Missouri Contemporary Ballet

Meet the dancer series: Part Eight!

2010-11-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

Hello Bloggers! We have a lot going on at MCB lately! The premier of 'Over the Edge' is just around the corner! The premier is in Sedalia, Mo on November 13th at the Liberty Center. The following weekend, November 20th and 21st, 'Over the Edge' will be preformed at the Blue Note, here in Columbia, MO! For more information check out our monthly Newsletter. Remember if you would like to personally get our newsletter and other updates please join our mailing list. To do this you can just like the "Subscribe" button at the bottom of the "Newsletter" page. You could also share it with your friends! We would like to introduce you to...

Jena Ferrigno

Full name: Jena Marie Ferrigno
Age: 22
Hometown: Springfield, Pennsylvania
College and location: Point Park University; Pittsburgh, PA
Favorite TV show (s): Cupcake Wars, Top Chef, The Office, Friends
Favorite movie: The Departed
Most visited website: Facebook
Favorite places in Columbia: Yogo Luv!
What are some of your expectations for the upcoming year with MCB? I am expecting to grow and improve as a dancer, artist, and as a person. I have had such a positive experience thus far and am looking forward to seeing where the second half of the season takes me.
If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why? I would invite my Nana and Grandmom. They both passed away when I was young so it would be amazing to update them on the parts of my life they unfortunately missed.
Favorite indulgence: Yogo Luv :)
Craziest moment onstage: The craziest moment on stage happened during a scene in the Nutcracker when the girl dancing beside me fell and popped her knee out of her socket. She was screaming and crying due to the amount of pain she was in. Should we stop to help her or continue dancing? No one knew what do. Luckly the man playing the role of the Nutcracker swooped her into his arms and carried her off stage. The show went on!
What are some things you do in your free time? Relax, watch TV, read, cook, paint my nails.
Words to live by? "Don't Delay Gratification!"

Meet The Dancers Series: Part Seven!

2010-10-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

Congratuations to artistic director, Karen Mareck Grundy, for her wonderful premier this weekend in Chicago at the Harris theatre. The piece was titled "Journey In" and dance by Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago! She got a fantastic review that you should definataly read! Review So we are going to move right along with the 'Meet the dancers series.' Today you get a chance to meet....

Elise Mosbacher

Full name: Elise Marie Mosbacher  

Age: 22

  Hometown: Grand Haven, Michigan  

College and location: Grand Valley State University (allendale, mi)  

Favorite TV show (s): LOST, Nip tuck, Saturday Night Live, Arrested Development, The Office, Cowboy Bebop, InuYasha, Ranma 1/2, Samurai Champloo  

Favorite movie: Spinal Tap and anything with Bruce Campbell, because he is my hero  

Favorite book: The Princess Bride  

Most visited website: youtube  

Favorite places in Columbia: Downtown  

What are some of your expectations for the upcoming year with MCB? To grow as an artist and performer: To be pushed and challenged by the artistic staff, choreographers, and fellow dancers, to become more confident in myself as an artist and dancer.

  If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why? Steven Segal and Chuck Norris because I've always been curious to see who would win in a standoff battle ;) And also Jiri Kyllian because he is the most amazing choreographer who produces the most beautiful and abstract work. His way of manipulating the human body is pure genius.   

Favorite indulgence: CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!!!!

  Craziest moment onstage: My most memorable on stage moment was when I had the opportunity to perform the role of Giselle my Freshman year of college. It is my favorite ballet to perform and to watch. The movement and emotion is so tender and delicate. I have always had such respect for Romantic Era ballets. That was the first time I have ever come close to crying on stage because I was so enthralled in the character. It was a truly amazing experience  

What do you like to do in your free time? Hang out with my fiancé Heath, play video games, World of Warcraft, play with my cat, watch movies, read, and take naps.

  Words to live by? "There is a vitality, a life force, and energy that is translated through you; and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique." -Martha Graham

Meet the Dancers Series: Part Six!

2010-10-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all that joined us at our cocktail party this past week! It was a great night and we are very thankful to have so much support. There are only a few more dancers in the 'Meet the dancers Series' so do not miss out... meet

Alex Gordon

Full name: Alex Jarrard Gordon

Age: 23

Hometown: Beaumont, TX

College and location: Washington University in St. Louis; STL, MO

Favorite TV show (s): The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Nurse Jackie, Dexter

Favorite movie: Anything Horror related

Favorite book: It's been a while

Most visited website: allfg.org

Favorite places in Columbia: Sven's Cafe

What are some of your expectations for the upcoming year with MCB?

I expect to be pushed to a higher level in my dance training. It has been less then two weeks and I already feel like I am learning so much! I am learning to grow as a dancer and an artist.

If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why?

Ulysses Dove. He is hands down one of my favorite Choreographer and I love his works. Dance for him seemed to be more than just an art. It was a way of life and another way to speak when words were simply not enough. The power, elegance and precision of his pieces make me wanna sit him down and absorb as much brilliance as I can from him.

Favorite indulgence: Chocolate cheesecake

Craziest moment onstage:

Once I had to do an outside performance in a park, at night, on an extremely tilted stage, and the humidity left water all over the stage. There was a point at the beginning of Act 2 were I had to fall off the top of the stage and tumble down to the very tip where the audience was seated, drinking wine and silently watching. I was so nervous that I would slide right off onto a ladies lap that end up sharing her bottle for the night...unfortunately with this story I didn't and all went well but it was crazy...at least in my head.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love to draw and sketch. I'm really just an artist who is looking to express himself. I like to choreograph as well and my friends and I go to the studio and fool around with material. I love to stay active and the outdoors. Hiking and camping are really great.

Words to live by?

Regret doing it...but make sure you do it. No Regrets!

Meet the Dancers Series: Part Five!

2010-10-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone who came out of Artrageous Friday! We had a blast having people partake in our rehearsals! Now it's time to learn more about......

Genene McGrath

Full name: Genene Helen McGrath

Age: 22 (23 on October 17^th)

Hometown: Jamison, Pa

College and location: Point Park University, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Favorite TV show (s): Anything on the USA network (starting with NCIS and Burn Notice)

Favorite movie: I have not seen very movies lately that I have been blown away by….any suggestions?

Favorite book: I am currently reading “The Girl who Played with Fire” and I am obsessed!

Most visited website: Facebook

Favorite places in Columbia: Broadway Brewery

How long have you been with the company? This will be my second year with the company.

What are some of your expectations for the upcoming year with MCB? I expect to grow and learn more as a dancer and performer just I had done last year. (I am very excited about that)

What are you looking forward to most this year? I am looking forward to dance with the new members and get to know them as people. Also, I am excited for all of the performances we will be doing in surrounding towns in Missouri!

Craziest or favorite moment of last year. My favorite moment from last year was working with the musicians for our show “Live”. I have never felt so inspired as I did when I was on stage with Fernando during Karen’s duet “Without Consent.” The combination of dance and music was breathtaking.

What have you done to keep yourself busy since the season was over in May? Over the summer I choreographed a couple pieces for a school in Pennsylvania called International Ballet Theatre. I also spent two weeks in New York attending a summer workshop with Complexions Contemporary Ballet.

Advice for the new dancers.

Work hard and have fun!

Meet the Dancers Series: Part Four

2010-10-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Bloggers! MCB had a fantastic experience with Jennifer Medina last week! Make sure you catch her piece in 'Over the Edge' at the Blue Note November 20th and 21st. Coming up this week is Artrageous Friday! We will open our studio doors from 6-9pm on Friday where you can actually catch a sneak peak of Jennifer Medina's piece and the rest of 'Over the Edge'. Hope to see you there! In the mean time, lets get reacquainted with....

Cassie Roloff!

Full name: Cassondra Nicole Roloff

Age: 20

Hometown: Wausau, WI

Favorite TV show (s): House, How I Met Your Mother, Glee

Favorite movie: How to Train Your Dragon (so cute!)

Favorite book: I love books written by Nora Roberts and also Dean Koontz. I recently started reading Under the Dome by Stephen King and would definitely recommend it!

Most visited website: Facebook

Favorite places in Columbia: Yogoluv!!!

How long have you been with the company?
This is my second season with MCB, but it is my first year as a company member.

What are some of your expectations for the upcoming year with MCB?
I have three expectations:
1. to grow as a dancer and as a person
2. to build new friendships and strengthen old ones
3. to have fun!

What are you looking forward to most this year?
The thing that I am most excited about this year is being choreographed into more works. Since I wasn't a full company member last year I wasn't able to be in as many pieces, and I am really excited to be able to dance much more this year!

Craziest or favorite moment of last year.
A moment of last year that I like to look back on and laugh at would be during one of our performances of ROCK. There was a number where I was supposed to hand an empty coffee cup to one of the dancers onstage (Genene) and then she would dance with it enthusiastically. We had a prop table where I had assumed the cup would be, but Genene (thinking that she was being nice and doing me a favor) had moved the cup to a spot that was RIGHT next to where I stood when I handed it to her. Of course, I never thought to look for the cup there and when I couldn't find it on the prop table, I began to panic. However, there just so happened to be a mostly empty, used coffee cup on the table instead, along with a roll of masking tape. In a quick fix I decided to use this cup and put tape over the holes on the lid so that Genene wouldn't end up with coffee all over her face when she turned the cup upside down.

