JoAnna Mendl Shaw  - Equus Projects
“Dance on Camera” – Lincoln Center
February 1
JoAnna Mendl Shaw and her company Equus Projects which melds movement of bodies with that of horses will premiere a film about her work as part of Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera series. For the film, Mendl Shaw “…takes her company to Sweden to work with new elements and new friends in the rural countryside. Ulrike Michels Nord, director of Klinten Kultur, a company of young adults with autism, opens the way for the American choreographer to create a magical piece that expresses the joys and challenges of bringing together unfamiliar beasts (the new horses), trainers, professional dancers and autistic individuals to make a work of art in a mystical setting—the Hovdala castle and library ruin deep in a forest. The challenge is to accomplish this feat in just 12 days!” notes the release.   Find out more ~ http://lc.lincolncenter.org/shows/209270?show_date=2014-02-01+13%3A00%3A00

Douglas Dunn & Dancers 
Peak Performances 
January 24-February 1
Dunn premieres Aubade named from the traditional “...song of morning; of awakening to the day with a quiet sense of the inexorableness of death,” according to the release.  Find out more ~ www.peakperfs.org 


Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM)
The Joyce Theater
January 28–February 2
After a 10-year hiatus RHPM returns to The Joyce Theater in a program of critically acclaimed works from the company’s repertoire including Rome and Jewels, P-Funk, Students of the Asphalt Jungle and March of the Antmen.  Find out more  ~ www.joyce.org. 

Hattie Mae Williams/ The Tattooed Ballerinas
The Iron Dale Theater
January 30
Hattie Mae Williams/The Tattooed Ballerinas will present I Wish I Could Drink Like A Lady, an evening length piece inspired by Dorothy Park and her poetry.  Find out more ~ http://irondale.org/FLICfest.html. 

White Wave – CoolNY 2014 Dance Festival
John Ryan Theater - DUMBO Brooklyn
January 29-February 9
Artistic Director Young Soon Kim’s free dance festival, WHITE WAVE, will present 60 contemporary dance companies over two weeks. Find out more ~ whitewavedance.com.

“Soaking WET” Dance Series
West End Theater  
January 30-February 2
"Soaking WET," produced by David Parker and Jeffrey Kazin, with guest curator Valerie Gladstone returns to the West End Theater with works and performances by  veteran and emerging dance artists: Tze Chun, Aviva Geismar, Erin Gottwald & John Carrafa, Sara du Jour, Heidi Latsky Dance, Khaleah London, Ben Munisteri & Angela Maffia, and Silva Dance Company.  Find out more ~ www.thebanggroup.com/wet.php

niv Acosta and Tess Dworman
NEW YORK LIVE ARTS
January 30 – February 1
Acosta and Dworman will share an evening of world premieres – Acosta will present  i shot denzel, and Dworman, macromen.  Find out more ~ www.newyorklivearts.org

DZUL DANCE
Baruch Performing Arts Center 
January 24-February 1 
Dzul Dance, a company of dancers and aerialists, presents artistic director Javier Dzul’s Mexico Maya “a journey through the rich history of Maya and Mexico into contemporary western culture,” according to the release.  Find out more ~ www.dzuldance.com

 Thunderbird American Dancers
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
January 31-February 9
The Thunderbird American Dancers presents their annual Dance Concert and Pow Wow with dances, stories and traditional music from the Iroquois and Native Peoples of the Southwest and Great Plains regions.  Find out more ~ www.theaterforthenewcity.net

Cynthia Paniagua
Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education
January 31
Paniagua presents Dancing My Roots a blend of contemporary movement with traditional Peruvian dance.  Find out more ~ www.casitamaria.org

Though the five-day (January 10-14) Association of Arts Presenters (APAP) NYC event is far behind us now, there were some wonderful highlights. 

