Break Out Your Tap Shoes!

by Nicole Harris

Have your tap shoes been gathering dust in the closet? Are you looking for a way to celebrate this last week of August? (I know, I'm in shock too. What happened to the summer?) Well, have I got the solution for you! I will be teaching tap at Steps on Broadway (2121 Broadway (at 74th St) New York City) this week! I'll be teaching Int Tap on Thursday, August 27th from 4:30-6:00 and Adv Beg Tap on Friday, August 28th from 6:15-745, so come on out and join the fun!

I hope to see you there!

Rachel Maddow's Pillow Talk

by Karen Krolak

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I curled up in the roots of a great tree and heard Suzanne Carbonneau interview Rachel Maddow at Jacob's Pillow a few weeks ago. Afterwards, though, I kicked myself because I was too absorbed in listening to take intelligible notes. However, a few days later Debra Cash, one of Boston's most established dance writers, sent out some quotes from this talk on the Dance Action Network. Thanks to Mariclare Hulbert from the Pillow's Press office for transcribing Rachel's thoughts, granting permission to reprint these ideas, and sharing these photos with us. 

 "I know nothing about dance. I am a fan. I am a fan of dance and  of Jacob's Pillow and a fan of people who know nothing about dance." - Rachel Maddow

"Sometimes we choose to serve our country in uniform, in war. Sometimes in elected office. And those are the ways of serving our country that I think we are trained to easily call heroic. Its also a service to your country, I think, to teach poetry in the prisons, to be an incredibly dedicated student of dance, to fight for funding music and arts education in the schools. A country without an expectation of minimal artistic literacy, without a basic structure by which the artists among us can be awakened and given the choic

e of following their talents and a way to get to be great at what they do, is a country that is not actually as a great as it could be. And a country without the capacity to nurture artistic greatness is not being a great country. It is a service to our country, and sometimes it is heroic service to our country, to fight for the United States of America to have the capacity to nurture artistic greatness." - Rachel Maddow

"Not just in wartime but especially in wartime, and not just in hard economic times but especially in hard economic times, the arts get dismissed as sissy. Dance gets dismissed as craft, creativity gets dismissed as inessential, to the detriment of our country. And so when we fight for dance, when we buy art that is made by living American artists, when we say that even when you cut education to the bone, you do not cut arts and music education, because arts and music education IS bone, it is structural, is it essential; you are, in [Jacobs Pillow founder] Ted Shawn's words, you are preserving the way of life that we are supposedly fighting for and its worth being proud of." - Rachel Maddow

NEA Grantee of the Day - Dance Theater Workshop

(Part of an ongoing series that demonstrates how some of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Direct Grantees have influenced Monkeyhouse's growth.)

By Karen Krolak
Dance Theater Workshop/New York, NY/$50,000 - Dance Theater Workshop (DTW) invited me to participate in two amazing workshops in the Spring of 2004. Each week, I would truck down to New York on Thursday afternoon just in time for a Writing on Dance class with Wendy Perron, Editor of Dance Magazine. Having studied with her at Jacob's Pillow's International Improvisation Workshop in 1992, I was delighted to recognize parallels between her creative processes in writing and dancing. Her exercises and critiques pushed me to develop a more active approach to describing dance.

This course vastly improved Monkeyhouse's outreach materials and press releases. Whenever Monkeyhouse's supporters compliment us on the quality of our blog posts or enews articles, DTW and Wendy deserve a huge chunk of that praise.

Friday mornings, I would return to DTW for the Bessie Schönberg Laboratory in Composition led by Patricia Hoffbauer. I have lost touch with most of the other choreographers from this group but I still keep tabs on Kiyoko Kashiwagi. Kiyoko was building a whip smart, anime inspired version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Using her jazz sneakers as pointe slippers and manipulating her cleverly designed costume, she would seamlessly transform from a ninja to mad scientist to token love interest. Her splashes of silent film slapstick accented her effortlessly elegant ballet technique. It was deliriously fun to witness this piece's evolution.

Since I was grappling with my first case of choreographer's block, I loved getting regular feedback on my work as it was struggling to take shape. Patricia's advice shook me out of this period of stagnation. There aren't many instructors who would be so willing to continue chatting about choreography after a three hour class but Patricia was always willing to go out for coffee with me. Though my choreographic sketches from this Lab did not develop into a full piece, I have stolen phrases and images from it for Doattee and Pelargic.

