Carole Hart, 74

Carole Hart, Producer and Writer of Children’s TV, Dies at 74
by Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times, January 11, 2018

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Dance is her oxygen, and Smallwood welcomes your help

Dwana Smallwood Performing Arts Center, opened in 2014 by the former Alvin Ailey star, recently suffered a fire. No one was injured, and the intrepid Smallwood, her instructors and her students have returned to continue their essential work in Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy community.

Why are dance, dance education and community important to Brooklyn and, especially, today's Bed-Stuy? Watch the above video, and read the DSPAC statement here.

And if you'd like to help Smallwood achieve her vision of owning rather than renting her space, please consider contributing to the DSPAC Building Fund. Contact DSPAC here to request information on how to donate.

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That new French magic from CIE 14:20

Shadow puppeteer Philippe Beau and his avian friend
(photo courtesy of CIE 14:20) 

What quiets a theater packed with boisterous kids and parents? Phillippe Beau's shadow puppetry, for one thing. I speak with confidence, having heard that with my own ears at French Institute Alliance Française's Florence Gould Hall, one of several city hosts for the new Tilt Kids Festival. Launched by FIAF and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, the festival offers a wealth of family-oriented arts, ideas and fun at venues like BAM Fisher, The Invisible Dog Art Center and, of course, Time Square's New Victory Theater. It runs through April 3.

Accompanied by the wonderful pianist Madeleine Cazenave, Beau performed a segment in the magie nouvelle (new magic) production, Cabaret de Magie Nouvelle, presented by CIE 14:20. The Parisian troupe also featured renowned sleight-of-hand magician, Yann Frisch. If you missed these two masterful performers, I'm sad for you. Don't let that happen again.

My attempt to recreate Beau's tricks in order to describe them better for you has proven futile (and might require hand splints). Let me just say that this digital magician does not only pull a rabbit out of the "hat" of his imagination but produces a complete menagerie of animals--a stag with magnificent antlers; a snarling wolf; a galloping, rearing horse; a cat with swishing tail, licking its fur and scratching its ear. A bird feeds its young, later teaching the fledgling how to fly. A lover plants a kiss on a shyer, somewhat startled partner. Even the Devil himself makes an appearance. I'm not sure why but, hey, if you can form a Devil shape with your shadow puppetry, why the hell not?

If your notion of shadow puppetry has always been something amateurish and cheesy, please, get over yourself. This is new shadow puppetry. (I might as well follow the French trend of "new circus," "new magic," "new whatever.") As practiced by Beau, it is a razor-sharp storytelling skill and damned awesome.

Cabaret de Magie Nouvelle has closed, but there's much more Tilt up ahead through April 3, from the visual to the gastronomic arts, co-curated by Lili Chopra (FIAF) and Violaine Huisman (BAM). For information on the festival's lineup, click here.

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Girl Be Heard on eating disorders and the diet industry

Members of Girl Be Heard
perform Embodi(ED).
(photo: Ashley Marinacccio)

They will inform, delight, alarm and help you to reawaken
that authentic voice that still lives within you. – Gloria Steinem

Girl Be Heard--the award-winning troupe that empowers girls to tell their real-world stories with guidance from theater professionals and activists--announces Embodi(ED), a dance and theater piece about eating disorders and "the American distorted perception of body images."

Directed by Ashley Marinaccio, and produced by theater-maker and activist Jessica Greer Morris, the production will run at HERE for eight performances, Thursdays through Sundays, February 11-21.

All performances will be followed by a 15-minute talkbacks, featuring health professionals, women’s rights activists and the creative team.

For Embodi(ED) tickets, 

click here or call 212-352-3101.

Learn more about Girl Be Heard 

here and on YouTube.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlbeheard

Twitter: @girlbeheard

HERE

145  Sixth Avenue (entrance: Dominick Street, one block south of Spring Street), Manhattan

(map/directions)

Elizabeth Swados, 64

Elizabeth Swados, Creator of Socially Conscious Musicals, Is Dead at 64
by William Grimes, The New York Times, January 5, 2016

Sheri M. Goldhirsch, 55

Sheri M. Goldhirsch, Who Nurtured Young Playwrights, Dies at 55
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, September 28, 2015

Dance for everybody: See "PS DANCE!"

Ana Nery Fragoso and students in PS DANCE!
(photo: Christopher Duggan)

Movement unlocks the body and heightens the spirit. -- Paula Zahn

Documentary filmmaker Nel Shelby has crafted a love letter to the power of dance and the power of learning with her new film, PS DANCE!

Narrated by veteran TV journalist Paula Zahn, the hour-long film takes viewers inside several New York City public schools (K-12) that incorporate dance programs into their educational vision--still a rarity in US schools.

