InfiniteBody

She'll take Manhattan...

2008-07-07T09:00:00.004-04:00

Nejla Yatkin's Solo with New York City-Times Square

Amanda Ameer blogs on arts marketing and publicity

2008-07-07T06:38:00.004-04:00

New blog alert!

Life's a Pitch
For immediate release: the arts are marketable
by Amanda Ameer, Life's a Pitch, ArtJournal.com

Why don't we apply the successful marketing and publicity campaigns we see in our everyday lives to the performing arts? Great ideas are right there, ripe for the emulating. And who's responsible for the wide-reaching problems in ticket sales and audience development? Boring artists? Greedy managers? Overstretched marketing departments? We're beyond debating who owns the problem. Let's fix this thing.

Crowd curation?

2008-07-06T07:48:00.004-04:00

‘Click! A Crowd-Curated Exhibition’ - Brooklyn Faces Are Chosen by Collective
by Ken Johnson, The New York Times, July 4, 2008

What I like about Apollinaire

2008-07-06T07:31:00.005-04:00

Dance critic Apollinaire Scherr takes a good look at Neil Greenberg's Really Queer Dance with Harps

What I like about him
by Apollinaire Scherr, foot in mouth (ArtsJournal), July 5, 2008

Ailey dancer's return to Berlin

2008-07-05T05:16:00.005-04:00

An Alvin Ailey II Dancer Goes Back to Her Roots in Berlin for Amerikafest

by Nicholas Kulish, The New York Times, July 5, 2008

Annie Get Your Bat

2008-07-04T10:19:00.014-04:00

Annie Lanzillotto's The Flat Earth: WheredaFFFhuck Did New York Go?--part of Dixon Place's 2008 Hot! Festival--is one woman's backlash against the forces of real estate development that are rendering our city unrecognizable to anyone with more than a minute's worth of memory in their heads.

Lanzillotto packs a lot into this roaring (and roaringly funny) 90-minute extravaganza in a vest-pocket performance space. Her monologue (with a quiet assist from Audrey Kindred and Caitlin Michener, who dance a bit, too) is a thing of wonder--stuffed with color and volume ("I'm not yelling! It's just my accent!"), geological and historical factoids, urban folklore and personal stories of loss and survival, all delivered with a killer combination of Italian-American and butch dyke charm. This is powerful, skillful, poetic performance, born of "the edges of the city where my journeys began" and filled with "buttons and epithets" (a delightful mis-speaking--for "epaulets"--if not deliberate). Lanzillotto will remind you that "neighborhood" means "where the butcher comes to your funeral" and help you get in touch with your Inner Glitter. In her smackdown between Pachelbel and Joan Jett, guess who wins?

Get onboard Annie's houseboat. You've got just two more chances--tonight and tomorrow--and Dixon Place isn't exactly roomy. So, hurry!

Dixon Place
Annie Lanzillotto

Hooray for Bollywood!

2008-07-03T13:05:00.005-04:00

New York Open Center - Bollywood Dancing

Bollywood Dancing
a course at The New York Open Center
with Pooja Narang

Bollywood Dancing, one of the hottest current dance styles around the world, is the basis of nearly every Indian film. It fuses traditional Indian with jazz and modern dance forms, and now integrates the high-energy beats of Bhangra, hip-hop and other world music. It will keep you moving and make you want to dance non-stop. Pooja Narang is renowned as a Pied Piper of Indian Dance and, in this class, she will teach us the timing, rhythm, energy and expressive movements of Bollywood Dance, so that we move every part of our body and have a full workout and great fun. If you are looking to escape into the dream world of Bollywood and learn the dances of India’s top film stars, this is the class for you.

Note: Each class will include a warm-up and cool-down. Wear loose, comfortable clothing and non-slip footwear (such as lightweight athletic shoes); wear two layers so that one can be removed if you get too hot; tie long hair back; don’t eat at least 45 minutes before class; and bring water.

