Harry Belafonte: Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, 2014

https://youtu.be/Yfj6Ja86lCs

InfiniteBody Honor Roll 2021

InfiniteBody Honor Roll 2021

Eva Yaa Asantewaa

As always, this is not a Best-Of list, certainly, but a kind of memory palace of remarkable arts events and resources I connected with in 2021 during the continued pandemic. Given how things went this year, it was not a very dance-focused time for me, except where dancing was streamable, but it was great for catching up with streaming series I might have missed otherwise or books I now had more time to read.

2022 looks like it will start out pretty much the same. I send you, your loved ones, and your community best wishes for a safe, healthy, artful, and wonderful New Year!

 

Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You (HBO)

Omar Sy starring in Lupin (Netflix)

 

I Hate It Here: Stories from the End of the Old World, written and directed by Ike Holter, world premiere, Studio Theatre, streaming from December 10, 2020 through March 7, 2021

Lupin (Part 1), directed by Marcela Said, Ludovic Bernard and Louis Leterrier, starring Omar Sy, Netflix, streaming from January 8

New Sounds Presents: ETHEL with John Schaefer, The Greene Space and WNYC and WQXR, YouTube, from January 14

 

Regina King, director, One Night in Miami (photo: Evan Agostini)

Regina King in The Harder They Fall (photo: YouTube)

One Night in Miami  (Amazon Prime Video)

 

One Night in Miami, directed by Regina King, Amazon Prime Video, streaming from January 15

I May Destroy You, created by and starring Michaela Coel, directed by Sam Miller and Michaela Coel, HBO Max, streaming from June 7, 2020

Kapaemahu, directed by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson; animation director, Daniel Sousa; 2020; viewed February 2021

Black Art: In the Absence of Light, directed by Sam Pollard, HBO Max, streaming from February 13

Nomadland, directed by Chloé Zhao, Hulu, streaming from February 19

Mr. SOUL!, directed by Melissa Haizlip and Sam Pollard, released August 28, 2020; streaming on PBS from February 28

I Care A Lot, directed by J Blakeman, Netflix, streaming from September 12, 2020

Mank, directed by David Fincher, Netflix, streaming from December 4, 2020

Sound of Metal, directed by Darius Marder, Amazon Prime Video, streaming from December 4, 2020

Megan Thee Stallion on Legendary (HBO Max)

Cast of HBO Max's A Black Lady Sketch Show

Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity, by Tracee Stanley, Shambala, 2021

Tina, directed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin, HBO Max, streaming from March 27

Twyla Moves, directed by Steve Cantor, American Masters, PBS, streaming from March 26

All In: The Fight for Democracy, directed by Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés, Amazon Prime Video, streaming from September 9, 2020

All the Rage, by Rosamond S. King, Nightboat Books, 2021

Chasing Magic, by Ayodele Casel, streaming on The Joyce Theater website, beginning April 8

Conversation without Walls: Alice Sheppard and iele paloumpis, YouTube, April 9

Legendary (Season 1), directed by Rik Reinholdtsen, HBO Max, streaming from May 27, 2020

Legendary (Season 2), directed by Rik Reinholdtsen, HBO Max, streaming from May 6, 2021

Romeo and Juliet, National Theatre, directed by Simon Godwin, PBS Great Performances, April 23-May 21

A Black Lady Sketch Show, created by Robin Thede, directors Dime Davis (Season 1); Lacey Duke and Brittany Scott Smith (Season 2) HBO Max, streaming from 2019-2021

A Body in Fukushima, by Eiko Otake and William Johnston, Wesleyan University Press, May 2021

DanceAfrica 2021, BAM, streaming May 29 through June 10

In Treatment (all four seasons), various directors, HBO Max

The Flight Attendant, HBO Max, streaming from November 26, 2020

 

Author Clint Smith (photo: Carletta Girma)

                                                    Author Farah Jasmine Griffin (photo: Peggy Dillard Toone) 

 

Author Annette Gordon-Reed (photo: Stephanie Mitchell)

 

Culture Strike: Art and Museums in an Age of Protest, by Laura Raicovich, 2021

How the Word is Passed, by Clint Smith, Little, Brown & Co., 2021

Naomi Osaka, directed by Garrett Bradley, Netflix, streaming from July 16

In Our Mothers' Gardens, directed by Shantrelle P. Lewis, Netflix, streaming from 2020 