I won't lie; some of those 8 hour round trip jaunts to the Big Apple were beastly. Boston, however, does not have resources like this for emerging artists. So if I have not said it enough, thanks DTW for creating these opportunities and for sharing them with an out-of-state member.

Guest Artist At Dancing Arts Center

by Karen Krolak

If you are out in the suburbs of Boston today searching for an artistic adventure, I highly reccomend dropping by the Dancing Arts Center in Holliston, MA. At 4:30 and 6:30, students will present a diverse selection of Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Flamenco pieces created during the 2009 summer session. For the last three weeks, I have been a guest artist for the Elementary Intermediate level Modern classes. In addition to my work, the concert will feature works by Karyn Edison, Wayne Stewarte, Erica Drew, and Adrienne Hawkins .

My piece, Infinite???, was inspired by text messaging and two tracks off of a CD included in the July 2007 issue of the Believer Magazine. With only 15 hours of rehearsal, I began with improvisations to develop vocabulary that would be familiar to this group. Having been mesmerized by David Parker's 10th anniversary performance at Summer Stages Dance the Thursday before I started, I borrowed one of his favorite exercises. Just using the phrases that the girls created with it, we whipped the first section together in five days. Now I understand why David is so fond of this choreographic tool.

Even though these dancers are classically trained, they have been very willing to embrace my rather unorthodox teaching methods and the slapstick style of this piece. I am looking forward to seeing how it kicks off the concert.

NEA Grantee of the Day - Jacob's Pillow

(Part of an ongoing series that demonstrates how some of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Direct Grantees have influenced Monkeyhouse's growth.)

by Karen Krolak

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival/Becket, MA/$50,000 -

Merciful heavens, there are just too many reasons to love Jacob's Pillow. In the seven hours that Jason and I were there on Saturday we:

*snuggled into the roots of a massive oak tree and listened to Rachel Maddow  and Suzanne Carbonneau ponder possibilites for integrating arts and public policy,

*poured over video footage of Pina Bausch and Merce Cunningham,

*shared stories with JR Glover and Thasia Giles  on  Anne Bluethenthal's 25th anniversary season performance of Pluto in Capricorn, 

*bumped into d. Sabela Grimes and Raphael Xavier in the archives,

*spotted Doug Varone in the Pillow Pub (his company will be performing there this coming weekend),

*chatted with Rennie Harris (who sat two seats away from us in the Ted Shawn Theater), 

*and were once again enthralled by Rennie Harris PureMovement's performance.

  

Getting to Know Ray Hesselink

Earlier this month I spent a week at Tony Waag's TAP CITY tap festival. While I was there I was lucky enough to dance with, watch and talk to a large number of outstanding tap dancers and choreographers, many of whom have expressed interest in participating in
Connect 2 Choreography.
I have been lucky enough to take class with Ray Hesselink at Steps on Broadway in New York City and can always count on his quick smile and overflowing enthusiasm to brighten my day. When trying to find someone to interview Ray I immediately thought of Kelsey Griffith, a former student with strong tap skills and an affinity for musical theatre. Kelsey is now studying dance at Muhlenberg College and was happy to share her and Ray's conversation with us.

KG: How and/or why did you start choreographing?
RH: Choreography really started when I started teaching classes. As I was creating for class (exercises and combos), I started to realized….hey, I’m kind of good at this. Then I really started to create full length pieces. From that, I started finding I really enjoyed story-telling and comedy. Musical theater seemed to be my niche.

KG: Was there something in particular that prompted a shift from performing to choreographing?
RH: Even though I love performing, I found that I love to bring out the best in others either through teaching, directing or choreography (or just being a good friend). Choreography was starting to become more fulfilling for my soul rather than doing a regional production of “Singin’ in the Rain” in middle America. There is nothing better than being creative.

KG: Do you find that your work has been influenced by any other dancer(s) and/or choreographer(s)? …if yes, how?
RH: Oh YES!!! First off, my DVD (and youtube) collection of old movie musicals are a HUGE inspiration. I’m very visual and I have a great memory. When I start to choreograph, I always have a huge database in my mind that I tap into.

Some of my favorite inspirations: Eleanor Powell, Ann Miller, Fred Astaire, Jack Cole, Jerome Robbins, Gwen Verdon, Carol Haney, Chita Rivera. Also, my dear friend and mentor, Miriam Nelson (she’s turning 90 this year). She has her own tap DVD out as well.

KG: How do you record your choreography?
RH: I film everything on a little camera and/or video camera. Every week I download and save my information. For class exercises, I sometimes film or write them down. I have files and files of material.

