A ballerina from the English National Ballet poses gracefully next to a...robot snake? That's right. A two-meter tall snake-bot was on display at the Streetwise Robots event on May 6 at the London Science Museum's Dana Center. The work of Merlin Robotics, Nottingham Trent University, and the Edinburgh College of Art, the slithery mechanical snake mimics the dexterous movements of a ballerina, sliding up her arm as she performs a por de bras.

Pretty soon, we may see dancing robots onstage alongside prima ballerinas! An exciting development, if you ask me.

Dance is competitive, we all know that.  Anyone who wants to become a professional has to have a thick skin to survive all the corrections given by teachers and choreographers.  But what do you do if you are told time and time again that you'll never live your dream?  What if your problem is not your attitude, your work ethic or your training, but is instead the one thing you can't change - your body?  Read on to hear how one professional tap dancer - Laura Chiuve - overcame both the odds and the limitations of her own anatomy to succeed not only in tap, but in other forms of dance as well.

Evolution Dance Center presents the 2008 EDC Awards:

"Imagine, Create, Evolve"
Directed by Gee Bethancourt

May 31st, 2008!  Tickets on sale now!

For more info, please visit our website:
www.Evolution-Dance.com

So last night I ventured out to see Contrapose Dance's premiere concert of the same name. I have to say that it was pretty amazing. Since moving to Boston, MA, I have tried to go see as much dance as possible, and this company is definitely one to watch.

Contrapose is unique in that it combines the original works of its members with the work of an established artist/dance company and invites that company to perform/guest artist with the members of Contrapose, showcase thier own work, and choreograph. The results are fabulous!

Before I go off on the rants that have been simmering in my head, I want to mention something pertaining to a person in my last blog. I said that Eva Yaa Asantewaa's dance podcast, The Great Dance Audio Podcast is wonderful, but I said that I was sad that I didn't hear more from this podcast because of its quality content.

Kathleen Marshall is such an inspiration. I love when I walk into a room to audition for someone, and not only are they expressing viv and talent, but also intelligence and intense focus. I auditioned as a dancer for the Broadway tour of Grease yesterday, and I was lucky enough to have been in the presence of all of these qualities. It is so great to walk away from an audition feeling like you have grown even if you don't get the job because of a person in that room who inspires you.

Oregon's Portland Art Museum is currently featuring three 19th century French artists who were nuts about dance: Jean-Louis Forain, his mentor Edgar Degas, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The exhibit depicts the world of dance through paintings, pastels, drawings, prints and sculpture. There are 110 pieces in total, including Degas' famous bronze "Little Dancer" statue and Toulouse-Lautrec's color lithograph called "The Englishman at the Moulin Rouge."

The exhibit is aptly titled "The Dancer" and runs through May 11.

For more information, check out:
Portland Art Museum
1219 SOuthwest Park Avenue
Portland, OR
503-226-2811
portlandartmuseum.org