InfiniteBody: 12/1/20

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

InfiniteBody Honor Roll 2020: And then everything changed


Radha Blank in The Forty-Year-Old Version (photo Jeong Park/Netflix)

Poster for HBO's Lovecraft Country, starring Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett

Ruth Negga in Hamlet, St.Ann's Warehouse (photo: Teddy Wolff)

InfiniteBody Honor Roll 2020

Eva Yaa Asantewaa

Not a best-of list but a kind of memory palace

of remarkable arts events from the year 2020!

[Read last year’s list here.]

Performances by Emily Johnson, Adrienne Truscott and John Jarboe at The Poetry Project’s New Year’s Day Marathon at St. Mark’s Church, January 1

Atlantics, directed by Mati Diop, released on Netflix, November 15, 2019

Women’s Resistance by Urban Bush Women at American Dance Platform, The Joyce Theater, January 7 and 12

Indestructible by Abby Zbikowski performed by Dayton Contemporary Dance Company at American Dance Platform, The Joyce Theater, January 7 and 12

Soundz at the Back of my Head by Thomas F. DeFrantz at Gibney, January 9-11

Afro/Solo/Man by Brother(hood) Dance! at Gibney, January 9-11

A Prophets Tale: Portrait of the Lyricist (work-in-progress showing) by 7NMS|Marjani Forté-Saunders + Everett Saunders at Live Artery, New York Live Arts, January 12

AIR by Mariana Valencia at Performance Space New York, January 9-11, 16-18

Five Hundred Years of Women’s Work: The Lisa Unger Baskin Collection at The Grolier Club, through February 8

David Vaughn’s The Dance Historian is In: Dyane Harvey Salaam at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, January 29

Letters To Marsha with Viewing Hours (a diptych) by mayfield brooks at JACK, January 30-February 1

Ode to Mother Earth (The dark divine) by Brother(hood) Dance/Orlando Hunter, presented at Wise Fruit 9.0: Mama Earth at Hudson, February 17

Jordan Casteel: Within Reach at The New Museum, February 19-May 24

Ruth Negga in Hamlet, Gate Theatre Dublin, February 1-March 8

Burnt-Out Wife by Sara Juli, Dixon Place, February 21-28

Ti’ed (The Solo) by Christine C. Wyatt, WorkUp 6.1, at Gibney, March 5-7

Postwar a sci-fi love rage by Glenn Potter-Takata a.k.a. Gorn, WorkUp 6.1, at Gibney, March 5-7

Hope Hunt and The Ascension into Lazarus by Oona Doherty at 92Y Harkness Dance Center, March 6-7

And then, everything changed:

ARTS IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS

Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis starred in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. (Netflix)

2020 Dance Magazine Award winner Camille A. Brown choreographed Netflix's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. (Photo: Whitney Browne)

Two Gentlemen of Verona presented by The Show Must Go Online, streamed live March 19

Fire in my mouth (2019) by Julia Wolfe, New York Philharmonic conducted by Jaap van Zweden, streamed on NYPhil site and viewed March 28

Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare in the Park, The Public Theater) aired on PBS/Great Performances, viewed March 29

Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan (2016), directed by Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger (Netflix), viewed March 30

Revelations Workshop with Hope Boykin, Ailey All Access, viewed March 30

Afectos (U.S. premiere, 2014) by Rocío Molina and Rosario “La Tremendita” at Baryshnikov Arts Center, viewed April 9

Kathak: An American Story, Episode 4 by Leela Dance Collective, featuring Pandit Chitresh Das and Jason Samuels Smith at 2006 Kathak at the Crossroads Festival, viewed on YouTube, April 11

The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show, Netflix, streaming from April 1

Present Laughter by Noël Coward, PBS Great Performances (November 2017), viewed April 12

John Prine and Bill Withers In Their Own Words, a special by Anna Sale, WNYC, aired April 14

Fleabag (National Theatre Live) written by and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge; directed by Tony Grech-Smith and Vicky Jones (2019), Amazon Prime Video, viewed April 15

all decisions will be made by consensus, a Zoom opera composed by Kamala Sankaram, libretto by Rob Handel, directed by Kristin Marting, presented on Zoom by HERE, April 24-26

Balcony Bar from Home by ETHEL, presented by Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 24

Metropolitan Opera At-Home Gala, April 25

Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration, presented by Broadway.com on YouTube, April 27

Frankenstein by Nick Dear and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, National Theatre, streaming starting April 30

Ode by Jamar Roberts, presented by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on YouTube, April 30

Current and Former Ailey Women Dance Cry, video by Danica Paulos, Ailey All Access, YouTube, posted May 6

Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi: there is no Other, presented by MetLiveArts, May 16

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas, written and performed by Hannah Gadsby, directed by Madeleine Parry, Neftlix, streaming from May 26

Pass Over, written by Antoinette Nwandu, directed by Spike Lee (directed for stage by Danya Taymor), Amazon Prime Video, viewed May 30

Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado, directed by Cristina Costantini and Kareem Tabsch, streaming from July 8

