6/30/11

Inside/Out Anew



by karen Krolak

Ok, I am hankering for vacation time so I can hotfoot it out to Becket and bask on the benches of the new Inside/Out stage. As further incentive, this summer's Inside/Out line up makes me drool. I am especially excited that two former classmates from Northwestern University, Julia Rhoads of Lucky Plush and Amanda Selwyn of Amanda Selwyn Dance Theater, will be dancing there this summer.

In fact, let's start humming It's a Small World After All and meditate for a moment on how this stage supports the dance ecosystem. For example, Boston's Urbanity Dance will also be bounding about Inside/Out in August. Urbanity recently presented a piece choreographed by Ryan Casey, who was just named as one of Monkeyhouse's Bloggers-in-Residence. As you may remember from his post last summer, Ryan performed at Inside/Out as part of the first Tap program at the Pillow. Isn't it humbling and inspiring to consider how many people have launched their careers from Inside/Out's platform and to realize how many people teamed up to breathe new life into this stage?

So until I can sneak out to the Berkshires, please, please, please, feel free to chime in with your comments, pictures, or opinions about your experiences at new stage either as a performer or an audience member.

6/29/11

CONGRATULATIONS!



We are VERY excited to announce our new  

Ryan Casey
Sarah Friswell
Gaby Mervis

and our new C2C Interns:

Sarah Grace
Sabrina Schwartz

Congratulations to all of you!  We look forward to working with you!

6/28/11

Tap Dance in New York City!

by Nicole Harris

It's summer in New York which means there is so much to do!  How do you decide which fabulous events to check out when?  Well, here are just a few of the upcoming tap events to choose from.

On Tap @ SummerStage -- FREE
Friday, July 1st @ 8pm
St. Mary's Park (South Bronx)
This amazing night of tap dancing contains many of my favorite dancers and choreographers including Ray Hesselink, Chikako Iwahori, Lynn Schwab, Michelle Dorrance & Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards.  And it's free!  What better way to spend a Friday night!


Copasetic Boat Ride -- $35
Thursday, July 5th @ 7pm
Circle Line Marina, Pier 83
Pack a picnic and set sail on this picturesque evening of music, dancing and fabulous company.  Meet the folks from Tap City and a whole boatload of tap dancers, fanatics and fans!
Call (646) 230-9564 to purchase your tickets!


Salute to the Copasetics -- $36/$20
Saturday, July 9th @ 8pm
Symphony Space
Join in the celebration of the Masters of Swing with performances by legendary performers along side hot new tap dancers.  As always, Tony Waag's performances are not to be missed!
Buy tickets at the Symphony Space Box Office at 212.864.5400

Keep an eye out for more upcoming events soon!

6/27/11

Show your support! "Like" us on Facebook!






As much as many of us hate to admit it, Facebook has taken over.  You use your account to catch up with old friends, share photos of your big adventures (and some embarrassing ones of past adventures...), play games and all sorts of other things.  Why not use it to keep up with your favorite non-profit?!  Head to our Facebook page and hit the "Like" button to get the inside scoop, early invites to events and even see these blog posts in our news feed!

Monkeyhouse Loves You!  Now it's your turn to return the love and "Like" us on Facebook!

6/24/11

GoodShop = Free Money for Monkeyhouse and YOU!


Raise money for Monkeyhouse just by searching the web and shopping online!

If you're anything like me then you don't have extra money to donate to all the worthwhile organizations in your life, much as you would love to.  Well, GoodShop is a perfect solution to your problem!  GoodShop will donate up to 33% of the online shopping you already do at places like Amazon.com, iTunes and Barnes & Nobles to the charity of your choice.  (Ahem... Ahem....)  All YOU have to do is start your online shopping adventure at GoodShop and you can chose from coupons to thousands of places you already shop.

Not good at remembering to head to GoodShop?  This handy dandy toolbar will let you know every time you're on a website that has GoodShop coupons and donations!

So, to re-cap:  If you do all your online shopping through GoodShop you will not only be helping support your favorite non-profit but you'll have access to thousands of online coupons!  What are you waiting for!?

6/14/11

Internship Application Deadline Extended!


I have been getting a lot of questions about the new Monkeyhouse internships, so I thought I’d take a minute to answer a few of the more popular ones.

WAIT!  I just heard about this, your website says applications are due tomorrow and I’m in exams this week!  What do I do?!

Thank you so much to everyone who has gotten their applications in already.  Due to the amount of excitement we’ve received about these projects, we are going to extend the application deadline to June 25th.  Applicants will be notified by July 1st.

I am SO busy!  What kind of time commitment are we really talking about and how is this going to fit into my schedule?

Both the C2C Internship and the Blogger In Residence Program consist of about one interview a month. 

