Volunteer with Wendy Osserman Dance Company

Wendy Osserman Dance Company requests a volunteer to assist with promotion and all aspects of the production of her new Gertrude Stein piece, more is more is more is less, May 21-24, presented in association with the Joyce SoHo. The volunteer would be needed one or two half-days per week.

Osserman's project includes four dancers and Czech singer/violinist/composer, Iva Bittová. Songs are composed and played live by Bittová, inspired by Gertrude Stein whose writing continues to sound avant garde. Osserman, the dancers and Bittová explore how that can be: they trade identities, avoid narrative and recall paintings by Stein's friends Picasso and Matisse.

Osserman's choreography for last year's collaboration with Bittová was described as "provocative precisely because it feels like a new amalgam of some indefinible kind." NEW YORK TIMES, 3/29/08.

Contact Wendy Osserman at wodanceco@aol.com.

*****
For instructions on how to submit your own request for arts volunteers, please click here.

Parr's "Everybody Dance Now"

British photographer Martin Parr's large-format paperback of shots of folks dancing--Everybody Dance Now (editions2wice, 2009)--comes wrapped in a dazzling foil rainbow. It's that kind of book: brash and dizzying photos of party people, from around the globe and in a variety of informal and formal settings (with the interesting omission of street dance), doing their thing.

At first glance, the practical Virgo in me thought, "Okay, what's the need for this?" But the more I flipped through it--the best way to take it in--the more I found myself getting into the spirit of the thing.

In their introductory note, editor Patsy Tarr and graphic designer Abbott Miller contest that "dancing allows people to simultaneously become truer to who they really are, but also to try on an exaggerated version of themselves: cooler, hotter, groovier, sexier." But, as I see it, that "exaggerated version" is actually a strong aspect of the truer self. Social dancing helps us strip off the masks and shields that hide us from others and blind us to ourselves as well.

There are some shots of self-conscious and highly-stylized ballroom dancers in action or waiting their turn, and a few glimpses of Highland dancers at the ready but, by and large, this book attends to dance in its sweatier, goofier and often booze-propelled forms. Parr documents release of human energy, the human spirit at play.

2wice Arts Foundation is the publisher of rather glamourous dance books--False Start: Jonah Bokaer and Green World: Merce Cunningham, among other quality "performances-in-print." You can find out more about these and Parr's Everybody Dance Now at 2wice's site and place orders there or through Amazon.com.

And, while you're at it, don't forget dance!

Psst! Spend Your Regards to Broadway
by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, January 30, 2009

Brian Rogers: Body and Soul podcast

Brian Rogers talks about The Chocolate Factory--an influential multidisciplinary arts space and gallery in Long Island City, Queens--and about his new full-evening work redevelop (death valley).

Brian Rogers, a graduate of Bennington College, is the co-founder and Artistic Director of The Chocolate Factory Theater. His works for the company include 2 Husbands (2007), a collaboration with playwright Ken Urban; GUN PLAY (2006); and AUDIT (2004). Brian curates The Chocolate Factory's Visiting Artist Program and has collaborated as a sound, video and performance artist on numerous projects. He is also Director of Operations for Dance Theater Workshop and curator of the newly-renovated cabaret space at Queens Theatre in the Park.

See redevelop (death valley) on Thursday-Saturday, February 12-28 and Monday, February 24, all at 8pm.

Directions and further information

Ticketing or at 212-352-3101

(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

MP3 File

The dance underground

Subway Break Dancers - Making Money Foot Over Hand
by J. David Goodman, The New York Times, January 28, 2009

Against the grain

My job as an artist isn’t to satisfy the public. That’s not what I do. I don’t necessarily make people happy. I think the job of an artist is to go against the grain of dominant culture, to challenge perception, prejudice, and convention. A big flaw in some public art schemes is that they seem to be about trying to find an artist who’s going to please everyone. That’s not interesting to me. I think it’s really important that artists have an agitational function in culture. No one else seems to.

Mark Dion, Neukom Vivarium
Art in the 21st Century, PBS

Eva's Book Club

Dance folks, what are you reading?

Latest on my nightstand:

Spiral Jetta: A Road Trip through the Land Art of the American West by Erin Hogan (The University of Chicago Press, 2008)

This is an engaging, personal account of a drive through several western states in search of famous earthworks such as Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty and Walter De Maria's Lightning Field.

Use the Comments feature to tell us what you're reading!

Not putting the best foot forward

In Lots of Animal Art, Wrong Foot Is Forward
by Henry Fountain, The New York Times, January 26, 2009

Emotional intelligence? Dance shows the way

Dancing Á La Mode: Emotional Intelligence in Dance and Business
by Meghan, Dancing A La Mode, January 28, 2009

Film Society salutes Ailey and DTH

As part of its Black History Month 2009 celebration, Lincoln Center will honor the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Dance Theatre of Harlem through the following special programs:

February 1: Alvin Ailey Day

Presented by Film Society of Lincoln Center, an all-day showcase celebrating AAADT's 50th Anniversary will include four rare film programs featuring works by Ailey, Ulysses Dove, Bill T. Jones and other noted choreographers, with performances by Judith Jamison, Carmen de Lavallade, Anna Deavere Smith, George Faison, Gladys Knight and more. A free poster exhibit will be on display in the Walter Reade's Furman Gallery throughout February.

Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th Street
Click here for film ticket information or call 212-875-5601.

February 11-May 19: Dance Theater of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts

Multimedia exhibition of photographs, costumes, posters and films of performances. This exhibition will travel to museums and arts centers across the country. Vincent Astor Gallery.

February 12: Inspired by A Dream: The Dance Theatre of Harlem Story

Free panel discussion moderated by former New York Times dance critic Anna Kisselgoff. Bruno Walter Auditorium. 5:30pm.