A WEEKLY COURSE
(6 sessions) Thursdays
July 10–August 14, 6–7:30pm
08SAD06T
Members: $100 / Nonmembers: $110

Pooja Narang, a gifted dancer, choreographer, singer and actress, studied classical Indian dance forms as well as Bhangra in India, and jazz and hip-hop in London. She founded the Bollywood Axion Dance Company in NYC and successfully trains many actresses for dance roles in Bollywood films.

Human Geography and the Practice of Presence

2008-07-03T10:56:00.007-04:00

iLAND- interdisciplinary Laboratory for Art Nature and Dance invites you to public engagements for the iLAB 2008 Artist in Residence Program.

Human Geography and the Practice of Presence

Collaborators:

Karl Cronin, Choreographer, NYC
Sasha Cuerda, Geographer, Chicago
with Dancer Maggie Bennett

Dates, Times, Location:

6-8 pm Thursday, July 10, 2008: The Choreography of Agency

An evening of movement and experiences and experiments — through a series of guided practices led by the collaborators, participants will have the opportunity to explore different ways of relating to space using their kinetic experience as a starting point.

and

6-8pm Thursday, July 31, 2008: Summer highlights and discoveries

An evening presentation which explores research highlights as well as the struggles and possibilities inherent in art-science collaboration.

Located at Pier 44 in Red Hook, Brooklyn

Events are FREE and open to the general public and will happen rain or shine. Light refreshments will be served.

Directions and Transportation:

Meet in front of The Waterfront Museum at at 290 Conover St. at Pier 44.

The museum is at the end of Van Brunt St. Turn right on Reed St., go one block and turn left on Conover. Go through the entrance gate to the right to Pier 44. For more specific directions call 212 375-8283 or click here.

**Wednesday evenings 6-8pm, an open practice session will be held with the collaborators that is open to the public.

For more information call Karl at 617 759- 8466.

The collaborators will conduct movement research based on two leading theories from the field of Human Geography: Action Network Theory (ANT) and Non-Representational Theory. These two theories have been widely debated within the field of geography, and in their own ways postulate a manner of being in space that involves interacting directly with one’s environment—moving beyond layers of semiotics and abstracted representations.

During the iLAB residency, the collaborators will create movement practices that begin to address some of the fundamental elements of these two theories, and will offer opportunities for participants to engage in the movement practices firsthand. Scores will be developed and tested and presented on-site at Brooklyn Bridge Park as well, as two locations yet to be determined in the Brooklyn littoral zone.

iLAB is a collaborative residency program between movement based artists and scientists, environmentalists, urban designers/landscape architects, architects and others that integrate creative practice within different fields/disciplines. The goals of iLAB are 1) to invigorate and re-imagine relationships between the public and the urban environment through kinetic experience, 2) to engage artists and practitioners across the disciplines of dance, art, and the ecology of physical interrelationships such that we create and investigate innovative approaches to science, infrastructure, urbanisms, and architecture within a performative context, and 3) to support the development of process in engagement over product such that process is itself a product for artistic and public action.

iLAND is a not for profit organization conceived and formed by choreographer Jennifer Monson in 2004. The organization’s mission is to investigate the power of dance, in collaboration with other fields, to illuminate our kinetic understanding of the world. iLAND, a dance research organization with a fundamental commitment to environmental sustainability as it relates to art and the urban context, cultivates cross-disciplinary research among artists, environmentalists, scientists, urban designers and other fields.

iLAB 2008 is supported in part by the Jerome Foundation and Brooklyn Arts Council.

info@ilandart.org
212-375-8283

Tobias on "Umwelt"

2008-07-03T09:32:00.003-04:00

Voice of Dance - Partial View: Compagnie Maguy Marin
by Tobi Tobias, Voice of Dance, June 24, 2008

I love this video!

2008-07-03T09:22:00.002-04:00

YouTube - Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

New blog from Jill Sigman

2008-07-02T18:12:00.003-04:00

Tune into the alchemical, shamanistic properties of egg shells and Cheese Doodles at Jill Sigman's new blog, Dispatches from jill sigman/thinkdance. It's bound to be colorful and thought/dance-provoking!

