See you in 2010!

Wishing you a grand, beautiful, rewarding New Year!

Matt Turney, famed Graham dancer, 84

Matt Turney, Longtime Dancer With Martha Graham, Dies at 84
by Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times, December 29, 2009

Profile of performance artist Marina Abramović

Taking it to the Limits
by Linda Yablonsky, ArtNews, December 2009

The joy of mambo!

One in 8 Million - New York Characters in Sound and Images - The New York Times

Great series overall, but don't miss the one about mambo dancer Candice Angelet--link here--interviewed by Catrin Einhorn!

South African poet Dennis Brutus, 85

Dennis Brutus, South African Poet, Dies at 85
Associated Press, in The New York Times, December 27, 2009

Kim Peek, inspiration for "Rain Man," 58

Kim Peek, Inspiration for ‘Rain Man,’ Dies at 58
by Bruce Weber, The New York Times, December 26, 2009

Trisha Brown Co.'s anniversary lecture series

Trisha Brown Dance Company
40th Anniversary Lecture Series

in association with Dance Theater Workshop

January 13 at 7:30pm
February 16 at 7:30pm
March 22 at 7:30pm
April 11 at 3pm
May 23 at 3pm

at the Bessie Schönberg Theater, Dance Theater Workshop


Launching on January 13, the series kicks off with a lively discussion moderated by Wendy Perron with veteran dancers Diane Madden and Carolyn Lucas. The conversation will offer a rare behind-the-scenes look into the company’s creative process and a chance to listen to stories from all around the world.

Upcoming events

February 16, 7:30pm: Diane Madden, Julie Martin and Trisha Brown discuss the premiere of Opal Loop in 1980 and the process of reconstructing the work in 2009-2010.

March 22, 7:30pm: tba

April 11, 3pm: Art Historian, Susan Rosenberg; Curator, Peter Eleey; and Dramaturge, Guillaume Bernardi, discuss the work from their perspective.

May 23, 3pm: Former TBDC dancers Eva Karczag, Lisa Kraus, Stacy Spence, Keith Thompson, Stephen Petronio, and Vicky Shick. Having all pursued their own choreographic careers, they will gather to discuss how their time with TBDC influenced their own choreography.

Admission: Free (Suggested donation: $10)
Reservations not required but can be made through the DTW box office at 212-924-0077. 

Dance Theater Workshop's Bessie Schönberg Theater
219 West 19th Street (between 7th & 8th Avenues), Manhattan

Oh, poor Shakespeare!

Well, today I find I really must correct and amend and update and repent and atone for my earlier post about my favorites of 2009!

In fact, I find I really must correct and amend and update and repent and atone for my earlier post that noted that a performance of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater would be my final show of 2009.

Turns out there was a serious omission. Turns out I neglected to take Romeo and Juliet into consideration. That would be the Romeo and Juliet presented at The Kitchen by Nature Theater of Oklahoma--you know, the folks who put the "w" in mellowdrama, as they hasten to remind us. That show, indeed, is the last one I was scheduled to attend in 2009. I went last night, and now it is definitely one of my favorite things of all time.

NTO's Pavol Liska and Kelly Copper got the cracked idea to call up a batch of people and ask them to recount, to the best of their ability, the plot of Romeo and Juliet, something most had read long ago in high school (or, as they say in this play, HIGH school!) or gotten some vague sense of from West Side Story (don't ask...). The resulting text--call it, perhaps, "Falling Off the Cliff Notes"--is a patchwork of their halting or rambling responses and digressions, declaimed with overwrought verbal drama and body language by actors Anne Gridley and Robert M. Johanson.

Amid all the plot notes, Gridley and Johanson--as mouthpieces for the respondents--also tend to expound at great length on matters as disparate as teenage lust, Anna Nicole Smith, Osama bin Laden, actors' neediness, and the demise of the cocktail party where, they say, people used to go to feel smart. Elisabeth Conner also shows up to...well, I won't try to describe what she does because I don't want to spoil it for you--you are going, aren't you?--and because, well, I just can't.

It's gutsy, hilarious and leaves you aching for the real thing.

Also, Nature Theater of Oklahoma--an Obie-winning, New York City-based troupe--happens to have the best name in theater. If you don't know how they got it, click this link.

So, anyway, sorry, guys! I'mma correct the record: NTO's Liska, Copper, Gridley, Johanson, Conner and their Romeo and Juliet production officially join my list of favorites!


