15
Oct, 2010
25
Oct, 2010
Birth of A New Mission Suhani
After the first Work-in-Progress show, I worked with my Nautanki troupe on the suggestions given to us by the audience members and our friends at CounterPULSE, incorporating them into our second Work-in-Progress show. The changes have definitely made our piece more effective, and it now flows more smoothly. In addition, as a result of the integration of the feedback, the piece itself is more accessible to American audiences. The feedback session after our second Work-in-Progress show was once again a
29
Oct, 2010
2
Nov, 2010
Animations and Ancestors (2010)
Almost all of our Counterpulse fliers are gone! It’s time to start getting those tickets yall! For the past two months the cast of “Ampey!” and family have been doing short vocal performances on the streets of San Francisco and Oakland to promote our Kickstarter page and our upcoming shows. We call them “Animations”. I learned about this grassroots marketing strategy while on tour with a Haitian dance company in Europe. Here are some shots taken by Alonzo Young at The October 1st
2
Nov, 2010
“Ampey!” Animation in Ancestor Costumes
On Saturday, October 30th, the cast of Adia Tamar Whitaker's "Ampey!" took to the streets of San Francisco in full costume and makeup for a fundraising Animation. "Ampey!" premieres at CounterPULSE on Thursday, November 11th. Even if you weren't fortunate enough to see the cast in San Francisco, you can still pledge your support for "Ampey!" by visiting Kickstarter.com
5
Nov, 2010
Oakland Art Murmur “Ampey!” Animation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8oFw4eyljY
12
Nov, 2010
30
Jan, 2013
The strength of Hope, my journey: The beginning
Sunrise, one morning in June 1997: Students were readying themselves for school, workers for their jobs, merchants for their businesses in the city, in the markets, peddlers were at their usual occupations, the many unemployed, graduates with or without hope, were looking for work, students were on their way to school, and that's when everything happened, the explosions of heavy weapons that began a civil war that separated the inhabitants of the same nation, families, children from their mothers, fathers,
6
Feb, 2013
“Can a mere cloud bear such a message?”
I was first inspired by Kalidasa’s Meghadhuta (The Cloud Messenger) in 2009. At the time, I was exploring the role of the messenger in Indian texts and poetry. Often times the role of the messenger was simply stated – a person carrying a message from one lover to another. In dance, in some of the more commonly performed pieces, the messenger was often a sakhi (dear friend) of the nayika (heroine), and the nayika was usually desperately trying to convince
7
Feb, 2013
The Ginzburg Geography: Welcome
What sustains people in severely oppressive situations? How do you hope when hope seems beyond possibility? How do you unify and inspire when organizing is punishable by death? These are the central questions explored by The Ginzburg Geography, a music performance by Jewlia Eisenberg and Charming Hostess. The Ginzburg Geography is based on the life and work of Natalia and Leone Ginzburg, Italian Jews famous for anti-fascist resistance and intellectual brilliance. Natalia was raised in an atheist and socialist environment
11
Feb, 2013
Journey to the Kongo — The Creation of Kimpa Vita! A Solo ChoreOpera — Blog #1
I am not sure I can ever recall feeling such an urgent and bone-deep calling to tell a story, or a desire to delve deeply into myself in order to craft a new work in dance, music and theater. Of course, like any other artist, I have experienced both sudden shudders and slow simmers of inspiration, but my latest work, and first venture into the realm of solo performance, falls outside of the aforementioned experiences. This new creation, Kimpa Vita!
18
Feb, 2013
Why dance?
As I tackle multiple projects at the same time, feeling the anxiety of deadlines, reaching for my own expectations of greatness, and fighting the apprehension of failure, I have come back to the fundamental question for me: Why dance? Why the heck would anyone give up luxury, money, fancy job titles, and above all laziness and give everything to dance? Why dance? My answer, in short: Transformation.Dance is transformation. I am in the lucky position to see this on a daily