Inside Look at LAVA Loving & Daring at Dixon Place!

Sarah Johnson, the Artistic Director of LAVA talks about putting together the past, present and future to make LAVA Loving & Daring which will be premiering at Dixon Place on June 3rd, 2010:

On January 3rd 2010 we began rehearsing LAVA Loving & Daring at our Brooklyn studio.  On June 3rd 2010 we will begin performing LAVA Loving & Daring at Dixon Place.  LAVA is celebrating 10 years by creating a show that has highlighted, remixed, and revived some of our and our audiences' favorite material from the past decade.  It has  been really interesting to look at all of our past work and to try to assess what has withstood the test of time. 

We are including many of our most acrobatic and virtuosic pieces:  double trapeze, human pyramids, hoop diving and team tumbling.  All are done by a cast of women who are amazingly strong and synchronized, some new to the company, some veterans with 10 years under their belts.  Also a good dose of geology and earth sciences with duets inspired by volcanoes and plate tectonics, a semi-accurate geology lecture that involves audience participation, swing dancing that combines with wrestling to point to the complexity and humor of socially-dictated gender roles, and a section from Tides inspired by the sounds and rhythms of ocean waves.  We will be showing some of our site-specific video collaborations with Nancy Brooks Brody from residencies that we did in California, Hawaii, and New York. And a parade of props that refer to the heroics and inanities of scientific knowledge.  

I am hoping that audiences will get to see the unusual combination of aesthetics, politics, and physicality that is unique to LAVA:  our feminist resistance embodied in female strength and intimate relationships, our connection to the natural world, our movement vocabulary that spans from the virtuosity of acrobatics to the simplicity of pedestrian movements that anyone could do, and our commitment to a humanity and accessibility in our connections with each other, our community members, and our audiences.  


Get a preview of the show here.

X-YU Festival is up an running!

X-YU Festival, a one-of-a-kind partnership between three arts organizations in the downtown area (Dixon Place, WaxFactory and Dance New Amsterdam) kicked off last night with a punk-energy-driven WAYS OF LOVE by Maja Delak and Luka Princic from Slovenia and SAD SAM / ALMOST 6 /, an affecting solo by the Croatian choregrapher and dancer Matija Ferlin. We've had fantastic responses from our audiences, and many interesting conversations were simultaneously bubbling at Dixon Place's cozy lounge in between the two shows, partly fueled by the delicious Festival special...a refreshing cocktail called the Dirty Socialist (no, we won't give you the ingredients...you are just going to have to come down to try it!)

The work of all three participating companies is now on view for the first time in the United States -- including tonight's American premiere of Dalija Acin's installation/performance HANDLE WITH GREAT CARE, and you can see at least two shows on any given weeknight: and, on Saturday May 29, our closing day, you can be that hardcore contemporary performance fan, and see all three works in a row, beginning at 5pm!

Also, if you are interested in meeting the artists, asking questions, and hearing more about their work, join us as they converse with several protagonists of New York dance scene: tonight, there will be a post performance discussion on HANDLE WITH GREAT CARE with Jill Sigman, following the 9pm performance; on Saturday, WAYS OF LOVE at 5pm will be followed by a post-performance conversation lead by Ann Liv Young, and SAD SAM / ALMOST 6 / at 7pm will be followed by a post-performance conversation lead by the founders of the Moving Theater.

For a complete line-up, visit: http://www.dixonplace.org/html/XYU.html

La MaMa Moves! Festival & Benefit

La MaMa is bringing back their dance festival this summer along with a benefit honoring Sara Rudner and Laurie Uprichard.  Both of these women have made wonderful contributions to the dance world: Sara with her undeniable grace and beauty in movement and Laurie for her international support and outreach to other dance communities.
The line up for the benefit is impressive: Rocky Bornstein - Robert Een - Doug Elkins - John Kelly - Jon Kinzel - Jodi Melnick - Rashaun Mitchell - Quarry Film by Meredith Monk - David Neumann - Bill Ruyle - John Scott  and Vicky Shick.  Sara Rudner herself will also be performing with her collaborators--definitely not something you would want to miss.
You can buy tickets here, and do so if you can!  It'll be a lot of fun and is for a great cause:  La MaMa E.T.C. is an institution for performance that has been giving opportunities to many artists for almost 50 years. 
 The festival itself is also hosting scores of talents from all different areas of dance.  Each day has a theme to it, including Mavericks in Motion, Dancing Divas and a showcase of NYU alums.  The festival runs from June 3rd-20th and definitely has something in store for everyone.

This Blog is Pretty Cool.

So, we just found this blog that is is doing something pretty interesting.  This actor, Anna, has given herself the challenge of seeing one play every week for one whole year.  This is a good goal to have to begin with.  Many of us here at FAB are also involved in the performing arts and between rehearsals, techs and our own shows it can be difficult to get out and see the other work that is happening.  So, kudow Anna!

Secondly, Anna has chosen to share this challenge with the world by writing about every show that she sees, giving the rest of us insight into shows that we maybe would have missed out on in the first place.  This past week, Anna went to see the much discussed Gin & "It" at Performance Space 122.  Everything that I have heard about this show sounds wonderful, creative and bizarre.

Gin & "It", by Reid Farrington, takes its inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock's film, Rope.  This film used certain camera choreography to make the entire film appear to be one long take.  This is a feat within itself, and for Farrington to create this on stage is ambitious to be sure.

You can read more about the show on Anna's Blog:  A Year of Plays and I would say that you should keep going back to it since her view seems to be smart and in tune with the shows that she's seeing.  Also, be sure to get your tickets to Performance Space 122's Gin & "It" since the last performance is Sunday, May 9th!