The C2C Internship will have an orientation/training program at our office at Springstep in Medford, MA during the month of July.  After that, you are free to conduct interviews on your own time and are responsible for submitting a minimum of four written interviews over the next five months.  You will also have the opportunity to conduct one interview on our C2C television program in Somerville, MA.

The Bloggers In Residence are invited to the orientation gathering in July at our office at Springstep in Medford, MA.  After that you are responsible for posting at least once a month.  Each Blogger will be given a time frame in each month in which they are responsible for posting.  (ex. Jasper posts the first week of each month.)  All interviews and posts are written on your own time.

Where do I meet these people I’m supposed to be interviewing?

Monkeyhouse has been conducting interviews with artists all over the globe for many years now and can help you connect to artists that interest you.  Many of you already have ties to artists in your communities and we would love to learn a little more about them too!

What if I go to school outside of Boston?  Can I still participate?

Yes!  Most of the project is conducted via the internet so we want to hear from you, whether you’re studying abroad or just down the turnpike!

6/10/11

kerPlunk in Cambridge, MA


You may remember that Connect 2 Choreography  interviewed kerPlunk's Artistic Director, Katherine Richardson last summer as part of our series on Jacob's Pillow's Inside/Out stage. When I heard that kerPlunk will be heading to Cambridge next week to perform with Falling Flight Project, I was curious to know more about how this project developed.
by Katherine Richardson

kerPlunk dance is returning to the great North East after a successful season in 2010.  Following a two night run in Boston at the Arsenal Center for the Arts and an evening at the prestigious Jacob’s Pillow Inside/ Out stage, kerPlunk is back in Massachusetts teaming up with the creative talents of the local dance company Falling Flight Project for a two night run at The Dance Complex. 
kerPlunk dance met Falling Flight Project at the Charles River Dance Festival in early 2010.  Drawn to each-others athletic physicality matched with the depth of insightful choreography the two companies formed an instantaneous artistic friendship.   Karen Murphy-Fitch (Falling Flight Project) and I began mapping a duel city performance for 2011, one in Cambridge, MA  on June 17 & 18 and the second in New York City for August 27.    
The show at The Dance Complex will be an intermixing of the two companies.  kerPlunk dance will be performing two premieres for the Cambridge show.  The first piece, which is currently untitled, is choreographed by Natalie Desch of Doug Varone and Dancers, whom of which is a dear friend of kerPlunk.  This new piece is a quartet set on the whimsical musings of Jenny Gillan, Meghan MacAlpine, Sarah Wiechman and myself.  The second work, Galanta, is a twenty minute pieces set to Kodaly’s Dances of Galanta performed by another local, the Atlantic Brass Quintet.  Galanta is an ensemble work an excerpt of a full evening program featuring the musical stylings of Baroque, Renaissance, and Balkan composers in collaboration with the Atlantic Brass Quintet to begin touring in 2012. 
Both new works will also appear in the New York City show alongside a reconstructed work and installation piece, Touch and Go.  For more information regarding this performance or any other future shows please visit us at www.kerplunkdance.com
Falling Flight Project & kerPlunk dance 
The Dance Complex
536 Mass Ave
Cambridge, MA
                                                       June 17 & 18th @ 8PM                                                                                                                                  
Tickets $25 General/ $20 Student, Senior and BDA members
Reservations: 781.378.2528
 

6/9/11

Tuesday #1 -True East

by karen Krolak

Look at this gem I discovered during my adventures!
Immersing myself in this residency has been spectacular so far. Just Tuesday I

*was greeted with farm fresh eggs donated by the community for breakfast,

* was welcomed on to Passamoquoddy tribal land by the faculty, staff, and students at the Beatrice Rafferty School,

*was invited to play a cello for the first time in my life in Alice's music class, 

Can you smell a new piece brewing?
*watched Ralph transform a fourth grader's insult into an engaging musical exercise,

* developed a top-secret project with those fourth grade students,

* was blown away by a group of phenomenal seventh graders who were not afraid to improvise silly sounds and movements,

* discovered during lunch that one of the seventh grade girls is related to the editor of the new Passamaquoddy dictionary (Keep your fingers crossed for me as I might get to meet him. How amazing would that be?),

* knit on the rocks next to Shead High School as we watched the first two innings of their playoff baseball game (One of the cellists in the Eastport Strings, Frank, is the team's shortstop. Shead won, by the way.),

* built a boat dance for a few very young violinists to accompany Wren's Waltz for Saturday's concert,

* analyzed how posture can improve the sound of the soloist in Bach's Chorale,

* led the Eastport Art Center's board through the parade route for Magnet to the Breakwater (What an enthusiastic group, they had a ton of wonderful ideas! Greg even offered to take us out on his boat to get an aquatic perspective on the area.),

* met the Editor of the Quoddy Tides,

*and discovered several reasons why people ship pregnant cows.