What have you done to keep your self busy since the season was over in May?
After the season ended in May, I went back home to spend time with my family in Wisconsin. While I was there, I did a lot of teaching for the Wausau Academy of Dance and for the Allegro Regional Dance Theater. I also participated in Introspect Dance Company's performance of "How to Save a Life."

Advice for the new dancers.
Stay strong and keep your chin up! Transitioning to a new place with new people can always be hard, but we are some of the few people who get to do what we love everyday, and that makes those struggles so much easier to get through. You are special and were chosen to be here for a reason, so don't ever forget that! Let's have a great year together!

Meet the Dancers Series: Part Three

2010-09-29T05:11:00.000-07:00

Hello!! We hope everyone is having a great week because we know that we are! Jennifer Medina is doing wonderful things in our studio this week and we are all feeling so lucky to have her. But besides Jennifer we want to move on in our Meet the Dancers Series! Today is someone that you should recognize! Meet (again).......

Fernando Rodriguez!

Full name: Fernando A. Rodriguez II
Age: 23
Hometown: Fort Gratiot
College and location: I attended Grand Valley State University in Michigan
Favorite TV show (s): I am engrossed in Dexter, Modern Family and The Gates.
Favorite movie: I really enjoy independent films and Drop Dead Gorgeous always cracks me up!
Favorite book: Of Mice and Men and Siddhartha
Most visited website: A tie for first is between Facebook and Youtube, followed by Google for the occassional spellcheck. (And by occassional I mean ususally, ha)
Favorite places in Columbia: My favorite place to go is Broadway Brewery, I really enjoy the enviorment and menu selection.
How long have you been with the company? This is my second season with MCB. I am very excited to be back!
What are some of your expectations for the upcoming year with MCB? Working with MCB last year was such an amazing experience. All of the artistic staff and dancers are phenominally talented people, I can only expect to enjoy the upcoming year as much as the last.
What are you looking forward to most this year? I am looking forward to working with our guest choreographers and getting to know the new company members. I also look forward to my continuing growth as an artist, dancer and person.
Craziest or favorite moment of last year. My favorite moment last year was performing in MCB's LIVE concert. There is nothing like the feeling you get when dancing to live music! It energizes both the dancer and the audience. It's really great to see that the arts and artist in Columbia collaborating.
What have you done to keep your self busy since the season was over in May? During my time off I was able to perform, take dance classes, work and have a little vacation time. After the season ended in May I performed as a guest artist the next month with the Stephens College Summer Dance Program. I was happy to be performing again and to meet everyone at the Stephens College Summer Dance. I also traveled with a friend (one of the company members), Genene, to her home town in Pennsylvania. It was great to spend vacation time with Genene and her family, we even went to a Phillies baseball game!!!!!
Advice for the new dancers. My advice for the new dancers is to know why you are dancing and to use that passion on stage, as well as in the studio. My favorite places in Columbia are restaurants so let me know if you are ever want to dine out. Enjoy the season!!!!

Guest Choreographer!!!!

2010-09-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

This week Missouri Contemporary Ballet will be working with Jennifer Medina! We are happy to have her with us again! Check her out!

Jennifer began her dance training in St. Louis, MO with Barbara Craig. She holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and an MFA in Dance from the University of Iowa. As a performer, Jennifer has had the privilege of performing the choreography of artists such as: Bill T. Jones, David Parsons, Sean Curran, Hanya Holm, William Whitener, Milton Myers, Fred Benjamin, Kevin “Iega” Jeff, and many others with her time as a performer with the Wylliams-Henry Contemporary Dance Company. As an educator, Jennifer has taught throughout the U.S. at many institutions and festivals, both as regular faculty and a guest artist. Faculty positions include Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Arias Dance NYC, The Kansas City Ballet School, Webster University, the Glenda Brown Choreography Project, and multiple studios throughout the NYC area. Guest teaching includes the Virginia School of the Arts, Washington University, Ball State University, RDA Southeast Regional Festival (SERBA), multiple ACDFA festivals, and the Georgia Athletic Health, Recreation and Dance Association. As a choreographer, Jennifer has been presented throughout the U.S. Recent works have been commissioned by the Virginia School of the Arts, Arova Contemporary Ballet (Birmingham, AL), Missouri Contemporary Ballet (collaboration with world famous Jazz musician Bobby Watson), and Independence (invitational performance produced by the Eidolon Ballet Company) at the City Center, NYC. Jennifer was recently invited to teach in the 2011 Alvin Ailey American Dance Center Summer Intensive and choreograph a work on their students. Jennifer is very happy to be back in her hometown sharing her teaching and choreography after a 6 year absence. Look for her new company, Common Thread Dance to premiere in STL this year.

Jennifer will be with us all week so come by Orr Street studios and grab a snack or coffee at Svens and check out rehearsal! Have a great week!

Meet The Dancers Series: Part Two

2010-09-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Bloggers meet CARRIE Milikin!

Full name: Caroline Elizabeth Millikin

Age: 27

Hometown: Rockford, IL

College and location: Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA

Favorite TV show (s): Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, The Hills

Favorite movie: Dirty Dancing

Favorite book: Great Expectations

Most visited website: UCDenver.edu and facebook.com

Favorite places in Columbia: so far the dance studio and my apartment!

What are some of your expectations for the upcoming year with MCB? I am looking forward to performing with and getting to know a new group of fellow dancers, directors, and choreographers and being pushed to my limits.

If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why? My mother because she would pretend to like my cooking.

Favorite indulgence: french fries

Craziest moment onstage: I once had a quick change into fishnets and accidentally put them on backwards so that the seams were in the front. There was no turning back.

What do you like to do in your free time? I enjoy playing the piano, hanging out with friends, ping pong, pilates, yoga, knitting, and studying towards my MBA.

Words to live by: Work hard, play hard!

Happy Wednesday!

2010-09-22T05:10:00.000-07:00

Hello Bloggers! I hope everyone is having a great week so far because I know we are! Yesterday we had a guest teacher, Ken Braso, for ballet and we are happy to say that he will be back tomorrow morning again to teach the company! After ballet, the company worked with our very own Sean France on his two new ballets for 'Over the Edge'. One of his two pieces is a passionate duet that is already completed! Most of the morning was spent on the other piece which explores different kinds of people, the kind of people that like to hold everything in verses the kind of people that wear everything on there sleeve. Keep your eyes peeled for some previews of both of his works!

Also, check back tomorrow to meet our next dancer in the MEET The Dancers Series.

Make it a great day!

Meet the Dancers Series: Part One

2010-09-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

Jason Stotz

Hello Bloggers!! Get excited about our 'Meet the Dancers Series'. This will give you a change to meet our new dancers and get reacquainted with our returning ones! If there is something else you would like to know about any of our dancers feel free to ask questions and dig a little deeper! Meet Jason:

Full name: Jason William Stotz
Age: 24
Hometown: Rochester, NY
College and location: University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Favorite TV show (s): Family Guy, Just about anything Discovery, History Channel, Planet Green, etc.
Favorite movie: American Beauty, Fight Club, Gladiator, Avatar
Favorite book: A New Earth, The Story of B, Life After Death
Favorite music: Ani, DMB, Jason Mraz, lots of dubstep and new age.
Most visited website: Google
Favorite places in Columbia: I don’t know yet, but I can’t wait to find out!
What are some of your expectations for the upcoming year with MCB?
I try to have as few expectations as possible in life. I’m just grateful and excited to be dancing full time again!
If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why?
Eckhart Tolle, Daniel Quinn, and Deepak Chopra. They are my three favorite authors and are absolutely brilliant. I would love to hear from their mouths what they are really all about. These three have a wealth of information on how to make the world a better place.
Favorite indulgence:
Life! To wake up in the morning, to see the sunrise, to play with my dog, to laugh with friends, to play music, walk, run, dance, fly. There’s no greater pleasure than those we get to enjoy with each breath of life. You never know what’s just around the corner.
Craziest moment onstage:
Each year the Company at UB does a performance for the UB Scholarship Gala. We usually just do something fun and flashy, lots of old school swing and jazz. There were three relatively small stages and we were dancing on and around all three. Towards the end of the second number, I had a feature on a platform. I did a few fancy tricks and decided to end with a huge switch center leap off the platform down to the floor. Not the greatest idea. I even landed on two feet to take the pressure off landing on one, yet I had jumped too high and too far and felt a snap as I landed. As I ran around to the back for the next section I thought, boy… that kinda hurt… followed by, yeah… it’s still hurting… as I continued to dance through the 3rd number. Little did I know at the time that I had just broken my 5th metatarsal. The doctor told me I had 6 weeks in a cast end of story, when I had a company performance 6 weeks from that day. Unsatisfied with this verdict, I got a second opinion and got a boot instead. 4 weeks later I had willed myself to recovery and healed my way back into the performance. I didn’t get to do all the shows as the understudies needed to be rewarded for their work as well, but it meant the world to be able to do the show as it was my last performance with the company.
What do you like to do in your free time? I’ve recently fallen in love with reading. I was never a fan growing up, (aside from when I was addicted to Goosebumps as a kid) but I find myself so thirsty for knowledge these days. I also love anything active. Running, swimming, bike riding, roller blading, snowboarding, mountain climbing, hockey. Our bodies only hold their vitality for so long; I try to make the best of it while time permits.
Words to live by? "My true religion, my simple faith is in love and compassion. There is no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine, or dogma. Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple. The doctrine is compassion. Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who or what they are - these are ultimately all we need."
Dalai Lama

Family Fun Fest: Creative Kids

2010-09-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

Family Fun Fest: Creative Kids

MCB is very busy this week with Kiesha Lalama-White in our studios but she is not the only thing we have on our agenda! Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 15th we will be preforming at Family Fun Fest: Creative Kids, hosted by Columbia Parks and Recreation. The event is from 6pm-8pm at Flat Branch Park. MCB will take the main stage at 6:45 for our demonstration! This is a fun and relaxed way to introduce kids to the wonderful world of dance. Hope to see everyone tomorrow!

