We Give Ourselves Away At Every Moment
July 29, 2010
Choreographer Bill T. Jones makes a special appearance at the River To River Festival's “We Give Ourselves Away at Every Moment: An Event For Merce” at Rockefeller Park in New York City, photo by Abbey Braden
This past Monday, July 26th, marked the one-year anniversary of choreographer Merce Cunningham’s death. One week after he died, his company gave a marvelous performance at Rockefeller Park. This year, on a day that was just as hot and sunny as last year’s event, River to River Festival presented “We Give Ourselves Away at Every Moment: An Event for Merce”. The performance included choreography by Jon Kinzel, Susan Marshall, Lucinda Childs, Faye Driscoll, and Bill T. Jones, all of whom were inspired by Cunningham’s dances and approach to dance-making. In the spirit of Cunningham’s use of chance operations, they presented pre-existing work that was repurposed for the occasion, with live music by David Eggar, Geoff Gersh, and Kotchy. Here are some photos from the performance, which was surely just as memorable as last year’s “Event”. And check out Eva Yaa Asantewaa’s wonderful photos on her blog, Infinite Body.
Performers Caitlin Scranton and Anne Lewis perform in “Dance II” by Lucinda Childs Dance, photo by Abbey Braden
Vicky Shick and Jon Kinzel perform "Drastic Cut and Responsible Ballet", photo by Abbey Braden
Sorry I Missed Your Show!
July 27, 2010
Gibney Dance and Dance/NYC have jointly developed Sorry I Missed Your Show!, a series that serves as a second chance to view works by both emerging and established choreographers, as well as a forum for artists and their audiences to revisit them from fresh perspectives. Video screenings will be followed by thoughtful discussions and reconsiderations led by some of the great minds of the contemporary dance world.
Sorry I Missed Your Show! continues on Wednesday, July 28th at 6:30 PM with PLATFORMS 2010: Highlights of Danspace Project‘s innovative inaugural series including i get lost, curated by choreographer and multi-media artist Ralph Lemon, and Back to New York City, curated by choreographer and performer Juliette Mapp.
The evening concludes with a close-up conversation with Judy Hussie-Taylor, Danspace Project’s Executive Director and creator of the PLATFORMS series, as well as Danspace’s Choreographic Center Without Walls (CW2).
The event is free. RSVP by registering online.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM. Gibney Studios is located at 890 Broadway, between East 19th and 20th, 5th floor.
Visiting the Palais Garnier in Paris
July 23, 2010
The exterior of the Palais Garnier
Earlier this month I spent a very busy week in the wonderful city of Paris. While New York City was apparently scorching, the City of Light was having a heat wave of its own with absolutely no rain. Fortunately, that boded well for sight-seeing, lots of walking, and dining outdoors at brasseries (one of my favorite things about Paris was that the sun didn’t set until about 10 PM, and it wasn’t pitch black until close to midnight!).
In addition to getting lost in the Louvre, boating on the Seine, praising the efficiency of the Metro (it puts the MTA to shame), getting mistaken for a particular dancer in the Paris Opera Ballet (!), biking around the Grand Canal at Versailles, admiring the beauty of Monet’s gardens in Giverny, eating delicious food, and drinking delicious wine, of course I took in some dance. I’ll be sharing my reviews very soon, but for now, here are some photos from the Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra Garnier or Opéra de Paris. The David H. Koch Theater and Metropolitan Opera House aren’t exactly shabby, but the Palais Garnier is in a league of its own. In bright daylight it was impossible to look directly at the gilded angels atop the building (in the above photo) without being blinded.
