There are lessons for the creative sector in the story of 280 Broadway, whose new tenant, Gibney Dance, opens its doors to the community to shape the future. In a real estate climate where too many are losing space and reporting escalating costs -- real threats to creative life -- some, like Gibney Dance, are making solutions.[Read more here: Making Space Solutions for Making Arts and Culture]
Having received phone calls from the cultural community regarding Lane’s blog “Making Space Solutions for Making Arts and Culture,” I must respond. It is imperative that a deeper investigation regarding the 280 Broadway transition from DNA to Gibney Dance be initiated before any attempt of a qualified statement regarding “lessons learned” be made. As the executive and artistic director of DNA, 2007-2013, Lane’s post is devoid of information that sets the stage for the DNA to Gibney transition. DNA’s original renovations, partnership negotiations, efficiency practices and financial modeling, legal battles, bankruptcy filing and its unnecessary dissolution enabled Gibney Dance to “reengage” the 280 Broadway dance space.Yesterday, I reached out to Lane Harwell for a response to Peila's concerns, and he agreed to forward a written reply by 10am this morning. I have not received his response in time to include it in this post. Business travel over the next few days will delay my ability to post a follow-up, but I still hope to receive and append anything that Harwell would like to share with the readers of InfiniteBody.
DNA successfully saved a space in NYC for dance, which represented nine years of unflagging work by its staff and board, thousands of artists, pro-bono lawyers and financial analysts, foundations and individual donors, elected officials, city cultural representatives, and Fram Realty. Gibney’s team received all the benefits without the burden of DNA's renovation debt, which proved to be its ultimate unraveling. Lane omits vital information that shows the cultural, funding and government sectors colluded to transfer the assets of DNA's/Dance Space Center’s 30 years of community building and program development to what they considered to be a healthier business. 280 Broadway is reengaged. I recognize Gina Gibney's commitment, but it is important to publicly analyze 280 Broadway’s transition so a proper list of “lessons learned” will aid in strengthening the non-profit field and this city’s cultural policy.
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| Gina Gibney (photo: Christopher Duggan © Gina Gibney Dance, Inc.) |
This is our space. It’s a safe space. And here is our opportunity to share our stories and look forward to what may be.
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| Lucy Sexton, Director of The Bessies (c)2013, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
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| Darrell Jones, winner Juried Bessie Award above and below (c)2013, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
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| Joanna Kotze, winner, Outstanding Emerging Choreographer (c)2013, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
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| Lane Harwell, member, Bessies Steering Committee (c)2013, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
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| Beverly D'Anne, member, Bessies Steering Committee (c)2013, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
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| Paz Tanjuaquio, member, Bessies Nominating Committee (c)2013, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
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| Fatima Kafele, member, Bessies Nominating Committee (c)2013, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
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| Aaron Mattocks, nominee Outstanding Performer (c)2013, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
We are in discovery mode, and this is a call to action."
--Lane Harwell, Executive Director, Dance/NYC
Do you know it's Friday, and we're all here talking about research?"
--Anne Coates, VP, Arts and Cultural Development, Municipal Arts Society
Highlights
Opening performance by hip hop dancers Noel Rodriguez and Noah Cabrera from KR3TS, the company of 2011 Bessie winner Violet Galagarza
Juried Bessie Award to choreographer Souleymane Badolo by the 2012 jury--choreographers Lar Lubovitch, Yvonne Rainer and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Badolo will be presented by Nazareth Dance Festival, an inaugural Bessies partner. In addition, a new Bessies partner, DanceForce, a statewide network of dance activists dedicated to linking artists and communities across New York State, will help to generate residencies, performances and educational events around the state for Badolo.
The Bessies will return to Harlem's historic Apollo Theater on Monday, October 15 at 8pm. "How could we not have the Bessies back at the Apollo?" asked Mikki Sheppard, the theater's Executive Producer. "We intend for them to be there forever!" Sheppard also announced that Bessie winner Badolo has already been engaged to present a major work at the Apollo in October 2013.
