A while back I touched on a phenomenon occurring in hip hop, whereby rap was being thrown together with the dramatic arts. Out of that effort to produce a new genre, “Hip Hopera” was born. No doubt Kenzo Digital’s interpretation of a Hip Hopera was far more palatable than MTV’s cruddy cupcake of a film. However, leave it to the people who gave us Shakespeare to take dramatic hip hop to another level. The Arts Council of England in collaboration with Jonzi D Productions have commissioned a hip hop opera in a more traditional sense, simply replace the Italian sopranos with some of London’s young Grime/hip hop and dance talent and you’ll get the picture. This is an excellent first stab at hip hop drama in the true spirit of stagecraft. Check the trailer for Markus the Sadist.

Emcee’s and actors are one in the same, they feel alive on stage and that manifests itself in their performance. Big ups to Bashy for taking this role and really committing to it. For those of you unaware of Bashy’s previous contributions, peep some videos after the jump, educate yourself.

Bashy Videos

Photo Credit: Chis Van de Burght

Remember when… it was MAYBE FOREVER

By Rosie Trump

Meg Stuart & Philipp Gehmacher MAYBE FOREVER at REDCAT Sept. 25, 2009

MAYBE FOREVER  begins with two figures, barely visible in the dimmest of glows, low and leaning so close and not yet touching.  The opening duet  writhes, entwines, and recoils– unfolding either deep in the embryonic embrace of a womb or restlessly atop a lover’s lumpy mattress.  Co-choreographed by Stuart and Gehmacher with tender serenades by live accompanist Niko Hafkenscheidmy, MAYBE FOREVER is a haunting and pale poem of awkward confession and romantic loss.

The evening is thick with spurts, then hollows of  memory and gesture.  With an unusual soft floor, the stage is covered in grey velvet and arched in black curtains creating a crisp sonic envelope.  Episodes of movement sketch an unsettled still life layered with melancholy and anxiety.  Cutting to the quick, Stuart’s sentimental recitations ask “remember when…I sent you that postcard… when I said I wish you were here…” and then coldly reports “I take it back.”  A wrenching proclamation for a lover’s revenge.  The most satisfying dancing emerges as aggressive physical partnering, choreographically representing the raw assault and ache which resounds in the aftermath of intimacy.

By the end of the work, I felt fatigued- not purged.  The unrequited wins out and the desperation of loss is left stumbling around searching for his next step.   Leaving the theater, I was reminded of personal maybes and remember whens,  as my own ghosts tugged at my heart and escorted me to my car.

Dance Palace

UNStudio’s design has been selected in the competition for a 21,000 square meter c in the historic center of St. Petersburg, Russia. The new complex houses The Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg, headed by the prolific choreographer Boris Eifman. From the four projects presented (Jean Nouvel (FR), UNStudio (NL), Snøhetta (NO), ZAO (RU)), UNStudio’s design was yesterday unanimously chosen by the jury for realization.

The Dance Palace forms an integrated part of the European Embankment city quarter master plan for a new urban square in the historic center of St. Petersburg.

According to Ben van Berkel, “The urban context of the building is essential to the design. The Dance Palace is positioned on the square in such a way as to allow for unrestricted visibility towards the nearby Prince Vladimir and Peter and Paul cathedrals, thereby framing some of the most exceptional buildings in St. Petersburg. The sculptural qualities of the Dance Palace reflect those of the surrounding buildings in the master plan, providing a connection to its surroundings yet still retaining saliency. A central main entrance is incorporated into the façade design in order to fully integrate the building into this lively public square.”

UNStudio’s design for the Dance Palace presents an open and inviting theater building with provision for 1300 guests (large auditorium 1000, small auditorium 300). Programmatic considerations focus on the spacious circulation of the public foyer and the transparent relationship to the surrounding public square and the city. Integration with the existing neighboring buildings is achieved by both the scale of the building – which in elevation follows and respects St. Petersburg’s typical 28m roofline – and the transformative transparency which is introduced by a facade system of triangular cladding panels. The variation between opaque and perforated panels creates a controlled openness, depending on program, views and orientation.

