region(es) is th free annual performing arts series - goes virtual for 2020MISSION:
​Our goal is to present, commission, and promote contemporary and non-traditional artists with roots in Latin America and the Caribbean across multiple artistic disciplines.
The series celebrates Latinx and Caribbean culture showcasing the highest level of artistic work. We strive to create a space for dialogue by sharing these productions with Bushwick, Brooklyn, and New York audiences.
Find out more HERE

Our dance world was pummeled by COVID-19 and Black dance artists are finding ways to talk about life during this time.  Our world was further turned upside down after horrible events ensued nationally and globally, bringing attention, yet again, to the need for the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Black dance artists have not been quiet since.  Black dance artists have been doing the work.  Black dance artists continue to make work.  To stay involved, we will hold weekly impromptu discussions and tell stories - “Black Dance Stories." 
This is one action - we will stay involved.   

Thursdays @ 6pm - 
July 30 - Kyle Marshall & Okwui Okpokwasili 

​Find us here.
Join our mailing list here
Write to us - blackdancestories@gmail.com 

OUR MISSION:
We are a community working together to support, uphold, highlight and celebrate Black Creatives.  

Next week, (October 25 - 28) Cynthia Oliver’s world-premiere dance work Virago-Man Dem opens at BAM Fisher.  Virago-Man Dem explores both the overt and unspoken expressions of black masculinity through movement, spoken word, and original visual projections from the collaborative entity Black Kirby. Reflecting on the term “virago” and its definition of characteristically male behaviors and female cultural transgressions, the work is driven by a core query: "How can a woman choreograph masculinity, without resorting to stereotypes?” Oliver tackles this challenge with a nuanced study in the multiplicities of masculinity, within Caribbean and African-American cultures. The work is based on the lives of its African-American and Afro-Caribbean performers Duane Cyrus, Jonathan Gonzalez, Niall Noel Jones, and Ni’Ja Whitson, and shifts from their specific experiences to broader cultural perspectives. (Read more @ BAM)

In an interview, Oliver responded to some questions about the making of Virago-Man Dem.

Charmaine - For those who may not know, tell us about the germ, and definition of title Virago-Man?
​
Cynthia - Like so many of us, I was sick of the ways in which black men have been construed (and of course treated) in the American media. Misrepresented, stereotyped, reduced and ill regarded - We rarely see black men in their fullness, their sensitivity, sense of humor, tenderness, thoughtfulness, or any aspect that is not reduced to a caricature. And we know so much more about black men. About masculinity(ies). And as a mother with a son, I needed to offer the world something more complex, something hopeful, something that does the masculine principle justice. SO, this work is my love letter to the masculine principle in all its sparkling and glorious variety.

Virago - Man Dem, came about as I was having a conversation with a dear friend in St. Croix and she brought up the term. I hadn't heard of it and she told me (as the old folks on the islands will often do) that I needed to know it. That it meant someone for whom you couldn't exactly pin down what was up with them - a certain je ne sais quoi. I later heard the term again as a derogatory one leveled at women who behaved in a way more customary for men - bravery, brashness, forward, etc. Someone told me Lani Guinier had mentioned being called that by her father, who was from Jamaica. I took note and knew I would use it one day. I have often been regarded at home, not so much as a gender non-conformist, as a bit enigmatic and fearless (which I think is quite funny. Since I am often afraid, but have made it a personal commitment to walk toward that which I fear). So I knew the term had a place in this new work that engaged masculinities. And because I wanted to offer up a number of ways in which the masculine operates, I needed the rest of the title to indicate plurality. Dem in the Anglophone Caribbean (like saying "them") is the plural of a term, rather than changing the vowel to "men" or to put and "s" on something  (i.e. apple/apples).  Thus was born Virago-Man Dem, a work made by a nervy woman about a multitude of masculinities.

Charmaine - Can you talk about your Caribbean heritage and how that may have played a role in the making of this work?

