As predicted earlier, I seldom catch a breath long enough to write a blog post. This is a rather unfortunate thing as I often have much I am thinking about and wish to share. However, I have spare moment now and within this time I will share a few things on the home front.
I am very excited to be participating in, curating, and working on a number of projects that will occur this spring and throughout the summer of 2012. So far, this year has been filled with ideas of creativity and hope. I can only anticipate that this year will be filled with much art.
March:
Second Saturdays on the Edge: This is a project I am very excited about, as it is my first time co-curating an event for Second Saturdays Staten Island, the local art walk/crawl that happens (as the title suggests) on the second Saturday of every month. On the Edge will take place at the historic Edgewater Hall, on the Bay Street, Stapleton waterfront and will feature an evening of modern/contemporary dance works, live music, and art displayed throughout the 3rd floor loft space.
As the curator of Dance Programming, I have invited five artists (including myself) to present short dance pieces of approximately 10 minutes each. The participating arts are: Diana Domoracki-Kisto, Olsi Gjeci, Laura Neese, Erin Sullivan, and myself. Each work should be very different from one another, creating a palette of different aesthetic choices. On the Edge will be one of the rare opportunities to see live concert dance with professional, emerging artists on Staten Island. Although, I am striving to make that less rare but still, you should come.
The other participating artists are the live, local bands: BEEF, In Buenos Aires, and Kamp Koala (curated by Mike DiBenedetto). There are several participating visual artists, curated under the direction of Tom Gleisner. Brendan Coyle, co-founder of Second Saturdays S.I., has been largely helpful in the planning of this event and I cannot wait for it to arrive!
June:
LUMEN Festival: The LUMEN festival is one of my favorite ways to usher in the summer. A festival of lights, performance and installation art which takes place on the North Shore waterfront, this program always manages to be edgy, provocative, and honest. Last year I performed a structure improvisation. This year, assuming I am selected to perform, I will be presenting a new work-in-progress with my dancers. We begin rehearsing in March and I have a lot of ideas which I will not write about yet. Once I get into the studio with the dancers, I will post some thoughts on process. Stay tuned in for that. LUMEN will take place this year at the Atlantic Salt Factory on June 23 2012.
September: Deep Tanks, our local underground gallery, will be organizing an art party including live music, art, and performances. I will be presenting work. More details to unfold between us.
October: The moment I am planning for all year-- my concert. As a 2012 COAHSI Grantee (a regrant form the DCA), I shall present a concert in October featuring several works, some of which have been in process since 2008/9. I will enclose more details as soon as I know what's going on. I am very honored and excited to be presenting my work with the Staten Island (and NYC) communit(ies).
More, more, more!!!
So, what else have I been up to, you ask? Here's what:
- The amazing photographer (and friend), Anjola Toro, and I are making a series of short dance videos and photography on location at Snug Harbor. We intend to work quite a lot over the next few months and the product is already beautiful. More to come here, as well.
- I am teaching Saturdays at the Forest Haven Center for Dance and Music, 358 Forest Avenue SI NY 10301. My classes run from January 14-May 12 2012:
* 2.00-3.00pm: Open Level Community Class. Ages 10+-Adult. All levels of experience welcome. $10.
- Upcoming teachings and lecture include: spring workshop at 5 Boro Power Yoga (New Dorp); lectures on Dance History and contemporary issues within dance and art on Staten Island; workshops and master classes during the summer 2012.
So, this is a lot of information. I am feeling creative and learning how to balance my art within the structure of a 9-5 M-F job that I currently have. I really hope to write more, not only about myself (as that can get boring, redundant, and occasionally vain) but also about some of things I have been thinking about lately in terms of art, politics, and philosophy... basically, life. Yes, life.
This is a performance from November 2011, Voice of the Storyteller by Dawn Daniels and the Forest Haven Center for Dance and Music
Embers, performed and choreographed by MWest
Snug Harbor Cultural Center (SI, NY)
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