Across the Atlantic Ocean, thousands of athletes are representing more than 200 countries in the 30th Summer Olympics this month. This week in the west valley, there is a smaller, but just as passionate, international event taking place. On Wednesday, Las Vegas had its own parade of nations at Red Rock Resort, where representatives of 43 countries carried their flags onto the convention center stage in the opening ceremony of the World Hip-Hop Dance Championship.
Las Vegas “Stripper 101” instructors on Wednesday rejected a $1 million challenge that they take a lie detector test to determine the validity of their allegations that they were secretly videotaped by management.
Emma Hughes is a classically trained dancer, who has glided across the stages of Europe and Las Vegas, but at the Shadow Bar in Caesars Palace, rarely do people ask about her experience. "People want to know if we're naked," Hughes said.
In a town built on gambling, mega-clubs have created a business model that has sustained investors even during a recession. The trend started quietly, then began exploding with the likes of Rain at the Palms, Pure at Caesars Palace and Tao at the Venetian.
When I heard that dancers from Nevada Ballet Theatre would be performing on a 4-by-8-foot slab at Crystals, I was ecstatic. I’ve seen this before. And I’ll confess that this is how I like dance best — in small, intimate performances, out of context with the surroundings.
There’s much to choose from to do this weekend, from the opening of the Smith Center for the Performing Arts to NASCAR and cheering on the Rebels in the Mountain West championships.
The Rebel Girls have built a profile that few other dance teams in the country can match. “I think the Rebel Girls are something everyone has always followed,” said coach Marca DeCastroverde.
It is getting close to 1 a.m. Sunday and Mayan Club manager Spencer Quintanilla is surveying the newly renovated dance floor. A hip-hop song with a distinctively Latin beat is booming through the speakers as a diverse crowd in both age and ethnicity works up a thirst, gyrating and spinning.
When the Carolina Ballet saw ticket sales falling for the century-old holiday classic “The Nutcracker,” it came up with the audacious notion of ramping up the performance’s magic scenes by introducing real magic. So the ballet looked to Las Vegas for help, and the end result is a “Nutcracker” like no other.
A year ago, Hilary Sweeney was a scientist for Pepsi — and performed aerial acts at nights and on weekends. On Monday, she swapped her business suit for a tan leotard.
Cynthia Gregory has been called many things during her dancing career: the Swan Queen, a luminary, a controversial artist and, as Rudolf Nureyev once referred to her, America’s prima ballerina.
Quint Rahaman moves his feet a few steps forward, then a few steps backward to the beat of the salsa music coming from the dance studio speakers. He grabs the hand of a long-legged woman in his salsa class, and the two begin dancing in unison on the hardwood floor.