Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Velocity DC- Bodies in Urban Spaces


Students from TrDa 185 Trends in Performance class are working with an Austrian choreographer on site specific work for performance this weekend. Here is one of the reports:

For this entire week, we are rehearsing every day (4-6 hours per day) for Urban Bodies Velocity DC. It is a group of around 15 dancers/climbers led by an Austrian choreographer, Villy and his American assistant, Mike. Villy's ideas are about creating art by filling spaces involving the architecture of the city to form a structure or a pose. We are in the process of creating 30-40 structures with our bodies using the architecture around us. Some involve all 15 of us and some are solos.

All of us have a background in dance, some are professional, others not, but all of us are passionate enough to take the risk to injure ourselves, for the beauty behind the artform. We hold each structure for 2-6 minutes and then move on to the next. Because we are often climbing builds, squeezing into spaces and doing headstands on the ground, we have been getting very dirty and accumulating plenty of scrapes, bruises and ripped clothing. Our transitions from sculpture to sculpture consist is us running from one location to the next. However, these are not included in rehearsals, so we will be pushed even harder the day of the show.

Every rehearsal up until the day before the performance is trial and error. Villy and Mike have scoped out spaces in a 4 block radius downtown. We go up and down blocks and try to form the images he had in mind when he first saw the space. However, there is almost never a space that fits exactly to what he had in mind. The positions of our bodies and limbs are constantly being tweaked. The structures we produce also range in level of simplicity. We can spend up to an hour creating one structure or we can spend 2 minutes testing a space out. Villy and Mike have also warned us that the poses we spend an hour constructing are not necessarily the ones we are going to use for the final performance (October 5 and 6 at 5:30 pm).

Although the actual performance with Velocity DC is next weekend, every time we form a structure we receive a great deal of attention. The pedestrian reaction however is different to the one we received at the Arts on Foot festival. Tourists do stop and take pictures, but many come up to us and politely ask what we are doing and what it is for. Some homeless people, seated by our sculptures would even use our sculptures as a deal for attention, one man called individuals and guided them to see us. There are also pedestrians that are concerned and wondering if someone actually got "stuck" up there. Jeff from The Washington DC Performing Arts Society attends and travels with us during each rehearsal to hand out Velocity DC flyers to those who are interested.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Prof. Valerie St. Pierre Smith's Design Work On Stage at the Kennedy Center

Prof. Valerie St. Pierre Smith's costume designs will be seen this September on stage at the Kennedy Center. Working in collaboration with renowned director Paul Douglas ("PD") Michnewicz, Prof. St. Pierre Smith's costumes are a part of the VSA arts presentation of 'For the Love of Goldfish.' "In For the Love of Goldfish, co-workers Julia and Evan attempt to hide their romantic feelings for each other, along with their respective disabilities. Reminiscent of The Office, this hilarious comedy is about love, self-esteem, and the importance of being honest. VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts." -http://www.vsarts.org This is the second year that Prof. St. Pierre Smith has had the honor of working with PD and VSA Arts. "For the Love of Goldfish" premieres Tuesday, September 29th at 7:30 in the Kennedy Cent
er's Family Theater.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Alan Wade Appears in Washington Stage Guild Show

The Stage Guild returns to the boards this October, featuring our favorite playwright - George Bernard Shaw

Shaw is at his most insightful in this pair of one-act plays, as politicians deal with disenfranchised voters, incompetent civil servants, an unpopular war, and romantic scandals in public life. The perfect Washington show, perhaps?
Press Cuttings is a hilarious look at public figures facing down angry mobs during a struggle for women's emancipation; while Augustus Does His Bit is a satiric look at bureaucrats who support the war effort without ever fighting themselves.

Directed by Bill Largess and brought to life by Washington's most expert talkers - the actors of the Stage Guild company: Vincent Clark, Laura Giannarelli, Helen Hedman, John Lescault, Lynn Steinmetz, & Alan Wade.

Don't miss out on the fun!

Strange Bedfellows -
Press Cuttings & Augustus Does His Bit
Where & When
Dates: September 30 through October 18, 2009
Time: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday Evenings
at 8 pm;
Saturday & Sunday Matinees
at 2:30 pm
Location: Callan Theatre at Catholic University of America,
3801 Harewood Road, NE, Washington, DC
Tickets: $50.00 Friday & Saturday Evenings;
$40.00 all other performances -
Discounts for Students & Seniors!
RSVP: 240 582-0050 or


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

DTSB&CO Premieres ISLAND, a new multi-media dance

Dance Place Presents
DANA TAI SOON BURGESS & CO.
Artistic Director, Dana Tai Soon Burgess, “area’s leading dance artist” –The Washington Post

October 9 and 10 at 8 p.m.
October 11 at 7 p.m.
Dance Place 3225 8th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20017

To purchase tickets,
Visit www.danceplace.org
Or call 202-269-1600
General Admission: $22
Dance Place members: college students, senior and artists: $17
Children 17 and under: $8

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Dana Tai Soon Burgess awarded 9th Annual Metro DC Dance Awards for "Outstanding New Choreography"


Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Chair of the Theatre and Dance Department at George Washington University was awarded the 9th Annual Metro DC Dance Awards for "Outstanding New Choreography" for his multi-media dance entitled Hyphen. This dance premiered at GWU's Lisner Auditorium last October to critical acclaim "In the 16 years since he founded his company here, Burgess has emerged as the area's leading dance artist, consistently following his own path and producing distinctive, well-considered works." The Washington Post

This prestigious award is chosen through an adjudicated panel of dance experts and is the highest award in the DC region for dance. The Metro DC Dance Award was presented on the evening of September 14, 2009 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Burgess's Hyphen is a multi-media dance work including projections by video visionary Nam June Paik. This work was toured by the US State Department to South America this summer and also was presented in NY at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. It deals with contemporary American identity and the concept of how we as hyphenated Americans, for example, Asian and American, Latino and American, view identity in a multi-faceted cultural landscape. Hyphen will be presented again in DC on Oct 9-11 at the Dance Place in NE, DC 202-269-1600.

The Metro DC Dance Awards is a spectacular event celebrating the excellence of Metropolitan DC, Maryland, and Virginia's dance community. It showcases the diversity of DC's finest with performances ranging from tango to tap to modern dance, and gives distinction to artists in thirteen categories - including Outstanding Youth Performance, Emerging Choreographer, and Outstanding New Choreography. The Metro DC Dance Awards is the only annual opportunity in Metropolitan DC for artists and audiences to recognize professionals and youth in the dance field.

Friday, September 4, 2009

From-Prison-to-The-Stage

* I am directing the play readings and Pati Griffith, our colleague in the English Department, has adapted one of the scripts and will be reading stage directions.
Would love to see you all there! -Jodi Kanter

The printed program for our prisoner-written plays at the Kennedy Center to take place on September 5, 2009 is going to the printer tonight. Call our director Dennis Sobin directly at 202-393-1511 by 5 pm if you want to be included in it as a supporter. Simply use your credit card to make a donation in any amount you can afford and you will be recognized in the program along with the following supporters who are making this landmark Kennedy Center event possible:

Open Society Institute, Framme Law Firm, Joseph Lea, A.B.C. Consulting Services of Delaware, Joan Covici, Maxine I. Lyons, Alex Friedman, Dorothy R. Farden, Eckington House for Mental Health Services, Ronald E. Smith, esq , Elizabeth Evans, Drug Policy Alliance, Diane Flanel Piniaris, Coralie Farlee, BleakHouse Publishing, Robert Johnson, Sonia Tabriz, Liz Calka and Patricia E. Tichenor, esq.


Thank you.
Here are the plays that will be presented FREE on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 from 7:30 to 10 pm during our "From Prison to the Stage" program on the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center, Washington, DC. with your support:

1. The Love That Divides by Hakim M. Abdul-Wasi, Music by Inner Voices
"A man returns home to his Christian family after converting to Islam while away, only to find his family upset and unaccepting of his new beliefs."

2. One Fine Day in Inferior Court by Alex Friedman
"A wacky judge, a clueless defense attorney, a bloodthirsty prosecutor and a hapless defendant fall over each other in this courtroom farce."

3. I Am a Woman on Death Row
by Kathleen O'Shea,
Music by Lorri Carter
"Not one woman but dozens on death row in America today tell their stories of hope and survival."

4. Reading Slim by Raymond McGee
"A hostile prisoner resists taking advantage of educational opportunities in his prison to hide his inadequacies, including a shameful secret from his past."

5. Homeward Bound by Richard Dyches,
Music by Dennis Sobin
"About to leave his correctional institution, a prisoner finds that his shortcomings are still in need of correction as he prepares to face his wary wife and confused son."

6. Time In by Judy Dworin Performance Ensemble and the women of York Correctional Institution.
Music by Women of the Cross
"Story, song and dance about the heartaches and triumphs of women in prison."

"The Safe Streets Arts Foundation, incorporating both the Prisons Foundation and the Victims Foundation, is proud to sponsor the annual From-Prison-to-The-Stage Show at the Kennedy Center and the Prison Art Gallery at 1600 K Street. NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC, three blocks from the White House."

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Congratulations to Dana Tai Soon Burgess!

The GW Department of Theatre & Dance is pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of State has honored Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Department Chair of Theatre & Dance, as September’s State Department Alumni of the Month.


More from From the Department of State’s website: http://exchanges.state.gov/alumni/alumnus.html

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

GW dancers to perform at Arts on Foot Festival

The Arts on Foot Festival (founded 17 years ago by a GW alum) September 10, 11, 12th. Check it out and support our dancers!,
http://www.artsonfoot.org/

“The Penn Quarter Arts on Foot Festival is a visual and performing arts festival featuring Washington, DC theaters, museums, and arts at a variety of venues in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, DC. The festival becomes an art walking tour with area restaurants, theaters, galleries, museums, and more than 80 visual artists participating and dozens of Downtown attractions hosting visual art exhibits, performances, workshops, demonstrations, films, concerts and children's activities.”
http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/ArtsonFoot.htm