Bridge the Gap with Dance/NYC

Dance/NYC’s next panel and town hall discussion--Bridging the Generational Gap--will be held on Monday, February 2 from 5:30-7:30pm at Joyce SoHo (155 Mercer Street, between Prince and Houston streets).

Robert Dorf, Managing Director of Susan Marshall & Company, will moderate this exploration of the challenges and learning experiences of working across generations as artists and administrators in the dance industry.

Panelists include members of the New York dance community, representing varying views from the young to the seasoned:

Carolyn Adams: Former Dancer, Paul Taylor Dance Company; Professor, The Juilliard School; Founder, American Dance Legacy Institute and Founding Artistic Director, NYSSSA School of Dance program

Tim Cynova: Managing Director, Misnomer Dance Theater

Lauren Gibbs: Development Officer, Ballet Hispanico; Consultant, Monica Bill Barnes & Co. and Shannon Hummel Cora Dance

Laura Glenn: Former Dancer, Limon Dance Company, Professor, The Juilliard School, Administrator and Dance Faculty, White Mountain Summer Dance Program and Laura Glenn Dance

Risa Jaraslow: Artistic Director, Risa Jaraslow and Dancers

Iquail Shaheed: Founder and Artistic Director, DANCE IQUAIL!

Paul Singh: Dancer, Risa Jaraslow and Dancers

Please support our efforts by attending this event, joining in the conversation, and showing your commitment in the future of dance by bring this issue to a wider audience. I look forward to welcoming you next week as we address this very pertinent issue in the field.

Please RSVP through our Web site or call the office directly at 212-966-5542 for more information.

Lacey Althouse
Administrator/Development Associate
Dance/NYC

Ortiz on "Pointe"

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Pointe" Editor-in-Chief Virginia Johnson and Reviews Editor Robert Johnson laid off at McFadden Media
by Lori Ortiz, ExploreDance.com, January 26, 2009

And see this post.

Volunteer with Catherine Gallant

Catherine Gallant/DANCE, Dances by Isadora seeks volunteers for an upcoming performance at the 92nd Street Y on Sunday, February 8 (3 pm).

We need someone to act as our "stage manager" and another person to be near a fixed position video camera throughout the program. Stage manager volunteer would need to be available on Saturday, February 7 from 2-5 pm and Sunday, February 8 from 1-6pm.

Please contact Catherine at catdance34@hotmail.com.

Visit our Web site for more information.

*****
For instructions on how to submit your own request for arts volunteers, please click here.

Dancer-in-Chief

An oldie but goodie! Enjoy!

Update: Pink Empowerment Day

The following post has been updated with new program information:

Color it pink: a day for women's wellness

Exploring the critic's role

Merilyn Jackson, dance critic, to present paper at Venice Biennale arts conference
The Dance Journal, January 22, 2009

This announcement has already catalyzed a cheeky, caustic, critical response from trailerpilot, who's basically tired of the topic.

I'm a little tired of the topic, too, since I think that the significance of singular, imposing critical voices--across the board, not just in dance--is obviously a thing of the past. We're buffeted by a sea of voices, freed by technology and more empowered than ever to inform ourselves, and the consuming public no longer shows much interest in navigating by the North Star of any particular authority. We have choices aplenty!

Is this loosening up a good thing or a problem? Well, I still seek out my personal North Star writers on politics, science, spirit and the arts, but I notice that those arts--sorry to say--no longer include the art of dance.

At the same time, I have personally never encountered so many "civilians" fervently willing to share their opinions on dance. Where are the people who--it seems like yesterday--would clam up for virtue of not knowing where to start or what the right thing to say might be when talking to a professional dance writer? They have been replaced by iPod-people who think nothing of openly disagreeing with you to your face! Hooray!

Yes, this might be a good thing. More people are thinking hard about dance and feeling entitled to air their views. But it also suggests that the heyday of the critic who thinks of himself or herself as the learned arbiter of taste--I wanted to write "as the shit"--is over. Sure, knock yourself out. But who gives a damn? There are billions of viewpoints out there.

Add that to the death by a thousand cuts to staff and freelance dance writing positions, and it's really over. Bye-bye.

Or you can get a blog and hang out here with the cool kids. Jump right in. The water's fine.

Volunteer with Changing Times Tap Dancing Co.

Changing Times Tap Dancing Co., Inc.

Learning and filing tap history in personal archives of Jane Goldberg; archival work and preserving the history of tap dancing

Helping Jane get on YouTube

Think-tanking about how to sell her newly-published book, Shoot Me While I'm Happy: Memories from the Tap Goddess of the Lower East Side

Some computer work; cleaning up computer (Mac)

Learning about living the tap life

Click here to contact Jane Goldberg.

*****
For instructions on how to submit your own request for arts volunteers, please click here.

Two beauties at Danspace

With Walk It Once, Tara O'Con (recently interviewed on Body and Soul) aspires to nothing short of the revelation of the body's experience, unfiltered by conventional understanding and utility. Valiant Jodi Bender and Carly Pansulla--later joined by O'Con--move in glacial and melty contortions, their faces hidden. Lighting wiz Kathy Kaufmann sculpts it all with a sensitive glow, and composer Jason Sebastian's looping sound design grows richer, more delicious over time.

Spare white framing and a rectangular patch of plastic lawn suggest suburban space in Standard Gravity, part 2b by Living Laboratory/Enrico D. Wey, an ensemble sharing the evening with O'Con's trio. Enrico D. Wey's offbeat and pitch-perfect performers arrange themselves within imagined horizontal, vertical and psychic layers of St. Mark's sanctuary in such a cool, detached way that the viewer dare not even breathe too deeply for fear of creating a disturbance.

