Brian McCormick: Body and Soul podcast
February 22, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
What happens when dance artists project their inner/alter selves into the vast reaches of cyberspace? I sat down with freelance dance critic and media scholar Brian McCormick to talk about what's happening with dance in Second Life.
Brian McCormick is a dance writer and member of the NY Dance & Performance Awards (Bessies) Committee, and part-time faculty in the New School University Media Studies MA program. He has written for Dance Magazine, The New York Times, and The Advocate, and is a long-time contributing editor at Gay City News. Since 2003, he has been the teaching dance-writing to New York City area high school students through a program created by Dance Theater Workshop and High 5 Tickets to the Arts, called Dance TRaC (Teen Reviewers and Critics).
LINK
Second Life
http://www.secondlife.com/
Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.
(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
This material may not be reproduced in any way, either in part or in its entirety, without the expressed written permission of Eva Yaa Asantewaa.
Estelle Woodward Arnal and Levi Gonzalez
February 22, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Estelle Woodward Arnal (Director of Artist Services, Dance Theater Workshop) and Levi Gonzalez (dancer-choreographer) join me today to talk about DTW's Outer/Space Creative Residency Program.
Levi Gonzalez is an independent choreographer living and working in New York City who has created a body of solo and group choreographic projects. He is interested in presenting work in a variety of venues and contexts, from small and intimate spaces to more traditional stages. Often the placement of the work in a certain environment shapes the content. Gonzalez is interested in furthering a dialogue of ideas about the body in society-at-large and about how we experience physical presence. He has gradually distanced himself from dance that concerns itself with the abstract designing of movement as an end in itself and towards work that addresses performance and the power and meaning of embodiment in daily life. His work and his choreographic collaborations with Luciana Achugar have been presented by Movement Research at Judson Church, Dance Theater Workshop, The Kitchen, Danspace Project, PS122, Dixon Place, and PS1 Contemporary Art Center. He has performed extensively with Donna Uchizono Company and John Jasperse Company, as well as ChameckiLerner, Jeremy Nelson and Dennis O’Connor. Additionally, he has worked for Michael Laub’s Remote Control Productions in Europe. Levi teaches technique and composition at Movement Research and with Dean Moss at The Kitchen. He was a Movement Research Artist in Residence from 2003-2004 and a 2006 NYFA Fellow in Choreography. He is an editor of Critical Correspondence, an online publication, and facilitates artist dialogues through Dance Theater Workshop’s Fresh Tracks Residency.
LINKS:
Dance Theater Workshop http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org
Movement Research (for Levi Gonzalez' upcoming workshop, "The Practice of Presence") http://www.movementresearch.org
Critical Correspondence
http://www.movementresearch.org/publishing/
Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.
(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
This material may not be reproduced in any way, either in part or in
its entirety, without the expressed written permission of Eva Yaa
Asantewaa.
Composing an Artist Statement
February 17, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
I've been grappling with an Artist Statement. Every artist needs one. I come up against the need to sound coherent, polished, sane, adult-like. I struggle to write in complete sentences or sound cool and hip, like I'm really the shit. Mostly I'm just trying to honor what's really true for me and that has to do with tapping the subconscious, with playing, with getting out of the way and letting the work come through. I'm trying not to work from my head; trying to let it come from the gut or heart or ovaries or whatever else wants to speak.
Maybe next time I'll have an Artist Statement to post.
Nolini Barretto: Body and Soul podcast
February 6, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Presenting site-specific dance in the bustling financial, commercial and historic environment of downtown Manhattan is not without risk but can yield considerable excitement and rewards. Producer-curator Nolini Barretto and the artists she selects for her annual Sitelines series bring imagination and vision to this challenge and opportunity. In summer 2007, I spoke with Nolini about past productions and current highlights of this well-regarded festival, a project of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (http://www.lmcc.net/).
GUEST BIO
Nolini Barretto has long been part of the New York arts community. She worked for the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance for thirteen years, the last few years as Administrative Director of the school. She was a founding Director of the Emergency Fund for Student Dancers and continues to serve on its Board and the advisory Board of Buglisi Dance Company. She was the Director of Marketing for Dance Theater Workshop in Chelsea, helping it transition into its new building, managing its rebranding efforts and launching its Inaugural season. At DTW she received the National Arts Marketing Project's Advanced Audience Development Training. Nolini was originally a classical dancer in India and received a Masters degree in Arts Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. In 2005 CEC Artslink sent her to lecture on Public Art in St. Petersburg, Russia and Novosibirsk, Siberia. Nolini began working at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in 2003, where she founded the site-specific performance series, Sitelines, which she continues to curate and produce. She is in her first year as a member of the Bessies (New York Dance and Performance) Awards committee.
LINK
http://www.lmcc.net/
Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.
