Levi Gonzalez speaks on dance and film

Hear dancer-choreographer Levi Gonzalez speak on experimentalism in dance and film at Kinetic Cinema on Monday, May 5 (7:30pm) with a special screening of ChameckiLerner's Flying Lesson , winner of the 2008 Dance On Camera Festival Jury Prize. $5 Admission (at the door)

"Experimentalism is often seen as an affront to its audience or an insular exercise in personal indulgence. Yet the perception of experimental work is fluid – often changing with time as each new generation re-evaluates past work in a different light. This evening will highlight just a few strategies of experimentalism in the overlapping areas of dance and film–in an effort to point out the divergent approaches artists take in questioning their mediums and the myriad ways they affect our perceptions."

Collective:Unconscious -- 279 Church Street (just south of White Street), Manhattan (Trains: 1 to Franklin; A, C, E to Canal)

More info

Kinetic Cinema at Collective:Unconscious explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage. Each month, curator Anna Brady Nuse invites a special guest from the dance community to share the films and videos that have inspired or moved them. These could be films that feature dance, are kinetic-based, or have been influential on their work in some way. The guest curators come from a range of backgrounds as performers, choreographers, critics, and filmmakers. Upcoming guests include Kriota Willberg (June 2nd) and Maya Ciarrocchi (July 7th).

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Hear a Body and Soul podcast conversation with Levi Gonzalez and Estelle Woodward Arnal here.

Dunya's reflections on dance and healing

Kripalu Notes: Dance Healing

The Turning World (38)

Laura Berg's Letter
New York Times editorial, April 27, 2008

Mozambique art camp

The Tambo International Art Camp in Mozambique offers two weeks of workshops--dance, theater, music, design and more--plus performances and visits with local and foreign artists. For more information, click here.

Sounds sensational!

Sensational Knowledge Embodying Culture Through Japanese Dance, written by ethnomusicologist and dancer Tomie Hahn, is reviewed on World Music Central. Click here.

Essence of Cedar Lake

Got pulse? Glassy Essence--the latest installation from Benoit-Swan Pouffer and his talented team at Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet--will surely quicken it, but only if you don't much prefer to be sedately stationary, safely gazing front and center from your seat of judgment.

All of CLCB's theater seats have been removed. To watch Glassy Essence, you must stand for 45 minutes. But you should also have eyes at the back of your head and--like the dancers--be quick on your feet, trotting to a new spot to catch action popping up around the perimeter of the space. And that action will suddenly pick up and dash to a new location. Multiple actions break out at once. Where to look?

You and your fellow audience members, herded into the center of the theater, must contend with sixteen dancers unpredictably drifting or barreling through that unstructured, unprotected space, indenting and slicing the crowd. I had an embarrassing moment when Jason Kittelberger approached from behind me, and I could not react quickly enough to prevent my shoulder bag from briefly ensnaring him. Push came to shove.

Glassy Essence, like other installations by Cedar Lake, is a phenomenon expressly designed to draw the young Chelsea art crowd who might not normally give dance a thought. I cannot imagine that its vertiginous staging, intense energies and whiff of divine decadence--that dark and steamy section where dancers pose and interact for our voyeuristic pleasure among a wall of blocks--would not wow the Chelsea folk and more. None of it makes a whole lot of sense, but it is a whole lot of sensation. Relax. Let go. It's a show.

I loved Alexander Dodge's set--the relatively narrow rim of dance space surrounding us, the wall of blocks, the platform rising from a darkened floor. The dancers--trained and coached to a high polish--gave it their CLCB all, as I've come to expect. For my money, though, Kittelberger's the star of Glassy Essence, and the only one who makes the intermittent aerial work look eerily unworldly, edgy and ominous. See this, if for no other reason, to see him.

There's all sorts of fun stuff--a blog, videos, podcasts and more--accessible from the dedicated Glassy Essence site. If you'd like, you can take non-flash photos and upload them to this site. If you were one of the lucky ones at opening night's 9pm show, you took home a flash drive bracelet with video excerpts. Gimmicks? Playthings of a wealthy organization? At least Pouffer's upfront about why he's doing this, and it will probably pay off.

Two shows per night (8pm and 9pm), Thursday-Saturday through May 3.
Ticketing at SmartTix

Nora Chipaumire: Body and Soul podcast

Acclaimed dancer-choreographer Nora Chipaumire--recipient of a 2007 New York Dance and Performance ("Bessie") Award--joins me to discuss her vision and mission as a Zimbabwe-born contemporary dance artist of Shona heritage. She previews her April 30-May 1 solo season at Dance Theater Workshop.

