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With Wisconsin claiming more ballrooms in 1940 than any state, it is understandable that the state’s largest city contained some outstanding ones. Among them were the Modernistic, the Wisconsin Roof and Devine’s Million Dollar Ballroom. They continued in the tradition of the Wells Colonial Hall, which got its start in 1884 and continued holding dances…
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(A fictional adventure) Let’s take a trip back in time. Imagine it’s 1939. It’s the end of the Great Depression, and before World War II. “Gone with the Wind” is playing at the local cinema, and it is the end of Prohibition. The economy is bouncing back, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt is our President. The…
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Blake Was a Lifelong Leader of the Band The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nov 6, 1999 Jerry Blake, whose big-band sounds set Milwaukeeans’ feet to dancing for decades, has died in Las Vegas at age 80. Blake was leader of the house band at George Devine’s Million Dollar Ballroom at the Eagles Club from 1950 to ’68. He…
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The art and process of choreography, as with any of the art forms – musical composition, painting, sculpture, etc. – is as diverse as the piece being created. The formal definition of choreography is “the art of mapping or describing a region as distinct.” This is a definition brought to its most simplistic level, especially…
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When I was asked to write a piece on dance in film by Jim Searles, well, asked isn’t really the right word, more like, arm twisted, I thought to myself, “Sure. Why not?! Piece of cake!” Then I got to thinking about what I wanted to say about dance in film, and realized, that it…
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Katherine Zavada, 7270 Fish Hatchery Road, will be performing with Dandecircus on Nov. 12, 1981. at 8 p.m. at Milwaukee’s Performing Arts Center. On that evening, Dancecircus will be presenting its annual fall concert of contemporary dance works, including the Milwaukee premier of Ms. Zavada’s latest piece, “Sea Anemones,” which portray the territorial instincts of a trio…
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As a professional Middle Eastern dancer and instructor, I am often confronted with the realization that in general, Westerners whose family roots are not in the Middle East are totally baffled when it comes to what we call “belly dance”. The label itself is misleading, suggesting that the dance is done entirely with the stomach,…
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Katherine Zavada grew up in Eau Claire Wisconsin, a town which had limited opportunity to study ballet. There was a fabulous teacher who occasionally would come with her professor husband who taught at Eau Clair University. I took theater classes and did children theater from sixth grade through high school. I lucked out getting leads in the…
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Throughout my professional career as a performer, dancer, singer and actor, I have consistently been asked one question from younger performers: “Should I pursue a professional theatrical career?” My response has always been the same. If you have to ask, the answer is probably “no.” Any theatrical career carries with it a very different lifestyle,…