Don't forget to feel free to drop by our studios at 110 Orr street and catch a glimpse of Kiesha and the company at work!

Guest Choreographer!!!!

2010-09-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Fans! MCB is proud to have Kiesha Lalama-White in our studios this week! She is working with the company on an original work for our up coming show 'Over the Edge' at the Blue Note on November 20th and 21st! Learn more about her background and experience and you will know why we are so excited to have her!

Kiesha Lalama-White is thrilled to be creating a work for the Missouri Contemporary Ballet. Kiesha's conceived and choreographed full- length contemporary dance theatre production, The Bench, received rave reviews and was honored as one of Pittsburgh Post Gazette's Top Ten of 2009 and named to the list of Best of Arts. Kiesha's most recent choreography projects include: The Intruder, which was awarded a spot in the coveted "Top 12" at the Youth American Grand Prix, Unsung Moment for the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, and Pressing On for Ballet Arkansas. Kiesha's credits also include a dance scene for the film Sorority Row, the National High School Musical Theater Awards at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway, Patterns for the Youth America Grand Prix which earned her an Outstanding Choreography Award, Let’s Play for Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Going, Going, Gone, which was awarded a Leo’s Award for choreography at the Jazz Dance World Congress, Vicious Cycle for the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, JOLT for the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, Wonderfunk for Wright State University, and Auspicious Encounters and Rise for the Point Park University Dance Department. In 2009, Kiesha was honored to be named in Dance Magazine as one of the "Top 25 to Watch". Kiesha’s teaching credits include master classes and workshops for the following organizations: Cirque Du Soleil, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, The Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, Oakland University, Carnegie Mellon University, Wright State University, Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet, Booker T. Washington H.S. for the Performing and Visual Arts, and Dance Educators of America. Coming up, Kiesha will choreograph an original work for the Missouri Contemporary Ballet Company. Kiesha is a full time Instructor with the Point Park University Dance Department and also serves as the Pittsburgh CLO Education Director. Kiesha is pursuing an M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College. Through it all, Kiesha is most grateful for the unconditional love and support of her husband Roy and two amazing and inspiring sons Jake and Jax.

Also, are you feeling disconnected from MCB? Well, we have the solution for you! Subscribe to our monthly newsletter! You will be personally emailed our newsletter that will help you be updated on our current events. Preview our September newsletter below. If you would like to subscribe then just scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Join our mailing list" and you will instantly be added to it!

September Newsletter

Back in Action!

2010-09-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

Missouri Contemporary is back in action!

We are in week two of our 2010-2011 season and there are many exciting things to look forward to, we have new dancers and two guest choreographers coming to work with us!

LG Patterson, a local photographer, joined us in our studio yesterday to take some amazing pictures for the upcoming year. It was a fun filled day with hair and make up done by Erin France and Karen Mareck Grundy! Make sure that you check up on our facebook page to see sneak previews of the pictures!

Coming up.....MEET THE DANCERS series, which will let you meet all the new dancers and say hello to the returning ones! Also, MEET THE CHOREOGRAPHERS!

Welcome back!

Guest Blogger Series - Cassie

2010-03-31T15:58:00.000-07:00

MCB apprentice Cassie Roloff tells about her Tuesday, March 30!

Hey everyone! I hope you've all been enjoying our blogs and are also as excited as we are for our upcoming shows. Only 10 days until LIVE at the Missouri Theatre, and just 2 until "Ballets that Rock" in Moberly!! We have a busy few weeks coming up so that we can be ready for them!

My Tuesday began nice and early as my alarm clock rang at 5:15AM. After hitting the snooze button a few times, by 5:30 I decided that I had to get up. Thankfully I had preset my coffee maker the night before so I got to enjoy a nice cup o' joe right away. I then had to be out the door by 5:50 in order to get to work by 6.

I work at Sven's Kafe and Gallery which is conveniently located right next to the dance studio. I had a slow morning of serving other sleepy people coffee and pastries, which was perfect for me because I then had time to review some of the pieces for our upcoming shows. (You really CAN practice anywhere.) Then it was time for ballet class at 9:00.

After class with Sean, we ran through all of Shannon's pieces before our break. It was a lot to get through, but we managed to do it with even a little time to spare. Then, off to lunch...yumm!

I had brought a piece of quiche from home to eat, but then became sad as I realized that we no longer have our microwave in the studio. So instead I ate almonds and a V8 fusion for lunch and took note to no longer bring foods that need to be heated up.

After lunch we were back in the studio to work on Desperate Measures. Tom Andes joined us and helped clear up some of our music uncertainties. Then (drum roll please....) we finished the ballet!! It felt like such a success to end the day with giving Desperate Measures a double check and adding it to the "done" file of ballets.

I was finished with dancing for the day, but it still wasn't time to go home for me. Instead I headed right back to Sven's for some more work. It was a very slow afternoon at the Kafe and I was able to close on time and start heading home by 6:15PM. I was SO thrilled to walk outside and find that the weather was still beautiful.

After getting home I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and took my puppy, Zoey, for a walk around Stephens Lake. She really enjoyed being outside and saying hi to all of the other people and puppies that were walking around the park too. Then we went home and I attempted to make some chili for dinner. I think that it turned out okay (but I am also the only one who has tried it so far). I then had to fight myself to stay awake while I waited for my boyfriend/official MCB mascot, Simon, to get off of work so that I could go pick him up and bring him home. Of course, he had to stay late and wasn't done until about 10:45. At 11PM I was finally able to crawl into bed and fall asleep so that I could wake up early and go to work again Wednesday morning.

That is a day in the life of MCB apprentice, Cassie Roloff. As always feel free to stop by the dance studio to watch us rehearse or just come into Sven's Kafe and Gallery to see me! :)

Guest Blogger Series - Constanza aka "Z"

2010-03-28T08:57:00.001-07:00

Newest company member Constanza Murphy tells you about her Friday, March 26!

Its been a productive week!

My Friday started out with the usual morning rituals, check facebook and hotmail and balletalert. Had a quick chat with my husband Paul on facebook while downing several cups of coffee before looking out the window and seeing a dry, sunny morning-a great day for a morning walk to class! Caught up with Paul on the phone after his morning workout while on my way to the studio, then had a nice relaxing warmup. Sleeping Beauty music played through my head as my body worked through the motions of Therapeutic Barre, a leftover ritual from my days at my home studio and the very best way to get ready for class.

It was a good day to dance because my hamstring finally stopped hurting and my back decided to be very bendy. After class, we jumped in on a very motivated rehearsal. Karen is on a quest to get the new ballet done! While waiting for my entrance in the final section I had to remind myself of the massive amount of new choreography we learned Thursday with Shannon, who was also on a (successful) ballet-finishing quest. After kicking people off the couch several times, we got quite a bit set and I took up residence on the couch. Desperate Measures is almost finished!

A journalist from the Tribune joined us for the last part of rehearsal and stayed to talk with the dancers while we cleaned up the studio. We impressed upon him the importance of the mystery in the murder mystery, so no, he will not give away any secrets!

The walk home was very hot and sunny, I think I have a slight sunburn now, but I did find several pennies. This always makes me happy. I don't know why, they're just pennies. Then came my favorite post-ballet ritual. Samples run! Hy-Vee always has spectacular samples.
Its been a great week at MCB, and now its time for a great weekend of photo shoots and hot dog tastings. And a lot of rest, because next week, showtime in Moberly!

I Win!

2010-03-26T14:29:00.001-07:00

Click on the link to our video featuring the love seat borrowed from Stephens College for Karen's new piece, "Desperate Measures," that will premiere in LIVE, Saturday, April 10 at 2 and 8 p.m. at the Missouri Theatre! Enjoy the silliness. (Thanks to company member Genene McGrath's Flip video camera!)

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/241f82d2fdd2067009137a58afe24d71/video/11988911

Guest Blogger Series - Chris"Topher"

2010-03-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

What does Wednesday look like through the eyes of one of our esteemed male dancers? A sneak peek into Chris"Topher" Benjamin's day!

I woke up Wednesday morning at 7:45 a.m. and clumsily stumbled into the kitchen for my coffee cup. Needless to say it took two cups of coffee to get my brain processing information. It really is true what they say about the best part of waking up (insert Irish step dancers). After feeding my dog Poopsy(Owen) I started getting ready. I finished my morning routine, hopped in the car and fastened my seat belt. CLICK IT OR TICKET! Bumping some sick beats, I then made my way to the studio.

Anyone that has come by the studio knows I like to have a little fun with my dance wardrobe. On this particular day I decided to wear my zebra print tights for THE GRUNDY EXPERIENCE. I have absolutely no shame! Karen gave us a condensed class so we could jump right into choreography. I realized this after I came back from the bathroom and no one was preparing for floor progressions. So I reached for my trusty Nannerpuss(banana) to get a little potassium to fight muscle cramps. (Side Note) I recently learned to open bananas from the opposite end of the stem, like a monkey. It keeps the banana from getting mushy. Then it was time for my daily yogurt cup to keep my digestive system working properly.

