Wet Paint

The Vicky Simegiatos Dance Company Presents The Nutcracker

by Karen Posted on October 25, 2010

Clara in The Nutcracker — Clara dances with The Nutcracker

I work in two worlds where preparations for December have to be in place at the end of the summer. I design and sell Holiday Cards and Custom Invitations and people have lots of parties in December. And I serve on the Executive Board of the Vicky Simegiatos Dance Company, where every Christmas, they perform The Nutcracker — the full length classical ballet. This is the 15th year that I’ve been involved with the company.

Rehearsals are underway and this weekend I have to turn my attention toward promoting the December 19th performances. So let me begin by showing you some images from last year’s performances. These images will all be appearing on Christmas Cards which will be sold to raise funds for the company. I’ll post more information about that as it becomes available. All photos by Kim Max.

Snowflakes - The Nutcracker — The Dance of the Snowflakes

The Angels - The Nutcracker — The Angels - some cast members are as young as 5 years old

Guest Artists Jenifer Ringer and Jared Angle — Guest Artists NYCB Principals Jenifer Ringer and Jared Angle

Every year, Artistic Director Vicky Simegiatos and Ballet Mistress Matina Simegiatos bring two principal dancers from New York City Ballet out here to Bay Ridge to dance the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Her Cavalier. Beautiful beautiful Jenifer Ringer has danced the role for the company several times. Last year she was partnered by Jared Angle. Their Grand Pas de Deux, even when performed on Poly Prep’s small stage, was breathtaking. It is so wonderful of these world class artists to come out to Bay Ridge and bring their magic to our community. Some of our audience members may have never seen a classical ballet before.

The rest of the cast are all members of the community. It’s pretty hard to believe it when you see the caliber of the dancing, not only from the well trained teenage girls in the corps de ballet, but even from the younger ones who play the children in the Party Scene. The students are all trained in the VSDC’s Scholarship Program, which has been in existence for over 25 years. Several alumni have enjoyed professional careers in dance. In recent years, students have gone on to study at the School of American Ballet and Boston Conservatory and to perform with the DeMa Dance Company and Miami City Ballet.

The performances of The Nutcracker will take place at The Richard Perry Theatre on the grounds of Poly Prep, 7th Avenue at 92nd Street in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn on December 19, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Tickets are priced at $35 and $25 and are available at the Vicky Simegiatos Performing Arts Center or via mail. For further information or to join our mailing list, please send me an e-mail.

Posted in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Dance, Karen | Tagged Ballet, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Kimberly Max, The Nutcracker, Vicky Simegiatos Dance Company | Leave a comment

Batsheva Dance Company at the Joyce

by Karen Posted on October 10, 2010

Project 5, choreographed by Ohad Naharin, featured five dancers. In four shows during this season, only women performed the dances. In nine shows, only men performed the dances. We got to see the men. I’d have loved to have seen the women, but arrangements just fell through.

The performance consisted for four pieces. The first, George & Zalman, was performed to Avro Part’s Fur Alina while a woman recited an excerpt from Charles Bukowski’s Making It. The words were spoken in the form of a game whose name escapes me at the moment. It went something like this:

Ignore.
Ignore all concepts.
Ignore all concepts and possibilities.
Ignore all concepts and possibilities. Ignore Beethoven.
Ignore all concepts and possibilities. Ignore Beethoven and the spider.

And the poem went on, parodying American society’s advice to ignore what’s beautiful or fearful or human for the “higher” values of “making it”, getting a job, a house, a car, “a belly full of beans” etc.

Each dancer had his own individual set of movement phrases for each phrase of spoken word, and these were repeated each time the poem started up again. For some phrases, all five men fell in to formation and struck a pose in unison. At times the spoken word paused and one of the men would dance a solo.

And the men? Breathtaking. Each one was beautiful and though their bodies varied in height, their builds and their movement styles were all similar. Our friend Lynda, who has studied and loves gaga (the dance language developed by Batsheva), told us that this is probably the result of the training that Batsheva dancers undergo for years in the company’s Junior Ensemble before they can be accepted to the actual company.

I loved the costumes, which were off the beaten path. All black, they were almost tuxedo like, yet casual enough to move beautifully with the dancers. The shirts were waist length with a V neck and the pants were knee length.

