Dance Sketchbook
December 8, 2011
Dancer Jeremy Finch has just released “Sketchbook”, a short video combining dance and hand-drawn animation. It’s a personal look at his decision to pursue his passion for dance (in all its joys and frustrations), and beautifully combines contact improvisation with a thoughtful narrative and animation. The video is long, but definitely worth watching.
My favorite line: “But maybe we should consider the possibility that there’s a sort of alchemy that only reveals itself when you remove rational thought and mix together muscle fiber and spontaneity and bone and momentum and trust and open space…The human body, in all its complexity…wants desperately to stretch its abilities and move. Shouldn’t we let it do that more often?”
Cedar Lake at the Joyce
November 6, 2010
"Sunday, Again" by Jo Stromgren, photo by Carina Musk-Anderson
Cedar Lake presented five works over the past two weeks at The Joyce Theater – undoubtedly a grueling workout for the company’s fifteen dancers. They were in top form, and it’s always a pleasure to watch how seamlessly this exceptional group of dancers can move. What the season offered in terms of technical virtuosity, it lacked in variety. The five choreographers covered a lot of ground in terms of themes, but with the exception of Hofesh Shechter’s challenging piece The Fools, the movement in the repertoire all looked fairly similar. Or perhaps the dancers interpreted it in a non-varied way.
Jo Stromgren’s 2008 work Sunday, Again, shown on both programs, examines dysfunctional relationships and gender friction during a Sunday afternoon of badminton. Set to Bach’s lively Jesu, meine Freude, several duets were interspersed with clusters of dancers rushing about the stage with their badminton gear. Jason Kittelberger’s rudeness bubbled to the surface in his duet with Acacia Schachte, in which he flung her haphazardly over his shoulder only to abruptly drop her to the floor. Unwanted girl on girl aggression turned out to be a search for a birdie, and Golan Yosef, throwing a badminton net to the floor with exasperation, was unaware of a larger problem in his tense relationship with an anguished Ebony Williams. The various episodes came together in a fast-moving, men-versus-women game where whispers turned into full-volume shouts. The witty moments within this game only briefly lightened the tension. And as Stromgren’s program note explained, “Leisure time is not good for certain types of relationships.”
Cedar Lake rehearsing "frame of view", 2008, photo by Paul B. Goode
Human stories were also evident in Didy Veldman’s 2009 work frame of view, but they seemed to have lost their edge since the world premiere. Using irony and humor, the dancers explored a range of emotions and desires as they moved in and out of a room framed by three yellow doors. Unfortunately, many of the interactions fell flat. Williams’s solo with a desk and chair lacked the melodrama and distress that Ana Maria-Lucaciu conveyed when she portrayed this role at the premiere in 2009.
In Jacopo Godani’s 2009 work Unit in Reaction, three men and three women in stretchy rust-colored attire slithered across the floor, morphing collectively into various shapes. The dancers showed admirable fluidity and speed, but the piece itself was uninspiring. Alexander Ekman’s Hubbub, which premiered in early October in North Carolina, was a clever examination of “performance ritual”. A haughty voice narrated the dancers’ movement and suggested what we, the audience, should notice. This grew rather irritating, although that was probably the point. Harumi Terayama and Nickemil Concepcion’s duet, in which their voiceovers reveal what they’re thinking, was intriguing. Don’t all audiences wonder, at some point, what’s going on in the performers’ heads?
Hofesh Shechter's "The Fools", photo by Julieta Cervantes
Hofesh Shechter is a London-based choreographer who made waves at Fall for Dance in 2008. For Cedar Lake he re-worked The Fools, originally made for Bern Ballet in 2009. In a foggy, menacing atmosphere, eight dancers wearing black military attire portrayed Shadows. To a frenetic drum score created by Shechter, they flailed about and then suddenly froze in front of their chairs. Seven other dancers, first in underwear and later in khaki pants and plaid tops, emerged whenever the Shadows disappeared into the background. Hunched over, with their fingers in awkward claw shapes, they crept about the stage to a delicate piano score, going about their day as if in a trance. Whenever the harsh percussion and Shadows re-surfaced, the Fools scattered. Shechter created an intriguing wave of energy between the Fools and darker, ominous Shadows as they alternately rose to the surface. The piece was a bit too long and the sequences of movement repetitive, but The Fools seemed to push the dancers into new territory, which was more than welcome during this mostly tame season.
Casting Call for PS 122′s Fall Season
August 20, 2010
Be a part of Performance Space 122’s 30th Anniversary Season by auditioning for roles in Dominic Huber’s Hotel Savoy and Ishmael Houston-Jones’s THEM. Hotel Savoy, a world premiere that was highlighted in the recent New York Times feature ‘Theatre for Audiences of One’, will be performed at the Goethe-Institut on Thursdays from September 30th through October 31st. THEM, which premiered in 1986, will be remounted from October 21st through October 30th at PS 122. The casting call information is below.
Dominic Huber’s Hotel Savoy – Casting Call for non-actors:
Looking for 5 individuals to guide patrons through 1014 5th Avenue, a six-floor mansion located directly across from the Metropolitan Museum. This project is an exploration of space and memory; it is a slice of the diversity of New York; it is a series of real conversations in a frame of experience. We are searching for individuals who consider themselves near or exactly how the characters are described. Some theatrical experience and an appreciation of the arts is a plus, but we are not seeking professional actors.
