May Monkeyhouse workshops in Brooklyn, NY

Join us for a month of Monkeyhouse's Musings this May at Union Street Dance (USD).

Led by Karen Krolak, Founder/Artistic Director of Monkeyhouse.

Monkeyhouse's Musings stretch your mind along with your muscles. Drawing from an eclectic series of improvisations and choreographic sketches, you will discover how Monkeyhouse (Voted Best Dance Company in Boston twice!) fuels people's creativity and infuses movement with meaning. Karen Krolak encourages performers of any style to wander beyond 'what if ?' and boldly embrace 'how could you?'

This USD LAB is the first time that Monkeyhouse has opened their Musings to the public. Don't miss this rare chance to delve into their idiosyncratic style of dance making. Participants will leave with fresh phrases and an arsenal of ideas to spark new pieces.

Dates/Times: May 7-28, every Friday from 4-6pm

Location: Union Street Dance, 725 Union Street, Studio B - Park Slope, BK

Price: $40 four class series, $15 single class -- DROP-INS WELCOME!

PAST USD LAB GUEST ARTISTS
Susan Marshall (2006)
Francine Ott (2008)
Keely Garfield (2009)
Erica Essner (2009)

2010 USD LAB Guest Artist - Monkeyhouse!

Hooray! More good news...Monkeyhouse has been selected to be the 2010 Union Street Dance (USD) LAB guest artist!

Q: What is the USD LAB?
A: USD LABS are led by seasoned Guest Artists who know how to have fun and play in the studio. Participants gain hands-on experience while gathering insight into their own creative process.

Q: When did this start?
A: According to Eva Dean, Founder of the Union Street Dance studio and Eva Dean Dance, "The inauguration of our USD guest artist workshops was in 2006. At that time it was called the 'USD Repertoire Workshop' and was led by Kristen Hollinsworth of Susan Marshall & Company. Last year we changed the name of the workshop to the USD LAB and shifted the focus away from repertoire and towards creative process."

Q: Kristen Hollinsworth is an amazing performer. Who else has been a USD LAB artist?
A: Let's see, Francine Ott, Keely Garfield and Erica Essner.

Q: Wow, that is quite an impressive collection of choreographers. Congratulations, Monkeyhouse. So, where is Union Street Dance?
A: It is really easy to find in Park Slope, Brooklyn. If you take the R train to Union Street, it is only a block away at 725 Union Street, Studio B.

Q: So, this means that Monkeyhouse will be teaching classes in New York?
A: Yes, Karen Krolak will be leading a series of workshops on Friday afternoons in May. There will be more about those in an upcoming post.

Q: And, are these classes open to the public? Can I take them?
A: Of course, and feel free to bring your dancing friends. USD LABs are just right for open minded and adventurous dancers and choreographers. These workshops give participants a jump start in expanding movement potential and choreographic intent.

C2C's first episode on Channel 3 - SCATV

Q: Did I hear that Monkeyhouse has developed TV program?
A: Yep, and we are very curious to see how this project develops. C2C : Connect 2 Choreography launches tonight at 9PM on Channel 3 in Somerville, MA. We will be producing a new episode each month. We would love to hear if you have any ideas or suggestions for future episodes.

Q: But what if I don't live in Somerville?
A: If you don't happen to live in the area or have cable, episodes will also get posted here.


Q: How did this happen?
A: After Karen appeared on Somerville Art Matters last month, she met Bill Barrell, the Tech Director for the Thursday Night Production Company at SCATV. After just a few minutes, plans began brewing to bring Monkeyhouse's blog interviews to another level. Who knew when Karen trotted off to Tiznit that she and Nicole would end up on hosting a show that delves into choreographic topics?

Q: So, what's the first episode about?
A: We were really excited about Two Road's upcoming project Dance in the Fells: 5 Pieces 5 Places. It prompted us to focus our pilot on site-specific pieces and interview Kyna Hamill and Wanda Strukus, the founders of Two Roads.

Q: Where can I go if I want to see more site-specific work or discover more choreographers who perform outside of theatrical settings?
A: Be on the lookout as we will be posting more information on the blog throughout the month of April. Oh, and feel free to give us feedback on the show but go easy on us. We jumped into this project feet first and improvising as we go. We promise that there will be fewer awkward pauses and odd facial expressions in upcoming episodes.

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

Stories from the Somerville-Tiznit Sister Cities Delegation (part 6)

by karen Krolak
Part of a continuing series on Karen and Jason's trip to Morocco with 28 other people from Somerville...including Mayor Joseph Curtatone.

Good morning. Knowing how many people have been excited by the Somerville-Tiznit Sister Cities project, I am chagrined that I have not had time to post more about the trip. However, Jason and I were just interviewed along with four other participants from the delegation on Somerville Art Matters. Our host, Julia Fairclough, managed to slip footage from the gala in Tiznit and from Moroccan television in between chats with us. Thanks to everyone at Somerville Cable Access TV who helped produce this segment and put it up on the web so that we could share it with folks beyond the area.


To comply with recent legislation regarding blogging, I should mention that my trip was sponsored by University of the Middle East project, The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in concert with Sister Cities International, the City of Somerville, the City of Tiznit and the Moroccan American Cultural Center. Readers should know that my experiences would not be typical for anyone else.

Othello Opens This Weekend!

by karen Krolak

Back when I interviewed Ashley Wheater about Lar Lubovich's Othello, I announced that I would be an Assistant Director on a production this spring. Well, after almost a year of design meetings and a month of rehearsals, Actors' Shakespeare Project's Othello opens on March 13th. Please do not wait if you want tickets as they are selling rapidly.

Though my friend Fred has been egging me to try it for over a decade, this is my first foray into directing a theater piece. While there are many similarities to choreographing, directing a beloved piece of Shakespeare is a such a weird beast. Actors enter the process with really specific ideas about their role, everyone has to agree on which folio version to use knowing that reviewers will compare each moment to previous incarnations of the play, and they have a massive budget by comparison to any dance piece that I have ever worked on.

If you haven't had enough of my blathering on (and keep in mind there are oodles more posts on Monkeyhouse's projects going up in the next few days), I have written for their blog too. On Sunday, March 14, I will also be leading the post show discussion. I would love to hear what people think about the production so feel free to send comments here. Thanks again to everyone who has encouraged me on this endeavour.

Othello

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Judy Braha**
March 10th - April 4th
Villa Victoria Center for the Arts
85 West Newton Street, Boston
Directions to the Venue

Tix by phone: 866-811-4111

Jason Bowen*
Ken Cheeseman*
Brooke Hardman*
Olivia Hendrick
Cloteal Horne
Matt Ketai
Paula Langton*
Sydney Lemmon
Doug Lockwood*
Denise Marie
Bobbie Steinbach*
Michael Forden Walker*

*member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
**Members of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers