NYC Premiere!

Tonight is the NY premiere of New York Export: Opus Jazz, The Film, at Alice Tully Hall. This will be my first time watching it in its entirety. When I began this blog, I had imagined that I would write about the whole process, from rehearsing and filming, to editing and post production work, but soon after filming, I began to feel like I was having a baby, and I wanted to be surprised by the finished product. Tonight I will finally learn if it's a boy or girl. I never understood how parents could wait until birth to know if they'll have a son or daughter, but I get it now. I was able to hear from others that the "baby" was healthy and developing fine and that was good enough for me. But what I heard the most, and will hopefully have confirmed tonight, is that this "baby" is hot.

I've known Ellen Bar since I first moved to New York, she was one of my freakishly close friends that would spend nearly every waking second together. She always intimidated me with her dry sense of humor and staggeringly high SAT score. (I still remember what is is, but won't share it here) Sean and I became close after a few years of working together. He has happily remained one the most neurotic of friends, perfectly balancing his colt like energy with a near comatose state of exhaustion.

I have watched them pour their souls into this film, thrilled by successes and defeated by set backs. There were times when you just didn't want to ask how things were going because you could feel the stress and you knew that this film was always forefront in their minds. At times it seemed that giving up was the only way forward but they pushed ahead and have produced a film that will bring Jerome Robbins back in to living room just like when his Ballets USA was dancing Opus Jazz on 'The Ed Sullivan Show'.

Working on this film has been the most fulfilling experience that I've ever had as a dancer. I wish that it wasn't over so that I could do it again. I am so proud of Ellen and Sean for following their vision and never giving up. Congratulations to them and to everyone else who helped to bring this film to life.

The Opus Jazz Dance Off...Results.

The votes have been tallied, the count has been triple checked, and the winners of the Opus Jazz Dance-Off are........Robbie Fairchild and Amar Ramasar! It was such a close race, ending with a score of 78 to 74. Congratulations to both teams, especially our winners.

How will we ever forget the shock of Amar splitting his jeans and not missing a beat, or the sight of Rebecca wiping fake cake crumbs from her mouth? Did Robbie really just pretend to smoke a cigarette and ash it on the stage? And why is Craig suddenly a tranny- zombie, I thought they were cats? These dances will haunt our souls forever. This is the legacy of the Dance-Off.

One Bad Ass Moment

Over the course of filming Opus Jazz, I witnessed some pretty crazy moments. Most could only truly be appreciated by other dancers (man on man finger pirouettes anyone?) but one occurrence should amaze everyone. On one of the last days of filming, we were wrapping up a scene in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and getting ready to head for the next shooting location, my new favorite place on Earth, the Imlay Building in Red Hook. We were running behind schedule and the next shot required the sunset in the background. And wouldn't you know it, the Sun was tired and she was heading to bed. As we all packed in to our Opus Jazz-mobiles, a police cruiser pulled up in front of us and with a wave of the officers hand we began our motorcade. The Fuz lead us up one way streets, through red lights and over sidewalks to get around traffic. No one was sure just how this police escort came to be, but if there's one thing you learn fast growing up in NYC, it's don't question the NYPD.

Vote Vote Vote

One more day to vote in the Opus Jazz Dance-Off. It's a close race, the stakes are high. Vote Now.

Some Random Photos

Executive Producer Sean Suozzi (never thought I'd write that)
After dancing the fugue about 100,000 times, Austin begins to fade. But once that camera starts rolling, that boy can get his leg up.
Make-Up artist and heart melter, Jordan, puts the finishing touches on an already beautiful Amanda Hankes Stodola.
The gang awaits hair and make-up.
Everyone in this picture is thinking the same thing. 'Check the gate!'

The Opus Jazz Dance Off. Team 2

And here's Team 2. You have until September 26th to vote. Vote Now!

The Opus Jazz Dance-Off. Team 1

Here it is. Vote for your favorite in the comments section below the post. Voting will continue until Saturday, September 26th. Vote as many times as you want. Thanks