The second piece, titled B/Olero was a highlight for me. The music was Tomita’s airy synth version of the Ravel classic. I am a sucker for this piece of music in any way, shape or form, and Naharin’s choreography lived up to the standard set by the music. Two men performed this piece, their movement somehow mechanical and fluid in the same breath. So many of Naharin’s movements are so simple and may almost be the kind of thing that kids might cook up while blowing off steam in the school yard, yet I rarely if ever see movement like this on the concert stage, elevated to the status of art and executed with such beauty and grace. One little snippet of movement that has stayed with me had both men in a second position plie while their forearms circled from their elbows, suggesting the movement of gears in a machine. The entire dance reminded me a tiny bit of Rioult’s Bolero, which also seemed to celebrate the beauty of the machine, though I felt that Naharin’s had a special sultriness to it, which made a nice contradiction to the theme.

Clever use of video to set up the five minute pause (that I’m assuming was needed for costume change) between Park and the final dance, Black Milk. A projection screen dropped and we saw video, shot from overhead, of the five dancers sprawled out on the floor in their rehearsal clothes, as a timer counted down the five minutes. At about the four minute mark, one of the dancers began wriggling on his back toward the other end of the frame and as the five minute mark drew close, all five dancers began to wriggle out of the frame.

The evening ended with Black Milk, which seemed to me to be about an initiation into some sort of tribe or cult (or possibly the army?), and toward the end of the dance, the initiate seemed to have second thoughts about his choice to join. The dance begins with one man, separate from the other four, eventually being drawn to them until all five kneel at the edge of the stage. With great solemnity, each pausing to catch the gaze of the man next to him before he acts, they pass a bucket full of olive green paint. One at a time, they appear to be sanctifying themselves by dragging the paint in a ritualistic fashion over their faces, their bare torsos, and the white linen of their skirts and pants. As the dance builds it begins to take on violent forms; at one point it appears that the initiate is having his head repeatedly slammed into the floor by one of the men in the cult. As the dance winds down, the initiate rushes to the same bucket which is now full of soapy water, and he frantically scrubs the green goop off of himself.

I’d gone to see this company because I’d heard such gushing amongst the dancers whom I know, saying that it was extraordinary. I was really glad that the performance lived up to the accolades and I look forward to seeing the company perform again.

Posted in Dance, Karen | Tagged Batsheva Dance Company, Joyce Theatre, Ohad Naharin, Project 5 | Leave a comment

New York City Ballet – Peter Martins’ The Magic Flute

by Karen Posted on October 10, 2010

From the very beginning of the piece, I was completely charmed by Peter Martins’ The Magic Flute. The ballet, originally created for an SAB workshop performance, was hilarious, colorful and clever, full of laughs, pratfalls and slapstick. This was not something that I’d have expected from New York City Ballet and I was very pleasantly surprised.

The sets seemed to be off the beaten path too. The story, which bears no resemblance to Mozart’s Magic Flute, takes place at dusk, under a billowing red sky, when the villagers are returning home from a long hard day in the fields. The backdrop looked almost like an architectural line drawing, with its outlined clouds and perfectly parallel lines indicating a horizon off in the distance. The villagers danced in costumes that were subdued in terms of detail, but bold in terms of color, with sunny yellows against bold turquoise belts or breeches.

We meet Lise, played to adorable perfection by Megan Fairchild, who is in love with the intrepid Luke, played by Robert Veyette. One could have predicted that her parents would not approve. The opening scenes have Lise dashing toward Luke and dancing with him, only to be pulled apart by her parents. Luke is constantly sent on his way, but Luke is nothing if not persistent, and he returns to Lise just as quickly as he is booted out.

Lise’s parents have bigger ambitions for her. They want her to marry the Marquis, played with comic brilliance by Adam Hendrickson. The man appears to be old enough to be her grandfather and he can barely stay on his feet. But he instantly warms to the idea of marrying Lise and proceeds to court her.

Lise tries to please her parents and takes a few steps toward the Marquis, but winds up shuddering with revulsion and returning to hide behind her parents or to seek out Luke.

Finally, Luke is cast away again and the villagers all go home. At this point, a beggar appears and Luke is kind enough to give him some money, but he also unloads his burden on the beggar, seeking advice on how to convince Lise’s parents to allow him to marry her. The beggar prophesies that a Magic Flute will come down from the heavens and help him.

This Magic Flute, when played, will get people to dance against their will. Within moments, the Magic Flute appears and Luke gives it a quick test on an unsuspecting Lise. So when the villagers all return to the town square and Luke finds himself in trouble again for pursuing Lise, with a cast of characters chasing him for arrest, he plays his flute and gets all the villagers and law officers whipped up in to a comic dance.

