Dance Photography Seminar at Joyce SoHo
June 8, 2011
Gallim Dance in "Bread & Circus", photo by Christopher Duggan
Each spring, The Joyce Theater Foundation presents Free Advice, a series of seminars for dance companies and choreographers spanning a wide range of management and presentation subjects. This coming Monday, there will be a seminar on quality dance photography, which is always of utmost importance for marketing and press materials. Christopher Duggan, a wonderful New York-based dance photographer with whom I collaborated last fall, is speaking on the panel along with The Joyce Theater’s Marketing Manager, Rennica Johnson, and Jenny Lerner, Joyce SoHo’s press representative.
Seminars are free, but space is limited. Reservations are highly recommended by filling out the form at the bottom of the Joyce’s Free Advice page. Seminar details are below
The Importance of Quality Dance Photography
Monday June 13 at Joyce SoHo – 155 Mercer Street between Houston and Prince
6:15-7:45 PM
Moderator: Cathy Eilers
Panelist: Christopher Duggan (photographer), Rennica Johnson (Marketing Manager, The Joyce Theater), and Jenny Lerner (Joyce SoHo Press Representative)
Learn the importance of properly shot dance photos for marketing and press requirements. The event will focus on various uses for the photos from the perspective of the many people involved: photographer, presenter, marketer, and press representative. Additionally, learn about the different requirements for online and internet marketing.
Keigwin + Company’s EXIT
March 14, 2011
Gary Schaufeld, Aaron Carr, and Ashley Browne in Larry Keigwin's EXIT, photo by Christopher Duggan
Well, Larry Keigwin’s EXIT is definitely more rewarding than the promotional videos. Thank goodness. But I still left The Joyce Theater, where Keigwin + Company premiered the work last week, feeling unsatisfied.
It seems like the goal was to make a fierce, wild piece oozing with sex appeal and curiosity about these seven individuals’ dark habits, which was the original title of the piece before it was renamed EXIT shortly before the premiere. The characters are undoubtedly fierce, but there are also hints of their vulnerability and uncertainty. Yet, too often the opportunities to explore the hidden sides of the dancers are abruptly replaced with bland showiness. By the end, I was frustrated. Dig a bit deeper, I want to say. Also, please share whatever is lurking behind the back door from which the dancers enter and exit.
A series of vignettes set to Christopher Lancaster and Jerome Begin’s edgy, energetic score feature duets and trios that have a push-pull quality. In the dark club setting, there’s a sense of “surveying the scene” as the dancers shift from one gathering to another, and occasionally push through the back door. Two dancers gravitate to one another, but then suddenly one breaks away and flings herself at someone else. Desire is immediately followed by disgust.
In the piece’s flashier moments, the dancers strut in glow-in-the-dark stilettos and jump through confetti that shoots from the wings. Woven into these high energy scenes are some quieter, more contemplative moments that attempt to reveal the dancers’ fragility. The men (particularly Aaron Carr) must be commended for their ability to move seamlessly from technical feats to subtler gestures. But just when EXIT seems like it’s reaching new depths, like a curious detail about one of these night creatures, it snaps back to the thumping, crowd-pleasing beat of the club – leaving me feeling a bit irritated. Why not go there? Why not reveal what’s behind that back door?
Why Keigwin’s New Videos are Sickening, but Smart
February 16, 2011
Keigwin + Company has been aggressively promoting their upcoming Joyce Theater premiere, called Dark Habits, with weekly videos that feature each of the dancers. Watch some of the videos below and you’ll understand the heightened anticipation. They more closely resemble something you’d see on an MTV reality series than the choreography that I’ve previously seen by artistic director Larry Keigwin.
Yes, they’re dark, edgy, and risqué. But they’re also shallow. Most of all, the videos exemplify conformity, not creativity. They’re complete sell-outs, affirming that sex sells. And that’s what makes them both effective and so atrocious. By essentially selling the dancers’ bodies, the ads are cheapening them and devaluing them in a way that is offensive, especially since these are such artistically and technically skilled individuals. I was particularly impressed when I saw them in Works and Process at the Guggenheim. Sure, maybe the dancers had fun making these videos, but why succumb to the “sex sells” concept when you can rise above it? Of course, this happens all the time in pop culture and nobody bats an eye. That doesn’t make it ok.
I wish Keigwin had more faith in his dancers’ talents, and also more faith in audiences. A snazzy, smart video that gets butts in seats doesn’t need to have half-naked dancers gyrating and strutting seductively (I should mention that I made plans to attend the performance before seeing the videos, and I’ll still attend because I’ve enjoyed their work in the past and sincerely hope that the piece will have more depth than their ads). So, Mr. Keigwin, if you or your staff are reading this, I urge you, in the future, to create videos that don’t cheapen your work. You and your company are better than that. Otherwise you’re selling out, and undermining both your dancers’ talent and your own as an artistic director and choreographer.
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.
Performa 09: Creative Takeover
October 29, 2009
"Parades and Changes, replays", photo by Jérôme Delatour
This Friday marks the beginning of Performa 09, the third biennial of a city-wide, three-week festival of performance art. Unlike the last two festivals, Performa 09 will attempt to break down the boundaries that exist between artistic mediums. In a recent post on WNYC, festival director RoseLee Goldberg said, “This year we’re doing dance, theater, film, fashion, food, architecture, graphic design, and poetry. The idea that we can talk about all media, all the time, that’s what takes this biennial to the next level.”
Performa 09 will present new work by more than 150 contemporary artists in collaboration with more than eighty of the city’s arts institutions. Check the full calendar of events for dates and ticket information (though many of the performances are FREE). Friday’s opening night benefit, which includes a food installation by Jennifer Rubell (and indoor apple picking), sounds like an exciting way to kick off the festival.
One of the highly anticipated dance offerings comes from Deborah Hay and Yvonne Rainer, two of the founding members of the Judson Dance Theater and both influential voices in post-modern dance. They’ll present new work and share the stage at Baryshnikov Arts Center from November 17 to 19. Another exciting dance event is Anne Collod’s restaging of Anna Halprin’s 1965 work, Parades and Changes, at Dance Theater Workshop from November 18 to 21.