Cynthia - The Caribbean always figures in my work. It is the under-riding engine of everything I do. It was the rich place of my childhood and continues to give me strength, makes me question, challenges my ideas  and offers me a wellspring of myth, realities, and relationships to navigate. And the best way for me to work through anything is through my art. There are very few works of mine that have not had some Caribbean element in it.

Charmaine - The work is intended to "explore both the overt and unspoken expressions of black masculinity..." yet there are four men Duane Cyrus, Jonathan Gonzalez, Niall Noel Jones) and Ni'Ja Whitson, was this intentional?

Cynthia - There are three men and one gender non-conforming person in the work. Yes, that was intentional. The casting of the piece has gone through a lot over the past two years that we have been in process. And while I began the idea of the piece intending for there to be a gender non-conforming cast member, I didn't initially know it would be Ni'Ja. I had been in conversation with someone early on, before I had cast anyone, but when push came to shove, they were not available. I moved on. I put the word out. I knew about two members of my cast all along - Niall Noel Jones and Duane Cyrus. Both I had been in touch with and discussed working together and we seemed to be on the same page. I also knew them both because they had come to the University of Illinois as graduate students. While they were there we didn't work together for a whole host of reasons - for Duane, he had been in very demanding company environments - Ailey and Graham, and was taking grad school as time to focus on other things besides performing, and Niall came when I was recovering from cancer treatments and could not focus on anything else, although I knew I wanted to work with him one day. Jonathan came later as I began building the cast. Word of mouth led me to him as Jawole Zollar made a suggestion that I speak to him after I told her what I was trying to do and she saw who I had already enlisted. And Ni'Ja had been in my life all along, but we had never talked about working together until I realized that I was having this challenge and they were right there chatting with me about other things all during the process. It was like the Universe was saying..." Look here!" and I finally heard it. So these four folks - and I was always determined it was a quartet - are magic together. And yes, while not each person came in the same way and the same time, they all came as they were supposed to. Absolutely with intention.

Charmaine - If yes, or no, how does this decision speak to your the Caribbean "Virago-Man" image?

Cynthia - I think I have answered that above, but I will say that with Ni'Ja in the space, the Virago is not simply symbolic but is real. Prior to Ni'Ja, I was the Virago, the presence behind the scenes that might be implied in a couple of the areas of the work. With Ni'Ja in the space performing with the others, the notion of masculinity gets more expansive to move beyond biology in a visible way that my biology behind the work only indicated. Now their biology and the others call one another into question. What we designate and why gets pointed up. So perhaps in this way the whole picture becomes a bit more nuanced, more complex. and THAT I totally dig.

Charmaine - So how does a work like this begin, as you set out to answer, "...how can a woman choreograph masculinity, without resorting to stereotypes"?

Cynthia - Well this is interesting because I wanted to get beyond the stereotypes. But at the same time I know that some of us - audience and otherwise, only know such. So my interest has always been to gesture to them - the stereotypes - here and there and quickly depart, presenting something that is more expansive and porous. I think I can do this despite being born with a vagina, because I am always interested in the ways my world can be expanded, through thought, word and deed.  I have known a multiplicity of masculinities that differ based on the location, cultural environment, age range, class position, street savvy or other modes of education an individual has experienced. I want to bring that breadth to this work. So I essentially knew that I could do that with the right mix of folks. The thing for me was, I wanted to answer to the folks who might only imagine one had to be born with a penis to do so. So while I am drawing on the individual experiences of the cast, I am also negotiating my own background with brothers, relatives, friends, former lovers, my child, etc. I already have a rich well from which to draw and that nostalgia, reality, myth and dream all come into play as I began making this work. Then negotiating those ideas with real people in the room was the next step.

Charmaine - Were there challenges?

Cynthia - Absolutely. The minute you work with more than just yourself, there are challenges. There is the challenge of time. Who is available when? THAT is one that was and continues to make me crazy. It is a miracle that any of this gets made at all! But then there is the challenge of negotiating everyone else's ideas about the topic and about what collaboration in it means. It means different things to different people. And I have different ideas about the multiple roles that are a part of the process and how I am imagining the fluidity of that as well. So yeah, it's all a challenge. And I wouldn't change what this process has been because the work that the audience will see next week and hopefully over the course of the next year or two is the product of rich and challenging conversations/investigations/environments that have brought about the birth of this very thing that I am quite proud of.

