by Margaret Atwood, NYRblog, New York Review of Books, March 29, 2010
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Audre Lorde Project presents Reclaiming Our Health
Saturday, April 3, 12-6pm
RSVP Today!
A health fair for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming(LGBTSTGNC) People of Color to gain knowledge and access to different community organizations that offer health services and resources specifically for our communities.
Location: Brecht Forum 451 West Street (between Bank & Bethune Streets)
Organizations tabling
Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA)
The Door
Callen Lorde Community Health Center
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
Housing Works
Positive Health Project
Rock Dove Collective
Third Root
And many more!
The Door
Callen Lorde Community Health Center
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
Housing Works
Positive Health Project
Rock Dove Collective
Third Root
And many more!
Workshops
12:30-1:30
Lesbian Cancer Initiative: "EveryBODY Hates Cancer"
Callen Lorde Community Center: "Queer Youth Access to Health Services"
1:30-2:30
allisonjoy: "From Bulb to Bloom: Spring Awakening with an Introduction to the Healing Power of Reiki"
Third Root: "Herbal Education 101"
2:30-3:30
Ignacio RIvera: "Hooking Up: Power, Sex, and Consent"
Inner Child Experience: "Art Therapy Through Joy-elry(Jewlery) Making"
3:30-4:30
Housing Works- Women’s Center: “How to Take Care of Your Body Under Hormonal Care”
Babeland: “Sex Toys 101”
4:30-5:30
The Rock Dove Colletive: TBA
Kay Barrett: "Recipes For The People: The Socially Just Palette"
Schedule
Registration: 12pm -5:30pm *Breakfast will be served
Registration: 12pm -5:30pm *Breakfast will be served
Workshops: 12:30pm-5:30pm
Lunch: 3pm-4pm *RSVP for lunch
HIV Testing: from 12pm-5pm
Performances: 5pm-6pm
Monday, March 29, 2010
A great show survives and thrives
Broadway Musical ‘Next to Normal’ Turns a Profit
by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Learning from Hay
Last evening, as I watched Deborah Hay's No Time To Fly--which has now concluded in its premiere season at Danspace Project--I felt a deepened understanding of how inspired structure and inspiring surrender work together in the process of creation. That was a bonus for taking in Hay's Lecture on the Performance of Beauty last Wednesday at Cooper Union. The opening of the new 50-minute solo in silence seemed to me steeped in remembered music (a foundational structure), and its unfolding or drifting suggested an unpredictable journey of discovery (surrender). Hay's adorableness--I say that, hoping she likes this work's costume better than she liked the original, whimsical costume for Beauty--easily draws us to her and to her project. But, to be sure, this is a formidable master teacher, one who offers artists and all those who treasure art a humble way to approach creativity. Her dancing prompts questioning that we can all take into our practice--as artists, as human beings--for a lifetime.
I am grateful to Danspace Project and to curator Juliette Mapp (PLATFORM 2010: Back to New York City) for...well, for bringing Hay back to New York City.
I am grateful to Danspace Project and to curator Juliette Mapp (PLATFORM 2010: Back to New York City) for...well, for bringing Hay back to New York City.
Poet Ai dies, 62
Ai, an Unflinching Poetic Channel of Hard Lives, Dies at 62
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, March 27, 2010
The dance of Dalí
Dalí Today (April 12-June 12, 2010)
Dalí: Dance and Beyond Exhibition
curated by Frédérique Joseph-Lowery
April 12-June 12
Godwin-Ternbach Museum
405 Klapper Hall
Queens College, CUNY
65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing
718-997-4747
The museum is free and open to the public. For hours and other information, click here. For directions to Queens College locations, click here.
Dalí Today Symposium
April 22, 10am-5pm
Godwin-Ternbach Museum
405 Klapper Hall
Queens College, CUNY
65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing
718-997-4747
April 23, 10am-5pm
The Catalan Center, New York University
at King Juan Carlos I Center, Auditorium
53 Washington Square South (between Thompson and Sullivan Streets), Manhattan
212-998-8255
Eorasonnée Dance Performance
by Virginie Souquet
April 22, 7:30pm
Goldstein Theatre, Queens College
(corner of Kissena Boulevard and Horace Harding Expressway)
Directions
Book Signing
Catherine Millet, author of Dalí and Me
April 23, 6pm
The Catalan Center, New York University
at King Juan Carlos I Center, NYU, Atrium
53 Washington Square South (between Thompson and Sullivan Streets), Manhattan
212-998-8255
Dalí: Dance and Beyond Exhibition
curated by Frédérique Joseph-Lowery
April 12-June 12
Godwin-Ternbach Museum
405 Klapper Hall
Queens College, CUNY
65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing
718-997-4747
The museum is free and open to the public. For hours and other information, click here. For directions to Queens College locations, click here.
Dalí Today Symposium
April 22, 10am-5pm
Godwin-Ternbach Museum
405 Klapper Hall
Queens College, CUNY
65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing
718-997-4747
April 23, 10am-5pm
The Catalan Center, New York University
at King Juan Carlos I Center, Auditorium
53 Washington Square South (between Thompson and Sullivan Streets), Manhattan
212-998-8255
Eorasonnée Dance Performance
by Virginie Souquet
April 22, 7:30pm
Goldstein Theatre, Queens College
(corner of Kissena Boulevard and Horace Harding Expressway)
Directions
Book Signing
Catherine Millet, author of Dalí and Me
April 23, 6pm
The Catalan Center, New York University
at King Juan Carlos I Center, NYU, Atrium
53 Washington Square South (between Thompson and Sullivan Streets), Manhattan
212-998-8255
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Souls intact
To even attempt to invoke the complex genius of Nina Simone might require an entire stage filled with badass women, and that's exactly how things went down last night at Aaron Davis Hall. Presented by Harlem Stage, the renowned Black Rock Coalition Orchestra gave the final performance of its Nina Simone Tribute, featuring numerous female singers and a versatile musical ensemble covering nearly two dozen songs written or interpreted by the extraordinary musical diva and activist who left us in 2003.
Standouts included Angela Johnson's mellifluous piano work and vocal phrasing, where we could grasp every nuance of thought and feeling in Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair and Brown Baby; Joi's frisky I'm Gonna Leave You with its driving rhythm that sounds exactly like a strong woman getting the hell on outta there; anything that Imani Uzuri turned her fierce voice to, absolutely anything, from the romping Backlash Blues to the softly pitying Fodder to the raging anger of Peaches in Four Women; the bravado of Toli Nameless's triple-threat celebration of See-Line Woman in song, dance and trumpet-playing.