The choreography was clever and cute, especially in the moments when the Marquis attempts to kiss Lise’s hand or to hug her, only to have Lise slip away and Luke appear in her place. The gags and the pratfalls did nothing to detract from the dancing and the audience seemed to be well in to the spirit of the comedy and very entertained. When Veyette couldn’t stick his landing after a series of turns and jumps, he didn’t even attempt to disguise it, and the audience ate it up.

I enjoyed the ballet and the cast. Good work from the young SAB students who joined in the village scenes and executed their roles well. I think that any child old enough to sit still in the theatre would really enjoy this ballet.

Also on the bill were Serenade and Stars and Stripes. Serenade featured a performance of heartbreaking magnificence by Jenifer Ringer. The audience let out a collective gasp when, during the Rifle Regiment of Stars and Stripes, Savannah Lowery made her entrance, fell, and had difficulty recovering. She did not return to the stage. For several counts of 8, the corps just smiled at the audience while Lowery’s solo was not danced. Another dancer stepped in for her in the Fifth Campaign. The entire dance is good fun, but I especially love seeing Charles Askegard in the role of El Capitan, in this case partnering the amazing Sara Mearns who danced the Liberty Bell. And every time that I see this ballet, I am always knocked out by the precision of the men in Thunder and Gladiator. Daniel Ulbricht’s turns and jumps are always a crowd pleaser.

A great night in which Lola and I got to play the part of Cinderella, sitting in the orchestra rather than the 4th Ring which we usually haunt, thanks to the very good graces of a friend who gifted us with the tickets.

Posted in Dance, Karen | Tagged New York City Ballet, Peter Martin's The Magic Flute | Leave a comment

DeMa Dance Company Under the Stars

by Karen Posted on September 28, 2010

Marissa Frey and Yesid Lopez performing
Poema 15 (I Like For You To Be Still)
at the Grand Finale of the DUMBO Dance Festival.

Sergio Alvarez and Natalia Mesa

Elizabeth Cappabianca and Matthew Flatley

Natalia and Sergio in rehearsal

Elizabeth and Matthew in rehearsal

Congratulations to the dancers
and choreographer Yesid Lopez
on your great performances.

All photos by Ceren Salman

Costumes by Peggy Casey

DeMa Dance Company

Join the DeMa Dance Company’s Mailing List

Posted in Dance, Karen | Tagged DeMa Dance Company, DUMBO Dance Festival, Poema 15, Yesid Lopez | Leave a comment

Yesid Lopez’s Poema 15

by Karen Posted on September 24, 2010

Yesid Lopez, Co-Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of the DeMa Dance Company, will have his latest work, Poema 15 (I Like For You To Be Still), performed this coming Saturday and Sunday, September 25th and 26th, at the White Wave John Ryan Theater as part of the DUMBO Dance Festival. The dance will also be featured at the festival’s Grand Finale which will take place on Sunday evening, September 26, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. at the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park, Fulton Ferry Landing, on the waterfront in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn. Admission is free. Don’t miss it!

I had the opportunity to interview Yesid about the Pablo Neruda poem that inspired his latest dance, about his influences, and about the new piece on which he’s about to begin work.

Is there a reason why, out of all of Pablo Neruda’s work, Poema 15 was the one that fired your imagination and inspired you to create this dance? Also, please talk about the music that you chose for this piece.

Yesid: Poema 15 is one of the most beautiful poems that I have ever read. After graduating from high school I went to a time when poetry was a priority for me to be creative plus a way to describe my feelings to a special one. Neruda’s poetry and especially these verses complemented that romantic side that has defined my passion for life.

The music is from the soundtrack of the movie The Postman (Il Postino) which is based on a character who becomes the personal postman of Pablo Neruda during his stay in Italy. These are two original orchestrated compositions by Luis Bacalov and one tango by F. Canaro and L.C. Amadori performed by the late and phenomenal tango legend Carlos Gardel.

Do the three couples represent anything specific to you? The first couple seems to be the most troubled. The woman seems heartbroken and the man seems indifferent. The last couple seems to be the youngest and most carefree. Were you interested in showing how different people behave within relationships, or did you want to show different phases of relationships? Or do you want audience members to make up their own minds about what they see?