Charmaine - Are there high points?

Cynthia - I think so. But I will leave that to y'all to decide. I will keep mine to myself;)

Charmaine - Is there an anecdote you could share about being in the studio?

Cynthia - Naw, I will keep that as a private experience as well. That rehearsal space is a charged one ain't it?! That is where magic occurs. That is our sacred space. I will leave it up to the others to share should they so decide. I'ma keep my mouth shut. LOL

Charmaine - Are you looking forward to bringing the work to New York, and being back in New York?

Cynthia - OMG! I LOVE NYC and love coming back to the place that has nurtured my artistry for decades. My people! My people!!! Come out! Come on out and show your sista some l-o-v-e!!!

​Cynthia Oliver is a Bronx-born, Virgin Island -reared performer who has danced with Theatre Dance Inc.; Caribbean Dance Company of St. Croix, Virgin Islands; Ronald K. Brown/Evidence; Bebe Miller Company; and Tere O’Connor Dance. Influenced by the black avant-garde, Oliver creates multi-genre performance collages, incorporating Caribbean, African, and American
aesthetic sensibilities. She has been awarded and/or commissioned by The Jerome Foundation, The National Performance Network’s Creation Fund, The Doris Duke Multi Arts Production (MAP)Fund, New York Live Arts, among many others. Her work has been performed in festivals and venues around the US and the Caribbean . In 2012, she was invited to Oagadougou,
Burkina Faso, via the Suitcase Fund, to work with a group of 16 women dance artists, creating a choreography which spoke to their empowerment as artists negotiating complex traditions that may impede their art. In addition to Cynthia’s performance work, she holds a Ph.D. in performance studies from New York University. Her scholarly work has focused on performance
in the Anglophone Caribbean. She has taught at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, The Newcomb Summer Dance Intensive at Tulane University, Florida State University, Bennington College, Bates Dance Festival, and the University of Utah. She is Professor of Dance at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Oliver was last at BAM as a performer inTere O’Connor’s
BLEED (NWF 13).

Talk: Examining Black Masculinity
With Cynthia Oliver and Nora Chipaumire
Moderated by Jaamil Olawale Kosoko
Oct 27 at 6pm
Wendy’s Subway Reading Room, BAM Fisher (Sharp Lower Lobby), 321 Ashland Pl
Free

cynthiaoliver.com

Click photo or here for Vimeo clip

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 

This weekend (October 17-19), Christal Brown’s four-movement evening-length work inspired by the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali, The Opulence of Integrity opens at The Kumble Theater.  Opulence is performed by an all-male cast and incorporates elements of boxing, hip-hop, martial arts, modern dance, text by Ali and an original score by Farai Malianga.  Michael Randazzo of The Brooklyn Eagle offers the following:

"The performance opens with Ali’s relationship with Malcolm X—whom the former Cassius Clay met while training for his 1964 title fight against reigning heavyweight champion Sonny Liston—depicting their relationship as a catalyst for the black power movement. Brown then explores Ali’s transformation from successful boxer into a world-renowned personality, the result of being sentenced to five years in prison and fined $10,000 for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War. The series’ final movement documents Ali’s comeback, when he recaptured the heavyweight title and the public’s imagination for his masterful victories over Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and George Foreman."

In an interview, Brown responded to some questions about the making of Opulence and more. 


Charmaine: Where did the idea to make this work “inspired” by Muhammad Ali come from?

Christal: I was originally approached by the late Fred Ho to create choreography for his album entitled “The Sweet Science Suite.”  After premiering a draft of that work at the Guggenheim Works in Process in November of 2011, Fred and I developed our own versions of the work.  In developing The Opulence of Integrity I began to look at Ali not as inspiration but as a lens.  I believe his life mirrors the struggle of so many men of color who have divine aspirations of greatness, but human shortcomings keep them from achieving their purpose.  Ali was driven by a force that he could not explain or harness.  That indomitable spirit is what the work is about.