Noelle, Constanza and I did a walk through of Shannon’s piece to make sure our brains and bodies had absorbed all of the information from the day before. I spent the rehearsal time before lunch watching choreography happen and following the characters’ story lines. Then it was time for lunch, hooray!! I had a deli sandwich, a string cheese, and a Pepsi Max. (Do I hear a future sponsor?!) I had to switch to sandwiches for lunch because I recently had an incident with my phone involving a bowl of Minestrone. Then it was time to head back in to the studio. I played with baby Cordin until it was my character’s time to reenter the stage. After some extremely playful collaboration a conversation and a fight scene was created; putting a period on another section of “Desperate Measures”. It was 2:45 p.m. and time for Noelle and I to mop the studio. The last thing we need right now is an injury from a slippery marley floor.

The weather was so nice I opened the sunroof and drove with the windows down. The Leo in me is getting so excited for the warm weather! I grabbed the mail and then opened the door to an excited Poopsy. He’s always excited to see me when I get home. After taking him outside to go potty it was time to prop my feet up. I’m embarrassed to say I passed out at this point and faded in out for the next hour or so. At some point I dragged myself to my room to sleep for a half an hour. When I woke up it was time for Noelle to run off to teach and for me to make dinner. I made a meat loaf, meat loaf-sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and French cut green beans. Dinner was ready by the time my other roommate Maggie got home so we got to dig right in. After gorging myself on all the fixings it was time for American Idol! I may or may not have gotten ice cream after Idol for dessert.

Thanks for reading!

Guest Blogger Series - Noelle

2010-03-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

Hey MCB fans! Hope you've been enjoying the Guest Blogger Series. Next victim, company member Noelle Lelakus. Read about her Tuesday, March 23!

Today I woke up at 7:15 a.m. and found the living room full of sunshine! My roommate Maggie had preset the coffeepot the night before, which is always good because our apartment has been known to be extra clumsy in the mornings. :) I watched the Today show and ate my oatmeal as always and carpooled to work with Christopher, my other roommate and fellow MCB company member.

We had Shannon for ballet class this morning, which provided us all with a bit of the “Soviet syllabus.” Her Russian classical training provides a great structure for getting on one’s leg in the center, and I felt extra solid turning today! After class, Karen and I did some troubleshooting over my pointe shoes being perpetually backordered, which was (thankfully) successful. Then it was time to rehearse Shannon’s trio to original music by Tom Andes for LIVE. Chris, Constanza, and I worked hard during the rehearsal slot before lunch, ironing out memory and technical problems in addition to plowing through more of the second section. It is the time everyone is starting to feel pressure over the upcoming performances; I am trying my hardest to remember to breathe and not let it affect my good sense! I just have to use my brain and apply the corrections as they come.

After delicious lunchtime, we went back in the studio for “Desperate Measures.” I am having loads of fun with my character in this piece (don’t want to ruin any surprises for our LIVE audience!). Let’s just say I am delightfully creepy and am using various TV/film characters in addition to people I have known as inspiration to make “Paula” come to life. I enjoy the challenge of telling a story and evoking dark humor onstage. The goal I have in mind is to be able to make my parents and friends from Ohio who will be in town for LIVE laugh while watching the piece!

3 o’clock rolled around quickly and we were thrilled to discover it was near 70 degrees outside! Chris and I headed home but stopped for happy hour at Sonic on the way (diet cherry limeades!). Then I took my VW over to the car wash because my dad wouldn’t be happy with me if I didn’t take care of that before he and my mom come out to visit. Tuesdays are one of the only weekdays I’m not teaching at Dance Studio of Columbia in the evenings so they are definitely the day of choice for errands. My roommates and I also had a slightly terrifying encounter with hairy mold growing in the bottom of our trash can once we were all home for the night - eek! Day then completed with a shower, decaf green tea, phone chat with my best friend Jo, and continuation of reading Jane Eyre. Successful Tuesday and looking forward to tomorrow!

Guest Blogger Series - Sean

2010-03-23T14:28:00.001-07:00

Check out a day in the life (Monday, March 22, to be exact) of MCB associate artistic director/ballet master Sean France!

Hey Everybody,
This is my first time blogging anywhere! My first thought was how do I start a blog? What is the blog protocol? I decided to just make it up myself as usual.

Dateline yesterday- My day started early. Monday's and Friday's are my company class teaching days. The beginning and the end of the week. During class dancers sometimes needed to run to the bathroom, and I thought to myself, are my combinations giving them the runs? Is it something with my musicality? These thoughts run rampant through my head.

After class my beautiful wife Erin arrived with our son Cordin, now officially completing both the oldest and youngest members of MCB. Cordin is 5 1/2 months and is not dancing yet.

Before I could blink. The schedule arrived. Karen is on a mission- COMPLETE THE BALLET'S! The first part of the day we finished the duet with Nando and G-boom (Fernando and Genene). Absolutely wonderful work! Onto the Desperate Measures, a ballet filled with interesting characters. The time flew by so fast as we worked out the smallest details in hopes that they would tell the story that we are trying to tell, and I think it's working very very well. Then it was 3:00, and that's my whole blog for today!

May the force be with you. Live long and prosper. Til' next time.

Guest Blogger Series - Wendy

2010-03-22T05:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday morning, MCB fans! Check out what Friday, March 19 was like through the eyes of company member Wendy Langton.

Just a reminder that we are now TWO Fridays away from performing "Ballets That Rock" in Moberly and THREE Saturdays away from "LIVE" at the Missouri Theatre! Check out our website for more details.

Hello all, hope you are enjoying the blogging. I am especially hoping for and looking forward to video footage of Karen's victory of I Win :)

Friday was a wonderful day, filled with lots of productivity and laughter. The morning started off same as usual, with a night of too little sleep due to school (being a full-time student doesn’t mix well with sleep) but was looking up by the time I got to the studio thanks to my good friend Diet Pepsi :). After Sean’s class we got to work all day with Karen on her new ballet Desperate Measures.

It’s always a fun process to watch a piece come about, and I especially enjoy the MCB atmosphere of collective creativity. A lot of my background and experience has been with restaging classical ballets so it’s always a treat to do something where I get to see the creation of a piece. The thought processes that each choreographer goes through and how they like to construct their pieces always fascinates me, so that was an especially enjoyable aspect of the day.

My favorite thing about the day, though, and Desperate Measures was definitely the way each character was given enough depth to feel like a real person. It gives each dancer a lot to work with and express, which is both a challenge and a pleasure. I am playing the role of a detective, which gives me an excellent reason to watch CSI and Law and Order-research purposes! The day went by quickly and before I knew it it was three! Yet another excellent day in the my life. :)

Guest Blogger Series - Karen

2010-03-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hey MCB fans! Check out Thursday, March 18 from the perspective of artistic director Karen Grundy.

Thursday morning I received a call from Shannon saying she had a migraine and was unable to teach company class. I called Sean to see if he was available but Cordin was sick and needed to go to the doctor. Next was Noelle, as much as I hate asking, Noelle was ready and willing, no problem at all, snag overcome. Next coffee, yogurt, and vitamins, then I had to give Reese, my 17 year old cat, some fluids via IV under the skin, have to keep her hydrated.

I got to the studio around 10am and answered emails, made final decisions on our poster for 'Live", made some phone calls, and watched some of Noelle's class (nice stuff going on in there), before going into the studio for the rest of the day. Then was my turn in the studio and time to start "Desperate Measures", music is by the Tom Andes Trio. This piece is very involved with each dancer having a specific character, it's important for me to get as much input from everyone in the studio so we can be sure to get the full story across to the audience. It did not move as slowly as I thought it may that was encouraging. After lunch we had a pile up on the loveseat to see how many dancers could fit, I think we got to 7. Next we played a game called "I win!", and I did! Ha! There's a video somewhere which proves my win. Mark, Mr. President, stopped by and we had him watch what we had done, he didn't get it. Now, you may think this would be discouraging but it was not. Everything will make sense along with lighting and projection, which Mark did not know about. So I'm still confident this piece will come across clearly to the audience, we were able to get half of the first section done by the end of the day, good progress.

After rehearsal I ran home to feed Reese and get ready for Pilates. I taught 2 Pilates privates at Pilates for Everybody and then met the girls out for a little R and R. We had a great dinner at Hemingway's, it was nice visiting with everyone. I got home at a reasonable hour to find Mark and Reese sound asleep. Then night night for me to get my rest to start it all over again on Friday.

Guest Blogger Series - Genene!

2010-03-18T19:41:00.001-07:00

MCB has been very busy getting ready for its upcoming performances in Moberly (Ballets That Rock) and Columbia (the 2nd annual LIVE) in addition to holding lecture demonstrations at Blue Ridge and Cedar Ridge elementary schools in Columbia!

As a new twist for our fans to get an "inside look" at the company, we would like to introduce a Guest Blogger series. Each dancer in addition to Karen, Sean, and Shannon will chronicle a day in their life both in and out of the studio. Please enjoy the first entry by company member Genene McGrath! This is what her life looked like on Wednesday, March 17, St. Patrick's Day!

It’s Genene here to tell you a little about my day! Yesterday was a great day, I woke up at 6:30 in order to make my breakfast and lunch and get ready for the day. I love to watch the today show with my morning coffee. Then it was time for the gym. After the gym I got ready to take Karen’s contemporary/jazz/modern class.

