On the Good Foot

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Normally, we don’t endorse auditions. As 30 Rock reminded us recently, they can easily manifest as parades of human misery — and you can just go to the gym or watch CNN for that, or do both at the same time. See, that isn’t what we want you doing. Instead, we’d direct you to an event made up of devastatingly talented, brutally rehearsed, and divinely costumed sprites performing the traditional dances of everywhere. At the Ethnic Dance Festival Auditions, in fact, it’s more like a parade of human ingenuity. All told, 136 dance companies from Northern California show up for these tryouts, and because the festival itself is such a big deal (it was written up in The New York Times last year), you'd better believe all the competitors are doing their best. Some styles you’ve heard of: rumba, flamenco, breakdancing, Bharatanatyam if you’re cool. Some you have not: Uzbek khorezm, Andean huayño, Mongolian bowl dancing. Then there’s hula … can’t forget the hula. Admission covers all day, with ins and outs.
Jan. 23-24, 10 a.m., 2010