Charmaine: What tools, if any, did you use in preparing your dancers during the process?

Christal: The process of creating Opulence began in 2011 with a solo called No Vietnamese Ever Called Me Nigger.  While working with Dante Brown at Bates Dance Festival to create this solo I often referenced my father who lost both his legs in the Vietnam War.  The stories I shared with Dante became part of the framework for the larger story.  My personal life had a direct connection to the causes Ali was fighting for.  I then began to ask Dante and subsequent artist who entered the process to find a personal connection to an aspect or experience in Ali's life and bring the connection into the work.  In addition, we watched documentaries on Ali, read through biographies, and talked at length about the commonalities we found within finding purpose in our own lives, striving for greatness, and falling victim to our own humanities.

Charmaine: There is an all-male cast, was this intentional because of the “boxer” Ali, or were there other parts of his life that may have included women that were not intended for this work?

Christal: When I was initially approached about the idea of Ali I was asked to use an all-male cast.  Having had an all-female company for 10 years the idea was intriguing.  But as I began looking at every aspect of Ali's life I began to see that women were his weakness.  I decided to bring this to light in movement two, "Larger than Life." In movement two the audience gets a brief glimpse into Ali's “kryptonite” and how his weakness has the power to change him from extraordinary to ordinary.

Charmaine: What about the “social activist,” “public martyr,” and “human being,” that you mention in other interviews, for example, where do these titles fit, or not in your work?

Christal:  All of these titles are relevant to the work.  Opulence looks at Ali as a parallel figure to Malcom X during the black power movement and a voice for the people.  His denouement of the Vietnam War caused him public humiliation and separation from his title, spiritual teachers, and colleagues. But throughout his life of triumphs, failures and illness he has remained true to himself as a vessel of opulence and integrity. In addition to the physicality of the work, Ali's words are given life by three speakers who use Ali's quotes to contextualize each movement.

Charmaine:  What, if anything, has changed since Opulence premiered?

Christal: Since the beginning the intention has changed from singular to multiple narratives.  The work is about Ali and everyone who lives a life of great purpose and does not feel the need to shirk or conform in order to reach their goals.

Charmaine: What do you hope audiences walk away with?

Christal: I want the audience to walk away knowing something about Ali that they didn't know before entering the theater and to be inspired to live a life of opulent integrity.

In the choreographer’s note from the program, Brown adds:  “For me, The Opulence of Integrity is an exploration of the homogeneous inner struggle for identity as it pertains to men of color in the United States.  Using the life and legacy of Muhhamad Ali as an archetype, I have been able to take an intimate look at the trappings that continually prohibit freedom.   This work is dedicated to my father, brother, and uncle who fought but did not win and to my son who's battle has yet begun.   Born branded by history, burdened by responsibility and inspired towards greatness requires a committed heart and an opulence of integrity.”  Find out more here 

Christal Brown (choreographer, educator, performer, writer and activist) is a native of Kinston, North Carolina, and received her BFA in dance and minor in business from the University of NC at Greensboro. Upon graduation, Brown went on to tour nationally with Chuck Davis' African-American Dance Ensemble and internationally with Andrea E. Woods/Souloworks. Immediately following those experiences, Brown performed with and managed Gesel Mason Performance Projects while apprenticing with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in Takoma Park, Maryland. Upon relocating to New York Brown, apprenticed with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company before finding a home with Urban Bush Women, where she spent three seasons as a principal performer, community specialist and apprentice program coordinator.

Aside from performing, Brown is the Founding Artistic Director of INSPIRIT, a performance ensemble and educational conglomerate dedicated to bringing female choreographers together to collaborate and show new work, expanding the views of women of all ages, and being a constant source of inspiration to its audience as well as members. Founded in 2000, INSPIRIT has been honored to show work at Aaron Davis Hall, St. Mark's Church, Joyce Soho, The Lincoln Theater of Washington, D.C., and various other venues across the country.

Combining her athleticism, creativity, love for people, and knack for teaching, Brown continues to teach and create works that redefine the art of dance and the structure of the field. 

Brown is currently Assistant Professor of Dance at ‎Middlebury College in Vermont, and has also been a resident artist of Dance New Amsterdam, Movement Research, and Tribeca Performing Arts Center.

www.christalbrown.com   www.projectbecoming.org

My Q & A with Carmen DeLavallade for Baryshnikov Arts Center's "BAC Stories"

One of the must-see performances this weekend is Brice Mousset’s Oui Danse!  Artistic Director/Choreographer, Mousset premieres Travailler: Act 1 & 2, Saturday, July 26 at Ailey CitiGroup Theater.  Just one week after a successful run at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Inside/Out Series, New Yorkers will now get the chance to see what ignited audiences at The Pillow, as it is affectionately called. 

Travailler takes its name from the French word for work and, according to Mousset, the work is inspired by the mentality of "survival of the fittest." Travailler is further described as “…showcas[ing] how the idea of success infiltrates and pollutes the mind, and portrays the circus of the business world, observing the compulsive behaviors of workers into their everyday routine with stress, repetition, competition and the desire for escape,” according to the release.   As such, the movement is terse and direct, yet it leaves room for audiences to question their place as “survivors.”  Mousset shares his thoughts on the performance at The Pillow and the upcoming performance at Ailey CitiGroup Theater.

Charmaine:  Your Company just received a standing ovation at Jacob’s Pillow, what was that like?

Brice: It brought tears to my eyes and warmth to my heart!  It is pure joy and also a relief!  When I create a work, it always comes from personal experiences; from my life and my entourage [circle of acquaintances]. Showing my work always gives me the feeling of getting naked in front of everybody; revealing an intimate part of myself. On top of this, there is the hard work spent in studios, plus my dancers who bring a lot of who they are on stage. So, the standing ovation felt like the audience understood us and gave us so much love. It's just an incredible feeling of connecting and sharing with our audience!

Charmaine:  Just one week after The Pillow, the New York premiere of Travailler will happen at Ailey CitiGroup Theater.  What are your thoughts?

Brice: It's amazing!!  What an experience to go from the prestigious Jacob's Pillow to Ailey CitiGroup in NEW YORK CITY!  It's also going to be very interesting to go from the gigantic open space of The Pillow, back to a black box theater which is also full of history. Ailey is a completely different venue, with a completely different crowd. This is a great challenge for us. I can't believe how fast it's going!

Charmaine: How did the idea for Travailler come about? 

Brice: Travailler came about in a dark place while observing my close entourage [circle of acquaintances] suffering.  It is about the corporate world and the insanity that the idea of success can bring. I had, and still have, way too many friends and family members who are miserable in their everyday life at work. They suffer from stress, anxiety, depression, boredom from doing a job they don't like, is too demanding, or consumes them. They suffer from their relationships with their co-workers and/or bosses.  It's a world still too often dominated by men, a world where differences are not easily accepted. The idea of success and profit kills the humanity in people. So, I wanted to make a sweet and sour satire that portrays this circus of the business world with exaggeration and a splash of humor. I am convinced that in the end it's all just an act that must be played, but we are all screaming for humanity and looking for love and compassion. Of course some people are very happy about their job, I just didn’t have much time to explore that side of the subject! 

Charmaine: It’s been about one year since you began making Travailler and now there are two Acts.  Is it complete?  Are there more “Acts” in store?

Brice: Travailler is still a work-in-progress. There are aspects of it that I didn't have time to explore, or that I want to develop more, like the acceptance of differences (homophobia, racism and many more). There are also some props and technical elements that I had to give up in the process because it was too expensive and complicated to deal with for now. So yes, there is at least an Act 3 in store.

Charmaine: What goes through your mind now during these last few days of rehearsal?