Brooklyn arts space to get boost

2008-07-02T06:54:00.002-04:00

Arts, Briefly - Brooklyn Arts Groups Get Some Elbow Room
by Steven McElroy, The New York Times, July 2, 2008

Risa Jaroslow: Body and Soul podcast

2008-07-01T10:06:00.002-04:00

Program notes at http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Guest info at www.risajaroslow.org. (c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

MP3 File

Show notes: Risa Jaroslow: Body and Soul podcast

2008-07-01T09:44:00.006-04:00

What do we expect of government in these fraught, transitional times? Choreographer Risa Jaroslow wants to know and has turned the power of asking questions into a new dance involving everyday New Yorkers in the live creation of its soundscape. See the following blog entry, and click on the audioplayer or mp3 link to listen to my Body and Soul podcast interview with Jaroslow.

Risa Jaroslow and Dancers present 311 at New York City's Municipal Building (1 Centre Street) on July 7, 8, 10, 11, 14 and 15 at Noon and 1:30pm. These free site-specific and interactive events are commissioned by and presented as part of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Sitelines '08 series, produced in association with the River to River Festival.

For guest bio, event details, and additional information about Risa Jaroslow and Dancers, click here .

(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

Unleash Your Creativity

2008-07-01T08:47:00.006-04:00

How to Unleash Your Creativity
Experts discuss tips and tricks to let loose your inner ingenuity
by Mariette DiChristina, Scientific American, May 2008

John Houtz is a psychologist and professor at Fordham University. His most recent book is The Educational Psychology of Creativity (Hamptom Press, 2002).

Julia Cameron is an award-winning poet, playwright and filmmaker. Her book The Artist's Way (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2002) has sold more than three million copies worldwide. Her latest book is The Writing Diet.

Robert Epstein is a visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego. Contributing editors for Scientific American Mind and former editor in chief of Psychology Today, Epstein has written several books on creativity, including The Big Book of Creativity Games (McGraw-Hill, 2000).

2008 NYFA Choreography Fellows

2008-06-30T18:41:00.007-04:00

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), New York’s leading provider of unrestricted funding to individual artists, has awarded 136 Fellowships to 144 New York artists representing eight artistic disciplines that cover the visual, performing and literary arts. Reflected in the total are eight artistic collaborations. A NYFA Fellowship comes with an unrestricted grant in the amount of $7000.

This year’s 144 NYFA Fellows–who were chosen among over 4,500 applicants–includes
architects, choreographers, composers, fiction writers, painters, photographers, playwrights, screenwriters and video artists. The Fellows were selected by peer panels, which were assembled according to each artistic discipline.

Choreographers:

Luciana Achugar
Roxane Butterfly
Shemy Deganit
Miguel Gutierrez
Saar Harari and Lee Sher
Michel Kouakou
Nicholas Leichter
Jennifer Monson
Erick Montes – Gregory Millard Fellow
Max Pollak
Sally Silvers
Donna Uchizono

For additional information about NYFA, its fellowship program and a complete ist of 2008 NYFA Fellows, click here.

Vogueing in the West Village

2008-06-29T07:16:00.003-04:00

The Voice - When Life's a Mini-Ball
as told to Jennifer Bleyer, The New York Times, June 29, 2008

What I've been seeing lately...

2008-06-28T09:58:00.018-04:00

Whew! Busy month! And now it's Pride Weekend! So, some quick notes:

nicholas leichter dance concludes its Spanish Wells premiere season at Dance Theater Workshop tomorrow night, and I'm just realizing just how much the smart and energetic Leichter has manage to throw into that very choppy ocean of his. I'm also starting to hear some buzz about Leichter's newest dancer, Mathew Heggem. One to watch.

