View Partially Obstructed
June 11, 2009
Tonight at 7:30, Gina Gibney Dance will present a preview of View Partially Obstructed as part of the NYU Tisch Dance Summer Residency Festival, followed by an informal reception where audiences can meet the artists and enjoy a beer. The evening-length work, which will premiere this October at Baryshnikov Arts Center, examines the pure physical and psychological fact that we can’t see everything from every angle, nor can we put together all of the pieces of our fragmented selves. By only seeing part of something, we live with imperfect information about ourselves and those around us. In this new work, the view is partially obstructed for both the performer and the viewer. Artistic director and choreographer Gina Gibney said:
“We fill in what we don’t know with what we do know. The viewer can think about this process and contemplate how we decide what we will and will not pay attention to – both internally and externally – and how we struggle to create a full view from incomplete information.”
This preview showing, including the post-performance beer reception with the artists, is pay-what-you-can.
Thursday, June 11 at 7:30 pm
NYU Tisch School of the Arts – 111 Second Avenue, 5th Floor
Pay what you can. For more info, call 212.677.8560 or email info (at) ginagibneydance (dot) org
Gina Gibney Dance: Gala 2009 on May 13th
May 6, 2009
Natsuki Arai and Joshua Palmer, photo by Andrzej Olejniczak
Gina Gibney Dance (GGD) is a performing and community action dance company with a two-fold mission: To create and perform contemporary choreography that draws upon the strength and insights of women and men, and to enrich and reshape lives through innovative community programs that help families, youth, and senior members of the community express themselves through movement. The Domestic Violence Project, which launched in 2000, provides a powerful new voice to women who are survivors of domestic abuse in their quest to rebuild their lives. This dynamic and highly regarded program serves thousands of women and their families each year. Other company initiatives include Keep Moving, which helps at-risk youth gain coping and life skills, and Moving the Community, which brings the healing power of movement to individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. GGD also offers “recharge + reconnect”, a free open movement class.
Gina Gibney Dance invites you to their 2009 Gala on Wednesday, May 13th at the Ailey Citigroup Theater and Studios. This year’s theme is re:connect, re:vive, and re:charge. The evening begins at 7 PM with cocktails and a silent action, followed by a performance from Gina Gibney’s dancers, a presentation, and an after-party with an open bar, DJ, and much more.
Tickets to the gala cost $250, but specially priced tickets for individuals under 30 cost $50. This might sound like a lot, but this is not just another party. All proceeds from the gala will support the important community initiatives of Gina Gibney Dance, including the Domestic Violence Project, and the creation of new work for the company’s repertory. It promises to be a fun, memorable evening for an incredibly good cause. The gala invitation has full details about tickets, and you can purchase online. You can also RSVP to the Facebook invitation.
Plus, GGD is looking for gala volunteers! The company relies heavily on the generosity and time of volunteers in order to make the gala a successful event. If you’re interested in attending and would like to offer another set of hands on the 13th between 5 PM and midnight, send your name, email address, and phone number to the gala coordinator, Stephanie Mas: gala (at) ginagibneydance (dot) org.
Upcoming Performances
January 2, 2009
Gallim Dance in I Can See Myself in Your Pupil, photo by Christopher Duggan
The new year kicks off with plenty of dance performances. Here are some of the offerings during the first two weeks of January.
New York City Ballet’s winter season begins this Tuesday with an all-Balanchine triple bill. Other highlights of the season, which runs until March 1st, include new ballets by Melissa Barak and Douglas Lee, the return of Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s Chiaroscuro and Alexei Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH, and a full-length Coppélia.
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet’s winter season, which runs from January 8th to 18th, includes world premieres by Didy Veldman and Luca Veggetti, along with Crystal Pite’s Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue. You can read about an open rehearsal the company held in November. And don’t forget to save 20% on tickets by using code “CL52″ when you order tickets.
Cedar Lake dancers rehearsing Didy Veldman’s frame of view, photo by Paul B. Goode
Parsons Dance will perform two different programs at The Joyce Theater from January 6th to 18th. The company will present the world premiere of a collaboration with the East Village Opera Company, along with several pieces from the company’s repertoire. Order tickets online or call (212) 242-0800.
