Quick Q&A with Autumn Mist Belk

by Karen Krolak

Having taught at Impulse Dance Center in Natick, MA for the last 13 years, I am always delighted to discover how my former students find ways to weave dance into their lives after high school. Some of them, like Monkeyhouse's Nicole Harris, Amanda Page, and Kelly Long have pursued professional dance paths. However, many others build careers in other fields and still seek out regular technique classes. For example, Catherine Buell, who made her professional debut in Monkeyhouse's Ahem. Aha! Hmmm. in 2004, is somehow able to suss out performing opportunities while working towards her PhD in Mathematics at NC State. Frankly, I am in awe of her in general and this feat in particular.

When Catherine was home this summer, she raved about Autumn Mist Belk's classes and choreography. After her descriptions I dearly wish that I could see Autumn's newest creation, Indulge, especially since Catherine will be appearing in it as a guest artist. Alas, I won't be able to scoot down to Durham this week but I would love to hear from anyone who does see it. In the meantime, though, I was able to interview Autumn through Facebook to find out more about her creative process.

karen Krolak: I am so glad to see that Catherine has found some time while working on her PhD in Mathematics to perform again. Have you enjoyed working with her?

Autumn Mist Belk: Catherine has been wonderful to have around, both in the summer program at NC State and now in just Code f.a.d. rehearsals. She is such a conscientious person and approaches dance very intellectually, which I really appreciate. While some dancers rely solely on muscle memory, I feel Catherine is a dancer that ties into her brain to make sense and process the movement also as she works.

kK: So I noticed that you have worked with Joe Goode, who is one of my favorite living choreographers. Can you tell me how he has influenced your work?

AMB: Joe Goode has been a huge influence in my work, really because I am so amazed by his work and how he incorporates so many elements so seamlessly into the performances. It is my goal to one day get brave enough to pull singing in, but my company needs lessons first (myself included)! More than his creative work, Joe is a wonderful person to work with, and I always felt I was important to him and to his work, even if performing what seemed to be such a minor role. (I was the back surface of a human bench at one point, but it never really felt like an insignificant part.) Particularly in Indulge, since we have 6 "core dancers" and then additional chorus members, I hope I am able to make those dancers in the chorus roles understand how important they are to the success of the piece as well as Joe always did.

kK: Wow, that is not an easy undertaking but it is a fabulous attitude to inherit from another choreographer. So can you briefly describe Indulge for us?

AMB: We have 6 "core" dancers, who each personify a particular indulgence (or group of indulgences), for example all food and drink are rolled into one indulgence, all technological elements are rolled into another. Then we have 4 "chorus" dancers who serve as the audience link into the work. The chorus members observe the work from within it and respond often in "real people" mannerisms. The chorus members also join in with core dancers to be a part of the dancing community in sections of the work. We hope to tour the work starting next season to universities, arts high schools, and other places where we can have residencies and bring dancers from those communities into these chorus roles, and the work is set up to accommodate between 4 and 12 chorus members in each show.

kK: What prompted you to create this piece?

AMB: Shopping! I am slightly addicted to fashion (clothes, shoes, purses). While researching the authenticity of a Louis Vuitton handbag I was hoping to purchase on ebay, I stumbled upon other purse-addicts on "The Purse Forum" and started thinking about when indulgences turn into addictions. I was also very inspired by a piece of music by G. Todd Buker (aka Proxy) called "The Art of Leisure," and I felt this music indicated a fashion runway show, so from there the piece developed. Todd composed the rest of the music in the piece also, and our filmmaker, Colby Hoke, was a strong influence in the other, darker indulgences, such as greed and power.

kK: Goodness, sounds as though you have an number of elements to juggle during your tech week. Thanks for taking time out to talk. Just one last question: how did you know when the piece was finished?

AMB: I'm not sure the piece is finished. Maybe that is true of every piece I've ever made, though. I always like to go back to them and rethink things. How Indulge would end; however, came very early in the process, so it really was about finding an arc to that end. The work is really about living with these characters, rather than a story or narrative, so actually the piece could keep going indefinitely. The characters keep living, we could just see them in new context. So maybe Indulge should be a dance mini-series - I suppose we'll see where the future takes things.

