• June 24, 2009

    “Ampey!”, line, circle, he(r)art

    By Published On: June 24th, 2009

    line "the concepts that shape ..." are where I'd have to begin ... better yet, "SHAPE!" is where I'd have to begin if you REALLY want to talk about what we do as folklorists, performers, teachers, students etc. This residency is an opportunity for us to build new models of discussion, exploration, and experimentation around

  • June 20, 2009

    Melissa Hudson Bell and dancers

    By Published On: June 20th, 2009

    Cake In My Face: New Dances with Betty Crocker and Misbehavior Sat.-Sun. June 20-21, 8pm $20 (Members $15, or with donation of non-perishable food item) Five misbehaving, mess making performers serve up an evening of new theatrical dances creatively re-imagining the history and mythology of Betty Crocker. Weaving contemporary dance with circus tricks, storytelling, and

  • June 18, 2009

    Undine and You Don’t Know Jack

    By Published On: June 18th, 2009

    Hand2Mouth Theatre and the Carpetbag Brigade Thurs.-Fri. June 18-19, 8pm, $18 (Members $13) Special double bill performance, produced in association with the NET (Network of Ensemble Theaters) summit. Buy Tickets Now! You Don't Know Jack Adding a Jungian twist to Jack and the Beanstalk, You don’t know Jack is the Carpetbag Brigade’s surreal, comic tragedy

  • June 18, 2009

    Undine and You Don’t Know Jack – sold-out shows?

    By Published On: June 18th, 2009

    Hi from Anson and the Carpetbag Brigade, If you want to see two fun, disturbing physical theater shows in a double bill, you should buy a ticket in advance! We have generated a huge amount of interest at the Network of Ensemble Theatres Summit, happening in SF this week, and they are snapping up our

  • June 18, 2009

    Sorry to have been out of the loop! Ana Maria and CONTRA-TIEMPO are back!

    By Published On: June 18th, 2009

    We have been in 'production mode' - and I apologize to my fellow Performing Diaspora Familia - our production went up - it was a success - and I am now ready to be on board!! We are gearing up for a tour to Cuba in July - there we will be training with two

  • June 10, 2009

    Weird Physical Theater in the Mendocino hinterlands

    By Published On: June 10th, 2009

    It’s not exactly a “dance barn” – no animals were ever kept up in the rehearsal space, there aren’t any bales of hay – but when I tried to think of a name for this place, that’s what first came to mind.  We are in the Mendocino back-country, full of nervous ganja farmers, far enough

  • June 6, 2009

    Sonya Smith & dance ceres with special guest, Sadie Weinberg present in/divisible

    By Published On: June 6th, 2009

    Thurs.-Sat., June 4-6, 8pm, $15 (Members $10) Emerging choreographers Brittany Brown Ceres and Sonya Smith present world-premiere dances in a flight of sensual entwinement through societal lore, fortifying a journey from despair to empowerment. Navigating metaphors of intra- and interpersonal entanglement, hidden limitations, and visceral emotion, Smith & Ceres shape an evening of fluid, curious

  • June 5, 2009

    Stephen Pelton Dance Theater

    By Published On: June 5th, 2009

    Dances for the Next Depression Stephen Pelton Dance Theater Thurs.-Sat. June 11-13, 8pm Sun. June 14, 7pm, $20 (Members $15) Depression? Again?? SPDT’s sixteenth annual home season will see you through with the premiere of Sugarfoot Stomp. Created in collaboration with playwright-in-residence Brian Thorstenson, this new dance will be performed to the irresistible sounds of

  • June 3, 2009

    Words, words, words

    By Published On: June 3rd, 2009

    This has been a season of firsts for me and the company: our first gallery installation in May, our first time at CounterPULSE, my first truly whimsical, comic dance—and now my first time out blogging. I’m the kind of person who re-writes and re-punctuates texts messages before sending them, so the idea of publishing my

  • June 2, 2009

    Traditional dance does not put the “no” into innovation (with apologies to the shredded wheat commercial)

    By Published On: June 2nd, 2009

    The essence of the esthetics of Indonesian dance, and that particularly from the islands of Java and Bali, can be explained through three words: wirama, and wirasa. Wirama means the harmony and internal rhythm of the movement. Wiraga is the intensity and fullness of the movement not in term of its external power, but more along the lines of being filled with chi (in Chinese) or prana (Sanskrit). Soft and delicate movement can be wiraga while movement that is seemingly strong and powerful can lack it altogether. Wirasa is the feeling of the movement. The word “feeling” here is used not in sense of emotion or passion, but in term of the sensation when emotion and mental construct are set aside.

  • June 2, 2009

    Colette Eloi, Performing Diaspora Artist-Defining my Art

    By Published On: June 2nd, 2009

    If I were being safe I would say my art form is Haitian Folkloric Dance, then I would expound on it. However this would not be absolutely accurate. I am Haitian blooded African American raised in the United States by Haitian immigrants...."black". The two cultures are quite distinct yet share a "way","taste", "movement". This gives

  • June 2, 2009

    The Revolutionary Roots of Mexican Folk Dance

    By Published On: June 2nd, 2009

    Mexican folk dance has been a part of California since the the late 18th century. In those days the itinerant dance "maestro" went from Rancho to Rancho teaching the latest European dance fads to a multigeneretional clientele. When the Californios held their "meriendas" and "bailes", this was the perfect opportunity for every elegible bachelor and