BODY AND SOUL: Alexander Beller: Mindful recuperation

Alexandra Beller (photo: The GingerB3ardmen)

 

A curly-haired red-headed white woman with green eyes and an inviting smile

 

Alexandra Beller (photo: Judith Stuart)

 

A dancer standing in a one-legged balance, holding a single egg

Listen to Alexandra Beller: Mindful recuperation

on my Body and Soul podcast here.

  

NOTE: For a glossary of Laban terms mentioned in this episode, click here.

Alexandra Beller, Artistic Director of Alexandra Beller/Dances, (2002-present), was a member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company member from 1995-2001. Alexandra created over 50 original Dance Theatre works, presented at theaters throughout the US and companies in Korea, Hong Kong, Oslo, and Cyprus. She has created dance theater works for over 45 universities throughout the US.

Alexandra currently choreographs predominantly for Theater. Credits: Off Broadway: Sense and Sensibility (Sheen Center, Judson Gym, Folger Shakespeare Library, American Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage), (Helen Hayes Award, Lortel Nomination, IRNE Best Choreography), The Mad Ones (59E59), Bedlam’s Peter Pan (Duke Theatre), How to transcend a happy marriage (Lincoln Center Theatre), Regional: Two Gentlemen of Verona (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival), As You Like It (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Folger Shakespeare Library), The Young Ladies of... (Taylor Mac), Chang(e) (HERE), Current: Antonio’s Song (CATF, Milwaukee Rep), Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) (La MaMa, and touring), Directing/Choreographing Macbeth. She wrote and directed an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for 92Y.

She was on faculty at Princeton 2015-2022 and teaches at The Laban Institute for Movement Studies, HB Studios, UWM grad program. Alexandra holds a BFA/Dance, MFA/Choreography, and CMA (Certified Movement Analyst).

www.alexandrabeller.com

www.alexandrabellerdances.org

www.praxispace.com

Alexandra Beller/Dances at Abrons

The word "overwhelm" comes to mind. At one point in Alexandra Beller's new egg--an imaginatively metaphoric fantasia on her experience of being a new mom--the dancer-choreographer shares the stage with dozens of eggs. Let that stand in for much of what happens in this solo with assistance: It's an impossible, absurd, delicate, dangerous and exhilarating situation. And Beller's performance is just that, too: impossible, absurd, delicate, dangerous and exhilarating. It's also a performance that, for anyone seeing Beller for the first time, will tilt the mind towards the impossible, absurd and so forth. Beller is famously lush, pillowy, curvaceous of physique, quite unlike the stereotypical dancer--especially the female of the species--and I bring this up because this largeness informs so much of what makes her dance theater gracious and distinctive.

There is, simply, a lot on offer and of the kind that's rare in contemporary "downtown" dance. The other new piece on her Abrons Arts Center program--what comes after happy--not only takes on the complex topic of the American (and, as shown here, often self-involved and desperate) pursuit of happiness, but it takes it head on through spotlit vignettes and sharply-observed, often wickedly humorous character studies that could have been plucked out of a Broadway show and with performers with big auras, gutsy personalities and the skills that kill. Add to that Beller's free and freeing, lavish and explosive choreographic style. It's an outrageous and quite diverting dish and, although it runs a tad longer than it might, when it finally gets to where it's going, you find yourself in a sweet and gorgeous place. I won't spoil that moment for you--since I hope you'll go and take a look for yourself--but I will guess that Beller's motherly concern extends not just to her own child but to her dancers as well.

Alexandra Beller/Dances concludes its season with performances tonight and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 5pm.

Abrons Arts Center
Henry Street Settlement
466 Grand Street (at Pitt Street)
212-598-0400

GUEST REVIEW: Choreographer Alexandra Beller Directs DE-CRUIT’s Macbeth Adaptation

GUEST REVIEW:

Choreographer Alexandra Beller Directs DE-CRUIT’s Macbeth Adaptation

by Kate Foster Vishniakova

The struggle is real. In 55 minutes, Make Thick My Blood at Theatre Row reveals what most productions of Macbeth ignore: the physical and psychological trauma a couple faces after the loss of a child.

The story usually told of Macbeth is one soldier ascending to the throne as king by killing its predecessor. Make Thick My Blood presents that story differently. There are two soldiers, not one. There are two crowns, not one. There are two struggles, not one. This is the story of two soldiers, a couple, carrying the dead weight of loss, fighting to fill the void that grief created, and reflecting back at each other the trauma they share.

Dawn Stern as Lady Macbeth (photo: Ashley Garrett)

The audience enters into a small, intimate space. The stage is covered with a burlap tarp reminiscent of a bunker, but the calm music suggests the war is already over. Lady Macbeth (Dawn Stern) is center stage on the ground bowing down, shrouded in a dress of mourning. Macbeth (Stephan Wolfert) enters, and the two fall into a dance of simple, sharp movements. Shoulders drop into a slumber, he carries her as she tries to hold on, he crawls away, fighting the air, fighting the mind, fighting to the top, to only collapse, and repeat. What weighs them down is the bright red stain revealed on Lady Macbeth's white undergarment.

The light splashes the entire stage red, and we are at the top of the play. We see the Macbeths grapple with the loss of their child. 

