Company C Contemporary Ballet Blog

Performing at the Yerba

This was Company C Contempoary Ballet's first run at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, CA.  Everything went as planned.  The facility is rather beautiful, and perfect for Company C's needs.  All of us performed to the best of our ability, and I am sure that we all grew further with this experience.

check it out and see.....

Life on tour

We have just finished our last performance of Program A for Company C Contemporary Ballet and ready to dive into Program B. It was a very exciting experience to get to perform amazing works of choreography from such renowned choreographers. Although it’s sad that we are finished, it was a really great run of shows. All the dancers danced their best and looked outstanding. It’s a really great feeling when you walk off stage after a great show and think about all the hard work that got you there and all the fun along the way. All this just makes me look forward to getting started on Program B. I’ll keep you posted on that one.

As for the blog, I thought it would be fun to take you backstage and show you the life of a dancer on tour!

On The Road Again

           So much has happened since my last Blog… I don’t even know where to begin. Of course, I have meant to update the Blog on a number of occasions; you would be amazed at the simple obstacles that prevent me from spending an extended period of time in front of my computer. Excuses aside, here I go again.

           First, I’ll address my torn ligament in my left foot. It is much, much better than it was for our performance in Walnut Creek. By the time we performed at the Cowell in San Francisco, I was able to do mostly everything without additional concentration (I even forgot my ace brace at home for opening night at the Cowell!). Currently, I am able to take all of barre, and half of center in our ballet class without the need of wearing my brace; I do manage to slip the brace on during a complicated turning combination, and it manages to stay on my foot for the rest of the day. My main issue is a lack of mobility in a foot that already struggles with its range of motion… If this were to have happened to my stronger right foot, I wouldn’t be concerned about every ache and pain… Such is life, right?

           Speaking of the Cowell, this was my first time performing at this venue. I have been to Fort Mason many times over the years; usually I attend the Pacific Orchid Exposition held at the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason. Little did I know, there was a cute little theatre just steps away from my annual orchid show. The Cowell Theatre is at the end of Herbst Pavilion with a perfect view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz!! The stage is a nice size and backstage is comfortable. As far as I know, we did a nice job selling tickets, and the audience seemed receptive. Personally, the show become yet another checkmark in my “black book” of theatre’s, cities, and experiences.

Break a Leg

    It has been a little over 2 weeks since my last update, and SO much has happened since then. I will start from the very beginning, since it is a very nice place to start… er… at least from where we left off.

    We started work on The Envelope on Monday, January 14. It only took us 3 partial days to put this piece back together; most of us had vivid memories of the piece. Originally, back in September, we learned The Envelope in the first week of work. Most of us had taken classes over the summer, taught extra ballet classes, and worked out in the gym… but David Parson’s choreography was about to teach us something about how your body responds to being out of shape. I’ll say it like this, a hot bath before bed and immediately after waking up was required for at least 2 weeks.

    The Envelope (that gosh darn piece of parchment) is quite simple in concept. Who would have thunk to make a “ballet” about of an inanimate object? No matter how hard the dancer works, the eye goes straight to the white piece of folded paper floating around the stage. The cleverness lies in the angular arm positions, contractions of the torso, and costuming that hides most of the body in black; all of this pushes the concept right into the realm of craziness yet believability. An extra added touch is the pure black stage with only small pools of light that the dancers move in and out of…. White on a black stage is quite dramatic!

... We're Back!!

Time flies when you are having fun! While sounding absolutely cliché, truer words couldn’t be spoken about the holiday season. Nutcracker came and went without any major problems (last year, my back received more abuse than it was ready for). I also took a quick trip back to Yuma, AZ for a family reunion of epic proportions; my older brothers and I were together for the first time in over a decade! I was back home in time to celebrate the coming of the New Year and work a couple days at good ol’ Starbucks.

And then, magically, it was January 2… First day back! To start the season off with a bang, Jenna and I had to dance the pas de deux from Hush for a “lecture demo” at Fresh Choice in Walnut Creek at 7am. It takes me an hour to drive from Redwood City to Walnut Creek, so I was out of the house by 5:50am (10 minutes of getting lost time), which meant that I was awake by 5am (I don’t function very well for the first hour of being awake). The lecture demo went very well, despite the fact that it was on carpet, in a restaurant, early in the morning, and Jenna and I had not done the pas de deux in half a year… the audience was very receptive, which is the important part.

Dancer Grant Spencer's Personal Perspective

Greetings Friends,

Welcome to Company C Contemporary Ballet’s first internet Blog. My name is Grant Spencer, and I am a company member with Company C Contemporary Ballet. Charlie sent out an email a couple weeks back asking the dancers if they wanted to write a blog for the website, and I volunteered. I have pondered over how I was going to approach this for days now… I figure that the best way to start this is to just be myself. Let’s act like we are good friends sitting in a café (preferably Starbucks) drinking a nice and fluffy, medium (Grande), half caffeinated, non-fat, cappuccino. So here goes nothing, or everything?!

First, I’ll give you a little background on myself (my background will help you understand me in future postings). I was born in the small city of Hanford, CA, which is about 30 minutes south of Fresno, CA. Within 8 months of my miraculous arrival on this planet, my family picked up everything and moved back to my father’s home town of Yuma, AZ. I was put in the swimming pool before I could fully walk since my older brothers were both strong competitive swimmers (rumor has it, they still hold records at their high school), and I was destined to be the next in line. Chronic ear aches kept me out of the pool, so my parents put me in soccer, golf, gymnastics… but nothing really stuck. On a whim, my mother put me in a summer jazz program at the local dance studio. I loved it! It was only a matter of time before I was taking ballet classes.

Dancer Scott Pascal's Personal Perspective

It is that time of the year where we think about what we are thankful for, remember those we love, and become selfless and put others first. It’s a magical and miraculous time that we look forward to all year and miss when it’s gone.

This time starts with Thanksgiving Day. As I was sitting at the dinner table with my family, I looked around and contemplated what I am thankful for. A lot came to mind. Indeed, I am a lucky guy and have many things to be thankful for. I have made a big change this year and moved up to San Francisco. I have loved the city since my first step in it six years ago. Since then, I have thought about it and attempted to move up here but never succeeded. At last, in August of 2007, I auditioned for Charlie Anderson’s Company C Contemporary Ballet and got a job! Little did he know that he opened a door of opportunity for me. He let me realize this aspiration and live it out. I have productively moved up here and started rehearsals with the company. Although I started a little late and in the middle of rehearsals this year, the dancers couldn’t have been more warm and welcoming towards me. They helped make that transition easy for me and included me immediately. Another member of the Company C team is Lou Fancher. Both Lou and Charlie see so much more in me than I ever have. They are pushing me so hard in classes and rehearsals and I am immensely grateful for that.