Yesid: I would like to portray the different stages of many relationships. It could be the story of a guy who has lost his beloved one by pushing her away and all that is left for him is memories. It could also be three different love stories, each one with a different mood. But at the end it is all about how the audience members relate their own personal experiences to the story line, the music and the movement.

I overheard you and Peggy Casey, DeMa’s Costume Designer, discussing your process in creating the costumes for Poema 15. Please talk a little about that.

Yesid: The costumes represent that “mood” on each duet. Peggy did a great job finding the color and creating the forms and shapes for the dresses. As you would see they play really well with the characters and their story. In my mind, it is about the same couple with the same clothing that have changed through the years of their relationship. But again this is my vision and it doesn’t have to be similar to the audience’s perspective.

I once read that one of your favorite influences was choreographer Nacho Duato. Are there other choreographers or artists whose work inspires you? Have you seen any new works lately that resonated with you?

Yesid: My male trinity of choreography consists of Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek and Nacho Duato. My female trinity of choreography consists of Aszure Barton, Monica Bill Barnes and Andrea Miller. I usually pray to their vision and genuine way of creating their own and breathtaking style of approaching art. I have introduced myself to Nacho and Mats but have yet to meet Jiri. I have had the amazing privilege to work with Monica and Andrea and taken a workshop with Aszure. All of them have owned my soul in different ways and I feel I am such a product of their legacy.

I haven’t seen any new work lately. I’m pretty much working on my options plus learning and teaching ballroom dance and salsa. I am developing a contemporary style that would definitely have my signature based on the diversity of my background.

You are about to begin work on a new piece for DeMa titled Bolero Stravaganza, an Extrospective of the Life and Work of Pablo Picasso. Can you tell us a little about it? What has Picasso’s work meant to you?

Yesid: When I see Picasso’s idea of the world through his art and the way he explored his vision and passionate talent, I feel more than inspired. I want to embody my own idea of what I feel when I look at his Guernica and somehow every time that I listen to Bolero of Ravel or Carmen from Bizet those sounds make a perfect soundtrack for this project.

Victory Chen and Joshua King in performance of Poema 15
(I Like For You To Be Still)

Below is a Video Preview of Poema 15 (I Like For You To Be Still)
created by DeMa’s Co-Artistic Director Despina Simegiatos

All photos by Kimberly Max

Costumes by Peggy Casey

Lighting by Jeremy Jones

Join the DeMa Dance Company’s Mailing List . Send a blank e-mail with the word “subscribe” in the subject heading.

See the DeMa Dance Company’s demo reel.

Posted in Brooklyn, Dance, Karen | Tagged DeMa Dance Company, Despina Simegiatos, DUMBO Arts Festival, DUMBO Dance Festival, Pablo Neruda, Pablo Picasso, Poema 15, Ravel's Bolero, Yesid Lopez | Leave a comment

DUMBO Dance Festival

by Karen Posted on September 17, 2010

We just received this e-mail blast from the DUMBO Dance Festival. Please visit their site to find out all the details about all the amazing companies who will be performing throughout the weekend. I’ve read that the DUMBO Arts Festival, which in addition to showcasing dance companies, also showcases the work of visual artists, musicians, etc., draws 150,000 visitors to DUMBO. I am especially excited to see some of the site specific dances. Given that this all takes place on the DUMBO waterfront, it should be quite spectacular.

I’m thrilled that the DeMa Dance Company, for whom I work, was invited to perform at the Grand Finale. The company will be performing Poema 15 (I Like For You To Be Still), choreographed by Artistic Director Yesid Lopez.

Posted in Brooklyn, Dance, Karen | Tagged Brooklyn, Dance, DeMa Dance Company, DUMBO Arts Festival, DUMBO Dance Festival, Poema 15, Yesid Lopez | Leave a comment

The Channels Switch But It’s All Television

by Karen Posted on August 30, 2010

People take pictures of each other in front of Warhol art at the Brooklyn Museum. Seems appropriate. Below are a few scenes from Andy Warhol: The Last Decade.

Disclaimer: It’s a poor artist who blames her tools, but my camera is old and outdated even by digital point and shoot standards. Still, the photos do absolutely NO justice to the originals, all of which were so beautiful. If you’re in Brooklyn, go and see for yourself. The exhibit runs through September 12th.