These two challenging, rewarding and handsome works continue at Danspace Project tonight and tomorrow, Saturday, at 8:30pm. Click here for information and ticketing or call 866-811-4111.

Volunteer with New Dance Alliance

Internship

New Dance Alliance needs a computer and internet-savvy intern to help with the 2009 Performance Mix Festival.

2 WEEKS | 4 LOCATIONS | 15 EVENTS
featuring experimental dance, music, video and multi-disciplined works
from all over the US, Canada and abroad.

“…smart, funny, and experimental work…” — Dance Magazine

Tasks:
Uploading and managing a silent auction on our website
Managing Facebook profile
Managing and updating our WordPress website

Other volunteers needed to help with the 2009 Performance Mix Festival:

Locations (where we need help): Joyce Soho, DTW and Foley Square (near City Hall,) Nili Lotan Design Studio

Festival Dates: February 24 to March 7

What we need:

Ushers
People to set-up and breakdown benefit and receptions
Artist and technician assistants
People to help with email outreach and online social networking

Click here for more info

Contact: jhockett@newdancealliance.org

*****
For instructions on how to submit your own request for arts volunteers, please click here.

Volunteer with Rachel Schroeder Moving Theater

INTERN–Cyber Presence and PR

Rachel Schroeder Moving Theater, a transdisciplinary, movement-theater company based in Corporeal Mime needs a web wiz to:

Help build and maintain website
Update social-networking profiles
Send e-newsletters
Link website, social-networking profiles and e-newsletters
Post video
Strategize new ways of using web 2.0 to build web presence

Requirements:

Proficiency with uploading info and building sites with templates
proficiency with social-networking sites
Mac literate
Web 2.0 savvy
Graphic design and layout skills a plus

To apply: Please send cover letter and resumé to: Raps72@aol.com

Click for more info on RSMT

INTERN-Rehearsal Assistant

Rachel Schroeder Moving Theater, a transdisciplinary, movement-theater company based in Corporeal Mime needs someone with dance / mime / dance-theater experience to:

Videotape rehearsals
Run sound
Step into rehearsals and play various roles to help choreographer build the show
Possibly some production assisting with props, costumes, video shoots, etc…

Requirements:

Must have dance, mime or movement-theater experience
Must be comfortable working simple A/V equipment
Be open and have a positive attitude
Must be available for most rehearsals: Currently 9 hours/wk

To apply: Please send cover letter and resumé to: Raps72@aol.com

Click for more info on RSMT

*****
For instructions on how to submit your own request for arts volunteers, please click here.

The Turning World (85)

In New York, Proposed Budget Shuts Out Zoos, Aquariums and Gardens
by Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times, January 22, 2009

Obama and Astaire: Separated at birth?

Who was that man really?
by Dave Ross, MyNorthwest.com, January 21, 2009

Topaz wants YOU!

Apply now for an opportunity to perform at TOPAZ ARTS:

TOPAZ ARTS collaborates with DanceNow/NYC in presenting a showcase for choreographers. This is a great way to share your work in a friendly and stress-free studio setting. For artists who have never been presented by DanceNOW, apply now for the chance to have your work seen and perform in the RAW Festival. Among five studios, TOPAZ ARTS will be presenting artists on Saturday, March 21st:

The RAW Festival
Five Studio Showcases
March 21 through April 12
Online Application Deadline: January 24, 2009

How To Apply: click here for more details. Online application

Volunteer with Jessica Danser/dansfolk

Jessica Danser/dansfolk is a non-profit contemporary dance company founded in 2005. Jessica Danser founded the company with the vision of creating work which is accessible and empowering to non-artists, particularly women and underserved populations, by utilizing abstract movement, text, and dance-theatre to express themes relevant to today’s society, and using individual experience as a microcosm of contemporary life.

JD/df will be presenting three full evening showcases in the Bronx: March 13 and 15 at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance-BAAD! and March 22 at Synthetic Zero Art Space. The theme of these evenings, entitled "The Opposite of War," is the physicality of protest and dance’s potential as a tool for nonviolent resistance.

Volunteer needs
(ongoing, with biggest crunch in the month of February)

Assisting with mailings (label sticking etc); posting online announcements on various websites; hanging flyers and distributing postacards in the Bronx and greater NYC area; ironing costumes; burning DVDs.

Computer research/design skills are an ongoing need but not necessary. Familiarity with the internet is a plus. Work can occur in my home office in the Bronx or electronically from the home of the volunteers in some instances. I would be happy to offer volunteers complimentary tickets to the shows.

Contact: our Myspace site or dansfolk@hotmail.com or 917-923-3126 (Jessica Danser, Artistic Director)

*****
For instructions on how to submit your own request for arts volunteers, please click here.

"Enoch's (Inauguration) Meditation" by Glasper Trio

Robert Glasper: The Inauguration Session : NPR Music

Mmmm. This is so lovely! Enjoy!

Boogie on over!

Barefoot Boogie invites you to "move, shake, dance, whirl, jump, play, twist, stretch, roll, groove, fly." Check out everything from tango to belly dance to laughter yoga at New York Insight Meditation Center, 28 West 27th Street (10th Floor), Manhattan. For a complete schedule and sliding scale fee information, visit Barefoot Boogie's site here.

Sigman thinks about a lesson from Obama

state of the art
by Jill Sigman, Dispatches from, January 21, 2009

Volunteer with BernierDance and Peace Action

BernierDance and Peace Action seek volunteers for their upcoming production--Artists for Peace  09--to assist with office work, sales, marketing, fundraising and grant writing.

For more information please visit BernierDance's Web site. Please contact us at bernierdance@aol.com, and tell us about your interests and skills.  Thank you! 