After class we continued to work on Karen’s duet for our “Live” show. This duet is about a guy, Fernando, that is in love with a girl, me ☺, who doesn’t want to let herself love him. So she pushes him away but she ends up falling for him because he is just so irresistible. There are three sections of this piece, the first two are solos and then the last is both of us, which was the section that we worked on yesterday. It was a blast to be able to work through this with Karen, Sean and Fernando. Most of the day was trying to figure out lifts, which is a lot of fun but very tiring. Most of the time experimenting with lifts ends with something beautiful but before the beautiful lift is there, there is normally a fall or head bumps and laughs. The day was mostly spent on, above, over, or wrapped about Fernando. I had to change shirts halfway through the day because I had all of his sweat all over me! This piece is very sensual which brings up very funny moments during its creation. Make sure you come to “Live” so you can see the final product!

The rest of my day was not as exciting. I went home and made dinner and head right to work at Outback Steakhouse. Nothing really too great there, other then steak!

I hope you all enjoyed my day! Look out for the next guest blogger!

Dancer Profile - Meet Constanza!

2010-03-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

Greetings MCB fans! Last week the company announced it had welcomed a new dancer. Please enjoy this Dancer Profile and get to know Constanza Murphy! Also, please visit Facebook for information regarding our 2nd annual artist reception at Sven's Kafe and Gallery for the Art of Dance II exhibit, to be held this Friday, March 5, from 6-8 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Full name: Constanza Elisabeth Murphy

Age: 22

Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT by way of Fairbanks, AK

College and location: University of Utah in Salt Lake

Favorite TV show: House

Favorite movie: How about favorite director, Guillermo del Toro

Favorite book: anything WWII

Favorite dancer: my husband, Paul Murphy

Most visited website: Facebook and BalletAlert

Favorite place in Columbia: the MCB studios, because I haven't really discovered anywhere else yet!

Three words to describe how you feel about this year with MCB?: So Much to Learn

Biggest influence in your life: Coffee!

If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why?: I'll invite the Beatles and have a party.

Favorite indulgence: Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathons

Craziest moment onstage: Act III of Cinderella, performing in an amphitheater, the moment I remembered the Prince arriving at the ball. The wind picked up and blew my hair and dress back and I could see the moon rising over the mountains.

What do you like to do in your free time?: Give my dog Persephone some dog love.

Words to live by?: Experience life.

Busy week

2010-02-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

MCB has a ton going on this week! In addition to hosting a guest choreographer, we also added a new dancer to the company, Constanza Murphy, who will be with us the remainder of the season. (Her dancer profile will be soon to follow! Currently experiencing technical difficulties.) MCB will also join other local artists to march in the kickoff parade for Columbia's True/False Film Festival this Friday at 4:45 p.m.

In the upcoming weeks, look for MCB to participate in numerous lecture demonstrations at local schools, participate in an artists' reception at Sven's Kafe and Gallery, and continue preparations for Ballets that Rock in Moberly, MO in addition to the second annual LIVE! As always, feel free to come down to Orr St. Monday-Friday 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. to watch us rehearse.

Welcome to our Guest Artist!

2010-02-22T19:43:00.001-08:00

This week, MCB has the pleasure of hosting guest choreographer Lisa Catrett, an assistant professor of Dance from Grand Valley State University! (bio courtesy of GVSU Dept. of Music and Dance website) The dancers began work with her on a tango piece to be featured in April's LIVE performance at the Missouri Theatre. Stop by Orr St. this week to watch her work!

Lisa received her BFA in Dance from Ohio University with a full tuition distinguished Professor Award. Her MFA comes from The University of Michigan where she also received a full tuition Fellowship. Lisa has had the opportunity to dance in the works of two of the 20th century greats of Modern Dance, Martha Graham and Jose Limon. Lisa was a member of Eisenhower Dance Ensemble from 1991-1993. She has worked with New York choreographers Mark Dendy and David Parsons. Lisa was a member of the University of Michigan's Dance Faculty in the Musical Theatre Department where she taught Jazz Dance and choreographed for several Musical Theatre Productions including Casino Paradise, Of Thee I Sing and Candide.

Lisa has taught and choreographed nationally and internationally. She has been involved in Musical Theatre for the past 15 years. Her choreographic and performance credits include Cabaret for the Red Barn Theatre in Saugatuck, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat where she was Assistant Choreographer, Dance Captain and featured ensemble member for North Shore Music Theatre, ensemble member for Kiss Me Kate and played the role of a step sister in Cinderella here at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre. Lisa has also been featured in cabaret shows at Mezze Cafe and Cabaret through BTV Productions.

Lisa is founding member of the Peter Sparling Dance Company based in Ann Arbor, Michigan where she continues to perform. She also serves on the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp Faculty and is the Group Exercise Team Leader at MVP Sportsplex. Lisa continues to choreograph for GVSU's Dance Ensemble and Opera Theatre Productions.

Audition notice!

2010-02-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

Missouri Contemporary Ballet is looking for a female dancer, must be strong en pointe with the ability to move throughout various styles. Position open immediately.

Please contact Sean France to set up an audition appointment: sean.france@yahoo.com or 573-808-5287.

A new week and a new month!

2010-02-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

Today MCB spent the day in ballet class with Sean and piecing together more repertoire (Unbreakable Code and ROCK 60s and 70s sections) for our Moberly show in April.

Seems pretty standard but yesterday MCB got together with the board, Columbia's finest ballroom instructors, and local celebrity dancers (past and present!) to kick off the season for its 4th annual Dancing with Missouri Stars fundraiser, to be held Wednesday, May 5 at the Hearnes Center on MU's campus. Board members Doug and Amy Pugh hosted the event at their beautiful home, where the company, ballroom instructors, and newest celebrity dancers were introduced, and guests mingled with drinks and hors d'oeuvres while the 2009 DWMS DVD played in the background. There was even a photographer from the Columbia Tribune in the midst of the action! It was a delightful event; everyone who spoke remarked on the palpable camaraderie in the room among the celebrity dancers who have performed at the event in the past and how the party marked the beginning of the new group's journey.

MCB really appreciates all the effort put forth to ensure the company's existence and funds to pay the dancers and artistic staff. Many thanks go out to our board, patrons, audiences, and community-at-large!

Upcoming Events

2010-01-28T05:54:00.000-08:00

MCB would like to announce events through the rest of its spring season:

April 2, 2010
ROCK in Moberly, MO

April 10, 2010 - 2 pm and 8 pm performances
LIVE featuring all live music, including a world premiere by Tom Andes
Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts

May 5, 2010
Dancing with Missouri Stars at the Hearnes Center (University of Missouri campus)

May 20-21
ROCK at The Blue Note

Also, Frank Stacks original pieces from the MCB calendar are currently on display in MCB's studio space, 110 Orr St., Suite 102. Please ask about the prices - a portion of the proceeds will go to MCB!

The MCB 2010 calendars are also currently on sale at Sven's Kafe and Gallery for 50% off the original price tag. Purchase yours for $10! All proceeds from those sales go directly to the company.

As always, visit www.MissouriContemporaryBallet.com for additional information!

Unbreakable Code

2010-01-25T15:51:00.000-08:00

Since returning to Orr Street on January 11, Missouri Contemporary Ballet has had a busy few weeks of restaging repertoire. MCB performed a section from its U2 piece at the Columbia Values Diversity breakfast in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Thursday, January 14. They then spent the next week finishing all the sections U2 in addition to remembering "Falling Into Place" and "Falling Apart" from FALLING and "Waltz No. 3" premiered in the 2008-2009 season for Renewal.

On Friday, January 22, the company participated in its second Artrageous Friday of the 2009-2010 season, and opened its doors to show the aforementioned pieces in their earliest stages of the rehearsal process. Always a great event of which to be a part, Artrageous Friday allows the MCB audience to get up close and personal with the dancers and what really goes on during a day of work.

Today, the company started to restage Unbreakable Code, which was last performed by MCB in the 2008 Spring to Dance festival in St. Louis at Touhill Performing Arts Center (University of Missouri - St. Louis). Claire and Chris have both performed the piece at various points in their time with the company so their knowledge, along with Karen's, made for a quick day of learning. Hopefully the dancers' muscle memory can keep up with the rate at which their minds are busy processing new choreography!

Next up on the MCB agenda is a kickoff party for Dancing with Missouri Stars this coming Sunday evening! Hard to believe the big event is less than 5 months away, which seems an eternity but will fly by with the crazy upcoming months in store for the company. Also, look out for an exhibit at Sven's Kafe and Gallery featuring work done by local artists depicting the MCB dancers, the company touring to Moberly in early April, and the second annual LIVE performances at the Missouri Theatre!

Stay tuned and PLEASE stop by Orr St. Studios Monday-Friday, 9 am-3 pm to see the dancers in action and get a treat at Sven's Kafe and Gallery!

Back in action!

2010-01-13T06:21:00.000-08:00

MCB returned to the studio on Monday, ready to work through our spring and winter seasons! First up is the Diversity Breakfast to be held at the Columbia Expo Center, Thursday, January 14, at 7 a.m. We will perform piece restaged from our repertory, so come check us out!

As always, please come down to Orr Street Studios and see us Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Also, our Frank Stack 2010 calendars are still on sale around Columbia for those who are interested.

It's great to be back!

Purchase MCB 2010!

2009-12-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

May from MCB 2010. Artwork by Frank Stack.

Although the company is on break, pick up your MCB calendars for the holidays! $20 each and available at Sven's Kafe and Gallery, PS Gallery, The French Laundry, and Pilates for Every Body in Columbia.