See them at The Kitchen, now through January 17. Here are the details.

Starting the new year right

One day, the winter holidays will be over. The tree trimmings and Nutcracker productions will be tucked away for another year. And, you'll look around and realize it's that sad little unloved period ot time called early January. And you'll say to yourself, "Gee, I'm think I'm about ready for some cutting-edge performance!"

And that's where APAP comes in!

Each year, New York's artists and venues set up shows specifically targeting performing arts presenters, from all over America and abroad, attending the APAP Conference. These shows are a great way to catch up on work that you missed during previous seasons or to get another good look at dances that continue to intrigue you.

For example, here's the lineup for AMERICAN REALNESS, a fest running at Abrons Arts Center and other venues, from Jan 8-11.

Luciana Achugar, Franny and Zooey
Jack Ferver, A Movie Star Needs a Movie
Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People, Last Meadow
Trajal Harrell, Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at The Judson Church (S)
Zoe|Juniper, A Crack in Everything
Layard Thompson, cUp—pUck…
Jeremy Wade, I Offer My Self to Thee
Ann Liv Young, Ann Liv Young Does Sherry

You'll want to grab some of these, for sure. So, click here for schedule, location and ticketing details.

Performance Space 122 has it's own APAP-related series at home and other venues--they call it COIL--running January 6-17 and including the likes of Maria Hassabi, Morgan Thorson and LOW, LeeSaar The Company, Megan Sprenger/MV Works, Lisa D'Amour and Katie Pearl with Emily Johnson and The National Theater of the United States of America. Click here for details.

Dance Theater Workshop offers Tere O'Connor, Faye Driscoll and Pam Tanowitz in its APAP series, January 7-11. Click here.

Keep your eyes peeled for more great shows around town!

These are a few of my favorites [UPDATED]

What a year! Thank you all--whoever and wherever you are! 

But here's an extra-special, super-duper Thank You to the following--in no particular order:

Jeff Mozgala (Diagnosis of a Faun by Tamar Rogoff, La Mama E.T.C.)

Jared Gradinger (There Is No End To More by Jeremy Wade, Japan Society)

Deirdre O'Connell (The Dream Express by Steve Mellor and Deirdre O'Connell at The Chocolate Factory)

Donna Costello (Sensate by Carrie Ahern at The Brooklyn Lyceum)

Yasmin Levy (Sephardic Soul at Peter Norton Symphony Space)

Anna Deveare Smith (Let Me Down Easy as well as appearances at the World Science Festival and in Hymn by Judith Jamison at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater season at New York City Center)

Low: Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker (Heaven by Morgan Thorson at Performance Space 122)

Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards (Charlie's Angels by Jason Samuels Smith at The Kitchen)

Tanya Tagaq (at Smithsonian Museum's Museum of the American Indian)

Trajal Harrell (Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at the Judson Church (S) by Harrell at The New Museum)

Reggie Wilson and Andréya Ouamba (The Good Dance: dakar/brooklyn by Wilson and Ouamba at Brooklyn Academy of Music)

Kurt Hentschläger (creator of ZEE at 3LD Art & Technology Center)

Miguel Gutierrez, Michelle Boulé and Tarek Halaby; Lenore Doxsee; Neal Medlyn (Last Meadow by Gutierrez at Dance Theater Workshop)

Thomas F. DeFrantz (Monk's Mood: A Performance Meditation on the Life and Music of Thelonius Monk by DeFrantz at Joyce SoHo)

Rashaun Mitchell (Nearly Ninety by Merce Cunningham at Brooklyn Academy of Music)

John Kelly (Paved Paradise: Redux by Kelly at Abrons Arts Center)

Anahid Sofian (Toward A Secret Sky by Sofian at Anahid Sofian Studio)

The South Bronx (The Provenance of Beauty: A South Bronx Travelogue by Melanie Joseph and Claudia Rankine)

Those saintly guys--way too many to mention--but you know who you are (The Golden Legend by Christopher Williams at Dance Theater Workshop)

Germaine Acogny, Carmen De Lavallade, Dianne McIntyre, Bebe Miller and Jawole Will Jo Zollar (FLY Five First Ladies of Dance at Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts)

Allegra Herman (Dover Beach by Sarah Michelson at The Kitchen)

Robert Frank (Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans at the Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Georgia O'Keeffe (Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction at The Whitney Museum)

Adrian Clark, Douglas Gillespie, Leslie Kraus and Jennifer Nugent (works by Kate Weare at Danspace Project)