Brice: Way too much is going through my mind! The pressure is up; it's in NYC, at Ailey, after a standing ovation at Jacob's Pillow. We can't disappoint, we have to be better, stronger. I have to get the best out of my beautiful dancers, as I try to make adjustment in my work to improve it as well. I also think of the lights, the costumes, the ticket sales, the publicity, the press, the very critical New York audience. But I also try to stay calm and enjoy the process, trusting my team who works so hard to make it happen! 

Charmaine: What’s next?

Brice: On August 1st OUI DANSE is performing at Wassaic Dance Festival. I will also be working on a dance film with the Company. In September I will give workshops in Argentina, France, Romania and Italy. In October I will create an event for a fashion designer using OUI DANSE (but I can't say more yet), and in the fall I will be back in the studios with the Company to start a new work (we are still hoping to find a great residency to help the process). Then, in 2015, OUI DANSE will again perform French Amour, the 2nd work from the repertoire, and participate in different festivals. 

For the Ailey CitiGroup performance, works from special guest artists Matthew Powell and Mike Esperanza are added to the program.

Here is a teaser of Travailler from previous performances. 

Find out more here 

For RIOULT Dance NY’s 20th anniversary season (June 17-22) at The Joyce Theater, Artistic Director/Choreographer Pascal Rioult will premiere Dream Suite, bring back key repertory works, and honor his mentors May O’Donnell and Martha Graham. “Program A,” titled Martha, May & me will highlight O’Donnell and Graham, plus two by Rioult, while Dream Suite and more from Rioult will be featured in “Program B.”  Rioult and his wife, Associate Artistic Director Joyce Herring, both former Graham Dance Company principal dancers, lead the company of twelve dancers.  With a repertoire of over 40 dances, as Rioult puts it, he continues to make work because of “…the urge.”  Read on to hear Rioult speak candidly about this season, the works, some memories and what’s next:

What does it feel like to celebrate 20 years?
Most incredible. I never thought we would get here and keep growing as one of the most vibrant companies in New York.  It is very rewarding in terms of the works created; but also the opportunities offered to the dancers.

Do you remember those early days/years, celebrating 5 years, for example?  Can you share one or two mile-stone memories or anecdotes?
Yes I do remember the early years; they felt very exciting, but so uncertain. But I always looked to grow the company to a “mainstream” dance company. From the beginning I used to say that either it would become a “full-fledged” dance company, or it will not.

Our invitation to the Cannes International Dance Festival in France after only 3 years of existence is a major memory; making us believe that we could have an international career.

Our first Joyce Theater “All Together Different” season, after 6 years was another major recognition; a test of things to come.

What brings you to that place each year to want to make a new work?  What is that like?
Well … it is what I do, what I love to do, what I am meant to do (as my mentor Martha Graham used to tell us: “You do not choose to become a choreographer, you are chosen”. So … What can I do? After I tried my hand at it, there was no choice and, if it is not easy every day, there is nothing else I would want to do and no other people I would want to spend my days with but my dancers.  Meanwhile, I try to not take it (myself) too seriously … every day, I just go to work. And I hope it will make a very small difference.

Program B features Wien (1995), Iphigenia (2013), and the premiere, Dream Suite to music by Tchaikovsky, but that’s all we know. Can you tell us more about Dream Suite? 
The new work “Dream Suite” is a whimsical piece inspired by the spirit of Chagall. It is new territory for me as I am not known for whimsical or light hearted works. The central movement of Tchaikovsky’s Suite #2 is called “Child’s dream” and it gave me the clue about what the piece would be about. There is also a definite folk feeling to the piece that fits Tchaikovsky’s music, and it is uncharted territory for me.  The dreams are surreal landscapes; some inhabited by contemporary people with animal heads.  One of the attraction (and challenge) for me was to see if I could do something different to this highly romantic and balletic music. 

