It isn’t Rugby or Football (you know the sport where men wear short shorts or spandex and grab each other over a ball?), it’s dance and like Rugby or Football, requires a lot of athletic conditioning.
My younger brothers have, for years, been involved with theater, but recently my sixteen year old brother Konnor has taken up dance.
I never took dance (if I had, I would have been a proficient…lol, probably not), but I have always had a love for watching dance, specifically ballet.
I’ve watched every ballet documentary on Netflix, if that enlightens you to the extent of my interest.
My mother took me to my first professional performance of Swan Lake in San Diego, California when I was seven…I fell asleep.
However, as I aged, my mother and grandmother started taking me to see the Tulsa Ballet company perform. Since I’m not a dancer, I went on to study sports medicine in collage.
Because I love sports too.
Does anyone remember the debate in the training room between Chris and I about whether ballet dancers are athletes or not?
Conclusion: ballet is not a sport, but ballet dancers are athletes.
I’m pretty sure Chris still disagreed with the above conclusion.
So, after watching my brother’s recent dance rehearsals for Peter Pan…
(Children’s Ballet of the Ozarks presents: Peter Pan – MAY 20th 7pm & May 21st 2pm/7pm at the West Plains Civic Center)
…not only are the male ballet dancers tough, they are gracefully tough. They wear tights, but, they don’t have to grab other sweaty dudes while wearing them.
I’m really proud of Konnor and take pleasure in watching him feel passionate about something besides texting…
^^I’m having a little too much fun making “posters” for the upcoming show.
Just in case you didn’t hear, there is going to be a show and it’s going to be awesome.
LIFE GONE RURAL 
I recently retired from being the main dance accompanist for the University of SC Dance Program in the Department of Theatre and Dance, where I played for visiting dancers of the Twyla Thorpe, Paul Taylor,and other modern dance companies. I have also played for dancers from the Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, Cleo Parker-Robinson companies, and other leading contemporary dancers, such as Bill Evans, Thaddeus Davis and Tanya Wideman-Davis, among others. I have played for numerous stars of the ballet world, including Anna Marie Holmes, Irina Kobakova, Stanislov Issaev, Edward Villella, Fernando Bujones, Bruce Marks, and Susan Jaffe, only to name a few, as well as numerous other stars of the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater and other companies. I accompanied at the SERBA Festival, as well as at institutions that were successful at training young dancers, including the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, the Greenville Ballet and the Ann Brodie’s Carolina Ballet and Center for Dance Education at Columbia, SC. Since I retired from full-time work, I have played for the Dance Program at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, MO. I am looking for opportunities to play for ballet schools and companies that are interested in having an experienced and very effective musician playing live and fresh music for their classes. Many dancers that I have worked with have appreciated my flexibility and improvisational abilities, and have regarded me to be not only an accompanist, but also a partner that effectively supports and lends strength specifically to what is being taught in each class. I interact with students well, and taught a class in Music for Dancers at USC for several years. My philosophy in working with dancers is that the musician and dancers are always in a two way process of communication and collaboration. As George Balanchine taught, this is the process of hearing the dance and seeing the music, which has been my mantra for many years! If you wish to contact me my email is Mjamesdma1@gmail.com. My home phone number is 1 (417) 458-1454. I live just a little south of the south gate near Ft. Leonard Wood just before Roby, MO, so I am not really very far from your facility.
Michael James
I’m happy to pass your information along for you Michael! It would be a great opportunity for the students to experience a live pianist in class.