Less, in this case, would have been more for Koresh Dance Company in their recent season at Pace University (February 6-7). The Israeli-born Ronen (Roni) Koresh is the choreographer of all the works, there were seventeen listed, though it’s not clear if all were shown since there were no pauses other than the intermission. Bolero (2012) choreographed to Maurice Ravel’s one-movement orchestral piece of the same name, closed the program. Maybe they saved the best for last, OK, but this may have been a bit unfair. There are many iterations of Bolero, and arguably this is one to see. Especially noteworthy is Koresh’s mixing and mingling of bodies for a one or three-person tango and the cyclical dancing in and out of the smoky dark stage; appearing from nowhere. Nonetheless, although there was some lovely dancing, the program was terribly long and nearly all the works were repetitive and in the end, predictable.
0 Comments
Martha Graham Dance Company February 10-22 The Joyce Theater The Graham Company opens their two-week season at the Joyce highlighting the sculptural and architectural aspects of choreography by Graham and others, plus premieres by guest choreographers in three diverse programs titled Shape&Design. The Shape&Design season features Graham classics Panorama and Chronicle (dances from 1935–36), Errand into the Maze (1947) and Embattled Garden (1958), with sets by sculptor Isamu Noguchi, Frontier (1935), Diversion of Angels (1948), and an excerpt from Primitive Mysteries (1931), At Summer’s Full and Letter to the World. Graham’s pioneering shape and gestures will also be represented by the solos Satyric Festival Song (1932) and Deep Song (1937). Guest artists Misty Copeland and Herman Cornejo will dance principal roles in At Summer’s Full on opening night. Graham’s iconic solo Lamentation (1930) has been re-imagined by choreographers Kyle Abraham, Michelle Dorrance, Liz Gerring, and Sonya Tayeh in celebration of the 85th anniversary of the work. Recent works by Annie-B Parson, Nacho Duato, and Andonis Foniadakis will round out the programs. The architect Frank Gehry will create projected images that interact with one of Graham’s most architectural works, Steps in the Street (1936). Each program will open with a short film by photographer, designer, and image-maker Peter Arnell, featuring dancers from the current Graham Company. Find out more here BalletNext NewYork Live Arts February 10-14 Choreographer Peter Quanz and Brooklyn flex dancer Jay Donn along with artistic director, Michele Wiles of BalletNext bring three different world premieres--all set to Baroque music, or a riff on it, and all played live--in Baroque’d at New York Live Arts. The music is by 18th century composers Corelli and Biber, with a 21st century world premiere by electro-acoustic cellist/composer Chris Lancaster. Find out more here Douglas Dunn and Dancers Brooklyn Academy of Music, BAM Fisher February 11-15 Aidos, a new work by Dunn features dancing by Dunn, Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Emily Pope-Blackman, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jessica Martineau, Paul Singh, Jake Szczypek, and Timothy Ward to Bach Cello Suites performed live by Ha-Yang Kim, with design by Andrew Jordan and lighting design by Carol Mullins. Find out more here I <3 GDC – various artists Gina Gibney Dance February 12 I <3 GDC is a celebration of the Gibney Dance community, showcasing work being made by our staff, renters, teachers, colleagues, and supporters. Featuring performances by: Adam Barruch Dance, Danté Brown|Warehouse Dance, BAND|portier, Jennifer McQuiston Lott, Elena Light, NOT for reTAIL, LoudHoundMovement, and Malcolm Low! Find our more here ICKamsterdam (Emio Greco | Pieter C. Scholten) Peak Performances/Kasser/Montclair State University February 12-15 Greco and Scholten come to New Jersey with ROCCO and the stage at the Kasser becomes a boxing ring; every seat is ringside. “Dancers challenge each other with punches and strikes, fast footwork and ingenious tactics in this high-stakes match. Inspired by the classic Italian film, Rocco & His Brothers, ROCCO depicts brotherly love and the struggle for a better life with dazzling physical virtuosity,” notes the release. Find out more here Megan Sipe - A Chocolate Love Affair Access Theater Feb 12-15 Chocolate Dances Presents its 3rd annual Valentine’s Day Weekend Tasting Performance: A Chocolate Love Affair - Love, Murder, Seduction, Espionage and Chocolate