Thank you for all your support during FALLING and RAW! We really do have the best audiences ever.

MCB PRESENTS RAW

2009-11-18T11:31:00.001-08:00

NEW WORKS PERFORMED AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY MCB COMPANY MEMBERS.

WORLD PREMIERES TOMORROW!

2009-11-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

FALLING PREMIERES TOMORROW! JOIN MCB AT 7 PM FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13 AND SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14 AT THE MISSOURI THEATRE CENTER FOR THE ARTS.

http://www.motheatre.org for ticket information!

Falling

Relinquish yourself to the
Cycles of sublime falling

Let the dance fall from your feet
Fall apart
Let it fall to the sky

Watch it fall back together

Everything falls to pieces
And then falls into place

Plans fall through
And you fall out of favor

Yet it falls back together again

Relinquish yourself to the
Cycles of sublime falling

Falling commercial!

2009-11-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Mediacom and its production manager, Kyle Cross, for this beautiful commercial for "Falling" featuring photography by Jerry Metellus and poster artwork by Frank Stack!

Less than 2 weeks until showtime! Enjoy.

April and don't forget your FALLING tickets!

2009-10-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

"April" from MCB 2010 by Frank Stack.

Please don't forget our countdown to "Falling" is at 15 days! Please visit http://www.motheatre.org for information on how to purchase tickets. $20 for adults, $15 for students and $8 each for groups of 10 or more - we would love a packed house!

Working to finish Karen's quartet today. Going to try and run the entire show tomorrow for the first time!

March

2009-10-26T18:57:00.001-07:00

"March" from MCB 2010. Image by Frank Stack. Enjoy!

Falling

2009-10-25T15:27:00.001-07:00

A reminder that MCB's Falling will be performed at the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts on Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 7:00 pm. Please enjoy the poster and look for it around Columbia! (Image created by who else other than the brilliant Frank Stack.)

February!

2009-10-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

The February image from MCB 2010, by Frank Stack.

Today in rehearsal Karen continued work on her second piece, a quartet for the men, Claire, and Genene, by setting a solo section for Chris. We finished the day dissecting the last movement of the women's ensemble piece. Trying to stay healthy and injury-free in these last weeks before the performance!

January!

2009-10-20T19:06:00.001-07:00

The exclusive release of the "January" image from MCB 2010. All calendar artwork created by renowned, Columbia-based artist, Frank Stack.

New fundraiser!

2009-10-19T18:59:00.001-07:00

MCB will be selling calendars featuring the work of renowned, Columbia-based artist, Frank Stack. Frank has become our artist-in-residence, stopping by the studio nearly every day to sketch and paint, and the calendar will depict the time he has spent in our rehearsals. We are thrilled to announce this great opportunity for our fans to support us! Details about how to order calendars are forthcoming, but for now please enjoy the exclusive release of the calendar's cover.

Staying warm!

2009-10-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

This week has been productive and cold! The temperatures keep falling in Columbia, which is wrecking a bit of havoc on our bodies, as a less drastic weather change would have been much appreciated.

After Artrageous Friday, we had our annual cocktail party fundraiser on Saturday night at the extraordinary home of Dr. and Mrs. Oliver. We had a lovely turnout and revealed Frank Stack's painting that is our poster for "Falling," which was auctioned off at the event.

Back to work on Monday, we started working on the last section of "Falling" with Karen and Valerie Wedel came to see us in the afternoon to video all the completed sections of the piece for her artistic reference. Tuesday, we continued work on the section after we performed a lecture demonstration at the studio for Kings Daughters, a women's organization. Today, the men got a workout as we worked toward finishing the last section of "Falling" utilizing much partner work.

Tomorrow we will have Shannon all day, whose women's ensemble piece is also on the brink of completion. These next few weeks will bring about finished products left and right so we can start cleaning the pieces - the performances are now just about a month away!

Time to get busy. Stay tuned!

Photo Shoot Pictures

2009-10-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the following video with our finished products from the photo shoot with Jerry Metellus!

Artrageous Friday!

2009-10-07T18:53:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder to our fans that MCB will participate as part of this Artrageous Friday, October 9. For those of you who have never attended this unique event, it is a gallery crawl through Columbia with fun activities at each stop!

Due to this event, MCB will rehearse this Friday evening (instead of the standard 9 am - 3 pm), opening the studio doors to the public to view rehearsal for "Falling" from 6-9 pm. Attendants will also be able to view rehearsal from the comfort of Sven's Kafe and Gallery. Please come down to Orr Street Studios and check it out! Everyone in the complex will be a part of the evening. We hope you will be able to join us!

For more information on Artrageous Fridays in Columbia, visit http://www.artrageousfridays.com/

Lecture Demonstration and Meet Claire

2009-10-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today we prepared and performed a lecture demonstration for Osher Lifelong Learning Center. We had to reorganize the lec dem a bit from what we did for Family Fun Fest because we performed it without our trainees, but it went off perfectly! It was a real treat having the ladies in to visit the studio.

Also, remember that this week, October 5-11, is our fundraiser with Hemingways Wine & Bistro. Be sure to stop in for a fantastic meal and let your server know you're with MCB. $3 of each entree will be donated to us, so eat hearty!

Also, to complete the series of our Dance Profiles, meet Claire, MCB's hometown dancer!

Full name: Claire Nicole Magee

Age: 21

Hometown: Columbia, Missouri

College and location: The Juilliard School / New York, New York

Favorite TV show: First 48, Family Guy, and Robot Chicken

Favorite movie: Requiem for a Dream, Natural Born Killers, Rocky Horror Picture Show,
Inglorious Bastards…I have so many, but those are a few of my favorites

Favorite book: She’s Come Undone, White Oleander, Book of Sketches, A Clockwork Orange

Favorite dancer: Chris Vo and Harumi Terayama

Most visited website: Facebook…yet embarrassing

Favorite place in Columbia: Mojo’s, The Fugue, Shakespeare’s, Shooting Star Tail

Biggest influence in your life: Dance

If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why?:
Jim Morrison. I have always been intrigued by his personality, music, and ability the create such amazing poetry and lyrics.

Favorite indulgence: Any type of clothing that is a onesie, vintage furniture, and multi-colored fake Ray Bans.

Craziest moment onstage: Picking up a receiver on a prop phone on stage and having the whole phone fall to the ground. I was supposed to hang it up but couldn’t after the whole thing had dropped. Whoops!

What do you like to do in your free time?: Go see live music, support local artists, and hang out with my fantastic friends.

Words to live by?: “I want to know if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes, without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.” This is from the poem "The Invitation" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. I actually have this tattooed on my back.

A Chat with Karen!

2009-10-04T17:47:00.001-07:00

Watch MCB Artistic Director Karen Grundy discuss her newest work and the MCB fall performance, "Falling." Rehearsal footage included!

Behind the scenes footage - photo shoot with Jerry Metellus!

2009-09-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

Meet the dancers, watch them work the camera with Jerry! Enjoy.

Monday Madness - Vegas, more Stuff, and a baby on the way!

2009-09-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

Happy last few days of September, MCB fans!

Today we began yet another crazy week. Karen finished the 4th section of "Falling" today, which has the quickest tempo of all the sections thus far! We will be working with her again on Wednesday because she is taking a trip to Las Vegas this week and will return with finished pictures from Jerry Metellus.

In addition to Karen's absence later this week, we have more big news on the way. Our ballet master, Sean France, and his wife, Erin, are expecting their first child, a baby boy! Cordin, the youngest member of the MCB extended family, will arrive by the end of the week and we are all anxiously awaiting his arrival, although no one is excited as his parents!

Because of this busy time for our directors, on Friday we will return to Josten's for a second go at stuffing graduation packets. We are hoping to finish the 8,000 we began last Thursday!

This week, look for the completed photo shoot footage and an exclusive interview with the artistic director herself! It's going to be a good one. Keep checking up on us!

Shannon's interview, outtakes, and rehearsal footage!

2009-09-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here it is! The final installment for your Friday enjoyment.

Stuff!

2009-09-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Today we took ballet class with Shannon and spent the remainder of our day at Josten's stuffing packets to distribute to graduating high school seniors in and around Columbia, since Josten's is one of our sponsors this year! We had a good time chatting and listening to music and got a lot accomplished but still have more to go. It gives us a project to work on if our choreographers are only using a couple dancers at a time during the day.

This weekend is the Roots, Blues, & BBQ Festival in Columbia. Hope everyone gets out there to enjoy and that this weather clears up a bit! Keep checking our blog for updated videos to be posted. We want to give our fans something to anticipate!

Shannon's interview - segment three!

2009-09-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

The continuation...

Shannon's day with the girls and Hemingway's "Dine and Donate"

2009-09-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

Today we finished the first and second movements of Shannon's piece and started the third! It was a very productive day for the women with lots of pointework action.

Also, news from the MCB office! We will be in collaboration with Hemingway's Wine & Bistro in Columbia from October 5-11 for a "Dine and Donate Program." Basically, if anyone dines at Hemingway's during that week and says they're with MCB, Hemingway's will donate $3.00 for every entree ordered. At the end of the meal, it will be noted on the bottom of the check how much money has been raised for MCB!

Below is a link to Hemingway's website for those who are interested in more information about the restaurant.

http://www.hemingwaysltd.com

!edargorteR

2009-09-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today we finished the third section of "Falling"! Much retrograde was involved in its creation, which meant we were all using our brains to rephrase movement from Wendy's solo and her and Genene's partnering section. We are excited to continue with the fourth section but will work with Shannon all day tomorrow so look for "Falling" updates on Wednesday. Tomorrow's rehearsal insights will be based around the women's piece and pas de trois.

