Gibney Dance Center Announces Major Expansion
May 19, 2011
Exciting news from Gibney Dance Center! This is certainly a wonderful addition to the dance community. Below are excerpts from the press release:
Gina Gibney, artistic director of Gibney Dance, is pleased to announce the expansion of the Gibney Dance Center (GDC) in the historic performing arts building at 890 Broadway in New York City. This added space will be a tremendous asset to the arts community, making high quality, affordable space more broadly available and accessible.
In 1991, Gibney operated a single studio at 890 Broadway as a home base for her company and the dance community, and she officially launched the Gibney Dance Center in 2010 when she acquired two additional spacious studios. GDC is now adding 8,400 square feet of pillar-free space scheduled for a grand opening in July 2011. This new expansion will house four additional studios, including one extra-large 70′ x 45′ space, all of which will be available for rehearsals, showings and special programs. The expanded facility will also provide a green room, dressing rooms, storage rooms, production offices, a media room and new office space. The additional facilities will support the role of GDC as a creative hub for dance artists and as a home base for Gibney Dance.
GDC’s expansion has been made possible with generous support from Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech, the Board of Directors and Honorary Board of Directors of Gibney Dance, and the Jerome Robbins Foundation.
MADE HERE to Air on NYC Life
May 15, 2011
Beginning May 23, 2011, NYC life (channel 25), the flagship station of the official network of the City of New York, will air MADE HERE, the documentary series devoted to examining the lives of performing artists in NYC and timely issues that affect them. The filmmakers involved are excited to expand the visibility of the project through the NYC life audience. Airing at 10:30 PM on Mondays on NYC life, episodes will cover a range of topics, including Artistic Homes, Day/Night Jobs, Artist as Activist, Technology, Inspiration, and Process.
Now in its second season, MADE HERE’s short-form videos have featured myriad artists, including Reggie Watts, Charlie Todd (Improv Everywhere), Joan Jonas, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky, Elizabeth LeCompte and Kate Valk (The Wooster Group), Oskar Eustis (The Public Theater), Thomas Bradshaw, Young Jean Lee, Basil Twist, Elizabeth Streb, James Tigger! Ferguson, Taylor Mac, and Julie Atlas Muz.
Watch the trailer from season 1, and tune into NYC life on May 23rd to see episodes of MADE HERE.
I’m really looking forward to attending this event on May 16th, organized by Dance/NYC and Dance/USA.
Town Hall: Dancers’ Bodies. Promoting Wellness.
Calling All Stakeholders in Dance!
Dance/NYC and the Dance/USA Taskforce on Dancer Health invite you to join us in responding to the Taskforce’s recent call to action to achieve the dancer aesthetic in a manner that promotes overall good health and protects the artist and performer. Led by Richard Gibbs, M.D., it provides a forum to discuss case stories from the perspective of the health professional, cultural critic, and professional dancer, including New York City Ballet Principal Dancers Jenifer Ringer and Jared Angle. What words work to promote dancer wellness? What positive practices? What can we as a field do for our dancers?
Speakers: Richard Gibbs, Jared Angle, Jen Edwards, Melissa Gerson, Jenifer Ringer
Monday, May 16, 2011
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Abrons Arts Center
Henry Street Settlement
Playhouse Theater
466 Grand Street (corner of Pitt Street)
New York City
RSVP here.
Kevin Spacey on Crucial Impact of the Arts
April 14, 2011
As part of Arts Advocacy Day 2011 in Washington, actor Kevin Spacey gave the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy at the Kennedy Center. Below is an excerpt from his speech, in which he quoted President John F. Kennedy regarding the necessity of the arts. Kennedy said, “There is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts…Art is not a form of propaganda. It is a form of truth.”
Spacey also shared his own views, saying, “I genuinely believe that the United States’ preeminence in the arts and creative industries is one of this nation’s most powerful, natural resources.”
Also, check out Kevin Spacey discussing the importance of the arts on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.
Thanks to Eva Yaa Asantewaa for sharing these videos.
Gaga Classes in New York
April 4, 2011
In 2009, one of the highlights of my trip to Israel was taking Gaga classes at the Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance in Tel Aviv. At the time, these movement awareness classes developed by Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company, weren’t offered regularly in New York. Over the past few years, the demand for Gaga has been tremendous, and since this past fall, Gaga classes for both dancers and non-dancers (called Gaga People) have been taught at Peridance Capezio Center. More recently, weekly classes have been offered at two venues in Brooklyn: Mark Morris Dance Center and Congregation Beth Elohim. Check the Gaga website for the full schedule of classes with price and location details. Plus, you can sign up for the newsletter and join the Gaga facebook page.
In the Home4Dance video below, Ohad Naharin talks about what Gaga means to him and the significance of bringing it to New York.