From January 9th to 11th, Symphony Space presents Dance Gotham, with a different lineup of performers each night. Some of the companies that will be performing are Gina Gibney Dance, Brian Brooks Moving Company, and BalletX. Tickets are just $10.
Gallim Dance will present two different full-length works, I Can See Myself In Your Pupil and Blush at The Joyce SoHo from January 9th to 18th. Choreographer and dancer Andrea Miller performed with Batsheva Dance Company before starting Gallim in 2006, and much of her work is influenced by Ohad Naharin’s movement style. Order tickets online or call (212) 242-0800.
On January 11th and 12th, Works & Process at the Guggenheim presents an evening of dance set to music by Arvo Pärt. The performance includes the U.S. premiere of the operatic monologue L’Abbe Agathon, with visual concept created by Sophie Calle. Christopher Wheeldon’s Liturgy, set to Fratres, and After the Rain pas de deux, set to Spiegel im Spiegel, will also be performed. Tickets go on sale January 5th.
Women at Work: Gina Gibney Gala 2008
June 4, 2008
On Monday night I had the pleasure of volunteering at and attending the Gina Gibney 2008 Gala, Women at Work. After spending the afternoon helping set up at the Alvin Ailey Center, we moved downstairs for the performance. The Gala was the 10-year anniversary of GGD as an all-female company, so the performance included excerpts from the last ten years of Gina’s choreography.
The highlight of the performance for me was The Mentor’s Piece, an incredibly powerful piece danced by five women who have worked with Gina through the Domestic Violence Project. The DVP is a initiative that hosts workshops in shelters throughout New York City, providing an outlet for women to regain a positive self image through movement. The women in The Mentor’s Piece are all survivors of domestic violence, some of whom have worked with Gina for nine years. Although they do not have a background in dance, they are nevertheless dancers, and phenomenally brave ones at that. The dance features all five women together and separately and the music is piano and chimes overlayed with short narrations from each of the women. My favorite narration was from Dorota, who says in her narration (not a direct quote, but to capture the essence), “One day I was walking down the street and I saw a beautiful tree and I thought, that tree must be new, I’ve never seen it there before. I went and told my sister, who said that the tree had always been there. And I thought, oh my gosh, I am getting better! I am so thankful to finally see beautiful things.” The entire piece is gut-wrenchingly tender and both times I saw it, in rehearsal and in performance, I had to put down my camera; my eyes and nose were too wet.
After the performance we gala-ed it up on the fifth floor in a studio the size of the City Center stage (including wings), surrounded by glass windows looking out into midtown Manhattan. During the mingling, silent auction and munching, guests were encouraged by Commemorators (NYU Tisch MFA students armed with different types of cameras, from iphones to Polaroids) to play with giant foam word blocks and to sign a 7 foot tall “anniversary” card. The entire evening was a wonderful combination of celebrating dance and the dancers, advocates, mentors, and philanthropists who have spent 10 years in the challenging and unique endeavor of taking dance into the community to help women who have survived domestic violence. I can’t imagine a gala celebrating a more extraordinary project with more stupendously heroic men and women.
The Distance Between Us, 2007
GGD and Mentor’s Piece dancers
Katie Glasner (our Barnard ballet teacher) and Gina Gibney
“You Eat Powerful Tutu”
GGD Alum Marta Miller
GGD Dancers
My favorite shot of the night: GGD Dancers Stevie Oakes and Courtney Drasner
Commemorators Jennifer and Lori had a wee bit of wine
Sneak Peek- Cedar Lake and Gina Gibney
May 31, 2008
I recently sat in on a tech rehearsal for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and for Gina Gibney Dance’s Spring 2008 Gala. I think it’s fair to say both audiences will be in for an incredible performance. Cedar Lake, whose spring season opens on Monday, June 2nd includes three very dramatic pieces by distinctly innovative yet different choreographers. The rehearsal I watched for Gina Gibney’s Gala was the rehearsal of The Mentor’s Piece, a dance choreographed by Gina for five women who participated in the Mentor’s Program as part of the Domestic Violence Project. More photographs, reviews, and performance details to come next week. Follow the links for more information on Cedar Lake’s Spring 2008 season and the Gina Gibney Dance Women At Work Gala 2008.
Jessica Lee Keller and Acacia Schachte in Angelin Preljocaj’s Annonciation
The Mentor’s Piece, Gina Gibney Dance
Photos by Allison.