Tamar-kali sizzled--what confidence and clout!--in the torch song Tell Me More, a five-alarm I Put A Spell On You, and a slow-drag Feelin' Good. Her voice is dark smoke crossed with flutely sinuosity. Mazz Swift, besides her duties in the lovely string quartet, offered up Lilac Wine with mesmerizing sensitivity. LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs's Pirate Jenny glowed with toxic charm.
There was much, much more, and I wish there could be much, much more. Harlem Stage, bring each and every one of them back without delay!
Other great vocalists from this show are also online:
Lisala
Somi
Maya Azucena
Standouts included Angela Johnson's mellifluous piano work and vocal phrasing, where we could grasp every nuance of thought and feeling in Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair and Brown Baby; Joi's frisky I'm Gonna Leave You with its driving rhythm that sounds exactly like a strong woman getting the hell on outta there; anything that Imani Uzuri turned her fierce voice to, absolutely anything, from the romping Backlash Blues to the softly pitying Fodder to the raging anger of Peaches in Four Women; the bravado of Toli Nameless's triple-threat celebration of See-Line Woman in song, dance and trumpet-playing.
Tamar-kali sizzled--what confidence and clout!--in the torch song Tell Me More, a five-alarm I Put A Spell On You, and a slow-drag Feelin' Good. Her voice is dark smoke crossed with flutely sinuosity. Mazz Swift, besides her duties in the lovely string quartet, offered up Lilac Wine with mesmerizing sensitivity. LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs's Pirate Jenny glowed with toxic charm.
There was much, much more, and I wish there could be much, much more. Harlem Stage, bring each and every one of them back without delay!
Other great vocalists from this show are also online:
Lisala
Somi
Maya Azucena
"On the edge and pushing forward"
Two Experimentalists Under One Roof: Baryshnikov Talks to Elizabeth LeCompte of Wooster Group
The New York Times, March 26, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
A video glimpse of "Beauty"
dance tech tv's video of excerpts from Deborah Hay's Wednesday evening lecture at Cooper Union
(You'll find my earlier commentary on the lecture at http://infinitebody.blogspot.com/2010/03/deborah-hay-on-beauty.html.)
(You'll find my earlier commentary on the lecture at http://infinitebody.blogspot.com/2010/03/deborah-hay-on-beauty.html.)
Watch live streaming video from dancetechtv at livestream.com
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Deborah Hay on "Beauty"
Beauty's in the eye of the beholder and, back in 2002, Deborah Hay's eyes beheld beauty in a large doodle that has been given a kind of blueprint status and immortality through the solo dance it has inspired. Last evening, Hay gave a "Lecture on the Performance of Beauty," presented by Danspace Project at the Great Hall of Cooper Union where, we were reminded, Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama once addressed eager listeners.
Hay told us that Beauty, the solo, began life as O Beautiful--a gentle political hint at the song that many people believe should have been our national anthem (instead of the one we have, with its strident war imagery). Hay's outright political overtones swiftly ended right there since, she admitted, she's uncomfortable with the topic, thinking that she's not informed or articulate enough to give adequate voice to her anger. Instead, she's political because she dances.
Hay ran simultaneous videos of two performances of the solo--the left one, which she does not care for, whimsically-costumed and self-conscious; the right one, stark naked, unguarded, meditative and sacred in feeling. As we watched, she continued to talk, now and again alluding to the fundamental question she posed to her body, and drew a more complex version of her progenitor doodle. I'd recently read Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's memoir of her recovery from stroke--My Stroke of Insight--in which she fondly describes her left and right brains as distinctly separate personalities that, once again, work in beautiful, creative collaboration. Seeing the earlier (left) and later (right) version of Hay's Beauty, I felt I was gaining similar insight into radically divergent aspects of this artist.
So, What if...?
131 East 10th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues), Manhattan
Hay told us that Beauty, the solo, began life as O Beautiful--a gentle political hint at the song that many people believe should have been our national anthem (instead of the one we have, with its strident war imagery). Hay's outright political overtones swiftly ended right there since, she admitted, she's uncomfortable with the topic, thinking that she's not informed or articulate enough to give adequate voice to her anger. Instead, she's political because she dances.
Dance is my form of political activism.
It is not what or why I dance.
It is that I dance.
Hay ran simultaneous videos of two performances of the solo--the left one, which she does not care for, whimsically-costumed and self-conscious; the right one, stark naked, unguarded, meditative and sacred in feeling. As we watched, she continued to talk, now and again alluding to the fundamental question she posed to her body, and drew a more complex version of her progenitor doodle. I'd recently read Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's memoir of her recovery from stroke--My Stroke of Insight--in which she fondly describes her left and right brains as distinctly separate personalities that, once again, work in beautiful, creative collaboration. Seeing the earlier (left) and later (right) version of Hay's Beauty, I felt I was gaining similar insight into radically divergent aspects of this artist.
So, What if...?
What if every cell in my body has the potential
to perceive beauty and surrender beauty
simultaneously
each and every moment?
That was Hay's generative question and one that could underly everything that we do at every moment, could it not?
The question is in the body of the dancer.
You attend to your navigation
by keeping the question current.
The question is in the body of each one of us. And isn't the question in the body of not only those who dance but those who look at dance? And, in both cases, answers surely come from the body--as Hay has shared with us in her book, My Body, The Buddhist, and reminded a young man who dared to ask her to explain why dance is important:
Everything I have learned about life
I have learned from my body while dancing.
She rocked that three times and made it one of the most forceful things she said all evening.
And what if? And what if? And what if?
I'm just devoted to noticing.
Again--a thought for those who dance and for those who encounter dance.
"The ephemerality of dance is the most exciting, thrilling thing about dance as an artform," she says.
"It is liberating! I chop up that time any way I want."
She slices the air with a cleaver-like right hand.
"I chop it the way I want," she says with relish, an invitation to celebrate.
***
Danspace Project presents the premiere of Deborah Hay's new solo, No Time to Fly, tonight through Saturday at 8pm, with lighting by master designer Jennifer Tipton. No Time to Fly is part of Danspace Project's PLATFORM 2010: Back to New York City, curated by Juliette Mapp.
