Scott Wells & Dancers meld athleticism, artistry

Sitting on a sunlit stoop near his lower Pacific Heights studios, the genial Scott Wells looks more like a regular guy out for a cup of coffee than the freewheeling choreographer whose works have sent dancers swooping on skateboards, pitted balletic Baryshnikovs in a boxing match with Rocky Balboa, and melded the physicality of contact improv with the finesse of dance.

Wells has a love of pure movement that is palpable in the scores of works he has produced over the years. It's that kind of audacious athleticism that takes front and center when his company, Scott Wells & Dancers, presents the obstacle course capering of "Parkour-Deux" juxtaposed with a military-inspired precision of "Special Forces" during its 20th anniversary season at CounterPULSE this weekend.

Scott Wells & Dancers meld athleticism, artistry

LEVYdance-Foundry alliance's promising prospects

Behind the heavy curtain in the lobby of Studio Gracia, hidden in a San Francisco SoMa alleyway, there's grooving going on. A pulsing beat echoes throughout the spacious refurbished warehouse home of LEVYdance as the dancers stretch and warm up under a disco ball in the mint-green studio.

Artistic associate and dancer Scott Marlowe joins in the good-natured joking that ensues when LEVYdance founder Benjamin Levy bounds irrepressibly across the polished hardwood floor, falling to the ground and pinwheeling his legs wildly.

"Don't worry," Levy shouts as he slides past a group of dancers in splits, "We're not doing floor work today ..."

LEVYdance-Foundry alliance's promising prospects

'Les Miserables' by Oakland School for the Arts

"Timely and inspiring."

That's how teacher Michael Berry-Berlinski describes "Les Miserables," the popular musical by Claude-Michel Schonberg, which the students of the Oakland School for the Arts will perform Thursday at the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Oakland.

Based on Victor Hugo's 1862 novel recounting the student uprisings in Paris in the 19th century, "Les Miserables" follows the interwoven stories of the heroic Jean Valjean, the relentless Javert, who pursues him, the tragic Fantine and her daughter Cosette, and the idealistic student Marius.

"It's a story for all time, as appropriate now as it was years ago," says Berry-Berlinski. "The youth of a nation standing up and fighting for a cause - something that resonates with young people today, especially here in Oakland."

'Les Miserables' by Oakland School for the Arts

Diablo Ballet review: Eclectic mix springs to life

From contemplative to winsome to slightly daffy, Diablo Ballet gracefully navigated a delicate balance in the second of its "Inside the Dancer's Studio" series at the Shadelands Arts Center in Walnut Creek last weekend on a program that included four premieres, as well as the crowd-pleasing George Balanchine duet "Tarantella."

A dozen or so cafe tables, scattered in front of more standard seating, set a more informal atmosphere and brought viewers within inches of the performers. It's got to be a little disquieting to dance the high-octane "Tarantella" that near to your audience, but Hiromi Yamazaki and Robert Dekkers found just the right amount of bounce-and-go mixed with genuine warmth to put together a terrific performance. Expertly staged by Oregon Ballet Theatre director Christopher Stowell and Diablo artistic director Lauren Jonas, this delightful little duet to the music of Louis Gottschalk - performed to recorded music here - is chock-full of deceptively tricky and yet fluffy-looking moments that Dekkers and Yamazaki tossed off with ease. Dekkers had just the right kind of lively, clean jumps and pliant ballon for this kind of piece, while Yamazaki added a flirty joie de vivre.

Diablo Ballet review: Eclectic mix springs to life

Ballet San Jose 'Cinderella' review: a funny turn

Broad comedy almost won out over fairy tale appeal in Ben Stevenson's "Cinderella," which Ballet San Jose performed Friday at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. But in a production that boasted all the essential elements of the much-loved story of the rags-to-riches Cinderella and her Prince Charming, even the rollicking wickedness of the ugly stepsisters couldn't outshine the romance.

Story ballets like "Cinderella" make a good choice for Ballet San Jose, a company for which character byplay and storytelling is a particular strength. If the comedic timing for the various players wasn't always spot-on, there was no lack of energy and esprit onstage.

Ballet San Jose 'Cinderella' review: a funny turn

Free Comic Book Day

For comic book aficionados, nothing beats the visceral appeal of holding a real comic book in your hand, paging through the vibrant art and smelling the ink on the pages.

On Saturday, comic fans of any age can feed their love for the genre during Free Comic Book Day, an annual extravaganza in which more than 2,000 retailers in 50 countries will give away special editions of favorite comics - from Disney heroines to Marvel and DC superheroes to the offbeat charms of manga.

"Over 3 1/2 million comics were available for giveaways last year," says Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics in Concord. "And more than a million people showed up to stores, so it's really the world's largest comic book-related event."

Free Comic Book Day

Dance Magazine: Courtney Elizabeth Technique My Way

“The idea of ‘Technique My Way’ really tickled me,” says San Francisco Ballet soloist Courtney Elizabeth with disarming candidness. “I never thought of myself as a technical dancer.”

Elizabeth may be modest, but her performances reveal not only a steadiness—born of early Cecchetti and RAD training at Charlotte School of Ballet, followed by guidance from Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux at North Carolina Dance Theatre—but also the spark of a quick mind. After a stint as a company apprentice, Elizabeth joined SFB’s corps in 2003. Her versatility and maturity led to her promotion to soloist last year. Dance Magazine talked with Elizabeth about the daily discipline behind her liveliness and ease—including the discipline of letting go when the workday is done.

Read More: Dance Magazine: Courtney Elizabeth Technique My Way