Click the audio link above to hear announcements of nominees for each of the following categories:
Outstanding Production (of a work performed in a larger capacity venue of more than 400 seats)
Outstanding Production (of a work that stretches the boundaries of a traditional or culturally specific form)
Outstanding Production (of a work performed in a smaller capacity venue of less than 400 seats)
Outstanding Production (of a work not technically considered dance but happening in and influencing dance in New York)
Outstanding Revived Work
Outstanding Visual Design
Outstanding Sound Design or Composition
Outstanding Emerging Choreographer
Outstanding Performer (of a work performed in a larger capacity venue of more than 400 seats)
Outstanding Performer (of a work that stretches the boundaries of a traditional or culturally specific form)
Outstanding Performer (of a work performed in a smaller capacity venue of less than 400 seats)
Outstanding Performer (of a work not technically considered dance but happening in and influencing dance in New York)
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| Brahms "Bravo" LaFortune visits with Queensborough Community College students (c)2011, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
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| QCC students entertained by Bravo (c)2011, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
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| Bravo on the move (c)2011, Eva Yaa Asantewaa |
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| L to r: Eva Yaa Asantewaa; Emily Berry (QCC Dance instructor/Dance Coordinator); Brahms "Bravo" LaFortune |
Last year, our awards ceremony sold out, and that's a final answer to whether the community wanted these awards to come back. They did. They have. And we're here!I'm psyched about the revitalized New York Dance and Performance Awards, now unmistakably back by popular demand and the enormous effort of dedicated organizations and individuals. The "Bessies"--produced by Lucy Sexton and overseen by a steering committee chaired by Dance/NYC's Lane Harwell--deserve our full support as they unfold a new era of inclusiveness and diversity. And that inclusiveness and renewed energy certainly was vividly heralded by hip hop queen Rockafella and her multicultural crew, toasting The Bessies's July 18 press conference with a blistering opening dance act.
--Lucy Sexton
Outstanding Production (of a work performed in a larger capacity venue of more than 400 seats):
Thirteen Diversions--Christopher Wheeldon--American Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera House
Quartet--Merce Cunningham--Merce Cunningham Dance Company, The Joyce Theater
The Bright Stream--Alexei Ratmansky--American Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera House
Outstanding Production (of a work that stretches the boundaries of a traditional or culturally specific form):
Remembering Jimmy and Three to One--Michelle Dorrance, Danspace Project
Los Muñequitos de Matanzas with Max Pollak and Barbaro Ramos, Symphony Space
Caribbean Soul Dancers--Ismael Otero, Salsa Congress, Hilton Hotel
Outstanding Production (of a work performed in a smaller capacity venue of less than 400 seats):
Them--Ishmael Houston-Jones, Performance Space 122
Etudes for an Astronaut--Lance Gries, La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival
Nameless Forest--Dean Moss in collaboration with Sungmyung Chun, The Kitchen
Outstanding Production (of a work not technically considered dance but happening in and influencing the dance community):
Selective Memory--Brian Rogers and Madeline Best, The Chocolate Factory
Lili Handel--Ivo Dimchev, La MaMa
Montgomery Park, or Opulence--Karinne Keithley, Incubator Arts Project
Outstanding Visual Design:
Walter Dundervill for Aesthetic Destiny 1: Candy Mountain (choreographed by Dundervill, performed at Dance Theater Workshop)
Patricia Forelle for La Folia (1700/2011) (choreographed by Raoul Auger/Lynn Parkerson as part of From Baroque to Hip Hop performed at the Performance Space at the Schermerhorn)
Bjorn Amelan, Robert Wierzel, and Janet Wong for Fondly Do We Hope...Fervently Do We Pray (choreographed by Bill T. Jones, performed at the Rose Theater)
Outstanding Sound Design or Composition:
Stephen Vitiello (in collaboration with Patrick DeWit, drumming segment) for Nameless Forest (choreographed by Dean Moss in collaboration with Sungmyung Chun at The Kitchen)
Jon Moniaci for Electric Midwife (choreographed by Beth Gill, performed at The Chocolate Factory)
Rodrigo Marçal for ID: Entidades (choreographed by Sonia Destri, performed at City Center)
Savion Glover for SoLe Sanctuary (choreographed by Savion Glover, performed at The Joyce)
Outstanding Emerging Choreographer:
Souleymane Badolo
Beth Gill
Bouchra Ouizguen
Justin Peck
Outstanding Individual Performance:
Camille A. Brown in The Evolution of a Secured Feminine (choreographed by Camille A. Brown)
Rebecca Serell Cyr in beginning of something (choreographed by RoseAnne Spradlin)
Caleb Teicher in A Shared Evening (choreographed by Michelle Dorrance and Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards)
Marcelo Gomes in Giselle (performed by American Ballet Theatre)
Sustained Achievement in Performance:
Rashaun Mitchell in the work of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company
David Thomson in the work of various choreographers including this season's performance in Muna Tseng's STELLA
Wendy Whelan in the work of the New York City BalletTo keep up with Bessies news, visit this page and/or connect with the Bessies on Facebook.