The ceiling of one of the lower lobbies
A lighting rehearsal was in progress when I visited
Marc Chagall’s stunning ceiling, which was painted in 1964
On the stairs leading up to the theater
One of the glittering lobbies
A model of the Palais Garnier in the Musée d’Orsay
The balcony
The view from the balcony
New York City Ballet’s Spring Season in Review
July 18, 2010
Benjamin Millepied’s Why am I not where you are, photo by Paul Kolnik
My review of New York City Ballet’s spring season, called Architecture of Dance, is in the July/August issue of The Brooklyn Rail. Here’s an excerpt:
“Seven new ballets. Four commissioned scores. One renowned architect. This is what New York City Ballet offered over the course of its eight-week spring season, called Architecture of Dance. With nearly one new ballet every week—along with repertoire by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins—it was hard to keep up. Of the four works I saw, by Mauro Bigonzetti, Benjamin Millepied, Alexei Ratmansky, and Wayne McGregor, none were groundbreaking but none were immediately forgettable, either. In cases where the costumes, music, or set designs shined, choreographic innovation was lacking (Ratmansky’s piece was an exception), which left me with a feeling of same old, same old.”
Saving Dance New Amsterdam
July 13, 2010
DNA’s Dance Rally at City Hall © 2010, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
After releasing a statement on July 6th announcing a possible eviction on July 14th from its Lower Manhattan space, the 26-year-old Dance New Amsterdam has released another, more promising statement and update on today’s events. Show your support by signing the petition.
Today Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) took to the steps of City Hall in spite of the pouring rain with hundreds of supporters and dancers joining our fight to save DNA. Dancers held signs reading “Save DNA,” “We Heart DNA” and “Gotta Dance.” During the downpour, dancers also performed choreography by Teri and Oliver Steele in front of the steps of city hall.
Earlier this morning we met with our landlord Fram Realty, representing lawyers and elected officials Senator Daniel Squadron, Assembly member Deborah Glick, Council Member Margaret Chin, Congressman Jerrold Nadler’s representative, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s representative. As a result of the cooperative and positive meeting, we are pleased to say the landlord has agreed to postpone eviction proceedings until August 26. Fram indicated during the meeting that it appreciates the difficulties facing DNA and will propose revised lease terms. All of those at the meeting expressed a desire to have the city more involved with final negotiations. We believe the key players include Department of Citywide Administrative Services (owner of DNA’s building) and the Mayor’s office.
Since we went public with our story we have been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received, especially from the dance community. Over 2500 people, from all over the world, have signed our statement of support. We’ve also received more than $7,000 in donations in only one week. We have letters of support from Community Board 1 and Council Member Chin posted on our website. We’ve seen the dance community come together in generous support, including Dance/NYC, Dance/USA, Dance Parade, National Dance Week, Steps on Broadway, Battery Dance Company, 3LD, HERE Arts, The Flea, Soho Rep, The Children’s Museum, and the QAS at Webster Hall, as well as numerous choreographers and hundreds of contributors to the dance world.
Today was the first of what we hope will be many victories for dance and dancers in New York. We encourage continued support and donations.
Elected officials have this to say from the morning meeting:
“Dance New Amsterdam is an important cultural institution in Lower Manhattan, serving thousands of artists and tens of thousands of visitors – keeping the studio in Lower Manhattan is vital to the community. We will continue working together to reach a solution that will allow Dance New Amsterdam to remain in its home.”
-Senator Daniel Squadron
“I believe Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) is a critically important cultural institution. Since 9/11, the City and the State have spent an enormous amount of energy and money to attract businesses, residents, and services to Lower Manhattan. Ten years and hundreds of millions of dollars later, there is still a gaping hole at Ground Zero. It is the cultural organizations, like DNA, that have been contributing to the rebirth of Lower Manhattan while Ground Zero is still under construction. DNA is a vital and vibrant part of the downtown community at a very minimal cost in public money. Clearly, DNA has made significant contributions to the public and its continued growth is in the public interest.”
-Assembly member Deborah Glick
“Lower Manhattan has been historically starved for cultural institutions – and the space to house them. For over 25 years, Dance New Amsterdam has helped fill that void by offering dance classes, workshops, and gallery space to tens of thousands of New Yorkers. And in the wake of 9/11, the center became an essential part of the effort to rebuild the area. By employing over 500 artists downtown and generating three quarters of a million dollars a year in revenue for neighboring businesses, the center has also proven to be an important financial resource. We look forward to finding a way to bring all involved parties together to ensure Dance New Amsterdam can continue to serve the Downtown community.”
-Council Member Margaret Chin
