Blog
Ordway Blog: Stay connected here with what is happening at Ordway and take a look at what is going on behind the scenes.
Ordway Summer Dance Highlights
Mon, Aug 23, 2010 5:00 PM by Ryan Jones
Thanks to everyone who came to downtown Saint Paul to take part in our Summer Dance Series this year. The events were a great success and we had a blast dancing with you. Enjoy some of these pictures from our weekly dance nights.
We look forward to seeing you inside the theater for Ordway’s theater, music and dance events this season.
Until next time we dance,
Posted in Summer Dance
The Top 10 Reasons to Come to Summer Dance
Thu, Aug 5, 2010 1:07 PM by Ryan Jones
By Arielle Melum
1. It’s outside on a summer evening in Minnesota. If you are a seasonal albino…I mean Minnesotan…like me, you know how to appreciate our wonderful summers. It means spending as much time as possible soaking up sun and breathing in fresh air. Well Summer Dance is the perfect place to spend your summer evenings! Who doesn’t love to watch the sun set over the river amid a sky swirling with pinks and oranges, with a gentle summer breeze blowing across their face?
2. To step outside your comfort zone. Yes you read that right. Stepping outside your comfort zone is a good thing. It’s how we grow, gain perspective, and experience life to the fullest (please excuse the cliché). I’ll bet the most interesting and inspiring people you know are those who haven taken risks. They have embraced the awkwardness and felt the fulfillment that comes from taking chances. lt may feel uncomfortable at first, but after a few minutes of swingin’ to the singin’ you’ll wonder why you were so nervous. I get that it’s scary, and the ways in which your world will expand will be worth facing the fear. You don’t even know what you’re missing.
3. It’s free! It seems the price of entertainment just keeps rising. It’s easy to spend a rather hefty amount on a night out. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know many families in a recession who have all that much extra money to spend. But we shall not be deprived of merriment simply because our wallets are feeling a little thin! Summer Dance is free entertainment that involves more than just a walk through the park. You are guaranteed to get your money’s worth. J
4. It’s great for your health. Not only does dancing improve coordination, strength, flexibility, and overall fitness, it’s great for your mental health. Studies have even shown that the Tango can help patients with Parkinson’s improve their mobility, and Ballroom dance can help prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease. So whether your intentions are to better your body or mitigate your mind, Summer Dance is the place to do it.
5. The food! I don’t know about you, but dancing makes me hungry and thirsty! Luckily Summer Dance has quite the spread to curb your cravings including yummy treats and refreshing drinks from Pazzaluna.
6. To experience St. Paul in a whole new way! If you are from Minnesota or have lived here awhile you’ve probably been to St. Paul a million times. You’ve seen the sights, you’ve walked the streets, and you’ve eaten at the restaurants. But Summer Dance is taking St. Paul to the next level. Now you can recapture your favorite haunts all amidst the backdrop of St. Paul’s skyline.
7. People watching. So let’s say you’re not really into the whole dancing thing for some reason or another. You can still come to Summer Dance because the “dance” is only half of it. The “summer” part involves nice weather, live music, good food, and great people watching! And you know what’s better than watching people walk around? Watching them dance (or at least attempt)!
8. Meet a new friend (or maybe more than a friend). You might be waiting in line to buy a crepe, or laughing as you both struggle to master a dance move when you find someone you connect with (whether it be romantically or not). Take the risk and start up a conversation. You never know, your soul mate just might be in need of a dance partner.
9. Support the Ordway and our mission to spread the joy of art, music, drama, and dance with the community. Because even the greatest Broadway show isn’t a production without its audience. We invite you to experience the joy that the performing arts provides. Summer Dance is only the beginning!
10. Everyone is welcome. Simple as that, everyone is welcome. That’s the great thing about this weekly event. It doesn’t matter if you’ve danced in a company, or just in your bedroom. All levels of experience (and I mean ALL levels of experience) are invited to join us.
So join us tonight and next Thursday at 6:00 pm in Landmark Plaza. Learn more about Summer Dance >
Posted in Summer Dance
A Night of Magic: Summer Dance
Thu, Jul 15, 2010 10:34 AM by Ryan Jones
By: Kristie Gaalswyk (Ordway Intern)
As I walked up to Landmark Plaza, I didn’t know what to expect. Things were still getting set up and I was surprised to see that people were already sitting and walking around waiting for the impending night of dancing. It was great to see everyone mingling while eating and drinking.
It occurred to me quite quickly that people from all walks of life were coming together to share in this one moment. I saw older people, young people, a man with a cowboy hat, a woman in a wheelchair waiting patiently, a group of teenagers in flip-flops standing awkwardly, and even little kids jumping with excitement were there to share in the fun of learning and experiencing Tango.
When the instructors were beginning the lesson, I was curious as to how such a varied group of people would interact in this one space, the dance floor. What I came to see was truly awe-inspiring. Everyone became involved in the learning process. They forgot the people around them, who were either stumbling over the steps or excelling at the sultry movements of Tango. They didn’t even pay notice to the people outside of the dance floor watching with smiles glued to their faces. They were certainly in the moment. Some were fast learners, picking up on the dance moves quite quickly and others struggled a bit, but nobody paid any attention to this. You could tell by their faces that everyone out on the dance floor was lost in the moment and having a great time.