a dance theater work with live music and multiple handmade chocolate truffle tastings. Chocolate will be served to the audience during the performance. Find out more here Dance Iquail Ailey Citigroup Theater February 13-14 Dance Iquail will present the premiere of director/choreographer Iquail Shaheed's Black Swan, "...an exploration of the experience of the black ballerina as a window into issues of race, identity, and isolation, set to music by artist/activist Nina Simone..." according to the release. Find out more here Maria Bauman Gina Gibney Dance February 14 Bauman asks: What role does physicality have in our organizing and our community engagement? In our leadership? Catch Bauman’s experiential workshop and “… explore these ideas with physical and verbal discourse, practice body awareness as a leadership tool…” and more. Find out more here Ballet Hispanico Queens Theater February 14-15 Ballet Hispanico will present El Beso by Spanish native Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Sombrerísimo by Belgo-Colombian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Sortijas by Spain’s Cayetano Soto and artistic director Eduardo Vilaro's Asuka, a celebration of the music of Queen of Salsa Celia Cruz. Find out more here Tap Talks/Tap Films American Tap Dance Center February 15 Rhythm/tap soloist, Margaret Morrison shares some of her archival footage and research into little-known woman tap dancers. Juanita Pitts, Lois Bright, the Three Queens, Alice Whitman and others. The event is co-hosted by Morrison & Brynn Shiovitz. Find out more here Various Artists Movement Research at the Judson Church February 16 Don’t miss this free, ongoing, Monday night performance series of experimentation and works-in-progress. This week’s featured artists are: Martita Abril, I AM A BOYS CHOIR, Cesar Reyes Lopez, Elina Lutce˚ and The Lovelies. Find out more here My interview with Carmen de Lavallade for BAC Stories and AmNews New York Premiere of de Lavallade's As I Remember It Baryshnikov Arts Center 370 West 37th Street New York, NY FEB 19-21 / THU - SAT / 8 PM FEB 24 / TUE / 8 PM FEB 25 / WED / 1 PM From Philadanco!: Last week during the coldest days in February we discovered that our 25 year old trusty heating furnace finally blew up and we found a large gaping hole in the pipes which was dangerously letting steam out in the basement of our building. We have a full roster of programming going on despite the cold weather and we need to replace the furnace immediately. In order to keep our students and company members dancing we've had to place electrical heaters throughout the building. Please join us in our campaign to fix the boiler system estimated to cost between $20-30,000. The Philadelphia Dance Company affectionately known as PHILADANCO! is in its 45th season and our building at 40th & Market houses three dance companies, a school and has been a place for over 4,000 African American dance students to begin their careers. Founder/Executive Artistic Director Joan Myers Brown received the highest national arts award by President Obama in 2013. What We Need & What You Get Our need is pretty clear. Estimates for a new furnace range from $20,000 to $30,000 because of the building's size and age. Every little bit would help and would be deeply appreciated. $1 to $100: we will recognize your donation with your name in the program of the 4th Annual Founder's Concert at the Dell Music Center on July 17, 2015. $101-$500: we will invite you to the 4th Annual Founder's Concert with two free admission tickets and your name in the program. $501-$1,000: we will invite you to visit our facility for a grand tour of our studio and meet the dancers during rehearsals, invite you to the 4th Annual Founder's Concert with two free admission tickets and your name in the program. $1,001-$10,000: we will place your name on our new furnace with our warm-felt gratitude along with all of the above mentioned perks. Other Ways You Can Help Please spread the word about our dying furnace and share how PHILADANCO! has impacted you personally. If we haven't seen you in a while come during the hot summer months before you visit us! We've launched an Indiegogo Campaign at: http://igg.me/p/turn-up-the-heat-emergency-furnace-repair/x/8031988 Artist Services Day BAX is excited to host our second annual ARTIST SERVICES DAY featuring an array of talks and workshops designed to support working dance, theater, performance artists and their supporters.
