The Annual Performance Festival of the American Dance Guild
The Ailey Citigroup Theater
December 4-7
Celebrating the diversity of contemporary dance, the American Dance Guild, thirty-three artists/companies will be presented on several programs, while three living legends of modern dance - Joan Myers Brown, founder of Philadanco, Douglas Dunn, founder of Douglas Dunn & Dancers, and Bill Evans, founder of Bill Evans Dance Company will be honored. All will be presenting works with their companies.

About the Honorees:

Joan Myers Brown, founder of Philadanco now celebrating its 45th year, received the Presidential Medal of Honor in the Arts from President Obama in 2013. She brings her company to ADG one week ahead of their home season at the Kimmel Theatre in Philadelphia. Opening night will feature soloist Hope Boykin, former member of Philadanco, performing courtesy of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. On Friday, the company will perform Gatekeepers, an expansive, uplifting work for seven dancers choreographed for them by Ron K. Brown/Evidence Dance Company. Dancers will be Adryan Moorefield, Rosita Amano, Courtney Robinson, Roxanne Lyst, Elyse Browning, Janine Beckles, Joe Gonzales. Original music by Wumni Olaiya. (Thurs., Dec. 4 and Fri., Dec. 5).

Douglas Dunn, the internationally acclaimed and much loved member of the New York dance scene since the late 1960’s, will show Near Miss, a work set to the music of Mozart and Bach. Dancers will be Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Douglas Dunn, Emily Pope-Blackman, Paul Singh, Jake Szczypek, Timothy Ward. On Sunday, Janet Charleston will perform a solo created specially for her by Mr. Dunn (Thurs., Dec. 4, Sat., Dec. 6, and Sun., Dec. 7).
 
Bill Evans, whose company is celebrating its 40th season this year, will perform his acclaimed solo Three Preludes to Gershwin music on opening night Dec. 4, and will bring his full company of eight dancers to perform Colony, on Sun., Dec. 7. Dancers will be Ryanne Currie, MacKenzie Ferrara, Abbey Hemmann, Sylvia Larraca, Devon Larcher, Megan McQuarrie, Angela Miller and Francis Rivera Pacheco (Thurs., Dec. 4 and Sun., Dec. 7).John Pennington will present the NYC premiere of Daniel Nagrin’s legendary solo, Man of Action (learned directly from Mr. Nagrin), and Gesel Mason will dance Donald McKayle’s, Saturday’s Child. The Festival will also feature Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and works by Jody Oberfelder, Sarah Skaggs, Loretta Fois & Sabatino Verlezza, Ara Fitzgerald & Clare Byrne, Amy Pivar and more.  Find out more here

Moving Men
Dixon Place
December 2
This series of new choreography features works by all male dancers. Curated by Doug Post, featured choreographers are: Ranardo Grays, Joe Monteleone, Emily Bufferd and Scott Schneider.  Find out more here 

The Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble
14th Street Y
December 3-7
In association with the Dance Series at The 14th Street Y, the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble presents ANNA'S AMERICANA, a program of works that includes Sokolow's Preludes and Homage to Edgar Allan Poe, plus Georgia & Me, a solo portrait, conceived, written and performed by Sarah Ford.  Find out more here

Jessica Lang Dance
BAM – Fisher
December 3-6
For her company’s BAM debut, Lang premieres The Wanderer, “…a narrative ballet set to Franz Shubert’s Die schöne Müllerin—a song cycle based on poems by Wilhelm Müller,” notes the release.  The company of nine dancers will be joined onstage by pianist Tyson Deaton and vocalist Steven LaBrie.  Find out more here 

Neil Greenberg
New York Live Arts
December 3-6
NYLA presents the world premiere of Greenberg’s This, part of “…Greenberg’s ongoing investigation of meaning-making…This works against the grain of performance conventions of representation and interpretation through dance.  Instead, the work presents dance as an experience of the performance moment, in and of itself,” according to the release.  Find out more here  

Milteri Tucker & Bombazo Dance Co. + Christal Brown
Bronx Museum – First Fridays
December 5
Free dance performances and participation continue at the Bronx Museum with contemporary dancer Christal Brown and Milteri Tucker & Bombazo Dance Co., a group that fuses the traditional Afro–Puerto Rican dance bomba with ballet and modern dance. Find out more here 

