An urgent radiance: Rhiannon Giddens and "Sisters Present"

Musician, vocalist and actor
Rhiannon Giddens
(photo: David McClister)

I don't recall how and when I first learned that musician and vocalist Rhiannon Giddens would be hosted by Symphony Space for a full-on residency (November 8-17), but that day was a blessed one. Despite a busy schedule and frequent exhaustion, I set my mind to the task and made my way to Symphony Space last night for the final performance by Giddens and her collaborators. My guest and I will long remember this evening for its generosity and phenomenal powers of healing.

Fans of Giddens have admired her since she first stepped out as co-founder, with Dom Flemons, of beloved, Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops at the nexus of folk, blues, Celtic, bluegrass, gospel and other traditional genres. Her versatile voice and keen, beguiling musicianship on banjo and fiddle brought buoyancy and illumination to the band's signature Americana blend. Since then, pursuing a solo career appears to have sharply defined and deepened this artist, recipient of a 2017 MacArthur Fellowship.

The musical alliances she makes now--with long-revered Toshi Reagon and (new to me) Chicago's Allison Russell and Tennessee's Amythyst Kiah--signal a growing desire to join forces with Black women dedicated to both ancestral nourishment and the struggle for social justice. The Giddens who was present onstage with these sisters--as well as her blood sister and beautiful poet Lalenja Harrington, pianist/accordionist Francesco Turrisi, drummer Attis Clopton and bassist Jason Sypher--seems radically pared down to the essentials of being a direct conduit of spiritual energy and effort. By evidence of last night's show, Giddens has mastered the intuitive art of, as I often call it, "getting the right people in the room." But she also knows how to foster unparalleled focus and harmony among those talented allies.

In Giddens now, clearly there is an inward turning, a seeking out of, as she announced in her first lyric, the "ten-thousand stories, ten thousand songs" to chronicle, as well, the "ten-thousand wrongs." At her right hand was Russell, a sensitive, joyous woman with her mind on Black folks surviving and thriving, a Caribbean lilt in her own first song. (She has Grenadian roots.) Even "with feet in shackles," she trilled out, "we'll be dancing."

To Russell's right, Kiah stood, gruff and driving voice transforming the well-rehearsed tale of John Henry into a peppy tune spotlighting, instead, his gutsy wife Polly Ann. Polly can you lift that hammer? Yes, I can. Yes, I can.

Reagon, as she is often wont to do--whether onstage or on Facebook--reminded us what time it is, that we're the ones we've been waiting for, that "there is nobody else but you." I have never heard Reagon as seductively full of revolutionary fire as she was during this show, seated with her guitar on the far left end of Giddens's musical crew. She came with legacy and nothing to prove, and yet she proved so much in every moment, whether supporting her sisters or rocking out on her own.

I was sorry that I missed Thursday's residency show, the one devoted to Turrisi's artistry. His accordion-playing on Friday was a delectable surprise--every bit as fluid, as supple, as his piano work.

This coming February, look for Songs of Our Native Daughters, a Smithsonian Folkways album recorded by Giddens, Russell and Kiah, confronting slavery, racism, and misogyny in our nation's history and offering stories of Black struggle, resistance, and hope.

And here, from 2016, is Giddens's and Russell's a capella performance of Russell's "The Wind That Shakes The Barley."

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

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Johnnie Cruise Mercer presents "process-memoir" at NYU Tisch

Dancer-choreographer Johnnie Cruise Mercer
and his troupe present a "process-memoir"
from their NYU Tisch arts residency,
this week at Tisch's Jack Crystal Theater.
(photo: Marisol Diaz)

Is there a possible way to ascend past what is expected from me, and to return to what I truly know? -- Johnnie Cruise Mercer

This is not really a formal review of the "process-memoir" offered, last evening, by Johnnie Cruise Mercer/TheREDprojectNYC at NYU Tisch School of the Arts's Jack Crystal Theater. I write merely to ask you to consider going tonight for its final showing.

And, yes, I know this has been the season from hell with multiple dance events stacked atop each calendar date like acrobats forming a circus pyramid. But still, go see Mercer's to ascend past numbness and witness birth. You'll have fun, you'll see some amazing performers, and you'll experience surprises I'm not going to reveal. Mercer treats his audience like frogs in that pot of water that starts off nice-and-comfy then gets progressively warmer and warmer.

I had just one problem: this evening--reportedly the third part of a multi-part "process-memoir" moving towards a two-part work...well, maybe you get the picture--feels very long, stuffed with stuff in need of judicious pruning. Excess, though, does seem to be a necessary Mercer ingredient. You'll see what I mean.

Take your buddy who thinks they/she/he can't get into dance or simply get it. Take your mate who only makes time for pop culture. Take your woke co-worker who will surely appreciate how art can simultaneously entertain and question that entertainment. Take anyone capable of having their mind blown.

And then, let's all wait and see what TheREDprojectNYC will make of all of this.

