DanceLife Blog

Greetings DanceLife fans! For my first blog I thought I should take a minute to introduce myself. My name is Joel Peisley & I'm a commercial dancer, choreographer & teacher. I've been lucky enough to enjoy a really interesting & exciting career, work with some incredibly talented people, & see the world.

When Clint approached me about being a blogger I jumped at the chance. I believe that DanceLife will be instrumental in helping Australia's dance industry step up to the next level. It's a very exciting time for dance in this country, & opening the lines of communication between people in all areas of our community will help us to grow even further. It's all about communication & knowledge, & DanceLife will no doubt be a powerful resource.

I'll be blogging about anything & everything. I have quite a few exciting gigs in the pipeline that I look forward to sharing with you. I'd also love to get your thoughts & opinions on a variety of topics that face dancers. I'll be travelling o/s in the coming weeks, so I'm sure that will bring some adventures. & a little industry gossip never hurt anyone!

Catch you on the blog,
Joel Peisley xx

When Rihanna first hit the scene with ‘Pon de Replay', she seemed to be nothing more than a one hit wonder - another pure pop gimmick. Who would have thought 3 years later she would not only still be around, but would have become the world's most consistent chart topper? The main reason she has sustained is that she has a kick-ass team working behind the scenes - the best A&R department, glam squad & producers in the biz.

A driving force behind Rihanna's visual appeal is Tina Landon. The legendary director / choreographer has been responsible for some of the most memorable moments in dance over the past 2 decades. Crafting the iconic moves of Janet Jackson, J-Lo, Britney Spears, Ricky Martin, Pussycat Dolls, Ciara, Christina Aguilera (& just about every other dance-dependant artist), Landon has been responsible for all of Rihanna's videos & stage performances, from ‘Umbrella' onwards.

Tina simultaneously rehearsed opening numbers for two major events recently, & used them to illustrate just how far Rihanna's originally limited image has been stretched. Jetting back & forth between LA & New York to perform them within hours of each other proved a challenge (in Tina's words it kicked her ass), but the results were spectacular.

The ‘MTV Video Music Awards' saw Rihanna open with a rocking rendition of her current single, ‘Disturbia', flanked by a troupe of demonic dancers. The number featured Sydney sisters Maya & Nandy McClean (pictured), who relocated to the US a couple of years back & quickly made a name for themselves singing & dancing with Prince. The twins jumped at the chance of working on the project: "We have met Rihanna a few times & she is such a sweetheart, so we thought it would be a fun gig. Plus Tina Landon has always been one of our favourite choreographers & when we heard she would be choreographing the show we simply could not pass up working with her either!"

Switching into full-blown glamazon mode, Rihanna kicked off New York's ‘Fashion Rocks' with a cover of Madonna's ‘Vogue'. In a spot of genius casting, Tina booked Kevin Stea - one of Madonna's original Voguers from the ‘Blonde Ambition' days. Not only is he instantly recognizable to those in the know, but how impressive is it that two decades later he continues to look a million dollars & is still rocking the stage on a regular basis with the world's biggest stars!

Strike a pose!
JP xx

After striking gold with his 2002 remake of ‘Chicago', director / producer / choreographer Rob Marshall looks set to do it all over again. When the casting was announced for his big screen remake of ‘NINE', I knew we would be in for a treat, & now the internet is all abuzz after the unveiling of the trailer - a full 6 months prior to the film's release.

‘NINE' is a vibrant & provocative musical, based on Fellini's classic, ‘8 ½'. Set in early-1960s Venice, the film follows the life of world famous film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he reaches a creative & personal crisis of epic proportion. On the eve of his 40th birthday, Contini is struggling to complete his latest masterpiece, while attempting to balance the numerous women in his life - his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his film star muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidant & costume designer (Judi Dench), an American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson), the whore from his youth (Fergie) & his mother (Sophia Loren).

It's not often you get this many A-list actresses in one film, so you know producers will have a fight on their hands when deciding who they will submit for the Best Actress & Best Supporting Actress categories come award season. While the 2 ½ minute trailer is all that has been revealed so far, the film is already gaining Oscar buzz. There's no doubt the source material is worthy - the original 1982 Broadway production, starring the late Raul Julia, won 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The 2003 Broadway revival featured Antonio Banderas &, again, it scored Tony love with a Best Revival award.

So, to the strains of Fergie singing 'Be Italian', we get our first glimpse of the next big-budget movie musical. ‘NINE' is due to arrive in theatres in November.

Viva Italia!
JP xx
JOEL PEISLEY