Complexions Contemporary Ballet
The Joyce
November 18-30

Celebrating their 20th anniversary, Complexions Contemporary Ballet holds down this holiday weekend with choreography by co-founder/artistic director Dwight Rhoden that “grabs the viewer by the eyeballs and refuses to let go” (Dance Magazine).  The program will include repertory works and three premieres. Desmond Richardson, the other half of the duo of founding artistic directors will also perform.  Highlights include the premiere of Rhoden’s Head Space, set to the music of Grammy Award winning New Orleans jazz musician Terence Blanchard, and Rhoden Hissy Fits and Ave Maria. Also on the program is the world premiere of The Groove inspired by the House music scene of the 1980′s; and Igual; a new work choreographed by Marcelo Gomes set to an original score by Ian Ng.  Find out more here

The theater community has lost a colleague, friend, and dedicated actor and producer. Garland Lee Thompson, co-founder of the Frank Silvera's Writers Workshop in Harlem, (along with actor/director Morgan Freeman, director/actress Billie Allen, and journalist Clayton Riley), transitioned after a long illness on November 18, 2014.
Under Garland's direction, for the past 41 years, the Writers' Workshop built a prestigious reputation as a nationally and internationally renowned playwright's development theater for emerging, featured and established writers and artists of color. He was a founding member of the Harlem Arts Alliance and served on the Board.
Details on funeral arrangements and location will be shared soon. In the mean time you can support the Garland family by donating here:
 
He will be greatly missed by all of us.

America's leading Latino dance company returns to the Apollo stage on November 22 to premiere its first evening-length narrative work. Hailed as a “masterpiece” by the Chicago Sun-Times, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s "CARMEN.maquia" is, like Georges Bizet’s iconic opera about a passionate gypsy, riveting from start to finish. The physically charged and sensual choreography fuses contemporary dance with nods to the Spanish paso doble and flamenco. A stunning set design by Luis Crespo and minimalist black-and-white costumes by fashion designer David Delfin evoke the paintings of Pablo Picasso. Highly original and full of elaborate partnering, "CARMEN.maquia" is a bold and electrifying reimagining of this tragic tale. For tickets, visit ballethispanico.org/performances/Apollo.

Vimeo - "Creating Carmen"

Video by Kendra Brisco.

In a repeat collaboration, Spanish choreographer Gustavo Ramírez Sansano partners with the dancers of Ballet Hispanico (BH) in the New York premiere of Carmen:maquia for the Company’s annual season at The Apollo, November 22.  Founded in 1970 by Tina Ramirez and now lead by artistic director Eduardo Vilaro, BH celebrates 44 years as “…the nation’s premiere Latino dance organization.”  In April 2014, Sansano first presented El Beso (The Kiss) in New York for BH to acclaimed reviews: “Full of bold, astute, unexpected choices…. Let’s see more from Mr. Sansano…” wrote The New York Times.  And from The Star-Ledger, it “Reflect[s] archly upon human behavior…blend[ing] silliness with moments of pathos and genuine romance.” In 2012, danced by Luna Negra where Sansano served as artistic director from 2009-2013, the Chicago Sun-times hailed it as a “masterpiece.” Sansano is a recipient of many awards in choreography, and has been in demand for commissioned works, internationally.  Nationally, he was named one of Dance Magzine’s “25 to Watch” in 2012, and “Chicagoan of the Year in Arts & Entertainment” by the Chicago SunTimes.  Sansano responded to some questions about the making of Carmen:maquia for Ballet Hispanico.

Charmaine:   The composer, Georges Bizet’s Carmen, much like Igor Stravinsky’s  Le Sacre du printemps, (The Rite of Spring), draws attention from many choreographers.  What drew you to this story?

Sansano:  It wasn’t actually that I thought I wanted to do Carmen, but every time I saw Carmen from other choreographers I always wondered how I would do it. I also think that there are some stories that talk to you, in a specific moment, for private reasons.  For example, you like a song because something is happening to you that is related to the song. In that moment in time I was Don José [a soldier called to arrest Carmen for her alleged insolence and with whom she develops a complicated relationship], so I completely understood and I empathized a lot with him and I think all of those things made me achieve CARMEN.maquia.

Charmaine:   Are there versions of Carmen (dance, music, opera) that inspire(d) you?