The Old Guard, written by Greg Rucka, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, Netflix, streaming from July 10

Met Stars Live in Concert: Jonas Kaufmann in Polling, Bavaria with Helmut Deutsch, piano, viewed July 18

Welcome to A Bright White Limbo, directed by Cara Holmes, starring Oona Doherty, premiered Dance on Camera Festival 2020, July 19

Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance, directed by Khadifa Wong, premiered Dance on Camera Festival 2020, July 19

Gurumbé: Afro-Andalusian Memories, directed by Miguel Angel Rosales, streaming on KweliTV, viewed August 8

Beyond The Visible: Hilma af Klint, directed by Halina Dyrschka, streaming on KinoNOW, viewed August 27

Lose Your Mother by Saidiya Hartman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007)

In The Wake: On Blackness and Being by Christina Sharpe (Duke University Press, 2016)

Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry, Beacon Press, 2019

The Farewell, directed by Lulu Wang (2019), viewed September 10

Met Stars Live in Concert: Joyce DiDonato in Bochum, with Carrie-Ann Matheson, piano, and I’ll Pomo D’Oro, viewed September 13

Taina Asili: Joe’s Pub Live, YouTube, streaming from September 17

Process Memoir 6: thenowlater, Journey Two, Mind by Johnnie Cruise Mercer and TheREDprojectNY, presented by 92Y Harkness Dance Center, September 25

RBG, directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West. Magnolia Films (2018)

Herb Alpert Is…, directed by John Scheinfeld (2020)

The 40-Year-Old Version, directed by Radha Blank, Netflix (2020)

Schitt’s Creek, created by Dan and Eugene Levy, Netflix (2015-2020)

Julius Caesar, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, Donmar Warehouse at St. Ann’s Warehouse (2016), streaming in October

David Byrne’s American Utopia, directed by Spike Lee, HBO/HBO Max (2020)

Lovecraft Country, created by Misha Green, HBO/HBO Max (2020)

King Lear--Virtual Reading, Crescent City Stage, October 17

Dancers on Film: Okwui Okpokwasili & devynn emory (with Kristin Juarez), The Getty Center, October 21

The School for Wives, starring Tonya Pinkins, Molière in the Park, October 24

The Tempest, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, Donmar Warehouse at St. Ann’s Warehouse (2016), streaming in October

DEBATE: Baldwin vs. Buckley, adapted and directed by Christopher McElroen, BRIC, YouTube starting October 22

Macbeth (film, 2010), directed by Rupert Goold, starring Sir Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood, PBS Great Performances, streaming November

Between the World and Me (film, 2020), directed by Kamilah Forbes, HBO, streaming from November 21

Key & Peele (five seasons, 2012-2015), starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, HBO, viewed throughout November

Mangrove (film, 2020) in Small Axe, directed by Steve McQueen, Amazon Prime Video, streaming from November 20

Lovers Rock (film, 2020) in Small Axe, directed by Steve McQueen, Amazon Prime Video, streaming from November 20

Education (film, 2020) in Small Axe, directed by Steve McQueen, Amazon Prime Video, streainging from November 20

On the Sunny Side of the Street by Kayla Farrish, Louis Armstrong House, from November 29

Last Gasp WHF by Split Britches (Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw) at La MaMa, streaming from November 20-December 12

nevermore by Taylor Swift

Dear Artist by Kelly Tsai, YouTube, from December 9

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, directed by George C. Wolfe and starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, Netflix, from December 18

Canvas, written and directed by Frank E. Abney III, Neftlix, from December 14

My Octopus Teacher, directed by James Reed and Pippa Ehrlich, Netflix, from September 4

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

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My Curatorial Highlights of 2020

CURATORIAL HIGHLIGHTS 2020

I call on all Black creatives to preserve and tell our own stories.

We must center, treasure and tell our own stories, or others will tell them their own way for their own uses--or refuse to tell them at all.

The comprehensive story of Calendar Year 2020 is a difficult one, and there are different ways I could tell it. This day, though, I wish to acknowledge and celebrate things achieved before and, then, in spite of the pandemic. Things accomplished before and, then, in response to the rise of this year’s anti-racism uprising. Things created in joy and, then, in sorrow, in an effort to keep at least some movement happening at a time of stasis and loss and to build circles of mutual support.

GIBNEY CURATION

Below is just a sample of notable events I curated for the Gibney organization during 2020:

Black Dance Artists on Masculinity, panel moderated by J. Bouey and featuring Du’Bois A’Keen, Thomas F. DeFrantz, Orlando Hunter, Jr. and Ricarrdo Valentine

Soundz at the Back of My Head, premiered by Thomas F. DeFrantz/Slippage, Bessie Award nominee (Quran Karriem) for Outstanding Sound Design/Musical Composition

Afro/Solo/Man, premiered by Brother(hood) Dance! (Orlando Hunter, Jr. and Ricarrdo Valentine), Bessie Award nominee for Outstanding Production and for Outstanding Visual Design (video)