BIO

Nora Chipaumire was born in Mutare, Zimbabwe during the Chimurenga Chechipiri, or second war of liberation. A self-exiled artist now based in New York, she investigates the collaborative process within cultural, political, economic, and technological identities of African contemporary life. Her work is transnational, unafraid, and eager to burn cultural, creative, and geographic boundaries. She creates provocative and politically relevant multimedia dance work, illuminating the struggles of human identity in an increasingly borderless world. Her work is inspired by art from her native country such as shona sculpture and chimurenga music--art that results from the often violent convergence of rural, urban, African, non-African, cultural, economic, colonial, and technological ideas. A visionary African contemporary dance artist, her work speaks to the human condition with power, authority, and urgency.

Nora Chipaumire is a recipient of a 2007 New York Dance and Performance (aka "Bessie") Award. She is also a Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) 2007-08 Choreographic Fellow. She is a recipient of National Dance Project (NDP) Tour Support in 2007-08. She also received a Jerome Travel and Study Grant to participate in the JANT-BI Diaspora Project in Toubab Dialaw, Senegal in May and August 2007. Nora was honored with the Mariam McGlone Emerging Choreographer Award from Wesleyan University Center for the Arts on March 10, 2007. She is featured in the documentary "Movement (R)evolution" and is the subject of the documentary-in-progress, "Nora Chipaumire: A Physical Biography," directed by Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, supported by a 2007 EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission.

A graduate of the law school of the University of Zimbabwe, Chipaumire received her MA in Dance and MFA in Choreography and Performance from Mills College in Oakland, CA. She has shown her work widely and danced with a variety companies in the US and abroad. Most notably, she is a member of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's world-renowned Urban Bush Women.

UPCOMING EVENTS

"Chimurenga" at Dance Theater Workshop, April 30-May 3 (7:30pm).

Coffee and Pre-Show Talk, April 30 at 6:30, with Charmaine WaTalk, April 30, with Brian McCormick

Student Matinee, May 2, at Noon

LINK

Dance Theater Workshop
http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org

Urban Bush Women
http://www.urbanbushwomen.org/

Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.

(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

MP3 File

Peru Negro's "Zamba Malató"

Acclaimed Afro-Peruvian music and dance ensemble Peru Negro has issued a new recording--Zamba Malató--on Times Square Records, and you'll find World Music Central's review here.

Critic Lori Ortiz on the Web

Dance critic Lori Ortiz has sent us this quick'n'easy way to keep up with her writing all over the Web. Click here.

Daria Faïn seeks administrative assistant

Provide administrative oversight and implementation to Daria Faïn and her company in all areas of company activities, including fundraising, grant-writing, marketing, project management and general operations. Writing skills are essential.

Fundraising, Grant Writing: Strategize fund raising in conjunction with Daria and develop grant proposals, budgets and supporting materials. Help plan fund raising events.

Marketing: Help develop and create marketing materials, including programs. Facilitate the duplication of videotapes and press kits.

Project management: Help manage company projects. Research in relation to current or future projects.

General Operations: Check and respond to mail, telephone messages and email.

Part-time position (8-15 hrs per week)
$12 per hour

Job begins as soon as possible.

CONTACT:
d a r i a f a ï n
101 decatur street # 3 -- brooklyn 11216
humanbehaviorexplorers@earthlink.net
7 1 8 4 5 0 1 3 5 6
skype: dariafain

Brown and Sommer go BAAD!

As part of the Boogie Down Dance Series 2008, the Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance (BAAD!) presents a master class with Ronald K. Brown of Evidence Dance Company.

Sunday, June 1 (1pm-3pm)
$20 (space limited; registration required)

Praised as "one of the most profound choreographers of his modern dance generation’ by the New York Times, Ronald K. Brown/Evidence blends African, modern, ballet and hip-hop dance styles to tell stories about what is important about the human experience. Mr. Brown will teach a master class in contemporary dance that infuses the movement vocabularies that inform his acclaimed and award-winning choreography.

This master class is for artists with dance training. Space is limited and registration is required.

Also, presented by BAAD!, a screening of Check Your Body at the Door, a documentary film by Sally Sommer, Ph.D.:

Friday, June 6 (8pm)
$5 (suggested donation)

Dr. Sally Sommer, dance scholar and historian, presents her remarkable documentary film that explores the movement vocabulary of legendary NYC house dancers, including Archie Burnett, Willi Ninja, Ejoe Wilson, Marjory Smarth and Conrad Rochester. Made possible in part by support from the National Endowment of the Arts, Dr. Sommer interviews dancers from the local NYC scene and captures now-vintage footage from the late 80s and early 90s. Check Your Body at the Door (a work-in-progress) now stands as an historical document and testament to the early years of NYC’s house dance culture. The film will be followed by a panel discussion on House Dance with Dr. Sally Sommer, dancer Archie Burnett and Red, the co-director of House Dance International and Soulgasm, and a closing night party with DJ Chip Chop. Program subject to change.

For the full Boogie Down schedule and more information on and directions to BAAD!, click here.

