We hope the beginning of your week has been terrific!

Here are some great tunes from Michele Kitchen

to get you moving…

 

What are your three favorite tracks to teach a (pick one (or more!): modern, ballet, jazz, hip hop, improvisation) class to?

So many options! I love Lynn Stanford’s music for Ballet currently, it’s super rhythmical and reminds me of some of my favorite pianists. For my little ones (Creative Movement) this summer I had a mashup: Waltzes from Sleeping Beauty (Op. 66), Fleet Foxes (Winter White Hymnal), various different Charleston tunes from the old Great Gatsby soundtrack.

Fleet Foxes

What are your top tracks to get the rehearsal process going?

Currently…

Man in Me -Bob Dylan

Blue Spotted Tail -Fleet Foxes

These Days -Nico

Hannah Hunt -Vampire Weekend

Kaw-liga -Hank Williams

 

Pick 5 tracks that should be on every dancer’s iPod? 

1. Vivaldi (all of it)
2. Bach’s Suite Solo for Cello No. 1 in G Major (Yo-Yo Ma)
3. M.I.A Mango Pickle Down River
4. Daft Punk Doin’ it Right (feat. Panda Bear)
5. Swan Lake in its entirety

Do you have a ‘secret weapon’ song or artist when you need go-to inspiration?

It changes, but is pretty consistently my classical favorites (Vivaldi/Tchaikovsky) and at the moment Benjiman Britten.

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Michele Kitchen, originally from Austin, TX, started her formal training at Festival Ballet Atlanta in Georgia. She then continued her studies at Ballet Austin Academy, where she trained in the Pre-Professional Division until graduating in 2006. She received additional training from American Ballet Theater, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, and Boston Ballet. In 2010, Michele graduated cum laude with a BFA in Dance as part of the inaugural class of Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet/Dominican University. While at LINES, Michele had the opportunity to work closely with Alonzo King, Maurya Kerr, Gregory Dawson, Arturo Fernandez, Carmen Rozestraten, Julie Adams, Ben Levy, and Yannis Adoniou. Since moving to Houston, Michele has taught for Houston Ballet, The Clair School, Precision Dance Academy, and Hope Stone. As well as teaching, Michele dances with Earthen Vessels (Sandra Organ) and teaches gyrotonic.

We want to celebrate our wonderful city today!

From our friends at Fresh Arts:

Houston is Inspired!

There’s more to Houston than brisket, big oil, and bayous. Houston has another story to tell. The story of how this city has become a mecca for some of the best arts, culture and food in the country. We have a winning combination of creativity, diversity, innovation and resources to be named Forbes’ “Coolest City.” Thousands of people come here every year ON PURPOSE to experience everything Houston has to offer. Thousands more will visit, especially now that The New York Times marked Houston #7 on its “Places to Visit in 2013” list (along with Instanbul at #10 and Paris at #46). (True story.) Well, hello, Houston. That’s something to brag about.

And that’s how “Houston is…” was born. They did approximately 7,000 tons* of research and figured out that visitors LOVE Houston for two things above all else: culture and cuisine. They created a spectacular national advertising campaign to share that news with the world. And when folks working in Houston’s arts and culture community** heard the statistics and saw the campaign, they did a collective dance of joy and adopted “Houston is Inspired” as a unifying mantra for an unprecedented regional effort to celebrate our creative capital. We’re ready to let the world know that our special BBQ comes with an extra side of awesomesauce. And a bottle of champagne.

Houston: We ARE inspired. It’s time to inspire everyone around us, too. Here’s how you can help. (Especially YOU, independent artists! Make your voices heard!)

I can post this because I’m the boss lady.  Super hilarious tumblr here.