Information and ticketing at Danspace Project or 866-811-4111
Danspace Project
St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery131 East 10th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues), Manhattan
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Whirlwind "Twitter Tour" of Whitney's "2010"
Yesterday, I joined several social media colleagues for an exclusive (off-day) tour of the Whitney Museum's new Biennial--2010. Greeted by WNYC art critic Carolina Miranda and guided by Biennial co-curator Gary Carrion-Murayari, we wandered from floor-to-floor, gallery-to-gallery, tweeting madly, taking photos and trying to keep it all in perspective. I can't honestly say I retained enough of what was said or seen, but I do know the experience made me eager to explore the show with sufficient time and in sufficient depth.
Here's a link to some of my photos, posted this morning on Flickr, and you can catch up with all of our tweets by searching #whibi. (Request to follow @magickaleva to see mine.) I also managed to post some remarks to Facebook yesterday and posted my set of photos today. Enjoy!
Here's a link to some of my photos, posted this morning on Flickr, and you can catch up with all of our tweets by searching #whibi. (Request to follow @magickaleva to see mine.) I also managed to post some remarks to Facebook yesterday and posted my set of photos today. Enjoy!
Monday, March 22, 2010
The dance is wherever you are
At 16 minutes, Marta Renzi's documentary film, Where The Dance Is (2009) offers just a glimpse of choreographer/dance instructor Doug Elkins's work with students of Manhattan's Beacon School. But it's a very nice glimpse, and I especially appreciate the understated way in which Renzi demonstrates how a teacher, with confidence in the value of artistic uncertainty, can make space for students to arrive at their own collaborative solutions.
Amid brief interview clips, we watch the kids learn to put creative twists on their gymnastic tricks and even tackle some safe-enough, Streb-inspired moves. Elkins marvels at how the work brings out positive swagger and a strong sense of identity in these teens.
Where The Dance Is is an official selection of the 2010 NYC Downtown Short Film Festival, to be screened on April 26 at the Duo Theatre. For further information and ticketing, click here.
Amid brief interview clips, we watch the kids learn to put creative twists on their gymnastic tricks and even tackle some safe-enough, Streb-inspired moves. Elkins marvels at how the work brings out positive swagger and a strong sense of identity in these teens.
Where The Dance Is is an official selection of the 2010 NYC Downtown Short Film Festival, to be screened on April 26 at the Duo Theatre. For further information and ticketing, click here.
Touring the Whitney Biennial
Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be joining several other "social-media mavens" for an exclusive tour of the Whitney Biennial 2010, guided by co-curator Gary Carrion-Murayari.
Be sure to check here--and possibly on Twitter--later in the afternoon for my commentary.
Thanks to the folks at WNYC and the Whitney for this unique opportunity!
Be sure to check here--and possibly on Twitter--later in the afternoon for my commentary.
Thanks to the folks at WNYC and the Whitney for this unique opportunity!
Spiraling through the natural world
Nature by Numbers
posted on Open Culture, March 21, 2010
This gorgeous short film by Cristóbal Vila should prove of particular interest to those of you who enjoyed Stefanie Nelson's recent premiere, Proximity Spiral, at Joyce SoHo (reviewed here).
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Book review: Feiffer's memories
'Backing Into Forward - A Memoir' by Jules Feiffer
by David Carr, The New York Times, March 18, 2010
"Dance is for peace."
Evidence, ODC and Urban Bush Women Dance for Diplomacy
by Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times, March 19, 2010
Dance/NYC's town hall on dance writing
Solutions for Sustainable Dance Writing: A Town Hall
Monday, April 12, 6pm (free)
presented by Dance/NYC
Location: Joyce SoHo, 155 Mercer Street (between Houston & Prince), Manhattan
Over the last few years, the number of opportunities available to dance writers has declined sharply, as newspaper ad revenue from dance and other arts organizations has all but vanished. As a result, fewer and fewer voices - writers and choreographers alike, have the opportunity to make themselves heard. While new media gives everyone the opportunity to enter the discussion, how can writers establish personal branding when they can no longer benefit from the credibility of a newspaper banner?
The purpose of this town hall is to discuss strategies and ideas designed to increase paid writing opportunities for established and emerging dance critics and writers, while empowering audiences to discover to the broadest possible spectrum of dance art.
For further information and to RSVP (recommended), click here.
Visit the Dance/NYC Web site.
Monday, April 12, 6pm (free)
presented by Dance/NYC
Location: Joyce SoHo, 155 Mercer Street (between Houston & Prince), Manhattan
Over the last few years, the number of opportunities available to dance writers has declined sharply, as newspaper ad revenue from dance and other arts organizations has all but vanished. As a result, fewer and fewer voices - writers and choreographers alike, have the opportunity to make themselves heard. While new media gives everyone the opportunity to enter the discussion, how can writers establish personal branding when they can no longer benefit from the credibility of a newspaper banner?
The purpose of this town hall is to discuss strategies and ideas designed to increase paid writing opportunities for established and emerging dance critics and writers, while empowering audiences to discover to the broadest possible spectrum of dance art.
For further information and to RSVP (recommended), click here.
Visit the Dance/NYC Web site.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Stefanie Nelson adds up
Stefanie Nelson's Proximity Spiral is one of those dances where you just want to run grab somebody and say, So you think you don't grok dance?, and then basically push them in the direction of someone like the fantastic Matthew Oaks and say, Just sit quietly and watch for a while. And, later, they thank you.
Oaks and seven other dazzling performers from Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup
presented the U.S. premiere of Proximity Spiral last evening at Joyce SoHo. This evening-length work turns the space into a red-hot pressure cooker. Nelson sidesteps any sense of normalcy or polite limits in her depiction of the human body and the proximity of bodies to one another. These bodies seem instinctual, untamed and edgy. The spiral in question is the Fibonacci sequence--0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...--and there's nothing like a spiral, beauty and all, for conveying that feeling of unrelenting, tightening intensity. That's certainly what goes on when the strong, fluid and exuberant Ali Schecter and Ariana Siegel bust out all around a creepily dangerous-looking Oaks.
Nelson's inventiveness steadily builds and never seems gratuitous. Explore the mysterious terrain she has created, with a stellar collaborative team, at Joyce SoHo, now through Sunday. Post-performance discussion tonight.
Schedule and ticketing information
Oaks and seven other dazzling performers from Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup
presented the U.S. premiere of Proximity Spiral last evening at Joyce SoHo. This evening-length work turns the space into a red-hot pressure cooker. Nelson sidesteps any sense of normalcy or polite limits in her depiction of the human body and the proximity of bodies to one another. These bodies seem instinctual, untamed and edgy. The spiral in question is the Fibonacci sequence--0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...--and there's nothing like a spiral, beauty and all, for conveying that feeling of unrelenting, tightening intensity. That's certainly what goes on when the strong, fluid and exuberant Ali Schecter and Ariana Siegel bust out all around a creepily dangerous-looking Oaks.