Alice Ripley (Next to Normal by Brian Yorkey at The Booth Theatre)

Sahr Ngaujah (Fela! by Bill T. Jones at the Baryshnikov Arts Center)

Jon Michael Hill (Superior Donuts by Tracey Letts at The Music Box)

Cynthia Oliver and the women of her COCo Dance Theatre: A'Keitha Carey, Nehassaiu deGannes, Ithalia Forel, Lisa Green, Caryn Hodge and Rosamond S. King (Rigidigidim De Bamba De: Ruptured Calypso by Oliver at Danspace Project)

Lionel Popkin and dance and music collaborators: Carolyn Hall, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Peggy Piacenza, Robert Een, Hearn Gadbois and Valecia Phillips

Mo'Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire by Lee Daniels)

Savion Glover (SoLo in TIME by Glover at The Joyce Theater)

Tere O'Connor and company: Hilary Clark, Daniel Clifton, Walter Dundervill, Erin Gerken, Heather Olson and Matthew Rogers (Wrought Iron Fog by O'Connor at Dance Theater Workshop)

SPECIAL UPDATE:

Nature Theater of Oklahoma's Pavol Liska, Kelly Copper, Anne Gridley, Robert M. Johanson, Elisabeth Conner and their Romeo and Juliet production at The Kitchen officially join my list of favorites! Read my review of last night's performance here!  

All the best in the coming year!

Return of the sun

May your winter be bright, peaceful and beautiful. Happy Winter Solstice!

Chunky Move at BAM reviewed

My review of Chunky Move at BAM is available now on DanceMagazine.com.

Ailey thoughts: My final show of 2009

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Saturday, December 19, 8pm--New York City Center

In the opening stages of Judith Jamison's Among Us (Private Spaces: Public Places), I could barely take my eyes off Jamison's bold paintings fanning out above the stage. But since Among Us is a dance production, not simply pictures at an exhibition, I wish I could say that the portraits set on her "gallery-goer" dancers have similar pull and avoidance of cliché.

The "freshest" idea here--the Obama-like role played by Anthony Burrell in a section called "Precedent (President)"--seems not only out of place but also choreographically didactic and melodramatic. The personal and political complexity of America's first bi-racial, Black-identified president is so clearly something that all of us are still wrapping our brains around. Wouldn't it make sense to wait a bit and study the man and figure out how to render him in art in a way that isn't merely sentimental?

I enjoyed Antonio Douthit, Samuel Lee Roberts and Guillermo Asca--a frisky trio of homeboys checking out everyone who passed them by in a section that, curiously, sort of reminded me of Camille A. Brown's 2007 Ailey hit, The Groove to Nobody's Business.

In other segments, Douthit worked a fey-fabulous role as a snaky genie in skintight blue like something spliced in from a Geoffrey Holder fantasia. I'm imagining that this feather-crowned djinn, who appears here and there, now and again, must stand for the Spirit of Creativity. At the end, with the genie presiding, the cool, pumping, boogie-down music by composer ELEW (Eric Lewis) brings the disparate gallery-goers together in a kind of disco party. You have to hand it to Jamison--whose other sectional endings are fairly vague--for finding a way to pump the audience and send her ensemble out with a flourish.

Also on the program: Jamison's Hymn (1993), restaged by Masazumi Chaya and featuring Anna Deavere Smith, performing live, giving the company's oral history the brilliant Anna Deavere Smith treatment. The choreography comes securely, compassionately swathed in a few amazing stories, portraits in courage and dedication, rendered by the perceptive Smith, as well as charged performances. The Ailey folks sure know how to move you.

At home with Jenny Holzer

Domains: Art House
by Edward Lewine, The New York Times, September 20, 2009

Good things come to...Carmen Herrera

At 94, Carmen Herrera Is Art’s Hot New Thing, and Enjoying It
by Deborah Sontag, The New York Times, December 19, 2009

Innovative novelist Milorad Pavic, 80

Milorad Pavic, Serbian Author of Unusual Novels, Dies at 80
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, December 19, 2009

Yamazaki: to make the invisible visible

Collaborators Kota Yamazaki (dance) and Cécile Pitois (set and concept) explore the evidence of things unseen in Rays of Space at Danspace Project. This new, hour-long work attempts to delve into the matter of energy, specifically the energy that passes to and from performer and audience.

