Thanks to Jonathan Wolken...

by karen Krolak

Photo Credit: Robert Whitman

This morning my friend, Joanne, forwarded me an obituary for Jonathan Wolken from the New York Times. Uff, I just wither when dance legends die, especially so young.

Although Pilobolus Dance Theater began in the year that I was born, I did not discover them until I attended the American Dance Festival in 1992. When I auditioned for the partnering class with two Pilobolus dancers, Jack Arnold and Carol Parker, I was oblivious. If someone had suggested to me that all 5 foot 4 inches of me could lift a 6 foot tall man, I would have cackled hysterically. And, I probably would never have enrolled.

That class obliterated my definition of myself as a dancer as it taught me how to leverage my weight. Watching Carol, who was tiny except for her very pregnant belly, flip people over or perch up on some one's back, thrilled me. At the end of the 6 weeks, I felt empowered physically and artistically. I am not sure if any other workshop has ever prompted such a transformation in me.

I never met Mr Wolken but I have told the story of how he founded Pilobolus to many kids, including all the boys in the Dover Sherborn High School musicals during my time there. As the New York Times so eloquently begins, "Jonathan Wolken, a nondancer who four decades ago helped found a dance troupe, named it after a fungus and watched gleefully as that troupe — Pilobolus Dance Theater — became one of the most popular modern-dance companies in the world." Seriously, how can anyone resist being inspired by such a story.

To this day, I still use Pilobolus' flocking exercises to begin my modern classes. Those three looks, three touches, three hugs turn students' focus onto the group as a whole. It gradually teaches them how to share weight. Through our conversations after the exercise, kids stumble onto metaphors about how to be a good partner, a concept that extends far beyond their time in the studio.

Thanks Mr Wolken for your indirect influence on my life and on my students. Your ideas will continue to ripple out for a long time.

(Also, I have long since lost touch with both Jack Arnold and Carol Parker. In those pre-email, pre-Facebook days, that was so easy to do even if you had the best intentions. If anyone knows them, please forward this post to them. This is obviously a tribute to their legacy as teachers as well.)

10th Anniversary Season Preview (Part 2)

Pssst...Monkeyhouse has been selected to participate in the inaugural Massachusetts Dance Festival. We are thrilled that we will be appearing on August 21st (Boston @ Boston Ballet) and 28th (Amherst @ UMASS) with:

Audra Carabetta and Dancers 
Bosoma 
Boston Dance Company 
Contrapose Dancers
Kinodance
Lorraine Chapman and Company
Prometheus
Sokolov Now!
Sorvino Dance Project
Static Noyze

Tickets for the concert are normally $25, but you can buy them for only $20 if you pre-order on the MDF web site before August 15th..

Don't worry, we will send out more details once we get the new office unpacked.

MOVERS & SHAKERS Part 2

MORE WAYS YOU CAN HELP
(That Wont Cost You A Penny)

Monkeyhouse is moving to a new office and we need your help! We are not above bribing you with snacks, drinks and maybe a meal or two!

What can I do to help?
Saturday, June 19th is the big moving day! We are meeting at the old office (Arlington Center for the Arts, 31 Foster St, Arlington, MA) at 10am to get things started! 

What if I can't do weekends? 
We will also be in our old office every day this week getting things ready to move, be it sorting costumes, packing office supplies or consolidating the press archive. Any time you can offer to help would be greatly appreciated. Just let me know when you want to come in and we'll make sure someone's there!


I'm not around this week but I still want to help!
Let us know! The Monkeyhouse Movers & Shakers, our volunteer group, have things to do all year long! 

I want to help but I only have an hour or two? 
No worries! We'd love to have you for as long as you're able to help.
 
Okay, where do I sign up? 
Contact me at MonkeyhouseBlog [at] gmail [dot] com to figure out how you can help! 

Thank you in advance and I'm looking forward to seeing you!

Big News!

We have some really wonderful news!! Monkeyhouse is pleased to announce our upcoming move to Springstep!

Springstep is a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating cultures and connecting people through dance and music. They have a beautiful facility in Medford, MA where they offer classes, performances and so much more.

After rehearsing there for the last few years, enjoying a number of their programs and getting to know all the wonderful staff, all of us here at Monkeyhouse have a real love for Springstep.  Lucky for us, they have an office space that they've begun renting out and Monkeyhouse is moving in!!  While we are sad to be leaving Arlington, we are thrilled to call the Springstep building home.