Urban Bush Women + Yvonne Rainer & Group @ The Joyce
Under FOCUS Dance at The Joyce Theater (January 12) Urban Bush Women (UBW), under artistic director, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar returned, and they were fantastic!  The UBW women performed in a version of Nora Chipaumire’s Dark Swan (originally a solo for Chipaumire), and in one word, they were HOT!  The 2014 UBW women are: Maria Bauman, Amanda Castro, Courtney J. Cook, Chanon Judson, Tendayi Kuumba, Stephanie Mas, Samantha Speis, and Amber Renee Moore.  Fabulously fitted in costumes by Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya, they moved smoothly in unison like divas, queens and technicians.  In between darting legs and turns that sliced the air in record speed, they grabbed their crotch, breast or butts, or looked directly into the audience…daring us to look back.  Kudos to Kuumba for her arresting vocals towards the end.

It was great to see Yvonne Rainer & Group on this same program with UBW.  Rainer’s seriously stellar cast included Pat Catterson, Emily Coates, Patricia Hoffbauer, Emmanuelle Phuon and Keith Sabado.  Rainer left us with a lot to think about in her well-crafted Assisted Living: Do You Have Any Money (2013) which mixes complicated patterns with heady text.

“The Gathering during APAP”
Camille A. Brown (her idea) with Baraka Sele, organized a tremendous meeting of Black Female Choreographers called “The Gathering” (some men and non-choreographers were also present) at City Center (January 12).  This was an amazing time of connecting, sharing and hope.  The very short list of those present includes Brenda Dixon-Gottschild, Nia Love, Makeda Roney, Dianne McIntryre, Nora Chipmaurie, Aziza, Ronald K. Brown, Nathan Trice, Matthew Rushing, Paloma McGregor, Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya, Shay Wafer, Renee Robinson and so many more!  There are plans underway for keeping this connection alive, that’s good because as McIntyre said, “…in 1972, there would have been about four of us.”

Okwui Okpokwasaili – Bronx Gothic
Danspace Project presented Okwui Okpokwasaili’s Bronx Gothic (January 14 – this runs until February 1).  Director, scenic and lighting designer Peter Born re-imagined the space —white fabric squared off a smaller space within the larger church space where the performance happens.  Okpokwasaili begins before we enter the performance space—her back facing the audience breathing and shaking, shaking and breathing.  We are seated in one L-shaped corner, while she and the set occupy the other (grass lamps, upright or fallen, a paper bag hanging and a sole microphone. Without attention to  the audience, when it was time she begins a journey that mixes guttural sounds, undulating and convulsing body movement, songs and a story told by reading lost notes about two girls (one is Okpokwasaili) growing up and learning so many things…  She begins “…I wanna share something with you.”  The text is graphic, the delivery is honest and the result is really good.   

Follow this link  http://www.dancespora.org/black-2013 to purchase tickets. 
Tickets can also be purchased at venue while quantities last.
Find out more ~  call 609-451-0488 or email [email protected] 

Douglas Dunn & Dancers
Peak Performances
January 24-February 1

Dunn premieres Aubade which features pre-recorded and real-time video, lighting and costumes by avant-garde filmmaker Charles Atlas, poetry by Anne Waldman, and an original score by Steve Taylor.  “Aubade is traditionally a song of morning; of awakening to the day with a quiet sense of the inexorableness of death. The dance, which could be considered abstractly autobiographical, is also an homage to, and exploration of the more vivid and rich perceptions we develop as we age and begin to confront our own mortality,” according to the release. Taylor and his three musicians will share the stage with Dunn’s nine-member company, which includes Dunn and six dance students from Montclair State University. Find out more ~ www.peakperfs.org

Parsons Dance
The Joyce Theater
January 14-26
Under artistic director/choreographer, David Parsons the company marks their 30th anniversary with a two-week engagement, and will feature the world premiere of Parsons’ The Introduction, plus longtime repertoire including Nascimento Novo, The Envelope and Caught.  Find out more ~  www.joyce.org. 