Nelson's inventiveness steadily builds and never seems gratuitous. Explore the mysterious terrain she has created, with a stellar collaborative team, at Joyce SoHo, now through Sunday. Post-performance discussion tonight.
Schedule and ticketing information
Teens keep it in focus
Teenage Girls Explore Their Lives Through a Camera’s Eye
by Corey Kilgannon, The New York Times, March 13, 2010
Bloomberg ending philanthropic program
Bloomberg Is Ending Gifts Through Carnegie Corp.
by Michael Barbaro, The New York Times, March 18, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Costuming "Nameless forest"
The beginnings of costumes for Nameless forest
from Mapp International Productions, March 18, 2010
See the process of building Roxana Ramseur's costumes for Dean Moss's Nameless forest.
See the process of building Roxana Ramseur's costumes for Dean Moss's Nameless forest.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
In memory of Jane Sherman (1908-2010)
An announcement from Norton Owen, Director of Preservation, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Norton Owen
Director of Preservation
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
358 George Carter Road
Becket, MA 01223
413-243-9919, ext. 50
Fax 413-243-4744
nowen@jacobspillow.org
Although I don't believe any of you had the privilege of meeting her, I wanted to pass along the poignant news that the youngest and last of the Denishawn Dancers, Jane Sherman, passed away last night at the age of 101. She was a great friend to the Pillow, spending periods of time here in the early 1980s when she recreated Denishawn dances and helped us identify many of the vintage costumes in our collection. And she was a treasured friend of mine, exchanging countless letters over the years that were full of keen insights and feisty humor. She had very high standards and she could be quite tough, as evidenced by the many times I was taken to task for one reason or another, usually with clear justification. We collaborated on various ventures, most notably a cover article for Dance Magazine in 1995 about a previously unknown letter from Martha Graham to Ted Shawn and what it revealed about Graham's Denishawn heritage. Jane and I also worked closely on creating a paperback edition of Barton's autobiography in 2001 and on creating a video compilation of many Denishawn recreations that she had staged over the years. Jacob's Pillow plans to host a memorial celebration in her honor this summer.
Norton Owen
Director of Preservation
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
358 George Carter Road
Becket, MA 01223
413-243-9919, ext. 50
Fax 413-243-4744
nowen@jacobspillow.org
Hulu dancing...on camera
TenduTV announces the launch of the digital Dance on Camera Festival on Hulu, at www.hulu.com/network/tendutv--an extension of the Dance Films Association's Dance on Camera Festival (DOCF), which it has produced annually for the last 38 years, the last 14 of which have been co-presented with the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
TenduTV will be adding new films on a regular basis, providing viewers with a diverse range of dance on screen. While the initial films primarily represent contemporary works from prior editions of the festival, the Dance Films Association and TenduTV will also curate focused collections of dance films. Planned themes include "Past Masters," "Africa" and "Animation."
About TenduTV
Founded in 2008, TenduTV seeks to deliver dance to audiences through the highest quality digital distribution network available to the art form today. Through TenduTV's platform partners, dance artists and organizations will be able to transport their vision beyond the physical theater and engage audiences through computers and 200 million digital devices including internet-enabled televisions, portable video players and mobile devices. By empowering artists to connect with audiences on a global scale, TenduTV believes that the dance field can be as strong financially as it is creatively.
About Dance Films Association, Inc.
Dance Films Association, Inc. (DFA) is dedicated to furthering the art of dance film. Connecting artists and organizations, fostering new works for new audiences, and sharing essential resources, DFA seeks to be a catalyst for innovation in and preservation of dance on camera. DFA was founded by Susan Braun in 1956, and included Ted Shawn, the founder of Jacob's Pillow, as its charter member, as well as modern dance pioneer Jose Limon and ballerina Alicia Markova as members of its first Board of Directors. A tireless advocate, Ms. Braun devoted her life to finding, showcasing, preserving dance films and videos until her death in 1995. Today, DFA seeks to carry on her spirit of creativity and collaboration in a time of extraordinary transformation.
For more information, visit Dance Films Association and TenduTV.
TenduTV will be adding new films on a regular basis, providing viewers with a diverse range of dance on screen. While the initial films primarily represent contemporary works from prior editions of the festival, the Dance Films Association and TenduTV will also curate focused collections of dance films. Planned themes include "Past Masters," "Africa" and "Animation."
Currently available films
Arcus, a jury prize nominee, DOCF 2004
directed by Alla Kovgan and Jeff Silva
Arising, from DOCF 2009
directed and choreographed by Ben Dolphin
Folies D'Espagne, a jury prize nominee, DOCF 2008
directed by Philip Busier
choreographed by Austin McCormick
Madrugada, from DOCF 2005
directed by William Morrison
choreographed by Deborah Greenfield
Vanishing Point, DOCF 2009
directed by Patrick Lovejoy
Wiped, Jury Winner, DOCF 2002
directed and choreographed by Hans Beenhakker
Founded in 2008, TenduTV seeks to deliver dance to audiences through the highest quality digital distribution network available to the art form today. Through TenduTV's platform partners, dance artists and organizations will be able to transport their vision beyond the physical theater and engage audiences through computers and 200 million digital devices including internet-enabled televisions, portable video players and mobile devices. By empowering artists to connect with audiences on a global scale, TenduTV believes that the dance field can be as strong financially as it is creatively.
About Dance Films Association, Inc.
Dance Films Association, Inc. (DFA) is dedicated to furthering the art of dance film. Connecting artists and organizations, fostering new works for new audiences, and sharing essential resources, DFA seeks to be a catalyst for innovation in and preservation of dance on camera. DFA was founded by Susan Braun in 1956, and included Ted Shawn, the founder of Jacob's Pillow, as its charter member, as well as modern dance pioneer Jose Limon and ballerina Alicia Markova as members of its first Board of Directors. A tireless advocate, Ms. Braun devoted her life to finding, showcasing, preserving dance films and videos until her death in 1995. Today, DFA seeks to carry on her spirit of creativity and collaboration in a time of extraordinary transformation.