We meet a host of lucky students and their gifted teachers--among them, Patricia Dye of Brooklyn's Science Skills High School for Science, Technology and the Creative Arts and Catherine Gallant of Lower Manhattan's PS 89--who make a persuasive case for the value of dance in the curriculum, with clear benefits far beyond the boosting of academic performance. Yes, teachers can use creative movement to reinforce class material students need to learn, but dance also enhances imagination, body awareness and wellness, confidence, the ability to give and take respectful feedback and to collaborate with others as dance artists do. Students need not aim for professional careers in dance to acquire habits and skills that will serve them well in all aspects of life.

Watch PS DANCE! 

THIRTEEN -- May 15, 10:30pm

WLIW21 -- May 17, 3:30pm and 10pm

NJTV -- May 26, 10pm

Click here
for more information about PS DANCE!

And join the movement to bring quality dance education
to every student nationwide:
Click here.

Women Make Movies hosts NYC premiere of "I AM A GIRL"

  

Exclusive NYC Premiere of I AM A GIRL

Women Make Movies, Girl Be Heard, Gathr Films, and Duggal Visual Solutions invite you to the exclusive screening of the Women Make Movies award-winning documentary, I AM A GIRL

Thursday, February 5

Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas

260 West 23rd Street, Manhattan

(map/directions)

6pm Cocktail Reception

6:45pm Film Premiere

8pm Girl Be Heard Performance

8:15pm Talkback

Buy Tickets!

Filmmaker Rebecca Berry will be in attendance for Q&A! Rapper and I AM A GIRL film subject Breani Michele will perform her original and empowering raps after the screening.

All proceeds will go to support Girl Be Heard's social justice theatre company that puts global issues affecting girls center stage by empowering young women to tell their stories.  The film will have a huge impact across the nation through cutting-edge education curriculum created by Girl Be Heard, which allows teachers to engage students on critical human rights issues raised in the film. To watch the trailer click here, and to buy a DVD please visit the Women Make Movies website. For all other inquiries, please send us an email at orders@wmm.com.

About the Film:

A compelling, insightful, and inspiring exploration of what it means to grow up as a young woman in the 21st century, I AM A GIRL follows the first-person stories of six young women in Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Afghanistan, the USA, and Australia. The documentary, which was nominated for several Australian Academy Awards, explores obstacles that so many young women face around the world such as poverty, teen pregnancy, mental illness, sex trafficking, and access to education.

About Women Make Movies:

For over 40 years, WMM has transformed the landscape of filmmaking for women directors and producers, bringing the issues facing women around the world to screens everywhere. Now, with more than 550 films in our catalog, including Academy®, Emmy®, Peabody and Sundance nominees and award winners, WMM is the largest distributor of films by and about women in the world. Women Make Movies. By Women. About Women. For Everyone. Please visit the WMM website for more information.

Free screening: Dee Rees's acclaimed "Pariah" at BAAD!

Friday, February 6

at BAAD!

5pm -- screening of Pariah

6:30pm -- open mic

8:30 -- dance contest

This free event begins with the powerful coming out/coming-of-age film about a 17-year-old African-American woman quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian and living with her parents and younger sister in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood. She strives to love, be loved and get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity. Directed by Dee Rees and executive produced by Spike Lee.

The screening will be followed by an open mic/open stage for youth and all to express themselves and a dance contest with a $50 cash prize.

Click here to view Pariah's trailer.

BAAD!
2474 Westchester Avenue, Bronx (map/directions)
718-918-2110
BAADBronx@gmail.com

Herb Schapiro, 85

Herb Schapiro, Playwright Behind ‘The Me Nobody Knows,’ Dies at 85
by Bruce Weber, The New York Times, October 31, 2014

New Victory Theater to offer summer dance program for kids

A Summer Dance Program for Children in New York City
by Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times, May 15, 2014

Anthony Drexel Duke, 95

Anthony Drexel Duke, 95, Boys Harbor Founder, Dies
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, May 2, 2014

Queens Library youth celebrate the legacy of Alvin Ailey

Alvin Ailey

Alvin Ailey Tribute

for teens

Saturday, February 15, 2:30pm

Free admission

Teen Center at Central Library
Queens Library
89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, Queens
718-990-0700

Directions: F train to 169th Street. Numerous buses go to the 165th Street bus terminal.

Click here for a listing of other special events at Queens Library branches this weekend.

British dance program offers alternatives for at-risk youth

LEEDS JOURNAL
Giving Troubled Youth a Chance to Leap and Soar
by Katron Bennhold, The New York Times, August 14, 2013

Dance Dr. King's dream on August 28

Let freedom ring!

Take part in the global celebration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech.

Dance the Dream is a global flash-mob dance on August 28. Find out how you can participate: Click here.