Auditions for an Aerial Children's Nutcracker and an interview too.

by karen Krolak

I love the Dance Action Network. It lists all of the audition announcements, concerts, master classes, and more that occur every day in the Boston area. Last week I noticed a fascinating call for kids to audition for an aerial version of the Nutcracker. Man, how I wish that there had been opportunities like this when I was growing up. Since I had never heard of the company before I decided to see if Joanna Duncan might be willing to answer a few questions for me via email.


karen Krolak: How many roles are there for children in your production of the aerial Nutcracker?
Joanna Duncan: There are many roles from party children,tree angels, mice, rats, snowflakes, soldiers, candy canes, flowers, dolls, and more surprises.

kK: I noticed that you are a classically trained ballerina. What prompted you to re-imagine this story with so many styles of dance?
JD: When The Nutcracker Ballet first came to the stage in 1892 it was considered radical for it's era. So we decided to create a Nutcracker which is also radical for its era while maintaining a close connection to the original story from 1892. The re-imagining began with Francoise Voranger and Jillian St Germain who are co-directors of The Hybrid Movement Company based in NYC. They are brilliant, with endless creative ability and a total love and dedication to the art form of dance and love of community.

kK: Hmm... I have never heard of either choreographer before. Can you tell me a little about their dance training?
JD: They have trained intensely in Aerial to create pure classical ballet lines and movement into the air. They are also the two most renowned female break dancers from the NYC Tranzformerz. I have found it very interesting that, because they are classically trained ( Royal Ballet School and Boston Ballet ) they understand the need for pure dance training from the beginning source for technique in all dance forms. Five years ago they approached the NYC Tranzformerz and asked to be trained in the ground roots of Break dancing from the very streets and people where it was first created. They make radical moves into different dance directions with apparent ease because they believe that the general public wants to see movement it relates to.

kK: How wonderful that they have each studied such a diverse range of styles. How do they weave them into the production?
JD: So when Clara who goes to sleep, she is lifted into the air in a silk hammock as she floats into her dreams and the world of the nutcracker appears. A sugar plum fairy and her prince who actually fly as fairies fly and a snow King and Queen who begin as snow flakes blown by the wind. There's also soldiers and rats who break dance and tumble in trained fencing action. Spanish dancers who are surrounded by villagers who tap in the Spanish rhythms and more surprises.

kK: I am embarrassed to admit that I have also never heard of the Hanover Theatre. Can you tell me a little bit about why you choose to present your production there?

JD: There is a 50ft scrim at the Hanover Theatre which will be used to full advantage. The expert multi media imagination of Francoise Voranger and Scott Duncan generates a beautiful visual program. This production is designed to take grandparents, parents and children travelling together with Clara on her imaginative visual and audio journey into the amazing land of The Nutcracker.


kK: So how many people are involved in choreographing all of the sections?
JD: The Hybrid Movement Company are the main choreographers. I will be choreographing in collaboration with them. We are a large team of collaborative artists including: Francoise Voranger, Jillian St Germain, myself, Sergei Kim, and Mark Pickett. Our rehearsal team involves four more artists. Every person we have selected for our team has a proven reputation of patient kindness towards children with attention to technical detail achieved through positive encouragement.

kK: I am very excited that you will be blending so many choreographic voices.
JD: The performers of The Hybrid Movement Company are really into collaborative works, They collaborate performances with Antigravity, Quixotic Fusion, Acrobak, Imagio etc. They are about arts in community so every dance student who auditions will be cast in a role. Reading your website I can see that we are all like minded in regard to Arts and this is so very refreshing to me . :)

kK: Thanks for taking so much time to answer my questions.

The Hybrid Movement Company in collaboration with Dance It Up!
will hold auditions on

June 9 Wednesday

5:00-5:45pm Ballet (6-8 year olds)
5:45-6:30pm Irish Step (ages 6 and up)
6:30-7:15pm Ballet (9-11 year olds)
7:15-8:00pm Jazz and Tap (ages 6-11, ages 12 and up)

June 10 Thursday
5:00-6:30pm Ballet (ages 12 and up)
6:30-7:15pm Hip Hop (ages 6-11, ages 12 and up
Registration is required prior to audition. For more information contact DANCE IT UP! at 508-839-1648 or www.danceitup.com

Getting to Know Tony Waag

The American Tap Dance Foundation
by Nicole Harris

Since moving to New York three years ago I have been fortunate enough to take class, dance and work with some amazing members of the tap dance community. Many of these opportunities would not have been possible if not for all the hard work and dedication of Tony Waag. Tony is the Artistic/Executive Director of the American Tap Dance Foundation, a non-profit committed to establishing and legitimizing Tap Dance as a vital component of American Dance through creation, presentation, education and preservation.

