Dancing Through the Bronx series launches in August

Dancing Through the Bronx is a Bronx-positive traveling festival of free, public site-specific dance performances by Larry Keigwin, James “Cricket” Colter and Bronx-based choreographers Arthur Aviles, Toni Renee Johnson, and Ni’Ja Whitson Adebanjo.

Venues include:

Wave Hill

Hayden Lord Park 

Owen Dolen Park

Dancing Through the Bronx

Wednesday, August 13 through Saturday August 16

For a complete schedule of shows

and additional information, click here.

New Bronx digs for BAAD!

Dance artist Arthur Aviles, artistic director of BAAD! (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance) sent this update on the the organization's move from its longtime Hunts Point location to a new home at Westchester Square.

Charles Rice-Gonzalez and Arthur Aviles
in front of their new arts building
on the grounds of St. Peter's Episcopal Church
(photo courtesy of Arthur Aviles)

BAAD! has been through a beautiful storm this summer.

First, I want to share that we have officially moved from our beloved Hunts Point. Through all the challenges this has posed for our organization, one of the shining silver linings has been the people and organizations who have stepped up, and in, to help us.

Since, Taconic/Denham, Wolf our current landlord, let us know about a year ago that they wouldn't be giving us a long term lease, and would only consider a one year extension at twice the rate of our current lease, we began our quest to find a new home. We have been humbled and uplifted by the support that has come our way.

After Taconic/Denham, Wolf created the conditions that forced us to leave, the Banknote. Denham, Wolf showed us a space and led us to believe that we'd be let out of our lease, we entered into a lease negotiation with St. Peter's Episcopal Church. As I sought help to raise money for a move that was not in my budget, St. Peter's offered a month of free rent and I asked Taconic for help with a free month or two. Instead, Taconic co-CEO, Charles Bendit, stated that since two years were on the lease, we needed to pay them to let us out. After being clear on our financial position he then brought that down to one year. (There is also precedence of Taconic/Denham Wolf paying a tenant to leave and finding them a space with Bronxworks led by Carolyn McLaughlin at that time, but for reasons I'm sure they have, they didn't extend that to Charles and me.)

Although being a small ($300,000) arts organization we would have preferred to be let out of our lease and paying double rent will be crippling to us (and they have a full understanding of that), they have the law on their side, and since we want to abide by the law, they have agreed to give us a lease termination with the conditions of paying them a maximum of 6 months rent, on a month by month basis, unless they find a tenant for our space before the six months are up.

There are many aspects to our story, including the classic David and Goliath one, with BAAD! being a small budget arts organization and essentially grappling with the multi-billion dollar Taconic Titans, as the media has called them, and although moving from Hunts Point and leaving the space we've built over 14 years has been difficult, to say the least, we decided to be as strategic as possible to keep providing a space to serve our artists and audiences.

We will be located at 2474 Westchester Avenue in Westchester Square in a gothic revivalist building on the grounds of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. It's a fully equipped theater.

As you know in the Bronx, several other groups have lost their spaces including the Rebel Diaz Art Collective and Casa Atabex, it's one of the ways progress in the borough is manifesting itself.

Charles and I know we can call on the Bronx Dance coalition community for help.  So we count you among our champions here in the Bronx. We have also gotten great support from other community members and audience who have said where you go, we will follow.

So, off we go to Westchester Square, to build a new temple for dance and the arts, and to expand our audience and make new inroads, and help make Westchester Square a cultural district (along with BCA and it's new building).  Although, we didn't wake up one day and decide to move, finding a wonderful new place to land has been exciting.

Charles and I hope you can visit our new home soon.  We are having an open house on Sunday, October 27 from 1pm to 6pm and will kick off our BlakTina Performance series on Saturday, November 2 at 8pm with a dance tribute to Whitney Houston called Love Will Save the Day.

We will have a few more events to invite folks into the new space and will keep you posted.

With respect, admiration and deep appreciation,
Arthur

Bronx ideas--and dance artists--needed for new projects

Members of the Bronx dance community are invited to a brainstorming forum at BAAD, convened by Arthur Aviles (Director, Bronx Dance Coalition) and Aviva Davidson (Executive and Artistic Director, Dancing in the Streets) to discuss issues of anti-gentrification and prospective collaborative projects offering opportunities for local dance artists.

The gathering is scheduled for Thursday, May 9, 5:30pm. For more information, contact Aviles at arthuraviles[at]gmail[dot]com or 718-842-5223.

Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD)
841 Baretto Street, 2nd Floor, the Bronx
(map/directions)

Bold move for Aviva Davidson's Dancing in the Streets

I have an article in the Winter 2013 issue of Seattle-based Grantmakers in the Arts Reader (GIAreader) on New York's Dancing in the Streets organization and its initiatives in the South Bronx.

Click here to read "Dancing in the Streets Busts a South Bronx Move."

The Reader is also now available as an ePub for Apple devices in the iTunes store, for Kindle on Amazon.com, and for Nook tablets on Barnesandnoble.com.

BlakTina: All good at BAAD!

Fall has come to BAAD, that multiverse of the arts up in the Bronx. The BlakTina Performance Series kicks off on October 14 and has many temptations. Check out, for instance:

Black in Latin America, a four-part documentary on the influence of people of African descent on Latin America and the Caribbean, featuring noted scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  Saturday, October 15, 6pm. Free.

Captured! Dance on Film. Choreographers Arthur Aviles, Gabri Christa and Joey Tomocik share their dance film projects and talk about inspiration and process. Thursday, October 20, 8pm. Free.

There's more dance, poetry, storytelling, bomba and capoeira classes, even a closing night Monster Mash party in the spirit of Halloween.

You can't go wrong when it's all good at BAAD!

Get more BlakTina details here and tickets here.

And check out this video celebrating Charles Rice-Gonzalez's first novel, CHULITO.

Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD)
841 Barreto Street, Bronx
(directions)

Dance OUT, baby!

BAAD! 

(Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance) 

invites you to...

DANCIN' OUT

Saturday, June 11 at 8pm

A dance concert ranging from "the energetic to the ethereal to the erotic" with works by choreographers Cesar Abreu, Arthur Aviles, Filip Condeescu, Jessica Danser, Amin Jai, Jasmin Rituper, Tadashi and the David Shen Dance Group

Click here to RSVP or call 718-842-5223.

841 Barretto Street [red door], 2nd Floor, The Bronx
(directions)

What the wind can't blow away

The following fascinating account has just come in from Dance Films Association and BAAD.

Julia and Joyce: The Story of Two Pioneers

Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD!) presented on March 13, 2010 a world premiere screening of the documentary JULIA AND JOYCE: THE STORY OF TWO PIONEERS directed by Sonia Dumas, Trinidad and Tobago, 2009, 60M. The filmmaker and one of her subjects, Joyce Kirton, came from Trinidad to show their film, bringing their weather with them. Wild winds, torrential rains, and a blast of calm courtesy of their sunny, serene temperaments.

A window blew in on an actors class at BAAD! just before our master class in Afro-Caribbean dance was to begin. Fortunately the community center across the street from BAAD, The Point, welcomed us! Joyce Kirton regaled us with stories and insights about the dances we learned, as demonstrated by Sonia Dumas and accompanied by three masterful drummers. Along with Joyce came her brother and his wife from Florida, her sister from Texas, and two dancers from Toronto, all coming to NYC to show their love and support for Joyce.

Arthur Aviles and Charles Rice-Gonzalez hosted this event with admirable aplomb. Despite the disastrous loss of a window at BAAD!, the rains threatening to tear the house of BAAD! down, they served supper, and wine, replaced the window, put candles in all the windows by the time of the screening, and pulled in a crowd!

The New York Times printed a story on the same day as the screening and class on Trinidadian dancer Mike Quashie who was known as The Limbo King in the sixties. Susan Quist, a long time friend of Mike Quashie who hung with Jimi Henderson, Lou Reed, and Led Zepellin, brought Mike to the screening. Also at the screening were Sonia's teachers from NYU, Phyllis Lamhut, Pat Hall and Pam Patrick.

The film JULIA AND JOYCE:THE STORY OF TWO PIONEERS looks at aspects of the Trinidad and Tobago dance world and its local and global impact through the eyes of two local dance legends--Julia Edwards and Joyce Kirton--in an attempt to capture some of this history. These two women, now in their seventies, have collectively contributed over 110 years of dedicated, pioneering work to the dance community of Trinidad and Tobago. Between them, they have been instrumental in the preservation of and innovation in countless traditional dance forms, and their commitment to dance is echoed in the accomplishments of the many dancers and choreographers of the generations that have come after them.

For more information on the film, contact Sonja Dumas at: aguawaterleau@yahoo.com.

Audition for Aviles: female singers with sense of humor

Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre is preparing a new musical theatre/dance work called Super Maeva de Oz which takes inspiration from The Wizard of Oz to tell the story of a young Latina lesbian coming out in the South Bronx in 1977. The piece will need a chorus made up of 6 to 12 participants that backs up the actress. The songs include cursing, humorous and sexually explicit references.

Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre is seeking singers for the chorus who have: a good singing voice (formal training a plus); can sing with Spanish/ Latina accent; and OK with being perceived as Queer.

We are having auditions on Saturday November 28, from 10am to 12pm and from 6pm to 9pm. Also on Sunday, November 29th from 5pm to 10pm.

Audition will be at BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance, 841 Barretto Street, Bronx, NY 10474.

Preview performance of the songs will take place the second week of February at BAAD!

REHEARSAL STIPEND AND PERFORMANCE PAY. Rehearsals start in December.

Directions: Take #6 train to Hunts Point Avenue. Visit website: www.BronxAcademyOfArtsAndDance.org/directions.htm

To make an appointment call BAAD! at 718.824.5223.
Fax or e-mail resumes to 718.542.4077 or arthuraviles@gmail.com

Aviles and Rice-Gonzalez update

Here's an update, just received, from Arthur Aviles and Charles Rice-Gonzalez. (See my original post, here, about the fire in their home.)

We want to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support. We’re so fortunate to have a loving and powerful community around us and we apologize for not being able to respond to everyone.

We will get back to folks individually in addition to this e-mail, but one of the saving graces of this technology it allows us to say the same thing in one fell swoop, especially when each time we talk about "what happened" it brings back a lot of our pain and loss.

We’re thankful for the many offers we’ve had to stay in spare rooms, crash on couches, stay at guest homes and other accommodations. There were so many that they would support a "Charles and Arthur" gypsy tour for the next year, at least.

From Cassandra offering her place to us while she crashes with a friend, to the youth of the Bronx Pride Center organizing a bake sale, to Eva Yaa Asantewaa posting the info on her blog (http://infinitebody.blogspot.com/2008/10/fire-at-home-of-arthur-aviles.html), to Bill Aguado from the Bronx Council on the Arts's generous offers, to Elizabeth, Jorge and my mom and family offering their cars for us to get around and to the cards with checks or donations that have appeared out of the blue, we are moved to tears with every offer and every act. Arthur and I share the phone messages from our respective cell phones and the e-mails with each other and each voice, each note is received like a much needed hug.

We’re strong guys but this has been very difficult. And we miss Canela immensely.

Here is a general update:

• Mrs. Ross is settled in with Mr. & Mrs. Phillips who live across the street and have known Mrs. Ross for nearly all of the 50 years she has lived on Manida Street. If you know her and would like to send a note they can be sent c/o Mr. & Mrs. Phillips, 852 Manida Street, Bronx, NY 10474.
• Arthur and I are staying at a furnished apartment that Pregones Theatre in the Bronx has for visiting artists. It’s private and quiet and a short bus ride to BAAD! Jorge, Alvan and everyone at Pregones have been great lending support and stepping back to give us space.
• We are dealing with Canela’s remains and will have a small ceremony at some point to honor her life and all the love that she lavished on us and the love we gave to her for the 9 ½ years that she was with us.
• Arthur and I are helping Mrs. Ross navigate the logistics and legalities following the fire - dealing with public adjusters, her insurance agency, etc.
• The damage needs to be assessed and catalogued by the public adjuster and Mrs. Ross’s insurance company before we know what is salvageable from our place.
• As you may know, insurance companies strive to pay as little as possible, so until the adjuster battles it out, we won’t know how quickly our apartment will be habitable again.
• Thankfully the physical damage to our apartment didn’t go beyond the busted windows and skylights, several holes in walls through out the apartment, the destruction of some property and the smoke damage to all the clothes, coats, linens and furniture. (The Red Cross was helpful with tips on how to salvage clothes, so we’ve been able to get some clothes out and clean them.) But it could be several months before we are back in our home.
• Arthur and I are now working to balance our lives by returning to the joy of the work we do at BAAD! and with creating and expressing our respective arts, taking up our other responsibilities while we deal with all the post fire logistics to support Mrs. Ross.

So for now, in response to all your offers for assistance, we are in a ‘holding pattern’ and will have a better idea of what to ask for in the coming week or weeks. But things that may come up are help cleaning our place to sort out what is trash and what is salvageable before the official cleaning company comes in to remove the debris. Then we can assess what we need to have replaced in terms of furniture, beds, coats, etc. Mrs. Ross’s property is covered to a certain extent with her insurance, but we, as her tenants, are not, and unfortunately we didn’t have renter’s insurance. (Which we discovered is not that high, but that’s relative.)