Lighting/Tech Person for AFP

BernierDance Seeks Lighting/Tech Person to donate their services for its upcoming Artists for Peace  09 production--Saturday, April 18, Crystal Theater Norwalk, CT and TBA, NYC.

Artists for Peace is an annual event jointly produced by BernierDance and the Stamford/Greenwich Chapter of Peace Action.  It is a collaborative performance donated by dancers, musicians, writers, actors and visual artists with the shared mission of raising funds and consciousness through an original performance event intended to enlighten, inform and inspire. Each year AFP chooses a non-profit working for Peace and social justice as a recipient of the funds.  This year's (Spring 2009) project will focus on micro loans and global economic justice and raise funds for KIVA.ORG. Commitment would be to coordinate and design and operate the audio and lighting needs these 2 performances.  For more info please visit BernierDance's Web site or call 203-554-4665.

*****
For instructions on how to submit your own request for arts volunteers, please click here.

Want to help? Just do it!

7 Online Things To Do To Help Obama Restore America
by Alex Iskold, ReadWriteWeb, January 19, 2009

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

More dance editors lose jobs

Dance journalist Lori Ortiz reports that Pointe magazine's highly-respected editor-in-chief Virginia Johnson and review editor and critic Robert Johnson have lost their positions, and that the publication will no longer run reviews.

Ortiz quotes Robert Johnson: "I believe that the powers that be have wanted to dump the reviews section for some time. Virginia was a big supporter of reviews, so it didn't happen on her watch."

I will post updates as I learn more.

The Big BAM Theory

Going Against the Economic Grain, Brooklyn Academy of Music Thinks Big
by Robin Pogrebin, The New York Times, January 19, 2009

"Tap" and its legacy

Tap Legacy Foundation, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the art of tap dance, celebrates the anniversary of its founding on Saturday, February 14, 2009 with a 20th Annviersary screening of the classic 1989 dance film, Tap, starring Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr., at the Directors Guild Theatre in NYC. The screening will be preceded by an announcement of the launch of the Foundation’s first Capital Campaign, and followed by a Champagne Reception for all ticket holders.

Gregory Hines co-founded Tap Legacy Foundation (TLF) which is dedicated to preserving and advancing the art of tap dance, in 2002 with Andrew J. Nemr. The Foundation champions the cultural contribution tap dancers have made over the years and presents programs developed to ensure that the art form continues to thrive.

February 14 has special significance to the Foundation. It is the 7th Anniversary of its founding, it is Gregory Hines’ birthday, and it is the 20th Anniversary of the opening of the film, Tap.

Tap, directed by Nick Castle, starred some of the world’s greatest living tap dancers of the time: Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis, Jr., Harold Nicholas, Sandman Sims, Bunny Briggs, Steve Condos, Jimmy Slyde, Arthur Duncan, Henry LeTang and a young Savion Glover. The film maintains a special place in tap dance history, signifying the success of the grass roots resurgence which began in the 1970's and the beginning of the new wave of tap dancers lead by Savion Glover.

The screening will be held on February 14 at 8pm at the Directors Guild Theatre, 110 W. 57th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues) at 8pm. Tickets are available by calling 212-279-4200 or through Ticket Central. Tickets are $25 and include the post-screening Champagne Reception. For more information, visit Tap Legacy Foundation.

How to watch the Inauguration online

Lifehacker's Guide to Catching the Inauguration from Anywhere
by Kevin Purdy, Lifehacker, January 18, 2009

So many people have asked me about this. So, I'm happy to post this roundup of online options for viewing the Inauguration. Have fun, folks!

Volunteer with SYREN Modern Dance

SYREN Modern Dance is looking for Board Members.

Do you live in the NYC area? Do you want to become involved with a group of diverse, fun, and driven individuals? Would you like to add service to a non-profit to your resume? Think about joining SYREN's Board of Directors. NO dance experience required.

We are looking for people who are interested in the arts (no need to be an artist by trade yourself) and interested serving on a non-profit Board.

SYREN's Board meetings are fun, vibrant, think-tank type meetings where the grass-roots of running a non-profit are explored. We have a great group, and are looking for a few more members.

Please send a short (informal is fine) letter of interest to info@syrendance.org.

We look forward to hearing from you!

*****
For instructions on how to submit your own request for arts volunteers, please click here.

Body language in acting

‘Benjamin Button’ - Who Is the Lead Actor?
Letter to the Editor from Linda R. Andrews (Chicago), The New York Times, January 18, 2009

Volunteers requested: jill sigman thinkdance

jill sigman/thinkdance asks questions through the medium of the body. Conceptual performance that grows out of physical experience, the work of choreographer Jill Sigman exists at the intersection of dance, theater, and visual installation. Jill sigman/thinkdance will soon premiere ZsaZsaLand, a darkly comic cultural commentary on decadence and decay, commercialism and cultural cannibalism.

jill sigman/thinkdance is gearing up for a month of performances and other activities in February at Office Ops in Bushwick, Brooklyn. We are seeking volunteers to help with our postcard mailing on Thursday and Friday Jan 22-23 (mailing party will take place on the Upper West Side); volunteers to help with postcard distribution any time from Jan 22-Jan 26; volunteers to help out at performances (Feb 6-8, 13-15, 20-22, arrive at 7pm, leave at 10pm).

We are also looking for office paper shreddings for our upcoming performance/installation. If you work in an office that shreds and can collect shredding, we would be very grateful!!!

When: Late January-February

Contact Jill Sigman at thinkdance@attglobal.net.
See our Web site for further information on the company and upcoming show.

*****
For instructions on how to submit your own request for arts volunteers, please click here.

MLK Day service to dance and all arts

President-elect Barack Obama is urging all Americans to get involved in ongoing volunteer service. Indeed, it will take many hands and hearts to collaborate in the work of getting our nation back on track.