Her body becomes the dagger he sees. When Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to murder the King, it is not only with her words, but with her body as the weapon. Maybe if he does this, they can finally move on and forget their loss.

When they ascend to the throne, they wear identical crowns. They turn to face each other; a haunting reflection where they see the dark damned spots of their past. They walk slowly hand-in-hand, bearing equal weight of the glory and consequences of their actions. Loss of a second life does not replace the first.

A baby's cry is knocking. Their inevitable deaths are soon to come.

Stephan Wolfert as Macbeth with Dawn Stern (photo: Ashley Garrett)

DE-CRUIT, founded by Wolfert and Stern, adapts Shakespeare's texts through the lens of trauma survivors. Make Thick My Blood is no exception. After their loss, Lady Macbeth is present in everything that Macbeth hears, sees, and does. It is in her body that they lose their baby, and it is from that point on that her presence and this traumatic memory never escape Macbeth's mind. 

What is refreshing is that this production could have focused only on the nightmare. But it focuses on the effort to wake up; the effort to move on from what no human can fully move on from: the loss of a loved one. The movement in this production, under the helm of Alexandra Beller, an award-winning choreographer in her directorial debut, successfully brings the full range of emotion felt by the couple to the surface. The adaptation and direction carved out space for empathy and relatability in a story that other productions typically leave out. The story of one couple's trauma reminds us that, in our bodies, we all carry the presence of past trauma and that it can manifest itself in unpredictable ways.

[CLOSED AUGUST 6, 2022]

******

Kate Foster Vishniakova (photo courtesy of the writer)

Kate Foster Vishniakova is a dramaturg working in international and intercultural theater. She trained with artists at the Moscow Art Theatre School, in Germany as a DAAD grant recipient, and with IUGTE–International University Global Theatre Experience. She is a research dramaturg with the Verbatim Performance Lab at NYU and an HR consultant at Orr Group. MA German, Wayne State University. MFA Dramaturgy, Columbia University.

Keep an eye on CULTUREMARTists

HERE's CULTUREMART festival concludes this evening with a shared program featuring samples of two promising works-in-progress:

Shaun Irons, Lauren Petty and Mei-Yin Ng consider their multimedia performance work--Keep Your Electric Eye On Me--to be at a very early, very sketchy stage of development. I'll have to take them at their word, although KYEEOM already brings enough ominous razzle dazzle to make me wonder what radical changes, as the creative team calls them, we'll be blown away by when the final product debuts. Irons and Petty contribute the lysergic video and sound, and Ng, the enigmatic choreography and performance, in an already well thought out, well structured display that nevertheless seems to emanate from inside one damaged or very disturbed head. While I can't wait to see what this one becomes when it grows up, I'm a little scared, too.

I saw an early rehearsal of part of Alexandra Beller's other stories at the Gibney Dance Center, and that experience drew me to this CULTUREMART showcase where Beller is showing an excerpt. This interesting ensemble piece, set to premiere at Joyce SoHo in April, comes with three unique features.

The first is a video view into the window of a building in Manhattan's Flatiron District, a voyeuristic monitoring of a couple's unheard, but clearly troubled, conversation.

The second is a big white portable structure designed by Brian Ireland--a clever abstraction of a house with a simple rectangular cutout for a door and an external, embedded ladder. "Stories"--in the form of mystifying allegiances, provocations and conflicts--smoothly drift in and out of this house. (If you go, for a view into the house, where there's always something going on, avoid sitting at the extreme left end of the audience.)

The third, and most exciting, is the guest drop-in collaborator from among the royalty of New York's contemporary dance scene. Here's how Beller describes the collaborator's role:

Every show features a different guest artist...[who] works with us for 1 hour to one day, depending on the event. Their role is structured improvisation, which is then set and developed live during the course of the performance.

So, of course, for that to work, your company must be perceptive and game and, in that, Beller can thank her lucky stars. (Performers for the HERE showing, besides Beller and the guest artist, include Lea Fulton, Toni Melaas, Kendra Portier, Edward Rice, and Simon Thomas Train.)

At GDC, I saw the troupe stirred by the guesting Paul Matteson who moved clean and elegant as an angel on a mission. Last evening, the springy, lusciously flexible Luke Gutgsell gave this vanguard role a far scruffier, feral edge and seemed to rouse an uncommon animal intensity in the company at the conclusion. Alex Springer will perform tonight.

Look for this work when it comes to Joyce SoHo, April 4-21.

The final presentation of this shared program runs tonight at 8:30pm. For program information, click here for Irons/Petty/Ng and here for Beller. For general ticket and box office information, click here.

HERE
145 6th Avenue, Manhattan
(Enter on Dominick Street, one block south of Spring Street.)
(map/directions)

Beller's house of stories

Excerpt from other stories

How many times have I seen versions of other stories? I forget, but it's likely at least three now with the opening of Alexandra Beller/Dances' 10th Anniversary season last evening at Joyce SoHo. And, of course, no matter how many times other stories is seen, it will always be different according to which guest--chosen from among contemporary dance's most fascinating artists--has been tapped to catalyze the current performance.

