AWAKE: Moving Dance Forward Canceled

by karen Krolak

I am truly saddened to tell you that the Multicultural Arts Center has decided to cancel AWAKE: Moving Dance Forward based on advanced ticket sales and other funding issues. As the Artistic Director for AWAKE, I have spent nine months researching the questions provoked by the artistic legacies of Pina Bausch, Michael Jackson, and Merce Cunningham. Whether I have been entertained by 8 year old boys imitating the percussive isolations in Beat It or catching snippets of one of Pina's pieces on Moroccan television, I am continually impressed by how these idiosyncratic visionaries have permeated global culture. So, while we will not be gathering together on April 10th to celebrate, I hope that you will find a few minutes that day to honor their ongoing reverberations in some way.

I am deeply grateful to all the artists involved with AWAKE, including David Parker and the Bang Group, Max Pollak, Julia Rhoads, Eric Cruz, David Vaughan, Adrienne Hawkins, the Goethe-Institut Boston, and Monkeyhouse's dancers. Thanks also to Norton Owen at Jacob's Pillow, who shared some fabulous archival footage of both Pina Bausch and Merce Cunningham with me last summer and to Debra Cash for building buzz for AWAKE in her spring dance preview for the Boston Phoenix.

AWAKE: Moving Dance Forward (Part 1)

by karen Krolak

Howdy, everyone! Many of you have asked when Monkeyhouse will be performing again in the Boston area. Well, I am very excited to announce that we will be presenting two pieces, something new and one of our best loved works, Mourning After/Ululation, at AWAKE: Moving Dance Forward on April 10, 2010 at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge.

AWAKE is more than just a dance concert featuring works by Eric Cruz, Monkeyhouse, and David Parker and the Bang Group, however. It is a day long event that celebrates the lives of three dance legends: Michael Jackson, Pina Bausch, and Merce Cunningham with a series of Master classes, panel discussions, a documentary film, catered meals, and a dance party.

As the Artistic Director of AWAKE, I really hope that you will be able to join us. Over the next two weeks, Connect to Choreography will feature several posts about this project and the artists involved in it.

Event Schedule
10 – 11 am: Master Class with Max Pollak, Artistic Director of RumbaTap

11 - 11:30 am: Continental Breakfast provided by Off the Vine Catering

11:30 - 11:45 am: Introduction by AWAKE Artistic Director Karen Krolak

11:45 am - 12:30 pm: Suspending Sequences: A Facilitated Conversation with David Vaughan, Archivist for Merce Cunningham Company

12:30 – 1:15 pm: Isolating Identity: A panel moderated by Adrienne Hawkins of Impulse Dance, The Company, featuring Julia Rhoads and Max Pollak

1:15 – 1:45 pm: Box Lunch provided by Beaujolais Catering

2:00 – 3:00 pm: Master Class with Julia Rhoads, Artistic Director of Lucky Plush Productions

3:15 - 4:15 pm: Master Class with Boston-based Hip Hop artist Eric Cruz

4:30 - 5:45 pm: Ladies And Gentlemen Over 65 - documentary about Pina Bausch directed by Lilo Mangeldorf and sponsored by the Goethe Institute

6:00 – 7:00 pm: Dinner provided by Season to Taste

7:00 – 8:00 pm: Performances featuring Monkeyhouse, Eric Cruz and David Parker and the Bang Group

8 - 8:30 pm: Talk Back

8:30 – 10:00 pm: Dance Party

Congrats to Three Friends in Chicago

by Karen Krolak

While on Facebook today, I ran across an announcement from Northwestern's Dance Department. Apparently, Time Out Chicago named pieces by Peter Carpenter, Julia Rhoads, and Molly Shanahan in their Best Dance Moments of the Decade list. Given how often these artists have inspired me, I am thrilled to see their work being recognized.

Sadly, I was not able to see any of the shows on the list. However, I might catch Julia's APAP showcase in New York this weekend and I will be working with her on a project I am curating for the Muliticultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA in April. (More details coming soon.)

By the way, if you missed it, Peter shared insights about his creative process with Connect 2 Choreography back in October. Keep your fingers crossed and I will see if I can snag some time with Julia and Molly for a few upcoming posts.

Ok, now I must throw some clothes in a suitcase, pop by the Movement at the Mills program (featuring Mariah Steele, Screech to a Stop, and Michael Jahoda’s White Box Project), and catch a bus down to NYC.