Sansano:   So many times that I saw Carmen I never really understood the story.  I’ve gone to about four different versions of the opera and in Chicago I saw the Lyric Opera present it too. So what I did is I took the opera and wrote my own script by what was happening and my own interpretation of what was happening and then I drew the story.

Charmaine:   Were there challenges you faced, or gave yourself, when you decided to take on this historical work?

Sansano:  The first challenge was aesthetic; not going with the old interpretation and what people think that Spain is. Then there’s the theatrical aspect, the acting. Most of the things that I did were not that literal, and for me one of the biggest challenges was to make people understand what was happening without any words or any lyrics of the opera because everything is just music.

Charmaine:  How close is this work to you, given your Spanish roots and the Spanish origins of the Carmen?

Sansano:  Until I actually searched for the story, I didn’t know about its Spanish origins. I knew the music; I saw a lot of versions. Probably the first version I saw with the music of Carmen was of the flamenco type with flamenco shoes.   But the first time I saw a different Carmen that caught my attention was the [the late French choreographer] Roland Petit’s version. Even then, I was so involved with the dancing that I just wasn’t as interested in the story. I was interested in the dancing, the aesthetic, and those things.

Charmaine:  Your work, including Carmen, has been described as a melding of contemporary dance and the “subtleties of the Spanish paso doble and flamenco…” Is this accurate?

Sansano:  It’s everything that anybody thinks is accurate—one of the things that I like about choreography is that you don’t obligate anyone to believe anything. You’re just sharing something and they take it the way they want it and there’s a freedom in that, in the possibilities. The way I see it, especially after 2 years [since the premiere], if I tell you the story with words it will be different than you telling the story, so the only thing that I’m doing is telling this story with my own words. I didn’t try to be more flamenco or less flamenco, I was just telling the story. My vocabulary is influenced by Spanish dance but in CARMEN.maquia, it’s influenced by something weird. That’s what I mean by going back to the words—my words are my words.

Charmaine:  Where does the extension of the title come from “maquia”?

Sansano:  “Tauromaquia” is the art of bullfighting, and because we compare Carmen to a bull, we took bull, and put in “Carmen” to compose CARMEN.maquia.

Charmaine:   How has it been to set the work on Ballet Hispanico?

Sansano:   It’s been easy. I think it’s important for a work like CARMEN.maquia that each individual has his or her own personality already imprinted in his or her body, face.  For example, I don’t think it would work completely in a ballet company where all the dancers are like clones because you wouldn’t see the differences between them. We would have to work a lot on the movements to create differences between the people, because the costumes are all white, and the set is pale, and the first thing that people see is the differences between the dancers and that is something that Ballet Hispanico has, and it’s really important.  Find out more here 

From the idiosyncratic-hip stride from the woman to the serene stare from all 18 dancers in Ohad Naharin’s Batsheva Dance Company for Sadeh21 (November 12-15) at BAM, it’s all about the entire package.  Works, and the presentation of works such as this, confirm the possibility of good collaboration.  In fact Naharin doesn’t take full credit for the choreography; he writes: “In collaboration with Batsheva dancers.” These dancers slip and slide out of balances and dart-like sequences, and their complex mixing and mingling in groups of varied numbers comes honestly through teamwork.  For instance, at one point, guided by Adi Zlatin after a meditative duet with Ian Robinson and a hippy-wobble around the stage, she calls out numbers (4, 1 or 2, 1, 1, 1, or 2, 2, 1), and in response, the dancers pair up according to her call.  The initially stark white space constantly morphs because of Avi Yona Buen’s dynamic mood-driven lights; Maxim Waratt’s sound design always fit nicely; Raz Friedman’s video titles drew a chuckle when the singularly-numbered guide (Sadeh1…etc.) was compounded (Sadeh7-18) moving things along; and to shake things up a bit, costume designer Ariel Cohen, for the men’s loud and mad dash to the stage, outfitted them in fabulous black dresses.  And oh…there was something really special about the velvet pants and shorts.  Naharin and Company makes us laugh when butts bump, we lift an eyebrow when in a sharp line the men begin a deconstructed Horah dance, or a queasy feeling comes over us during Omri Drumlevich’s tale told awkwardly through unidentifiable sounds.  Then there was the high-pitched sound score of unending pain amidst an obscured conversation just before the dancers disappear.  They reappear, but as pieces that continually fall from the top of the wall into the abyss.  They didn’t return for a curtain call, so here’s to you dancers – KUDOS!

Dancers/Performers: William Barry, Mario Bermudez Gil, Omri Drumlevich, Bret Easterling, Iyar Elezra, Rani Lebzelter, Eri Nakamura, Ori Moshe Ofri, Rachael Osborne, Shamel Pitts, Oscar Ramos, Nitzan Ressler, Ian Robinson, Or Meir Schraiber, Maayan Sheinfeld, Bobbi Smith, Zina (atalya) Zinchenko and Adi Zlatin.  

Arlene Shuler, President & CEO of New York City Center, today announced the appointment of Stanford Makishi to the newly created senior position of Vice President of Programming. Beginning in January 2015, Makishi will oversee City Center’s artistic planning and work toward expanding its performance season.

Currently the Associate Producer of City Center’s acclaimed Fall for Dance Festival, Makishi will continue to program Fall for Dance. He will expand City Center’s dance programs, develop additional main stage programming for City Center beyond dance and musical theater, and collaborate with Jack Viertel and Jeanine Tesori, the artistic directors of Encores! and Encores! Off-Center, to help develop ancillary offerings that enhance City Center’s musical theater programs. Makishi will act as the primary liaison with City Center’s Choreography Fellows and with Artistic Associate Wendy Whelan. He will also work with City Center’s Education Program to expand outreach opportunities for children and seniors.

“With Fall for Dance, Encores!, and now Encores! Off-Center, City Center has long been a hub for exciting dance and musical theater,” said Arlene Shuler, President & CEO of New York City Center. “As we look forward to presenting more work on our stage and in the beautiful studios and spaces throughout our building, Stanford is the obvious choice to help bring these plans to life. Over the last four years, Stanford has become an invaluable member of the City Center family through his work on Fall for Dance; he’s discovered stunning new dance companies and enticed major ones to perform here. As a former dancer myself, I also know that Stanford’s seven years dancing with the Trisha Brown Dance Company has given him an intimate understanding of how artists work. I look forward to working with him in this new position.”

“I am excited and humbled to have the opportunity to help shape the future artistic profile of such an historic performing arts center,” said Stanford Makishi. “With a foundation of solid programming already in place, as well as limitless possibilities ahead, the challenge and thrill will be to continue to define City Center’s unique niche within New York City’s rich cultural landscape.”

Luke George
The Chocolate Factory Theater
November 19-22
In George’s Not About Face, he offers an experiment in anonymous intimacy and fake belief, Not About Face questions the nature of the unspoken contracts between performer and audience, and accesses the supernatural and spiritual as a way to investigate how the yearning for belief can make people do many things. For this performance, audience members are robed in full-body shrouds and join a free-roaming and anonymous gathering in the performance space. We will come together. We will become anonymous. We will fake belief or believe in faking it.  Find out more here 

Rakiya A. Orange & Alex Rodabaugh
Gibney Dance Performing Arts Center
November 19-22
Miguel Gutierrez curates this next segment of DoublePlus.  A pre-show talk with Gutierrez kicks off the week at 6:45 pm, followed by the performance featuring Orange and Rodabaugh. Find out more here 

NYC10 Dance Initiative
Dixon Place
Nov 19-22
NYC10 is a unique dance project designed by NYC Dance Week, where 10 emerging dance companies/dance groups/dance troupes are given up to 10 minutes to showcase their work.  Find out more here 

Lemi Ponifasio
BAM -  Opera House
November 19-22
Samoan director and choreographer Ponifasio and his New Zealand-based company MAU make their BAM debut with the US premiere of Birds With Skymirrors—a haunting reflection on our relationship with the world in a time of climate change. Find out more here 

Panel –“ From Russia to Balanchine to Harlem: Hip-Hop Meets Ballet”
Newark Public Library
November 20
Dance Theatre of Harlem Resident Choreographer Robert Garland will be joined by panelists to discuss the relationship between neo-classical ballet and popular American and African-American culture.  The panel is presented by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and free and open to the public. Find out more here 

“The House is Open”
The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College
November 20-22
“What might happen if a performing arts center temporarily re-imagined itself as an art museum?” This fall, the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts presents “The House is Open,” an inquisitive and playful pop-up installation and performance event that attempts to answer this question, examining the complex interplay between contemporary art and performance. There will be two premieres -- both of works commissioned or co-commissioned by LAB: Ralph Lemon's "Scaffold Room" and Jack Ferver / Mark Swanson's "Chambre." Other highlights include works by Jennifer Monson/iLAND, John Kelly, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, and Tad Beck.  Find out more here 