LOVE|FORTÉ ~ AIR WORKS IN PROGRESS SHOWCASE
Brooklyn Arts Exchange
January 24-26th
LOVE|FORTÉ continues their investigation into “…the notions of embodied and residuous memory… with Ebony Noelle Golden, director of Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative.  Find out more ~ http://events.bax.org/

DZUL DANCE
Baruch Performing Arts Center 
January 24-February 1 
For their 10th anniversary, Dzul Dance, a company of dancers and aerialists, presents artistic director Javier Dzul’s Mexico Maya “a journey through the rich history of Maya and Mexico into contemporary western culture,” according to the release.  Find out more ~ www.dzuldance.com 

Beth Soll & Company
Chen Dance Center
January 24-25
Dance Projects, Inc. and Chen Dance Center present presents Beth Soll & Company in Soll’s A Kind of Grammar.  Find out more ~ www.chendancecenter.org.

BALASOLE DANCE COMPANY
Ailey Citigroup Theater
January 25-26
Robert Villanueva’s Balasole Dance Company, made up of 10 dancer/choreographers including Paulina Bracone, Caroline Brethenoux, Jonathan Breton, Trashina Conner, Marion Helfenstein, Hunter Frederick Houde, Christen Quattlebaum, Tracy Singer, Villanueva and Marina Yuri will present works in an evening titled “Idioms.”  Find out more ~ www.balasoledance.org

GROUNDED AERIAL
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts
January 25
Grounded Aerial, under Karen A. Fuhrman debuts at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts with an evening of aerial dance and theater.  Find out more ~ www.LehmanCenter.org

RED HOOK LIVE
The Cora Studio Theater
January 25
Red Hook Live is a full-day marathon showcase of performing artists from Red Hook, from playwrights to hip-hop choreographers. Find out more ~ www.coradance.org

Announcing the 2014 Summer  Internship Program

The Yard, a non-profit contemporary artist residency and dance performance center on Martha's Vineyard, in Chilmark, MA, under the leadership of Artistic and Executive Director David R. White, is looking for five summer interns for our 2014 Performance Season. The internship focuses both on the administrative facets of an art non-profit as well as an opportunity for skilled dancers to partake in performance and choreographic experiences. The successful candidate should expect to be involved in all aspects of arts management with focus on their individual areas of interest/expertise throughout the summer season.

As a 2014 Yard Intern here is what you can expect to do: 

• Learn the ins and outs of arts management, new work residencies  and artist theatrical production in a hands-on environment
• Join an experienced team of artist-administrators who care passionately about nurturing the work of significant artists as well as deeply engaging those artists in the life of the Vineyard community 
• Experience all performances at The Yard, artist Q&A's, community dance classes, and more
• Receive professional advancement training and recommendations for future career paths
• Multiple professional performance and choreographic opportunities throughout the summer season
• Gain a broad perspective on the performing arts field 
• Live in a community of artists in shared on campus housing with laundry and full kitchen facilities
• Monday-Friday dance technique classes
• Monday-Sunday Yoga classes
• One day off a week
• Mentorship from Executive/Artistic Director, Senior Staff, and Resident Artists 
• Receive the following benefits: $1,250 Stipend, and up to $150 travel reimbursement and farm shares from local farms 
• Beach passes to famed Martha's Vineyard beaches 

 Available Internship Positions:
Community Programs & General Management
Development
Marketing, Media & Communications
Technical Production

If you intern at The Yard you will have the opportunity to meet and work with artists like...
Michelle Dorrance & DorranceDance
Camille A. Brown & Dancers (CABD) 
The WonderTwins 
__________________________________

Some of the 2013 artists included...
doug elkins choreography, etc.
Faye Driscoll
Jodi Melnick
__________________________________

Yard interns have numerous community and theater performance opportunities throughout the season... 
__________________________________  

Throughout the summer you will take class with visiting artists and faculty teachers in numerous styles and techniques...
 ________________________________    

At The Yard you'll work hard and play hard in one of the most beautiful places to spend a summer... 