Ben van Berkel says of the foyer design, “The vertical foyer provides a high level of transparency from inside to outside, whilst also presenting a kind of stage for visitors to the theater; a place to see and be seen. The open arrangement and balcony structure in the foyer provides plateaus for its own choreography of both intimacy and exposure.”

The stage

Essential to UNStudio’s design for the main auditorium in the new dance theater are both the acoustic considerations and the proximity of the audience to the stage. For this reason the horseshoe form was chosen. This form is considered to be one of the most successful forms acoustically in ballet and musical theatre for both performer and audience, whilst the proximity it affords to the stage ensures an intimate and collective experience for the spectator.

“An essential requirement when we were designing the auditorium was to make it possible to see the dancer’s feet from every seat in the hall at all times, no matter where the performer was positioned on the stage.” – Ben van Berkel

source

I’m loving all of the character-derivative, dance-theater pieces on Fox’s
“So You Think You Can Dance” this season.  What these pieces remind audiences is that, not only is dance an art, but also a form of entertainment. 

I think so many professional companies, whether ballet or modern, seem to forget that, at the heart of it, dance can be so fun and entertaining, even while conveying a message or feeling. 

I have seen so many lackluster modern dance performances lately:  overly conceptual pieces with no real structure, musicality, and completely devoid of technique and grace.  While I can appreciate what they may be trying to accomplish, I find myself completely underwhelmed and maybe even a little bored. 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  the kinds of things this television accomplishes for the dance industry is amazing– but if that kind of entertainment is going to be transferred to the stage (and to non-profit dance companies) these companies need to learn how to put the characters and entertainment value into their repertoire. 

Check out these killer, character-derivitave pieces to see what I’m talking about!

And, below is one of my favorite Wade Robson pieces of all time:  the movement quality and characters are so strong and real here…THIS is what dance companies can accomplish on stage, by working with character and story, as opposed to just concept or technique.

TimeoutNY has posted a review of our work-in-progress showing of last week. Read it here.

hello, i have no time to write anything new; luckily, i don’t have to.

as you know, i have been doing the artist in(n) residency gig at the new museum with the degenerate art ensemble. they have some great posts, pictures and videos up on their site so check it out: The DAE on Tumblr.

i’ll post my own shots, stories and whatever else ephemera over the next week.
it should be juicy and scandalous. especially if jeff gives me those bathtub shots he promised…

pol

hello, it’s been quite a while since i last posted. lately i’ve been working on the degenerate art ensemble’s ’sonic tales.’ this could be a tentative title or it could be the final. who knows…

last year, joshua and haruko, the main instigators/driving force of the dae, asked me if i’d like to collaborate on some song writing for the next album. i assented; working in a musical fashion with those two was something i’d been itching to do for years. unfortunately, my chops had never been proportionate to the task. luckily, all i was asked to do was contribute lyrics and some vocal lines. lyrics i can spit all day if given the impetus. melodies? much the same.

eventually the dae (which now includes composer jeff houston) asked if i’d consider coming on to their latest production as scripter, actor/dancer and to even perform some of those songs i’d helped to lyricise. i of course said yes and my life has been made much richer thereby.

sonic tales will debut in seattle in october over the 30th and 31st of october at the moore theater. in april we all fly out to manhattan where the new museum will be hosting us for a residency slash incubation. we’ll be doing some filming out there and probably play some public participation games (guerilla theater? does that still exist?); the new museum will be hosting a working production of whatever ideas we’ve generated and refined on the 16th and 17th of april. more details on that as they come.

that’s enough for now. if anyone has any ideas for promoting our work while in nyc please feel free to contact me at artofmulata ATsign gmailDOTcom. sorry for the dopey obfuscator. you can also go to the contact link at the top right of the page.

here are some far too dark photos of the dae recording some tracks at inphase productions here in seattle. i’m not in the pics as i was shooting them. make of them what you will.

pol is artofmulata

Degenerate Art Ensemble 2009 Recording Sonic Tales

The Judy Dworin Performance Project is moving into its 4th year of residency work at York Correctional Institution for women in Niantic, CT. There has been tremendous growth in the women we have worked with at York in self-confidence and self esteem; in their ability to work as a group; in their ability to express themselves and communicate with others; and in adding a creative dimension to their lives that is healing and growth producing. Through this work we have begun to outreach to some of the families of the incarcerated and we have seen what an important bridge the arts can provide between family members inside and outside the razor wire. Children have reconnected with their mothers, parents have seen their incarcerated children’s growth, and family members have expressed pride in their incarcerated relatives accomplishments.