Pondering the power of dance

Dulce Gomez, marketing intern at The Joyce Theater, ponders the power of dance.

The dancers united will never be defeated

For 1,000 Solo Dancers, a Soundtrack of Silence
by Anthony Ramirez, The New York Times, April 20, 2008

The Turning World (37)

Performance Artist Killed on Peace Trip is Mourned
by Elisabetta Povoledo, The New York Times, April 19, 2008

Neta Pulvermacher: Body and Soul podcast

New York-based choreographer Neta Pulvermacher, who teaches at the University of Florida, joined me to talk about her plans for this year's big student field trip to New York--the Second Annual UF/NYC Dance Xchange (May 3-10, 2008)--and also share a preview of other exciting upcoming projects.

BIO

Neta Pulvermacher is the founder and project director of the UF/NYC Dance Xchange. She was born and raised in Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, Israel. She graduated from Juilliard in 1985 and holds an MFA from the ADF/Hollins University. She founded The Neta Dance Company in 1987 and since then has choreographed over 65 works for her company and for numerous ballet and modern companies. Her company tours throughout the US as well as in Europe and Israel. Neta is an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Florida. She has choreographed for director, Mira Nair’s feature film, The Namesake, which was released in March of 2007. Most recently she was invited to the MANCC at FSU to work with the Limón Dance Company. She is the founder and producer of the A.W.A.R.D. Show! which now takes place in New York, Florida and Utah. Recent commissions include: Matte Asher Dance Company in Israel, Frank Sinatra High School for the Arts, Klor Music and Dance Center in Israel, Roger Williams University, and others. She is the proud mother of Alon. Upcoming projects: "Lady Justice Rides the Wagon" (a site Specific Work with real NY women judges) at City Hall Park and a New York season which will include the premiere of the full length "Air" in fall 2008.

LINKS

The Neta Dance Company and The 2008 A.W.A.R.D. Show
http://www.netacompany.org

Joyce SoHo
http://www.joyce.org

University of Florida College of Fine Arts, Scool of Theatre and Dance
http://arts.ufl.edu/theatreanddance/

Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.

(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

This material may not be reproduced in any way, either in part or in its entirety, without the expressed written permission of Eva Yaa Asantewaa.

MP3 File

The DIY worlds of Peña and Ellsworth

Jillian Peña and Michelle Ellsworth--whose shared program at Dance Theater Workshop ends tomorrow evening--both incorporate new media aesthetics into their new pieces. Peña's MOTHERSHIP smothers us in vague, sterile New Age-y utopias created in virtual reality before our eyes and between our ears. In Tifprabap.org--which is a real Web site, not just the name of her piece--Ellsworth has devised an elaborate, and hilarious, religion that she alone professes, practices and defends against would-be critics or converts. Each piece runs about 30 minutes. Both are made by women. After that, things change dramatically.

Well, there is one more similarity: ambition. But that similarity is actually where these two works diverge.

For background, here's something from Peña's site:

I locate my video-based work within the dance community with the proposition that dance is an embodied shift that can exist without a represented body as its location. Casting the audience as subject and performer, I desire to generate a hyper-self-awareness in the viewers, who join the performance by gazing at their selves. This brings an instability of existence and agency to consciousness, but the sensation of it within a group might propose a way to transcend it.

MOTHERSHIP is, in fact, a virtual reality video spanning DTW's stage, flanked by two women moving, gesticulating and, at one point, changing costumes atop huge blocks that resemble the stone pedestals beneath Patience and Fortitude, the iconic New York Public Library lions. These sentinels also suggest the two distant towers in Tarot's traditional Moon card. Images of castles in the sand, water and islands, with the occasional howling dogs or splay of lightning, also lean towards that otherworldly association.

The lighting (by David Ferri) takes in the entire hall, not just these two live performers. The audience is lit in various, shifting ways, which makes sense in terms of Peña's statement, doesn't it? Her voiceover ranges from guided meditation to pornographic pillow talk to mindnumbing expressions of despair and loathing. She sounds like she's sometimes on and sometimes off her meds. She often gives directions to the audience but no one takes her seriously enough to follow them. For a few moments, a couple of women in hoodies show up at the top of the theater's stairs, and some of us crane our necks to see what they're about to do. Since they do nothing but stare before silently leaving, we soon turn back around.

Peña's vision is an ambitious one. So it's surprising that, when all's said and done, the actual reach of her work and its results seem so modest. But I was struck by a sense of emptiness at the heart of this piece--a sense of collapse at the core of everything that leaves a tenuous, shaky surface. There are so many uninhabited spaces. Where is everybody? Even the sentinels abruptly abandon their posts at the end. There is no proposal of transcendance.

And Ellsworth? That's her in the corner, choosing her religion, which she calls The Institute for Potential Religious Artifacts, Beliefs and Procedures. You can find out all--and I do mean all--about this "cult of one" at tifprabap.org. But you'll have more fun if you go see Ellsworth live, riding her ingenious saddle-pew and singing her hymn to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme. She is clearly--by evidence of this intricate, involved and, yes, ambitious piece--The Hardest-Working Woman in Comedic Dance. In fact, I hope DTW (or someone) will be inspired to start a dance comedy series. Let's see who's really funny when the meager stuff that dance hipsters readily titter at go up against productions by the likes of Ellsworth.

Go tonight or tomorrow at 7:30pm, DTW.

A Father of Chaos Theory Dies at 90

Edward N. Lorenz, a Meteorologist and a Father of Chaos Theory, Dies at 90
by Kenneth Chang, The New York Times, April 17, 2008

Arts-in-Education coordinator sought by Dancing in the Streets

Part-time, temporary position beginning immediately through June 2008

Job description

• Schedule, coordinate, oversee, and evaluate two 3-week dance residencies at PS/MS 27 in Red Hook, Brooklyn
• Work with the teaching artist to ensure that the curriculum meets the Department of Education Blueprint for DanceServe as liaison between Dancing in the Streets, the teaching artist, and the school
• Attend 4 – 5 residency sessions and the final performance on June 14, 2008
• Write a final report after the conclusion of the residencies
  

The residencies

From May 27–June 14, 2008, teaching artist Adia Whitaker (Artistic Director of Ase Dance Theatre Collective) and ASE’s percussionist, Sekou Alájé will conduct two 3-week intensive dance residencies—for 5th & 6th grades—at PS/MS 27 in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Both residencies will culminate in a public performance by the students on June 14, 2008, at the Hip Hop Generation Next community wide block party in Red Hook’s Coffey Park, which will include performances by professional dance companies.

Qualifications

Dance teaching and supervisory experience; and strong organizational and interpersonal skills. Experience working with public schools a plus.

Hours

The position begins immediately and requires approximately 70 hours of work. Flexible hours for the most part, except for attendance at the residencies during school hours once or twice a week between Mary 27 and June 13; and attendance at the final performance on Saturday, June 14.

Fee

Commiserate with experience

Apply by cover letter and resume to Aviva Davidson at adavidson@dancinginthestreets.org. (Please write Arts Education Coordinator on Subject Line). Or fax to 212-625-3510.

The Turning World (36)

Nobel Laureate Refuses Olympic Torch
NPR, April 14, 2008

Barton quintet does the Duo

From the Good-Things-in-Little-Packages Department:

Aszure Barton's Aszure & Artists company has concluded its three-day run of A Traveling Show on the tiny stage of the Duo Theatre on East 4th Street. Size-wise, this is a small work, as Barton pieces go--involving just five dancers--but its hour is tightly packed with intense movement, intimations of drama, and all the twisted quirks and beautiful flamboyance one has come to expect from this choreographer. It's also a lot of fun, not only for its headlong celebration of entertainment and entertainers but also for the intrigue of its strangeness and the sometimes gnarly interactions it depicts. The performers--Cherice Barton, William Briscoe, James Gregg, Banning Roberts and Ian Robinson--work remarkably hard, and their bright, individual talents are highlighted throughout.

Even nicer than getting this chance to see something fresh from the celebrated A&A was getting the news that Duo Theatre's artistic director, Michelangelo Alasá, intends to follow up with regular dance performances in this space. The East Village is home to significant dance spaces, including La MaMa--Duo's neighbor up the street--P.S. 122 and Danspace Project. Now and again, Duo's other neighbor, WOW Cafe, presents dance work by women choreographers. But dance needs new spaces, and it will be delightful to welcome another series to this neighborhood. Perhaps some of these institutions will collaborate with Alasa. Ideally, besides opportunities for small troupes and new folks, I'd like to see some major companies try out very different, very small things in small, intimate spaces!

For more information on Duo Theatre, part of DMAC--Duo Multicultural Arts Center--click
here, or write to duotheatre@gmail.com.

The Turning World (35)

The Relay of Fire Ignited by the Nazis
by Edward Rothstein, The New York Times, April 14, 2008

Bill T. Jones project for Harlem needs your support

Please take some time to read this important alert from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Sign the petition (even if you do not live in Harlem, but especially if you do), and send it on to many members of the dance community so we can stand together in support of Bill and his exciting plans. Time is of the essence. The petition must be delivered by this Wednesday, April 16.

**************

The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company has plans to build a cultural center on 125th Street in Harlem and needs your support. If you live in District 9, please sign the petition. District 9 voices are especially important. If you have family and friends in Central Harlem, please forward this to them.

The facility will include rehearsal space at subsidized rates for other artists, arts and community organizations; will provide affordable classes for all ages; will offer public programs; and will serve as a crucial home for the company to create new works and nurture future generations of artists.