Mercer calls his performers "company partners" and "a community of artistic dare-devils," and so they are: Shanice Mason, Thomas Tyger Moore, Nicholas Rodrigues, Erica Saucedo and collaborating artist Adrianne Ansley.

Visual design/creative consultant: Torian Ugworji

to ascend past numbness and witness birth. concludes this evening with a performance at 7:30pm. For information and tickets, email theredproj.company@gmail.com or click for the Facebook event page.

Jack Crystal Theater
NYU Tisch School of the Arts
5th Floor, 111 2nd Avenue (between 6th and 7th Streets), Manhattan
(map/directions)

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In memoriam: The tragedy of Fukushima

Eiko Otake introduces her commemorative program,
Remembering Fukushima: Art and Conversations in the Cathedral,
at New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine
all photos ©2017, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

During yesterday's anniversary remembrance of Japan's 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster--a deeply moving event organized at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine by artist-in-residence Eiko Otake--Katja Kolcio, choreographer and Wesleyan professor, spoke of the political upheaval wrought in the wake of Ukraine's 1986 crisis at Chernobyl. Photographer William Johnston, Otake's longtime collaborator, noted the growing environmental activism in Japan following the Fukushima crisis. And we were frequently reminded that, just about fifty miles north of here, in Buchanan, New York, the Indian Point nuclear power plant poses a similar threat. A few months ago, state officials announced an agreement that, by 2021, would lead to the complete shutdown of Indian Point--long touted as "Safe. Secure. Vital." and "Right For New York" by its operating Entergy Corporation.

Massive visual documentation, provided by Johnson and others, alerts the world to the devastating, enduring consequences of nuclear accidents--whole towns emptied of people, toxic and uninhabitable except by irradiated animals and plant life. Otake's program drew together numerous educators, activists and visual, literary, music and movement artists to illustrate how creative communication can help us begin the process of grasping the massive scale of the tragedy and the details of lives destroyed or upended.

And Otake, the inimitable, danced her latest iteration of A Body in a Cathedral, cloaked this time in black, thrusting through holy space like a crow in flight, in alarm, disorientation, displacement, grief...and warning.

"This is what I do as an artist," said Otake.
"I hang around. Thanks to the Cathedral for allowing me to hang around."

Remembering Fukushima: Art and Conversations in the Cathedral was presented in partnership with Asia Society and Danspace Project.

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Update on Eiko Otake at Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Eiko Otake at New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine
November 2016
(photos: William Johnston)

Ask master dancer Eiko Otake about her experience of being an artist-in-residence for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine's Dignity Initiative and, among other things, she will speak of keen feelings of outsider identity. Not US born, not white, not Christian. And yet this grand, historic institution on New York's Upper West Side--with its well-known commitment to the arts, the environment and social justice--has become a space for her to connect with people from all over the world and all walks of life, most by happenstance.

Eiko's residency at the Cathedral from Eiko and Koma on Vimeo.

Last November, I wrote of Otake's engagement there in The Christa Project, a visual arts exhibition centered on images of female divinity (see post). Her unique residency continues through early March when she will join with anthropologist Marilyn Ivy (Columbia University), photographer-historian William Johnston, videographer Alexis Moh, performance artist John Kelly and other speakers and participants to commemorate the six-year anniversary of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, the most severe nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Remembering Fukushima: Art and Conversations, presented in partnership with Asia Society and Danspace Project, will explore the relationship of body, place and history. Participating artists and speakers include:

Eiko Otake

William Johnston

Marilyn Ivy

Thomas Looser

Mark McCloughan

Alexis Moh

Nora Thompson

Megu Tagami

John Kelly

Carol Lipnik

DonChristian Jones

Geo Wyeth

Ronald Ebrecht

Ralph Samuelson

Elizabeth Brown

Jake Price

Nona Faustine Simmons

NYC iSCHOOL

Remembering Fukushima: Art and Conversations

Saturday, March 11, 1pm-5pm

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine

1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street), Manhattan

(directions)

All are welcome. A donation of $10 is suggested but not required.

For information and updates, click here.

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to InfiniteBody

Click here!

Great opportunity for cultural journalists interested in circus

En Piste invites ten cultural journalists from Canada and the northeastern United States to participate in a residency program in Montreal, during the festival Montréal Complètement Cirque, July 3-6, 2014.

During the 4-day program, participants will contribute in a series of moderated thematic discussions, attend lectures by key circus experts, see three to five shows and meet with artists taking part in the festival.

At the end of the residency, participants will each be required to deliver one article (2,000 words) in English or French. These articles will be published on En Piste’s website and on all other pertinent media: social networks, newswire, blogs, etc. Journalists will also be invited to publish the articles in their respective media.

En Piste will cover costs related to the residency: plane or train tickets, local transportation, accommodation, meals, tickets for shows. There are no participation fees.

Get complete information and an application form here.

Kyle Abraham awarded residency by New York Live Arts

Kyle Abraham Gets New New York Live Arts Residency
by Felicia R. Lee, The New York Times, November 7, 2012

Dance in Queens wants you!