Transcendant Kingdom, by Yaa Gyasi, Alfred A. Knopf, 2021

Mary J. Blige's My Life, directed by Vanessa Roth, Amazon Prime Video, 2021

Poet Warrior: A Memoir, by Joy Harjo, 2021

Surrealism Beyond Borders, Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 11, 2021 through January 30, 2022

The Harder They Fall, directed by Jeymes Samuel, Netflix, streaming from November 3

 

Bo Burnham in Inside (Netflix)

Cast of Call My Agent! (Netflix)

King Richard, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, HBO Max, streaming from November 19

Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature, by Farah Jasmine Griffin, W.W. Norton & Company, 2021

Succession, created by Jesse Armstrong, HBO Max, streaming from 2018

Inside, by Bo Burnham, Netflix, streaming from May 2021

On Juneteenth, by Annette Gordon-Reed, Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2021

Call My Agent!, Netflix, streaming from 2015

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nowlater! Johnnie Cruise Mercer/TheREDprojectNYC announces new digital project/fundraiser

Isaiah Jones and Johnnie Cruise Mercer (still from PM6: thenowlater (SOUL))

 

The brilliant Johnnie Cruise Mercer/TheREDprojectNYC presents PM6 thenowlater: SOUL -- a project Mercer has described as "a dance film, a crafted gospel to ‘black revelations.' Filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and marking the 60th Anniversary of Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, the process memoir, film, and journey is guided by one question: What happens when we burn the flesh, and follow the spirit? The film marks the third journey of four within Process memoir 6: thenowlater, and is an active documentation of the company’s becoming, a shedding towards collective freedom."

 

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/504862359

 

Tickets--by sliding scale donation--are on sale from now through February 28. Reserve your ticket at: https://www.eventbrite.com/.../process-memoir-6...

 

PM6:thenowlater (SOUL) coincides with a four-week fundraiser supporting The City Dance Theater of Richmond at Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center. All proceeds from the watch party and fundraiser will go to building virtual programming, hiring instructors, and supplying artistic resources for the Richmond VA’s Black/Brown youth.

 

 

Adrianne Ansley (still from PM6:thenowlater (SOUL))

Choreographic/Company Director: Johnnie Cruise Mercer

Creative Director/Videographer/Lead Editor: Torian Ugworji

Choreographic/Video Artists: Shanice Mason, Adrianne Ansely, Thomas Tyger Moore, Tabitha Kelly

Music Production/Drummer/Choreographic Artist: Isaiah Jones

Tech Design: Michael Combs

Creative Asst./Guest Artists: Tj Jacobs

Guest Dance Artist: Steven Vilsaint, Reggie Mebane

Editors: Lester Nue Nue Matthews, Johnnie Cruise Mercer 

 

Process Memoir 6: thenowlater marks itself as the sixth of ten chapters within, A Process Anthology: The Decade from Hell, and the Decade that Followed Suite.

 

This film was created, in part, through the Artist in Residence Program at BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Jerome Foundation. The work was also developed in part through New Dance Alliance’s Black Artists Space to Create Residency (curated by Angie Pittman) at Modern Accord Depot in Accord, NY.

 

Choreographic/Company Director: @jcruisem

Creative Director/Videographer/Lead Editor: @t

Choreographic/Video Artists: Shanice Mason, Adrianne Ansely, Thomas Tyger Moore, Tabitha Kelly

Music Production/Drummer/Choreographic Artist: Isaiah Jones

Tech Design: Michael Combs

Creative Asst./Guest Artists: Tj Jacobs

Guest Dance Artist: Steven Vilsaint, Reggie Mebane

Editors: Lester Nue Nue Matthews, Johnnie Cruise Mercer

Music by Jekayln Carr, Tye Tribbett & G.A, Kirk Franklin, Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers Featuring an Original Composition by Guest Music Artist Young Denzel

Poster Design: Amanda Barnes

Icon Design: Corbin Gravers, Hannah Lazarte

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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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New documentary explores the art of Crutchmaster Bill Shannon

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COMING UP IN NOVEMBER!

CRUTCH, a documentary about the life and artistry of dancer Bill Shannon, will stream its world premiere through DOC NYC on November 11 and be accessible through November 19. A project of award-winning directors Sachi Cunningham and Chandler Evans (aka Vayabobo), the film follows the development of Shannon in his native Pittsburgh as an energetic youngster with a passion for skateboarding, hip hop and basking in the gaze of whatever audience he could find. His diagnosis with Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease--a degenerative condition of the hip--complicated but did not stop his trajectory as a performer. Instead, with crutches that alleviate the pain of walking and dancing, he built a unique movement technique and began experimenting with ways in which performers and audiences interact and how disabled and non-disabled people relate to one another.

