Cultivate Memories (part 2)

by karen Krolak

These images were all taken from the same section of Selene Colburn and Paul Benney's  Bethlehem Walking Tour at Cultivate 2011. As we braved our way through the field, all three seemed to evoke the same sensation of finding a path and yet they seem to tell very different stories.  I enjoyed how even the woman's tattoo resembled a mysterious map.

Monkeyhouse Master Class @MDF

by karen Krolak

Amherst will be brimming over with opportunities to explore a wide spectrum of dance this weekend when the Massachusetts Dance Festival arrives at UMASS. You can sample everything from Classical Indian to Jazz Fusion during the day and then catch an equally diverse concert that evening.

Come join me for a partnering class designed to cover the basics of weight sharing at 12:15 PM. Then, after lunch and a rousing round table discussion, you can check out Ryan Casey, Monkeyhouse's new Blogger-in-Residence, as he gets people tapping.  All workshops will be at the UMass Amherst Totman Building. For more info, scoot over to the festival website.

Cultivate Memories (part 1)

 by karen Krolak

For several years now, I have been curious about how we remember choreography, the systems people use to record or capture movements. Is it more important to document the exact shape of the steps or should we focus in on the emotional energy of the experience? What can pictures tell us that words would fail to illuminate and vice verse? Do we understand something better with multiple viewings or do we simply start to over analyze it?

As Selene Colburn and Paul Benney guided us along a Bethlehem Walking Tour at Cultivate 2011, these questions began to skirt around the edges of my attention. Although I normally would not think to take pictures during a performance,  Arthur Fink's camera emboldened me and that diorama by the fountain begged to be photographed. Over the next few days, I will share some of moments/textures/movements that caught my interest on this walk. At the same time, I would love to hear other people's thoughts on recording choreography. Please feel free to share any comments, suggestions or questions of your own.

Jillian Grunnah on Mentoring

As August winds down, local choreographers who had flocked to summer workshops, residencies, and performances in cooler climates begin to migrate back to Boston. For example, Jillian Grunnah recently returned from in Italy and is already preparing for the launch of her newest creation, SpunkandCOmpany. Her company is composed of six dancer/choreographers who lend, not only their technical skill, but also their creative input and energy to every dance. 

Since Jillian participated in the winter Emerging Artists Program at Green Street Studios, I decided to pick up the thread of our series on mentoring with her. I asked her to ruminate on her experience as a mentee and to riff off of  Kendra Heithoff 's request for more in-depth mentoring relationships.   


By Jillian Grunnah


The most valuable part of the GSS Emerging Artist Concert was the factor of accountability to yourself as an artist and to the work you are creating. Having a mentor keeps you focused and constantly pushes you to think outside of your own creativity and values. Knowing that someone is there to see your work through to the next place keeps the wheels turning. I was not allowed to become complacent or satisfied too quickly with my work. I think having that outside set of caring and knowing eyes allows a choreographer to feel supported yet challenged.


I think that it was difficult having two mentors. Although I appreciated the diversity of opinion, I think that it would be more beneficial to have a longer, closer process with one person. Maybe instead of a two-month process, it becomes half a year or even an entire year. My only fear is being solely influenced by that mentor, but I would hope to have someone who has similar aesthetic and conceptual values as I do, or at least is open to approaching different types of work and to really becoming invested in the development of my work. I felt like I experienced something like this in graduate school at Smith College in western Mass; although even there, it felt sometimes scattered and not as focused as I'd hoped. The mentor/mentee relationship is difficult in an artistic process because while it is important to be pushed, held accountable, and given new perspectives from which to work, the creative process for me has always been very individual and isolated. I guess that I sometimes fear that I will attempt to please the mentor instead of working from an authentic place.

Mark your calendars:

SPUNKandCOmpany
presents

ELEVEN
Friday / Saturday
September 16 & 17, 2011
8:00 pm

choreography by
audra carabetta
jillian grunnah
eileen kielty
miriam lundgren
tara mccrystal

Julie Ince Thompson Theatre at the
Dance Complex
536 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 

Tickets / $10 / can be reserved by email: 
spunkandcodancecollective@gmail.com, or by calling 312.315.4181

Summerfest @ Springstep

As you know Monkeyhouse loves being an organization in residence at Springstep. If you haven't had a chance to check out this amazing center for dance and music, hustle over here on Sunday for an inexpensive day of sampling classes. 

Sunday, August 21, 2011
1:00 - 5:00pm
Suggested donation: $5 (for entire event!)

Kids Free

Rain or shine!

Get moving at Summerfest on August 21st! Sample from over 15 different dance and fitness classes for adults and youth, watch art demonstrations, take advantage of deals on fall classes and memberships, let your kids loose in the Craft Corner, see the debut of Springstep's flashmob, and more! Click here to view the full schedule of events!

1:00-1:50pm 
Flamenco
Royal Scottish Country Dancing (Live Music!)

Sing-A-Lingo Spanish Through Music (Ages 18 mos - 5 years) 

1:55-2:45pm 
Modern, Jazz, Blues (Lecture/Demonstration)
Creative Dance for Kids
Country Western Line Dancing

Argentine Tango

2:50-3:40pm 
Hoop Dancing
Dance Floor Fundamentals
Music Together Sing-along (Ages 0-5 and caregiver) 
Country Western Line Dancing

3:45-4:35pm 
Swing
Zumba
Music Together Sing-along (Ages 0-5 and caregiver)

4:40-5:30pm 
Salsa
Bollywood

And don't forget, Fall classes begin on Tuesday, September 6!

See full schedule of fall classes.

Springstep

98 George P Hassett Drive

Medford, MA

More Images from Impulse Dance Camp

 by karen Krolak


Although these pictures are all of pieces created by the other teachers at last week's Dance Camp at Impulse Dance Center in Natick, I love how they capture the spirit of the movement. I hope everyone finds a way to weave some live art into your weekend. Jason and I will be hopping over to Charlestown tonight to see Orfeo Group's Love Song (directed by Risher Reddick whom you might remember led a rocking Fight Choreography workshop as part of Against the Odds) and then scurrying up to Cultivate tomorrow.

Images from Impulse Dance Camp

 by karen Krolak

Dance improvisation can totally intimidate kids initially. Last week, however, I met a group of students who immediately embraced the awkwardness and unpredictability of these exercises. I was teaching at Impulse Dance Center's Dance Camp and I was thoroughly impressed by the way these dancers ignited their own imaginations.

After one improvisation with folding chairs, I asked the girls to describe their experience. One girl began, "My chair started as my purse but then it became my home." Another chimed in, "Mine was a pair of wings and then a gun." By harnessing their creativity, we quickly whipped together a quirky little piece called Angels with Metal Wings in less than two hours. It was filled with phrases generated by the performers woven together with small bits of my own choreography.

I was so proud of the both the process and the end product that I thought I would share some images here. I wish these photos could communicate their earnest efforts to teach each other the sections they created or their effervescent attitudes. Knowing how easy it is for tweens to fall prey to petty competitiveness, I was thrilled by their concern for everyone in the group.

Huge thanks to everyone who showed up to encourage these lovely young women.