International Women's Day

by karen Krolak

International Women's Day first came to my attention four years ago when I arrived in Orvieto on March 8th for Simone Forti's Logomotion workshop. As the holiday has gained popularity in the US, I am reminded of the magnificent hours I spent walking, talking, and dancing with a kickass crew of choreographers/artists from all over the globe. So in the spirit of International Women's Day, I am delighted to introduce you to three of the women who wowed me with their creativity and kindness during that trip.

Marina Tsartsara's - Originally from Greece but now based in England, Marina's interdisciplanary creations "explore digital-live interactivity, kinaesthetic effect, the use of the senses in performance and the relationship between dance and film/video, amongst other areas of interest." As it turns out her visual art performance entitled Wherever I look opens today at the Avinyo Theatre in Catalonia. Please go if you happen to be in the area and send me a message with all the lush details.

Katherine Ferrier - Katherine simply amazes me. We actually met at an Improvisation Workshop on Bennington's campus in 2003 and it was purely coincidence that we reconnected in Italy. Her show, Textures: New Mixed-Media Collage Work by Katherine Ferrier, will open on March 16th at the Maia Papaya Cafe in Bethelhem, NH. (Again, please send me details if you are lucky enough to see it!) In between dancing, painting, quilting, teaching, and writing, she somehow found time to launch and curate Cultivate, a seasonal showing of contemporary dance works with support from the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire.  The call for applications to present workshops or perform at this fabulous fledgling festival just went up this week. I will post more on that later.


Ok, I have one more to tell you about but as the temperature in Boston breaks records, I find myself longing to wander around today soaking up inspiration. I have one more woman to write about after I return.  In the meantime, if you want to get to know even more feisty female choreographers, check out Dance Magazine's Growing List.

Kick*ss class @ Cultivate

by karen Krolak

Although I won't be at Cultivate 2011 in time for this workshop, who can resist a class called  “Seriously Awkward” Contact Improvisation? While all the titles are tempting, this description begged to be shared and opens up some interesting questions about how and why we dance. Hope to see some of you up in Littleton, NH.

Rebecca Bryant: 
“Seriously Awkward” Contact Improvisation
In this workshop, we will use seriousness and awkwardness to our artistic advantage:  We will take contact improvisation seriously by setting aside the sometimes recreational emphasis of contact in favor of technical, compositional, philosophical, and performative discourse, thereby framing contact first and foremost as a highly evolved art form.
Unlike many contact workshops that focus on increasing each dancer’s comfort level, we will cultivate the awkward.  The often unacknowledged stylistic emphasis on smooth, flowing contact dancing will be replaced by illogical, stilted, quirky, and surprising movement.  We will find a fuller palette of expression and artistry by diversifying our physical choices as well as our notions of what contact improvisation encompasses.
We will draw from structures created and utilized by the Lower Left Performance Collective, including: The Fussy Dance, The Four Winds, and Event Dancing.  As an integral part of this workshop, we will watch each other to observe the results of exploration and to incite and inform our own dancing.
class:    “Seriously Awkward” Contact Improvisation
time:    Friday 10am-12pm
place: Great Hall, WMS
cost:    $25 (or, included in any Fest Pass)
for:       Movers with some previous contact experience, especially those interested in performing
more:    visit Cultivate on Eventbrite to reserve your spot!


Pssst...did you notice that one of the photos in the Cultivate poster is from Dance in the Fells? That is because Sarah Smith, who we interviewed about the BDA Open Call last fall will be performing at Cultivate. Anyone else have It's A Small World echoing in their brain now?

Still time to Cultivate

by karen Krolak

Never fear, there is still time to register for Cultivate 2011. Seriously, hop in a car, catch a bus, or for the love of Gorgonzola, somersault if you must.

Come on, glance over the roster of participating artists this year:

Analia Alegre-Femenias (Iowa/ Puerto Rico)
Katherine Keifer Stark (Philadelphia, PA)
Selene Colburn (Burlington, VT)
Paul Benney (Burlington, VT)
Pamela Vail (Lancaster, PA)
Katherine Ferrier (Littleton, NH)
Vicki Brown (Tucson, AZ)
Amy Barr (Iowa City, IA)
Kathy Couch (Northampton, MA)
Rebecca Bryant (West Lafayette, IN)
Don Nichols (West Lafayette, IN)
Olase Freeman (Providence, RI)
Kathryn McNamara (Providence, RI)
Sara Smith (Amherst, MA)
Sarah Baumert (Boston, MA)
Kitty Clark (West Virginia)
Amanda Hamp (Decorah, IA)
Tori Lawrence (Philadelphia, PA)
Emily Anderson (North Conway, NH)
Arthur Fink (Portland, ME)

and try to convince me that you are not salivating. Whether you are drawn to workshops, performances, or walking tours, I am certain that it will be well worth the hike to New Hampshire. When you are finished drooling, you can gather more details on this fabulous, fledgling dance festival on Cultivate's ever articulate website. You better hustle, though, events start in less than 48 hours.