The ‘characters’ are as follows:
The Bartender Female. Age 40s-60s.
Elevator Operator Male. Age 40-60s.
The Girl Female. Age 15-19.
The Clerk Male. Age 25-45.
The Haircutter Male. Age 30-50.
To schedule an interview or inquire about the project please contact Phillip: international (at) ps122 (dot) org
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Auditions for THEM, conceived and directed by Ishmael Houston-Jones
Are you a boy, do you like to dance, are you fearless, do you want to perform at both the New Museum and Performance Space 122 in the same month? How do you feel about dancing with a dead goat? Be a part of this historic reconstruction, 25 years later.
For this revival of THEM we are looking for 6 MALE PERFORMERS who are strong DANCE IMPROVISERS and who are not afraid of on-stage INTIMACY and VIOLENCE.
Following an intense 4-week rehearsal/development period at the New Museum, THEM will run at PS 122 October 21 – October 30.
The audition will be held at the New Museum on Saturday, September 11th from 11 AM to 2 PM with call-backs the same day from 4 to 6 PM.
Please RSVP: THEMrsvp (at) gmail (dot) com
Saving Dance New Amsterdam
July 13, 2010
DNA’s Dance Rally at City Hall © 2010, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
After releasing a statement on July 6th announcing a possible eviction on July 14th from its Lower Manhattan space, the 26-year-old Dance New Amsterdam has released another, more promising statement and update on today’s events. Show your support by signing the petition.
Today Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) took to the steps of City Hall in spite of the pouring rain with hundreds of supporters and dancers joining our fight to save DNA. Dancers held signs reading “Save DNA,” “We Heart DNA” and “Gotta Dance.” During the downpour, dancers also performed choreography by Teri and Oliver Steele in front of the steps of city hall.
Earlier this morning we met with our landlord Fram Realty, representing lawyers and elected officials Senator Daniel Squadron, Assembly member Deborah Glick, Council Member Margaret Chin, Congressman Jerrold Nadler’s representative, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s representative. As a result of the cooperative and positive meeting, we are pleased to say the landlord has agreed to postpone eviction proceedings until August 26. Fram indicated during the meeting that it appreciates the difficulties facing DNA and will propose revised lease terms. All of those at the meeting expressed a desire to have the city more involved with final negotiations. We believe the key players include Department of Citywide Administrative Services (owner of DNA’s building) and the Mayor’s office.
Since we went public with our story we have been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received, especially from the dance community. Over 2500 people, from all over the world, have signed our statement of support. We’ve also received more than $7,000 in donations in only one week. We have letters of support from Community Board 1 and Council Member Chin posted on our website. We’ve seen the dance community come together in generous support, including Dance/NYC, Dance/USA, Dance Parade, National Dance Week, Steps on Broadway, Battery Dance Company, 3LD, HERE Arts, The Flea, Soho Rep, The Children’s Museum, and the QAS at Webster Hall, as well as numerous choreographers and hundreds of contributors to the dance world.
Today was the first of what we hope will be many victories for dance and dancers in New York. We encourage continued support and donations.
Elected officials have this to say from the morning meeting:
“Dance New Amsterdam is an important cultural institution in Lower Manhattan, serving thousands of artists and tens of thousands of visitors – keeping the studio in Lower Manhattan is vital to the community. We will continue working together to reach a solution that will allow Dance New Amsterdam to remain in its home.”
-Senator Daniel Squadron
“I believe Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) is a critically important cultural institution. Since 9/11, the City and the State have spent an enormous amount of energy and money to attract businesses, residents, and services to Lower Manhattan. Ten years and hundreds of millions of dollars later, there is still a gaping hole at Ground Zero. It is the cultural organizations, like DNA, that have been contributing to the rebirth of Lower Manhattan while Ground Zero is still under construction. DNA is a vital and vibrant part of the downtown community at a very minimal cost in public money. Clearly, DNA has made significant contributions to the public and its continued growth is in the public interest.”
-Assembly member Deborah Glick
“Lower Manhattan has been historically starved for cultural institutions – and the space to house them. For over 25 years, Dance New Amsterdam has helped fill that void by offering dance classes, workshops, and gallery space to tens of thousands of New Yorkers. And in the wake of 9/11, the center became an essential part of the effort to rebuild the area. By employing over 500 artists downtown and generating three quarters of a million dollars a year in revenue for neighboring businesses, the center has also proven to be an important financial resource. We look forward to finding a way to bring all involved parties together to ensure Dance New Amsterdam can continue to serve the Downtown community.”
-Council Member Margaret Chin
Moving Theater at the Armory
February 20, 2010
Last night, I attended the final dress rehearsal of Moving Theater’s Armory Show, a genre-blurring piece created during the company’s eighteen-month residency at the Park Avenue Armory. Saturday night’s performance is already sold out, but tickets are still available to the 5 PM and 8 PM shows on Sunday. Created by MT’s founders, Brennan Gerard and Ryan Kelly, the new work blends dance, live video, text, and music as it moves through the armory’s landmark period rooms. In a nutshell, Armory Show is an intriguing mess. The performers explore memory, history, the military, and gender – specifically, male identity through ballet vocabulary – in the context of the armory’s lush décor and areas of decay. Armory Show might be frustrating and confusing, but in the best way possible. You won’t be bored, but make sure to gaze up at the ceiling in every room. It’s full of surprises.