(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
Ashleigh Leite: Body and Soul podcast
February 6, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
My interview with dancer-choreographer Ashleigh Leite, conducted in the fall of 2007, is a reminder of how critically important it is for emerging creative artists here in New York to have the support of organizations like Joyce SoHo. As an artist-in-residence at Joyce SoHo's Mercer Street studios, Ashleigh was provided with ample time, rehearsal space, guidance and helpful feedback as she developed Crawl Space, her evening-length, multi-media ensemble which received its premiere at Danspace Project in November 2007--a major step forward in her career. I hope you'll enjoy my talk with this interesting, thoughtful artist and look for the next opportunity to see her work.
GUEST BIO
Ashleigh Leite, originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, graduated (cum laude) from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Dance Performance in 1997. Upon graduation, Ashleigh joined Stephen Petronio Company, where she served as Assistant Director/Rehearsal Director and a dancer for over eight years (1997-2005). While maintaining a full schedule with Stephen Petronio Company, Ashleigh began to pursue her own work as a freelance choreographer. In March 2006, at Joyce SoHo in New York City, she premiered Autopsy for which she received a Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Swing Space Award. During the fall of 2006, Ashleigh was an Artist-in-Residence at Dance New Amsterdam and premiered flawed in December; this year, she has been an Artist-in-Residence at Joyce SoHo. She is a current member of Pavel Zustiak's Palissimo and has performed in works by Jamie Bishton, David Allen Harris and Jeremy Nelson. She has taught technique and repertory at conservatories all over the world and guest teaches regularly at Dance New Amsterdam in New York City.
Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.
(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
Nadine Helstroffer: Body and Soul podcast
February 5, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Nadine Helstroffer is one of dance's treasures--a poetic, luminous performer whose choreography reflects her insight into life, nature and spirituality. She has been a good friend for many years, and I'm pleased to present an interview we recorded in the summer of 2007 in the home she shares with filmmaker John Bush. Among other things, Nadine and I talked about their experiences filming in Tibet, and I urge you to follow the links for more information about all of John and Nadine's projects.
GUEST BIO
Nadine Helstroffer, French-born, has been presenting her choreography in the U.S., Canada and France since 1981. Her work includes “Clock Lock,” “Threshold” and “Earthbound.” She has taught dance and directed workshops in France, Korea and the U.S. Since 1998 she has been leading the BodyResonance Workshop which explores the link between meditation and movement. She has been presenting her workshop at the Zen Center of NYC, the New School University, New York Insight Meditation Society and Bowling Green State University.
Ms. Helstroffer obtained a doctorate in philosophy under the direction of Daniel Charles of the Sorbonne (Subject: An Innovative Approach to Dance) at Nanterre University/Paris-X, France, in 1980. Her academic interests in Eastern philosophies and her exposure to the East through her dance career have guided her toward an integration of Eastern philosophies and Western movements. She collaborated with composers Yas Jaz from Sankai Juku Company, Philip Fraser (devotee of Shri Shri Ravi Shankar) and David Hykes, founder of the Harmonic Choir.
In New York, the Rubin Museum of Art commissioned her 30-minute solo piece, “Absence Presence,” performed in the gallery of the exhibition "Handprints and Footprints of Buddhist Art" in 2005 and filmed by John Bush. She was also invited by the museum to dance her choreography as part of a performance by Hykes's Harmonic Choir.
She has worked in collaboration with filmmaker John Bush on a 40-minute dance film-- “Shimmer”--shot entirely outdoors in New York City. An excerpt--"Portal"--has been screened at Galapagos Art Space, curated by the experimental film group Ocularis, and has had a special screening at the 2006 High Falls Film Festival.
“Vajra Realm,” a dance pilgrimage with Nadine Helstroffer filmed in Central Tibet, was released in January 2007 as a special feature on the DVD “Vajra Sky Over Tibet,” the third film of the “Yatra Trilogy” by John Bush. It is distributed by WGBH Boston.
For additional information on “Vajra Realm” and all of Ms. Helstroffer's work, visit Direct Pictures at http://www.directpictures.com/.
LINK:
http://www.directpictures.com/
Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.
(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
Dalia Carella: Body and Soul podcast
February 5, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Dalia Carella is one of those bold, glamorous, old-school entertainers clearly born to rule the stage. And she's a serious creative artist whose painstaking approach to the dances of diverse cultures has been shaped by mentors of notable integrity. I interviewed her in October 2007. She was then a new member of the faculty of Dance New Amsterdam (DNA), and we spoke about her career and her pioneering involvement in DNA's Performance Project where she introduced students to the rich music and dance traditions of the Near and Middle East and the Maghreb.
