black diamond dance floor
seedy nairobian black diamond dance floor, you belong to us
we are the ones who are servants to our broken parts, slaves to that which others squander
give us only this pulse, and give us this sweat
this is the moment of arrival: movement that removes us from what we do not want to know
the benefit is in the bending
All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns. -Bruce Lee
launching….
For the past few months I have been busy busy busy, as usual. Most of it has been here in the Berkshires. Some of it was in New York City premiering a new piece with LiquidBody. As it is said often now, it was all good. And now I am back home and am getting ready to launch again…..this time…to Kenya. All the details are right here in this link. I’ll need some help. I need tap shoe donations (adult and children) and I need some donations of cash for getting them over there. Like I said, the info is in this link. If you are interested in donating tap shoes, please contact me by emailing me here until I get drop-off locations set up. I made a little movie to help inspire some others to get involved in the adventure. Here it is and here I go again.
We Made It Here
I have decided it’s okay that I cannot ever keep up with myself on the site. There is always more that I want to post here. More that I want to shout out to the ethers about. More to archive, remember, share, and update. Today, this is what I know.
And this too:
My Creatures of Habitat Physical Poetry Performance Project returned to the lab last month to research and develop. New faces, new spaces. Welcome returning creatures. A successful series of experiments in the Car Wash revealed some interesting results and I continue to be inspired by the habitat fragmentation quandary. And so the car wash, an ideal open box space, is the place to dive in for now. I have been wanting to get in there with Creatures for awhile. Stay tuned for more about this, as I am inspired to set up a series of “performances” for next summer in spaces such as this.
Also in the COH news is our performance coming up in the Made in The Berkshires festival on Friday October 21 at 7p at the Berkshire Theater Festivals‘ Unicorn Theater. We will be showing excerpts from habitat (de)fragmentation. The cast is still being confirmed completely and so far we have: the ever-magnetic Kalei Carlson, and the ever-energetic Melissa Larkin (shown in the photo below from our Philly Fringe shows of 2010) starring in Novena, new to the Creature experience are dancers Olivia Moran and Marie Georgfils who will be featured in Connected Through Ruins, and returning as the Little Wheels of The Real Story of Yasmin Wolf and The Criminal are Dawn Meltzer, Diane Firtell, Dana Bixby, and Monika Pizzichemi. More to be confirmed, ribbon wormed and carried to term. So save the date and show your face. It would be a treasure to perform for you.
photo courtesy of Monika Pizzichemi
Hoopla Eve
I suppose an update on May, June + everything in July before today (including my premiere with Nutshell Playhouse + preparing for LiquidBody‘s resonant streams piece at St John’s Cathedral) is out of the question on a night like tonight. So, instead I will share a moment with you on this Hoopla Eve. Yes, that’s right tomorrow is the 3rd annual Pittsfield City Hoopla event! My hoopla baby is turning 3! And wow she’s starting to really move. I almost cannot keep up with her. There are so many new and exciting additions to the festival this year and also the comfort and joy of bringing back some of the hoopla family such as Hooping Harmony and Boston Hoop Troop. Please go the Hoopla website and discover the schedule of events and consider hopping on over and hooping with us. Remember from 8-10p is the enchanted illuminated spin extravaganza! Live drumming with Aimee Gelinas and The Rhythm Keepers and fire dancing from a plethora of hot, hot, hot talent. It’s free!
too long, too little, too late?
wow. There is so much to tell you and I have waited too long, said too little and I really hope it’s not too late. I’ve just been so busy that I haven’t had any time to update in the proper-polite web manner. So, I’ll start by filling you in on what happened in April. Here it is. A picture from the Alchemy Initiative Earth Day Fashion Show. The tutus were a huge hit and I am in the process of finding just the right (next) place for them. You can have your own too if you want for yourself or your group. I custom make them out of used and leftover garbage bags and packaging materials. Send me an email if you want to inquire about it. Special thanks to my beautiful models from Berkshire Dance Theater, Grace (pictured here), Samantha, Alyssa, and Oliva.
photo by Greg Barriere
That same weekend, my Creatures of Habitat Physical Poetry Performance Project gathered for a performance art lab entitled Spring Training. 14 of us gathered for a full day of movement art practice with guest teaching artists, Caryn Heilman of LiquidBody, Elana Davidson of Dance in the Air, and Jennifer Hicks of ChimeraLab. Stationed in a raw warehouse space in west Pittsfield, we liquified our tissues thereby diversifying our movement vocabulary, then hung in the air by silk fabrics, and walked our authentic walk via Butoh techniques. Overall, the day was loaded with many interesting experiments geared toward the Creature performer. Bridgit Noone joined us and then later shared this beautiful image from the day with me.
hanging. by Bridgit Noone.