CRUTCH is an introduction to Shannon's origin story and family life, his personality and creative process. I recall being immediately smitten with this dancer so sparked by the pulse, intensity and joy of the streets. That might have been in the early 2000s. I have not seen his work since his 2010 excursion through Lower Manhattan, Traffic: A Transit-Specific Performance, with his audience following and viewing him from inside a bus. In the intervening years, New York City's dance presenters and critics have grown more familiar with the spectrum of disability artistry, and this makes me hope that the worth of Shannon's skill and ideas will be better understood today than they were nearly twenty years ago.

CRUTCH (USA, 2020) 

SEE CRUTCH at DOC NYC, November 11-19

Instagram: @crutchdoc
Twitter: https://twitter.com/crutchdoc
IMDb: https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt4441460

 

Ellice Patterson of Abilities Dance Boston (photo:

 AND THIS THURSDAY NIGHT!

Dancer-choreographer Ellice Patterson's troupe, Abilities Dance Boston, which includes performers with and without disabilities, uses dance as a tool to tell stories, process emotions and promote intersectional disability rights with an emphasis on artists of color and queer artists.

Celebrity Series of Boston will stream Abilities Dance Boston's concert (with audio descriptions) this Thursday, October 29 at 8pm EST. 

Tickets for the digital concert are free with your RSVP here.

 
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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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Artists Reach Out: Charly Wenzel

Dear friends,

Welcome to Artists Reach Out: reflections in a time of isolation. I dreamed this series of interviews out of grief for my work both as a documenting arts writer and curator of live performance. In this time of social distancing, we are called to responsibly do all we can to safeguard ourselves and our neighbors. It is, literally, a matter of life and death.

But there's no distancing around what we still can share with one another--our experiences, thoughts, wisdom, humor, hearts and spirit. In some ways, there are more opportunities to do so as we pull back from everyday busyness out in the world and have time to honor the call of our inner lives.

So, let me introduce you to some artists I find interesting. I'm glad they're part of our beautiful community, and I'm eager to engage with them again (or for the first time) in years to come.

--Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody

Charly Wenzel

Charly Wenzel
(photo courtesy of the artist)

Charly Wenzel is an award-winning choreographer whose work has been presented in her native Germany, as well as at Dixon Place, Judson Church, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD!), The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, Steps on Broadway, The Secret Theater, Connecticut College and many other venues in and around New York. She worked as the choreographer for several recording artists for their live performances and music videos and she choreographed for a number of dance films.

Charly won several awards for her dance films--Global Tides, Licht and Schein--which have been shown at film festivals worldwide.

Charly was a dancer of the Bavarian State Opera Ballet in Germany and performed with Naganuma Dance, Keila Cordova Dances, Regina Nejman & Company, Earl Mosley/Diversity of Dance, Bodystories, LolaLola Dance Theater, Morningside Opera, DexDance, Hydroflo Movement Company, Soul Movement and other companies in and around New York City. She is currently a company member of Third Rail Projects, performing in their Bessie award winning production Then She Fell.

Charly was the Rehearsal Director and Associate Artistic Director of Naganuma Dance and she worked as the Rehearsal Director for Bodystories:Teresa Fellion Dance. www.charlywenzel.com

Charly Wenzel
(photos: above, Linda Brieda;
below, Emily Nussbaum)

Do you have a current or planned project whose progress is affected by the pandemic?

I had mentally and physically prepared for a very busy few months. Apart from continuing to perform six shows a week in Third Rail Project’s Then She Fell, I was about to learn a new role in the show, which I was supposed to premiere in April. I also had one first rehearsal with TRP for a new show that was supposed to take place in Miami in May and in June. In addition, I was about to start rehearsals to set a piece on Bodystories:Teresa Fellion Dance. (It was going to be a mix of film, immersive theater, as well as an onstage element.) I was also in rehearsal for another immersive dance theater production directed by Caitlin Dutton-Reaver, which was going to open at Wildrence in NYC in April. Finally I was about to start a Performance Project with HB Studio, which we are currently trying to adjust to an online platform.

Briefly, tell me about how you got involved in the arts and in your particular practice.