For part of my own service, I'd like to use InfiniteBody blog to offer a way to connect potential arts-loving volunteers with dance and other arts organizations that could use their direct help, particularly in these challenging times.

Are you part of a dance organization (or another arts group, organization or initiative) that could use some volunteer help on Monday, January 19--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Day of Service--and beyond?

Send your request to my email address, if you already have it, or contact me here ASAP.

Requirements:

1. Send plain text only (no formatting/html); do not send snailmail.

2. Keep it concise--no more than 300 words.


Required format:

• Name of your organization and/or project

• Brief description of the nature of your ongoing work or special project
  

• Brief listing or description of your specific volunteer needs

• For MLK Day only (Monday, Jan. 19)? Or ongoing?

• Link back to contact information on your Web site (preferred) or name of person to contact and means of contact

Please take advantage of this opportunity to reach out to potential volunteers. Send a link to this blog entry to your colleagues.

For other MLK and ongoing volunteer projects, visit USA Service.

Thanks for your service!

Eva Yaa Asantewaa
InfiniteBody and Body and Soul
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com

Wyeth's world...and issues familiar to dance

The Debate Over Andrew Wyeth’s Art Continues
by Larry Rohter, The New York Times, January 16, 2009

Correction: 92nd St. Y box office number

In the original post containing my podcast interview with dancer-choreographer Valerie Green, I listed an incorrect number for the the 92nd Street Y's box office. I've corrected that post. However, to be on the safe side, I want to draw your attention to the correct number. It should be 212-415-5500.

Dance films town hall meeting tomorrow

Participate in Dance Films Association's Survey & Town Hall Meeting

A call for emerging choreographers

Solar One is currently accepting submissions for its Fifth Annual Solar Solar One Dance Series to take place over two weekends this summer, as part of the 2009 Green Energy Arts Festival. Emerging artists are strongly encouraged to submit materials for consideration by the festival selection panel.

DEADLINE: April 1, 2009

After last year's successful season, Solar One is pleased to announce its fifth annual Solar Powered Dance Series. Over the course of our 2008 series, hundreds of visitors and artists appreciated and enjoyed the richness of the arts experience at our unique solar-powered venue in Stuyvesant Cove Park, located on Manhattan's East River waterfront. This year, we will again provide a much-needed new venue for dance and produce an exciting line up of performances by emerging choreographers.

Solar One's 2009 Solar Powered Dance Series will be held over two weekends in Summer 2009 and will be divided into two three-day programs (Program A: July 23-25, Raindate July 26; Program B: July 30-August 1, Raindate August 2).

Performances will take place in the evening on our 20-foot by 24-foot outdoor eco-stage, made from recycled materials and overlooking the East River. (Please note that the stage design does not include curtains, wings or lighting equipment.) As with our 2008 festival, the sound system for the Solar Powered Dance Series will be powered entirely by energy collected by the solar-paneled roof of the Solar 1 building. Each soloist or group will perform three evenings and is expected to contribute pieces ranging anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes in length. Performances should be accessible to a general audience and appropriate for all age groups. Ten hours of free rehearsal time on stage will be allotted to each individual or group, and each choreographer will receive an honorarium.

In accordance with our energy philosophy, we would prefer that you send us electronic materials only, to the extent possible. Please provide a link to a video segment of your work, preferably the work you intend to present in the series, along with contact information and a brief bio. If a new work is being created especially for the series, please provide links to a completed work and to the work in progress and/or notes. Text may be attached as MS Word documents, and all electronic materials may be submitted online to tamar@solar1.org no later than April 1, 2009.

Those unable to provide electronic submissions should send in a complete piece of work, cued to a five-minute segment, on DVD or video, preferably the piece they intend to perform for the festival, along with contact information and a brief bio. If a new piece is being created especially for this series, send a completed work, and a DVD of the work in progress and/or notes. Please refrain from sending extra materials, including publicity materials and extraneous packaging.

Submissions may be delivered to Solar 1, located at East 23rd Street and the East River in Manhattan (10am - 5pm, Monday - Friday) by April 1, 2009. Submission materials, postmarked no later than March 28, 2009, may also be mailed to:

Solar One
2009 Solar Powered Dance Series
24-20 FDR Drive, Service Road East
New York, NY 10010

If you would like your materials returned to you, please include a self-addressed stamped mailer with submission. (Materials may also be picked up at Solar One during the second week of April.)

For additional information regarding this year's Solar Powered Dance Series and Solar One's summer arts programs, please visit our website or contact Artistic Director Tamar Rogoff at (212) 533-8589 or tamar@solar1.org.

Solar 1 is New York's only stand-alone, solar powered learning center. Through unique green energy, education and arts programming, Solar One has dedicated itself to inspiring New Yorkers to embrace energy-conscious and environmentally responsible lifestyles.

The Turning World (84)

Gay but Equal?
by Mary Frances Berry, The New York Times, January 15, 2009

"Ballerina"

Ballerina
film review by Nathan Lee, The New York Times, January 16, 2009

Palladium mambo legend Aguilar, 81

Pedro Aguilar, Inventive Mambo Dancer, Dies at 81
by William Grimes, The New York Times, January 16, 2009

Tough times: Dance/NYC wants to help

DANCE PARTNER DATABASE

Do you have the need for a PT administrator?
Has the economy caused you to reduce your staff hours?
Don't want to lose that valuable employee but can't keep them on full time?
Have you been laid off?
Have your hours reduced and are you looking for more work?
Interested in sharing a staff member?