Pitois' minimalist set--simply fanned-out rays of orange tape that span the wood floor--suggests a burst of energy directed towards the edge of the audience. Dancers deploy amid and along Pitois' energetic pathways, sometimes approaching the audience to dance a passage, like fish in a tank wriggling up to the glass to idly gaze at their keepers. Kathy Kaufmann's light design segments vignettes and creates a brooding and unpredictable atmosphere.

The piece begins with luxuriant and arresting quirkiness--bodies radically tilted, collapsible and springy; elbows, hips, necks and wrists taking atypically assertive, propulsive action that turns the rest of the body into a complacent go-along. The dancers move with impressive, pleasing agility and flow within Masahiro Sugaya's unobtrusive sound environment--a kind of white-noise background that could be natural or unnaturally devised to pacify both denizens and watchers.

The quintet of performers are a solid team, and Elena Demyanenko and Ildikó Tóth, in particular, are wonderfully absorbing. However, as Rays of Space spreads out in time, its repeated effects attenuate and begin to pall. The watcher's mind wanders to matters less poetic, such as: Why are we--the audience with our mounds of winter clothes--always crammed together while those five people have all that space to move around in? Who gets to choose which dancer wears which costume, particularly the ugly ones? Whatever happened to dances that lasted only as long as their creator's ideas warranted, instead of ballooning out to fill an hour or more?

Kota Yamazaki/Fluid hug-hug with Cécile Pitois will present two more evenings of Rays of Space at Danspace Project--tonight and Saturday at 8pm. Click here for more information and ticketing.

New tap dance center opens in West Village

Tony Waag's American Tap Dance Foundation hosts an open house in January at its new home on Christopher Street, the American Tap Dance Center:

Take a sample class (tap shoes not required), meet the faculty and get information about ATDF's tap programs.

Events (for ages 3-1/2 to teens and adults):

Monday, January 4, 6-7 PM (ADULTS)
Wednesday, January 6, 2:30-4:30 PM (YOUTH)
Wednesday, January 13, 2:30-4:30 PM (YOUTH)
Saturday, January 16, 12 noon-1 PM (YOUTH)

For complete details, call 646-230-9564. 

The American Tap Dance Center
154 Christopher Street, 2B
(between Greenwich and Washington Streets)

Getting into arts school

Auditioning Their Hearts Out, for High School in New York
by Jennifer Medina, The New York Times, December 17, 2009

The Brides of Fela

On Broadway, Actresses Find Depth in Fela’s Women
by Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, December 16, 2009

Focus on leadership: Valentino Deng

His Gift Changes Lives
by Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times, December 16, 2009


valentinoachakdeng.org

Getting the Ailey spirit

To honor beloved Judith Jamison on the occasion of her 20th anniversary at the helm of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ronald K. Brown choreographed a new work named for Jamison's 1993 autobiography, Dancing Spirit. While this evocative nontet has won a New York Times critic's stamp of approval for gently nudging Ailey's dancers past their patented smooth virtuosity, it scarcely departs from Brown's own comfort zone.

In terms of its delicious music mix, hybrid movement technique, staging, idealistic tone and spiritual reverence, Dancing Spirit is recognizably part of the Ronald K. Brown family of dances. It probably just looks more uniformly classy on Ailey than it might on Evidence, Brown's scrappier group.

And, yes, Dancing Spirit looks especially grand on Ailey, with the grandest of all performances coming from Matthew Rushing and Yannick Lebrun. They work Brown's movement through their bodies with openness and vivacity (Rushing), minute, agile precision (Lebrun), attentiveness and understanding (both gentlemen). They make you glad to be there. And what they most clearly tell me about Jamison is how focused and serious she is--like Brown--about attending to the work at hand.
 
I got unexpectedly emotional watching the all-too-familiar swirl and twirl of Memoria--Alvin Ailey's 1979 tribute to the late Joyce Trisler, his colleague and friend. (Haven't I seen this piece, like Revelations, a gazillion times?) But, this time, it brought a warm flush to my cheeks and tears to my eyes--perhaps, in no small measure, because of Constance Stamatiou's sensitive performance. She's lovely. Truth be told, though, it was probably Ailey's vision of the future--the exuberant chorus of young dance students swarming the stage in the work's celebratory conclusion--that did me in. In a difficult time, it feels good to reconnect with that sense of optimism and dedication.

