Autumn Crossing on the High Line
September 28, 2010
photo by Cristina Macaya
Head over to the High Line beginning this Wednesday at 6 PM for Autumn Crossing, a free open-air performance by dance artist Naomi Goldberg Haas, Dances for a Variable Population, and senior citizens from Hudson Guild, a multi-service agency that provides programs and services to seniors and other residents of the Chelsea community.
Autumn Crossing celebrates community, the joy of dance, and the arrival of fall in New York City. It features rich, colloquial movements that seek to erase the traditional boundaries between dancers and non-dancers by mixing senior citizens and young adults and professionals. The performance explores how these disparate groups can learn from one another about the nature of movement and expression.
Autumn Crossing will be performed on the High Line at 16th Street (Chelsea Market Passage) at 6 PM on Wednesday, September 29th, Thursday, September 30th, and Friday, October 1st, and at 2 PM on Saturday, October 2nd. Free and no RSVP required.
Faye Driscoll Dance Group Has Launched
September 26, 2010
Tony Orrico, Jesse Zaritt, and Lindsay Clark in "There is so much mad in me", photo by Yi-Chun Wu
Last week, during the revival of Faye Driscoll’s There is so much mad in me at Dance Theater Workshop, the choreographer eagerly announced that she is launching Faye Driscoll Dance Group. Friday evening’s performance – even more riveting and chilling than my first viewing of the work last April, with the same fearless cast of nine dancers – received a well-deserved standing ovation followed by a short speech from Driscoll about the start of her new company. It’s an exciting and scary time to start a company, but Faye Driscoll is definitely one of today’s contemporary choreographers completely deserving of the public’s support and all success that comes her way. I wish her company the best of luck, and hope to see her work again very soon. You can donate to Faye Driscoll Dance Group through her website.
Batsheva’s Return to the Joyce
September 23, 2010
Ohad Naharin's "Project 5", photo by Gadi Dagon
This week marks Batsheva Dance Company’s two-week return to The Joyce Theater after nearly twenty-seven years. The Tel-Aviv based company is presenting artistic director Ohad Naharin’s Project 5 (a New York premiere) with separate casts – one all-female and one all-male. As Naharin mentioned in a post-performance chat on Wednesday evening, “Dance is not about gender.” The all-female cast last night showed wonderful clarity, intention, and texture throughout the four varied sections of the piece. I’ll write more about the performance after also seeing the male cast next week. For now, I’ll share some of the memorable moments from Naharin’s post-performance discussion and Q&A with the audience.
The conversation, moderated by Joanne Robinson Hill, Joyce’s Director of Education, focused on Gaga (Naharin’s movement language) and the development of Project 5. After Naharin explained that he enjoys observing the dancers’ interpretation of movement and their individuality, an audience member remarked that he found the performance to be completely lacking in individuality. He went on to say that the performance seemed highly choreographed and synchronized. Calmly, Naharin responded, “I cannot teach you to see.” So simple, so true. After a bit more back and forth interaction between the two in which the audience member said he saw no differences among the dancers (which, to me, was startling since the performance was filled with striking, beautiful idiosyncrasies in their movement), Naharin replied, “I can almost close my eyes and see the differences.” With Naharin’s insights fresh in mind, I’m looking forward to seeing the male cast next week.
On a separate note, it was very disheartening to see protesters in front of the Joyce before the performance began, encouraging the public to boycott Batsheva’s performances. Individuals should not project their dislike for a country’s government on its artists, cultural institutions, or their contributions to the arts.
Yasmeen Godder’s Singular Sensation
September 21, 2010
Yasmeen Godder's "Singular Sensation", photo by Tamar Lamm
From Thursday through Saturday, September 23rd to 25th, The Kitchen presents the North American premiere of Singular Sensation, a new work by renowned Israeli-American choreographer Yasmeen Godder. Singular Sensation explores the emotional landscape of a generation desensitized by information overload and excess of all kinds. The piece asks who we are in the hyper-informed, self-conscious, “look at me” world, and how we find excitement, a true thrill, or a deep connection to sensation. The piece fluctuates between moments of awkward hilarity, perceptive subtlety, and a sensibility verging on bordello-like morality. The five individual performers push the boundaries of their own complacency to provoke a singular sensation in each other and themselves. Godder developed the piece in collaboration with each of the performers, and their own experiences informed the choreography.
Singular Sensation will be performed at 8 PM at The Kitchen – 512 West 19th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues. $15 tickets can be purchased online.
Read more about Yasmeen Godder on Deborah Friedes Galili’s website, Dance in Israel.
Carrie Ahern Dance’s SeNSATE
September 15, 2010
David Figueroa, Carrie Ahern, Jillian Hollis, and Kelly Hayes in "SeNSATE", photo by Julie Lemberger
Beginning this Saturday at 8 PM, Carrie Ahern Dance will present a revival of SeNSATE at The Vaults on Wall Street. After its critically acclaimed premiere at the Brooklyn Lyceum in November 2009, SeNSATE is now adapted for the underground, multi-level vault at 14 Wall Street, where the piece was initially created and rehearsed.
Ahern invites SeNSATE’s performers and audience to bring their fetters and flaws and struggle to push the confines of reinforced steel walls and the boundaries of their bodies. The audience is free to come and go within the vault spaces anytime during the three designated hours, experiencing the dance from anywhere they choose. It is impossible to see the entire work from any one vantage point. Performed in a 3-hour cyclic loop without beginning or end, SeNSATE allows you the freedom to frame your own experience. Private spaces become public as individual experiences are absorbed and co-opted by others in the room. Your boundaries define nothing.
Carrie Ahern Dance will perform on September 18th, 19th, 25th, 26th, October 2nd, and October 3rd. Saturdays from 8 to 11 PM, Sundays from 4 to 7 PM at The Vaults – 14 Wall Street (Level B). Tickets can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets.
