August Events!

Fri, July 31 @ 8 pm
Sat, August 1 @ 8 pm
Bittersweet 

with Carey McKinley, dance theatre and Carolyn Lewenberg, sculptor
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, Back Bay

$15

I'm a big fan of the BCA Dance Residency program; it affords choreographers and dancers the opportunity to create stunning interdisciplinary new works. Carey McKinley has created a new work with sculptor Carolyn Lewenberg in which they will "create and ultimately destroy, an environment using bittersweet vines, bodies and moving images." I'm kind of excited by the description because even though it tells you what's going to happen I still have no idea what the piece is going to look like. Go see it if you like being surprised.

Sat, August 01 @ 6:30 pm

It's...A Summer Cosplay Celebration!
Presented by Penumbra:Exchange
At Arts at the Armory
$15 adult /$10 child
For anyone out there that has a costume of their favorite character, come do something awesomely nerdy with your Saturday night. This anime and video game themed costume party includes performances from several local dance companies, including Calamity Co Dance, Concept Artists, Intimations Dance, Move And Inspire, and Paradise Lost. I can't speak for everyone, but I know Paradise Lost has an amazing piece inspired by a popular video game; I also happen to be performing in it!  Anyone in costume is automatically entered in a raffle to win prizes from local video game developers Demiurge Studios, as well as prizes from other local businesses. See you there!

Sat, August 1 @ 8 PM
Sun, August 2 @ 2 pm
Mon & Tues, August 3 & 4 @ 7:30 pm
ECHO
B. Dunn Movement Dance & Theater Company
At the Multicultural Arts Center, Lechemere
Free!
I have a lot of feelings about this show. This is an interdisciplinary dance performance exploring the effects of displacement of black bodies from the African Diaspora of the Trans Atlantic Slave trade through generations until contemporary times. It's goal is to open a dialogue about cultural knowledge and lineage. This is the kind of dance that seeks to transform the audience far beyond the span of its time on stage. You have to reserve a seat to see the show, but it's completely free.

Fri, August 7 @ 8 pm
On Tap! Beantown Tapfest Faculty Showcase

Presented by Beantown Tapfest

at the Arsenal Center For The Arts, Watertown

$36

Started 6 years ago by Julia Boynton, Beantown Tapfest is a week-long festival of workshops, classes, and events, including talks and student showcases, all at the Deborah Mason School of Dance in Somerville. The faculty show, featuring all the instructors from the festival, is a who's who list of amazing of tap dancers: Michelle Dorrance (NY), Josh Hilberman (Belgium), Sarah Reich (LA), Barbara Duffy (NY), Sean Fielder (Boston), Khalid Hill (NY), Ian Berg (Chicago), Rocky Mendes (Boston), Aaron Tolson (NY), Ryan P. Casey (Boston), Demi Remick (NY), companies Speaking in Taps and Boston Tap Company, and the tap-savvy jazz trio of Paul Arslanian-p, John Lockwood-b and Ron Savage-d.  

Friendly reminder that Jacob's Pillow  festival ends August 31, so if you've been meaning to go, now is the time! Check out the full list of performances and the schedule of Inside/Out events, which are always free.

Wed - Sat, August 19-22 @ 8:15 pm
Sat & Sun, August 22 & 23 @ 2:15 pm 

Liz Gerring Dance Company
At the Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob's Pillow
$35, $25 ($19 if it's Friday and you're under 35)

Liz Gerring Dance Company performs Glacier, their evening length performance that has received glowing praise from The New York Times and the dance world at large. Winner of the 2015 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award, choreographer Liz Gerring creates beautiful, captivating work, and I expect this show to be nothing less. 

Wed - Sat, August 26-29 @ 8 pm

Thurs, Sat, & Sun, August 27, 29 & 30 @ 2pm
Martha Graham Dance Company

90TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

At the Ted Shawn Theatre at Jacob's Pillow
$75, $65, $45 ($19 if it's Friday and you're under 35)

There is a part of me that gets so excited at the prospect of seeing Martha Graham's company that I found myself smiling involuntarily at the Jacob's Pillow event page: "This spectacular program includes Martha Graham's dramatic classic work Embattled Garden, Echo by Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis, Depak Ine by Nacho Duato, and the momentous world premiere of AXE, by the eminent choreographer Mats Ek." At least click the link to look at the photographs, which are stunning.

Happy SWAN Day!

by Karen Krolak

Greetings from Chicago on a gorgeous afternoon. I am celebrating SWAN (Support Women Artists Now) day with one of my favorite female playwrights, Penny Penniston. (Psst...she is almost finished with her new book about how to write dialouges.) We just popped over to First Slice Cafe for some scrumptious soup and dined amidst an eclectic array of work by the LillStreet Potters.

Luckily, my agenda often overflows with exhibitions, plays, dances, concerts, and films created by idiosyncratic and expressive women. In fact, there's a rumor that my 3 year old niece has prepared a dance piece to show me this afternoon so I must run. However, if you are looking for ways to encourage women artists in your area, you can search for events here.

If you are anywhere near Cambridge, MA, I highly recommend that you check out the concert curated by Emily Beattie, a fabulous Boston based choreographer, at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center (By the way, did you know that CMAC's Executive Director, Shelly Neill is also a glorious jazz voaclist? You can check her out on May 1.).

If you are wondering why it is important to recognize the impact of women in the arts today, perhaps you should consider this quote from Apollinaire Scherr's November 4, 2001 New York Times article, "In 2000, of 18 modern-dance choreographers who received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, 13 were men. The men received a total of $200,000, with a typical grant of $10,000; the women received a total of $45,000, with a typical grant of $5,000."

Support Women Artists Now!

SWAN DAY

March 28, 2009 www.SwanDay.org

Sabbatical Synopsis - (part 2)

Continuing on in really no particular order...

* Closed out the season at Jacob's Pillow with Celeste Miller and the other Choreographers' Lab participants,

* Reflected and stretched my way through another birthday at Kripalu with one of my remarkable sisters-in-law,

* Sat so close to the stage at the Sadler Wells Theater in London that I made eye contact with some of Pina Bausch's dancers during Rite of Spring,

* Trekked out to Earthdance to pick up Janine Harrington (who I'd met at the workshop in Orvieto) as she explored the dance scene in the US,

* Glowed with glee when three former students, Ashley Chandler, Sarah Feinberg, and Gaby Mervis dance alongside me in their professional debuts during Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center's Boom Town Festival,

* Cruised around Cape Cod in a convertible with the two people who first encouraged me to dance: Mom and Dad,

* Shared a sumptuous meal with several fascinating people at David Parker's Show Down at Rialto,

* Herded people into the Ted Shawn Theater with my giggling prowess on the Glockenspiel and then overheard Wendy Perron, Editor of Dance Magazine, remark "They choose the right person for that job!",

*Was named Wholphin subscriber of the week,

And...