New York City Center season (through January 3) schedule and ticketing

Monk's Mood: DeFrantz raises the ghost

I'm at Joyce SoHo, watching dancer (and dance scholar, professor, author) Thomas F. DeFrantz sketch out some somber matters from the difficult life of Thelonious Monk, and I'm simply bursting with joy. Can't help it. DeFrantz is that good. And Monk's Mood: A Performance Meditation on the Life and Music of Thelonious Monk is that beautiful. Not a hackneyed, unoriginal moment in this impressionistic narrative.

DeFrantz's postmodern tap choreography and elegantly quirky performance--an apt counterpoint to the vast, irresistible undertow of Monk's music--are revelations. And, unlike another production hitting the city this week that fuses the impulses of the dancing body with responsive computer technology--and which, for now, will go nameless here--DeFrantz and poly-media artist Eto Oro strike a balance between human and machine. And that's an excellent thing, because you absolutely do want to keep DeFrantz's (and Monk's) humanity in mind. As the collaborators attest, the tech must serve the story. "We want to reanimate the ghost in the music."

Watch a couple of clips. And then try to get a ticket for one of the final shows (tonight or tomorrow, 8pm) here.

One more thing, I totally get DeFrantz and Oro's interest in making their collaboration an open source thing, essentially offering the Monk's Mood API for other creative types to use as they see fit. We're in a new age. But I, for one, really hope that DeFrantz himself will keep performing this piece and digging into it. It's an extraordinary performance, and I hope more people will get a chance to enjoy it.

Welcome, DANY: Joyce Foundation's new rehearsal space

from DanceNYC's FYI e-newsletter:

THE JOYCE THEATER FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES OPENING OF NEW REHEARSAL SPACE

Eleven Studios to be Made Available to Dance Community at Affordable Rates

The Joyce Theater Foundation announced today that it has leased new rehearsal space at 305 West 38th Street in Manhattan, formerly home of New Dance Group. The venue, renamed DANY (Dance Art New York) Studios, will further The Joyce's ongoing efforts to serve the dance community by providing affordable rehearsal space.

About the new rehearsal space, Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater, said, "We are grateful to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, along with Bloomberg, for their support of this project. Because of their generosity, it is not only possible for us to address the challenges that limited rehearsal space imposes on the dance community, but also to resuscitate this marvelous venue."

Marvin Preston, President of the Board of the New Dance Group said, "By working with The Joyce Theater, we have been able to transform this leasehold into a fully functional, conforming, sustainable, and maintainable state. The dance community will benefit greatly from The Joyce's effective management of this real, needed, valuable, and usable facility."

Consisting of eleven studios appropriate for rehearsals, auditions, classes, and workshops, DANY Studios is equipped with storage space, lounge areas, and audio/video systems appropriate for rehearsal use. It will be available seven days per weeks, from 8am until 10pm, with rental fees beginning at $5 per hour for some of the available hours.

DANY Studios will be an addition to the current rehearsal space at Joyce SoHo (155 Mercer Street), which houses three studios. It will now be possible to reserve space for both venues through one call-in line: 212-564-3808. DANY Studios is located on the second and third floors of 305 West 38th Street on Eighth Avenue NY, NY 10018.

Jung's Book of Shadows

Exhibition Review: 'The Red Book of C. G. Jung - Creation of a New Cosmology'
by Edward Rothstein, The New York Times, December 11, 2009

Oscar and race

Success of ‘Precious’ Highlights Oscar Absence for Blacks
by Michael Cieply, The New York Times, December 11, 2009

Struggling to hang on in Chicago

Decrease in Money Forces Cultural Institutions to Scramble
by Katie Fretland, The New York Times, December 10, 2009

D'Amour and Pearl bring us "Terrible Things"

A bunch of bright lights worked on Terrible Things, which you can enjoy at Performance Space 122, now through December 20. Written by longtime partners-in-crime-and-OBIE, Lisa D'Amour and Katie Pearl, choreographed by Emily Johnson, the piece is wonderfully performed by Pearl, Johnson, Morgan Thorson, Karen Sherman and a couple of amiable wrestlers (Rudy De La Cruz and Adrian Czmielewski).

If you're typically overwhelmed at this time of year--by the bigness, the brashness, the commercial-ness of it all--you might appreciate the compact intimacy of Terrible Things. Compact, yes, but big in personality. Just like Pearl, its undisputed star.

