Category Archives: dance

Ninja

Posted on April 10, 2016 by jyourist

Whenever I give students a break during class or sometimes even before class begins, a group of kids, mostly boys, play a game they call Ninja. They stand in a circle or a loose circular clump and strike a stationary … Continue reading →

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Let’s do the Time Warp Again

Posted on October 30, 2015 by jyourist

Every year at Halloween, our middle school has a costume parade and contest and the morning is culminated by each grade level doing an all-grade dance off. This year the 8th graders had the song, “Let’s do the Time Warp … Continue reading →

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Dancing the Hora on Martisor

Posted on March 5, 2015 by jyourist

I have a student who is Romanian. I told her that my mother is Romanian, so we have playfully exchanged a bit of simpatico through the year over our shared nationalities. A couple of days ago, she brought me this note with amulet … Continue reading →

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Lilies in Lilliput

Posted on April 1, 2014 by jyourist

“Our Lily” and “Arum Lily” are the perfect visual gateway into April. The images above appeared in Lilliput Pocket Omnibus 1937/38 which was a humorous publication produced by Stefan Lorant, a photojournalist, author, and filmmaker. The magazine was known for … Continue reading →

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Estrella Morente

Posted on March 5, 2014 by jyourist

Last night we attended a concert of Estrella Morente at Symphony Center in Chicago. Morente is the daughter of the famous Enrique Morente (1942-2010), flamenco singer, and dancer Aurora Carbonell. Her father became her mentor with whom she has sung … Continue reading →

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Dubstep 451

Posted on December 4, 2013 by jyourist

We have just finished reading Part I of Fahrenheit 451 and got into a discussion about whether this futuristic society wasn’t a bit like our own. I asked the students for examples. There were the expected sort of answers–video games … Continue reading →

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Momentum by Boris Seewald

Posted on August 17, 2013 by jyourist

The german filmmaker, Boris Seewald, describes Momentum as “a short documentary-styled expression of an individual’s personal story, starting from a moment of self discovery inspired by a tortilla chip. It builds up as he shares how not caring what others … Continue reading →

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Shunpo

Posted on June 12, 2013 by jyourist
Posted in dance, short films | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Rite of Spring

Posted on May 29, 2013 by jyourist

Today is the 100th Anniversary of the premier of Rite of Spring by Stravinsky, which was greeted with boos, hisses, and jeers. Pierre Boulez conducts the Paris Orchestra in this production from 2002.

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Bodies of Memory

Posted on May 5, 2013 by jyourist

Last night, we saw Bodies of Memory, a performance piece created by a friend of ours, Ginny Sykes. Using dance, film, original and published music (live and recorded), and photographs projected onto a large screen, Bodies of Memory explores how … Continue reading →

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