Peter Sparling in rehearsals
The following entries are from a journal kept by former Graham dancer, Peter Sparling, while teaching and coaching for the Clytemnestra Project at Skidmore College. Sparling is presently Thurnau Professor of Dance at University of Michigan; he performed with the Graham Company from 1973-87 and was artistic director of the Graham Centenary [...]
Tonight, students and company members arrived at the spacious SPAC for our technical rehearsal. Students ran Panorama, while company members did Maple Leaf Rag.
While everyone was performing onstage, I took some video of the company members performing Maple Leaf Rag. You can watch the entire video of Maple Leaf Rag here. The night really flew [...]
Rehearsing Clytemnestra
The viewing of Clytemnestra was surprising for me in more ways than one. I have always been told by teachers that the camera can never truly capture the essence of movement or that it has a tendency to diminish the power of movement. This was not the case at all with the [...]
During the showing last night I was astounded by the ability of the dancers technique. I’d say the “norm” is that through history the newer generations, as Janet explained last evening, were always the ones who can jump higher and have better extensions. What surprised me so much last night watching the dancers is how [...]
Today’s Panorama rehearsal was intense. After many days and millions of counts, we have finished the eleven minute Panorama piece. The hard work is just beginning as we continue to rehearse and clean up the piece in preparation for the SPAC performance.
Elyse says, “I’m amazed at how we’ve become an ensemble in just a few [...]