Everything/everyone here seems to be located somewhere in Pearl's busy cranium, a place bustling with memories, like the legion of plump marshmallows aligned with impeccable, subatomic regularity across the theater's floor. In the opening, dancers carefully, efficiently move through this strange, snowy field, delicately scooping aside some marshmallows with their elongated, velvety arms and making shapes of small quantities of the sweets. This sets the stage for the space to open up and light up with room to move freely, the vividness of primary colors, Pearl's non-stop, embodied storytelling, and the mystery of parallel--but not perfectly sync-ed--worlds in the time-space continuum.

Terrible Things is a modest delight, a fine corrective for the excesses of the season.

Schedule details and ticketing here.

Celebrating Bausch

Celebrating the Life and Work of Pina Bausch 
Screenings and Discussion

Monday, Dec 14, beginning at 10am

Martin E. Segal Theatre, Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Avenue (at 34th Street), Manhattan

Free. First come, first served.

10am Rite of Spring (Pina Bausch, chor., 1979) Inter Nationes, 1983 (40 minutes)

11am The Search for Dance: Pina Bausch's Theatre with a Difference (documentary film) Inter Nationes, 1994 (30 minutes)

11:45am Pina Bausch: One Day Pina Asked... (documentary film, dir. Chantal Ackerman) Bravo International Films, 1984 (40 minutes)

1:30pm Cafe Mueller (Pina Bausch, chor., 1979) Inter Nationes, 1986 (46 minutes)

2:30pm Kontakthof with Men and Women over 65 (Pina Bausch, chor., 2000) L'Arche Editeur, 2007 (149 minutes)

6:30pm Evening event: Discussion with Anna Kisselgoff (The New York Times) and Annie-B Parson (Big Dance Theatre). Moderated by Royd Climenhaga (Eugene Lang College/The New School University) 

About the Segal Center US Theatre series

Rogoff's "Diagnosis": Get it online now!

Well, as it turns out, my Dance Magazine review of Tamar Rogoff's "Diagnosis of a Faun"--starring Gregg Mozgala--is already online here.

Dance Magazine reviews: Cardona and more

My Dance Magazine review of Wally Cardona's Really Real at BAM Harvey Theater is now up here.

In coming months, Dance Magazine will feature my print or online reviews of works by the following choreographers:

Aszure Barton (Ringling International Arts Festival, Sarasota, FL)

Deborah Hay and Yvonne Rainer (Baryshnikov Arts Center)

Tamar Rogoff (La MaMa Ellen Stewart Theatre)

Chunky Move (BAM Gilman Opera House)

Reggie Wilson and Andréya Ouamba (BAM Gilman Opera House)

and, of course, I'll let you known when these are posted or printed. As always, thanks for your interest!

John Storm Roberts, scholar of world music, 73

John Storm Roberts, World-Music Scholar, Dies at 73
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times,  December 10, 2009

Some days, you feel like the kitteh. Some days...

Video: Kitteh Challenges Big Goggie « Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats – I Can Has Cheezburger?

Vision-impaired actress to understudy Keller role

Kyra Siegel to Understudy Helen Keller Role on Broadway
by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, December 8, 2009

Revolutionary Cameron Carpenter

The Revolutionary: An interview with organist Cameron Carpenter
by Stephen Greco, Classical TV, December 2009

Photographer Pokoik in conversation with dance

In Conversation: MTA at DNA
Art, Nature, and Community at Mount Tremper Arts (MTA)

Photographs by Mathew Pokoik
 
Tuesday, December 1 through Wednesday, December 30
Opening Reception: Thursday, December 10, at 7pm

To be followed by the premiere performance of A Number of Small Black and White Dances by the Aynsley Vandenbroucke Movement Group at 8pm

Dance New Amsterdam
280 Broadway, 2nd Floor (entrance on Chambers)
Manhattan

In Conversation: MTA at DNA documents the relationship between art and environment at Mount Tremper Arts (MTA).  Through photographs taken by MTA co-founder Mathew Pokoik, this exhibition presents the interplay between the many artists who have worked at MTA, and the grounds, gardens, and meals that foster an environment that support contemporary artists.

Includes photographs of Monica Bill Barnes + Company, Kimberly Bartosik, Jonah Bokaer + Anne Carson + Peter Cole, Brian Brooks Moving Company, Collective Opera Company, Hilary Easton + Company, Elke Rindfleisch, robbinschilds, Liz Sargent Installations, jill sigman/thinkdance, Dusan Tynek Dance Theatre, Aynsley Vandenbroucke Movement Group, and others, interspersed with photographs of and the grounds and gardens of MTA.