I’ll be right back with more info about cool and creative work I was a part of for May.
rhythm recipes (classes!)
Pittsfield is often my creative kitchen and so I’ll be offering tap sessions there this summer at Dragon Spice (upstairs) in the ballroom on North St.
Tap dancers and enthusiasts of all levels can come on in and whip up some rhythm with me. You are the main ingredient!
Weds in July and Aug
6-7p technique and choreography with multi-level adult tap dancers
7-8p choreography for advanced tap dancers with a lot performance experience.
Classes are $10 each and shoes can be rented for a $2 fee per class if you need them.
If cost is a concern, please contact me. Work-study and barters are available too for those in need.
Yer not gonna throw that away, are you?
As it is usual for my action-based art making self, I have taken on another project. This one consists of transferring some of my handmade plastic-bag Creatures Of Habitat tutu designs (see photo below) into one lovely and model worthy “UPcycled” wearable art piece.
WHY? Because this organization in my hometown of Pittsfield, Alchemy Initiative, is hosting their annual Earth Day event and invited folks to design something from used materials, clothes, etc. Of course, my tutus are fabulous for this idea and they must be included! BUT I had to go the next step and challenge myself even further to create a complete outfit out of the bags that only a dancer could don as she burres on her tippity toes and tappity taps with her digging heels down the runway. To give you an idea of how far I could take this, how I humor myself when I have an hour to spare (or procrastinate doing my taxes) and to peak your curiosity about what I will actually be making and who actually will be wearing it….I made this little slideshow movie. You can tell by the dialogue that my recent experience as Sara in STOP KISS with the Town Players has heavily influenced my behavior here.
To view this video fullscreen just click here. If you are entertained or even dumbfounded by my silly movie, then come by the UP-Cycle Event on April 22nd in Pittsfield on Melville St. and see what all the garbage is about! There is a lot to explore. The Fashion Show, a Silent Auction, Dance Party and a Clothes Swap (the next day) will keep you in the upcycle mood. You could even bid on my piece too! Enjoy!
bodies in motion
As the laws of Nature state, bodies in motion tend to stay in motion.
And they like it way.
(sketch by Esther Shin)
In the spirit of this, here is the first of a series of video clips (taken via cellphone) of me “playing” Gyrotonic® in Lee at Kinesphere Studio where I workout and train others in this amazing therapeutic and awakening fitness/movement technique.
If you want to come try the spiraling, lengthening, and strengthening stuff for yourself, drop me a message. I would love to show you just how great it is. We have 2 towers and so can offer duets as well as private sessions. It’s really a wonderful kind of habit to get your spine into, especially if you are athletic or find yourself tight and achey and sitting around too much or needing a lift after a slow, dark, cold and dusty winter.
For more about the Gyrotonic revolution go here. They also have a facebook page (of course) with the most recent posts and conversations.
stop in the name of…..
….love? or hate?
As of March 18th at 8p the Town Players will celebrate their 90th year with the opening of the poignant play STOP KISS written by Diana Son and I’ll be making my “Berkshire Theater” debut in it.
Playing at the Barrington Stage 2 theater space in Pittsfield at 36 Linden St. our cast tells the story of two women in New York City who organically fall in love and suffer a nasty consequence because of it. As I said, this is my first time doing this kind of performance work here, so please, if you are coming…don’t tell me. I might barf.
Directed by John Trainor and Denise Roller (her directing debut), our cast includes the young (and very experienced) lions of the stage Kim Kirchner (Callie), Cody Miller (George), and Jerry Greene (Peter); three newbies, myself as Callie’s love interest Sara, former political figure Denis Guyer as Detective Cole and wordsmith Cheryl Nelsen as the good samaritan Mrs. Winsley; and veteran performer Monica Bliss drops in as the Nurse (she also does the costuming for the show).
In discussion with theater critic Jeffrey Borak yesterday, we discovered that this is possibly the first time Stop Kiss has been produced in this region and it seems to be timely considering the climate of intolerance that is once again before us.
The entire schedule looks like this: MARCH 18, 19, 25 + 26 at 8pm and March 20 and 27 at 2p. Tickets are $15 for reserved seating, with $12 tickets available for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more. A dinner/show option is also available for $37. Dinner at Jae’s Spice will include soup/salad/entree/dessert/wine/tax/tip. To make a reservation for the show, please call Town Players of Pittsfield at (413) 443-9279 or email your request to townplayers@email.com.