For more information, visit Dance Films Association and TenduTV.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Theater reviews by Ennis Smith: Don't Pass Go
Sam Shepard's "A Lie of the Mind"
Theater Review: Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind
by Deborah Feller, DeborahFeller.com, March 14, 2010
by Deborah Feller, DeborahFeller.com, March 14, 2010
Eye on the prize: Photographer Charles Moore, 79
Charles Moore, Rights-Era Photographer, Dies at 79
by Douglas Martin, The New York Times, March 15, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Celebrating Cuban culture in New York
Areytos Performance Works presents
HERENCIA CUBANA: BEMBÉ, SALÓN Y CALLE, a dynamic evening of dance, live music and visual art featuring Afro-Cuban orishas, rumba, salsa, cha-cha-cha and contemporary dance theater.
Friday, March 19, 7:30pm
450 Grand Concourse (at 149th Street), The Bronx
What's true? Sante reviews Shields
Reality Hunger: A Manifesto by David Shields
reviewed by Luc Sante, The New York Times, March 14, 2010
Cheezburger addict hits the jackpot!
Please indulge me! I always love ICanHasCheezburger.com, but this photo is really a doozy!
daddeh wuz owtraged
daddeh wuz owtraged
from ICanHasCheezburger.com
Friday, March 12, 2010
Influential Halprin
The Woman Who Influenced the Influential Choreographers
by Julie Bloom, The New York Times, March 12, 2010
Triple Goddess at WOW
If you can still get a ticket, check out the three solo-woman shows continuing their joint premiere run at the WOW Café Theater tonight and tomorrow at 8pm. MilDred (formerly, Dred), the Haitian-American performance artist who forged a credible reputation on dicking around with gender expression, elevates her talents to new levels of sophistication and meaning in Haitian GOD/DESSES. Drawing from traditional Afro-Atlantic religion and culture, she takes the physical and sartorial form of each of three spirits sacred to practitioners of voudon--Danbala, Baron Samedi and Erzulie--who, themselves, contain duality, triplicity and all kinds of powerful multitudes within. Full moon on her back, she does not lack--to slightly paraphrase one of the lines from her dynamic monologue--for she has found survival in moon-like fluidity and self-transformation.
MilDred's skills offer a potent lesson in how to put on a performance. There's no filler. No word or motion is wasted. All are employed with the exacting precision she also uses to apply the makeup of gender transformation. But those changes mainly come from deep within where a world of possibilities exist--all of them MilDred, as she tells us. Genders and personalities flush to her skin, clear to everyone's view: There stands before you, unmistakably, this one or that one. And then, whoever has arrived recedes to be replaced by someone equally vivid. Her command of voice and body, of cosmetics and costume (most designed by her colleague, dancer sokhna heathyre mabin) is confident and assertive. If you don't get to see Haitian GOD/DESSES, be sure to see MilDred somewhere doing whatever. Visit her site.
Not only did mabin design most of MilDred's costuming for Haitian GOD/DESSES, she also created her own costumes and sculpted props for snapshots from the underground forrest. (No telling why "forrest" has two r's, but it appears to be deliberate, not a typo.) Would that mabin could also sculpt her piece, itself, with as fine an eye. Unlike MilDred and the third performer, Tantra-zawadi, she works without words and relies on the surreal, ritual-like visual elements of her piece to give it variety and a sense of shifting place. Not only is snapshots quite long, it feels even longer--much longer still, on a program that started more than 20 minutes late and had two "brief intermissions" that ended up sprawling.
snapshots only seems to be approaching an end when it starts up again on one or another visual or musical tangent. Watching mabin picturesquely stretch, writhe, crawl and drift through much of this dance, especially when sleep-inducing yoga music is playing, draws attention to the work's limitations and missed opportunities. mabin moves prettily but is, perhaps, too invested in that sensual loveliness to explore what else her body might be able to express. Choreography is more than prodigious output; it's about making choices with impact.
Tantra-zawadi knows from impact. Soldier Blues--a "poetic movement" concerned with the wellbeing of our military forces and their families--makes her wicked-sharp, blues-based spoken word performance the solid core of a contained multimedia team presentation. She's sensational, rousing and right as rain. And, as with MilDred, you should see her perform whenever you get the chance. Learn more about Tantra-zawadi online.
WOW Café Theater
59-61 East 4th Street, 4th Floor
between Bowery and Second Avenue, Manhattan
Reservations: 646-342-5660
MilDred's skills offer a potent lesson in how to put on a performance. There's no filler. No word or motion is wasted. All are employed with the exacting precision she also uses to apply the makeup of gender transformation. But those changes mainly come from deep within where a world of possibilities exist--all of them MilDred, as she tells us. Genders and personalities flush to her skin, clear to everyone's view: There stands before you, unmistakably, this one or that one. And then, whoever has arrived recedes to be replaced by someone equally vivid. Her command of voice and body, of cosmetics and costume (most designed by her colleague, dancer sokhna heathyre mabin) is confident and assertive. If you don't get to see Haitian GOD/DESSES, be sure to see MilDred somewhere doing whatever. Visit her site.
Not only did mabin design most of MilDred's costuming for Haitian GOD/DESSES, she also created her own costumes and sculpted props for snapshots from the underground forrest. (No telling why "forrest" has two r's, but it appears to be deliberate, not a typo.) Would that mabin could also sculpt her piece, itself, with as fine an eye. Unlike MilDred and the third performer, Tantra-zawadi, she works without words and relies on the surreal, ritual-like visual elements of her piece to give it variety and a sense of shifting place. Not only is snapshots quite long, it feels even longer--much longer still, on a program that started more than 20 minutes late and had two "brief intermissions" that ended up sprawling.
snapshots only seems to be approaching an end when it starts up again on one or another visual or musical tangent. Watching mabin picturesquely stretch, writhe, crawl and drift through much of this dance, especially when sleep-inducing yoga music is playing, draws attention to the work's limitations and missed opportunities. mabin moves prettily but is, perhaps, too invested in that sensual loveliness to explore what else her body might be able to express. Choreography is more than prodigious output; it's about making choices with impact.
Tantra-zawadi knows from impact. Soldier Blues--a "poetic movement" concerned with the wellbeing of our military forces and their families--makes her wicked-sharp, blues-based spoken word performance the solid core of a contained multimedia team presentation. She's sensational, rousing and right as rain. And, as with MilDred, you should see her perform whenever you get the chance. Learn more about Tantra-zawadi online.