The piece above was my favorite in the exhibit. It’s called Oxidation Painting [in 12 parts], made in 1978. Believe it or not, the materials are acrylic paint and urine on linen. I love the metallic greens and golds and the textures. These were among the first abstract paintings that Warhol did. From the description of the painting: “By urinating on the canvas he succeeded in creating the ‘physical presence’ to which he aspired in the act of painting, and simultaneously parodied the act of painting.” Statements like these made Warhol so beloved and make him so sorely missed.

The exhibit also includes Warhol’s films, a television series, and a wall full of covers of Interview magazine in addition to many more paintings, including his religious paintings.

Black and White Ads above

Elsewhere in the museum . . .

I’ve had a soft spot for Josef and Anni Albers ever since I saw an exhibit of their work at the Cooper Hewitt ages ago. These pieces are called Homage to the Square; they are from 1957. I worked in an architect’s office in the early 1980s where we would turn out page after page of parodies of this type of work. But I don’t love it any less.

I fell in love with this little vessel by ceramicist Rick Dillingham, whom I’d never heard of before. On the plaque beneath this piece, I read that the artist was a contemporary of mine who’d already passed away, which broke my heart right on the spot.

My only complaint about my visit to the museum was that First Nations artists from the so-called “Americas” were barely represented. It could be that I just didn’t know where to look for them and didn’t have the time to visit the entire museum. But amongst one of the American painting collections I found a room which had a few pieces made by Native artists, like the piece above.

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is one of the most stunning works of art I’ve ever seen. The degree of detail is amazing. This is just one little detail that appeared on one of the runners for one of the place settings.

Stained glass from one of the 4th floor galleries [above].

I closed out the visit by seeing works by two of my all time favorites . . .

Diego

and

Georgia.

Posted in Brooklyn, Galleries and Museums, Karen, Visual Art | Tagged Andy Warhol, Brooklyn Museum, Diego Rivera, Georgia O'Keefe, Josef Albers, Judy Chicago, Oxidation Painting, Rick Dillingham | Leave a comment

DeMa Dance Company Coming to DUMBO Dance Festival

by Karen Posted on August 27, 2010

On September 26th the DeMa Dance Company will be performing Yesid Lopez’s Poema 15 (I Like For You To Be Still) at the Grand Finale of the DUMBO Dance Festival, which is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year. The concert will take place at the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park on the DUMBO waterfront, right near the Manhattan Bridge, with a spectacular night time view of the New York City skyline as a backdrop.

The festival is part of the 2010 DUMBO Arts Festival which along with dance will feature “music, performance art, literature, theatre, film, a digital design industry component, kids’ programming and more.”

The dance Poema 15 had its World Premiere last July at the White Wave John Ryan Theater. Three couples perform in the dance, one at a time, dramatizing different aspects of love and relationships, to the music of Luis Bacalov and Luis C. Amadori, along with spoken word by Glenn Close.

“Poema 15 is a manifestation of love. It is a trip that most of us have taken. It is a wake up call to be romantic, to care, to express without boundaries, to live, to laugh, to love. It’s a tribute to Pablo Neruda’s legacy as the most influential love poet in Latin America’s literature.” — Yesid Lopez’s program notes from the White Wave program.

I’m really looking forward to the festival and the performance. Last year at this time, DeMa was just being born and its first dances were being cast. The company mounted a very ambitious schedule in its first year, setting eight brand new pieces on its new dancers and bringing each one to the stage. They enjoyed a successful New York season last May at the Ailey Citigroup Theatre as well as two dates in July at White Wave. Artistic Directors Despina Simegiatos and Matina Simegiatos brought the company a very long way in a short amount of time.

All photos of Poema 15 by Kimberly Max. Costumes by Peggy Casey. Lighting by Jeremy Jones.

View DeMa’s demo reel.

Posted in Brooklyn, Dance, Karen | Tagged DeMa Dance Company, DUMBO Arts Festival, DUMBO Dance Festival, Kim Max Photography, Poema 15, Yesid Lopez | 1 Comment

Late August Urban Farm Report

by Karen Posted on August 25, 2010

We’re in the second phase of our harvest now. Here’s an update on some of the stuff we were puzzled about a few weeks back.

Red Pepper — The red pepper actually did turn red

Eggplant — Not only did the little bud turn into a full eggplant but . . .

Eggplants — . . . there were many more where that came from.

Baby eggplant — And there will be more to come.

We really fell short where the broccoli was concerned. We put in three plants. This is the only one that survived. Granted, the backyard kittens did plenty of wrestling with one of the plants, but I don’t yet really understand where we went so wrong. It will give me something to research this winter.