More exciting news is that we have passed the 1,400 fan mark on Facebook! Also, there will be big news with regard to an MCB fundraiser that will be released exclusively to those fans in the upcoming weeks so be sure to keep following us.

Delayed Friday update and kudos

2009-09-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

Greetings MCB fans!

We hope you have had a relaxing weekend! On Friday, we had class with Sean and rehearsed with Karen the rest of the day. We have almost finished the 3rd movement of "Falling," and are in the middle of completing an intricate partnering section.

Also on Friday we met our new Orr Street neighbors, art graduate students from MU, who will be working in the space formerly occupied by Stella Studios. They will be in the suite to the left of The Beach Salon if you walk into the phase II complex in which we reside. We look forward to welcoming them into our little family!

And this weekend we also wanted to take a moment to thank a couple people whose local businesses directly contribute to the health and well-being of the MCB company members on a weekly basis. Jenn Drewing, owner of Pilates for Everybody, helps keep us aligned and toned, and massage therapist Chris Alvarado puts us back together when our bodies feel stressed. If you are local to Columbia and seek either of the services offered by these businesses, check them out! MCB sends them love and a seal of approval.

We are looking forward to a new week and continuing rehearsals for "Falling"! Keep watching for our latest news.

Shannon's interview - segment two!

2009-09-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

It has been a jam packed week for MCB! Our photo shoot with Jerry Metellus on Tuesday was absolutely phenomenal for everyone who was involved. We got into model mode with constant Black Eyed Peas and Justin Timberlake tunes being played from Jerry's iPod. Frank Stack was in the studio sketching us during the shoot and Karen even took some shots of her tilt, which were amazing! Look for video taken at the photo shoot to be posted after we have finished bringing you Shannon's interview.

Wednesday night we had a great turnout at Flat Branch Park - lots of families brought their insanely creative kids, who were dancing along with us as we performed the lecture demonstration. Afterwards, we had a little company dinner at Flat Branch Pub & Brewing. A great end to a busy couple of days!

Today we hit a milestone as we finished our first piece for the season, Shannon's pas de trois with Chris, Fernando, and Noelle. It was very exciting! Tomorrow we will be working with both Karen and Shannon, and the development of their pieces is coming along tremendously.

So, for now, please enjoy the second installment of our exclusive interview with Shannon West.

Also, visit the youtube links below to watch choreography by Akram Khan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jKpVKJdWyI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR4ORsAxx7w

An interview with Shannon West!

2009-09-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

We ask Shannon about her choreographic vision, installment one of five. Enjoy! More from the photo shoot to be posted later.

Manic Monday!

2009-09-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hey MCB Fans!

So sorry for the late post - we are all busy getting ready for our photo shoot tomorrow! We are to be at the studio at 8:00 am for hair and makeup (those will be some good looking "clean slates" at that hour haha!) and are responsible to bring as many clothes as we can in addition to pancaked shoes and our stage makeup. It is quite the packing process! And Chris has a brand new steamer, so at least our clothes will be wrinkle-free.

Today we finished the lecture demonstration. It was very exciting and hopefully our audiences will enjoy the new format - lots of continuous dancing! Also, Frank Stack was in the studio with us again today and was joined by Valerie Wedel, our "Falling" installation artist, the last half hour of our day, who watched us run what we have so far of Karen's piece. There were also miscellaneous board members in and out of the studio at various points throughout the day. It is great to see them as frequently as we do - we really appreciate all the time they put into ensuring our success as a company.

Also, we would like to take a moment to remember Patrick Swayze, who passed away this evening after his battle with pancreatic cancer. Everyone in the dance community should be thankful for the work he did onscreen to garner mainstream attention for our art. Sadly, we have lost another great talent.

On a brighter note, we will all be up bright and early at Orr Street Studios! Get excited for tomorrow's coverage. Hopefully we can make a midday post, including Shannon's first videoed interview question (still experiencing technical difficulties).

A special Saturday edition!

2009-09-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

A weekend Dancer Profile to keep our readers entertained until the week begins again. We decided we are going to post Shannon's interview one question per day next week since we asked her five questions and filmed her answers separately.

Say hello to Fernando Rodriguez, MCB's newest male addition!

Full name: Fernando A. Rodriguez II

Age: 22

Hometown: Fort Gratiot, MI

College and location: Grand Valley State University / Grand Rapids, MI

Favorite TV show: I admit to watching a lot of mindless reality TV… other than that I am really into Dexter, Nurse Jackie, and Merlin.

Favorite movie: I can’t pick one favorite movie because there are so many different varieties but I do like a good independent film.

Favorite book/books/author: A book that I really enjoyed and provoked my mind is Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, and I have recently been into memoirs.

Favorite dancer: One of my favorite dancers is Jose Manuel Carreño because I am inspired by his athleticism and artistry.

Most visited website : Hands down facebook..hahaha Second place would go to YouTube!

Favorite place in Columbia: I am new to the area and am having fun exploring!

Three words to describe how you feel about this year with MCB?:EXCITED X 3!!

Biggest influence in your life: Life experiences and those that you surround yourself with. I am thankful to have the support network of friends and family that I have.

If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why?:The creator of the internet because how all this technology works and where it comes from baffles my mind.

Favorite indulgence : Lately…Taco Bell, Usually…reality TV while eating Taco Bell.

Craziest moment onstage: Every time I perform onstage it feels like a new feat and fills me with complete happiness, but my summer performance at Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre gave me a spiritual, emotional and physical connection with the audience and myself that I will never forget. I learned a lot about myself and what I want to share through the art of dance.

What do you like to do in your free time?: I like to read, relax and hang out with friends.

Words to live by?:Be True To You.

TGIF

2009-09-11T14:19:00.001-07:00

Friday was here again! We had a morning class with Sean and spent our time before lunch working with him and Karen on our dual lecture demonstration. Only a few finishing touches and it will be complete, ready to be performed on Wednesday at Family Fun Fest.

At lunchtime, our first board meeting of the year was held, and Karen introduced all the dancers plus Sean and Shannon to its members. There are a lot of returning board members plus some new faces and it is fun getting to know them!

The afternoon was spent with Shannon working on the trio. There are about seven minutes of the piece completed, which is really exciting! We also interviewed Shannon and videoed a bit of the rehearsal (had some technical difficulties with a dying camera battery) and will splice the segments together to be posted sometime this weekend! Sorry we could not get that posted for you today as originally thought.

However, there is one promise upon which can be delivered - another Dancer Profile! Get to know second-year company member, Noelle Lelakus.

Full name: Noelle Elizabeth Lelakus (known as Nol in the studio)

Age: 23

Hometown: North Canton, Ohio

College and location: Mercyhurst College / Erie, PA

Favorite TV show: the Today show

Favorite movie: White Christmas

Favorite book: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Favorite dancer: Elizabeth Parkinson

Most visited website: Facebook

Favorite place in Columbia: Orr St. Studios, Café Berlin, Starbucks on West Broadway or 9th

Three words to describe how you feel about this year with MCB?: Fresh, invigorating, fun!

Biggest influence in your life: My parents – the most supportive and understanding people I know!

If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why?: All my grandparents. Two passed away before I was born, and I was very young when I had to say goodbye to the other two. I would love to know more family stories and what they think of my dance career! Also my best friend, Jo, because our visits are unfortunately few and far between.

Favorite indulgence: Saturday brunch at Café Berlin with the crew.

Craziest moment onstage: Chris Benjamin seamlessly picking me up after a fall in Shannon Lee West’s “Waltz No. 3” at Duets for My Valentine in St. Louis last season. Performing in “Live” was pretty unreal as well!

What do you like to do in your free time?: Travel, read, shop, spend time/keep in touch with friends and family.

Words to live by?: If we didn’t laugh, we’d be dead by now!

Shannon's Day: Week 2

2009-09-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

We belonged exclusively to our ballet mistress/choreographer-in-residence Shannon West again today. After her great morning class, we proceeded to add on to her female ensemble piece first. Shannon explored cantalever work today with Genene, Noelle, Melanie, and Wendy in addition to a lift where Melanie is caught by the other three. The movement, music, and colors to be used in this piece are going to have the audience rocking in their seats!

After lunch, Shannon continued with the pas de trois, starting the second section of the piece. By this point, Noelle exhibits a ragdoll-esque movement quality while Fernando and Chris contrast her in a militaristic style that manipulates her lifeless body. It is turning into a captivating and intimate piece of art.

Tomorrow: A behind-the-scenes peek into afternoon rehearsal with Shannon and an interview with the choreographer extraordinaire herself! Also, a continuation of the Dancer Profile series.

As promised, our next Dancer Profile. Say hello to first-year company member Wendy Langton!

Full name: Wendy Langton

Age: 19

Hometown: Fairbanks, Alaska

College and location: University of Alaska/Fairbanks, AK (I take online courses)

Favorite TV show: House

Favorite movie: I love movies so it’s hard to pick a favorite, but usually something I can sing along to, like Hairspray or Moulin Rouge.

Favorite book/books/author: The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers

Favorite dancer: Alessandra Ferri

Most visited website: Facebook

Favorite place in Columbia: Still deciding!

Three words to describe how you feel about this year with MCB?: Completely wonderfully excited.

Biggest influence in your life: God, my family.