WOW Café Theater
59-61 East 4th Street, 4th Floor
between Bowery and Second Avenue, Manhattan
Reservations: 646-342-5660
Thursday, March 11, 2010
In Passing: Evelyn Hofer, Helen Levitt, Lilo Raymond | The New York Public Library
In Passing: Evelyn Hofer, Helen Levitt, Lilo Raymond
This New York Public Library exhibition--presented in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the National Women's History Project--honors three distinguished photographers who died in 2009.
Location:
Location:
Stokes Gallery
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
New York Public Library
5th Avenue & 42nd Street
Manhattan
For days/hours and other details, click here.
Dostoyevsky marathon set for Governors Island
12-Hour Dostoyevsky Play on Tap for Lincoln Center Festival
by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, March 10, 2010
Peter Campus: an appreciation
Peter Campus--Image and Self
by Bill Viola, Art in America, February 2010
The artist Bill Viola brings his knowledge of digital technology and Buddhism to this appreciation of the work of Peter Campus.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Celebrate Haiti. Stand with Haiti.
A Celebration of Haitian Culture: Benefit for Earthquake Relief
Sunday, March 14, 6:30PM
Please join the Poetry Project, Danspace Project, Ontological-Hysteric Theater and St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery for a celebration of Haitian culture. All proceeds from the evening will be donated to Partners in Health: Stand With Haiti.
Tickets are now available, and will be available at the door.
Sliding scale admission: $20-$75 General Audience
Sunday, March 14, 6:30PM
Please join the Poetry Project, Danspace Project, Ontological-Hysteric Theater and St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery for a celebration of Haitian culture. All proceeds from the evening will be donated to Partners in Health: Stand With Haiti.
Tickets are now available, and will be available at the door.
Sliding scale admission: $20-$75 General Audience
Reserved Seating: $75-100
Readings by Amiri and Amina Baraka and Denizé Lauture!
Performance by master Haitian drummer Bonga!
Performance by John Zorn!
More performers to be announced soon!
Location:
Readings by Amiri and Amina Baraka and Denizé Lauture!
Performance by master Haitian drummer Bonga!
Performance by John Zorn!
More performers to be announced soon!
Location:
St. Mark’s Church, Sanctuary
131 East 10th Street (2nd Avenue)
Manhattan
Monday, March 8, 2010
Ennis Smith takes on Oscar
"Who's rational?" asks arts blogger Ennis Smith.
Well, your InfiniteBody blogger is. For one of the few times in my life--and despite rooting with all my heart and soul for Mo'Nique and Kathryn Bigelow--I decided to sleep through the Academy Awards, a show I've loved irrationally and obsessively since I was a tiny movie fan. But my friend Ennis was awake and alert, and here's his assessment:
Golden Boy
Well, your InfiniteBody blogger is. For one of the few times in my life--and despite rooting with all my heart and soul for Mo'Nique and Kathryn Bigelow--I decided to sleep through the Academy Awards, a show I've loved irrationally and obsessively since I was a tiny movie fan. But my friend Ennis was awake and alert, and here's his assessment:
Golden Boy
by Ennis Smith, Smokin' Room, March 8, 2010
Keely Garfield's he(art)
The He(art) of Healing with Keely Garfield
Join Keely Garfield for a transformative afternoon! As an integrative therapist and yoga instructor, Keely will take you through an exploration in ways to enhance your optimal wellbeing and become empowered with the knowledge and confidence to improve your life through therapeutic yoga, breath awareness, meditation, reiki and essential oils.
"The land of healing lies within, radiant with the happiness that is blindly sought in a thousand outer directions." Swami Vivekananda
A workshop for everyone!
Saturday, March 27 (2:30pm to 4:30pm)
Laughing Lotus Yoga Center
59 West 19th Street, 3rd Floor, at 6th Avenue, Manhattan
Saturday, March 27 (2:30pm to 4:30pm)
Laughing Lotus Yoga Center
59 West 19th Street, 3rd Floor, at 6th Avenue, Manhattan
Fee: $20
Join Keely Garfield for a transformative afternoon! As an integrative therapist and yoga instructor, Keely will take you through an exploration in ways to enhance your optimal wellbeing and become empowered with the knowledge and confidence to improve your life through therapeutic yoga, breath awareness, meditation, reiki and essential oils.
"The land of healing lies within, radiant with the happiness that is blindly sought in a thousand outer directions." Swami Vivekananda
Saturday, March 6, 2010
"Moments and Lemons" at TNC
If you haven't already made your weekend plans--and even if you have!--you might consider Moments and Lemons, the two-person play written by Fred Giacinto and directed by Thom Fogarty at Theater for the New City. Only two performances remain*, and I think you'll be glad to meet a couple of very appealing actors, Tony King and Jessica Day.
Moments and Lemons tracks twists and turns over several decades of a man's life, as seen through the eyes of Casper, an ex-con. King, as Casper, creates a convincing performance of engrossing depth, flexibility and subtlety. Day animates Casper's seamless narrative by giving voice to people who strongly influenced Casper and steered his fate. She's razor-sharp, agile in mind and body, able to shift from character to character in a nanosecond as you're whipped through Casper's memories at warp speed.
Giacinto wrote the play for these two gifted players, and one can readily see why he'd take delight in their strengths and seek to challenge them. It's a big challenge, indeed--just the two holding down a 85-minute piece with billions of words, a torrent of words compressed in time. No intermission. No sets. No costume changes. No nothing.
Well, there are four chairs. And one significant, if tiny, prop that turns up late in the play. But that's it. And they do it beautifully and in a way that cannot help but break your heart.
Moments and Lemons
*final performances--tonight (8pm) and Sunday (3pm)
155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Streets), Manhattan
Tickets here or call 212-254-1109.
The Infiltrators panel at Full Spectrum
Full Spectrum
Conversations among artists, activists, explorers and thinkers. Talk. Listen. Connect.
Today at 3pm: The Infiltrators
Four producers who fight from the inside:
Bill Bragin
Maxie C. Jackson III
Darrel McNeill
Limor Tomer
moderated by Jen Lyon
FREE ADMISSION
FREE ADMISSION
Danny Simmons' Corridor Gallery
334 Grand Avenue
between Gates & Greene in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
C or G to Clinton-Washington
For more information on the panelists and for details on upcoming panels, click here.
Friday, March 5, 2010
koosil-ja in modern times
Gia Kourlas's New York Times review offers a comprehensive overview of Blocks of Continuality/Body, Image, and Algorithm, the new work presented by koosil-ja/danceKUMIKO at Dance Theater Workshop. I agree with Kourlas's assessment that koosil-ja's execution of an ambitious technological concept fails to cohere and that what virtue Blocks has lies in the fresh, exacting performances of three live, human performers--Melissa Guerrero, Ava Heller and Elise Hudson.