I started practicing classical ballet at the age of six. To this day, I remember the thrill of my first performances on that “big” stage and the loose pages that were my diary at the time, which all read “I can’t wait for my next Ballet class!!!”

I began studying with an RAD certified Ballet teacher around the age of twelve and completed a three-year dance program at the Iwanson School of Contemporary Dance in Germany, before moving to New York City to study at The Ailey School. I started choreographing in high school for our talent shows and I presented my work at a few small venues in Munich. I had a project-based dance company in NYC, and we presented at every dance festival and choreographers showcase I could get my hands on. In the last few years, I have transitioned to dance filmmaking, and I enjoy further exploring this medium.

In a more specific way, what are you practicing? And what are you envisioning?

As a human, I practice gratitude every single day. I practice self-care and I create the necessary space for myself to stay balanced. I don’t believe in being busy for the sake of being busy, and I recognize the importance of stillness.

As a dancer and performer, my practice comes in the form of my nightly preparation before a show. I give myself at least one hour on my mat before putting on my make-up etc. I always look forward to this grounding, centering, but ultimately energizing practice, which allows me to focus on one of the most essential parts of my instrument, which is my breath.

I envision transformation within myself, but ultimately to hopefully facilitate transformation in our audiences, as well. When I say “transformation," I’m thinking about a journey back “home” to what truly resonates within ourselves and about unveiling the essence of our human nature that connects us all. There are too many distractions in this world and it’s easy to forget about what really matters.

How does your practice and your visioning align with what you most care about?

I care about bringing people together and for them to realize that we are all the same, especially in this very divisive climate we are living in. I’m often missing a fundamental sense of humanity, especially when it comes to how this country is run.

This realization has to come from within and there is no better medium to help people reflect, question and make compassionate choices than the arts. If I can find a way to simultaneously ground and open up myself through my practice, and if I therefore succeed in reaching our audiences at a personal and deep level, I think the work we do can truly make this world a better place.

How does your practice function within the world we have now?

It’s been important to me to find a balance between acknowledging the difficulty of this situation and to be mindful of the many people, who are affected by this situation in a horrible way, while also maintaining a positive outlook and using this time to continue my practice.

These extraordinary times have allowed me to connect to so many wonderful artists, and I’m currently editing a film that is a reflection of how we all feel during this time. The film is a collage of contributions of forty artists from ten countries in the form of dance, poetry, photography, paintings and music. What better time to connect, create and inspire than now?!

Briefly share one self-care tip that has special meaning to you now.

Every single day, give yourself the gift of ten minutes to lie down on the floor, close your eyes, maybe put on your favorite song and just be still. You have the time.

******

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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Artists Reach Out: Peter Sciscioli

Dear friends,

Welcome to Artists Reach Out: reflections in a time of isolation. I dreamed this series of interviews out of grief for my work both as a documenting arts writer and curator of live performance. In this time of social distancing, we are called to responsibly do all we can to safeguard ourselves and our neighbors. It is, literally, a matter of life and death.

But there's no distancing around what we still can share with one another--our experiences, thoughts, wisdom, humor, hearts and spirit. In some ways, there are more opportunities to do so as we pull back from everyday busyness out in the world and have time to honor the call of our inner lives.

So, let me introduce you to some artists I find interesting. I'm glad they're part of our beautiful community, and I'm eager to engage with them again (or for the first time) in years to come.

--Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody

Peter Sciscioli

Peter Sciscioli
(photos: Anna M. Maynard)

Peter Sciscioli is a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary performer, creator, educator and producer whose work encompasses dance, music, theater and film. Since 1997, he has been creating performance works through a choreographic lens with a wide variety of collaborators in venues around the world. In 2012, Peter founded the International Interdisciplinary Artists Consortium (IIAC), a network of artists and producers working across disciplines and cultures, designed to share resources. As a performer, he has worked closely with Jane Comfort and Daria Faïn, and with Meredith Monk in various capacities. Peter has taught his approach to Voice as Movement in Central and North America, co-initiated The Sounding Body workshop series at Movement Research (MR) and currently offers private lessons online. He has received recent support of his work and initiatives from MR’s Global Practice Sharing (GPS) program and the U.S. Embassy Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Each summer Peter also serves as facilitator for a IIAC residency and Moving Arts Lab, a festival meeting ground for interdisciplinary exploration, at Earthdance in Western Massachusetts. www.petersciscioli.com

La Voz Como Movimiento

Do you have a current or planned project whose progress is affected by the pandemic?

