk to you about your experiences in Second Life Dance, and I’m looking forward to the grand opening event. I’ll bring my camera along and maybe, you know, might take a few pictures here and there, you know?

You can see her perform at the new Gypsy Rose opening on March 3rd at 3PM. Also, she’s at A&M, Winds of the Sahara, Elysium, Virtuoso, and at the Dance Queens shows (I’ll be posting about the Dance Queens Showcase in the Weekend in Second Life Dance post because it’s a good introduction to the various performers and styles and acts.)

Additional information

• http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SkyBeam%20Stowaway/23/40/2000
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/1261165023983998/
• https://www.facebook.com/gypsyroseburlesque/

So, who wants to be next?

Sat Sri Akaal, everyone! It’s your Dance Correspondent, R. Crap Mariner.

Coming up on Sunday February 18 and Sunday February 25 at 9AM SLT, the Muse Dance Company presents their production of Fiddler on the Roof.

Here’s their show announcement:

Fiddler on the Roof, a musical

Fiddler on the Roof returns to the Muse Theater! This Tony-winning production, being presented by the | muse | dance company features stunning movements and dance by choreographer Anu Papp. Mark your calendars! You don’t want to this all time favorite show!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whymsee/118/7/2019

That’s the TL;DR, but what does it take to put together a dance production? Who is Anu Papp and why does she create in Second Life? And what influences help form her style?

I know I want to know. So, let’s go exploring, shall we?

Tell Me More…

Anu brought me over to her home on Sunday morning. It’s a pastoral setting from the Baroque Era, and the soft-focused hues and tones reminded me of the sets that she builds. Even in her appearance, you can see those muted tones and the minimalist greyscales. “I am not often seen in SL, only on stage,” she says. “ I tend to live at the theater or on a platform.”

Anu is a Sikh artist from Scottsdale, Arizona, who writes, creates music, and has painted in the past. She is also a healer and an instructor in Kundalini yoga. “I have done meditations and taught some of Kundalini in here,” she says. “A lot of this is random when I get in the mood.”

The peaceful and flowing moves in yoga influence the choreography in her productions, helping to keep balance and steady. However, to my surprise… she revealed that she’s not a dancer in Real Life. “I think we all love to dance in SL,” she says. “I just took it further.”

She got her start in Second Life in 2005. “I was the founder of non-profit, In Gaia’s Lap and its division Artists4Mercy and 5013c focused on keeping the arts alive in orphanages globally.  I used the art of technology by running an online radio broadcast to get my message out there.  A friend of mine in the music industry suggested SL as a means by which I could capture a larger audience.  Within days of landing I found myself at Lost Gardens of Apollo, and lo and behold, I heard my radio stream. Dane Zander ended up becomes one of my biggest supporters for the radio, and my stream was the core of his sim for years.”

In time, she brought together the House of Habsburg roleplay community, and from them, the Muse Dance Company performers. It’s a group that’s grown close over the years. “I talk to the majority of them via phone and voice,” she says. “We have shared our lives together forever, cried together, lost loved ones, watched their children grow up. It’s a tight group.”

Dance Together

With this family, she didn’t want to just create another cabaret or variety show, but something that reflected her style, full productions instead of individual disparate acts. And she’s also looking for meaning with those productions: “When I was hosting sacred dance, a friend of mine who left her body last year came to me and told me that she really appreciated my doing the dances because she was wheelchair bound and it made her feel alive. I think that was always in my head moving forward, to put smiles on sad faces and making people feel really good about themselves.”

The first production of the Muse Dance Company was The Nutcracker. Before the availability of SpotOn and other choreography tools, she painstakingly arranged poseballs for the dances. “Needless to say, she says. “I crashed the sim and was horrified for years after that.”

These days, things are a lot smoother with the new tools, as you can see from Muse Dance Company performer and videographer Glyn Morgath’s of Glynda Productions video of her recent revival of The Nutcracker:

Vision

The venue in which she stages these productions reflects her minimalistic style, but from a modern approach than the Baroque of her home region. Elevated platforms with comfortable sofas for the audience, muted lighting, darker greyscales with the focus on the wide stage.

As for what goes on the stage, Anu tends to be the visionary and choreographer for the team, building the sets to her vision and arranging the formations and moves, selecting the costumes. “Everything I do is a process of creation of the mind,” she says. “Depending on where I am in RL, it is extended here in SL…..and it is created. I draw on human form, emotion and life experiences. It is a labor of love, and I want people to feel something.”
However, recently, she collaborated with dance performer choreographer Cordie Cerise for her Mystic India production. Anu’s Muse Theater is on Cordie’s Whymsee region. “We understand one another thoroughly and she is so easy to work with.”

Fiddler on the Roof

Which brings us to her latest production, Fiddler on the Roof, based on the Tony Award Winning Broadway musical. The story, set in the small village of Anatevka in 1905, tells the tale of Tevye, the father of five daughters. He tries to maintain Jewish cultural and religious traditions while the modern outside world changes all, and his daughters are drawn away to increasingly non-traditional marriages.

I remember growing up with the 1964 cast recording, with Zero Mostel as Tevye. Who hasn’t sung “Sunrise, Sunset” while flipping between Windlight settings, right? I’m curious why a peaceful and tranquil yoga instructor would select a musical with a jarring Klezmer musical style. For some reason, Sholem Aleichem’s work doesn’t quite line up with someone who lives on a peaceful sim named after the fourth chakra.

“My family came from a small village on the Romanian border, in Hungary, first-generation Hungarian Jew in America” she says.”Therefore, the ballets, I like the storylines the classical music. I am not the easiest puzzle to put together.”

Her SL and RL partner, Ferdinand Scarmon, will appear in the lead role, and the many Muse Dance Company performers as the cast. “The Muse Dance Company members are a great group of people,” she says. “Many have been with me forever.” She’s planning on 19 performers on the stage at once; large casts on the stage are a hallmark of her productions, and I’m always worried someone will crash out and break the line.

It’s not just keeping the line from crashing out, mind you. I talked with Violet Sweetwater, one of the many wonderful people in the Muse Dance Company, and about the complexity and difficulty in scheduling and coordinating, she said “Anu has to arrange dates and times for her dancers at least four times over for a show. We’re SLT plus 8 hours, there’s a dancer from New York, I think, and two from Ohio. So, to get us all sorted, it’s an achievement in itself.”

Thank you, Anu and Violet, it was wonderful to talk to you and learn more about you and what you do. And I hope that the readers mark their calendars for this production.

Sat Nam.

Additional Information

• Muse Dance Company
• Muse Photography
• Muse on Flickr

So, who wants to be next?