Our 2008 residency focused on the women’s dreams and dream aspirations, and began with a special performance of JDPP’s most recent premiere, The Witching Hour, a performance piece that looks at 17th century Connecticut women who were accused and prosecuted as witches. The piece was extremely well-received by the women and gave the 34 women who became part of the Dreamings project a way to see how costumes, visual elements, text and music can be combined in a performance piece that speaks to history, gender and issues of social justice.

The six-month residency culminated in a performance piece that integrated text, poetry, dance and, for the first time, scenic elements. Dreamings became a piece that spoke to not only the incarcerated but to all people, about their dreams, dream aspirations and common humanity. The results demonstrated a sophistication that went far beyond previous years. The progress this year was a testament to the value of continuing year-to-year residencies. And the women’s participation in other arts residencies at the prison also builds a foundational knowledge that they can apply to other arts projects.

A crowning achievement is that we received permission to purchase t-shirts of different rainbow colors depicting each group, (the dancers, singers, and performers) with a common design created by one of the women printed on the front of each one. The women wore these as “costumes” for each performance and we were able to then mail the t-shirts to designated family members after the performance. The opportunity to wear these t-shirt was transformative for the women– as one inmate said, “Putting on the shirts we were like free for a while. It is something I will never forget,” And one more notable step was that a families performance was allowed to take place on the last performance day in the evening, in the gym. An audience of about 70 people attended the families performance. One inmate, a youthful offender, described, “My mom has never seen me do anything like this,” and she continued to say of the project, “It motivated me. I haven’t been in seg in one month or gotten a ticket. I couldn’t go a week before.”

The York performances were seen by over 200 inmates at York who received the performance with standing ovations, cheers and energized talkbacks. As one inmate exclaimed in the talkback after the performance, “This is what it really means to be free on the inside. You guys are awesome and right now I feel free on the inside.”

We will be taking the Dreamings project out to the public on April 2, 3, 4, 2009 at Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford, CT. Joining the Judy Dworin Performance Ensemble and Women of the Cross in this further development of the piece will be formerly incarcerated women and daughters of incarcerated women at York.

Our fourth Moving Matters! residency for women at York CI entitled “What I Want to Say” will begin this coming spring. In this project we plan to continue to build on the artistic and deep personal growth of the York women and further a positive dialogue with the participating women and family members. We plan to create a piece using text, movement, song and visual images to portray stories, thoughts and reflections of the women to an especially important person in their lives. The question that we are presenting to them is, “If you had only one story to tell that person, what would you want to say?”

Concurrently, we will be working with 20 York mothers and their Hartford-based children in a project in collaboration with Families in Crisis and Central Connecticut State University on the same theme. If possible, we hope to have some collaborative sharing between the two groups. We will work with the York mothers and their children, on a way to express a message to their mother or child through dance, song, poetry or the other art forms. Through a series of exercises and explorations in movement, writing, song and drawing, we will help to shape these communications in the classes for a culminating day of sharing at the prison. On the final day, in the morning the children and the mothers will share their pieces with each other. We will then work the separate pieces into a collaborative performance piece that will be shared as a culminating performance for an invited audience of inmates, staff and outside guests.

JDPP inc. throughout its almost twenty years, has created residency programs that time and again demonstrate how the arts can be a powerful agent of change, growth and healing. Our work at York has been one of the most striking examples of the transformative possibilities of the arts.

Contact Information:
Judy Dworin Performance Project
233Pearl St
Hartford, CT 06103
Phone 860-527-9800
Fax 860-527-9813
JDPPinc@gmail.com
judydworwin.org

We’re upgrading, and need your support. All donations are tax-deductible and can be made through paypal or by check. Any questions, get in touch!