As described by the company, the game plays out like this: "Each performance is a high stakes event featuring a pivotal, improvisational performance by a guest artist who has rehearsed minimally, if at all, with the company." Yeah, bring it.

Last night, that catalyst was Jennifer Nugent, a lithe, springy, Puckish spirit of vitality and fun. Some of her best moments came near the end of other stories, as she returned to a circle of the dancers, scattering them and, to my mind, dispersing the mystifying fog of gestures and juxtapositions, mosaics of story fragments, dream-like driftings and memories constructed through lush, sensitive choreography and Martijn Hart's beautiful filmwork.

other stories, for me, inspires unconditional love, the way one takes a good friend to heart, accepting that there will always be things about that person that cannot be fully known or comprehended. This seems to be a dance about just that--opening with Hart's videocamera focused on one corner of a lovely Flatiron District building and a couple, just behind its large windows, holding a conversation that we cannot hear. The camera zooms in close but to no avail. We will never grasp what is being said nor know its history or current context. We're left to project interpretations onto the couple's body language and gestures.

We do much of the same throughout other stories with its plethora of imagery. When we hear words, they merely fan out in the general direction of something that we can only imagine out of our own personal experiences: "This is the only place that makes me laugh," or "This is the space that will not close," or the disjointed recounting of a medical history, audibly redacted. We watch inexplicable expressions wash over the face of one or another dancer; the look is soon wiped away, replaced by another or...nothing. It feels as if we're being plunged into the life recall or dreams of not just one person but a whole tribe, simultaneously.

So, of course, it's not going to make sense. And, of course, it makes sense.

Have I mentioned that I love it?

Dancing by Beller, Lea Fulton, Toni Melaas, Kendra Porter, Edward Rice and Simon Thomas-Train plus the evening's guest artist. Original music composed and performed live by Robert Poss. Lighting by Amanda K. Ringger. Costumes by Karen Young. Set design by Brian Ireland.

See other stories at Joyce Soho through April 21. There will be also be a 10th Anniversary Celebration on Friday, April 13. For season schedule details and ticketing, click here.

Joyce SoHo
155 Mercer Street (between Houston and Prince Streets), Manhattan
(directions)

Belladonna*: "Body of Words"

When the spoken word and the dancing body smack up against each other, what these two vital forces can open up, for our experience and consideration, is not necessarily an easy space. The Belladonna* Collaborative, a feminist literary collective, created that dynamic, uneasy space last night at Dixon Place with Body of Words, a fascinating program of four developing works by Lauren Nicole Nixon, Rosamond S. King, Sally Silvers and Alexandra Beller's collaborative troupe.

It was an evening devoted to "performances without boundaries," as its manifesto proclaims, a gathering of "bodies that are both themselves and quoting." The program was curated by Emily Skillings, and Saifan Shmerer moderated the post-performance discussion.

The Beller troupe's finely-wrought, coolly-danced excerpts from other stories gave the most conventional pleasure as an invitation to feel the juicy and intelligent writing of bodies curving, jutting, twisting and springing as they absorb and interpret one another's movements. They seemed to both channel and complicate elusive stories revealed and concealed by the disjointed voice-over text.

Nixon's solo, fresh batch, opened with the charming poet/dancer approachinig the audience, proffering a tray of mini-cupcakes and whispering in each taker's ear. It is a Big Bang of taste (those cupcakes), sound, music (from Brenda Lee to Marvin Gaye and points in between), film clips of Angela Bassett getting vengefully evil in Waiting to Exhale and Nixon's own rambunctious self moving and talking. She is an irrepressible talker, and her piece takes off from her own sense of frustration about secrets, specifically the things family members refuse to say to one another. So much to take in--and Nixon just throws it out there and lets us work the puzzle of it.

King's Spectacle/SPECTACULAR offers a juxtaposition of voguing and minstrelsy, live performance and video, as well as a dead serious, deeply embodied, affecting performance of text that references race and racist objectification. Of the four works, hers is the one in which text and body seem firmly locked together and grounded in purpose and methodology. Spectacle/SPECTACULAR is, at once, satisfying and disturbing, mainly because she happens to be one hell of a performer.

FIX IT--with text and dancing by Sally Silvers (read by Corrine Fitzpatrick) and music by pianist Connie Crothers--makes no attempt to mediate the meeting of elements and make sense of it all. Silvers said it best in the post-performance discussion: "The word 'pinball' comes to mind. Different layers of possible meanings just pinball off each other." And so do the words, the music and her playful dancing.

In my experience, much of this evening demanded that I either hold my ground as viewer--deciding which competing element would get my attention--or simply surrender, in any given moment, to whatever was strongest. When things blended together--as they did in King's solo--I felt that I could settle down and catch my breath, even as I was horrified by what I was hearing. Happily, although sometimes feeling tugged this way or that, I never found myself withdrawing. All of these works will be worth tracking in the future, although I'm most interested in seeing what Nixon and King will do. 

Body of Work also put me in touch with the fact of my own hybridity as a writer in the world of dance, a writer whose understanding of the dance before me starts first in the body and the intuition, not the intellect.

Click here for information on Belladonna*, and here for Dixon Place and its upcoming programs.

Color it pink: a day for women's wellness (UPDATED)

[Scroll down for updated information.]