6/8/11

Dance For World Community (Part 2)

by karen Krolak

After Lynn Schwab's master class at Against the Odds, Monkeyhouse has been even more jazzed about building tap pieces. Fortunately, Nicole Harris has started to slake our thirst for tap technique during recent Musings. Sadly, these sessions are not open to the general public usually. However, if you have an addiction to rhythm, you can take a free class with Nicole on Saturday as part of Dance For World Community in Cambridge. She will leading a class for anyone over 13 in Studio 2 from 3:20 - 3:40 PM.

Don't forget that Monkeyhouse will be sharing a suite of pieces on  the Harvard/Ware Stage from 2:15-2:35 PM. Now, you have two reasons to hot foot down to Harvard Square this weekend.

June 11, 2011
José Mateo Ballet Theatre
 400 Harvard St. | Cambridge | MA | 02138

6/7/11

True East Residency

by karen Krolak

From the window at the foot of this bed, I can see lights from  houses in Canada. As I mentioned earlier, I am in Eastport Maine collaborating with Ralph Farris, one of the co-founders of Ethel, an amazing post-classical string quartet. Remind me sometime to share the story of how Ralph and I went from being mortal enemies in elementary school to creative partners.

Since I need to scramble out of the house early tomorrow to teach a 4th grade and a 7th grade class at the Beatrice Rafferty Elementary School on Passamaquoddy (Ralph has just reminded me that Passamaquoddy means "People of the Dawn" ) tribal lands, I will keep this post brief.

Scattered about this entry, you can see some my impressions from my first few days in Eastport. Our days have been really packed with activity as we prepare for

• A Play-Date/Workshop for Teachers and Performers (Saturday June 11, 9-Noon)

The Eastport Strings Two Concerts in One-6pm Traditional & 7:30pm Rock (also June 11)
AND
• Magnet to the Breakwater -- a family-friendly mobile musical celebration of city and sea -- where we invite the WHOLE EASTPORT COMMUNITY to a parade down through the Eastport waterfront, flowing in and out of town like a wave, and guided by beacons of diverse performers.  Join us for movement and music!!! Magnet to the Breakwater kicks off  with a Fun Family Workshop on June 12, from 1-5pm at the Eastport Arts Center. More Play-Dates will take place on June 13, June 14, and the BIG EVENT takes place on June 15.

Stay tuned for more details! 



6/6/11

Dance For World Community (Part 1)

by karen Krolak

Ok, so I am in Eastport, ME working with my 8th grade arch-enemy but that is a story for later. Just wanted to let everyone know that Monkeyhouse will be performing at the Dance For World Community Festival in Cambridge, MA this Saturday from 2:15-2:35 on the Harvard/Ware Stage. There will be plenty of other amazing companies there including several that you have read about here on Connect 2 Choreography. In fact, Mariah Steele will be dancing right before us!







At any rate, here is a list of all the dance companies who will be involved:



African Community Education Program
Anikai Dance/Wendy Jehlen
Annie Kloppenberg & Company
Annawon Weeden
Back Pocket Dancers
Ballet Arts Center of Winchester Performing Company
Benkadi Drum and Dance
Boston Dance Company and School
Boston Lykeion Ellinidon Greek Folkdance Group
Boston Swing Central & New School Swing
Center for the Performing Arts-North Andover
Chu Ling Dance Academy
Contrapose Dance
Dance Currents, Inc.
Dance Visions, Inc.
Dance’n Feet
Deepa Srinath’s Dance Group
Elite Dance Company L.E.A.D. Ensemble
Fischer & Hansson, LLP
Fran & Mariale Dance Fusion
Hip Hop Mamas
Iranian/Persian Dance Arts
Jennifer Hardy & Dancers
José Mateo Ballet Theatre
José Mateo Ballet Theatre’s YouthWorks
Ken Pierce Renaissance Dance Ensemble
Kinetic Synergy Dance Company
Krakowiak Polish Dancers of Boston
KRAUS AND…
Legacy Dance Company
Luminarium Dance Company
Mariah Steele/Quicksilver Dance
Marsha Parrilla/Danza Organica
MaSs Dance Project
Monkeyhouse
Movita Dance Theater
Navarasa Dance Theater
Neena Gulati & the Triveni Ensemble
OrigiNation, Inc.
Peanut Butter & Jelly Dance Company
Performance Studio SunDance
Prometheus Dance
Ritmo en Accion, Hyde Square Task Force
Salsa Matei Dance School
Salsa y Control Dance Company
Six One Seven Dance Collective
Snake Dance Theatre Company
Sokolow Now! The Anna Sokolow Contemporary Dance Company
Swagga Inc.
The AdamAnt Eve Dance Collective
Urbanity Dance
Wilmington Dance Academy
Xuchipilli Mexican Folkloric Ballet
Zoe Dance Company

I must run to look at hardware now to start building costumes for the Eastport project. Yes, I am back on that jag again. Bwa ha ha ha. More info on Eastport soon.

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