GUEST BIO
Dalia Carella is a world-renowned Near/Middle Eastern contemporary dancer, choreographer, instructress and global fusion artist. Audiences from around the world have applauded her mystical and innovative dances and choreographies that are taken from the tradition of the countries she is representing. Carella has delved deeply in the studies of dances from the Near and Middle East including Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, as well as North Africa including Morocco and Algeria. Her dances are both traditional and contemporary with a spiritual essence behind each and every movement that she creates. Some of Carella's new works represent both traditional and contemporary movement and range from sacred rituals to ethnic contemporary theater pieces and cabaret macabre inspired by the 1920s and '30s.
Her dance background also includes studies in Flamenco, Indian/Bollywood/Bhangra, African, Samba, Salsa, Bomba and Plena from Puerto Rico as well as jazz and ballet. Carella also created her signature dance form in 1985, "Dunyavi Gypsy (Roma) Dance," for which she is known throughout the world. The core of Dalia's Dunyavi work is extensive research of the Romany trail, focusing primarily on the Roma dances of Spain, India, Turkey and most recently, movements from North Africa. Dalia has also been performing and teaching a second style of Gypsy Rom dance, "El Mundo," that is evolving from her continuing studies of Middle Eastern, Andalusia and Latin dance influences. For more information, visit http://www.daliacarella.com/bio.html.
LINK
http://www.daliacarella.com
Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.
(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
Fran Kirmser: Body and Soul podcast
February 5, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
When you need to look at the arts from a lot of different angles, it's helpful to have someone like the versatile Fran Kirmser in your corner. Here’s an interview I conducted with Fran in the fall of 2007 as she was preparing to facilitate a series of workshops for performing artists, sponsored by The Field. We chatted about the many roles she has played in her distinguished career as a performer, choreographer, theater producer, master fundraiser, a consultant to dance and theater companies, and a founder of Manhattan Theatre Source. This radiant, seemingly tireless advocate of dance and theater has a grand vision and the practical tools to back it up.
Guest Bio
Fran Kirmser has worked for over twelve years, producing, promoting and fundraising for dance and theater. Collectively she has raised millions of dollars in institutional funding and corporate sponsorships for hundreds of companies. She has held positions in Development, Public Relations, Management, or Booking and Representation with the following organizations: Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall, Doug Varone and Dancers, Sandra Cameron Dance Center, Pentacle. She is a founder of Manhattan Theatre Source where she served as Producing Artistic Director. Fran produced August Wilson's Radio Golf on Broadway, nominated for four Tony Awards. Recently she founded Made to Move, Inc.--a non-profit dedicated to the advancement of public knowledge of the art of dance and theater and co-created and produced the commercial musical SIDD based on the novel "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse. Additionally Fran has worked on the development of new theatrical works with Circle in the Square Repertory Theater and Musical Theatre Works among others.
Fran is a graduate of Skidmore College with continuing education at NYU Tisch Dance Residency Program, Laban Institute of Movement, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the New School University and Columbia University Graduate School of Psychology. She has served on the New York Foundation for the Arts (www.nyfa.org) funding panel and teaches numerous development and promotional workshops with The Field (www.thefield.org) and throughout the city.
Trained in dance and choreography, favorite past projects include choreography for Only Heaven composer Ricki Ian Gordon, and performing the repertory of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Co., American Dance Machine, Susan Marshall, Ralph Lemon, Isadora Duncan, Doris Humphrey, and Jack Cole.
LINK:
http://www.frankirmser.com/
Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.
(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
Yanira Castro
February 4, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
I admire Yanira Castro's darkly poetic and mysterious artistry. Her sense-laden works have the capacity to take watchers deep into experience and to change our habits of seeing, listening and thinking. I hope you will enjoy my interview with Yanira and find yourself similarly immersed in her newest work, "Center of Sleep."
GUEST BIO
Yanira Castro+Company is a New York City-based ensemble of dancers and designers that fuses experiments in movement with original music and visual elements such as video and installations to create vivid, contemporary scenarios for their audiences that transform and engage their experience of the work.
Award-winning choreographer Yanira Castro was born in Puerto Rico and received her B.A. in Theater & Dance and Literature at Amherst College. She has been making work with a core group of performers and designers since 1997, presenting this work widely, including at Dance Theater Workshop, The Chocolate Factory, Danspace Project and numerous other venues. Most recently, she has been working on site-based installations.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Yanira Castro+Dancers will present the world premiere of "Center of Sleep" at Dance Theater Workshop (February 27-March 1, 2008) with two shows per night at 7:30pm and 9:30pm. On opening night, DTW will host a free pre-show talk at 6:30 and post-show talk after the 7:30 show only. For further information and tickets, visit DTW at www.dancetheaterworkshop.org or call 212-924-0077.
LINK:
www.yaniracastrocompany.org
Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.
(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