Pink Empowerment--February 8, 2009--is a wellness day, dance concert and artist health fair presented by the Move for Breast Cancer Awareness (MBCA), sponsored by and located at Dance New Amsterdam, 280 Broadway, 2nd Floor (enter at Chambers), Manhattan.

Wellness Day
FREE ADMISSION
9AM-12PM

Drop by lower Manhattan for FREE classes and workshops including meditation techniques, rehabilitative yoga, and information on FREE or discounted Health Services. In anticipation of a full house given the FREE admission to our 2pm concert, we will be offering 20 confirmed reservations on a first come first served basis to Wellness Day participants.

Dance Concert
FREE ADMISSION
2PM

featuring works from

Monica Bill Barnes & Dancers

Alexandra Beller/Dances

David Parker & the Bang Group

Laura Peterson Choreography

Urban Bush Women

Christopher Williams

Ellis Wood Dance

Reception & Services Fair
FREE ADMISSION
3:30-5PM

Please join us after the performance for wine cheese and more! Our partnering organizations will be present with staff and materials to share with you available health services and resources to the dance community.

Partners include: Dance/NYC, [QuA²D], Fractured Atlas, The Dancer's Resource, and the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries.

Move for Breast Cancer Awareness (MBCA) is a project of the Queens Academy of Arts & Dance [QuA²D]

UPDATE

WELLNESS DAY
9-9:45am - Raising Awareness for Movement Teachers
A demonstration on teaching Iyengar Yoga to Breast Cancer patients/survivors by Bobby Clennell

10-11am - Prescreening and Prevention
Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered - Patricia Brett and Lisa Held from FORCE discuss genetic profiling
American Cancer Society - Mrs. Riker teaches how to perform a self breast exam
Woodhull Hospital - Oncologist ___ talks about genetic testing and resources at Woodhull

11:15am-12pm - Meditation class (all levels of experience welcome)

RECEPTION & RESOURCE FAIR
FORCE - Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered
Harkness Center for Dance Injuries - Injury Prevention
Artist Access program at Woodhull Hospital
Libby Ross Foundation
Actor's Fund - The Dancers' Resource
Young Survivors Coalition
American Cancer Society
Fractured Atlas - Health Insurance options

BAX announces Artist Services Day 2015

Dance artist Nia Love performs at BAX.
(photo: Iquo B. Essien)

BAX | Brooklyn Arts Exchange 

2nd Annual 

ARTIST SERVICES DAY 

Sunday, February 15

10am-6:30pm

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Suggested donation $5

For close to twenty-four years BAX has been at the forefront of developing and supporting dance, theater and performance artists through an array of programs and services that make up an artistic home for so many.

We designed Artist Services Day to share resources and support available to artists and their supporters.

The day will include a variety of workshops that range from activism, to writing to teaching artistry as well as welcoming Dancing While Black, the HELIX queer performance network, a discussion with parent artists, and a unique conversation about the relationship between performing artists and institutions. 2015/16 artist residency and space grant applications for BAX will also be available.

Workshops are sponsored through the underwriting and generous contributions of the Scott Klein Team Group at Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

***

SPECIAL NOTES

$40 registration for CREATING SPACE FOR YOUNG ARTISTS is required. This workshop is Part 1 of a 3-part series. To learn more about all three workshops, visit youth.bax.org/faculty-professional-development-initiative.
 
Free childcare is available by reservation one week in advance for participating adults. Please email artistservices@bax.org with names, ages of children and what time periods you are in need of childcare.

If you plan to participate in the Words on the Move writing workshop, please bring a brief writing sample as described below. 

***

THE DAY'S SCHEDULE

1-3pm

Creating Space for Young Artists*

Facilitated by Donna Costello *This workshop is Part 1 of a 3-part series and includes a $40 fee. Advance registration required: Purchase ticket.

Teaching Artists working in all disciplines and with all ages and skill levels, join Donna Costello for part one of a three part PD workshop series on creating a creative and collaborative class culture in which young artists can flourish.

Establishing an open and trusting environment is essential to a healthy and productive learning environment. It is the facilitator's role to create and hold this space in order for collaboration and creativity to flourish.  The workshop will look at ways to make this happen and the challenges that come up in the spaces we facilitate. We will look at tools for identifying who is in the room in order to lead to a collaborative community that engages in diverse perspectives and ideas.  By looking at different environments and participating in activities, this workshop will find ways to make connections to the daily rituals of the class and the art making we strive to engage in with young artists.

10:30-11:30am

BAX/2015 Artist Applications

Come learn about BAX's three artists grants. Residency, Space Grants and Parent/Artist Space Grants. Guidelines and applications will be available and staff & artists on hand to answer any questions you may have.

11-12:30pm

Words on the Move

Led by veteran dance writer Eva Yaa Asantewaa

 What challenges and opportunities do you face when you write about yourself? Your artistic mission? Your body of work or new projects?

Required: Bring one brief sample (~250-300 words) of this writing. We will share a freewriting exercise and explore a few of your samples, building strategies for effective, satisfying expression.