StimulateDance (at) gmail.com

Dancers in Pina Bausch’s Bamboo Blues, photo by Ulli Weiss

Pina Bausch, the director and choreographer of Germany’s Tanztheater Wuppertal, has been fascinated by India for years, and conducted formal research there in 2006 with her company. Bamboo Blues, currently being presented at Brooklyn Academy of Music, is the result of her research. Although the 140-minute piece portrays fragments from Indian culture and daily life, it is not specifically about India, but rather continues Bausch’s exploration of the human experience. Sensual movement and images, combined with vignettes that depict a range of emotions, form a rich and visually stunning work for the fifteen men and women.

White curtains billow at the back of the stage throughout the piece, creating a gentle yet vibrant set. The dancers emerge unexpectedly to reveal a variety of scenes that are humorous, somber, violent, playful, or thoughtful. Several women, wearing long dresses of different colors, carefully fold white sheets; a man bathes with a bucket of soapy water while two other men are surrounded by smoke or steam (it’s hard to tell), which could be a steam bath or a smoky village; a man and woman rock gently on a bamboo bed while another woman sleeps on top of a man, covering him with her satin pink dress; a man in a tacky yellow dress states that the color yellow is bright and “a curry color”; a group of men are approached by a woman wearing an elephant’s head, but they carry on without noticing. Many of these scenes seem to reflect the changing pace of life in India – calm can shift to chaos in an instant, and vice versa. A woman wearing a blindfold is tossed about by several men, violently at times, even though she seems to be smiling and laughing. In the next moment, a man walks peacefully and calmly across the stage, balancing several branches on his head and arms. Bausch excels at portraying both the self-aware, meditative individual and the social, interactive person.

Shantala Shivalingappa in Bamboo Blues, photo by Ulli Weiss

Bamboo Blues includes classical and contemporary Indian music, and projections ranging from Bollywood images to a tropical forest to a traditional Indian dance. With the exception of a few Indian-inspired arm gestures (delicately articulated by Shantala Shivalingappa in a solo), the movement mainly reflects Bausch’s vocabulary. The dancers use their torsos, arms, and necks to thrash about – with the women often whipping their heads, creating a mesmerizing effect with their long hair – much more than their lower bodies. It is easier to distinguish the women from one another than the men, who often seem interchangeable or only present to assist or hinder the women. In fact, the piece depicts male aggression, which Bausch has addressed in other works as well. In one of the more chilling scenes, a woman removes her dress straps and a man violently smudges red paint across her chest as if slicing her neck. Interestingly, she allows him to continue doing this until another man scoops her up and carries her off stage.

The projections, costumes, and even the women’s flowing hair are integral to the work. It would not have the same dreamy, fluid quality without them. In the second half, the white curtains are projected onto the floor, creating an even lusher environment. A tropical forest is layered on top of this while a man moves another curtain back and forth across the stage. The effect is beautiful, allowing the audience to catch glimpses of a woman who appears to be dancing in the midst of the forest and curtains. Bamboo Blues is not a linear, plot-driven work. Rather, it offers myriad episodes – covering a broad array of emotions – that are the result of Bausch’s research in India. These, along with the images and imaginative set, create a striking and memorable addition to Bausch’s repertoire.

Bamboo Blues will be performed this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM. Order tickets online or call 718-636-4100.

Beginning December 11th, BAM presents the US premiere of Bamboo Blues, a recent work by German choreographer Pina Bausch for her company, Tanztheater Wuppertal. The piece is a tribute to India – a country that has fascinated Bausch for years. She and Tanztheater Wuppertal have not only performed there, but also conducted formal research in November 2006, which served as the creative foundation of Bamboo Blues. The score includes contemporary Indian music along with music from 4Hero, Alice Coltrane, and Michael Gordon, among others.

I first saw Tanztheater Wuppertal in 2004, when they performed Bausch’s For the Children of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow at BAM. The piece was captivating and touching as it explored childhood memories while examining issues such as the loss of innocence, the need for love, and the process of aging. In a NY Times review of For the Children, Anna Kisselgoff wrote, “Ms. Bausch is not a style: each of her works is a different chapter in her continuing story of the human experience.” I’m looking forward to discovering what Bamboo Blues contributes to Bausch’s book of human stories.

Bamboo Blues
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch
December 11-13, 16, 17, 19 & 20 at 7:30 PM, Dec 14 at 3 PM
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Order tickets online or call 718-636-4100.