ATDF started in 1986 as the American Tap Dance Orchestra, a vehicle for the choreography of Brenda Bufalino, of which Tony was a featured performer and Executive Director. As the organization grew to include more education they opened Woodpeckers Studio from 1989 to 1995. In 2002 TAP CITY, The New York City Tap Festival was created and the name changed from the American Tap Dance Orchestra to the American Tap Dance Foundation. In January of 2010 The American Tap Dance Center opened its doors on Christopher Street in New York City, creating a home for all of ATDF's programming, from classes for all ages and levels, to workshops and performance opportunities, to the Tap City Youth Ensemble.

This winter I got to sit and talk with Tony about ATDF, the festival, his career and plans for the future and the art of tap dancing.

NH: What is your favorite part of what the organization does?
TW: Well, you know it changes. Most recently (of course, I'm so into the festival and I love performing and the artistic things like being part of a show) but most recently it's been the kids and the classes and just seeing them tap dance.

NH: Do you think that having a home will change the organization?
TW: I think the fact that it's growing and reaching more people is change. It has become more challenging. I think it gives us more of an identity. It's easier for people to wrap their brains around something they can actually see and experience on a consistent basis.

NH: Part of your mission statement is about preservation. Can you tell me a little about that?
TW: We got funding last year from the NEA to re-explore two of Brenda Bufalino's pieces. It didn't dawn on me until that moment that it had already been twenty years. The preservation is now, because what feels like it was yesterday was twenty years ago.
It's also a lot of picking up the pieces, the stuff that was really almost lost. I've seen all of these legends die over the last twenty years. Luckily I learned or was part of or had access to either footage or conversations or actual people that learned information or material or dances from these people. From the very beginning it was pretty obvious that that stuff was in danger.

NH: What about preserving work that is being created now?
TW: Well, luckily with technology it's a little easier to preserve things now. If you do a contemporary project and have access to cameras and websites to promote your events or dvds to sell your product you're more likely to capture all that information, not just to preserve it but as a tool to remember it or knowing that you want to be able to use it for promotion later on. You didn't have all these other things before. Luckily a lot of the preservation is happening anyway.

NH: Tap has such an oral history. How do you feel the new technology changes the art form?
TW: Those tools are great as far as education. Yes, you can see the Miller Brothers and Lois on YouTube but it's an easy come easy go. You spend a nano-second looking at it and you think you know what it is. But if you had to work for it, you'd appreciate it differently.
But it's also good because it's a way to get it out to more people. If there's a show with tap dancing on Broadway, even if it's only one number, that's great because it reaches thousands of people. If there's show on television with tap dancing, that reaches millions of people.

Stay Tuned for More Words of Wisdom from Tony Waag, Coming Soon!

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

WAYS TO LEND A HAND
That Wont Cost You A Penny

As we are heading into this time of growth and change Monkeyhouse needs you more than ever. In efforts to build our volunteer group, the Monkeyhouse Movers & Shakers, we have set up a series of volunteer days throughout June. Each day will have a variety of projects so you will be sure to find something that suits your interests and skills.

Don't worry if you can't do a whole day. Whatever time you can offer will be greatly appreciated! Email me at MonkeyhouseBlog [at] gmail [dot] com and let me know what you want to do to help! Keep an eye out for more volunteer opportunities soon!

DAY ONE

Sunday, June 6th
11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Arlington Center for the Arts
41 Foster St, Arlington, MA

It's Spring Cleaning time! Join us in getting our office on track. We'll provide snacks and drinks throughout the afternoon. If you stick around after we'll even throw you a Thank You Lunch Party!

PROJECTS

Press Archive: Monkeyhouse has had a lot of press over the past ten years. Help update the press archive and get the filing system in order.

Office Purging: In addition to collecting a lot of press, we've managed to collect a lot of stuff over the past 10 years as well. Rather than letting it take up space in the office, we're sorting and purging and getting ready for a yard sale!