Please send your company needs or resume to Dance/NYC. We are compiling a list of dance organizations and administrators in the hopes of bringing people together during these rough economic times. If you think this is something that would work for you or for your company, let us know. We will be working to match people and companies so that artists and administrators can continue to work, companies can get the help they need and together we can all work to get through this challenging time in our community! info@dancenyc.org

Valerie Green: Body and Soul podcast

Valerie Green joins me to talk about Green Space--her dance studio and performance space in Long Island City--and its many services to the artists, audiences and families of Queens, New York's most ethnically-diverse borough.

See Green perform her solo Underground at 92nd Street Y's free Fridays @ Noon program on January 23. Information here or at 212-415-5500.

Valerie Green bio and company information

Green Space Studio

(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

MP3 File

Flight of Yanaihara's "Blue Bird"

There's a thin line between zany and hysterical, and Witness Relocation--award-winning physical theater of multi-genre collage and excess--tramples that line with manic abandon in The Blue Bird, running now through January 24 at the Clemente Soto Velez Center. Inspired by Japanese anime, Maeterlinck and environmental science, The Blue Bird takes a sleepless look at the role of human progress in the decline of the natural world. A troupe would have to have exceptional control to present a work so verging on chaos, so stuffed with stuff and yet so powerfully capable of shaking and stunning an audience. The talented, skillful collaborators here range from playwright Mikuni Yanaihara to director/choreographer Dan Safer to the versatile cast of co-creators and guest stars. Consider this one an assignment. Go!

Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center (CSV)
107 Suffolk Street, Manhattan (between Rivington and Delancey Streets)

Information on Witness Relocation
Schedule and ticketing for The Blue Bird or call 212-868-4444

Dance comes to the inauguration...oh, wait!

Congress Debates Adding Elaborate Dance To Obama's Inauguration Ceremony

Give 'em a piece of your mind!

So you have some bright new ideas for the incoming administration in Washington? Take this new opportunity to let Obama's team know how government can assist the arts!

Citizen's Briefing Book

Dancers take "Center Stage"

While I have yet to catch up with its predecessor--Center Stage (2000)--I can attest that Center Stage: Turn It Up is a diverting, even potentially inspiring 95 minutes. Directed by feature film newcomer Steven Jacobson, it packs a lot of fun for young, prospective ballet dancers and audiences alike.

You gotta want it. You gotta stick with your dream when the going gets tough. This film is all about the way passion powers talent and turns what could be a perfectly adequate dancer into an unforgettable star on the rise.

The story follows gorgeous, small-town Kate (Rachele Smith), a hip hop powerhouse--she's a maniac, maniac!--who has somehow managed to teach herself ballet through video courses. She takes leave of her beer-drinking, dance-disapproving dad and journeys to New York to try out for the prestigious American Ballet Academy. Needless to say, the parallel paths of career and love are paved with maddening complications.

The opening scene of black and white youngsters street dancing in a parking lot didn't leave me with high hopes for originality. The predictability index here is quite high. But Kate and eye-candy heartthrob Tommy (Kenny Wormald), a hockey player turned ballerino, make a gifted team with chemistry that combusts, onstage and off.

Choreographers Aakomon "AJ" Jones (street, club, hip hop) and Odessa Munroe (ballet) keep movement front and center, integral to the story. The always deft Peter Gallagher reprises his role as ABA's director and ABT star Ethan Stiefel returns as the insightful and supportive instructor, Cooper Nielsen, who, frankly, sucks at club dancing.

I don't know if I want or need to be convinced that ballet is hip and sexy; this film is surely not intended for the likes of me. But you might know a young dance student who would find it just the thing!

Available January 20th on DVD and Blue-ray High-Def from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

The "Billy Elliot" Sorority

Where Ballet Is a Boy Thing: The Girls of ‘Billy Elliot’ on Broadway
by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, January 13, 2009

Yes, we do! U.S. Secretary of Culture

Does the U.S. need a Secretary for Culture?
by Leslie Madsen Brooks, blogher, January 9, 2009

online petition

Tom O'Horgan, 84

Tom O’Horgan, 84, Creator of ‘Hair’
by Douglas Martin, The New York Times, January 13, 2009

Romance returns to the White House

Please look at and read this, and then somebody please pinch me because I still think I must be dreaming. And, yeah, I know we (and the world) are in a load of trouble right now, but stop for a minute and think about what it's going to mean to have a couple of real lovers in the White House. The insight, vulnerability, wonder, respect and care for each other, revealed in this 1996 interview excerpt, just knock me out.

An American call to service and renewal

Watch this new video call to service from Michelle Obama, and find out how you can join your fellow Americans on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday--Monday, January 19--in the National Day of Service activities in your community.

Jennings: a playlist for healing

Notes to Soothe the Savage Cells
by Dana Jennings, The New York Times, January 10, 2009

What Annie's cookin'

One of my favorite performers, Annie Lanzillotto, sent an invitation to a reading and signing for the new book, Gastropolis: Food and New York City, edited by Annie Hauck-Lawson and Jonathan Deutsch (Columbia University Press). Lanzillotto will read from her essay "on my food journeys in Bronx Italia, as a youth, in a family with kitchen drama and table opera." Irresistible, no?

Lanzillotto continues, "This event takes place in a treasure of New York City, the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park, founded 1898. This is the event to bring your folks to. The arena is lovely, with room and refreshments to relax. Several of us will be there reading, books will be available to buy, and we're happy to relax and chat, and sign books."

Here's Annie's latest on YouTube.

Monday, January 26th, 8pm
FREE

National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park South (20th Street, between Park and Irving Place, on the SW corner of Gramercy Park), Manhattan
212-674-8824

Cotter: Rembrandt revisited

In the Gloom, Seeing Rembrandt With New Eyes
by Holland Cotter, The New York Times, January 8, 2009

A beautiful, thoughtful piece by one of the Times's finest writers.