Friday, August 19

9-10           REGISTRATION
10-12         “Seriously Awkward” Contact Improvisation Rebecca Bryant (GH)
12-2           lunch + artist mingle WMS
2-4            Dance in the Classroom  Paul Benney (CE) / No-Fuss Ballet Pamela Vail (GH) / Seeing Dance Like a Photographer  Arthur Fink (T)
4-6            Initiation and Follow-Through Katherine Kiefer Stark (GH)
6-7            dinner at WMS
7:30          Performance in Theater
9:30          Artist/Audience Linger + Mingle at Cold Mountain Cafe (DT)

Saturday, August 20

8-9            breakfast at WMS
9-11           Mindful Moving Kitty Clark (GH)  / The Solo Self Amy Barr (T)
11-2           lunch+ mingle+ visit to Farmer’s Market (DT) | Bethlehem Walking Tour Selene Colburn, Paul Benney (DT)
2-4            Open Source Forms  Amanda Hamp (GH) / Kid’s Class! Leap, Tumble, and Roll Paul Benney(CE)
4-6            Latin-Modern Fusion Analia Alegre-Femenias (GH)
6-7            dinner at WMS
7:30          Performance in Theater
9:30          Artist/Audience Linger + Mingle at Terra (DT)

Sunday, August 21

8:30-10    brunch at WMS
10-12        Embodied Democracy Katherine Ferrier (GH)
12              closing ritual and final linger+mingle (TBA)

Locations of Cultivate Events
GH           Great Hall at WMS
T               White Mountain School Black Box Theater
CE            Creative Edge Dance Studio
DT            Downtown Bethlehem

Katherine Ferrier and Cultivate

by karen Krolak


I am so fortunate to have some amazing people as friends. For example, in the summer of 2003, Nicole Harris and Amelia O'Dowd floored me with an incredibly thoughtful gift. They scrimped and saved to send me to a magnificent dance improvisation workshop in Bennington, Vermont. I am not sure that I ever thanked them enough now that I think back on it.

One of the first people that I met that week was Katherine Ferrier, who writes, teaches, quilts, and choreographs. I was delighted when we crossed paths again at Simone Forti's Logomotion workshop in Orvieto, Italy in 2008. She is such a gentle magnet who always attracts a fascinating collection of artists. For instance, even though she has only lived in New Hampshire for a year, she has already stitched together a mini-festival of dance. If you are in the area or within a few hours' drive, I highly recommend that you join her.



Dancers, educators, dance students and dance lovers of all ages are invited to
a day of learning, sharing and showcasing
Saturday, August 14, 2010
White Mountain School
Cultivate is a partnership of the Arts Alliance's Extending the Dance Map initiative,
funded in part by Dana Foundation and the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.
Visit the Arts Alliance website for additional details, to preregister for the workshops and to reserve tickets for the evening performance. Evening tickets are $10 per person, $20 per family.

The day begins with a series of workshops (for everyone from young dance students to school-based teachers to professional dancers) and culminates with an evening performance of works by participating artists. After the performance audience members are encouraged to linger and mingle over conversation and food at Social 2055, a new restaurant on Bethlehem's Main Street.

Participating artists include:

• Tiffany Rhynard (Middlebury, VT), Guest Artist at Middlebury College
• Pamela Vail (Lancaster, PA), Assistant Professor at Franklin and Marshall College
• Lisa Gonzales (Chicago, IL), Assistant Professor at Columbia College, Chicago
• Katherine Ferrier (Littleton, NH), Independent artist/educator
• Suzy Grant (Chicago, IL), Dance graduate of Columbia College and independent artist/producer
• Sally Bomer (Peterborough, NH), Lecturer at Franklin Pierce College
• Emily Anderson (North Conway, NH), Bennington College Dance student and New Hampshire native
• Vicki Brown (Tuscon, AZ), Composer, performer, musician with Movement Salon, AZ
• Emily Beattie and Eric Gunther (Boston, MA)