If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why?: Dr. Suess, so I could ask him where he got the inspiration for his book, Oh, The Places You’ll Go.

Favorite indulgence: It’s a tie between going salsa dancing and eating cookie dough.

Craziest moment onstage: In high school doing the Snow Pas, the music, the lights, the costume, the dancing…it was all so perfect and almost surreal, and it was at that moment I knew no matter how hard it was I had to dance. I had always that I wanted to dance professionally, but there have been very few times in my life when things are inextricably clear, and that moment onstage was one of them.

What do you like to do in your free time?: Go salsa dancing, read, write, watch movies and think about life.

Words to live by?: God is love.

Lecture demonstration time

2009-09-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today we took Karen's class and worked on our dual ballet/contemporary lecture demonstration, to be premiered at next week's Family Fun Fest at Flat Branch Park on Wednesday the 16th at 7:00 pm, for the remainder of the day. We are restructuring the lec dem from last year's format, which takes some brainpower for this first smaller performance based on the amount of space we will have. It used to be just a shortened ballet class and we have interwoven portions of Karen's contemporary class to give our audience a better idea of the big picture of our daily training.

We also have a new dancer Dancer Profile today! MCB would like to introduce Genene McGrath.

Full name: Genene Helen McGrath

Age: 21…not for long October 17th!

Hometown: Jamison, PA
College and location: Point Park University, Pittsburgh, PA. 2009 Grad!

Favorite TV show: I really have too many! Top Chief, Friends, The office, Gilmore Girls!

Favorite movie: To be honest I am not a really big movie watcher…I don’t have a favorite.

Favorite book/books/author: The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and Tuesdays with Morrie I could read over and over again and learn something new.

Favorite dancer: Kind of cliché but my favorite “celebrity” dancer would have to be Sylvie Guillem. But my favorite non-celebrity dancer (yet) would be my friend Alex Edwards because he can do whatever he puts his mind to, and I could watch him tap for days.

Most visited website: Duh…Facebook.

Favorite place in Columbia: I have only been here for a couple weeks but I really enjoy the Ragtag. Really neat atmosphere.

Three words to describe how you feel about this year with MCB?: Nervous/excited/thrilled!

Biggest influence in your life: My family, they are so supportive and loving. They remind me everyday to be grateful.

If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why?: My great-grandmother. Just because I would like to see her again.

Favorite indulgence: ice cream. All forms. Any time of the day.

Craziest moment onstage: Performing Robert Battle’s “The Hunt” this past semester was the craziest moments I have had onstage with myself and other dancers.

What do you like to do in your free time?: In my free time I like to work, ride bikes, and watch Food Network.

Words to live by?: Just be happy!

Tomorrow: thoughts on another day with Shannon and a chance to meet new dancer Wendy Langton!

Counterbalance

2009-09-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

Shannon taught our morning class today and Karen had us for rehearsal before lunch. We had finished the second movement of "Falling" on Friday and began working on the third today, which involves a solo danced by Wendy followed by intricate partner work with her and Genene - lots of counterbalancing!

Then Shannon ran her female ensemble piece and added on a bit more for Wendy and Noelle, who were onstage when we finished working on it last. The newest movement tagged on involves drastic weight and center of gravity changes whilst promenading and turning. Again, a bit of counterbalance surfaced and continued right on into the pas de trois with Fernando, Chris, and Noelle. Shannon explored a partnering vocabulary using planks and hinges, such as in the style of Pilobolus.

As promised, the second in our series of MCB Dancer Profiles. Find out more about Melanie Auinbauh, our resident brainchild who manages to juggle a double life as a second-year MCB apprentice and full-time student at the University of Missouri. She is pictured in this post in costume as Kitri from Don Quixote.

Full name: Melanie Katherine Auinbauh

Age: 19

Hometown: St. Louis, MO/Dallas, TX

College and location: University of Missouri / Columbia, MO

Favorite TV show: Dancing with the Stars

Favorite movie: Phenomenon

Favorite book: Mara: Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Favorite dancer: Drew Jacoby

Most visited website: Facebook

Favorite place in Columbia: Campus Lutheran Church

Three words to describe how you feel about this year with MCB?: It's finally here!

Biggest influences in your life: Jesus Christ and my mom

If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why?: Kurt Warner because he seems like a really nice guy who would be easy to talk to.

Favorite indulgence: Any flavor of ice cream

Craziest moment onstage: Summer of 2008 I did a hip-hop dance onstage, and everyone doing the dance could not stop laughing. It was so much fun, and even our teacher was laughing at us from the wings.

What do you like to do in your free time?: Hanging out with friends, baking, knitting, watching movies, star gazing, spending time in the country

Words to live by?: Love your neighbor as yourself.

In other news, Frank Stack spent quality time with us in the studio today with his sketch pad (he really deserves the MCB "artist-in-residence" title) and we are planning the best way to provide our fans with a behind-the-scenes perspective at our photo shoot next week. Exciting!

Happy Labor Day!

2009-09-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

Although MCB enjoyed a restful Labor Day after last week's whip-back-into-shape rehearsal schedule, today we would like to share the poem written in collaboration by MCB Artistic Director Karen Mareck Grundy and installation artist Valerie Wedel for their piece, "Falling," to be premiered at Missouri Center for the Arts November 13-14, 2009.

Falling

Relinquish yourself to the
Cycles of sublime falling

Let the dance fall from your feet
Fall apart
Let it fall to the sky

Watch it fall back together

Everything falls to pieces
And then falls into place

Plans fall through
And you fall out of favor

Yet it falls back together again

Relinquish yourself to the
Cycles of sublime falling

This week you can look forward to a continuation of the Dancer Profile series, more daily rehearsal happenings, and anticipation over our upcoming photo shoot with Jerry Metellus on Tuesday, September 15!

Shannon's Day and Our First Dancer Profile!

2009-09-03T18:44:00.001-07:00

Today we belonged exclusively to Shannon West in the studio. She gave us ballet class and then we worked on Shannon's all-female piece followed by a pas de trois she is setting on Chris, Noelle, and Fernando. Fun and productive! One of Columbia's favorite artists, Frank Stack, also visited us in the afternoon for some sketching time.

As promised, the first in a series of Dancer Profiles! Today's dancer is Christopher Benjamin, 2nd year company member with MCB.

Full name: Christopher Anthony Benjamin (Topher)

Age: 23

Hometown: Hannibal, Missouri

College and location: Stephens College / Columbia, Missouri

Favorite TV show: So You Think You Can Dance

Favorite movie: Dirty Dancing

Favorite book: Twilight

Most visited website: Facebook

Favorite places in Columbia: ZA=Shakespeare's, Drinks=Quinton's, Coffee=Starbucks, Place I always take my family=Flat Branch, Sushi=Sake, Italian=The Pasta Factory, Ice Cream=Sparky's

Three words to describe how you feel about this year with MCB?: Excited/Anxious/New

Biggest influence in your life: Dance is the biggest influence in my life. It has made me who I am today and I feel lost when I'm not dancing.

If you could invite anyone to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be and why?: My grandfather because and I never got to meet him. He passed away right before I was born.

Favorite indulgence: Mexican food and ice cream are my favorite indulgences. I could not live without them and could survive on nothing but...

Craziest moment onstage: Ripping my pants on stage. (It has happened more than once!!)

What do you like to do in your free time?: I absolutely LOVE going to the movie theater! If I didn't love mexican food and ice cream so much it would probably be my favorite indulgence!!

Words to live by?: My favorite quote is; "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." I really believe that you shouldn't ever try to be who other people want you to be. You should always be yourself and nothing else. I always get along with people that are genuine.

Jazz Hump Day follows Riding the Ballet Train

2009-09-02T19:47:00.001-07:00

Day 3 has been completed!

Today we took class with Karen then worked on the jazz section of our new integrated lecture demonstration. After lunch we continued with section two of Karen's piece, "Falling," which is coming together nicely.

Day two turned out to be class with Shannon, choreography with Karen before lunch, and Shannon began her all-female ballet after lunch. During Shannon's rehearsal, a photographer from the Missourian stopped by to capture some behind-the-scenes moments (both serious and silly!).

In the upcoming days, look for dancer profiles to be posted - facts about your favorites beyond professional bios!

Thanks for following us into our new season.

First day back

2009-08-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hey MCB fans!

Today was the first day back for Missouri Contemporary Ballet's dancers for the 2009-2010 season. We have 4 returning company members, 3 newbies, and 2 trainees from Dance Studio of Columbia this year. It was great to finally come together and start rehearsing for our November show, "Falling," which will be held at the Missouri Center for the Arts.

We found out lots of exciting information about fall lecture demonstrations today, all of which will be held at Dance Studio of Columbia. There will be a jazz component factored into our traditional ballet class demonstration this year, which will be new for our audiences!

Also, the company learned a noted fashion photographer from Las Vegas, Jerry Metellus, will be in September 15 to do a day-long photo shoot. What a treat it will be to work with him! You can check out his work on his website, www.jerrymetellus.com.

In addition to the aforementioned events, check us out at Flat Branch Park for Family Fun Fest on September 16, and look out for information regarding tour dates to Moberly and Fulton. We will also be holding another Choreographic Installation in our studio the day after Thanksgiving, so mark your calendars.

And, as always, please visit us at Orr Street Studios during the week! We dance Monday through Friday, 9 am - 3 pm and love visitors who can observe us through the windows at Sven's Kafe and Gallery.

Here's to another great year!