So for now, we will hold your good thoughts, prayers and offerings close to our heart. They have all been very healing. We hope to see you at BAAD! or around soon. And with all the love, support and resources Arthur and I will get through this.

With Love,
Charles and Arthur

Fire at home of Arthur Aviles

Word has just come in about a fire last night at the Bronx home of dancer-choreographer Arthur Aviles and his partner, writer-publicist Charles Rice-Gonzalez.

Arthur and Charles--who were away at a class at BAAD!--are safe but, sadly, their dog, Canela, did not make it out. Canela's barking was what first alerted their landlady and saved her life. The landlady's efforts to save Canela in turn were unsuccessful, and the dog died of smoke inhalation.

As I learn more, I will keep IB readers updated about how Arthur and Charles are faring and how the community can offer support.

In an email statement about the incident, the couple wrote:

Mrs. Ross's apartment was completely destroyed and our place wasn't directly damaged by the fire, but they had to break through walls, and the roof and break out all the windows in every room and trashed the house, there's water damage everything smells of smoke.

So, we have a lot to deal with today and over the next few days including going to the Red Cross. They will help us find a place to live.

We are feeling so many things at the moment and are working hard to think clearly.

We know that people will want to help, and we are not sure how to respond. We are moving very slowly.

The bright light in all this is that Mrs. Ross is fine and strong. And Arthur and I have each other (and the turtles).

And we have beautiful people in our lives.

Out like that choreographers wanted!

A message from Arthur Aviles of BAAD! and BxDC

Hello Dance community!

BxDC (the Bronx dance coalition)

is searching for choreographers

who want to be a part of

"Out like that"

The Bronx's only multi disciplinary LGBT Arts festival in June
Celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride.

BAAD!'s dance concert will be on

June 20th 8pm show

with a bare bones tec earlier that same day

anyone interested in showing work is welcome to contact us @ 718 842 5223

we can offer each choreographer $100

for a piece no more than 10minutes.

We would love to have 10 choreographers at the most

we're on a deadline so we need a confirmation of participation by 9am this Thursday morning, June 5th

we are asking that you take the LGBT community into consideration when thinking of doing any particular piece

To me the sky's the limit because we are not a limited community.

We have had great responses in the past! from all persuasions.

BAAD!

The Bronx Academy of Arts and dance

841 Barretto St Bronx NY 10474

718 842 5223

Peace and love to you all

Arthur

New York pride

Yesterday, after dashing from one show (Doug Elkins's Fraulein Maria at Joe's Pub) to another (Danspace Project's Dance CoOp roundup of artists for the APAP crowd), I realized that an unanticipated feeling had blossomed in me--pride. I felt this pride most intensely while I watched Levi Gonzalez dance tribute, a "research project in progress," as he calls it, a lineup of snippets of movement prepared for him by a virtual Murderors' Row of postmodern choreographers. Before each bit, he'd call out the name of its creator: Luciana Achugar, John Jasperse, Miguel Gutierrez, Beth Gill, Maria Hassabi. I can't say why, exactly, but hearing Gonzalez's clear, resonant voice intoning each name sounded like a roll call of heroes. And I suppose it is. Sitting among all of these presenter folks from all over, I had this flash of pride for New York.

Earlier in the afternoon, I'd been swept away by Elkins's Fraulein Maria, his loving, clever dance-up of The Sound of Music--as hilarious as I'd been promised it would be but completely enchanting and soul-touching, too, which was a total surprise. Elkins packs so much rambunctious dance and comedy into an hour and a stage the size of an East Village bathroom, and his performers could not be more delightful. Too many heroic names to call out here--it takes a village to climb this mountain--but some of the most notable are Arthur Aviles, Nicole Wolcott, Jennifer Nugent, David Parker, Archie Burnett, Mark Gindick, Johnnie Moore and Elkins, the man himself. Next chance you get to see it, just go. You will be charmed and moved to your core.

The Great Gay Photo Show of 2008

The Great Gay Photo Show of 2008 opens next week, featuring 175 photographic works by over 60 artists, including several photos of our very own dance hero, Arthur Aviles, taken by Lois Greenfield and Steven Haas. Photos will be for sale and the proceeds will go to Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre.

Subect matter included in the exhibition ranges from political and humorous to erotic and documentary. The works exhibited will include both traditional photographic methods as well as cutting-edge digitally composed and manipulated images.

Location: Leslie Lohman Gallery, 26 Wooster Street, Manhattan
Opening reception: Tuesday, January 15 (6-8pm)
Regular run: January 16 - Feb. 16, Tuesdays through Saturdays (Noon-6pm)