Brown Girls Burlesque
Joe’s Pub
November 21
Joe’s Pub and Present: Last Night A DJ Saved My Life Vol.4  Afro, Latin & Soul -- A stripping, shimmy-filled fete celebrating Afro-Latin musicians their contributions to soul music.  Curator-navigator, Geko Jones will be on deck taking the audience through the musical migrations that have transpired in the last several decades of recorded music.  Find out more here 

Chicago-based Deeply Rooted Dance Theater
Mark Morris Dance Center
November 21-23
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater returns to New York with the second installation of the five-part Generations Initiative - Generations II, the multi-generational repertory project features classic and new works by choreographers representing the continuum of dance that forms Deeply Rooted’s legacy.  The 2014 New York season features works by Kevin Iega Jeff, Gary Abbott, Nicole Clarke-Springer and MenCa. Find out more here 

MIRO MAGLOIRE'S NEW CHAMBER BALLET
City Center Studio 5
November 21-22
Two world premieres by Magloire will take center stage when the choreographer's New Chamber Ballet returns to City Center Studio 5.  Find out more here
 
Ballet Hispanico
Apollo Theater
November 22
For one-night-only, Ballet Hispanico, recognized as the nation’s leading Latino dance organization since 1970, makes its annual return to the Apollo to present the New York Premiere of its first evening-length narrative work, CARMEN.maquia, choreographed by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano.  Find out more here

BlakTinX Performance Series
The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD!)
November 22
The BlakTinX Performance Series closes with a special compilation dance concert showcasing several Bronx choreographers. Featured choreographers are Karen Bernard, William Penelope Briscoe, Deena Clemente , Jessica Danser/Dansfolk, Davalois Fearson , Sherema Fleming, Leiomy Maldonado , Andrea Murillo, Noele Phillips, Raul Rivera/New Agenda, Sage Rivera , Anthony Rosado and Jerry Sanchez.  Find out more here 

Organic Magnetics’ "I Am New York"
New York Public Library – Bronx
November 22
Organic Magnetics has joined forces with The New York Public Library to present I Am New York: Juan Rodriguez tells the tale of New York's first immigrant- a free man from the Caribbean who arrived in Manhattan on a Dutch ship in 1613, defended his freedom and became the first settler on record.  True Story, (The rest is historical fiction).  View the Feature on NBC News .  Find out more here 

School of Theatre + Dance Job Opening
Assistant Professor of Modern Dance and Choreography
Position Description: Full-time, nine month, tenure accruing faculty positio
Date of Expected Hire: August 16, 2015
Salary: $57,000 plus a full benefits package. 
www.arts.ufl.edu/theatreanddance

Responsibilities:   Include teaching all levels of Modern Technique, Dance Composition, and Repertory. Expertise is also desirable in one or more of the following areas: Improvisation, Dance Pedagogy, Jazz/Hip-Hop, Kinesiology/Somatics, Dance Media and Technology, and/or Ballet.

Further responsibilities include direction and/or participation in the organization of annual dance concert and showcases; commitment to teaching excellence and creative collaboration; serve on school, college, and/or university committees; effective student guidance; organizational and administrative duties in dance activities; and leadership in recruitment efforts.

Minimum Qualifications: MFA or PhD (or equivalent professional experience) with experience and currency in the field as a performer/choreographer. Two years teaching experience in higher education or professional dance setting beyond graduate school that demonstrates an outstanding record of conduct of inclusion and diversity in the arts and higher education.

Preferred Qualifications: Vita should contain evidence of a strong and growing national and international presence in the field of performance and creative research in dance.

Application Deadline: Applications must be submitted via the University of Florida's online application system at http://jobs.ufl.edu/postings/58996. Online applications must include the following: (1) a detailed letter of application; (2) professional résumé or CV; (3) 10-15 minute sample of creative work(s) on web link/video sharing site; (4) statement of teaching philosophy; (5) teaching sample on web link/video sharing site; (6) three professional references with complete contact information. The Search Committee may request additional materials at a later time.

Review of applications will begin December 1, 2014 and continue until the position is filled. To ensure full consideration, all application documents must be submitted by December 1, 2014.