Musing Photo of the Day

Don't worry, kids!  I don't have a blindfold on!  I can SEE!

Keep an eye out for more photos from today's Musing all week!

A Little Bit of Improvisation

Last weekend Monkeyhouse headed out into Medford for a little blindfolded improvisation.  Led only by the information given to them by their partners, Karen and Courtney were blindfolded and let loose to climb, shuffle, hang, roll and otherwise discover the neighborhoods around Springstep in a whole new... light? 

Inside SPUNKandCOmpany

by karen Krolak

Word on the web is that SPUNKandCOmpany's debut this weekend at the Dance Complex has already sold out! If this interview with Artistic Director, Jillian Grunnah, whets your appetite for dance, be sure to get on the waiting list now.


karen Krolak: So what prompted you to start a company this year?
Jillian Grunnah: It was the collaboration with the dancers during the Green Street Emerging Artists February "edition" that spurred the choreographic necessity to start something. We gelled so well and all seemed to want the same thing at the same time. The energy that we all brought to the table was so real and ripe that we knew we had to jump on it. I was bit by the choreographic bug a long time ago, but the time is now. I feel more confident and ready to make a commitment to producing work on a regular basis.


kK: I am so glad to hear that you gained so much from the Emerging Artists experience and I seem to remember reading that you are going to include your piece from the Green Street Studio concert in Eleven. Is that right?
JG: That is correct. After working on Thick/Thin a bit more, harnessing the relationships between the women on stage, and adding a new "dancer," I feel like I can't wait to show this piece again. It is one of my favorite out of the many I've made. It's very layered, and I hope that people who've already seen it can look at it and find something new this time.

kK: Excellent! I am excited to see how it has evolved. After reading your post about participating in Emerging Artists program, Arthur Fink sent along several great questions about the process of building Thick/Thin. He wondered how your mentors interacted with your artistic project? He wanted to know if it was it with any intention or message or with your fascination with any kinds of movement or presence? I realize that it could be awkward to talk about the specifics of your mentors in this case since I was one of them. However, could you talk about it abstractly to address his questions?
JG: Sure, the mentors provided feedback that fueled my thought process more than my movement analysis. I needed assitance with building a strong concept and reaching a specific goal towards developing female friendships on stage. The mentors were the outside eyes that my subjective and narrow ones couldn't be.


kK: Arthur also asked,  "Is the mentor a critic, or something else? Does the mentor become a collaborator, or just (not just) another source of light and enlightenment?"
JG: The mentor is at once all of those things. In any kind of art, it is almost impossible to remove the subjectivity, as we all come from very different backgrounds and with different baggage, if you will. The mentor certainly provides a critical perspective, but it is hopefully one that inspires and encourages the choreographer to reach a deeper level in her work. As the mentor views the work over and over, she becomes a collaborator as she becomes more invested and educated in the developing work.


kK: What do you think SPUNKandCOmpany will add to the Boston Dance Community?
JG: I hope that the company brings a fresh vitality to the scene in the raw physicality of what we do and that it provides another mode of storytelling through dance. We exist because we are all dancers and dance makers. We start from a very collaborative place, and we hope that reads in the work. Dance does not have to be authoritative; in fact it's extremely communal. We hope to be a laboratory of sorts for dancers/dancemakers, sort of like singer/songwriters.


kK: I am curious to know more about your collaborators. How did you select people for your company?
JG:We were all close artistic friends who had a drive to work on our own schedule outside of full-time jobs and who had similar aesthetic, athletic, and creative ideas. We felt comfortable dancing with and giving feedback to each other. The company, just like the first dance, grew out of a very natural place and organic process. It just felt right. We are all, minus one, the original dancers/choreographer of Thick/Thin, an ironic tale of female friendship in itself!

kK: Well, congratulations on launching SPUNKandCOmpany and I will see you Saturday after the show.
JG: THANKS, Karen!

Dance Around the World: The Haka

by Sarah Friswell

As I thought about what to blog about this month, it dawned on me that my passion (lately) has been cultural survival. So I'd like to share a bit about some unique cultural dances that I've found interesting during my studies of dance at the University of Tampa and beyond.  I hope you enjoy!

Photo Credit Sarah Friswell

This past May, I had the pleasure of traveling to New Zealand. While I was there, I saw beautiful landscapes, met wonderful people, had fantastic food, and saw some great visual and performing arts. The indigenous peoples, or tangata whenua, of New Zealand are the Maori people, and their culture is often shown alongside modern New Zealand culture. They have used dance for a few thousand years in ways we would never think of.

Woman and men both danced with and used poi (ball on a cord) to keep their wrists supple for maneuvering weapons in battle. It was a very good way to increase flexibility and coordination. Poi can be on a short cord or a long cord and they are swung in varying patterns to rhythmic music and singing.

