Earlier this month Heiner Goebbels presented the NY premiere of Stifter’s Dinge at the Lincoln Center. In a review the NY Times cited a description of the piece:

…teasingly described in the program as a composition for five pianos with no pianists, a play with no actors, a performance without performers, “one might say a no-man show.”

Read the review and get another glimpse into Goebbels’ work.

[Image from Bruno Beltrao | Grupo de Rua. Click on image for a larger version.]

Jean Lenihan has a feature in January’s edition of Seattle Met that covers the upcoming premiere of 3Seasons by Olivier Wevers and his brand-new company, Whim W’Him. The story begins:

THE “PRINCE” HAS grown up. For the last 12 years, Olivier Wevers has been the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s most reliable dancer, carrying lead roles in story ballets and experimental works alike. He transitions easily between Cinderella’s Prince and “the prince of abstract”—hence the courtly nickname. But this month, the 38–year–old will strike out on his own, debuting his new dance company Whim W’Him with a performance of the ensemble piece 3Seasons. It’s a playful, provocative piece showcasing familiar Seattle dancers in new contexts—swapping gender roles, breaking classical ballet lines, and donning neo–tutus.

Read the full article.

Before Heiner Goebbels became the composer titan that he is today, he was in an 80s avant rock band, Cassiber. Their Wikipedia article describes their style as a blend of speed punk, free jazz and sampling using found audio.

According to a Time Out critic they “play[ed] as if they only have a minute left to live.”

[Heiner Goebbels is farthest on the left]

Earlier this month dance maven Ohad Naharin issued some advice to dance critics in an award acceptance speech. Since there was so much conversation during The A.W.A.R.D. Show! about the critical voice and lens, it seemed worth it to repost some of it here:

• Go see dance shows that you don’t have to write about.

• Don’t let a point of reference prevent you from having a moment of a fresh new experience.

• Connect to physical pleasures of life.

• Remember that there are always people in the audience who are at least as smart as you are (and it says here, “especially if you are from England”).

The full list can be found on Dance Magazine’s site.

[Tip of the hat to Dancing Perfectly Free for pointing this out.]

Time Out New York just released their editor and critic’s picks for the best (and worst) theater of 2009. THE SHIPMENT, by Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company, made the list of David Cote (editor). Congrats to the company for this nod!

Vala DanceWear just posted a 2 part interview with Olivier Wevers on their blog. In it he discusses his inspiration for starting the company and how his life has changed as a result.

Start with Part 1 here.

3 after parties at the Sitting Room
10 utilikilt costumes
12 companies/choreographers
24 amazing volunteers (thanks all!)
24 bottles of champagne for Sunday night’s toast
24 hours of tech time
48 performers on the stage
1,200+ attendees
$12,000 given away

Thanks again to all the choreographers, performers and designers for all your hard work! And to The Joyce Theater, Neta Pulvermacher and The Boeing Company for helping bring this to Seattle!

Here’s what some local publications have written so far:

Slog:

The whole point of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! is to bring in new audience members. It worked, despite—or maybe because of—the debate about whether the reality show/Final Four competition was “appropriate.”

The SunBreak interviewed Amelia Reeber (prior to Sunday night)

Jean Lenihan recaps the whole thing on her blog and gets some comments from Deborah Hay about Amelia.

Seattle Dances covers nights 1 and 2.

ETA – Seattle Times covers the final night in: ‘Dreamlife’ wins dream prize: $10,000 at ‘The A.W.A.R.D. Show!’

ETA (again) – The SunBreak and Seattlest have cross-posted a conversation between Jeremy Barker (SunBreak) and Amy Mikel (Seattlest) in which they talk about the larger ideas behind this, the format, etc.

ETA (again x2) – Crosscut discusses nights 2 and 3 and weighs the pros and cons of the format.

By Neta Pulvermacher: A Choreographer, Founder of the A.W.A.R.D Show! Series (2006) and Dance Conversations at the Flea (2003).

Ok… People (artists and audiences), Chill out! I am reading all those comments about the A.W.A.R.D. Show! Let me put my two cents into the discussion…. and, by the way… discussion/response/action/pro-action are actually the goals of this series… So thank you… for participating.

It is Neta Pulvermacher here, the very dumb, super populist choreographer (ha, ha, ha if you only knew) who started this whole thing, with the idea that it may – if handled right – put to test some of the most hypocritical, yet, sacred cows in our improvished modern dance field and if done right – I was hoping that it will in-fact create new possibilities, attract new funding for individual artists, and will put the conversation back into the work itself. That is my dream. I want people to feel excited about the work itself.

No it is not the only way…. No, no, no!!!! There is NEVER ONE WAY TO DO SOMETHING! Never!
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