12-1:00pm

Making Art While Parenting

Led by Alexandra Beller, David Vining and Karen Grenke

Conversation with dance and theater artists whose children range from tots to teens. This event dives into the mess and opportunity of Making Art while Parenting (MAWP, which is coincidentally the sound your brain makes late at night).

12:30-2:30pm

Performance as Civic Engagement

With arts activists George Emilio Sanchez and Daniel Carlton

As we find ourselves nearly halfway through the second decade of the 21st century, this workshop aims to explore the significance and meaning of contemporary experimental artists and their involvement with "civic practice". This workshop will explore how to nurture and develop relationships and partnerships with communities and municipalities by bringing together arts and non-arts based organizations to address the needs and priorities of its residents. We will embark on a dialogue of how artistic practice dedicated to creating original performance works can extend into a collaborative process built on a foundation of dialogue, reflection and action to serve individuals, groups; communities and municipalities.

1-2:00pm

HELIX Queer Performance Network

Led by Dan Fishback with Greg Newton, Donnie Jochum, Kia LaBeija and T.L. Cowan

Director Dan Fishback will discuss Helix's expansive array of programming for queer artists, writers and audiences. He'll be joined by a variety of queer culture-makers, from people who present performance to people who make their own. All of the panelists make cultural work in a political or activist context, and our conversation will emerge from that intersection.

2:30-4:00pm

Dancing While Black: Cultivating Community

Led by Paloma McGregor with Dr. Brenda Dixon-Gottschild, Nia Austin-Edwards, Candace Feldman, and Jaamil Kosoko

A roundtable discussion on building solidarity and equity within the field, featuring Dr. Brenda Dixon-Gottschild, dance scholar/author of The Black Dancing Body; Nia Austin-Edwards, founder Purpose Productions; Candace Feldman, Associate Producer of 651 Arts;  Jaamil Kosoko, curator of Black Male Revisited

4:15-5:15pm

The Relationship Between Artists and Institutions

Moderated by BAX Executive Director Marya Warshaw with Levi Gonzalez, luciana achugar, and current BAX Artists In Residence

Panel of BAX AIRs past and present including Levi Gonzalez and luciana achugar and discuss with BAX's Executive Director Marya Warshaw the complicated relationship between individual artists, the cultural institutions that "house" and present them, their funders and "who speaks for who?"

5:30-7pm

CLOSING RECEPTION

All panelists, participants, and people interested in Artist Services at BAX.

BAX / Brooklyn Arts Exchange
421 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn
(map/directions)

 
ABOUT BAX

Founded in 1991, BAX | Brooklyn Arts Exchange is a vital center for artistic and cultural development in Brooklyn, serving over 2,500 artists, 9,000 students, and over 2,000 audience members each year. BAX offers an annual presenting season, artist services, and educational programs for youth and adults. Our two decades of providing student and emerging artists with the right support at the right time plays a crucial role in ensuring that important artistic voices are launched successfully. BAX provides classes six days per week, public school residencies, 75 evenings of performance and free conferences/festivals to NYC youth including our groundbreaking Young Women's Project and YouthWorks programs. BAX offers scholarships to 25% of the students who take class with us each year.

It is an organizational priority to ensure our core constituency continues to have access to community-based arts education. In addition, artists in dance, theatre and performance are provided meaningful residencies to develop artistically, professionally and curatorially. Residencies include uninterrupted development space, performance opportunities, peer and mentor support.

For more information about BAX and its programs please call 718-832-0018, email press@bax.org or visit us on the web at www.bax.org.

ABOUT ARTIST SERVICES

BAX's Artist Services Programs receive generous funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Jerome Foundation, the Jerome Robbins Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, the Harkness Foundation for Dance, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Lambent Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation.   

Artists Reach Out: Jordan Demetrius Lloyd

Dear friends,

Welcome to Artists Reach Out: reflections in a time of isolation. I dreamed this series of interviews out of grief for my work both as a documenting arts writer and curator of live performance. In this time of social distancing, we are called to responsibly do all we can to safeguard ourselves and our neighbors. It is, literally, a matter of life and death.

But there's no distancing around what we still can share with one another--our experiences, thoughts, wisdom, humor, hearts and spirit. In some ways, there are more opportunities to do so as we pull back from everyday busyness out in the world and have time to honor the call of our inner lives.

So, let me introduce you to some artists I find interesting. I'm glad they're part of our beautiful community, and I'm eager to engage with them again (or for the first time) in years to come.

--Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody


Jordan Demetrius Lloyd

Jordan Demetrius Lloyd
(photo courtesy of the artist)

Jordan Demetrius Lloyd is a dance artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Originally from Albany, NY, Lloyd graduated from The College at Brockport where he performed works by Maura Keefe and Alexandra Beller. He has collaborated with and performed for Karl Rogers, Netta Yerushalmy, Tammy Carrasco, Monica Bill Barnes, Catherine Galasso, Laura Peterson, Ambika Raina and David Dorfman Dance. He currently teaches at Rutgers University and Mark Morris Dance Center, and his work has been produced by New York Live Arts, BRIC, Movement Research at Judson Memorial Church, The Center for Performance Research and Brooklyn Studios for Dance. He was selected as a 2019 Center for Performance Research Artist in Residence and is a recipient of the 2019-20 Fresh Tracks Performance and Residency Program at New York Live Arts. Most recently, Lloyd was the assistant choreographer of the new off-Broadway show Whisper House at 59E59 Theater. For more please check out jordandlloyd.com

Performing Lloyd's NEIGHBORS
(photos: above, Whitney Browne; below, Maria Baranova)

Do you have a current or planned project whose progress is affected by the pandemic?