Code f.a.d. Company
presents Indulge
October 14 & 15, 2009 @8PM
Reynolds Industries Theater
Duke University (in the Bryan Center)
Durham, NC
created and choreographed by Autumn Mist Belk
Including original video by Colby Hoke and Stephen Aubuchon, set to music by G. Todd Buker, Indulge pulls the audience into a world filled with high fashion, powerful business, gourmet food, cutting-edge technology and eternal love.
Join the company for a Q&A following the performance!

2K Kickoff Challenge - Make your donation count twice as much!

WOO HOO!! One of Monkeyhouse's long time donors wants to kickoff our fall fundraising efforts by matching the first $2000 in donations. That's right even if you can only give a few dollars, your gift will be worth twice as much.

Did you know this blog has attracted visitors from over 57 countries on 5 continents in the last year? That's right, folks from as far away as Qatar and Chile have been checking in for our interviews with innovative choreographers. Please help us expand our Conversing with Choreographers project as we head into 2010.

Of course, Monkeyhouse is more than just a blog of tantalizing tidbits from the dance world. Our award winning nonprofit connects communities to the art of choreography. Founded in 2000 and voted "Best Dance Company in Boston" for 2006 & 2007 by the Boston Phoenix Readers' Poll, Monkeyhouse regularly performs at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA and First Night Boston.

We have premiered over 30 pieces and 6 evening length works and presented work by emerging choreographers in New York, NY, Chicago, IL, Woodstock, VT, Minneapolis, MN, Philadelphia, PA, San Francisco, CA, Rochester NH, Woodstock VT, and Winnipeg, MB. These works have been featured in Dance Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, Boston Magazine, SF Arts Monthly, and Time Out New York and received rave reviews in the Village Voice, The Chicago Reader, Boston Herald, Boston Globe, and San Francisco Chronicle.

Through our programs:

What’s the Big Idea?

Investigating the choreographic process in an interactive children’s performance.

Dream to Dance At Any Age

Motivating adults to move with meaning.

Princess Pamplemousse

Illuminating choreographic concepts through a charismatic character

Conversing with Choreographers

Promoting artistic insight through panels, blog posts and other opportunities.

Developing Dance Literacy

Collaborating with libraries to increase dance archives.

Wicked Awesome Wikipedia Choreographers’ Campaign

Improving visibility for choreographers on the internet.

and

Bernie Wightman’s Dance Building Fund

Encouraging choreographic innovation and experimentation,

we have interacted with thousands of audience members, who are often new to the world of dance.

Oh, and even if you can't afford to donate right now, feel free to let us know how you found us, who you would like to have interviewed, or why you love Monkeyhouse. Thanks for being a part of our online community.

Catching Up with Peter Carpenter (part 2: the interview)

by Karen Krolak

Ok, as promised today will feature an email interview with Peter Carpenter, one of my favorite choreographers. His creations are infused with a potent personal storytelling and somehow build an almost combustible level of tension. Peter graduated from Northwestern University a year ahead of me and his bold artistic voice encouraged me to enroll in Lynne Blom's choreography classes. 

While at a pig roast in Kentucky on an October evening 17 years ago, Peter listened patiently as I rambled on about my dilemma about whether to pursue a graduate degree in Linguistics or to risk becoming a professional choreographer. Even though I had been driving Peter insane during his dance rehearsals for a production of The Tempest, he bolstered my confidence and told me to trust my instincts. A little more than a year later cancer cut short Lynne Blom's life.  And,  then tragically, our other mentor, Tim O"Slynne  passed away from AIDS.  It was often Peter who generously guided me along and taught me how to write grants and produce shows. In this highly competitive field, Peter is an exceptionally nuturing artist and I am deeply indebted to his kindness and inspiration. His dedication and resilience leave me speechless. Congratulations Peter on your position at Columbia College and all your recent success.

kK: So, how are you enjoying being back in Chicago and teaching at Columbia College?

