The Pearl Fishers at Opera Colorado has been going extraordinarily well. We taught all the dances in four days (a first) and they all look great. I just staged The Attack section with the leads, the cages, the supers, and of course, the dancers. It looks wonderful.

Not that we haven’t had our challenges. Yesterday, during the assisted flips in THE REPRISE, Alvaro took a header into the floor. He received a sizable good egg but recovered quickly.

Now, just because we are in Denver with THE PEARL FISHERS, it doesn’t mean MALASHOCK DANCE screeches to a halt. 

Some exciting news: We have retained Elle Communications as MALASHOCK DANCE’s PR/Marketing Firm. Danielle Gano, Strategist Extraordinaire, will head the team of marketing experts to create a boundary-breaking public relations and marketing campaign for MALASHOCK DANCE and THE MALASHOCK DANCE SCHOOL. We are very excited about this new partnership.

On Friday, I head up to the University of Northern Colorado to visit with friends and to meet with the Director of Dance to discuss possible residency activities.  Wish me luck!

On a more melancholy note, I am missing the warm San Diego weather (and my SD friends) while I freeze my *&%;%$# off.

Michael Mizerany
Associate Artistic Director, MALASHOCK DANCE

We (Matt, Nicholas, John and myself) arrived yesterday in Denver for Opera Colorado’s production of THE PEARL FISHERS.

The first day of rehearsals went very well. We were able to teach the Intro and Reprise all in one day. I don’t think we have every done that in the first day. It was helpful to have two dancers who had done the show before (Bryan Ketron in SF and SD, Alvaro in DC) so things went smoothly.

Though,there were a few precarious moments when Nicholas almost did a header into the floor. He is thrown in the air by two of the guys and caught by the other two and then goes into an assisted walkover (no hands on the floor). At one point, all three ended up a heap on the floor. Everyone survived to dance another day. (That is good cause - I ain’t dancin’ in the opera).

Time for SNL. I’ll keep you updated on other activities and near fatal moments in this production of THE PEARL FISHERS.

Michael Mizerany
Associate Artistic Director, MALASHOCK DANCE

Great news. Great grants! Malashock Dance has received an Irvine Grant for $190,000 over three years to hire an Executive Director and Associate Artistic Director (that’s me). We also received a gift of $25,000 from the Parker Foundation toward the same.

We hired our last dancer for SHADOW OF MERCY (The Leonard Cohen Project).  Bernadette Torres rounds out the cast of 4 women and 5 men. (Christine Marshall, Lara Segura, Heidi L. Kershaw, Bradley R. Lundberg, Nicholas Strasburg, Matt Carney, Trystan Loucado, myself and Bernadette.)  Rehearsals start on February 16th for most.  The show runs from April 17-19, 2009.

The costumes for THE LEGEND OF THE PERSIAN CARPET arrived and they are lovely.  (MD is collaborating with CLASSICS FOR KIDS and the PERSIAN CULTURAL CENTER on this project.)  Katie Griffin tried on her outfit and she looks amazingly beautiful.  This show tours throughout San Diego (Kroc Center, Balboa Theater and The California Center for the Arts, Escondido) in March. 

Spent the day assembling press packets for presenters and answering robo-calls telling me I have been pre-approved.  I feel so validated.

A presenter in Alaska has shown some interest in MD - do I really want to go to Alaska?  It might be fun if I can see Russia from my hotel room.

Our trip to Denver to reset the opera THE PEARL FISHERS is looming and I am slightly ver klempt over how cold it may be.  My rickety old bones hate the cold.  The forecast for Friday is a balmy 50 degrees but…NY was the same and it dipped considerably. I’ll be bringing my thermals.

I’ll keep you updated on all the opera activities, i.e., rehearsals, costume fittings (this should be good), opening night festivities and such.  And pics this time as well.

Happy MLK Day.

Michael Mizerany
Associate Artistic Director, MALASHOCK DANCE