As the lessons went on, people walking by would come to a halt and after time would start making their way into our little cluster. Some would join in the dancing, others would meekly dance on the side trying to catch up on what they had missed, or others would just become one of the spectators watching the magic happening in Landmark Plaza while sipping on a glass of wine or munching on a delicious crepe.
It finally came time for the people to test their newly acquired dance techniques to live music. Mandragora Tango started to play, and the atmosphere changed. As the music began, I decided to walk the perimeter taking in the beauty of the weather, the sun gleaming on the Downtown Saint Paul buildings, and the people who had come together for this one night. There was a pair of older women smiling and swaying to the music as they sat on a nearby park bench, a mother spinning around to the music with her little baby in her arms, two little giggly girls skipping through the dancing couples, and a woman leaning against a parking meter mesmerized by both the music and watching the couples as they danced by. This was truly a sight to behold.
It was refreshing to see how this moment really gave all people, from all walks of life, the opportunity to experience arts and culture. I was truly proud of the Ordway and the downtown Saint Paul organizations for creating such an event as this, an event that makes the arts accessible to all.
As I walked away from the plaza, the music began to fade, as did the smile that I had on my face the whole time I was watching the event. I began thinking to myself; will the beauty of this moment be forgotten? Will people who came together for this one night forget the magic that just occurred in the plaza? My question was quickly answered, however. As I got into my car in the parking ramp, I saw a couple all by themselves in the distance, silhouetted by the setting sun, and they were dancing the Tango moves they had just learned. The smile on my face quickly returned as I drove off into the sunset, thinking about the magic of the night; and how glad I was that a night of Summer Dance shall return tonight where people can learn another genre of dance, Disco.
Let the dancing continue!
Posted in Summer Dance, Dance
Time to Tango!
Wed, Jul 7, 2010 2:08 PM by Paul Escalante
A sudden silence swept across the crowded nightclub as the door swung open and in walked the silhouette of a man. He stood with his hands on his hips, head cocked a little to the left. His face, wet with sweat from the hot sun, flickered in the candlelight and his heavy trousers and boots were caked with dirt. Embedded in the man’s thick dark skin were scratches and scars from a hard day’s work. Upon entering the room he brushed the dirt off his clothes and removed his wool hat.
“José!” shouted a voice from the corner of the room. “It’s good to see you, hombre. You want a drink?”
“No gracias, Umberto” José replied in his thick Argentinean accent as he weaved through the tables toward a woman across the room. “Tonight, solo quiero bailar.”
With that he thrust the woman into his arms, the music began, and they danced into the night.
If only life actually happened like that. But who knows, maybe long ago in the slums of Argentina it did. The history of the tango is not clearly defined, but one story says that it began with the gauchos of Argentina. Ironically, the dance that today is the quintessence of elegance and wealth, with women in glittering gowns and men in tuxes, actually started with the working class. After a long and hot day on horseback in the fields the gauchos would enter crowded nightclubs hoping to dance. (Good luck with that guys.) They had to dance with flexed knees because their pants were stiff due to the sweat of the horse and the women held their heads back to avoid the stench of their foul smelling partners. In exchange for dancing with such a disheveled date, the women placed their hands on the man’s left hip looking for money. Together they would weave through the crowded nightclub, which is why the path of the Argentinean Tango is curvy.
How much of the story is true is hard to tell, but it is fact that the dance began in the lower class and worked its way up. The name “tango” even means “a place for slaves to meet”. It was first danced to the flute, guitar and violin, probably in the courtyards of tenement blocks in Buenos Aires. People would get together and play the popular music of the time, savoring the moment of peace from a life of hardship. The dance became more than a pastime. It became a language that weaved together the styles of many different cultures, castes and countries. Gradually the various threads joined to create a fierce tapestry of passion and seduction that we know today as the tango.
This Thursday, get ready to learn the secrets of seduction as the Ordway’s third week of Summer Dance continues with the tango! For those of you that haven’t heard, Summer Dance is the place to be every Thursday night. It’s an eight-week program that begins at 5:30 with food and drinks, continues at 6:30 with a free dance lesson from local professionals, and at 7:30 it’s time to show off your new moves to live music! But don’t worry; you really don’t need to be a “good dancer” to come. All levels of skill and experience are welcome, and that includes you. See you Thursday!
Written by Arielle Melum
For more information on Summer Dance visit http://www.ordway.org/summerdance/
Posted in Summer Dance, Dance, Tango
This blog is a group effort by Ordway staff, actors, artists, musicians, dancers and all those involved in the creative process of performances, programs and events at the Ordway to provide a behind the scenes look at what happens onstage, backstage and in support of the work presented at the Ordway. We also hope to discuss pertinent topics in our industry.
The purpose of this blog is to engage with you in the blogosphere. We wish to let you know that our posts do not go through any official editorial process for spelling, grammar or fact checking, therefore errors may occur – please be kind! Every blog post is open for public comment, questions or suggestions and the Ordway chooses not to pre-screen these responses. That being said, we do reserve the right to remove any offensive, illegal, or inappropriate content at the Ordway's sole discretion.
As part of our new branding initiative surrounding the joy provided by performing arts, by posting a comment, question or suggestion you provide the Ordway with the right to use your submission for marketing and promotional purposes. (I know, I know, I promise to not make future posts as boring as this one!)
Phew! I'm done talking "legal jargon." Thanks for stopping by and reading our blog!