It was so beautiful to be able to go out into the backyard every evening and harvest the tomatoes for our supper right off the vine. They smelled and tasted delicious; much better than anything I’ve bought at the grocery in a long time. I am really going to miss doing this when the cold weather arrives. We put in 12 plants and every last one was very prolific.

I can’t take any credit for the figs. Over 25 years ago, someone planted the bushes and now Mother Earth does all the rest. Also delicious.

I can’t take credit for these at all. These are from my neighbor Marie’s yard. I think that they’re peaches. They are so pretty.

Planting this vegetable garden and watching it grow has been one of the best things that I did this summer. It reminded me of the miraculous little things that go on in nature every single day. Now none of it seems so little to me any more.

The arrival of each fruit or vegetable seemed like an amazing gift. As the person who has done all the food shopping and cooking for this family for over 20 years, and never really enjoyed it, I found that the time I spent in the garden this summer, and the process of bringing the crops to our table, lead me to appreciate the entire ritual in a way that I never have before. If nothing else, it absolutely convinced me that Mother Earth and everything that grows on her is a living organism full of energy and spirit — much more beautiful and mysterious than I’d ever considered before. The moments that I spent out back every morning watering the crops before work were the most spiritually fulfilling of the day.

It’s been a pretty dry summer here in New York City. In the last few days, we were finally visited by a few downpours.

Posted in Brooklyn, Karen, Urban Farming | Tagged Eggplant, Figs, Peaches, Red Peppers, Tomatoes, Urban Farming, Vegetable Garden | Leave a comment

Kate Weare’s Bright Land at the Joyce

by Karen Posted on August 13, 2010

I’d read that the Kate Weare Company was coming to the Joyce this summer. When I received the video that Weare sent to her mailing list, I knew that I had to see the concert.

The dance she was presenting was called Bright Land, with live accompaniment from The Crooked Jades. The Crooked Jades play “old time music” of the rural Appalachians, a predecessor to bluegrass [which I didn’t know until I read it in the program]. I am so grateful that, in the video, Weare took the time to talk about her process and her affection for the music, which she expounded upon in the program.

[What great notes there were in the program and on the web site. So beautifully written. I love it when an artist takes the time and effort to give the audience some context for her work.]

It’s music with a spiritual bent which doesn’t have much mainstream popularity in this part of the country and it doesn’t show up much on dance stages. Still, it’s got a distinct sound that conjures images of a specific place and time in American history. So from the very beginning it gave the dance a flavor that was simultaneously unusual and familiar. The dance was performed on a bare stage, with the musicians set up upstage right beneath a single light fixture, creating a raw and unpretentious atmosphere. In the video, Weare spoke about her desire to avoid movement that was cool or beautiful in favor of movement that was intuitive and direct. I found this to be a really exciting idea which was very well executed in the dance.

Weare’s choreography and her four dancers have a unique and delightfully quirky yet fierce voice; it’s off the beaten path. The choreography of Bright Land was so powerful, full of sharp staccato movement and strong, almost wild athleticism. As the piece progressed, each dancer removed layers of his or her costume, often while making direct eye contact with another dancer. Though their movement was sensuous, there was nothing gratuitous about it. As the layers of the costumes were shed, the dancers seemed to be drawing us closer to what is raw and what is at the essence of the human experience.

The dancers and musicians took the audience on a journey through a series of songs, each dealing with a different yet universal theme, ending with the musicians coming downstage to perform the rousing Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down.

Wow. That’s all that I’ve got to say. The performance was given a standing ovation. We’d have been happy if it had gone on all night long.

If you get the chance to see this company, do not pass it up. Visit their very beautiful web site.

Monica Bill Barnes was also on the bill presenting Another Parade, which was hilarious great fun complete with multi colored confetti.

A good night at the theatre.

Posted in Dance, Karen | Tagged Dance, Joyce Theater, Kate Weare | Leave a comment

The Vicky Simegiatos Dance Company Presents The Nutcracker

Batsheva Dance Company at the Joyce

New York City Ballet – Peter Martins’ The Magic Flute

DeMa Dance Company Under the Stars

Yesid Lopez’s Poema 15

DUMBO Dance Festival

The Channels Switch But It’s All Television

DeMa Dance Company Coming to DUMBO Dance Festival

Late August Urban Farm Report

Kate Weare’s Bright Land at the Joyce

Visitor Menu

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Search – Wet Paint

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Visitor Menu

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Search – Wet Paint