Program A is colored with connections from your past (“Martha, May” - Graham’s El Penitente (1940) and O'Donnell's Suspension (1943)? Plus early works by you (“Me”- Black Diamond (2003) and Views of the Fleeting World (2008)).
Why these iconic works?  And why the pairing with these particular works from your past? 
The idea was to honor my roots in American modern dance and say: “I did not invent anything, I am just building upon a shared past … Nothing is born out of a void, all transforms”.  Those two works are iconic for me: Suspension was a shock to me as it was the first totally abstract dance I had ever seen. My Black Diamond was a turning point for me in trying to make poetry with abstraction.  El Penitente is a work that I loved to dance for Martha as it is so simple, primitive yet shows brilliant craftsmanship from which I learned so much. It is also the work I danced at the Paris Opera and performed with my wife Joyce Herring and Michael Baryshnikov. Lots of great memories.    

What keeps you making work? 
The urge

In our ever-challenging world of art-making what do you hope for your work and your company’s future?
To stay alive for at list another 20 years, to stay vibrant and changing while keeping to a high professional and human standards.

RIOULT Dance NY opens this Tuesday, June 17.  Find out more here 

Read more about the works below

Award-winning New York/Zimbabwe dancer/choreographer, Nora Chipaumire presents the world premiere of rite riot, a two-part work, October 3 -5 as part of the French Institute: Alliance Française’s (FIAF) Crossing
the Line Festival at FIAF’s Le Skyroom, 22 East 60th Street (between Park and Madison Avenue).

Without a doubt, Nora is one of the most daring and note-worthy performers in dance today.  For this new work, Nora joins the long list of dance-makers as they celebrate the centenary of composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky’s revolutionary work, The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps) which premiered in Paris by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes on May 29, 1913, at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. Remembered as causing an incredulous riot among the affluent in Russia because it dared to present paganism, revolt,  rivalry, sacrifice and abject passion at a time when ballet was not seen as such, Sacre as it was affectionately
called, was the cause for uproar in the dance world.  Reportedly influenced by the myth about the power of the Russian pagan spring, Stravinsky set out to tell the tale in three parts: The Awakening of Nature to the thawing of earth, the Adoration of the Earth (with fertility rites that bring forth spring), and the eventual climax wherein a maiden dances (sacrifices) herself to death as she propitiates to the God of spring.  Today, Stravinsky and Nijinsky’s The Rite of Spring is revered as a legendary ballet of the 20th century; a riot that is forever remembered.  Nora will perform part one of her solo rite riot created in collaboration with Nigerian-American writer Teju Cole, a Crossing the Line 2011 artist, and Kenyan-born visual artist Wangechi Mutu.
 
Nora shared some thoughts on this new work:

Charmaine: That is a fabulous photo of you by Antoine Tempe!  Does it say anything about Nora, or the work? Or is it just a fabulous photo of you?

Nora: The photo says everything about Nora, the work, and equally says as much about Antoine and about the
chemistry between the camera /object - photographer /sitter relationship.  It also says what the attitude of the choreographer is to herself, and to whoever should gaze back at her. The old  adage, “A picture says a thousand words,” [in this case] is true.  We [Antoine and I] call [the photo] “Grace” after the fabulous [singer,
model and actress] Grace Jones.  But it might as well be [Pablo Picasso’s] “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon!”
Anyway, it makes you ask, “Who has the power”? “Who is beholding whom”?  

I love the “so-what-ness" of it. You know I am a disciple of Miles Davis! 

Charmaine: With the world already celebrating the centenary of The Rite of Spring, what made you want to
make a version?

Nora: [The Rite of Spring is a] …ritual of spring, as it is celebrated, conjured, invented, described, manufactured by Stravinsky and Nijinsky. This innovative opportunity is something every creative mind is gunning for; the real deal, a falsehood that is true. I wanted to participate (un/commissioned), in this
celebration.  I want to shout my praise to these daring Russians.  I wondered if I could dare to make a rite myself. So I am attempting a riot instead. I think I could manufacture a riot; “occupy my body" type thing. I
cannot invent a pagan past, [but] I want to invent a pagan present.