In the round

The Circular Logic of the Universe
by Natalie Angier, The New York Times, December 7, 2009

Neville's Nutcracker

The Nutcracker according to Brenda R. Neville is a cozy affair set in contemporary, high-rise Manhattan. Since her amiable Drosselmeyer (Yasu Suzuki) is a well-traveled, open-minded diplomat, she can rightly give him friends and associates of diverse races and nationalities and even have young Clara (Ally Taylor Sacks) get dreamy over an NYPD cadet (Christopher McDaniel) who happens to be Black. What's more, Neville Dance Theatre's Nutcracker puts out the red carpet for a bustling world of dance—from tango to Tinikling, from hip hop to Fayzah Claudia Chisolm's superbly crafted "Arabian" solo. Each of the non-ballet dance forms presented in the party celebration emphasizes carefully executed authentic movement rather than the usual balletic stylization of a sprinkling of light ethnic flavors. 

This past week, NDT brought its Nutcracker to Chelsea's Hudson Guild Theater, where--on Saturday's matinee performance--the floor gave dancers a few scares. The choreographer and troupe nevertheless made the best of cramped stage space, filling it with gaiety and flourish.

I never grew up a Nutcracker fan. (Sorry! At Xmastime, my family headed to Radio City for the movies and Rockettes.) But I can certainly get behind a project that indulges my love of world dance. Neville is onto something whose development could be supported and enhanced, I think, by nicer, more adequate space.

Click here to learn more about Brooklyn's Neville Dance Theatre.

Jeremy Wade: Cute, then not so cute

Director-choreographer Jeremy Wade concludes There is No End to More--performed by Jared Gradinger of Berlin's Constanza Macras/Dorky Park troupe--at Japan Society tonight. So, people, there really is an end to No End. Try, try, try to get in.

This production--and Gradinger's demanding, non-stop solo--hit me with the force of a thousand-thousand stars. If that sounds like a wild exaggeration, let it. It should give you a sense of the intensity of the manga-fabulous text dreamed up by writer Marcos Rosales with Gradinger and Wade, the increasingly maniacal, nightmare visuals by illustrator Hiroki Otsuka and video artist Veith Michel, and Brendan Dougherty's breathtaking sonic design.

Moving in the jerky, grotesque style that Wade, a Bessie Award winner, has made his trademark, Gradinger depicts a nerdy figure trapped in an overheated mental bubble filled with obsessive fantasies and fanciful artifacts of Japanese kawaii ("cute") pop culture. Gradinger believes he is "wearing a three-piece suit--and a cape."  He is "being chased, chased by...I don't know what!" As kawaii commercialism spins out of control, fantasy slips into sad realism which, in turn, becomes sinister phantasmagoria. This work is rich, visceral, unforgettable.

And enough cannot be said about the creative imagination--that sheer, defiant, leap-of-faith agility--of Yoko Shioya, Japan Society's perceptive artistic director. Following hunches, she commissioned this work from the Berlin-based Wade and brought it to New York, sight unseen. She tends to do this kind of thing, and bless her.

Information and ticketing or 212-715-1258

On The Dream Express way to your heart

The Dream Express started with the sip of a drink, the wail of a distant train, and a kind of yelping, high-lonesome, tumbleweed song. The Chocolate Factory hosted a "journey to the end of the night" with its upstairs theater marvelously, if tackily, re-purposed as an honest-to-god cabaret for Obie-awardees Steve Mellor ("Spin Milton") and Deirdre O'Connell ("Marlene Milton"), known as, they kept telling us, The Dream Express, along with co-conspirators Len Jenkin (writer/director) and John Kilgore (composer).

At first glance, the formerly-married Miltons--hulking, vaguely surly Spin and slightly tipsy, vaguely slutty Marlene--looked like the kind of people you'd want to keep at arm's length. Please, god, do not let either of them come down off that stage and start messing with us. By the end of the roughly 90 minute act, a mashup of songs and stories, you'll find that you've relaxed. You've chuckled some. You've pondered some. You've learned to trust that Spin will rise from his keyboard, now and again, without actually assaulting anyone. What's more, the Miltons and their consciousness-streamings have managed to work their way under your skin. You've been seduced by Marlene's adorable, gutsy charm and roused by Spin's gusty vocal power. Who else has the skills to segue from Olivia Newton John to "A Whiter Shade of Pale" without inflicting terminal whiplash?