For the last two years I’ve been engaged in a group process intended to deepen my research and practice of an approach to the voice and body I call “Voice as Movement.” Initially, I invited a few colleagues to explore some ideas and inquiries, and that process has evolved into creating a work that can eventually be shared with others.

We’d intended to move to a next-stage this spring, but instead have continued meeting once a week online. In some ways, living through this pandemic has allowed us to deepen our process, allowing something to unfold in its own time and in connection to the now, and acknowledging that the process itself has inherent value. Those have been some of the gifts. Much gratitude goes to Sara Galassini, Luisa Muhr and Petra van Noort for continuing to share their wisdom, care and curiosity so generously.

Briefly, tell me about how you got involved in the arts and in your particular practice.

“Voice as Movement” is informed by years of engaging in music, theater, movement and energy work, and has evolved over the last ten years or so. As a child, I studied Western classical violin and performed in musical theater and operas. I later acted in plays and began formal dance training in college. After graduating, I moved to Chicago where I was fortunate to join Chicago Moving Company under the tutelage of Nana Shineflug, one of the city’s matriarchs of modern dance who specialized in activating the chi-body. I also performed, taught, choreographed and was an administrator for Hedwig Dances, directed by Jan Bartoszek.

After moving to New York in 2002 I started working with Meredith Monk, from whom, along with members of her Vocal Ensemble, I’ve learned immeasurably. Later performing with Jane Comfort and Company and Daria Faïn allowed me to grow in both a dance theater practice and in energetic work, respectively.

In a more specific way, what are you practicing? And what are you envisioning?

In a large sense, I think what I’m practicing is integration. The group process combines somatic practices, voice and violin, while drawing inspiration from a theatrical source as well as a companion planting method and a connection with nature (Three Sisters). My ongoing teaching encourages a deepening into the connections between breathing, movement and the voice. This extends to a personal practice of checking in daily on how I’m feeling, using similar practices I share with others, and trying to nurture myself through a variety of means. While a mantra for me during the pandemic has been “one day at a time”, I’m trusting a continuation of these practices and I would like to envision physical spaces that we can return to, in order to experience direct connection, sharing, and learning with others in the near and safer future.

How does your practice and your visioning align with what you most care about?

I’ve always been interested in and curious about what makes us feel more alive. While engaging in the arts from a young age was exciting and liberating, I later discovered and was able to identify an emergent value system underlying all of these practices. While self-expression is a way of sharing ourselves with the world, I’ve found that ego can often get in the way. One of the things I value most is the ability to attune to oneself and others at the same time. These practices have helped me learn how to listen, to trust in intuition, to be vulnerable, to be strong, to feel connection and a sense of community, and to learn how to communicate through the wisdom of the body. Being able to engage in them with others erases boundaries so that we can connect more on a soul level, expanding our perception beyond ourselves. Kindness, care and compassion feel like deepening presences along the way.

How does your practice function within the world we have now?

While I’m very grateful to be able to continue with these practices right now, the shape of them has changed. Nothing can replace in-person-ness, direct exchanges of energy, the sense of touch and being physically affected by being in the same time and place as other people. The shift to teaching online sometimes impedes my ability to perceive what is happening physically in a person’s body, both visually and aurally, though a good deal is still possible, and I think, is of use. In the group practice, we can’t all sing at the same time and hear each other, nor can we obviously explore what’s physically possible between us. There are distinct limitations. At the same time, the fact that this technology is out there is amazing. I also try to remember the simple fact that we are all living in a body and that it’s through the body that we perceive the world. I continue to be humbled by the ability, abundance of inquiry, contemplation and knowledge that is available to me.

******

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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Artists Reach Out: Greg Purnell and Tendayi Kuumba

Dear friends,

Welcome to Artists Reach Out: reflections in a time of isolation. I dreamed this series of interviews out of grief for my work both as a documenting arts writer and curator of live performance. In this time of social distancing, we are called to responsibly do all we can to safeguard ourselves and our neighbors. It is, literally, a matter of life and death.

But there's no distancing around what we still can share with one another--our experiences, thoughts, wisdom, humor, hearts and spirit. In some ways, there are more opportunities to do so as we pull back from everyday busyness out in the world and have time to honor the call of our inner lives.

So, let me introduce you to some artists I find interesting. I'm glad they're part of our beautiful community, and I'm eager to engage with them again (or for the first time) in years to come.

--Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody

Greg Purnell and Tendayi Kuumba

Greg Purnell
(photo: AngieMLV Photography)

Tendayi Kuumba
(photo: Hayim Heron Photography)

Greg Purnell is a Brooklyn-born and -bred barber, visual artist, writer and all around creative. He has cultivated and refined his multi-medium artistry and sense of vision through barbering, which has provided a beautiful reservoir of inspiration and people from vastly different walks of life and cultural backgrounds. Greg has been featured in the 2015 BRIC Stoop Series Barbershop Stories: it's all about hair and BRIC TV's Brooklyn Made series. Other features include Afropunk, BAM, OkayAfrica and Nike collaborations, and webseries feature in I Don't Camouflage by Aiko Tanaka. He embodies various practices such as sound designer, lighting designer, director and music creator for various solo and collaborative works. Past choreographic/creative works include collaborations with Tendayi Kuumba, Courtney Cook, Urban Bush Women, The Illustrious Blacks, and MVMNT PHLSPY.

Currently, Greg is the Founder and primary visionary of artistic lab/creation space The Golden Ratio Project, where he has developed his own brand of barbering utilizing aesthetics, art, music and storytelling to create a personable therapeutic experience. He recently self-produced the art exhibition 33, commemorating his 33 years of barbering in collaboration with his visual artistry. Greg Purnell believes all forms of art and expression are united by our dreams, and it is through technique and passion that our dreams become realities.

International singer, songwriter, and choreographer Tendayi Kuumba is a Spelman College graduate with a BA in Drama with a Dance Concentration. Her training as a youth ranges from Buffalo Inner City Ballet, Ballethnic, Callanwolde Fine Arts, and Moving in the Spirit. As a Brooklyn transplant, her choreographic roots embody a long throughline of musical exploration, vocal portals, response of the body and storytelling. Her past choreographic works have been on multiple platforms including Danspace, HiArts, Harlem Stage and BRICLab.

Frequent collaborators include Greg Purnell and Courtney Cook. She has worked with choreographers Marjani Forté-Saunders, ASÉ Dance Theater Collective, Nathan Trice/ Rituals Performance Project, Jim Findlay's "Electric Lucifer" workshop and Philadelphia Operas’ We Shall Not be Moved, directed by Bill T. Jones. In 2018, she toured as one of two backup singer/dancers on the American Utopia World Tour of the Talking Heads leading man and Grammy Nominated singer/songwriter/recording artist David Byrne and has gone on to make her debut in David Byrne's America Utopia on Broadway.

In other spaces, she's generating and co-creating artistic collaborations and spaces such as The Golden Ratio Project, in Brooklyn, NY alongside Greg Purnell. Recent projects include U.F.O (Unidentified Fly Objects): Stardust Melanin under the Gibney New Voices: Spotlight residency Spring 2020 and Danspace Project's Platform 2020: Utterances from the Chorus in collaboration with Greg Purnell. As well as being a mindful member of the Voice/Body Danspace platform, a creator within 100 Years/100 Women with Urban Bush Women, and a practitioner in Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Borns’ Sitting on a Man’s Head.  She  gives thanks and blessings for life, love, breath, and the pursuit of happiness through creativity.

Kuumba and Purnell in collaboration
(photo: AngieMLV Photography)

Do you have a current or planned project whose progress is affected by the pandemic?

Yes, we were a part of other productions at Danspace that were canceled. We ended up turning our production that was set to premiere at Gibney into a digital sharing instead. Also Greg's scheduled art exhibition in Soho was canceled.

Briefly, tell me about how you got involved in the arts and in your particular practice.

Greg's beginning as a barber from age 12 opened many other artistic outlets. His particular practices include as visual art, writing, and music.

Tendayi has performed as a dancer from age 3 and vocalist from age 7.  Various dance schools, performing art schools, and mentorships have informed her practices.

In a more specific way, what are you practicing? And what are you envisioning?

Collectively, we are diving into different art forms and practices to create a multimedia experience--specifically looking at how dance, music, storytelling, visual art, mixed media, and technology intersect. We're envisioning a more full-bodied experience that can translate across multiple platforms. Also, how we can create these experiences and stories with the social and technological changes occurring in today's world?

How does your practice and your visioning align with what you most care about?

We most care about the healing of our people and community. Our practices consist of questioning the what and whys of the world we live in. They represent ways of addressing voids that exist and broadening perspectives and connections.

How does your practice function within the world we have now?