I am in the process of creating a work formerly known as pink sheets, an investigation of relative time, teetering on the lines of storytelling and abstraction. My cast--Stanley Gambucci, Myssi Robinson, Kennedy Thomas, Ramon Vargas--and I dove back into research in January at New York Live Arts to prepare for a showing in May, the culmination of the Fresh Tracks Performance & Residency Program. While there are conversations between New York Live Arts and my fellow cohort about the reality of our showing, the abrupt halt and unexpected break from our rehearsal flow has shifted how I think about the timeline of this work. I’m a bit stuck and disappointed about how to move forward in light of rehearsal and performance cancellations and shifts in income and the economy, especially when I consider the nine months of rehearsals and the many financial investments made for this work.

Briefly, tell me about how you got involved in the arts and in your particular practice.

I started taking dance classes when I was 8 at a studio nooked in the backside of a local plaza. This felt like the beginning of my formal training, though I started working long before that. My impulses as a child were toward performance, claiming attention for how I expressed through movement. This often brought me into an imaginative space as I transformed garages into stages and early improvisations into elaborate productions. My artistry always lived in a world much larger than the one in front of me.

I was a serious student of dance, and I explored and developed a sense of voice with a lot of rigor. I went from studio hip-hop to the vast competitive dance world and landed at SUNY Brockport, a post-modern, composition-heavy program. Brockport gave birth to curiosities of form, abstraction, and a way of organizing ideas that felt new and familiar at once.

In a more specific way, what are you practicing? And what are you envisioning?

I try to focus on listening. I work intuitively, and I create from impulses of the body, mind and spirit. The range of dance environments that I passed through (I'm still passing through) speak to my present interests. I think about letting go or shedding layers of the self that are no longer speaking to me, offering space for what feels true. In this, I find myself creating performances that span the collective experience through precise manipulations of time and space, with movement being my main tool.

I try to sustain some sort of physical practice that allows my body to be without prompt, which gives me a sense of freedom in responding to what my body needs. It is through this care that I try to listen to the body and the different states of being. I think this is how I access my visions, which are thick and usually saturated with ideas. They come and go at random and are often triggered by sound, light, mood, personal experiences and, of course, movement!

How does your practice and your visioning align with what you most care about?

I feel like I am living in a constant state of allowing. I allow my interests to shift and my moods to swing. Who I am is always transforming and is heavily affected by my environment. Community, even though it feels difficult to sustain in New York, is extremely important to me. The more I engage with people, the more I access and open different parts of myself. I widen my imagination and add to the food bank of ideas that my artistry feeds on.

Right now, this sort of investigation of the self feels integral to me and my work. I spend a lot of time reflecting on who and how I am in the world, and I think these reflections show up in my work in abstract ways. The same expansion of self that I feel when I engage with the world is what I hope a viewer feels as they interact with the fantastical playgrounds that I create.

How does your practice function within the world we have now?

Right now, there is a lot of rest. Long improvisations, gentle stretches and walks are getting me through. I’m taking comfort in empowering music: Megan thee Stallion, Beyoncé, Childish Gambino, India Arie, and Stevie Wonder. My experience of time is extreme, and I try not to measure my productivity against that. I am FaceTiming my friends which feels good, and I am trying to watch a lot of dance.

I feel lucky to continue my teaching practice with students at Rutgers University, and I am warmed by their resilience as we transition to an online learning platform. For me, the time is now to be where I’m at, and I’m trying not to judge or criticize when that proves harder than I think. I look forward to seeing how we will shift as a people, and how this moment acts as a portal to alternate ways of being and listening.

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DISCLAIMER: In addition to my work on InfiniteBody, I serve as Senior Curatorial Director of Gibney. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views, strategies or opinions of Gibney.

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Artists Reach Out: Kelly Bartnik

Dear friends,

Welcome to Artists Reach Out: reflections in a time of isolation. I dreamed this series of interviews out of grief for my work both as a documenting arts writer and curator of live performance. In this time of social distancing, we are called to responsibly do all we can to safeguard ourselves and our neighbors. It is, literally, a matter of life and death.

But there's no distancing around what we still can share with one another--our experiences, thoughts, wisdom, humor, hearts and spirit. In some ways, there are more opportunities to do so as we pull back from everyday busyness out in the world and have time to honor the call of our inner lives.

So, let me introduce you to some artists I find interesting. I'm glad they're part of our beautiful community, and I'm eager to engage with them again (or for the first time) in years to come.

--Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody


Kelly Bartnik

Kelly Bartnik
(photo: Maria Baranova)

Kelly Bartnik is a NY-based choreographer, performer, director, teacher and producer.  She was an original cast member of both the Boston and NY productions of Sleep No More.  She recently performed in the Immersive experiences Waking La Llorona, by Optika Moderna and The Unbrunch, created by Cinereal Productions.  She also was Movement Director for Optika Moderna’s latest project, Las Quinceañeras.  She has also had the pleasure of performing with Witness Relocation, Cora Dance, Melissa Briggs Dance, South Brooklyn Shakespeare, Woodshed Collective, Switch N Play, The Pack Theater, Cakeface and Shelter Theatre Group among others. Last spring, Kelly received an evening-length commission by Gibney for the premiere of her new work--Fuck / Love: The Poetics of Adoration.  Kelly has taught at Colby College, Queens College, Playwright’s Horizons Theater School, Emory University, Spelman College and has supervised immersive performance trainings at Meow Wolf, Santa Fe. Kelly is currently mounting a new large-scale immersive production in Atlanta called HERE{after} which is suspended momentarily.  www.kellybartnik.com

Fuck / Love: The Poetics of Adoration,
featuring Alexandra Beller, Donna Costello,
Sara Galassini and Penelope McCourty
(photo: Maria Baranova)

Do you have a current or planned project whose progress is affected by the pandemic?

Yes, I had been in the process of mounting a new immersive show in Atlanta with my co-director Kathleen Wessel entitled HERE{after}. That is obviously on hold indefinitely now.

Briefly, tell me about how you got involved in the arts and in your particular practice.

My background is rooted in movement training, but after performing in Sleep No More for almost 3 years, I went back to get my MFA in Choreography and Visual Arts. After that I began making my own immersive work, started working with actors in movement training and generally expanded my creative and performance experiences to include a mix of theater and movement.

In a more specific way, what are you practicing? And what are you envisioning?

On a foundational level, over the past few years, the root of my personal practice has been presence--the practice of awareness, watching the activity of the mind, living in the present moment, etc.  It feels exponentially more potent now that so many of us are faced with being with ourselves for the first time in a long time without the distractive structure or our ‘normal’ daily lives.

How does your practice and your visioning align with what you most care about?

I think as artists and creators, we are often mining our own experiences in order to understand ourselves and to ultimately have a deeper relationship with self. We ask questions, we ponder, we research, we experiment. And I think presence really is often the final piece of a puzzle that I am working on. I can ask all the questions I want, but I’ll never hear the answer if I’m not listening.

How does your practice function within the world we have now?

I’ve had a morning schedule for myself for quite some time, even prior to social distancing, that allowed at least 2-3 hours to myself to write, meditate, and do something for my body. It’s been helpful to me that I was already accustomed to that structure, because those practices are important to me. 

The interesting part I find about being quarantined in one’s own apartment (and I live alone) is being faced with your own reality that you’ve crafted for yourself without the means to live it (I’m excluding online substitutions). I’m surrounded by all of the things that identify and define me externally--my books, my art, my photos, my notebooks --but have none of the physical interactions in social environments that allow for actualization. So what does that mean relative to who I am and what I do? And I know so many artists are grappling with similar questions and finding substitutions for the moment, which I am grateful for and participating in. But I think the questions themselves are just as important, and this comes back to awareness; actually allowing myself to live in the space right after the question mark and before the first word of the next sentence. 

Briefly share one self-care tip that has special meaning to you now.

As I mentioned earlier, I do find comfort in my morning ritual that allows me to start my day focused on my mental and physical well-being. I have had days, however, where I just binge-watched Netflix without pants on. And both of those are valid. I’m trying to be compassionate with myself and my needs as they change. 

I have also been having some really amazing phone conversations with friends who I wouldn’t normally get to talk to that long or that often. That connection has helped me feel less alone through all of this, and it has been a more comforting connection than what social media tends to offer me.

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DISCLAIMER: In addition to my work on InfiniteBody, I serve as Senior Curatorial Director of Gibney. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views, strategies or opinions of Gibney.

******

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That surprising Sally Silvers

How would you like to see a mess of new dances made from scratch right before your eyes?

How about if I told you some of the makers would be Alexandra Beller, Donald Byrd, Gabri Christa, Mark Dendy, Ishmael Houston-Jones, RoseAnne Spradlin and Susan Rethorst?

And the dancers? How about a lineup that includes Benjamin Asriel, Pat Catterson, Maura Donahue, Alex Escalante, Marjani Forte, Patricia Hoffbauer, Sarah East Johnson, Jonathan Kinzel, Jodi Melnick, Luke Miller, Omagbemi Omagbitse, Antonio Ramos, Sarah Skaggs, Arturo Vidich, Edisa Weeks, Kathy Westwater and many, many more?

Then Sally Silvers has a lot of surprises in store for you--including a "Surprise Big Deal Guest" on Saturday night--at her Surprise Every Time, a two-day festival of "live choreography" at Roulette.

Saturday, September 28, 4:30pm and 8pm

Sunday, September 29, 3:30 pm and 7pm

Two sets per day, 3 half hour projects per set, with different choreographers & performers in each project. Come to one or come to all with special prices for more than one show.

Get complete information here, or visit the Facebook event page.

Roulette

509 Atlantic Avenue (corner of Atlantic and 3rd Avenues), Brooklyn

(map/directions)

Thank you to Body and Soul's guest speakers!