Sunday, February 15, 2015 | 10:00am-6:30pm Free and open to the public. Suggested contribution $5 Workshops are sponsored through the underwriting and generous contributions of the Scott Klein Team at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. CHILDCARE IS AVAILABLE (free) by reservation one week in advance for participating adults. Please email artistservices@bax.org. WORKSHOP DETAILS 10:00am-noon Teaching Artist Work in Practice: Creating Space for Young Artists Creating the Space for Community (part one of a three part series) Facilitated by Donna Costello [more] *This workshop is Part 1 of a 3-part series and includes a $40 fee. Advance registration is required. 10:30-11:30am BAX/2015 Artist Applications Come learn about BAX’s three artists grants. Residency, Space Grants and Parent/Artist Space Grants. [more] 11:00am-12:30pm Words on the Move Facilitated by veteran dance writer Eva Yaa Asantewaa [more] 12-1:00pm Making Art While Parenting Facilitated by Alexandra Beller, Karen Grenke and David Vining [more] 12:30-2:30pm Performance as Civic Engagement Facilitated by Daniel Carlton and George Emilio Sanchez [more] 1:00-2:00pm The Helix Queer Performance Network Facilitated by Dan Fishback with Greg Newton, Donnie Jochum, T.L. Cowan, Kia LaBeija, and Sasha Alexander & Olympia Perez of Black Trans Media [more] 2:30-4:00pm - Dancing While Black Moderated by Aimee Cox with Dr. Brenda Dixon-Gottschild, Nia Austin-Edwards, Candace Feldman, and Jaamil Olawale Kosoko [more] 4:15-5:15pm - The Relationship Between Artists and Institutions Moderated by BAX Executive Director Marya Warshaw with Levi Gonzalez, luciana achugar, and current BAX Artists In Residence. [more] 5:30-6:30pm CLOSING RECEPTION more Find out more here Gibney Dance is pleased to announce a call for proposals for boo-koo, our space grant and community giveback initiative for choreographers in the early stages of their career. Six selected artists will receive 50 hours of free space and a $1,000 stipend to enhance their creative process. In exchange, the participating artists will “giveback” by designing and implementing a project that will serve the community. We will accept a total of 50 proposals on a strictly first-come, first-served basis. Guidelines available online now. Application opens at 9:00 am on Monday, February 23. Find out more here CALL FOR PROPOSALS New Waves! 2015 Dancing While Black Performance Lab What practices constitute Caribbean dance? In what ways has Caribbean dance been recognized and acknowledged - within and outside the geocultural region? Is there a Caribbean embodied archive? How does dance, as a field of study, define Caribbean diasporic movement? New Waves! 2015 invites proposals from choreographers, dancers and performance artists to submit proposals for the DANCING WHILE BLACK PERFORMANCE LAB. Co-curated by New Waves! Director, Makeda Thomas and Paloma McGregor, Director of Dancing While Black, this experimental, multi-performance, interdisciplinary environment will feature dance and performances in the yard of and on stage at Port of Spain’s Big Black Box. The New Waves! 2015 Dancing While Black Performance Lab is a manifestation of the New Waves! Commission Project, which has offered a presenting platform for dance artists in the Caribbean since 2012. We welcome proposals from dance and performance artists working in the Caribbean and those throughout its diaspora whose work is grounded in Caribbean aesthetics. In a riff off “Dance a yard before yuh dance abroad”, we will also explore how Caribbean dance artists create and perform work in the international landscape and how a new generation of cultural producers is transforming the ways the region is imagined and represented. Performance themes could include:
Confirmations: February 27, 2015 Submit a proposal to: dancingwhileblack@gmail.com Questions to: institute@makedathomas.org Registration must be paid by May 15, 2015. Additional details are available at http://makedathomas.org/institute.newwaves. Additional Information The participant fee for the DANCING WHILE BLACK PERFORMANCE LAB is $500 USD, which covers production, all local transportation and offers access to all New Waves! programs and course offerings. The schedule is as follows: Wednesday, 29 July - Artists Arrive/New Waves! Institute Thursday, 30 July - New Waves! Institute/Performance LAB Technical Rehearsal Friday, 31 July - New Waves! Institute/Dancing While Black PERFORMANCE Saturday, 1 August - Emancipation Day Sunday, 2 August - Artists/New Waves! Institute departs Since 2012, Dancing While Black has supported dialogue, documentation, process and performance for Black dance artists living and working in the U.S. context. What carries over, strips away, shifts, amplifies when the context for presenting these platforms is a place where Black culture is the dominant culture? For the NEW WAVES! 2015 DANCING WHILE BLACK PERFORMANCE LAB, DWB founder, Caribbean-born Paloma McGregor, is interested in the way context plays a role in cultural production among people of color whose aesthetics are connected to Caribbean identity. Selected participants will be asked to submit a brief statement after the experience that helps to illuminate the myriad experiences that will emerge. These statements will be considered for publication in the forthcoming journal Dancing While Black: In Our Own Words. Let’s Dance! AMERICAN DANCE INSTITUTE SELECTS STEVEN REKER TO RECEIVE