We are remaining open to different forms of artistic expression. Our practices give us ways to adapt in the ever so changing climate we're in. We are immersing ourselves in learning and understating our connecting to technology and how we can use it to push deeper into our art making.

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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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From sea to shining sea with Kayla Farrish

A still from The New Frontier
(photo: Alexander Diaz)

The New Frontier (my dear America) Pt. 1
Kayla Farrish/Decent Structures Arts
Danspace Project

I admire the energy burst and largeness and hearty ambition of Kayla Farrish and her premiere at Danspace Project--The New Frontier (my dear America) Pt. 1. The title hints at what will come: "Here I am, a Black woman, a Black woman dance artist, and I'm going to wrap my mind around what it means to take over this venerable performance space for essentially two hours (even with a 15-minute intermission between two "acts," rare for a Danspace Project show), and I'm bringing in my talented folx to grab up and slice through this space like human buzzsaws. I'm going to show you that anything can happen here in this American space. And, by the way, this is only Pt. 1."

Even before the piece starts, it starts. I took my seat and saw dancers scattered and drifting around as a recording of Sinatra singing "My Way," his anthem to a lifetime of self-assertion. Some decidedly non-official US flags rested on the floor. The intermission is populated by an "intermission entertainment" (a fine solo performed by Dorchel Haqq to the Sammy Davis, Jr. recording of "Mr. Bojangles") and, later, dancers, with homey informality, going about the work of arranging props, set and lights for Act 2.

Resembling less the legendary American melting pot than a full washing machine on spin, The New Frontier includes a soundscape that, along with Frank and Sammy, might touch down now in dreamy Debussy realms or terrains of Nina Simone or hip hop. And a film--set to premiere as its own entity in 2020--fills in gaps between live dancers with looming images of other performers on a beach. That's a smart way to tame the intimidating volume of St. Mark's Church.

Containing multitudes, The New Frontier is, itself, a quilt stitched from two earlier Farrish projects--With grit From, Grace in Act 1; Black Bodies Sonata in Act 2--her film, and the writings of James Baldwin, Audre Lorde and others.

If expanse and dynamic variety are a large part of what makes America (more properly called the United States) America, they are also what makes this interdisciplinary piece off-balance, hard to figure out and, ultimately, less effective as a work of dance theater than it might have been. As a viewer, I sought meaning and coherence and had to settle for individual bits and pieces that drew me in--like a fantastic second-act duet, by turns wheeling, churning, swooning and sensitive, between Farrish and Kar'mel Small performed near a fan-blown stretch of fabric that evokes everything from a silky bed to a rushing stream. Compelling narratives suggest themselves here--nothing terribly obvious, just enough to make us take notice and care. While I enjoyed the skills and gusto of the dancers throughout the evening, I would have liked to care as much about all of The New Frontier as I did about this duet.

Farrish's vocal projection in her spoken parts would benefit from coaching, especially to overcome the challenges of St. Mark's Church and occasional competition from other sound. It was discouraging to miss so much of the delivery of her opening monologue (written by Nik Owens) and other texts throughout the evening. Even so, the implied correlation, here, between the seductions of the American Dream and the seductions of social media feels undercooked and awkward. It felt both necessary and unnecessary to try to tune it in, both sad and a relief to let go and tune it out.

Live performers: Kayla Farrish, Dorchel Haqq, Emilee Harney, Kar’mel Small, Mikaila Ware

Film collaborators and crew: Alexander Diaz, Kayla Farrish, Dominica Greene, Kerime Konur, Rebecca Margolick

Lighting: Carol Mullins
Costume collaboration and design: Athena Kokoronis

The New Frontier (my dear America) Pt. 1 concludes its run this evening, Saturday, with an 8pm performance. For information and tickets, click here.

Danspace Project
131 East 10th Street (and Second Avenue), Manhattan

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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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Disabled Arts on Camera, Part 2: "Vision Portraits" by Rodney Evans

Dancer Kayla Hamilton,
one of four artists featured in Vision Portraits
(photo: Kjerstin Rossi)

Writer Ryan Knighton telling his story at The Moth
(photo courtesy of Vision Portraits)

Vision Portraits

(2019, USA/Canada/Germany; 78 min.)

written and directed by Rodney Evans

The documentary Vision Portraits introduces us to four dedicated artists whose lives, careers and creative approaches have been profoundly impacted by diminished or lost sight. They include art photographer John Dugdale, our beloved dance colleague Kayla Hamilton, Canadian writer Ryan Knighton and the award-winning filmmaker himself, Rodney Evans, best known for his 2004 narrative feature, Brother To Brother.

filmmaker Rodney Evans
(photo: Kjerstin Rossi)

We visit with these appealing and thoughtful people, the stories and glimpses of the work of the first three interspersed with the story of Evans's attempts to reverse the degeneration of his vision from Retinitis pigmentosa. Evans also wants to share with us how impairment affects vision through occasional images simulating fuzzy or dim sight, narrowed visual range or--as in the case of Dugdale--a nonstop internal light show of spectacular colors and effects.