Greetings from Dance/NYC!
As you may know, with support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Dance/NYC is undertaking a strategic plan to maximize its foundation of service and build new capacity for NYC dance. Emma Dunch and Andrea Sholler of Dunch Arts, LLC, are managing this plan, which was launched with a series of community conversations to deepen Dance/NYC’s understanding of field activity, need and opportunity.
Today Dance/NYC and Dunch Arts bring the discussion online and invite you to join in.
Visit here for the content and guiding questions from the first three community conversations, including a meeting of 23 service organizations (yes, that many organizations working to support the field), a meeting of dancers and dance makers, and a meeting of dance managers. Help us to set the course for the future of Dance/NYC. Tell us what you think. Respond to the questions. Share your own experiences and your goals for the field. And stay tuned for the content from two other public discussions, Thursday, June 16 and Thursday, June 23 (click here to RSVP for 6/23).
Send all feedback to Emma Dunch at dance@duncharts.com.
Please check here for planning and community conversation updates. With thanks for all you do for dance. Onward.
Lane Harwell
Director, Dance/NYC
PS. Click here for the full release of these community conversations: This is what strategic planning should look like in the Internet era.
Dear Friend,
It is up to us - dancers, managers and audiences - to explain the value of dance in NYC to public policy makers not only locally but nationally. Strengthen your grant agencies:
National Endowment for the Arts
The urgency for federal advocacy was heightened this past week when the House of Representatives approved an amendment offered by Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI-7) to cut FY11 funding to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) by $20.6 million. This was on top of the $22.5 million funding reduction already recommended by the House Appropriations Committee.
The wide majority of New York State Representatives voted against the amendment - see list below. The vote was extremely close (217-209) and only five additional votes would have made the difference.
Please visit our partners at the Performing Arts Alliance to learn more and send a personal message to your Representative. Sending thank you notes to the Representatives who voted against the amendment is also helpful for securing their support going forward.
New York State Council on the Arts
Joining the New York City Arts coalition and sister groups statewide, Dance/NYC continues to advocate a restoration of $2.8 million of a cut to New York State Council on the Arts' (NYSCA) Aid to Localities, which is the source of its grants funding to arts groups. Visit the new Arts NYS Coalition Web site (www.ArtsNYS.org) to see the proposal, write your legislators and learn more about how you can make your voice heard in State budget proceedings.
How to Be an Advocate
Dance/NYC will address the role of dance advocacy at our annual symposium this Saturday, February 26. We are offering a free breakout session on How to Be an Advocate with Amy Fitterer, Executive Director of Dance/USA and Brandon Gryde, Director of Government Affairs; as well as a panel on Dance and Diplomacy with Maura Pally of the US Department of State. For more: http://dancenyc.org/news-room/news-and-announcements.php?id=159
Hoping to see you this weekend, and onward for dance in NYC!
Lane
Lane Harwell
Director
Dance/NYC
Dance/NYC's mission is to sustain and advance the professional dance field in New York City-serving as the voice, guide and infrastructure architect for all local dance artists and managers. The organization achieves this mission through three core program areas: advocacy and research, audience engagement and professional development. Visit www.dancenyc.org to learn more about our programs.
