New(ish) Theory Meeting Minutes
July 27, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Two more sets of minutes from DNB theory meetings went on the Theory Bulletin Board in July:- The November Open Theory meeting covered Dance Forms software and several possible ways that the DNB and notators in general could use it, as well as possible ways to notate not just nearness but degrees of nearness.
- The June Motif Theory meeting covered numerous Motif topics, including phrasing bows, indications of "the same" and "different," and diagonal paths.
Romeo and Juliet with a Happy Ending
July 14, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
I first heard Sergey Prokofiev’s music for the ballet Romeo and Juliet when I was about five. My dad played the record and asked me to imagine what it would be like to dance to. I imagined and, once again, scooched chairs around the living room to 5-year-old-heart-on-sleeve-style-dance.Later that week, I put on my favorite dress and accompanied my dad to American Ballet Theater’s Romeo and Juliet at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in L.A. I remember the sweet, mysterious smell of the theater and a jar of candy that a stagehand let me dip into. The sound of the orchestra tuning up was unbearably exciting, topped only by the tapping of toe shoes getting into place before the curtain opened.
Apparently, I danced in the aisle at intermission (I don’t remember). And then I danced at the Jewish Community Center and at countless other studios (I remember) until ending up a choreographer in New York.
I didn’t dance in the aisles at Mark Morris’s Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare at Bard’s Summerscape the other night. But the music (Prokofiev’s original score, recently unearthed by musicologist Simon Morrison) resonated in my bones. And I couldn’t help but bounce around in my seat.
The newly re-discovered music, and newly created dance, includes a happy ending. Romeo does not take his own life. The friar enters just in time. Juliet wakes up. The families are so happy they get along. The two star-crossed lovers dance a love dance within a twinkling star-filled set.
I’m not sure how I feel about a happy ending. Or about any Romeo and Juliet dance that is different (or, in this case, maybe not different enough) from the one burned into my memory 26 years ago.
But at the same time, the piece reminded me of the power and pleasure of storytelling. Romeo and Juliet (with or without the happy ending) is juicy. It hits on the biggies: family, death, love. And Morris does a sweet job catching the tenderness of young, first love. (There is a beautiful, self-conscious and sexy morning-after scene with a nearly naked Romeo and Juliet on a bed with one large red silk sheet….)
Towards the end of the piece, I liked being swept away by the romance. The gentleness and eagerness in the two lovers reminded me of my first loves. I went back to five-year old dance class. Scarf in hand, we ran around the room to delicious music. And then, years later, there was the other kind of love. Somewhat shyer and more complicated. But also delicious.
Pre-Holiday Bumper Issue
July 10, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
So that's the plan. Any questions? Well, since you clearly didn't ask, I'll give it to you anyway: I'm waging war to the polar bears and flying to Stockholm on Sunday, hopping on the train to Söderhamn just missing...
Aynsley Vandenbroucke Movement Group June Residency
July 10, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
AVMG worked on our new piece, 3 Dancers, 4 Chairs, 26 Words (to premier in Spring 2009) during a residency at Mount Tremper Arts June 27-29 . Photos by Mathew Pokoik and video excerpts are below. The company will be performing an older piece, Full Circle, outside in a field at the MTA Festival on July 26 at 9pm.
Two More Tidbits
July 4, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Tidbit #1: The DNB just made a major sale of books to Singapore. There are still some great finds left -- and still 50% off -- check the book sale list to see if there's anything to tempt you!Tidbit #2: Congratulations to Gwendolyn Arbaugh of Elverson, PA, who just completed and passed her Intermediate Correspondence Course in Labanotation. Not an easy feat!
Farewell, Patricia Nanon and Georgette Weisz Amowitz Gorchoff
July 4, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
The Dance Notation Bureau mourns the recent deaths of two dear friends and steadfast supporters: Patricia Nanon, who passed away in February, and Georgette Weisz Amowitz Gorchoff, who passed away in May. We are also deeply grateful that they continued to think of the DNB with monetary gifts at their passing. We shall miss them.Here's more about Patricia Nanon's amazing life and accomplishments, from the New York Times.
And here's more about Georgette Amowitz Gorchoff's remarkable life and achievements, from the Lynchburg News Advance.
CMAs Look at Presidential Candidates
July 4, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
The New Yorker recently published a short article about the body language and movement styles of presidential candidates as observed by people who really know what they're observing: Certified Movement Analysts.Be sure to read to the end, where there's a nice surprise about Chelsea Clinton's aptitude for movement analysis!
We Had a Bit of a Blog Break, But We’re Back…With an Article from Dance Teacher Magazine
July 4, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
There's a nice article about the Tudor Centennial Celebration on the Dance Teacher Magazine website. By Elizabeth McPherson, author of the Martha Hill book I mentioned in my last post, the article includes Labanotation for two Tudor class combinations, tendus for barre and grands battements for center. The notation is paired with word descriptions of the combinations, so they're good practice for beginning Labanotation students and a good introduction for Labanotation newbies.