To sign the petition, click here.

Get your friends to sign the petition, especially if they live in Harlem.

We need to deliver this petition by tomorrow. We need 1,000 signatures, and especially signatures from residents of Harlem.

Thank you for your time and your help.

www.billtjones.org

Where the heart is

I can only imagine what it must mean for Alex Escalante to present a work like Clandestino in the presence of two families who cherish him--his biological kin and his artistic kin from New York's dance world. The hour-long work--presented through tonight by Danspace Project--is inspired by his parent's Mexican heritage and personal and public policy issues related to the immigration of undocumented workers. That sounds like a lot to swallow, but not to worry: Escalante has blended in just enough personal and political (and aesthetic) elements to encourage us to empathize and to think.

With the help of Joe Levasseur--the lighting phenom who also co-designed Escalante's set--he tranforms the sanctuary of St. Mark's Church into a place of interrogation as well as celebration with high-spirited social dancing amid increasingly provocative interaction with the audience. Escalante cavorts with the rambuntious, sexy team of Reneé Archibald, Pedro Osorio and Sandy Tillet, and I could have watched them dance all night. I also wished for a longer listen to the live music by Los Inmigrantes del Sur--Ausencio Cesario Garcia, Javier Francisco Dorantes Davila and Joel Vasquez Jeronimo.

Clandestino closes tonight. Due to the configuration of the audience, space is very limited, but try to get in. And don't forget to wear your dancing shoes!

Reservations: 212-674-8194
Danspace Project information

And if you missed my Body and Soul interview with Alex, here it is!

"Big" news

Some nice--and smart--work by a Times critic having lots of fun...

When Ballet Plays Footsie with Hip-Hop
by Rosyln Sulcas, The New York Times, April 12, 2008

Franganillo's free tango class at NYOC

This coming Monday, the New York Open Center will offer a free Introduction to Argentine Tango, taught by Mariela Franganillo of the Broadway production of Forever Tango:

A gifted teacher who has given workshops across the U.S., Canada and Japan, Mariela Franganillo is known for being the first to begin a tango practica (an extensive tango instructional program) in NYC. She brings a fresh enthusiasm for tango that is melded with polished skills, years of experience and a legacy that stretches back to the golden era of tango.

In a safe, noncompetitive atmosphere, we will be taught how to properly connect to our partners, to the music and others around us. We will learn to lead, follow and walk. By the end of the class, we will be able to dance the powerful and sensual Argentine Tango.

Note

For beginners and experienced dancers. No dance experience is required. Leading and following open to both sexes. Bring comfortable clothes and shoes in which you can easily slide and turn.

Monday, April 14 (6pm)
Code: 08WSL09T
FREE

Weekly class begins the following week:
(5 sessions) Mondays, April 21–May 19 (6pm–7:15pm)
Code: 08WSL09T
NYOC Members: $80 / Nonmembers: $90

Mariela Franganillo, born and raised in Argentina, is a dancer, choreographer and producer, has taught at Stanford and now resides in NYC. She has performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and is currently on Broadway in Forever Tango.

Dance Magazine update

Dance Magazine's April online issue includes my reviews of Stephen Petronio Company (The Joyce Theater) and Victoria Marks (Danspace Project). Click here for the current reviews. In the print copy of the issue, you'll find my review of Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People (Dance Theater Workshop) as well as my cover story on Aszure Barton.

And check out DM's mini-interviews with ten women choreographers here.

Love letter to Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig

Dear dandelion-heads,

You are my inspiration. When I look at your work, I see the dual nature of dance as pure essence and complex storytelling. I see your heart in everything you share with us--especially in your respect for the flood survivors of New Orleans. I'm tickled by the way you're making dances that are adjustable over time and responsive to space and showing them to us as they shift and change. I like to think of the two of you going on forever, in one form or another, making dances that adjust as you adjust. That would be heaven.

Oh! And you really have the coolest costumes!

PEARSONWIDRIG DANCETHEATER--presenting Partners Who Touch, Partners Who Don't Touch (excerpt 1988); Unmoored (Katrina, Katrina: Love Letters to New Orleans) (excerpt, 2006, New York premiere); and Sayonara, Dear (work in progress), this evening and tomorrow evening at Symphony Space.

Can't get enough dance reviews?

Hard to believe that New York City just doesn't have enough dance critics...ahem...but if you can't get your fill of reviews, or you think you might like to try your hand at critiquing shows, then sign up at DanceEnthusiast.com, click on the Reviews link, and let the world know what you're thinking about what you're seeing!

Art in the loo

At the Modern, Art in a New York Minute
by Randy Kennedy, The New York Times, April 11, 2008

The Turning World (34)

From the "You go, girl!" file:
Carrying the Olympic Torch, and Protesting It, Too
by John Eligon, The New York Times, April 11, 2008

Arts-in-Education internships with Dancing in the Streets

DANCING IN THE STREETS seeks an arts-in-education intern (May and June 2008).