I felt so overwhelmed by the copious, heavy program notes that I tried to go back to my old Tere O'Connor experiment: sit there without taking notes, let the whole thing wash over me, and see what happens. After all, no matter what an artist writes, no matter what she says, and no matter how hard she works a work, the work itself must work.
My resolve did not last long, and I did take out my notebook. I wanted to be sure to remember how Guerrero, in particular, cut clear to the bone of movement that usually is so lush and fraught with tradition and cultural meaning. I felt it was important that koosil-ja's visual projections of theatrical and cultural dance styles that are normally so rich were, by comparison with her live dancers, rendered flatter than flat. Her contemporary movers--cleverly modeling themselves after the movement and still imagery they watched on screens--turned dancing into as yet arcane hierogylphics. They were consistently fascinating and rewarding.
But Blocks of Continuality feels not only like a retread but several retreads run together--the geeky computerized command base set-up; the almost ritualistic "calibration" of equipment and NASA-like checking in and launching; the live movement determining what the techno-toys do, and vice versa. Oh, look! Avatars! Wow!
Why did this all seem so drawn out--really, really drawn out--with a less than impressive payoff? Why is it that dance, when it tries to reflect what's happening now, so often seems to be lagging a few crucial heartbeats behind?
And why, if you've got a guy hooked up to a monitor so that his meditation--or whatever--supposedly makes a big, contorted contraption tap a wall, do we end up merely hearing something that sounds like the occasional thump and reverberation of a staple gun? What's the radical point here?
Blocks of Continuality/Body, Image, and Algorithm continues tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30pm. For complete information and ticketing, visit Dance Theater Workshop.
I felt so overwhelmed by the copious, heavy program notes that I tried to go back to my old Tere O'Connor experiment: sit there without taking notes, let the whole thing wash over me, and see what happens. After all, no matter what an artist writes, no matter what she says, and no matter how hard she works a work, the work itself must work.
My resolve did not last long, and I did take out my notebook. I wanted to be sure to remember how Guerrero, in particular, cut clear to the bone of movement that usually is so lush and fraught with tradition and cultural meaning. I felt it was important that koosil-ja's visual projections of theatrical and cultural dance styles that are normally so rich were, by comparison with her live dancers, rendered flatter than flat. Her contemporary movers--cleverly modeling themselves after the movement and still imagery they watched on screens--turned dancing into as yet arcane hierogylphics. They were consistently fascinating and rewarding.
But Blocks of Continuality feels not only like a retread but several retreads run together--the geeky computerized command base set-up; the almost ritualistic "calibration" of equipment and NASA-like checking in and launching; the live movement determining what the techno-toys do, and vice versa. Oh, look! Avatars! Wow!
Why did this all seem so drawn out--really, really drawn out--with a less than impressive payoff? Why is it that dance, when it tries to reflect what's happening now, so often seems to be lagging a few crucial heartbeats behind?
And why, if you've got a guy hooked up to a monitor so that his meditation--or whatever--supposedly makes a big, contorted contraption tap a wall, do we end up merely hearing something that sounds like the occasional thump and reverberation of a staple gun? What's the radical point here?
Blocks of Continuality/Body, Image, and Algorithm continues tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30pm. For complete information and ticketing, visit Dance Theater Workshop.
In the spirit of Jimmy Slyde
Roxane Butterfly announces In The Spirit of Jimmy Slyde--an hommage to a master of tap, featuring Tamango and guests plus excerpts from the film Hoofalogies.
Music: Damon Banks (bass), Victor Jones (drums) and Mansur Scott (vocals)
See it at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater at Symphony Space (95th Street and Broadway, Manhattan), April 16 (8:30pm) or April 17 (7pm and 9:30pm).
For complete details and tickets, click here or call 212-869-5400.
Music: Damon Banks (bass), Victor Jones (drums) and Mansur Scott (vocals)
See it at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater at Symphony Space (95th Street and Broadway, Manhattan), April 16 (8:30pm) or April 17 (7pm and 9:30pm).
For complete details and tickets, click here or call 212-869-5400.
Dance writers plus!
Swallow, which I've just started reading, hooks you from the opening pages with its breathless urgency and captures what it's like to live in NY now, with money worries and ambition and myriad obligations breathing down your neck, and none of it written in cutesy chick-lit'ry. So give it a try.
--James Wolcott, Vanity Fair Online
available on Amazon
Who Knows One
a book of poems by Boston dance critic Debra Cash
The poems based on stories, language and associations connected to the Passover Haggadah are especially powerful. They do what art is supposed to do: give us a new way to see. Her insights are sometimes provocative, sometimes wistful, sometimes even angry, but they are also always wise. These poems will deepen and broaden the experience of Passover for Jews for generations to come. “Who Knows One” is just breathtaking, and deserves a place in the canon.
available on Amazon
a book of poems by Boston dance critic Debra Cash
The poems based on stories, language and associations connected to the Passover Haggadah are especially powerful. They do what art is supposed to do: give us a new way to see. Her insights are sometimes provocative, sometimes wistful, sometimes even angry, but they are also always wise. These poems will deepen and broaden the experience of Passover for Jews for generations to come. “Who Knows One” is just breathtaking, and deserves a place in the canon.
Our bodies, our health
Health Screen for Dancers
What is being done for the small companies and independent dancers?
March 9 -- 6:30pm
FREE ADMISSION
Dance New Amsterdam (Front Lobby)
280 Broadway, 2nd Floor (entrance on Chambers Street), Manhattan
Dance/NYC and the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries, on behalf of Dance/USA's Taskforce on Dancer Health, have combined forces to bring dance medicine screening and services information to independent, freelance and pick-up company dancers. This free-of-charge meeting on March 9 will serve as a platform for the freelance dance community's screening initiative by Dance/NYC and HCDI, planned to begin in Spring 2010.
Additionally, information on injury statistics in dance, important financial information in relation to injury, and healthcare options and resources for the dance community will be provided.
HCDI and Dance/NYC's collaboration has been created to supply the local, independent dancers with a body of knowledge that will impact their health and career longevity.
Refreshments provided.
