Welcome-Bienvenidos-Wilkommen-Bienvenue to my blog! I've had a dance blog for a year or two on the Movmnt magazine network but am expanding my topics of discussion and wanted a blog people could read without having to register on the site. This was my most recent post and I was eager to share it with anyone who wanted to read it! I interned at the American Dance Festival last summer in production and loved it so much I'm going back. :)
Last week the list of dance companies performing at the ADF this summer was announced and I am jumping up and down with excitement over many of them! To share my excitement with you, I'll list the companies and some accompanying video clips of pieces they will be performing!
Week 1: Rosas. Rosas danst Rosas (1983)
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's company from Belgium, Rosas, is bringing a piece I saw a video excerpt of just a month or so ago for the first time. Fell in love with the gesture work, repetition, and individuality mixing with uniformity. Mesmerizing. Keersmaeker is also the 2011 recipient of the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award. (Martha Clarke was last year's recipient).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQCTbCcSxis (8-minute excerpt)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyKF_y7Ql98 (Different 8-minute excerpt)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkThE0YpofU (Longer version of previous excerpt)
Week 2: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. D-Man in the Waters (1989) and Spent Days Out Yonder (2000)
Bill T. is a company I have known of for such a long time but have never gotten the opportunity to see perform (like Alvin Ailey...I really need to get on that). He will be reconstructing D-Man in the Waters through support from the festival. Spent Days Out Yonder is an excerpt from a larger work entitled You Walk? which explores Latin cultural infuence on America. An exciting component to this show is that the Durham Symphony will be performing the accompaniment live for both pieces!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgXiwkaqJnE (D-Man in the Waters)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA1fyzVw_vI (Several excerpts from various pieces. First is from D-Man, last is from Spent Days)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb0vUY6jawQ (Honoring Bill T. Jones - CBS interview after winning a Kennedy Center Honor)
and Yossi Berg and Oded Graf. Animal Lost (2010)
Last year I was awestruck by Israeli company Inbal Pinto/Avshalom Pollak so I am greatly looking forward to seeing what this Israeli duo has in store for us. This is Yossi Berg and Oded Graf's ADF debut as well as their US premiere of this piece. Pinto/Pollak had such whimsical, fantastical, dreamlike qualities to their performance of Oyster last year, and from what I've been able to find, it seems that Berg/Graf have something just as imaginative for us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCe68anHm20 (Rehearsal montage)
http://yossioded.com/works/animal-lost/ (Pictures and info from their website)
http://yossioded.com/press/mette-windberg-baarup-the-copenhagen-post/ (Article - The Copenhagen Post)
Week 3: EVIDENCE, A Dance Company. Grace (1999) and On Earth Together (2011) & Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (1959) and Vespers (1986).
This is a shared program by the two companies that, as you can see, spans decades of choreography. Ronald K. Brown's EVIDENCE, based in Washington DC, will present two very different pieces; one dealing with spirituality (Grace) and the other set to Stevie Wonder hits (On Earth Together). Donald McKayle's work from 1959 that DCDC will present, gives us a glimpse into the sorrowful lives of men in a chain gang yearning for freedom, as well as a look at spirituality in women in the deep south.
http://www.unitedstatesartists.org/project/on_earth_together (Interview with Brown and dancers on the process of creating and performing On Earth Together)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRK1q7R0d7I (EVIDENCE at the Joyce)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goFEe5gxNUo (10-min excerpt of Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNW5VUWRf5k (Alvin Ailey dancers performing Vespers Pt. 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weKGlc1KM_E (Alvin Ailey dancers performing Vespers Pt. 2)
and TAO Dance Theater. Weight X 3 (2009) and 2 (2011)
This is TAO Dance Theater's ADF debut and their show will be the US premiere of these two works. TAO is China's most sought after modern dance company after forming in 2008. I wasn't able to find much information about them but here is their Youtube channel with examples of their work: http://www.youtube.com/user/TDT1026
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMU4NKVfWZk (Excerpts of Weight X 3)
http://www.pingpongarts.org/projects/3/ (Company info)
Week 4: Pilobolus. Untitled (1975), Seraph (2011), All Is Not Lost (2011)
Pilobolus is an annual guest at the ADF and for good reason. Their athleticism rivals any other dance company in existence and is made up of some of the most chiseled, innovative, fearless dancers I've seen. Not to mention their iconic shadow-work, which is incredibly entertaining and leaves you wondering. This year they bring the reconstructed version of their 1975 classic Untitled, as well as two new works: one in collaboration with a butoh artist and a team of MIT engineers, and another alongside Grammy-winning band, OK Go. They blew my mind last year, let's see what this year's show will knock me over with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5rNrqTcn7k (Untitled, Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlsEd14_NRY (Untitled, Part 2)
http://blog.pilobolus.org/2010/12/dances-with-robots-part-2/ (Article regarding Seraph)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPtHJBK5Tgs (OK Go - All is Not Lost)
http://blog.pilobolus.org/2011/03/ok-bolus-pilobo-go/ (Pilobolus blog post about the collaboration with OK Go)
and Rosie Herrera. Pity Party (2010) and Dining Alone (2011)
Rosie Herrera was my absolute favorite company that came to ADF last summer and I was so blessed to be able to work on the show and see it 4+ times from the sound booth. Her use of music, excessive props, narrative, transitions, and extreme emotional states 'had me at hello'. Fell in love with the show as a whole, as well as the passion and commitment of Rosie and her performers. The company consists not only of technically proficient modern dancers, but breakdancers, actors, singers, and even drag queens. This summer they bring back their ADF commissioned work from last year, Pity Party, as well as introducing us to a new creation, Dining Alone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihLW-5kCJOM (Pity Party video promo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmE0WWLI8pI&NR=1 (Montage of last year's pieces, Pity Party included)
http://www.mancc.org/2010-2011-artists/rosie-herrera-4.html (Short article about Dining Alone inspiration)
Week 5: Emanuel Gat Dance. Brilliant Corners (2010)
This is a company I have heard of but haven't had the opportunity to see perform and honestly don't know as much about them as I should. From seeing video and reading about the piece they'll be bringing, it seems that it might take me to one of those stages of altered conscious where you're totally immersed in the piece and oblivious to all else around you. This happens to me most when the movement and music are so dynamic and similar that they begin to meld into one (which might be the case since Gat composed his own sound score). We'll see how closely my foresight matches my opinion after seeing the company perform.