Assist teaching artist in the classroom during two 3-week dance residencies at PS/MS 27 in Red Hook, Brooklyn

• Prepare the classroom before and after the session
• Make daily arrangements with the school to facilitate the sessions
• Create written program for student performances, which will include students’ writings.
• Assist Dancing in the Streets staff in preparation for Hip Hop Generation Next Block

The residencies

From May 27-June 14, 2008, teaching artist Adia Whitaker (Artistic Director of Ase Dance Theatre Collective) and ASE’s percussionist, Sekou Alájé will conduct two 3-week intensive dance residencies—for 5th and 6th grades—at PS/MS 27 in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Both residencies will culminate in a public performance by the students on June 14, 2008, at the Hip Hop Generation Next community wide block party in Red Hook’s Coffey Park, which will include performances by professional dance companies.

Qualifications

Experience in dance and/or in working with children. Strong organizational and interpersonal skills.

Hours

Full time internship. Time will be divided between the school and Dancing in the Streets’ office in midtown Manhattan.

Fee

$1,000

To apply, send cover letter and resume to Aviva Davidson at adavidson@dancinginthestreets.org. Please write Arts Education Coordinator on Subject Line.

Or fax: 212-625-3510.

Aviva Davidson
Executive and Artistic Director
Dancing in the Streets

Frank talk about race in theater

Mainstream Remix, American Theatre magazine's "Currents" feature--a panel of theater professionals talking casting, training and presenting actors and works of color--is well worth your time. Daniel Banks--director, choreographer and a full-time faculty member of the Department of Undergraduate Drama, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University--was one of the participants. It's not available online, unfortunately, but you'll find it in this month's print issue.

New contact instructions

Please see my new contact instructions on the right side of this page--below the archives list and kitty photo. Thanks!

Regina Nejman: Body and Soul podcast

Brazil-born/New York-based Regina Nejman will bring "Reveal" to the Merce Cunningham Studio, May 1-4. This new dance-theater piece explores the meaning of privacy in today's technology-driven world, delving into the relationship between privacy and technology, and the impact of this relationship on everyday life.

BIO

Regina Nejman has been creating her own choreography since 1993. She formed Regina Nejman and Company in 1997. Recipient of the Outstanding Choreography Award at the 2005 New York International Fringe Festival for the premiere of "The Velocity of Things," Regina and her company have been steadily touring Brazil for the past two years, where the company has been received with standing ovations. Regina is a 2007/08 Artist in Residence at Joyce SoHo and has been awarded a Dance Theater Workshop Outer/Space residency for next summer. She has received commissions from Princeton University, The Yard and The New Jersey City University, and her work has been presented at Jacob's Pilow Dance Festival, Symphony Space, Joyce SoHo, The New York Film Academy, The New York International Fringe Festival, Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project and Merce Cunningham Studio.

EVENTS

Visit an open rehearsal of "Reveal" with Regina Nejman and Dancers on Friday Apr 18 (12–2pm) at Joyce SoHo. Regina invites audience feedback and will dialogue with the audience on the issue of privacy. Free admission with reservation at 646-792-8377.

See "Reveal" at Merce Cunningham Studio, 55 Bethune Street (11th Floor), Manhattan, May 1-2 (9pm), May 3-4 (8pm). Information and reservations at 212-714-9116.

Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.

(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

This material may not be reproduced in any way, either in part or in its entirety, without the expressed written permission of Eva Yaa Asantewaa.

MP3 File

Meet "Hugo"

I strongly recommend Chris Yon's new work--Hugo--running now through Saturday evening at Dance Theater Workshop--if miraculous performances are the sort of thing you like. And, if not, go there anyway. You might end up smiling in satisfaction despite yourself, enchanted by the surprising cohesiveness and coherence of Yon's fragmented movement suite in which "untranslatable and unattachable" nonsequitors subliminally whisper a story that will leave you defenseless. And there's the wonder of dancers Jeff Larson and Taryn Griggs--a kind of arcane, avantgarde Astaire-Rogers, deployed and tightly coordinated by the wildly- imaginative Yon. These two--especially Griggs, a queenly girl-next-door with breathtaking precision of control--will surely hold you enthralled through all 60 minutes (including David Bagnall's unusually lengthy but wonderful opening video). The textures and surprises in the soundscape (designed by Justin Jones, arranged by Yon) are also all-the-way magickal. The soundscape is spacious, capacious and will swallow you up. Surprises and delights continue through to the very end. Yon's other essential collaborators include Karinne Keithley and Nicky Paraiso, in a special musical segment, and lighting designer Chloë Z Brown. I badly needed a shot in the arm--dance-wise, that is--and Hugo gave it to me.