For More Info, Application, & How To Apply click 
HERE! 

All applications due to [email protected] by February 15th 
Applications are reviewed in the order that they are received

dancetheyard.org

Dance Theatre of Harlem
NJPAC
Panel – January 16
Performance - January 17

After a decade, DTH returns to NJPAC as part of NJPAC’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.  Works slated for this performance are Robert Garland’s Gloria, George Balanchine’s Agon and John Alleyne’s Far But Close.  Other happenings during this event include a keynote address from Reverend DeForest Blake "Buster" Soaries, Jr., and a panel discussion titled:  “Black Ballerinas: Breaking the BOUNDARIES of Classical Ballet,” to list just a few.  Find out more ~ http://www.njpac.org/events/detail/dance-theatre-of-harlem



Okwui Okpokwasili
Danspace Project
January 14-February 1
Okpokwasili will premiere the dance/theatre work Bronx Gothic which follows the “…the sexual awakening and exploits of two 11 year-old girls living in the Bronx,” according to the release.  Find out more ~ http://www.danspaceproject.org/

'newsteps'
Chen Dance Center
January 16-18
For this year’s newsteps choreographer’s series, the young dancemakers featured are: Adam Wile, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Hilary Brown & Briana Brown, Calen Kurka, and Luis Gabriel Zaragoza. Find out more ~ www.chendancecenter.org

Restoration Dance Theatre Company
Kumble Theatre
January 18
RDT presents their annual MLK Day weekend concert under artistic director, Karen Thornton, featuring works by Ronald K. Brown, Germaul Barnes, Lindia Dugué, Nathan Trice, and Adé Chiké Torbert.  Find out more ~ http://www.kumbletheater.org/

Rennie Harris Puremovement
Jan 13, 6–8pm at DANY Studios 
(305 West 38th Street)

If a more in-depth examination of issues shaping dance today interests you, join one of our Dance Talks, a series of conversations with artists and audiences illustrated with dance videos and movement demonstrations.

Take some time to flex your mind as we Talk RHAW with writer, educator Charmaine
Warren while looking at the roots and rigor of works by Dr. Rennie Harris. During this video-illustrated Dance Talk, we will look at Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM)’s rich history, from its founding in 1992; through Dr. Harris’ intense trajectory to teach the world about hip hop dance and culture through the use of performances, classes, and Rennie Harris Awe-Inspiring Works (RHAW), a youth
mentoring organization; and leading up to the company’s Joyce season.

ADMISSION IS FREE 
RSVP required: [email protected] or 646-792-8377

Dance Talks are part of The Joyce’s Dance Education Program, which is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Special support has also been provided by Capezio/Ballet Makers Dance Foundation, Con Edison, Marsicano
Foundation, May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, and The Walt Disney Company.

Here is a link to my Amsterdam News January 2014 Dance Calendar -

http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2014/jan/09/january-2014-dance-calendar/

Performer, master teacher and choreographer, Frank Hatchett III died on December 23, at 78 years old.  According to the Broadway Dance Center’s website, “… [he]died peacefully in hospice care.”  Hatchett is remembered for his love of teaching.   In addition to other venues, Hatchett was co-owner of the Hines-Hatchett Studio in New York  with Maurice Hines, today it is known as Broadway Dance Center.  Among many awards in the dance community, Hatchett was a recipient of the Fred Astaire awards in 2002, and he received The 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from Dance Teacher Magazine.   A memorial service was held on January 3 at Progressive Community Baptist Church in Springfield.  

At 96, one of the famous “The Silver Belles” dancers, Ms. Ada Elaine McNeil Munroe Ellis (Elaine Ellis) died.  Ellis and the The Silver Belles (Bertye Lou Wood, Cleo Hayes, Marion Coles and Fay Ray) were featured in Heather Lyn MacDonald's documentary "Been Rich All My Life," then aged 84-96.  A Celebration of the Life of Elaine Ellis was held on Saturday, January 4 at St. Philip's Episcopal Church.