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 Gabrielle Tracy |
"Song to the Moon", one piece of the opera "Rusalka" by Dvorak,
almost moved me to tears when I first heard it; It sounded like the
passionate desperation of a woman in love, hauntingly beautiful, but
terribly sad. As I investigated it more, I found that this opera --
Dvorak's only -- was based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little
Mermaid". No, it's not the Disney version, but rather a far darker look
at the risks of love with a very different ending. I felt Dvorak
captured that feeling of love's desperation and it's elation
quintessentially and thusly I embarked on encapsulating those feelings
in movement. What is interesting beyond the choreography is the
differences in style and interpretation by the three dancers who are on
the video. Each shows us raw emotion in motion with a slight twist in
each. Still, I found at the end of the work, that even these desperate
raw emotions can be beautiful, so enjoy! -- Rebecca Witjas |
 Laura Mazur |
 Yana Makarova |
|
The River
 |
In "The River" I tried to connect the viewer to the
waters of the earth. As the composer, Smetana celebrated his country 150
years ago, I celebrate our necessary connection to the earth and its
jewels, this one being a river in all its moods: how the water collects,
then flows together; the whitewater created by interruptions in flow by
boulders; a babbling brook; a lake; the effects of bad weather and of
course, its triumphant march to the sea.
All of this is made to resonate with the emotions of the viewer. If you've
ever spent time near a river, one or more of these things have affected
you. If we stop to listen to, look at and feel our environment, it has an
impact on us and especially in this day and age, nature can ground us,
even for a short while, and put life back in perspective. Hopefully, I've
heightened these sensations in making art out of experience.
--
Rebecca Witjas |
June 11th, 2006 Performance of "The River" at Santa Monica Dance Studio's
Spring Recital 2006
White Light
 |
"White Light is the dancer's expression of pure joy in many forms. It is set
to Bach's 3rd Brandenburg Concerto for 9 dancers. It first premiered at USC in
1984 as a work-in-progress at Bovard Auditorium. Later, I reworked it for
Westside Ballet's spring concert. Now, with the help of many of the most
talented dancers in Los Angeles I have created it in its full length form to be
presented in November 2005 at the 19th World Congress of Dance in Larnaca, Cyprus. The
title "White Light" brings to mind all colors of the spectrum mixed into one
light; the light of joy; the light of all; the light of diversity... an emotion
shared by all humanity." -- Rebecca Witjas
|
"White Light" is the ballet that LA Dances presented at
UNESCO's
19th World Congress of Dance in Larnaca, Cyprus.
March 11th & 12th, 2006 Performance of "White Light" at Santa Monica Dance
Studio's Adult Showcase 2006
November 11th, 2005 Performance of "White Light" at the 19th World Congress
of Dance
May 26th, 2005 Performance of "White Light" at Pepperdine's
Smothers Theatre
May 10th, 2005 Rehearsal for "White Light"
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