TOPAZ ARTS Space Exploration Dance Residency

TOPAZ ARTS announces a new open call for Dance in Queens 2012:

Space Exploration Dance Residency. Taking place at TOPAZ ARTS, this artist residency focuses on contemporary dance makers, offering choreographers concentrated time and a private space in which to explore new ideas.

Up to six choreographers will be selected to receive free rehearsal space at TOPAZ ARTS. Choreographers will each be awarded 30 hours during April to June 2012 (hours to be used within a one-month period). The intent of this residency is to support the creation process within a concentrated time, allowing choreographers a space in which to explore ideas or new working methods, with an opportunity to have informal open rehearsals or artist talks to discuss their findings of this space exploration among peers and audiences.

Choreographers from all five boroughs of New York City may apply. Also open to artists outside of NYC, but please note: there is no stipend, no travel and no housing provided. Choreographers will be chosen from a competitive application process and reviewed by a panel of professionals in the dance field on the basis of artistic merit, description of intent for the residency and video work samples. Awardees will be announced by mid-March.

Get full information and download an application here.

DEADLINE: Friday, MARCH 9 (Must be received by 11:59pm EST)

Apply now for Dance & Performance Summer Institute!

Makeda Thomas's Roots & Wings Movement! Dance & Performance Institute is accepting applications now for 2012 Artist Residencies.

The Dance & Performance SUMMER Institute - New Waves! (July 18-August 2, 2012) will bring 50 international dance artists to Trinidad. The two-week Summer Institute offers intensive master classes and workshops in contemporary dance, Caribbean dance, hip-hop, composition and repertory with an outstanding faculty of international dance artists.

Through informal dialogues and Institute programs, participants create community, build connections with other dance professionals, and experience the unique cultural landscape of Trinidad & Tobago. Classes and workshops are held, primarily, at the University of Trinidad & Tobago, Academy for the Performing Arts, held within the National Academy of the Performing Arts in the heart of the nation's capital, Port of Spain.

FACULTY INCLUDE: Makeda Thomas, Chris Walker, Ananya Chatterjea, Dyane Harvey-Salaam, Rennie Harris, Sonja Dumas, Ras Mikey C, and Delton Frank.

Professional dance artists/scholars may apply through October 1, 2011. So, hurry! Click here.

About Makeda Thomas

Genesis Project residency welcomes applications

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
Genesis Project, New York
Artist Residency Program

Genesis Project is a unique, month-long, artists' residency program catering to body-based artists who identify as working between disciplines and/or seek to integrate other disciplines into their performance practice through individual experimentation and open-source collaboration. We seek to diversify the range of skills present in the residency; therefore, the committee will also consider artists working in non-performance disciplines and professionals from art-related fields who want to incorporate performance into their practice. To enhance the residency experience and to promote ideological exchange and discourse, local artists from various fields will conduct workshops with the program participants and take part in a lecture series throughout the month.

Genesis Project is a program of Culture Push, a New York-based non-profit arts organization that focuses on collaboration and group learning through active, participatory experiences. The residency will be hosted by 319 Scholes; a studio and exhibition space in Bushwick, Brooklyn that supports the minds and needs of contemporary artists of various disciplines. Genesis Project is directed by Culture Push co-director, Arturo Vidich.

Application Deadline: Friday, January 14, 2011
Notification: Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Residency Timeframe: Monday, August 1, 2011 to Monday, August 29, 2011

For more information, please send a brief letter of inquiry to genesisproject@culturepush.org

Genesis Project
Culture Push

Two great arts residencies with June deadlines

A Studio in the Woods (New Orleans, LA) 

Changing Landscapes: A Dialogue Between Art and the Environment

deadline: June 18

International Residence @ Couvent des Recollets (Paris)

offered to established foreign artists and writers

deadline: June 20 

Mount Tremper Arts to host residencies

Mount Tremper Arts in the Catskills Mountains is currently available to host residencies for

  • performance art companies
  • individual artists in any discipline

Companies have 24/7 access to our 32' x 50' studio with sprung maple floors (some restrictions may apply), shared living room, kitchen, sleeping loft, and bedrooms.

Subsidized Rates are $50/night for performance companies of up to 8 people or $30/night for individual artists. Surcharges apply during winter months for heat or for larger groups.

To apply for a residency, or for more information, email Mathew Pokoik at info@mttremperarts.org; send your company's name, website or place to view work, a short proposal for the purpose of your residency, and the dates requested.

The studio schedule can be viewed online here.

Monthly Residencies

Residencies are available to individual artists or couples as a short-term monthly rental from 1 month to 1 year.  Private bedrooms are provided in a furnished shared apartment.  Please contact us for prices and additional details.

Nestled in the Catskill Mountains, just over two hours from New York City, Mount Tremper Arts supports contemporary artists in the creation and presentation of new works of art. Founded by photographer Mathew Pokoik and choreographer Aynsley Vandenbroucke, MTA fosters an environment of creative risk taking and intellectual curiosity. It does this through an integration of performances, exhibitions, artist residencies, educational programming, and informal gatherings.