2015 SOLANGE MACARTHUR AWARD FOR NEW CHOREOGRAPHY ADI’s Second Annual Commissioning Award Exemplifies the Organization’s Growing Commitment to the Development of New Work The American Dance Institute (ADI) has selected Brooklyn-based choreographer, performer and musician Steven Reker to win the 2015 Solange MacArthur Award for New Choreography. ADI will provide Reker with $10,000 in commissioning funds, fee-free fiscal sponsorship, strategic marketing and development support, and a presentation of the commissioned work next year. ADI’s annual Solange MacArthur Award, launched last year as the Commissioned Artist Program, reflects the organization’s vital and growing role as a supporter of American choreographers creating new works. ADI’s Artistic Advisory Board—including Brian Brooks, Jane Comfort, David Dorfman, Doug Elkins, Dan Hurlin (Chair), Jodi Melnick and David Neumann—chooses the winner after a closed nomination process. Minneapolis-based choreographer Chris Schlichting won the inaugural award in 2014. Steven Reker said of winning this year’s award, “In the landscape of American dance-making it is difficult to find platforms on which you might find support for your work. ADI's Solange MacArthur Award provides a platform that is truly rare. I’ll have technical, financial and developmental support to make a new piece—a piece I have wanted to make for years but could only imagine making since my resources are somewhat limited in NYC. ADI is helping raise the standard of how American performing arts organizations support their commissioned artists." Reker epitomizes the kind of artist ADI seeks to support through the Solange MacArthur Award—a choreographer gaining prominence while pushing the boundaries of the art form. He moved to New York from Arizona in 2006, finding work as a dancer and guitarist on David Byrne's 2008-09 tour, as a composer in Yasuko Yokoshi's dance work, and as a choreographer for Miranda July's film The Future. In 2009, in The Kitchen's Dance and Process series, Reker debuted his own group, People Get Ready, to channel both sides of his creativity. NPR Music has called People Get Ready’s marriage of indie rock melodies and movement “the best mix of performance art and music in decades.” Reker premiered his first hybrid performance production, the eponymously titled People Get Ready, at The Kitchen in 2011. The New York Times wrote that his work had “blossomed into an ephemeral landscape where music works in tandem with movement and lights,” and described the production as “an experience beyond hearing music…or viewing dance.” He headlines a concert in Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series on February 27. Originally established in 2000 by former American Ballet Theatre dancer Pamela Booth Bjerknes and Joffrey Ballet principal Michael Bjerknes, ADI has, since the 2010 appointment of current Executive Director Adrienne Willis, expanded ambitiously, launching a critically lauded performance series and a residency program in its Rockville, MD venue in 2011. In the black box theater housed in its converted warehouse headquarters, ADI has presented beloved contemporary dance artists such as Crystal Pite, Yvonne Rainer, Tere O’Connor, John Jasperse, Susan Marshall, Reggie Wilson and Jack Ferver, prompting Sarah Kaufman of The Washington Post to call ADI “the region's leading edge of edge.” Connect with American Dance Institute Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanDance Twitter: https://twitter.com/ADI_DC Instagram: http://instagram.com/adi_dc Batoto Yetu Celebrates Black History
February 7th at 3:00 pm Aaron Davis Hall The City College Center for the Arts would like to welcome back the inspiring and talented young dancers of Batoto Yetu to the Aaron Davis Hall stage. Internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer and Batoto Yetu founder Júlio T. Leitão, and The City College Center for the Arts invite you to join us in celebrating the Black History Month with exciting dance and music. Batoto Yetu has proven to be a worldwide sensation performing around the globe with iconic artists like the late Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, Harry Belafonte, and others. In celebration of Black History Month, Batoto Yetu will perform dance favorites representing Congo and Angola along with newly created works. For more information about the event or to purchase tickets to attend, please visit www.citycollegecenterforthearts.org. Aaron Davis Hall Gallery is located within Aaron Davis Hall at West 135th Street and Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031. |
Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
AuthorI am a performer, historian, consultant and dance writer. I am a Empire State College's online program Center for Distance Learning. I am also a former faculty member at The Ailey School and the Alvin Ailey/Fordham University dance major program, Hunter College, Sarah Lawrence College (Guest), Kean University and The Joffrey Ballet School's Jazz and Contemporary Trainee Program. I write on dance for The Amsterdam News, Dance Magazine and various publications. Click below to read more about me at my home page - "About Me." |