EVOC is something to remember

David Parsons couldn't give a hoot about what you think if you don't like the kind of dance--on a mission to light a fire under every available ass--that can make a mainstream audience rave. But he's got an audience, and I heard them raving last night about the new work he's created in collaboration with East Village Opera Company. It's a full-evening work called Remember Me, and the Times seems to have deemed it memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Now, I gotta tell you, EVOC's lead vocalists--phenomenal AnnMarie Milazzo and Tyley Ross--make me rave. EVOC specializes in souped-up, often rocked-out arrangements of arias over orchestrations that probably sit better with me than with some people because I am of the generation that swooned over the likes of The Who, Queen and Marvin Gaye, among the many influences on the music of this ensemble. I am more than ready to listen to Rossini, Bizet, Verdi, Schubert and Purcell saucily reimagined by Ross and EVOC co-founder and musical arranger Peter Kiesewalter, mainly because I find EVOC's singing convincing and compelling on both sides of the radical hybrid.

In theory, this should make a ducky combination with the likes of Parsons whose approach to EVOC's music owes much to the aesthetics of Broadway jazz, music videos and So You Think You Can Dance. And, certainly, Parsons's fleet-footed dancers can dance. That's n0t in question here. The Times expressed some sympathy for them for having to sell cheesy product. Hey, the product is not my usual bag either, and I sat there sometimes thinking that I'd be happier if some of EVOC's music went totally unvisualized. But, as I said, Parsons's audience gave it all a big bear hug. It's doing the job it was intended to do.

The inflamed and flower-power projections, the unsurprising aerial work, the awkwardness of the staging and the murky, overheated storyline--a lethal love triangle so crowded and crawling with extras that it needs remedial math--is something that you either resign yourself to or resist with all the energy of Abby Silva, female point of the triangle, fighting off the obnoxious attentions of Miguel Quinones. Me? I kept coming back to those intense voices--heavenly Ross, fiery Milazzo--and let everything else slide.

Remember Me is Parsons's Program A. Program B features several other Parsons works--Fill the Woods with Light, Swing Shift, Ebben, My Sweet Lord, Shining Star and Caught. The season continues through next Sunday, January 18. Click here or here for details on the schedule of both programs and ticketing information.

Fresh "Lake" in Chelsea

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, headed by Benoit-Swan Pouffer, is a mighty instrument, sharper than ever in this Winter 2009 season. I will underscore fierce, standout performances by Jon Bond and Jubal Battisti in Luca Veggetti's premiere, memory/measure, and Crystal Pite's Ten Duets on A Theme of Rescue (from 2008), and by Jason Kittelberger, who gives Didy Veldman's premiere, frame of view, two of its few compelling passages of dancing. Unlike the Veggetti and Pite works, the Veldman piece--despite its inspired visual and sonic wonders--seems disconnected from these dancers or, perhaps, bluntly applied to their bodies. Even so, they step up with full attention and strength. As we've come to expect, the technical capability, crisp timing, sensitive coordination with one another and willingness to push through challenges makes CLCB dancers consistently rewarding to watch, even if not every meeting of dancer and dance clicks.

The run, at the company's headquarters in Chelsea, concludes on January 18. Click here for program details and ticketing.

MCNY job opening: management instructor

An opening for an instructor is now available for the following course section, in Metropolitan College of New York's MBA-Media Management program. The section will meet on Saturdays from 9am to 10:40am.

E-mail DHahn@METROPOLITAN.EDU with your qualifications immediately if you are interested in teaching this course, and bring this opportunity to the attention of qualified individuals in your professional and social networks.

Theatre and Performing Arts Industries (THE 530 SY2) (2 credits)

An overview of commercial & community theatre management structure and practice; dance company management; touring company management; mixed-media; and special events management.

David A. Hahn

Executive Academic Administrator for Dean Humphrey A. Crookendale

Metropolitan College of New York

431 Canal St Fl 11 Rm 41

New York, NY 10013-1919 U.S.A.

Work: 212-343-1234 X2602

Fax: 212-343-8476

Email: DHahn@METROPOLITAN.EDU

"Education That Works"

"Mondays with Merce" launches January 12

Spend Mondays online with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, one of the world's most admired and influential dance companies. Mondays with Merce launches on Monday, January 12th at 12pm EST.

See company class, film of the Events at Dia:Beacon, and new interviews with Merce Cunningham, his company, his artistic associates and guests. Click here for more.

Town Hall forums on NY state budget

Town Hall Forums to Discuss New York State Budget
on Pentacle blog

Tara O'Con: Body and Soul podcast

My guest, the emerging choreographer Tara O'Con, will make her Danspace Project debut with the eerie, intriguing Walk It Once--a trio originally presented at The Chocolate Factory in June 2008. She shares a program with choreographer-puppeteer Enrico D. Wey, January 22-24, 8:30pm.

Tara O'Con graduated with honors in 2003 with a B.A. in dance and performance from Roger Williams University. Currently residing in Brooklyn, she has presented her work in showcases at Dixon Place, The Brooklyn Arts Exchange, WOW Café Theater, The Chocolate Factory Theater (Fresh Meat Festival), and by Dancenow NYC. In 2007, O'Con was among six emerging choreographers to be chosen for Dance Theater Workshop's Fresh Tracks Performance and Residency Program. She returned to The Chocolate Factory Theater for the presentation of the first full-length production of her work in June of 2008. As a dancer, she has enjoyed fruitful collaborations with Stephan Koplowitz, Ellis Wood Dance, Jillian Sweeney, Megan Sprenger/mvworks, Sam Kim, Red Metal Mailbox, Ben Munisteri Dance Projects, Mina Nishimura, Rocha Dance Theater, Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance, Tami Stronach, and Third Rail Projects.