Please click here to RSVP.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Nina Simone tribute
NINA SIMONE TRIBUTE/ BLACK ROCK COALITION ORCHESTRA
presented by Harlem Stage at Aaron Davis Hall
Friday, March 26, 7:30pm
7:30 pm Pre-show DJ mixer
8:30 pm Performance
10:00 pm After party
An 18-member all-female ensemble, under the direction of composer Tamar-Kali:
Angela Johnson http://www.angelajohnson.com/fr_index.cfm
Imani Uzuri http://www.imaniuzuri.com/
Joi http://www.myspace.com/joi
Lisala Beatty http://www.myspace.com/lisalab
Toli Nameless http://www.tolinameless.com/
Portia Rolle
Tara Thierry http://www.myspace.com/tarathierry
Tarrah Reynolds http://www.myspace.com/misstarrah
LaFrae Sci http://www.lafrae.com/Frae%20Frae.html
Jenny Hill http://www.jennyhilljazz.com/
Pam Fleming http://www.fearlessdreamer.com/
Lauren Sevian http://www.laurensevian.com/
Mazz Swift-Camlet http://www.myspace.com/mazzmuzik
Amali Premawardhana http://www.myspace.com/amaliprema
Surai Balbeisi http://www.myspace.com/nesrinebalbeisi
Narjess Saad-Ellaoui
Dawn Drake http://www.dawndrake.com/
For complete details, click here. For tickets, click here.
presented by Harlem Stage at Aaron Davis Hall
Friday, March 26, 7:30pm
7:30 pm Pre-show DJ mixer
8:30 pm Performance
10:00 pm After party
An 18-member all-female ensemble, under the direction of composer Tamar-Kali:
Angela Johnson http://www.angelajohnson.com/fr_index.cfm
Imani Uzuri http://www.imaniuzuri.com/
Joi http://www.myspace.com/joi
Lisala Beatty http://www.myspace.com/lisalab
Toli Nameless http://www.tolinameless.com/
Portia Rolle
Tarrah Reynolds http://www.myspace.com/misstarrah
LaFrae Sci http://www.lafrae.com/Frae%20Frae.html
Jenny Hill http://www.jennyhilljazz.com/
Pam Fleming http://www.fearlessdreamer.com/
Lauren Sevian http://www.laurensevian.com/
Mazz Swift-Camlet http://www.myspace.com/mazzmuzik
Amali Premawardhana http://www.myspace.com/amaliprema
Surai Balbeisi http://www.myspace.com/nesrinebalbeisi
Narjess Saad-Ellaoui
Dawn Drake http://www.dawndrake.com/
For complete details, click here. For tickets, click here.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Abraham.In.Motion at Danspace
Here's my Dance Magazine review of opening night of Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion at Danspace Project!
P.S.1 Responds To Censorship Claims Following Incident
P.S.1 Responds To Censorship Claims Following Incident
by Claudia La Rocco, WNYC Performance Club, March 2, 2010
by Claudia La Rocco, WNYC Performance Club, March 2, 2010
Toshi Reagon brings the power
Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely--plus their big crew of lovely friends--really rocked the Schomburg Center last night. This return engagement for Reagon's band, part of the Center's Women's Jazz Festival 2010, was precisely the jolt of joy we need, mid-winter, and in the midst of the often demoralizing struggle for truth in this country.
You know Reagon, if you're lucky, as a talented, versatile singer, songwriter and musician with a profound ear for sonic Americana--from folk to funk, from blues to rock. She masters each of these genres with vocal strategies that easily spiral and swoop from the expressively sinuous to the hard-charging, a combination of warmth and mischief.
She's the daughter of beloved singer-activist, Sweet Honey In The Rock co-founder Bernice Johnson Reagon and shares her mom's knowledge of the power of song to focus, unite and mobilize people. If you've been lucky enough to be in Toshi's presence, you know you can't walk away from her without feeling better about yourself as a human being. She aims for nothing less.
Take all that and multiply it by everyone on the two lists below. You're in the right place when you're watching a show where the audience doesn't have to be coaxed to sing along or clap in time. They do it because it just feels right. And they accept every type of song in the spirit of generosity in which it's offered.
BIGLovely's musicianship is all good, with Adam Widoff's soaring guitar work ringing especially true. Judith Casselberry, Marcelle Davies Lashley and the guest vocalists* formed a sturdy backup for Reagon, but each also got her own excellent moment. The diversity of these spotlights was mindblowing. A day later, I'm still having a hard time deciding on my favorite, although the intense Helga Davis--singing of rallying her life, her joy, her fear and her anger, without judgment or exception, thank you--might just be the one.
If you happened to miss the Schomburg show (tsk, tsk, tsk), just be sure to get over to New Jersey Performing Arts Center where the Reagons, mother and daughter, will be holding court (Saturday, March 20, 7:30pm).
You know Reagon, if you're lucky, as a talented, versatile singer, songwriter and musician with a profound ear for sonic Americana--from folk to funk, from blues to rock. She masters each of these genres with vocal strategies that easily spiral and swoop from the expressively sinuous to the hard-charging, a combination of warmth and mischief.
She's the daughter of beloved singer-activist, Sweet Honey In The Rock co-founder Bernice Johnson Reagon and shares her mom's knowledge of the power of song to focus, unite and mobilize people. If you've been lucky enough to be in Toshi's presence, you know you can't walk away from her without feeling better about yourself as a human being. She aims for nothing less.
Take all that and multiply it by everyone on the two lists below. You're in the right place when you're watching a show where the audience doesn't have to be coaxed to sing along or clap in time. They do it because it just feels right. And they accept every type of song in the spirit of generosity in which it's offered.
BIGLovely's musicianship is all good, with Adam Widoff's soaring guitar work ringing especially true. Judith Casselberry, Marcelle Davies Lashley and the guest vocalists* formed a sturdy backup for Reagon, but each also got her own excellent moment. The diversity of these spotlights was mindblowing. A day later, I'm still having a hard time deciding on my favorite, although the intense Helga Davis--singing of rallying her life, her joy, her fear and her anger, without judgment or exception, thank you--might just be the one.
If you happened to miss the Schomburg show (tsk, tsk, tsk), just be sure to get over to New Jersey Performing Arts Center where the Reagons, mother and daughter, will be holding court (Saturday, March 20, 7:30pm).
Many thanks and all praises to:
Toshi Reagon (guitar, vocals)
Fred Cash (bass)
Adam Widoff (electric guitar)
Robert Burke (drums)
Judith Casselberry (guitar, vocals)
Marcelle Davies Lashley (vocals)
*and featured vocalists:
Stephanie Battle
Josette Marchak
Karma Mayet Johnson