KG: How do you start a new work? …music first? …choreography first? (etc.)
RH: Music/lyrics first. Next, if it’s musical theater, I need to know how the dance progresses the plot. Then, I create character driven movement that fits the music and furthers the story.

KG: How has your training influenced your work as a choreographer?
RH: I’ve learned from my great teachers how to teach my dancers the choreography in a way that it’s speedy and they can absorb the material. I often find choreographers have a difficult time counting and teaching transitions. I always make sure that I cover both. Oh, and to add tons of humor to my teaching. I try to make my rehearsal environment fun and creative.

Also, I have a music background (I entered UCLA as a music major for piano). Choreography became my new music.

KG: Does your experience as a tapper influence your choreographic process at all?
RH: Tapping to me is pure music. When I choreograph tap, I create my own melody of rhythm to compliment the song. When I choreograph non-tap, my pieces are VERY rhythmic and musical.

KG: How do you combine theater and dance technique to create such compelling and entertaining character-based choreography?
RH: I have an overactive mind. I’m always watching people and writing down things that make me laugh (I carry a notebook with me). These little “flaws” or character traits intrigue me. I try to think outside the box and not be predictable. I also strive for simplicity. When I’m stuck, I go back to what the essence of the story is, and then I always find my answer/solution. Also, ultimately I want to entertain….I want the audience to feel something….anything.

KG: What was the first thing you ever choreographed?
RH: My first piece was a piece by Nat King Cole called “Exactly Like You”. It had a lot of influences by friends/teachers. As I choreographed more I started to discover my own voice and trust in it.

KG: Has your choreographic style changed significantly since that first work?
RH: Yes, I’ve gotten better. I really trust myself. At first, I kept asking my dancers “is this good?” Now, I know if it works (or doesn’t work). I always spend at least 3 hours a week in a rehearsal studio creating choreography. Sometimes I arrive and I’m exhausted….but I force myself to create. I always know I have a bottomless well to tap into. I have an unlimited supply of steps and ideas. Creating every week is so important for me.

KG: How was it working as part of the team for Broadway’s Billy Elliot: The Musical?
RH: I feel so blessed to have worked on Billy Elliot. The kids are unbelievable and so talented. It’s an experience I will always cherish (and continue cherishing). It’s also amazing to feel that I have so much influence on many aspects of the show (from training to recommending kids that booked the show).

KG: What, exactly, does a “Tap Dance Consultant to Choreographer” do?
RH: Tap Dance Consultant basically is someone who assess the abilities of the kids. I give the creative team an idea if the child can perform the role or how much training they need to be able to do the part. With David Alvarez, I had 3 months to teach him (twice a week). I had to get him from not tapping at all to being an intermediate level tap dancer. David is a hard worker. His achievements were astounding. I’m very proud of him.

KG: How and/or when did you become involved with Tap City and Chicago Human Rhythm Project?
RH: I got invited to teach at both. A major jump into the tap world was doing Derick Grant’s Imagine Tap! People started to recognize my name because of that show outside of teaching in NY.

KG: Do you have any plans for future work?
RH: In September I will be on Faculty at Juilliard teaching tap dance. Currently, I am looking for shows to direct/choreograph. I have a couple of shows I have written that I want to rework and get up on their feet.

Really, I want to be involved with fun and fulfilling projects that are interesting and unique, whatever they may be.

Chor-i-dor - Favorite Moment #1 - Change?

by Karen Krolak

When we first arrived at the wisteria shaded benches on Holland Street, a woman was finishing her cigarette and asked people for change. Although she seemed apathetic, she watched us intently as we set up our sandwich board explaining Chor-i-dor.

Adele Traub texted me looking for assistance with the Actor's Shakespeare Project booth down by Diesel Cafe for a few minutes. When I returned, the smoking woman had wandered away. Art Beat was just starting to gather crowds and our first observer had melted into the flood of unfamiliar faces flowing through the festival. In the midst of her discarded butts, I quickly scribbled the word, Change, in pink chalk to commemorate her presence.

As noon approached, more people darted over towards Chor-i-dor to cool off or slather on sunscreen. I was frantically notating all the action when I observed an overheated woman. She dashed to a bench to struggle free from an unnecessary layer of clothing. In her haste to squirm into a cooler t-shirt she never registered any of the activity around her. Otherwise, she might have been as amused as I was to note that she was perfectly performing the verb beneath her feet: change. Alas, I could not get to my camera in time to snap her picture.

(Chor-i-dor is sponsored in part by the Somerville Arts Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.)