Live performance of FREEFALL’s lie, lay, laid at walkerspace in New York City. Featuring Lynn Brown, Lynn Marie Ruse, Uta Takamura, Carlton Ward, and the music of Ljova Zerban.  Co-starring 16 mattresses, a bushel of apples, and a bird’s eye view for the elevated audience.

The Society, photo by Knut Bry, March 2008

In Jo Strømgren’s The Society, presented by PS 122 this week at the intimate Abrons Arts Center, three Frenchman don’t just drink coffee. They worship it. Their ritualistic routine – cleaning cups and saucers, grinding beans, inhaling the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, savoring each sip, and comparing different roasts – is undoubtedly fueled by caffeine-induced jitteriness, but it also parodies French mannerisms and European coffee culture. The worshipping comes to a dramatic halt when the three comrades discover a used teabag in a table drawer. Accusations fly and ridiculous torture ensues in the form of electrocution and burning from a heat lamp – all to discover who the traitor is. Things take a turn for the worse when the men notice red chopsticks “mingling” with their cups and saucers, followed by a host of symbols that suggest a Chinese cultural infiltration. This is no longer a battle between coffee beans and tea leaves. The Society is Strømgren’s examination of extreme ethnocentrism, brilliantly conveyed by utilizing every thinkable Asian and European stereotype. Nonsensical language plays a critical role here, emphasizing inflection and linguistic stereotypes of different regions. With such effective gibberish, The Society can be performed anywhere because it simply avoids the issue of language barriers. The program even states, “For all audiences: the performers do not even know themselves what is being said on stage. So please do not panic” (I don’t think anyone did).

The Society, photo by Knut Bry, March 2008

Dance interludes that are scattered throughout the piece serve mainly as humorous portrayals of the men’s more refined European selves. As one of the performers explains, “Dancing is the European way of showing feelings”. Suits, ties, and shoes limit their movement in the first few dances, but the men shed their clothing as the Chinese infiltration intensifies, allowing them to more freely and easily express anxiety and fear. The performers stay in character as they dance – moving rather clumsily or frantically – without appearing to be skilled or technically strong, although I think they are. The dancing could have been more thoroughly integrated into the theatrics, and it would have been interesting to see dance convey the deeper theme of culture clash rather than serving as comic relief. Nevertheless, Strømgren’s inventive combination of physical theatre and nonsensical language, for which he is known, is remarkably successful.

The Society is absurd, clever, humorous, and tragic. A world in which coffee and tea drinkers cannot peacefully coexist is scary, but even scarier are the implications this has for the world at large. If beverage conflicts lead to torture, what else will?

Performances continue tonight at 8:30 PM and Sunday at 6:30 PM. Ticket discounts are available by using code FF15 for $15 single tickets, or code FF241 for $10 tickets when you buy two or more online. Or mention your code by phone at 212-352-3101.

The Society, photo by Knut Bry, March 2008

Jo Strømgren Kompani in The Society, photo by Knut Bry

Starting tomorrow, PS 122 presents Jo Strømgren Kompani (JSK) in The Society, a full-length work about a society of sworn coffee drinkers who discover and question the significance of a used teabag. Last June I saw Strømgren’s thrilling Sunday, Again, created for and performed by Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, but this is JSK’s first appearance in New York City. The Norway-based company produces contemporary dance and theater, and Strømgren is known for his candid, in-your-face approach to performance. His note to all audiences: Don’t panic, the performers do not even know what is being said on stage.

Tickets are $25, but thanks to Norway.org, you can receive a discount by entering one of the following codes. Use code FF15 for $15 single tickets, or code FF241 for $10 tickets when you buy two or more. Click here and follow the link to purchase online, or mention your code by phone at 212-352-3101.

Jo Strømgren Kompani’s The Society

October 15-19, Wednesday-Saturday 8:30 PM, Sunday 6:30 PM

Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, between Willett and Pitt Streets

At the Saddleback forum with Rick Warren, Obama said this in response to the question, “What is the greatest moral failure of America?”:

I think America’s greatest moral failure in my lifetime has been that we … still don’t abide by that … basic precept in Matthew that: ‘whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.’ And that notion of — that basic principle applies to poverty. It applies to racism and sexism. It applies to, you know, not … thinking about providing ladders of opportunity for people to get into the middle class.