Self-portrait of photographer John Dugdale

Dugdale's photography, achieved with assistants who adjust lens focus, is deeply poetic, melancholic and moving. When a stroke befell him at the age of 30, taking all but a crescent-like sliver of his sight, he told his mother "What makes you think I'm not going to be taking pictures anymore? I'm going to be taking pictures like crazy now!" I am grateful for that indomitable spirit; the work is so beautiful.

It was also fun to get to know a little about Knighton (author of the memoir Cockeyed), who considers his blindness to be a door onto "a different way of living, a different point of view." His blindness opened a portal to deeper honesty and a wicked sense of humor. If you watch this documentary for no other reason, you will value it for the concise yet uproarious story of the trip he took with his brother to a snake rodeo in Texas. It's a safe bet you'll never set foot at a snake rodeo in Texas or any other state but also a safe bet you'd enjoy hanging out with these guys.

Vision Portraits opens in New York City at Metrograph on August 9 and in Los Angeles at Laemmle Royal on August 23.

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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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Disabled Arts on Camera, Part 1: Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson

Film short Revel in Your Body, directed by Katherine Helen Fisher,
features a duet by disabled artists Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson.
It received its NYC premiere this month at Dance on Camera.

Revel in Your Body

(USA, 2018; 5:18)

directed by Katherine Helen Fisher

Top and bottom, left to right: Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson
Center: Laurel Lawson
(photos: Jared Serfozo)

Here's a taste of the audio description (click) of dance and film artist Katherine Helen Fisher's exhilarating short featuring two dance superstars, Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson of the disabled arts troupe Kinetic Light.

Sheppard and Lawson's collaborative work have always represented, for me, innovation, expansiveness and possibility, powerful expressions of sensuality and joy. In just a little over five minutes, this film captures all of that and in abundance.

The music of composer Missy Mazzoli, deliciously vocalized in the film by Grammy-winning ensemble Roomful of Teeth, welcomes you, the observer, to a percolating and buoyant space. Shimmy Boyle's heady, slow-motion cinematography offers time to appreciate the spatial relationship of body to body, to enjoy the creamy flow of movement of two bodies in wheelchairs. It enters the hidden depths of time and works its way into your system, too.

From Fisher's Director's Statement:

REVEL IN YOUR BODY originated as a creative concept when the dancers shared online a slow-motion iPhone video of them jumping on a trampoline while strapped into their wheelchairs. This was AFTER being told by a well-known editorial photographer that the trampoline frequently used for other dancer photoshoots was off limits to them. This 'no' led these dancers to get their own damn trampoline and find another collaborator… me.

See, it's that #GetOurOwnDamnTrampoline spirit that gets me every single time!

For further information on Revel in Your Body, including future screenings, click here.

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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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Get ready for '(W/HOLE)" at Invisible Dog

AORTA Films and the A.O. Movement Collective proudly present (W/HOLE), an artful work of queer-feminist--if otherwise uncharacterizable--porn commissioned by The Invisible Dog and sure to be a highlight of its season.

Directed by Mahx Capacity, this evening-length film is handsome in choreography, performance and camera work, sometimes sunlight bright, sometimes dungeon dark, with robust poetry and wit. From a symphony of f-bombing in all its expressive permutations to an extended sex scene where watchful attendants--as elusive as black-clad kuroko--hold glass spray bottles at the ready, keeping the lovers moist and dewy. The way the cast affirms that every body, and everything about the body, is erotic can be both amusing and profound. Leave it to dancers to come up with something like this.

(W/HOLE) runs at The Invisible Dog on Friday, January 4 (9pm), Saturday, January 5 (7pm) and Sunday, January 6 (2pm and 7pm). Hurry for tickets, though. They're selling fast. Click here.

The Invisible Dog
51 Bergen Street (between Smith Street and Boerum Place), Brooklyn
(map/directions)

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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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