Notes from the Performance Underground

Last night I had the sincere pleasure of performing A Dance on Yeats but not to at the Oak Bluffs Union Chapel on Martha's Vineyard. This is the second season I have performed at the festival but this year seems aptly special. I had made the trek out in 2010 to perform with my then partner, Joshua Sotomayor. As I performed last night, I had traces of that experience etched deep within me. This year, though, was a performance dedicated to the memory of Jenni Jenkins, the beautiful filmmaker who passed away late last year. 

Every time the warm lights slowly come up, I feel the warmth of the sun. That is when I start the mourning but that is also when I start the reverence. I dance this dance to carry with me the memory, the nostos that ancients wrote about in epic tales. This dance, which I will post as soon as I return, has a natural trajectory that begins quite subtle and gradually progresses until it reaches the pinnacle of feeling and emotion, the closing section is set to the music of Roy Orbison. 

Whenever I hear the drumbeats of Roy Orbison's Crying, my hair stands on end. I always feel like this is the moment I dance for memory and for feeling and yet the moment is what I encompass. I am the moment when that song comes on. I suppose that is the feeling all dancers aim for--- to feel so alive within their flesh and bones that there is nothing but this one moment. And that is the heart of Jenni Jenkins' memory, to me. I want to feel so alive that ultimately the moment is all that is.

And with this dance, I feel that.

Last night I drove through the winding roads of West Tisbury and listened to the the sounds of trees rustling in the wind. That is all. The sound of the car piercing through the air and hissing as the darkness encompassed me. I was nervous prior (and even throughout moments) to the late night drive. As I was driving on the beach roads that lead into the dark woods, I felt as though the ocean would amass me. I kept quiet, telling myself "You will be okay" in as soothing a tone as I could do. Putting on the radio helped. Somehow Led Zeppelin gets you home. Once I got the hang of the speed and the high beam lights, I was okay. I still had moments where I feared a deer would pummel my car or that a ghost would stop me in my tracks. But I saw the hostel sign not too long after and felt a minor victory within the narration of Melissa West's life.

I arrived because I put myself in the car.

This morning I write after eating peanut butter and jam on some toast. I love the slowed energy of a place like this. I go to sleep at ten or eleven in the evening and wake up by eight in the morning. This is all natural, I may add, because there are so many things to do one gets tired naturally. 

Tonight I dance again. My muscles are quite sore this morning but that is after taking a Horton technique class yesterday morning and after running my dance about 4-5 times. I have to remind myself to take it slow here. I planned to go on a run but I think that will have to wait. 

After having a conversation with an exceptionally cool fellow traveler, I have realized that I hold a lot of motivational blocks over myself. When I return to New York City, I have choices to make about what it is that I want from myself, how to better organize my time management, and how to make the most of my time here on this constantly moving planet.

I arrived because I put my shoes on (or took them off, depending on the perspective).

mw

So, what is there to do on a saturday night on Staten Island, anyway?

This is a question I find myself asking quite often. This is also the reason I moved to Williamsburg in 2009. Once I was there I longed for the nights of riding around aimlessly in cars, drinking tea at Everything Goes Cafe, and the chilled evenings at the South Beach boardwalk.

Needless to say, I moved back to Staten Island within a year. As much as I would like to like Brooklyn, I just prefer the open space, the cold beach air, the warm cafes here much better. So, since I am one of the twenty somethings that would like to spend my weekends local,  I will continually highlight some of the coolest hang-outs and places of potential on S.I.

First up: Coffee Shops, Venues, and Other Spots

Everything Goes Cafe and Neighborhood Stage

E.T.G. is a cozy, special place where one goes for a number of reasons. Not only do they have an exceptional tea and coffee menu, they offer light snacks: sandwiches, soups, cookies, chocolates which often feature locally grown and cultivated ingredients. They sell and advocate local, organic, fair trade.

Aside from the food, ETG also has a bookstore of used, vintage, and new books on every subject you can think of: history, religion, culture, children's books, poetry, self-help, philosophy, nature and science to name a few. There is also a great selection of local musicians cd's, locally featured art exhibits, and a small stage that is the performing grounds of many local poets/musicians/and dancers. If I have written the word local twenty times in one paragraph, it is because this place is one of the best places to meet your fellow Staten Islanders.

For those who do not have computer or internet access, you can use their computers for ten cents per minute. For those who want to read some news, they have magazines and leaflets that deal with politics, the arts, and sustainability. What's not to love?

There's also a sense of welcoming. The staff are always friendly, intelligent, and conversational. Katie and Steve, the mainstays, are always helpful. And the bathroom is well-kept, beautiful (this is an old building with mosaic tiles), and filled with advertisements for events, arts clippings, business cards and all. Consider it graffiti art of a different kind.

I first stumbled upon this place in 2007/8 and I go there whenever I am in St. George. They usually have bands playing, poets reading, and dancer's dancing. They frequently host community related meetings, such as brainstorming for Second Saturdays, arts groups, and hearings.

Did I mention this place has books? Tea? Cookies? Art? If you're bored on a friday (or any other day except mondays when they are closed) check out this local hot bed of cultural and artisan activities.

REGULAR HOURS:
Tue -Thur  10:30 - 6:30                  Fri - Sat  10:30 -10                     Sunday  12 - 5pm
open until 10pm on event
evenings (see calendar)
CLOSED MONDAYS

PS: I recently read an inaccurate article written in the New York Times that depicts ETG (and Staten Island, in general) as an old, washed up, perhaps archaic place that seldom has any young people out and about. If you'd like to read that article for some outside perspective, you can do so here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/nyregion/hoping-a-project-will-lift-staten-island.html

Ms. Bellafante could not have been farther from the truth in her description of ETG. I have been there on many evenings and late afternoons, either working, perusing, performing, or spectating. There is always something happening here. It is a quaint and wondrous place... and every year they participate in St. George Day!

Visit them on the web here: http://www.etgstores.com/bookcafe/

Or in person here: 208 Bay Street near; turn left at Victory and Bay.

Everything Goes is the business model for GANAS commune. It features the Book Cafe, Vintage Clothing Store, Vintage Furniture Store, and a Gallery space. Check out their website here: http://www.ganas.org/