As the Miltons' dearly-departed "Uncle Wolfie" would say, "Make 'em laugh, make 'em cry, make 'em kiss ten bucks goodbye!"

In this case, it's 15 bucks and worth every single penny. Go see The Dream Express at The Chocolate Factory, Tuesdays-Saturdays  through December 19 (No performances 12/15-17). For details, travel directions and ticketing, click here.

Pink Glove Dance

I love this!

Return from exile: Sanchez illuminates World AIDS Day

Last night, I made my first trip to WNYC's Greene Space for a World AIDS Day event featuring performances by the pioneering poet Sonia Sanchez and acclaimed dancer-choreographer Ronald K. Brown as well as a conversation among Sanchez and health advocates. Greene Space's intimate setting created a special feeling of welcome quite appropriate to the artists' theme of acceptance, truthful dialogue and reconciliation within the Black family and within the larger family that is the Black community.

Warmly accompanied by jazz musicians Odean Pope (saxophone), Kenny Gates (piano) and Lee Smith (bass), Sanchez performed her award-winning Does Your House Have Lions?--a rhythmic conjure-work in book form. The poem deals with her gay brother's estrangement and struggles, his migration from the South to New York City where "a new geography created him," his political awakening and his passing, from AIDS, in 1981. Brown enhanced Sanchez's mesmerizing vocal performance with big, hungry, panther-ish moves. The radiance of speaker, dancer and musical trio reached across the short distance from artists to audience, hearts to hearts.

"How how how...how to return from exile?" Sanchez's poem asks. The evening's panel, moderated by pan-media journalist Esther Armah, explored this question as it relates to the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on people of African descent. With an increase in HIV infection among Black men who have sex with men, young Black men and Black women under 30, the African-American community simply cannot afford to avoid frank, uncensored talk about sexuality and health.

Panelists Dr. Monica Sweeney, MD (Assistant Commissioner for HIV/AIDS for the New York City Department of Health) and Phill Wilson (Founder and Executive Director, Black AIDS Institute) offered some measure of hope, pointing to a gradual decrease in stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS, even within Black churches, and more openness to honest talk about sexual orientation, sexual behavior and methods of preventing infection.

Societal and psychological barriers to prevention and care still exist, but Armah's panelists emphasized how individuals and communities can empower and protect themselves. "We need to have these conversations in more robust ways," Wilson said. "You have the power to stop transmission of HIV. You deserve to protect yourself."

Sweeney noted, with great concern, one segment of the population--women over 50--who sometimes engage in unprotected sex "as if age is a vaccine" and HIV something that happens to other people. She offers HIV testing to people of all ages and believes that if the test were part of all routine care, it would be accepted with no shame. The NYC health department's female condom program has been expanded, she says, enabling women to guard their health without having to figure out ways to negotiate safety with their partners.

One audience member raised the question of sexual abuse and domestic violence in the community and how they complicate prevention and healthcare. The panelists noted that the Black family and community have tended to shroud these issues in silence, although--thanks to high-profile cases, the testimony of celebrities who have been victimized, and works of art such as Sapphire's novel Push and the extraordinary film, Precious, based on it--more attention and resources are being directed to these parallel problems.

"AIDS is the health crisis of our day, and what we do about it will be our legacy," Wilson said. While he acknowledged the Obama administration's efforts around needle exchange programs, the extension of the Ryan White Act and the recent lifting of the ban for HIV+ people traveling into the US, he noted that we still lack a comprehensive, national AIDS strategy and meaningful healthcare reform.

I commend WNYC for presenting this informative and imaginative program. To view a schedule of upcoming events at the Greene Space, click here.

Naharin has a few tips for critics

Ohad's Advice to Critics
by Ohad Naharin, 2009 Dance Magazine Awardee

This is a must-read, and I hope my colleagues will give it a look-see, "especially if [they] are from England." :-D

I really do need to "dance [my]self a few minutes every day," but other than that, I'm pretty much checking off these items as done or, at least, reasonably do-able on a regular basis. On the issue of describable dance being bad choreography, he might have a point--but only because choreographic expression and writing feel as if they come from different universes. Most dance, not just good dance, is bitching hard to describe in words. Which is why dance writers get paid the big bucks. (Oh, wait...) Funnily enough, I have sometimes tried the "eyes going out of focus" thing. (I'm a psychic and try all kinds of tricks to sidestep linear thinking.) It's really neat, y'all!