Cygnify!

Brooklyn, NY - Cynthia King Dance Studio's (CKDS) spring 2013 production, CYGNIFY! Is a spectacular leap forward for the school's students, and Artistic Director Cynthia King. Arriving at Brooklyn's Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts in April, CYGNIFY! is a fast-paced mélange featuring never before seen choreography performed by dancers of all ages.

"Cynthia King Dance Studio, where they are transformed from children into dancers." - The New York Times

CYGNIFY! is an exuberant work that brings together ballerinas, breakdancers, and hoofers to a global soundtrack that includes classical Russian music, salsa, and live African drumming. CYGNIFY! audiences will experience a unique tour through scenes from Swan Lake, take an outer space excursion, and meet sneaky pink panthers and frisky flamingos.

"CYGNIFY! is colorful, creative, innovative, uplifting, and funny," says Cynthia King. "This performance includes some of the most challenging technique we've presented. It's filled with flares, helicopters, pirouettes, and grand jetés."

Friday, April 5; 7PM Saturday, April 6; 3PM, 6PM Sunday, April 7; 2PM, 5PM

Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts One University Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 488-1624

www.kumbletheater.org

Tickets: $29.50

Cynthia King Dance Studio is a vital part of Brooklyn's rich dance culture. Training dancers and producing local performances for more than a decade, King is a major contributor to the local community and the driving force behind original and compelling dance works. CKDS continues to prioritize strong technical training, innovative performance, and community involvement to create a unique and personally rewarding experience for all of its dancers and their families. Learn more at www.cynthiakingdance.com.

"Dinner" by Cynthia King

Dancing for Cynthia King was both an emotional and empowering experience. "Dinner" begins with a man enjoying his meal at a table. After a few bites he finds himself distracted by the reality of who is on his plate. He stops eating... now mesmerized by what life or lives the individuals on his plate may have lived. A beautiful larger than life fork and knife lies on each side of a white spotlight  to symbolize the "Dinner" plate upon which the story takes place. Five dancers, including myself, slowly lift our heads and begin to reclaim memories of our existence.

I look forward to dancing for Cynthia King again. Her artistic voice is brave and deliberate and her work inspires me to fearlessly communicate. Living Enforced Arch is no stranger to her.

For more info on Cynthia King visit: Cynthia King Dance

Dance in Someone Else's Shoes

Natalie Portman, the actress playing in an upcoming film called Black Swan, lives a compassionate lifestyle. She has been vegetarian since childhood and recently took the necessary steps to become a vegan. When she took on the role of Nina Sayers in Black Swan she must have come across the same challenges we face as dancers every day such as, "What am I trying to communicate? Not only with the movement but by the tools used to express the movement?" When looking for ballet slippers, she did her research and found Cynthia King Vegan Ballet Slippers. These shoes remain cruelty-free and cause less environmental harm by using man-made synthetic materials. The cost is only $24.95 a pair! VOGUE magazine recently requested Cynthia King Vegan Ballet Slippers for Natalie Portman to wear in their January cover shoot!

You might be asking yourself why there is a need for Vegan Ballet Slippers.

The truth is that we are stepping into someone else's skin every time we slip on our ballet shoes. Beneath our slippers we have leather padding that provides friction and gives us the control needed to move with grace. Sounds splendid when only seen from this perspective but who's skin or shoes are we wearing? What other perspectives are involved?

Young male calves are used for leather production. The dairy industry has no need for them so they have found a way to make a profit off of these "useless offspring." They're sold to veal farms where they are removed from their mothers within 24-48 hours after birth, fed an anemic diet, and kept in a cage so small that they cannot turn around or lie down comfortably, preventing them from developing muscle tissue. They live their lives standing in their own excrement and are slaughtered at approximately 4 months of age.  All of this is done so that the calves taste tender. Then the skin is separated and shipped out to a Tannery. Preserving the skin involves harsh chemicals such as mineral salts, formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, and various oils, dyes, and finishes, some of which are cyanide-based.  These chemicals are tough on the environment and many of these facilities are located on rooftops causing water pollution and bad odours for families living nearby. All of this in the name of "leather." This word certainly sounds better next to clothing titles such as ballet slippers or jackets or whips. Unfortunately that only exists after the damage has already been done.

When we dance in these ballet slippers we support this type of cruelty and it doesn't stop with calves, other animals are used in leather production; horses, sheep, lambs, goats, pigs, zebras, bison, water buffaloes, boars, kangaroos, elephants, eels, sharks, dolphins, seals, walruses, frogs, turtles, crocodiles, lizards, snakes. Now this can certainly be overwhelming to hear initially but there are alternatives to leather soled ballet slippers

You can get yourself a pair of these cruelty free vegan ballet slippers at the following web address: http://cynthiakingdance.com/vegan-ballet-slippers/

Other cruelty free dance shoe alternatives are being researched and will be featured on future posts!