PC: Love it. The dance community in Chicago, though small, is really thriving these days. And, in an era of shrinking enrollments nationwide, the Dance Center’s enrollment is higher than ever. The faculty here is fantastic and, unlike the infighting that goes on in many institutions, we all actually like each other. Go figure.

kK: How did your current project My Fellow Americans begin?

PC: Wow, way back in 1994 when Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I remember talking with Lee Anne Schmitt about it in our apartment on Summerdale. It was such a crazy time, so much death from AIDS. I remember Tim O'Slynne being completely crazy the last time I saw him, and I just thought it made such perfect sense that Reagan was going to lose his mind too. It seemed like poetic justice given the fact that he did next to nothing to stop the disease at its beginning stages.

Then in grad school I did an ethnography on a gay country western bar in Los Angeles and started thinking about cowboys and “American-ness” and Reagan in terms of manifest destiny and all that weirdly codified movement that signals masculinity in the U.S. I worked with that in a piece called Bareback Into the Sunset, but left Reagan out of it. The first time I addressed Reagan directly was in a solo titled “Cowboy Down” that I made in May 2006 on a split bill with Kristen Smiarowski (Los Angeles-based choreographer) for an evening titled Rehearsing the Body Politic at Links Hall.

I revised that solo for The Other Dance Festival in the Fall of 2007 and then started researching grant opportunities for a larger scale project. This research resulted in the Chicago Dancemakers Forum Grant, a Columbia College Faculty Development Grant and a Space Grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. I also have used the yearly inclusion of a slot at The Other Dance Festival (also at Hamlin) to develop the work.


kK: How did your grant from the Chicago Dancemakers Forum influence this project?

PC: I could pay the dancers something closer to what they’re worth. Not what they’re worth, mind you, but a tiny bit closer. Tiny bit. Tiny. Bit. I also visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley California for research. I’m not sure how that influenced the project, but it was really weird. Images and video EVERYWHERE. Written text, nowhere. So Reagan. So teflon.

kK: What has been the biggest challenge for you during the creation of this piece?

PC: Where to begin. We were originally slotted for a two-weekend run at Links Hall in May, but then I got really sick with pneumonia and complications in the recovery, so we had to cancel. I think you know me well enough to see how hard that was. Though the piece has certainly been steeped in a recognition of that human frailty and vulnerability that illness brings about. Breath, or the struggle for breath is omnipresent in the work. Let me thank the cast here for their loyalty to the project and their willingness to be on standby over the summer as I slowly regained my health.

kK: I have never heard of the Hamlin Park Studio Theater. Is this a new space?

PC: I think its going on 10 years now. It’s run by Nana Shineflug/The Chicago Moving Company. CMC is an Arts Partner with the Chicago Park District in Residence at Hamlin Park.

kK: Was there a reason why you choose it for this particular piece?

PC: It started as a necessity because we lost the space at Links due to my illness. It’s turned into a blessing and it feels especially appropriate since I’ve developed almost half of the work for performances of The Other Dance Festival over the past several years. It's also one of the nicest dance floors in town.

kK: I was startled a few years ago when I was discussing the impact of AIDS on the dance community for an article for The Boston Globe. The writer had never realized how many dancers and choreographers had struggled with AIDS. Can you explain more about why this is such an important topic in your work?

PC: Gosh, I really wish I could articulate this better. I guess I just never understood why it was, and is, okay for some people to die and not okay for others. In the 80s it was gays and junkies, they were expendable. Why? What was it? What kind of belief system believes in punishment. I really don’t get it. A recent aspect of my research has been attending a very queer-friendly Presbyterian Church (Lakeview Presbyterian in Boystown). It’s been so healing to look at Christianity from a different viewpoint—a viewpoint of ethical responsibility to care for those we’d rather forget. So, yes, at heart I’m a little farm kid who didn’t understand why the people with the power to save lives ignored those who needed saving. I think I’m genetically wired to call out hypocrisy. Gets me in trouble in relationships, but ah well....

kK: While at Jacob's Pillow this summer, I heard Rachel Maddow give an impassioned plea to support the arts in the US. She asserted that "A country without the capacity to nurture artistic greatness is not being a great country." How do you feel about this statement?

