This American Life Comes to the Stage
May 20, 2012
Ira Glass and OK Go at This American Life LIVE on May 10th, photo by Evan Namerow
How do you take a radio show – one filled with beloved storytellers and writers whose voices we know but whose faces we rarely see – and turn it into an exciting visual experience? Add aspects that you simply can’t do on radio, like dance, an interactive music experience, animation, and other visual effects. On May 10th, I attended a live taping and screening of This American Life LIVE at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. The auditorium was buzzing with anticipation, and the fact that the show was being broadcast in movie theaters across the US and Canada made it even more thrilling.
I could write pages on all the wonderful aspects of the program, which was hosted by the delightfully charming and occasionally giddy with excitement Ira Glass. Comedian Tig Notaro made the audience roar with laughter, David Sedaris was frightening in clown make-up as he whined (understandably) about waiting in line for coffee, and the band OK Go brought some pleasing tunes to the stage and a musical experiment that relied on a smartphone app. It sort of worked, but was nonetheless fun.
David Rakoff at This American Life LIVE, photo by Adrianne Mathiowetz
Since this is a blog dedicated to dance, I’d like to highlight the dance contributions to the show. Ira Glass introduced Monica Bill Barnes & Company, a NYC-based group that he recently saw and thought would be a good addition to the show. He was right. In an excerpt from their 2009 work Another Parade, Anna Bass and Monica Bill Barnes mock everyday experiences, like someone lifting weights at the gym or strutting their stuff for attention, to James Brown’s Get Up (I Feel Like Being) a Sex Machine. And although this wasn’t my first time seeing the piece, its humor still resonated.
The other performance, which came as more of a surprise, was from David Rakoff, who is better known for his writing. At the microphone, he talked about how cancer affected his life – and his left arm, which he can no longer use – along with his background in dance. He mentioned walking “across the street” as a college student to take dance classes (referring to the studios at Barnard, across from Columbia). Quite suddenly, he left the microphone and broke into movement. He lunged, arched his back, and had full command of his body. He moved with grace. It was one of the more powerful moments in the show – and one that couldn’t be appreciated on radio.
Thank you, This American Life, for bringing the show to the stage. It was funny, touching, sad, powerful, thoughtful, and downright smart. Please do so again soon.
Kyra Nichols in George Balanchine’s “Mozartiana”, photo by Paul Kolnik, 2004
On May 5th, former New York City Ballet principal dancer Kyra Nichols returned to the stage. Not to perform, sadly – it was a pleasure to watch her until she retired in 2007 – but rather to lead a free seminar along with Peter Martins about similarities and differences between the choreography of George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. The hour-long discussion was filled with anecdotes and reflections on the two choreographers along with excerpts performed by current company members.
Musicality and partnering were both popular topics. While Robbins wanted the man to fully support the woman, Balanchine preferred for the woman to move independently for as long as possible until the man would swoop in and assist her. Company members Ana Sophia Scheller and Gonzalo Garcia showed an excerpt from Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux during which she does a series of pirouettes. At first Garcia stepped in right away, but Peter Martins repeatedly told him to wait until the last possible moment to support her. The hesitation and slight discomfort among the two dancers was visible as they experimented with Martins’ instructions.
That evening, it was a treat to watch Scheller and Garcia perform the ballet on an all-Balanchine program. I had hoped to see the changes from the afternoon demonstration incorporated into their performance, but alas, they stuck with their old habits and didn’t take the riskier approach that Balanchine preferred.
Another interesting point that Martins and Nichols emphasized was that Robbins wanted his dancers to mark his ballets in rehearsals (meaning not perform them to the fullest), while Balanchine expected the dancers to perform at 100% in rehearsals. This surprised me, as I remember reading and hearing stories about how Robbins was a tough grader and always pushed his dancers for more, which seems to lend itself to the opposite of marking a ballet. “Easy! Easy!” said Martins, imitating the tone that Robbins would take with his dancers. What a joy it was to see Sterling Hyltin perform an excerpt from Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering with such ease and fluidity. I think Robbins would have approved of her relaxed demonstration.
These seminars are always eye-opening. The stories about Balanchine and Robbins as told by the people who were fortunate enough to work with them are priceless. Nichols and Martins shared far too many to list here, but they certainly offered some insight into working with the company’s two most significant choreographers.
Like this:
Dance Crazes on WNYC’s Soundcheck
May 1, 2012
"King of Twist", Chubby Checker
Tune in to WNYC’s Soundcheck this week to learn about dance crazes throughout history. Soundcheck, WNYC’s daily music and conversation program, has kicked off a week-long series dedicated to the subject. On the first show, host John Schaefer discussed the twist with dance historian and Florida State University professor Sally Sommer. The second half of the show was devoted to TV’s important role in dance fads, along with the impact of icons like the late Dick Clark. Additional topics will include US dance crazes that were inspired by African-American social dances, the evolution of moshing and mosh pits, and the wave of Cuban and Latin dance crazes. The full audio of the segments can be found here. Enjoy!
Borrowed Prey – A Performance in a Butcher Shop
April 19, 2012
Carrie Ahern's "Borrowed Prey", photo by Kris Martin
I was filled with both trepidation and curiosity when I received the press release for Carrie Ahern‘s latest project. Borrowed Prey, a solo conceived, directed, researched, and performed by Ahern, will come to a butcher shop at Chelsea Market next week. Yes, a butcher shop. It doesn’t sound like it’s for the faint of heart, and I’m still unsure of how to prepare for this type of experience. Below is an excerpt from the press release. Tickets to Borrowed Prey can be purchased here. Performances are April 26th through May 13th – Thursdays and Fridays at 9pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 8pm. Go see it if you dare.
Carrie Ahern Dance/Present Pariah, Inc is pleased to present the world premiere of Borrowed Prey inside the Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Avenue, NYC, at Dicksonʼs Farmstand Meats. Borrowed Prey is an hour-long solo performance by Carrie Ahern inside a butcher shop. Borrowed Prey is a provocative investigation into our relationship to the animals most of us consume. Bringing together 4 strands of research: hunting, butchering, and slaughtering of animals, plus the work of animal behavior scientist and autistic Dr. Temple Grandin, Borrowed Prey attempts to illuminate more about the true “farm to table” process and our human capacity for empathy. Ahern questions the slippery nature of anthropomorphism and death in our culture. The work includes butchering of a lamb and meat will be made available for sale post show.
Faye Driscoll’s “You’re Me”
April 17, 2012
Faye Driscoll and Jesse Zaritt in Driscoll's "You're Me", photo by Paula Court
Last week I saw Faye Driscoll’s newest work, You’re Me, at The Kitchen. My review will be in the next issue of The Brooklyn Rail, but a heads up: if you haven’t seen it yet, go go go. It’s messy, funny, sad, and frighteningly accurate. You can even watch this little flipbook of Driscoll and Jesse Zaritt, her partner in the piece.