The 2008 National Performing Arts Convention in Denver, Colorado
July 2, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
I’ve just returned from the National Performing Arts Convention in Denver and I’m so fired up about the events, conversations and art that took place there when over 3000 people gathered to discuss the art and business of live performance. Here’s some info that I’d like to pass on to the dance community at large.The most inspiring aspect of the convention was the caucus discussions. To sit at a table with the general manager of a high budget ballet company or a the marketing directors of the symphony or opera as well as small dance and theater company directors like me, from all over the nation, was a unique and enlightening experience. Our mission was to tackle the concrete issues of moving the performing arts field forward (advance our vision), to identify our weaknesses and strengths as a community, find strategies for strengthening arts education, arts advocacy and relevance to our culture at large, to take the idea of diversity a little bit further. The beauty was that we didn’t just talk, we came to agreements, got it all down on paper, handed it into a ‘theme team’ who synthesized all these words into concise language overnight so that we could take the ideas another step further the next day. On the last day of the conference, we, 1600 people, gathered in one huge room in the Colorado Convention Center and voted on our top priorities. Here’s what we came up with, summarized from the printed daily discussion guides.
Vision statement
We are a performing arts community, inclusive of all the disciplines, that coordinates and collaborates effectively at both national and local levels to multiply the public benefits of the performing arts and to enhance each art form. We create optimum value for our constituencies and their communities by ensuring:
• Highly innovative and sustainable institutions
• Fully supported artists
• Meaningful opportunities for education in the arts for all children and lifelong learners
• Robust artistic collaboration among disciplines
• Strong and effective advocacy for public policy conducive to the full spectrum of the performing arts
• Authentic and diverse public participation in the performing arts
• Deep and widely acknowledged contributions to the public good by being vitally connected to other individuals, groups, and organizations
• Relevance through our presence in the marketplace of culture and ideas.
We identified the community’s three most pressing issues and were asked to vote for the strategy we felt most important to take in order to advance our vision.
Issue #1. Our communities do not sufficiently perceive the value, benefits, and relevance of the arts, which makes advocacy and building public support for the arts a challenge at every level. Top three strategies:
On the national level:
#1. Organize a national media campaign with celebrity spokespersons, catchy slogans (e.g. “Got Milk”), unified message, and compelling stories.
#2. Create a Department of Culture/Cabinet-level position which is responsible for implementing a national arts policy
#3. Lobby elected political officials for pro-arts policy and funding; demand arts policy platform from candidates
On the local level – local being the regional, state and civic levels
#1. Create an arts coalition to get involved in local decision-making, take leadership positions, and strengthen relationships with elected officials.
#2. Forge partnerships with other sectors to identify how the arts can serve community needs
#3. Foster cross-disciplinary conversations to share data and best practices, develop common goals, and create joint activities/performances.
On the individual/organizational level:
#1. Build relationships with non-ars groups, including governments, corporations, community development organizations, etc.
#2. Create opportunities for active participation in the arts for all ages (including interactive websites, open rehearsals, etc.)
#3. Expand relationships across the community to find and develop new leaders (e.g. through Board development) and local champions for the arts
Issue #2. The potential of arts education and lifelong learning in the Arts is under realized. Top three strategies:
On the national level:
#1. Devise an advocacy campaign to promote the inclusion of performing arts in core curricula
#2. Lobby for education reform, including rescinding No Child Left Behind
#3. Enlist artists as full partners in all aspects of arts education through training and creating an AmeriCorps/WPA- program
On the local level:
#1. Mobilize and collaborate with K-12 and higher education institutions to strengthen arts education and arts participation as core curriculum
#2. Strengthen relationship with school boards and policy makers through lobbying, electing “arts friendly officials”, involvement in local politics
#3. Integrate arts teaching in educators’ professional development and integrate teaching programs in artist organizations
#4. Innovate financial models to fund the arts: link to tax base, develop dedicated sales tax, connect to corporate funds
On the individual/organizational level:
#1. Lead lifelong education programs that actively involve people in multigenerational groups. “Make the arts part of a lifelong wellness plan”
#2. Directly engage teachers to integrate the arts into their teaching and create professional development programs to address their needs
#3. Commit your entire organization to arts education in mission, budget, programs, and collaborations
Issue #3. The increasing diversity of our communities creates an opportunity to engage a variety of ages, races, identities, and cultures in our audiences and organization. Top three strategies:
On the national level:
#1. Charge national service organizations to create dialogue at convenings, create training programs, promote diverse art and artists, and partner with grassroots organizations who are already connected to diverse communities
#2. Diversify boards, management, and staff in all national arts organizations
On the local level:
#1. Open an honest dialogue across community groups and sectors to share priorities and identify barriers to participation
#2. Partner within the arts, as well as with community organizations, to build relationships
#3. Expand beyond traditional venues to establish new points of access
On the individual/organizational level:
#1. Discover arts in our community offered by cultures other than your own and establish peer relationships
#2. Set long term goals and plan to have staff, board, programming, and audiences reflect the demographics of your community
#3. Program more diverse artists and content
Risa Jaroslow: Body and Soul podcast
July 1, 2008 · Posted in dance bloggers · Comment
Program notes at http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Guest info at www.risajaroslow.org. (c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