PC: Oh I couldn’t agree more. Artistic cultivation is crucial for the development of a healthy democracy. Artists voice the unspeakable and speak truth to power on a daily basis. It is our modus operandi. Though I would say that the artists are often doing a good job of shooting themselves in the foot. Let us please stop feeling sorry for ourselves and make our own opportunities. You know very well (because you were there) that the only reason I have the relative success I have now is because I made my own opportunities. I produced my own work and waited tables to support my dancing habit and that was just how it was. My work now is absolutely shaped by that position of relative exile. Now I am fortunate enough to be in a tenure-track position, but the work ethic is still the same. I think we need to keep fighting complacency and bitterness as artists—and we need to demand a place at the table in civic discourse. We need to recognize that it is the most profound privilege to dream and play with the most potent media imaginable, human bodies.

kK: Anything else that you would like to add?

PC: Nah, I think I twisted my ankle on the way off the soapbox.

kK: Thanks Peter. I really wish that I could be there to see it. You have no idea how much I miss your artistry.

PC: Miss you and yours.

###

My Fellow Americans

Thursday & Friday performances: October 8, 9, 15, & 16 at 7:30pm 

Hamlin Park Studio Theater

3035 N. Hoyne, Chicago, IL 60618 (map)

$15 general admission/$10 student or low income

Buy Tickets online directly at brownpapertickets.com

Choreography: Peter Carpenter
Performers: Peter Carpenter, Lisa Gonzales, Suzy Grant, Atalee Judy and Donnell Williams.

Getting to Know Jonathan Lee

Often referred to as "Sunday Funday" by the staff, Sundays at Steps on Broadway are a little less busy and a lot more laid back than weekdays. One of the highlights of the day is Jonathan Lee's 2:00 Beginning Hip-Hop Class which is always overflowing with dancers and non-dancers alike, fun and cutting edge choreography and a contagious energy.
Danielle Thibault, a student and hip-hop instructor at Impulse Dance Center in Natick, MA agreed to talk to Jonathan about his career as a performer, choreographer and teacher.

DT: What attracts you to hip hop more than styles such as ballet or modern?
JL: What attracts me to hip hop is the music. I love all different styles of dance but hip hop gives me the freedom to express myself more freely.

DT: Out of all the things you've done, such as working with famous performers, being in commercials, theater productions, taking class, and teaching -- which is your favorite and why?
JL: I love performing out of all the things that I do, whether it be in front of the camera or on stage. It's like breathing I can't live without it!!

DT: What was it like to work with people such as Britney Spears and Madonna? JL: I enjoyed working with Britney and Madonna. I was so blessed to work with such huge pop stars.

DT: Who has been your biggest inspiration in life and why?
JL: My biggest inspiration is my faith in God. Through good and bad, He has always kept me grounded.

DT: When did you start dancing?
JL: I started dancing when I was able to walk but I started taking class when I was 8 years old. =-D

DT: When teaching a class, what is your goal for the students entering?
JL: When I teach, I want my students to have a good time. Even though they may not get every step the first time I want them to feel and know that they eventually will.

DT: Have you always known that you wanted to dance? If so, did you always see yourself doing hip hop?
JL: I didn't know that I always wanted to dance but I knew I always wanted to entertain. I enjoyed being the ham. Hip hop and dance in general has really catapulted that into a reality.

DT: How did taking other styles of dance influence your choreography in your hip hop classes?
JL: I feel other dance styles have made me a better and stronger dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Nowadays, there is so much fusion going on that you have to well versed in all disciplines.

DT: What do you find the hardest part of teaching? And what is the best part?
JL: The hardest part of teaching is being patient with myself and my students. I tell my students if they are patient with themselves I am patient with them as well. The best part is being able to share my craft with people and hoping that after taking class they walk away feeling inspired and better about themselves.