Eva Yaa Asantewaa (photo: selfie)

A smiling Black woman wearing headphones and a turtleneck sweater sits in front of a bookcase (partial view). Her chin rests on her left hand.

I'm taking a moment to express my deep gratitude to the many respected artists and educators who have contributed to BODY AND SOUL podcast since its revival in December 2022, sharing experience, knowledge, insights, passions, and what keeps them awake at night. These guest speakers have included:

Ziiomi Law
Lisa La Touche
María de los Ángeles Rodríguez Jiménez
devynn emory
Maxine Montilus
Kayhan Irani
Brinda Guha
Travis Knights
Judith Sánchez Ruíz
Daphne Lee
Stephanie Skura
George Emilio Sanchez
Cory Nakasue
Elena Demanyenko
Megan Curet
Samar Haddad King
Ricarrdo Valentine
Iquail Shaheed
Tamisha A. Guy
Catherine Kirk
Italy Bianca
Kate Mattingly
Thomas Ford
Stephan Koplowitz
Heather Robles
Vicky Shick
Rebecca Fitton
Dr. Nina Angela Mercer
Olaiya Olayemi
Bhumi B Patel
Melanie George
Valencia James
Alexandra Beller
Daniel Phoenix Singh
Petra Kuppers
Katrina Reid

If you haven't listened yet, dip into this treasure trove now!

LISTEN HERE:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eva-yaa-asantewaa

or here:
https://open.spotify.com/show/6rwqny2GMb43jImKhCj1sh

Obama, Occupy, outrage: an interview with Jesse Phillips-Fein

Unbind it!, a work by Jesse Phillips-Fein (photo by Jesse Phillips-Fein)

own,Owned, a work by Jesse Phillips-Fein (photo by Eva Ostrowska)

CLICK AUDIO LINK (21:00)
an interview with Jesse Phillips-Fein, curator

From Obama to Occupy: Works of Outrage from 2008-2012

***

BAX / Brooklyn Arts Exchange announces
an open call for submissions for the guest-curated showcase

FROM OBAMA TO OCCUPY: Works of Outrage from 2008-2012

curated by Jesse Phillips-Fein

A sequel to the hit Requiem for W, Overture for O: Works of Conscience from 2000 - 2008, From Obama to Occupy: Works of Outrage from 2008-2012 will present performances works that addressed Obama Administration policies and corresponding political events of the past four years. This showcase aims to generate thoughtful, provocative, risky, and respectful critical reflection on Obama's first term.

We are seeking works made from 2008-2012 in dance, theater, music, spoken word, multimedia, and performance art, that engage with Obama as a phenomena, his Administration's' policies, and political events reflecting key challenges of the past 4 years. Works should be from 5-15 minutes in length. Excerpts from longer works are permitted.

Deadline for submission: Friday, July 27th, 5pm (received)

Artists will be notified by September 1st. 

To apply, visit http://www.jotform.us/BAX/Apply-ObamatoOccupy.

Shows are Friday & Saturday January 18 & 19th, 2013 at 8pm at the BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Visit http://bax.org/tech-specs/ for technical specifications of the Theater @ BAX. In addition, artists must be available for workshops on Sunday September 30th, 4pm - 7pm and Sunday November 18th, 4pm - 7pm.

ABOUT JESSE PHILLIPS-FEIN

Jesse Phillips-Fein grew up and is based in Brooklyn, NY, where she choreographs, teaches dance, and produces shows and community events to engage the performing arts in political dialogues. Require for W, Overture for O: Works of Conscience from 2000-2008 marked the end of the Bush era by celebrating how artists responded to the policies of the Bush Administration while encouraging continued action for justice. Hosted by Shanté Paradigm, the evening featured performances in dance, music, and poetry on themes including 9/11, the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan, gay marriage, Hurricanes Katrina & Rita, and the now evident disastrous effects of debt-driven consumerism. The pieces move beyond simply bashing President Bush and heralding President-elect Obama. Instead, they provided reflection how we survived and commemoration for those who didn't, critical thought about the role of artists in activism, and information about how to become involved in local organizations that are working on issues of social justice. Artists included: Alexandra Beller, Tara Betts, Sabrina Chapajiev, Drastic Measures, Guta Hedwig, Remi Kanazi, Rachel Lane, Sapphire, Paul Singh, Spiritchild & Gina Young.

Without knowing the outcome of this November election, there is still need to reflect on how artists have responded to Obama and the political events of the past four years.  Through celebrating what artists created, we can discuss the new challenges for political debate and presidential critique that Obama's term brought. Obama's election highlighted racial discourse, from contentious debates about a "post-racial society", to racist attacks in the popular media, stifled response from the political Left, and the differing emotions, expectations, and disappointments, that his term had for white people and people of color. From Obama to Occupy: Works of Outrage from 2008-2012 generates a space for art to be a powerful platform to engage deeply with the contradictions and questions that Obama's presidency raised.

ABOUT BAX

Founded in 1991, BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange is a is a multi-faceted community performing arts center located in Park Slope, Brooklyn offering an annual presenting season, artist services, and educational programs for youth and adults. BAX receives support from city, state and national public and private foundations. Our programs have been featured in several Brooklyn, NYC, and national publications, celebrating our continued support of artists of all ages.