Tom Pearson and Zach Morris (of Third Rail Projects) conclude their Vanishing Point premiere season at Danspace Project (www.danspaceproject.org) tonight. Everything about this one is big with heart--performances (of which Morris, Donna Ahmadi and Tara O'Con are the standouts), visual design, and music. This is a lovely one. See it, see it, see it!

The uncommonly handsome and indecently-talented Foofwa D'Imobilité concludes his Benjamin de Bouillis season at Baryshnikov Arts Center, a co-presentation with Chez Bushwick, tonight. Of course, he is a master of movement, and his overarching concept of embodiment/disembodiment gets played out in a myriad of clever, fascinating ways. But what I really hope you'll get to see (weather permitting) is the fantastic composition of sky, water towers, pigeons and window frame designed by New York City and God. I missed my camera, desperately, desperately!

And last, there'sThierry Malandain's Ballet Biarritz, concluding a season at the Joyce Theater tonight. I'm not on board for this one, but you'll enjoy the fine dancers.

That's it for now! Happy Pride Weekend!

DTW membership has its privileges

2008-06-26T15:24:00.006-04:00

Dance Theater Workshop announces the expansion of its Web site with the launch of a Members Only site with greater functionality and interactive tools that offer self-producing artists an opportunity to tap into Dance Theater Workshop’s growing online network.

One of the new online features--the Member Profile Pages--allows members to upload personalized pages onto Dance Theater Workshop’s highly visible, savvy web site. To get a view of these pages, peruse the directory of member profiles now up at this link.

In addition to the Profile Pages, the Artist Services program has also updated the MOSAIC newsletter with an expanded reach on the blog and increased functionality that includes larger images and video content.

An online Bulletin Board has been launched for members to post events, classes, audition notices and more.

In the age of social networking, Dance Theater Workshop is proud to provide current online platforms that connect artists with each other and with a dance community regularly tuning into the Dance Theater Workshop site.

The first of its kind, Dance Theater Workshop Artist Services has been supporting, connecting, and empowering contemporary dance performance and the dance community for over 35 years. These resources create opportunities for artists to advance their specific goals and contribute to the overall vitality of contemporary dance and performance culture.
Membership deepens over 650 artists’ and arts organizations’ connection to the Dance Theater Workshop community, putting them in touch with a network of cultural innovators and leaders in the field.

For more information about Artist Services, visit this link.

Ballet Hispanico's Tina Ramirez steps down

2008-06-26T15:16:00.004-04:00

Arts, Briefly
At Ballet Hispanico
by Patricia Cohen, The New York Times, June 24, 2008

New blog on the business of dance

2008-06-26T15:05:00.005-04:00

Costume designer Kermit Love, 91

2008-06-26T06:43:00.003-04:00

Kermit Love, Costume Creator, Dies at 91
by Dennis Hevesi, The New York Times, June 24, 2008

Larry Keigwin: Body and Soul podcast

2008-06-24T18:28:00.002-04:00

For program notes, see http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Guest info at www.keigwinandcompany.com. (c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

MP3 File

Body and Soul podcast notes: Larry Keigwin

2008-06-24T18:09:00.009-04:00

Hi, there, fans of Body and Soul podcast!

I've been told that iTunes balks at lengthy show descriptions and just eliminates them. So, from now on, I'll simply post show notes for each episode in a separate message preceding the message that bears the Hipcast-generated audio player. If you subscribe to Body and Soul through iTunes, remember that you can always find basic show notes here and links to further information about my guests and their events.

Today, I was delighted to finally catch up with the exciting--and hugely busy--dancer-choreographer Larry Keigwin of Keigwin + Company who will present his next New York City season at the Joyce Theater (July 28-August 1). You can find out more about this season and view Larry's bio and other details by clicking here and here. I hope you'll enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Thanks, once again, for supporting Body and Soul podcast as well as InfiniteBody. Remember to pass this information along to your friends and colleagues, and contribute a review on iTunes.

Couldn't agree more

2008-06-22T09:30:00.006-04:00

Need to Branch Out
Letter to the Editor from Rochelle Zide-Booth
The New York Times, June 22, 2008