It was an exciting night at the opera! The opera has drama…and there was drama at this opera. As most of you know, John and I traveled to Denver to reset the choreography for THE PEARL FISHERS (our 9th) at Opera Colorado. Except for a moment of ver klempt-ness when Bryan Ketron injured his hip (it wasn’t serious, he was able to dance), it has been a very smooth ride. Then, at Orchestra Tech, the beautiful and talented soprano, Heidi Stober, had some vocal cord issues. It was serious enough that Opera Colorado Director, Greg Carpenter, flew in the equally talented Mary Dunleavy to understudy the role in case Heidi couldn’t go on. Miss Dunleavy previously performed in this production at New York City Opera in 2005. Unfortunately, Miss Stober was not able to go on and Miss Dunleavy stepped into the role on opening night.

Next, get Mary into all the dance sequences. Most are not problematic, but any dancer who has done this production (and there are many in San Diego) knows THE ATTACK section can be quite scary for leads.  10 dancers encroaching on you, swinging huge bamboo poles right by your face can be slightly disconcerting. At 7:00 pm on opening night, the dancers met with Miss Dunleavy to review THE ATTACK. Incredibly, she recalled most of the blocking. Incredible!

Opening night was a complete success. It premiered to a full house and a standing ovation. The leads were outstanding (Miss Dunleavy was fantastic), the dancers were wonderful, and the chorus sang tremendously. Read a review at http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_11717586

Advisory:  The review mentions the choreographer as Paul Malashock.  Don’t be alarmed - this is still John Malashock - they just made an error.  Paloma was quick to correct them.  (All right Paloma!)

The after party was great. I was quite the “sassy boozehound” (a phrase Nick and Matt have embraced lately) and a good time was had by all.

John and I returned to San Diego on Sunday and started rehearsals for SHADOW OF MERCY (The Leonard Cohen Project) on Monday. Things are going very well - though all our bodies are very sore.   Yet, it is great to be back in San Diego and working on a new project, teaching my class and seeing all the people I missed so much while I was gone.

Stop raining San Diego.

Michael Mizerany
Associate Artistic Director, MALASHOCK DANCE
malashockdance.org

THE PEARL FISHERS have been a very smooth ride ever since we arrived in Denver. Well, recently, we hit some potholes. Bryan Ketron, an amazing dancer and overall nice guy, injured his hip at piano tech. He couldn’t perform at piano dress or orchestra tech, so one of the viable, but not preferable, options, was for me to do the role. Luckily, Bryan’s doctor gave him the okay to dance. Ibuprofen will be his friend, his amigo, his mister.

On Wednesday, Matt and I traveled up to University of Northern Colorado where I taught a modern technique master class. The campus is beautiful. The students were great. The faculty were wonderful. What a great experience.

Another casting announcement. Katie Griffin rounds out the slate of dancers for John Malashock’s SHADOW OF MERCY. Katie danced for Malashock Dance  in LET’S DUET 2007 & 2008 and will be featured as The Queen in THE LEGEND OF THE PERSIAN CARPET set to premiere in March in theaters throughout San Diego.

Rehearsals for SHADOW OF MERCY begin on February 16th.  The rehearsal schedule is jam-packed with tuneful songs from Leonard Cohen and some intriguing choreographic ideas from John Malashock.  Can’t wait!

We are getting a great response for our Scholarship Auditions for both The New Works Workshop and the Summer Dance Intensive.  We have numerous local dancers auditioning, as well as dancers from Missouri, Colorado and Florida.

Enjoy sunny San Diego as I brrrrrrr in Denver.

Michael Mizerany
Associate Artistic Director, MALASHOCK DANCE
malashockdance.org

This incarnation of THE PEARL FISHERS has proved to be the easiest to reset. The dancers learned all nine choreographies in less than four days, the wonderful chorus approaches every scene with gusto and energy, and the excellent production crew who know every entrance and every cue. Things are going so well that the director, Andrew Sinclair, cancelled a staging rehearsal.  Amazing.  In addition, we were just informed that THE PEARL FISHERS is 90% sold.

On Saturday, I am traveling to St. Louis to follow-up on some touring opportunities, see MAD/CO ’s production of CHIMERA and to meet with some college friends I haven’t see in quite awhile.  

When we return to San Diego, we immediately start work on our Spring production SHADOW OF MERCY. SHADOW OF MERCY will be a co-presentation between MALASHOCK DANCE and the SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR JEWISH CULTURE (JCC).

 Performance Schedule (All performances at the Garfield Theater):

Friday April 17, 9:30am - Student Performance - Young Audiences of SD
Friday April 17, 8:00pm - Discounted Preview Performance
Saturday April 18, 8:00pm - Opening Performance
Sunday April 19, 5:00pm - Twilight Performance

Speaking of SHADOW OF MERCY, we had a great phone conference with Danielle Gano, our PR/Marketing Strategist from Elle Communications.  She has many new and innovative ideas for MALASHOCK DANCE and THE MALASHOCK DANCE SCHOOL.  This is going to be a very satisfying and exciting collaboration.

Hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather in San Diego.  The weather has been unseasonably warm here in Denver and I can only hope it lasts until I leave.  My rickity old bones hate the cold.

Michael Mizerany
Associate Artistic Director, MALASHOCK DANCE