Additional guest and concert information here

(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

MP3 File

The Turning World (83)

Lessons on Love, From a Rabbi Who Knows Hate and Forgiveness
by Manny Fernandez, The New York Times, January 4, 2009

Tapper should get her due

Tapper’s Tale: She Had the Time-Step of Her Life
by Claudia La Rocco, The New York Times, January 4, 2008

There should be no doubt about Jane Goldberg's contribution to the worldwide spread and success of contemporary tap dance. She has been all about getting us to recognize the historical work of tap's creative pioneers and, as such, she is one herself. Check out this piece, by Claudia La Rocco, in today's New York Times.

Alexander: the art interior

Art is where and how we speak to each other in tongues audible when "official" language fails. It is not where we escape the world's ills but rather one place we go to make sense of them.

--Elizabeth Alexander, The Black Interior (Graywolf Press, 2004)

Contemporary dance in the southern hemisphere

South-South.info

A new, interactive Web resource--in Spanish, English and French--for information and networking about contemporary dance in the southern hemisphere--Latin America and the Caribbean; Africa; the Middle East.

Dance on Target!

Tonight: Dancing with the Arts at Brooklyn Museum's Target First Saturday

From 5-11pm, the museum's free events are devoted to Dancing with the Arts, featuring contra dance and West African dance circles; a performance, Q&A and book-signing with Lori Belilove's Isadora Duncan Dance Company; a screening of Mad Hot Ballroom and much more. For complete details, click here.

Grace Ndiritu's scarf dance

Grace Ndiritu's The Nightingale

This is about 30 seconds of Grace Ndiritu's The Nightingale (2003), in which the British filmmaker explores the sculptural, gestural and dramatic possibilities of a simple but beautiful piece of fabric. See the entire 7-minute film at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition, The Essential Art of African Textiles Design Without End, now through March 22.

State of the arts

The Come-Hither Lobby
by Michael M. Grynbaum, The New York Times, January 2, 2009

Daniel Nagrin, 91

Daniel Nagrin, 91, Modern Dancer and Choreographer, Dies
by Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times, January 2, 2009

The Turning World (82)

Helen Suzman, Relentless Challenger of Apartheid System, Is Dead at 91
by John F. Burns and Alan Cowell, The New York Times, January 1, 2009

Everybody's 2009

Hey, everybody! Here's your 2009!

Use this reading, based in my variation on the old Celtic Cross, and read into it whatever best applies to your individual situation. And, believe me, it applies to each and every one of you!

YOU: Justice

This is the year when you've just got to get yourself together. No denial. No avoidance. No more excuses. You simply cannot continue on as you are. Corrections will be made and dues will be paid. Shape up or ship out. We're moving on.

WHAT CROSSES YOU/WHAT YOU ENCOUNTER: 8 of Wands reversed

The pressure's on, but most of it is internal, roiling and arising from your own sense of dissatisfaction. Sure, somebody can rear up and kick you in the butt, but you can do that well enough for yourself. Of course, what we're talking about here is, each one of us doing it for ourselves.

FOUNDATION OF THE SITUATION: Temperance

Just another sign of the compelling urge to renew, refresh and start up again in a more balanced way. You can do it.

WHAT IMPRESSES YOU/WHAT YOU'RE SENSITIVE TO: The High Priestess

Expect to run into a buzzsaw of serious internal questioning (which could also manifest in your external circumstances...so, watch for that, too). Don't worry. This questioning and testing and weighing will only help you to mentally and spiritually bulk up and be prepared for the challenges of your next stage and status in life. Step up to it!

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU: The Magician reversed

You're motivated by looking at your (and the world's) ineptitude and inadequacies and thinking: Shit, I'm so totally sick of this! Time for change!

HOW YOU USE OR COULD USE YOUR ENERGY IN THE WORLD: Queen of Swords reversed

First, get your own head on straight. Figure out just what it is you're thinking and if that thinking process makes sense. Make it make sense. Then--and only then--take it public. Geeze, we need more light and clarity out here, people!

YOUR SELF-IMAGE: Queen of Pentacles reversed

Once again, work on nurturing yourself, yeah, mothering yourself. True, inner-rooted self-awareness and self-confidence--not blowhard arrogance and aggression--is what you need and we need from you. When you have taken time to give to yourself and you truly feel good about yourself, you'll be less likely to do damage out here. From all of us to all of you, thank you in advance.

YOUR ENVIRONMENT (Physical, social, emotional, energetic): Judgement

This is a shout-out to all of you to wake up! And here, again, it's important that each of you look to your individual situation and figure out what part of yourself have you given up on, disowned, buried? What crap have you told yourself you believe when you know it's crap? Are you allowing the circumstances that surround you to discourage and stifle the authentic you? What part of yourself could come roaring back to life, if you'd only let it?

LIFE LESSON: Knight of Swords

Rev up that energy and let it rip! Expect a series of knotty situations to deal with, but I see each and every one of you swinging your swords and slicing clean through. Like butter. You ARE fiercer than your problems.

OUTCOME/TREND TORWARDS FUTURE: Ace of Wands

As Patti Smith says, "People got the power!" And as Barack Obama says, "Yes, we can!"

Here's to 2009!

Eva :-)

Just say "Yes" to the NY Times!

The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia

Yes, men...but where's the arts coverage? :-D

Lott: not unknown for long

Top 10 Great Unknowns, From Second Stage : NPR Music

A very happy new year and congratulations to composer-musician Ryan Lott (aka Son Lux), a frequent collaborator of choreographer Gina Gibney, for making it to the very top of Robin Hilton's list on NPR! Click here to listen.

And on another NPR show--Bob Boilen's All Songs Considered--Robin Hilton named Lott the Best New Artist of 2008! Listen here.

Lottmusic blog

Son Lux blog