I mean, there’s a pervasive sense, I think, that this country, as wealthy and powerful as we are, still don’t spend enough time thinking about the least of these.

Instapundit noted that Obama could start by helping his own brother, living in squalor in a hut in Africa. Ed Morrissey pointed out that the US blows other countries out of the water when it comes to charitable giving.

[T]he US sent a massive Navy presence to the islands devastated by the tsunamis to ensure the proper distribution of relief, at no small cost to our nation and military during a period when we were fighting two wars.  Even apart from that, Americans raised over $2 billion privately  for tsunami relief, more than doubling the $900 million spent by the US government.

In fact, no country even came close to our efforts in tsunami relief.  Germany and Australia gave $1.3 billion, the UK almost $800 million, Canada $780 million, Japan $500 million, and France gave $300 million.

The American noted the difference between Americans and the rest of the world as givers:

No developed country approaches American giving. For example, in 1995 (the most recent year for which data are available), Americans gave, per capita, three and a half times as much to causes and charities as the French, seven times as much as the Germans, and 14 times as much as the Italians. Similarly, in 1998, Americans were 15 percent more likely to volunteer their time than the Dutch, 21 percent more likely than the Swiss, and 32 percent more likely than the Germans. These differences are not attributable to demographic characteristics such as education, income, age, sex, or marital status. On the contrary, if we look at two people who are identical in all these ways except that one is European and the other American, the probability is still far lower that the European will volunteer than the American.

In Spain, the government studied this question and found that the US more than doubled any Western nation in per-capita donations (in Euros):

COUNTRY…………….PER CAP. GIVING

Spain……………………..122
Belgium……………………120
U.K……………………….117
Netherlands………………..110
Ireland……………………100
France……………………..74
Finland…………………….70
Austria…………………….50
Germany…………………….39
Hungary…………………….32
Slovakia……………………25
Czech Republic………………25
Romania……………………..5

U.S……………………….278

So, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Obama believes America is a stingy country, full of uncaring, selfish Americans.

It would thus stand to reason that Obama, so full of liberal compassion, convicted by the biblical passage he himself cites, and a heart heavy with the burden of compensating for his greedy countrymen, would be relatively generous with his personal income.

Oops. Such is not the case.

The New York Times reported on the Obamas’ tax returns earlier this year. With the clever title, “Obamas’ Tax Returns Show Donation Spike,” it reports that the Obamas gave less to charity than the average American household between the years of 2000 and 2004.

It wasn’t until Obama was elected to the Senate and started running for President that he actually started to donate.

Obama's charitable giving according to tax returns

The Chicago Tribune reported that, despite the fact that their income in 2002 put them in the top 2% of American households, the Obamas gave just under a fifth of the percentage of income given by the average American family. And this was not just one off year; it was a trend.

Faulting America for being uncaring and selfish while you yourself give less than the average? That’s audacity!

But wait–it gets worst.

As Rush notes:

When the couple did finally cough up $60,307 to charity in 2006, $22,500 went to Reverend Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ, $13,107 went to the Congressional Black Caucus, and $5,000 went to the Muntu Dance Theater, “a south-side Chicago troupe that performs contemporary and ancient African dances.”

So a full third of his 2006 charitable giving went toward financing anti-American, racist rants full of expletives. Lovely.

Obama may want to alleviate world poverty and help “the least of these,” but he wants to do it with other peoples’ money.

Not only does that make him one of the worst kinds of human being, but it also means he is the most dangerous type of politician.

And in case you were wondering, Biden’s giving is less than stellar, too.

This weekend was the beginning of planning for Dawn and Bob’s Wedding extravaganza! We went down to the keys to get started. Actually I went along for the ride to get a nice break and to throw my two cents in (even though it probably wasn’t necessary). Regardless they got alot accomplished and Jonas got to visit with his gramps and Aunt and Uncle! We also went to see Kyla’s (my sister-in-law) show. She has a dance company and Saturday night was the last performance of her first show!!! It was so great and so fun to get to see her perform!! Anyway it was a good weekend and I was going to try and take a bunch of pictures for visual aids of our weekend, I ended of just taking a bunch of Jonas pics…oops! That said, here’s my favorite one: