Hiatus MVP (drumroll please)

Jay Candelario

Congratulations!

In the CHOREO ZONE . . .

Choreo Day, November 12, seemed to start off poorly, with Executive Director, Ms. Francis and Director/Head Choreographer Kevin Kelly fighting off serious colds.

Regardless, the troup went off the rehearsal, albeit late, to work.  "We're really behind," says Ms. Francis, "because we have been focused on our outreach, costume situation, and various new projects to support the Daedream Company and cast."  The idea of cancelling seemed out of the question.

For the rest of the day, the team worked tirelessly, whether on written planning and scene design or actual choreography steps, everyone worked diligently.  Here are some photos to share a glimpse into today's CHOREO ZONE.

Kevin working on a "heroic" number!

 

Des'Tahnee is working on a choreo master sheet for the scene she is directing

Ronald, Marlon and Director, Deandre working on another amazing section

Aissatou joins in to assist in the last session . . .

In Action!

Time Heals All Wounds by Deandre Ward

featuring Deandre Ward, Kevin Kelly and Torey Robinson

2016

SCHEDULE FOR THURS, FRI, SAT, Nov. 12 - 14

Exciting end-of -the-week schedule!

THURSDAY NOV. 12

Regular Daedream (all grades)
Choreo until 7:00 (choreo team)

FRIDAY NOV. 13 - Ms. JEFFREY returns!!  FIRST SESSION for CAST MEMBERS
3:30 PM - 4:15 PM

VOCAL INSTRUCTION (Frenchie, Julianne, Autumn, Aissatou, Dandre F., Tytianie, Jada P., Tamia) 

DANCE/CHOREO for all 7th and 8th graders and mentors not mentioned above, plus Kayla E.

4:15 - 5:00

VOCALS for the WSS 4:15  for 7th grade boys, male mentors, Frenchie, Aissatou, and Maria 

DANCE CHOREO/INSTRUCTION for Kayla P., all 7th Grade girls and female mentors not in above 

5:00 - 5:30

DANCE INSTRUCTION for WSS for all mentors, 7th and 8th graders with full run through

SATURDAY NOV. 14 - ALL DAY CHOREO - LAST SESSION BEFORE CAREER!!!

11:00 am - 1:00 pm 

WSS (with vocal run through:  All Jada P., Kayla E., all 7th and 8th graders, all mentors)

1:30 - 2:30

WOZ (with full run through and choreo completion:  Choreo team and mentors)

2:30 - 4:30

OPENING  (CHOREOGRAPHY SESSION = Choreo team and mentors)

4:30 - 5:30

FINALE REVIEW and PREP for TEACHING (Choreo team and mentors)

PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY to arrange rides - rides must be on time.

Break Dance Workshop

Some early video of the choreo team getting their break dance on!

Instructor:  Local area artist, Obsidian.

Open House, 2015

Last night at Open House, the choreo team performed "I Have a Dream," a piece created less than a month ago specifically for the event.

Involved in this first performance of 2015-2016 were Co-Directors Torey Robinson and Kevin Kelly; mentors Cheyenne, Shayna, Ronald, Deandre, Radcliffe, and Marlon (Evelyn and Luis on technology, recruitment and support); mentors in training Rayania and Brianna; and choreography team members and upcoming mentors Des'tahnee, JeVaughn and Aissatou.

Many thanks to Mrs. K for allowing Daedream to be part of Open House again this year.

Cheyenne, Kevin and Torey address the parents at Open House on Sept. 29, 2015

Daedream Choreo Team performing at Open House

New Staff shirts on fleek!  (meaning:  New Staff shirts look great!)

Sneak Peek Choreo #1

Continuous Creating - Daedream's Visionaries

Someone once asked..... who creates everything on that stage?  and Why does it take so long???

Well, it's an arduous process.  You'll find us after hours several days a week.  

Simple.  It takes HOURS.

We have estimated that on a good day, we choreograph one minute in an hour.  That's on a good day and does not include teaching the choreography team, lead dancers or the placement and staging.

The photo above is a sample of the bare bones of the work.  A plan for each musical piece is broken into segments of time in which to rotate dancers of different abilities and age groups on and off the stage to make a finished product.  The hardest ones are like the number, "June" is last year's show, where elements of comedy, action, gymnastics, challenging flips, and dance are all integrated.  And of course, there can be even more complicated challenges.

Kim Francis, the director and producer of Daedream, says that this year, "we're in for it."  Due to the complexity of some of the numbers, which will include all of the above and additional things such as live singing and spoken words, she's certain it will be a "challenge we may not have taken on before, but I am sure we can do it.  I have the utmost confidence in our team."

The team, lead by the co-directors, who are also the head choreographers, have to address the talents of all of the members.  At the same time, they work to keep the dances fresh and unique and appropriate for the specific numbers to achieve the desired effect.  Usually the director gives feedback, helps with staging ideas, keeping the music and style relevant to the theme of the show, and creating the overall vision.  The co-directors/head choreographers and the choreography teams get a feel for each piece and incorporate theme and genre to fit.

This year, the job us bigger than ever due to the theme, that is a real challenge for costumers, choreographers, lighting and stage crews, and just about everyone involved.

"The Reel Stuff" is a story that, from the title, one can imagine is quite involved.  Devoted to a theme of various film genres,  it's one  production that will definitely require popcorn but give the audience the show of their lives.

We'll have more on this process as we continue throughout the year.

Save the date, June 3, 2016

Summer Work . . .

Just a shout out to some of the Daedream choreography team who have been meeting this summer and working on "The Reel Stuff" 2016: Luis, Kevin, Torey, JeVaughn and Des'Tahnee. Great job, it's really coming together! Looking forward to season 28.

Special thanks to Mr. Kenny and Mrs. K for letting us use the space.  :D

SMASH WEEK NEWS: Head Choreographer/Student Director Kevin Kelly receipient of Area Dance Scholarships

○Jim Altieri Photography, 2015

                                                                        

Head Choreographer, Student Director and Mentor Kevin J. Kelly of New Haven is getting noticed.

Kevin was selected in November of 2014 to choreograph a modern ballet for opera, "Virtue" by Christopher Theofandis of Yale.  Within a week's time, he had choreographed, taught and danced, along with other cast members Des'Tahnee and Aissatou, the piece to accompany the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, local opera talent, and the Elm City Girl's Choir.  But it didn't stop there.

After the two sold out performances at St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Kevin was fortunate enough to receive recognition in the form of support for further developing his craft.  Both The New Haven Ballet and Elm City Dance Collective have given Kevin scholarships for dance.  

We asked Kevin about these experiences and here is what he had to say.

Q:  How did you feel when you were given these scholarship opportunities?

A:  It was amazing.  It was amazing, I'm going to tell you why.  It was amazing because first off, I really didn't expect something like this, and just because it just randomly happened it really shocked me and surprised me with joy and gives me more confidence in myself.  Like it brings me to a higher point, and like, and I just really love it.  I appreciate it.

Q:  So you said a random happening, you think this was random?  You didn't do anything to really deserve it?

A:  I mean, not just that, I think that, like, I worked so hard for it to happen, it's just shocking, it's like I do everything I can to get to this point.

Q:  So let me ask a question about what you meant by "you worked hard to get there."  Did you know that you would get a scholarship, or you worked hard for something else?

A:  I worked hard for myself.  I wasn't trying to get anything, or nothing, I just worked hard for myself to try and make myself feel accomplished.

Q:  What were the circumstances for which you did get the scholarship? Like, what prompted these people to award you?

A:  I guess that they just saw something in me that I didn't see at first, but now that I've grown, and all these people are telling me that I really have talent, I see it now, so, and I'm really thankful for that.

Q:  So you couldn't listen to your director when she first said it?

A:  It wasn't like listening, it was believing.  

Q:  But, I asked, how did these people find out about you?  How did you bring their attention to you?

○Jim Altieri Photography, 2015

A: Ah, well, my director [Ms. Francis.]  My director, she helps me a lot, got me with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra opera thing for the piece I choreographed.  At first, I was kind of skeptical, but, I really involved myself, and put in the effort.

Q:  When you choreographed that, did you really think it would be a breeze, or were you concerned?

A: At first I was concerned, but then I started to really get into it and found myself really liking the music and really loving my choreo.

Q: My last question, what's the future for you as a dancer?

A:  My future (he pauses), cannot be told yet.  

Q:  Is dance in your future?

A:  Dance is definitely in my future.

○Jim Altieri Photography

Where the Magic Happens . . .

Choreography stills

Lift, "May," Kevin/Tanaisha

Jazz Section, "July," Kevin/Torey

Jazz Section, "July," Kevin/Torey

"Hops" in The V, "July," Kevin/Torey

 

Leap Section, "The Finale," Kevin/Tanaisha

Battle of Thunder and Lightning, "April," Kevin/Torey

Battle of Thunder and Lightning, "April," Kevin/Torey

Battle of Thunder and Lightning, "April," Kevin/Torey

"Ayyy"

Be with us on JUNE 5 to see the magic come together in "A Year in A Life," Career High School, 6:00 p.m.

Tickets available SOON.

Oh yes!!! SAVE THE DATE!

Very HUGE shout out to Radcliffe C, Ronald D, Luis T, Torey Robinson, Chey S, Irma M, and of course, Kevin Kelly and Tanaisha B. - who finished the choreo (mostly) for the 8:49 June segment in only three sessions, along with non-mentors Des'Tahnee and Aissatou. Amazing....and it culminated with them getting the exact ending that I prayed for but thought they'd never be able to do...... preview? Check out the last 25 seconds of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I-790dGx-o

Yes.....those lifts.....just like that! Yes my Daedream MENTORS! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas. Save that date! June 5, 2015!

Daedream Schedule Change

Daedream will be in session Wed. Dec. 17, 2014

Daedream will NOT be held on Thurs. Dec. 18, 2014 (only mentors will attend).

Daedream will resume January 20, 2015.

Mentors will resume Daedream Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015 unless otherwise stated.

Some students will be invited to attend Daedream between Jan. 3 and January 20, 2015.  Parents will be notified if students are requested to attend.

Mentors will attend as usual from Jan 3 - 20, unless otherwise stated.

See calendar for more info.

Daedream Goes to the Opera!!

This past week has been a hustle and bustle of planning, preparing and practicing.  Head choreographer, lead dancer and program assistant, Kevin Kelly, 7th Grader and choreographic assistant, Des'Tahnee , and 5th grade newcomer, Aissatou Diallo were part of a beautiful presentation featuring the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, The Elm City Girls' Choir, and local opera performers this week at St. Mary's Church on Hillhouse Avenue here in the Elm City.

Shawn Marie Jeffrey, a parent involved with Daedream for the last year, selected Kevin to choreograph a piece to incorporate into the opera presentation, entitled, "Virtue," and composed by a Yale musician Christopher Theofanidis.  Kevin, dancing as "Faith," created the dance with the theme of the musical story in mind and directed/coached the other dancers (Des'Tahnee as "Love" and Aissatou as "Purity") in this 23 minute presentation.

When more photos become available through the NHSO Website, we will certainly post them here!  Keep up with us via this blog, our Facebook page here:  Daedream Facebook Page and our twitter here: https://twitter.com/DaedreamNH

More news and updates coming soon!!!

The team getting briefed on the story of "Virtue"

by Shawn Marie Jeffrey

Kevin, Des'Tahnee and Aissatou

 

Shawn goes over the musical score with 

the dancers

Kevin works on choreography for the

presentation

Teaching session/rehearsal shots

SNEAK PEEK CHOREO SESSION, First glance, 2014-2015

What most don't realize is the amount of time it takes to create and choreograph the productions.  Music selection alone can take hours in order to fit the chosen (student-created) theme and provide a range and variety of types of musical pieces.  The talent of the cast also drives the types of numbers performed each year, as well as the mentors' plans for their own roles and challenges to their own performance levels.

An example:  it may take 1 to 2 hours to choreograph one and one-half minutes of choreography!

Here's a small slice of choreography work between head choreographer/program assistant Kevin and choreographer/mentor Alisha.

from the opening for our 2015 production, "A Year in the Life."