http://www.emanuelgatdance.com/brilliant-corners/ (Article regarding the piece and its creation with link for further reading and video at the bottom)
and Eiko and Koma. River (1995)
Eiko and Koma celebrate their 40th anniversary by recreating their 1995 work, River, which will be performed in the pond of Sarah P. Duke Gardens on Duke's campus. The piece takes place in bodies of water. The piece will also be performed after dark, which will certainly make for a new and refreshing (well, maybe not literally refreshing since it'll be so hot and humid) crew member experience!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK7UNG8S5O4 (Video- The Making of River)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZZhW2icl_E (Part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQGJR6Es2oc (Part 3)
Week 6: Shen Wei Dance Arts.
Neither the ADF website nor the Shen Wei website has announced what pieces Shen Wei and his dancers will be performing this season, but if it's anything like last year it's sure to satisfy my palate! Here's a page of videos about one of his recent projects in NYC:
http://n9mag.com/shenwei/?p=1
and Doug Varone and Dancers. Chapters from a Broken Novel (2011)
The ADF website says this piece was created this year, but from a video I've seen about the making of the piece, it was created during a stint at the Bates Festival in Maine last summer. In college I had the privilege of working with two previous company members and loved their movement style and choreography so I plan on requesting to work for this company when they come to get to meet Doug and watch the dancers from backstage!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSZxkIZ2v2U (Chapters advertisement video for show at the Joyce)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiCooXMcHxc (Making of Chapters at Bates summer 2010)
Week 7: Paul Taylor Dance Company. The Uncommitted (2011), Promethean Fire (2002), and Company B (1991)
I was a little underwhelmed by this company's performance last summer at ADF. Maybe it was just the choreography that didn't particularly strike a chord with me. I appreciate Mr. Taylor's traditional styles of moving and phrasing and obviously see him as one of the great dance figures of our time even though it's not necessarily for me. A friend of mine recently saw the company perform at the Kennedy Center in DC and, although they performed three different works there, she was amazed by them. Hopefully these three pieces will make me love them a little more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbhQYPxTmLo (Promethean Fire excerpt)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL0w495M-x4 (Company B excerpts performed by Miami City Ballet)
and Past/Forward. Works by Twyla Tharpe, Martha Clarke, and Bulareyaung Pagarlava
This yearly performance at the end of the festival is an opportunity for ADF students to perform. The first day of the festival contains three auditions for spots in one of the three works. Last summer's Past/Forward was especially near to my heart as I was chosen to stage manage the West Side Story Suite choreographed by Jerome Robbins and set by WSS tour dancer Ryan Ghysels. Also included in the concert was Merce Cunningham's work Inlets 2 and Tatiana Baganova's new creation, Sepia. Tatiana's piece blew me away. Her innovation is limitless and it's the kind of dance that all makes sense to me. It might not have had an observable narrative, but she created an environment that I wouldn't have been able to dream up in my wildest imagination and that I could watch over and over again.
http://www.worlddancereviews.com/dance/found.php?x=329 (Review of the 2010 Past/Forward)
That about wraps up the performances for this upcoming summer! It's also Charles Reinhart's final season serving as the ADF Director as he enters retirement and a gala performance will be opening the festival in June with performances from a few different companies. Here's an article about Reinhart's departure and the pieces he wanted to see again: http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story_news_durham/12472483/artic...
and make sure to check out the ADF website (www.americandancefestival.org) for more information on the performances, classes, faculty, and ways to get involved! Hope you're able to make it down for a show. It's truly an inspiring summer. :)
= K =
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