Visit Yon's site for more information and Hugo resources, and DTW's site for schedule and ticket information. And do go!

Proposal for arts center at transit hub

Proposal Would Relocate Arts Center to Transit Hub
by Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times, April 10, 2008

Is dance irrelevant?

Whew! What a way to start the morning! If you'd like to join my rant on Dance Theater Workshop's blog, go here.

The New York metro-area belly dance

Body and Soul interviewee Sandra Catena, author of The African Belly Dance, has a new batch of events coming up very soon:

Saturday, April 12 (1pm-3pm): Everything You Need to Know About Beginner Belly Dance ($40). Workshop focuses on posture, breath and movement, head-to-hip isolations. All teachings of the day are combined into sexy beginner choreography. Location: Yamuna, 132 Perry Street, Manhattan. To register: 212-633-2143

Saturday, April 19 (3pm-4pm): Free Beginner Belly Dance Class at Five Corners Library, 678 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ. For directions or more information, call 201-547-4543.

Wednesday, April 23 (8pm-10:30pm). Class + performance ($10 cover). Sandra will be teaching a free belly dance class from 8pm-8:15pm then performing to the live music of Djam at Je'Bon, 15 St. Mark's Place, East Village. Sandra's dancers--Vanessa, Belinda, Sherri and Lucy-- will also perform solos, and there will be additional dance performances.

Saturday, May 17 (two shows: 4pm and 6pm) Spring Belly Dance, Sandra's 29th belly dance production, includes ten solo performers and Sandra's grand finale. All tickets are $20 and will go on sale next week. Both performances will be held at Yamuna, 132 Perry Street, Manhattan.

Contact information for reservations: here

Sandra's interview: here

Internships for Critical Correspondence

Critical Correspondence is looking for a person or two to help with content, administrative and technical tasks through Movement Research's internship program. Starting immediately, the position will entail a minimum of 10 hours/week (flexible, with a preference for Tuesday mornings) and will run through the summer and possibly beyond. A candidate for this position should be interested in dance discourse, be familiar with web-based publications and have knowledge of website maintenance and related softwares, including video, image and sound. The intern will work closely with CC Editors, Levi Gonzalez and Alejandra Martorell, in the development and production of content, maintenance of the site and research. If you are interested, please send a cover letter and resume to cc@movementreserach.org. Internships with Movement Research offer access to classes and some workshops free of charge.

Thank you for your consideration and please feel free to distribute this information.

What would Isadora do?

Lori Belilove gives us some ideas in this Dance Magazine interview by Joy Held, published in last month's issue and posted on the Web site of The Isadora Duncan Dance Company.

Congratulations!

It might--or might not--be evident to readers of this blog, but I am a big romantic. I was surprised to learn, some time back, that a few of my friends and colleagues share my guilty pleasure of reading the Wedding/Celebrations pages each Sunday in the New York Times!

It's great fun when, on occasion, I find announcements about people I've actually heard of--as in today's Vows column, which features a multi-talented performer well known in the dance field.
Enjoy!

Vows: Francesca Harper and Eric Cohen
by Eric V. Copage, The New York Times, April 6, 2008

Francesca Harper's brand new show--MODO FUSION: Truth For Sale--continues its run at Harlem Stage this coming Friday and next Sunday. Click here for more information.

Latsky shares her progress

Last Thursday evening, I caught up with dancer-choreographer Heidi Latsky and her work-in-progress--Gimp--at an informal, invitation-only showing at Henry Street Settlement: Abrons Arts Center, where her company is now in residency. Months ago, I'd watched her working on an intriguing duet with dancers Jeffrey Freeze (aka Freeze) and Lawrence Carter-Long. Little did I know how much Latsky and her dancers had interwoven and structured in the intervening time!

I was delighted to find that Lisa Bufano--an interdisciplinary performance artist who is a finger and lower leg amputee--had joined Latsky's team of artists who include some performers with visible, physical disabilities. Bufano had danced Five Open Mouths, a solo created for her by Latsky, which premiered, to much acclaim, at Judson Church in winter 2007. Now, a section of that solo, set to Cyndi Lauper's version of "La Vie en Rose" has been folded into Gimp, where it remains deeply affecting. [See a video of the Kennedy Center version here.] Other members of the troupe include Christina Briggs, Catherine Long, and Lezlie Frye, a spoken-word artist who says she had no prior dance training but is one of the most sensational movers I've seen in a long time.

gimp (gimp)

1. a ribbonlike, braided fabric
2. fighting spirit; vigor
3. a lame person
4. slang a halting, lame walk
5. To turn, vacillate, tremble ecstatically
6. a new, cutting edge dance event

[definitions supplied by Heidi Latsky]

Watching dancers with visible, physical disabilities makes me wonder about the many choices and intricate adjustments their bodies make in order to negotiate choreography's demands. If you have a symmetrical body, you probably have certain habits in how you work with your weight, balance, momentum in turns and so forth. How are those patterns altered when the body is asymmetrical and when motion and balance must be achieved in atypical ways? Can those alterations produce revealing, exciting results that push the aesthetic envelope? I think so. Dancers with disabilities are helping Latsky find striking new ways of relating to the body and investigating and creating movement.

Another free, informal showing, followed by refreshments and audience feedback time, is planned for Saturday, April 26 (7:30pm) at Henry Street Settlement: Abrons Arts Center. Space is very limited. If you'd like to attend, please RSVP to Heidi Latsky (917-929-6985 or hlatskydance@aol.com) or Jay Wegman (212-598-0400 x220 or jwegman@henrystreet.org).

“This work is new, exciting and immensely pleasurable.” -- Simi Linton, Disability Culture Watch

Wayne Frost, break dance pioneer, 44

Wayne Frost, Pioneering Break Dancer, Dies at 44
by Julie Bloom, The New York Times, April 4, 2008

Re-educate your body with Barbara Mahler

BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange announces:

Re-Education of the Body: A Klein-Mahler Technique Workshop

(for dancers and non-dancers)

Taught by Barbara Mahler
Tuesdays, May 6 – June 10, 7pm-9pm
Tuition: $100 for six weeks | $20 per drop-in
Financial assistance available

To register, call 718-832-0018

CELEBRATING 16 YEARS OF ARTS AND ARTISTS IN PROGRESS

Mahler, a noted teacher, views dance training as a voyage of self-discovery. Barbara Mahler roots her choreography in distillation, as if she aims to extract the essence of her ideas, making them calmer and purer. -VILLAGE VOICE, 2007

This class is a dance/movement technique that works from the premise that the requirements of movement in daily life and dance are basically the same. It provides the underpinnings to support all styles of dance technique and improvisation. The purpose of the work/class is to re-educate one's body with an interweaving of theory and practice on a physical and organic level. The result is clarity and sureness of movement, and a new level of understanding the innate intelligence of the body. A body of work, it is also a way for dancers to be treated, respected and to be seen as individuals. The main thrust of the work is for dancers to find their own essence, their own identity and integrity and take that into movement.

The workshop works at the level of the bone, not the traditional level of the muscles. It’s based on the concept that in order to move most efficiently it is necessary to let go of the muscles that hold one back from moving and fix the body into a set and locked configuration. When the bones are aligned we become connected, powerful and strong. The body becomes efficient and alive. The class is open to all levels, dancers and non-dancers alike.

Barbara Mahler has taught daily classes for 27 years plus, educating and teaching (with, and continually inspired by, Susan Klein) a generation of dancers. She is s a widely respected dance teacher and choreographer, very active in the development of contemporary dance technique. Essentially self-taught, she brings to her classes the perspective, understanding and experience of working on her own movement re-education. Barbara was a Movement Research artist in residence for the 2000-01 season, is for the 2006-08 season, is an adjunct faculty at Hunter College, NYC, on the artist advisory board of BAX, and a recent MFA graduate from UWM. Barbara also maintains a private practice in Zero Balancing and other hands on healing modalities.

BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange is a multifaceted performing arts center offering an annual presenting season, artist services, and educational programs for youth and adults. For more info, call (718) 832-0018 or click here.

BAX is located at 421 5th Ave. at 8th St. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Take the F train to Fourth Avenue or the R train to 9th Street.

Prospective InfiniteBody mascot pair!

I'm in tears!

(Be sure to watch this to the very end!)

Yes, they can!

It's thrilling to listen to these inspired, empowered students from The High School of Performance and Stagecraft (South Bronx). Enjoy!

"Setting Your Fees" workshop at The Field

What is your artistic fee and how do you get it?

Setting Your Fees with booking guru Jodi Kaplan

How do you respond when you finally get the call you've been waiting for: "We really love your work and would like to see it in our theater. What's your fee structure?" Don't wait until you are in the hot seat! Find out everything you need to know about money and touring now: what theaters pay, what other companies get, and how to negotiate for what you need.

Monday, April 7 (6:30-9pm)
FEE: $35/$25 Field-Members

Sign up here.

Reinhart and Burchfield on modern dance in China

Here's the podcast of yesterday's Leonard Lopate show (WNYC) with an interview with Charles Reinhart, the director of the American Dance Festival, and Donna Faye Burchfield, the head of the ADF school, about the role of modern dance in cultural exchange with China.

The worst film discos

Catch of the day: the worst film discos
from Guardian Unlimited: Arts blog: film, March 28, 2008

Film critics "endangered species," too

Now on the Endangered Species List: Movie Critics in Print
by David Carr, The New York Times, April 1, 2008

Times reports on Jowitt and Lee firings

Firings at the Voice
by Claudia La Rocco, The New York Times, March 29, 2008