The most famous Maori dance is the haka. It is a dance used for many reasons, although most people think of it as a dance of war. The predominant performers are men, but women also sing in the background.

Early on in Maori history, the haka was used to intimidate when two tribes would meet, similar to hip hop battles today. It ensured that each party was alert and aware of the other so that neither could be taken advantage of.

Haka is a dance used to show strength and dominance. The men stand upright in an open stance and rhythmically pound their feet on the ground and/or pound on their bodies to show strength and to intimidate their opponents. The facial expression is what most people remember about the haka. The performers/warriors open their eyes very wide, frown and show their tongue, as if to tell their opponents that they will eat them if they make a wrong move.

The haka is said to be derived from Ra, the sun god. He had a child with Hine-raumati, the essence of summer, and they named their child Tenerore. It's said now that the shaking of the hand, or wiriwiri, represents the sun glistening on the water and they say that is Tenerore performing for his mother.

To read more about the history of the haka, click here.

Today, the New Zealand national rugby team, The All Blacks, perform the haka at the beginning of their matches to intimidate their opponents. While I was in New Zealand, I had the opportunity to speak with community leaders in Napier who teach the haka to young Maori boys who are involved in gangs. They said that it's important to show the boys a look at their own history and teach them traditional ways. When they learn these traditional lessons, they feel proud to be Maori and most of the boys have chosen to let go of all gang ties and help to rehabilitate others.

You can watch an example of the haka here.

For more information about the haka and dance in New Zealand, check out these links!
Maori Performance Art
Maori Dance and Culture
Kahurangi Maori Dance Company
The All Blacks Haka

Photo Credit Brianna Vaughan

Another Call for Choreographers

Since we have been discussing mentoring, Boston choreographers will be thrilled that the Dance Complex is hosting another Shared Choreographers' Concert (SCC) this October as part of the organization's 20th anniversary festivities. Don't miss this chance to be mentored by Brian Crabtree, Kelli Edwards and Rozann Kraus (Read up on her mentoring philosophy here!) in preparation for a fully produced concert in the Julie Ince Thompson Theatre on October  21st and 22nd. This is a wonderful opportunity for both novice choreographers and for more experienced artists who could benefit from critical feedback. Proposals are due on September 14th, so do not dither.

In your proposal describe: 

• the dance style
• the number of dancers
• the main concept of your piece
• include your contact info (email & phone).  
• any time constraints you have during the early afternoon on 09/18, the day of the first showing

Please note that your piece can not exceed 10 minutes. Send your proposal to scc.dancecomplex@gmail.com by September 14. For more information on this program, check out the Dance Complex's website.

Cultivate Memories (part 3)

by karen Krolak
Returning again to my impressions from Selene Colburn's and Paul Benney's Bethlehem Walking Tour at Cultivate 2011, I was amused by this trio of pictures. In each one the landscape was giving movement instructions. Something that was even more interesting since I could not fully accomplish them. The door in the first photo was locked. Alas, no one had mentioned that I should bring a horn for the second one. And my phone did not have coverage to look up the website of the sticker on the window.

How often is our behavior choreographed by the environment around us on a daily basis? What happens when we can't or don't want to obey?

Again, I have no idea if this is related to what Paul and Selene intended their piece to evoke. These questions just sprang from my observations about the things that captured my attention during the experience.

Joffrey Call for Choreographers

photo by Herbert Migdoll

by karen Krolak

Listen up everyone. You have exactly one month to get your application in for Joffrey’s Second Annual Choreographers of Color Award, designed to recognize promising young choreographers of color. The three winners will be notified by November 1, 2011.

Selected choreographers will receive:

• 30 rehearsal hours to set their pieces on the Joffrey Academy Trainees, 
• $2,500 stipend,
• the opportunity to work directly with Joffrey Artistic Director, Ashley C. Wheater, and Academy Artistic Directors, Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik,
• and housing for the duration of the two-week residency if your permanent residence is more than 100 miles from Joffrey Tower,

Choreography created for the Joffrey Academy Trainees will be presented at the Joffrey Tower and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance and must be:

• original work developed by the applicant,
• minimum of 10 minutes and maximum of 12 minutes long,
• and created by applicants 18 years of age or older who are naturalized or permanent residents.

photo by Herbert Migdoll

To apply, interested choreographers must submit the following by mail: 

• a DVD with a five-minute or less excerpt of their choreography with a brief written description; 
• a letter of intent describing their interest in the competition and the kind of work they will create; 
• a headshot and curriculum vitae with three references; 
• and, a general application, which can be found online at joffrey.org/choreographersofcolor.  

There is no submission fee.  Materials can be mailed to:  

The Joffrey Ballet, 

Attn: Choreographers of Color Competition Selection Committee

10 E. Randolph Street

Chicago, IL, 60601.