DT: Did you go to college for dance?
JL: I did not go to college for dance but I did go to school for music.

DT: Who are some of your favorite choreographers?
JL: One choreographer that I have to give it up to is Mr.Wiggles, who is one of my mentors. I like Tabitha and Napoleon, Alvin Ailey, Bob Fosse, and Jerome Robbins. There are so many. People have so much to offer.

Catching Up with Peter Carpenter (part 1)

Peter Carpenter and Donnell Williams rehearsing My Fellow Americans

Photo by Cheryl Mann.  

By karen Krolak

If you happen to be in Chicago this fall, please live vicariously for me. October is just jammed with fabulous dance performances by artists I adore. Be sure to start the month of at Peter Carpenter's My Fellow Americans.

Peter Carpenter fuses political activism with intensely physical poetry. Images from his earliest works, such as When I Say I'm Queer Does It Frighten You?, still leave me breathless almost two decades later.  His raw masterpieces appeal to audience members all along the ideological spectrum. I have known die hard Republicans who followed his work even if they did not agree with his ideas.

His latest creation explores "the shifting identity of Ronald Reagan from the perspectives of the "special interest groups" that his rhetoric and policies consistently admonished," according to his facebook invite.  Please go see it and let me know what you think. Oh, and check back on Friday to read my email interview with Pete.

 

My Fellow Americans

Thursday & Friday performances: October 8, 9, 15, & 16 at 7:30pm 

Hamlin Park Studio Theater

3035 N. Hoyne, Chicago, IL 60618 (map)

$15 general admission/$10 student or low income

Buy Tickets online directly at brownpapertickets.com

Choreography: Peter Carpenter
Performers: Peter Carpenter, Lisa Gonzales, Suzy Grant, Atalee Judy and Donnell Williams.

Dance Sneaks into the Fuller Craft Museum (part 2)

by Karen Krolak

While some of the pieces in the Perfect Fit at the Fuller Craft Museum reference dance directly, others simply reminded me of specific Monkeyhouse pieces. For instance, Marjorie Schick's Chopines and Puddles, 2008 pictured at the right (Photo: Gary Pollmiller), would be right at home in the futuristic setting of Odalisque/What's Next. These puddle jumpers practically beg for someone to investigate their movement potential.

In fact, when Monkeyhouse premiered at the 2000 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, we had to build something similar but far less elegant. I had blown out my ACL a few weeks before the festival and could not manage to dance on our usual drywall stilts. Thank goodness Amelia was able to craft a suitable alternative for us. (On a related note: Nicole should share the rather humorous story about how those stilts altered her professional debut in that concert.)

After glancing around Marjorie's website,  I am fascinated by her unusual wearable art extravaganzas. Hmmm...I wonder if she would ever be interested in designing some costumes...

 

Dance Sneaks into the Fuller Craft Museum (part 1)

by Karen Krolak

I love when I stumble onto dance themes in surprising places. Meandering down to Brockton to see The Perfect Fit - Shoes Tell Stories at the Fuller Craft Museum, for instance, I was not expecting echoes of tap classes or beeswax enveloped ballet slippers. 

I caught my first whiff of dance's influence on this exhibit as I passed by Judy Haberl's Baby Opera. While I was staring at the assortment of 416 bronzed baby shoes that resembled miniature masks, a recording of someone delicately flapping, shuffling, and tapping reverberated through the hall. 

Continuing on my backwards journey through the exhibit,  I discovered Jennifer Carroll's Dancerexia. Jennifer is a professional choreographer and teacher who has trained at the American Ballet Theater School, Joffrey, Louis-Nikolais Dance Lab, and  Pilobolus. Her visual art explorations began by altering her collection of used dance shoes. "Some are perfect as they are: worn, torn, even bloody. Others I have taken the liberty of transforming." she explains on her website. In Dancerexia she revamped one of her own black pointe shoes and replaced the slipper's toe box with a scale that registers 100 pounds. 

oops...must run to a meeting but there will be more on this soon.