Digital: Unidentified Fly Object (U.F.O) by Tendayi Kuumba with Greg Purnell

Long Tables: Latina/x in Dance and Performance (Alicia Diaz, Mariana Valencia, Yanira Castro, Larissa Velez-Jackson, Beatrice Capote) and Does Dance Matter to America?
(Danni Gee, Brinda Guha, Joya Powell, Ayodele Casel, Maura Nguyen Donohue, Aynsley Vandenbroucke)

Art + Action Artist Talks: Solo for Solo Artists, moderated by myself and featuring Marion Spencer, Darrin Wright, Zui Gomez, Wendell Gray III and Paul Hamilton. Spirituality of the Body, moderated by Charmaine Warren and featuring Laurel Atwell, Shamar Wayne Watt, Ogemdi Ude, and iele paloumpis

Sorry I Missed Your Show: presentations by Tess Dworman, 2020 Bessie Award nominee for Breakout Choreographer; LaJuné MacMillian; Michelle Boulé; Jennifer Nugent; Stefanie Batten Bland

Living Gallery: word-based performances by Linda La Beija; Nia Witherspoon; Melanie Greene; Kayhan Irani; Oceana James

Some of the many artists I met with during this year for consultations or discussions about developing work have included Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Leyya Tawil, zavé martohardjono, Kayla Farrish, Dohee Lee, mayfield brooks, Audre Wirtanen, Colleen Thomas, Olaiya Olayemi, Ahn Vo, Kazu Kumagai and Lisa LaTouche.

CURATING DANCING QUEERLY FESTIVAL

I was delighted to be recommended to the producers of Boston’s annual Dancing Queerly Festival to guest curate a digital evening of video works from New York-based LGBTQ artists. I selected J. Bouey, Ni’Ja Whitson, Maria Bauman-Morales, zavé martohardjono and Brother(hood) Dance! for this well-received program.

In years past, I have also enjoyed curating events for Danspace Project, La MaMa and 92Y Harkness. I'm still eager for independent curatorial or dramaturgical projects--specifically Black- or BIPOC-centered ones. Reach out!

CREATING BLACK DIASPORA

This summer, I started organizing Black Diaspora, my pilot program designed for rising Black artists from a variety of cultural backgrounds and dance/performance techniques and traditions. I invited artists to apply following recommendations from more experienced Black artists in New York's community, and a cohort of eighteen was formed. Since September, sponsored by Gibney, they have met by Zoom to hold conversations on topics of their own choosing. Some of these informal community conversations have been joined by invited artists such as Ayodele Casel, J. Bouey, Jerron Herman, Kayla Hamilton, Ni'Ja Whitson, Raja Feather Kelly and Rokafella and Kwikstep and more are coming in 2021. Participation is free. Recently, I was offered additional funding to curate a series of workshops for the Black Diaspora cohort. These will run from February through June of 2021, facilitated by Cynthia Oliver, Gilbert T. Small II, Paloma McGregor, Nicole Stanton and Bebe Miller. I have invited this first cohort to return for a second fiscal year (September 2021 through June 2022). It is my intention to develop Black Diaspora into a full-featured residency program over the next few years.

LAUNCHING IMAGINING: A GIBNEY JOURNAL

Along with its newly-redesigned website, Gibney now has a bi-monthly online journal--Imagining: A Gibney Journal--which I have edited along with outgoing Curatorial and Editorial Coordinator Dani Cole. (Monica Nyenkan has now joined Gibney in the CEC role and has begun assisting me with Imagining.) Some of the writers engaged in our September and November 2020 issues were Ogemdi Ude, George Emilio Sanchez, Maura Nguyen Donohue, Conrhonda E. Baker and Aynsley Vandenbroucke. We are situated at the intersection of the arts and social justice and seek to make space for underrepresented voices.

CREATING/CURATING THE EVA YAA ASANTEWAA BLACK ARTS LEADERSHIP AWARD (EYABALA)

I have awarded the EYABALA space grant at Gibney--funded through a generous contribution from board member Andrew A. Davis--to nia love, Jerron Herman, David Thomson, and Jordan Demetrius Lloyd. These artists will receive 50 hours of free rehearsal space when studios in both of Gibney’s centers can safely reopen. (UPDATE: Due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict, Jerron Herman had to withdraw from this program. André Zachery has been given this award in his place. And, last but not least, the hours have been increased for all awardees from 50 to a whopping 100!)

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

In November, I convened a new independent group Black Curators in Dance and Performance, two-dozen strong, with a focus on mutual support, creative collaboration and advocacy. We have set January 22 for our third meeting.

The independent Artists and Advocates of Color Collective (AACCollective), which I proposed as a haven and support for BIPOC artists affiliated in any way with Gibney, finally began to take off this year, growing in membership and activity.

I have also had the honor of serving on the 2020 Bessie Awards Steering Committee for a short spell this year and joined some amazing community leaders on the advisory Dance/NYC Symposium Committee in preparation for the upcoming symposium (March 17-19, 2021).

Most of our journeys have been disrupted this year, and I have had to put aside or alter many things planned for this year and the next. But I’m happy to say 2020 still offered good opportunities to stay in motion and strive to make a difference.