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.
Before Heiner Goebbels became the composer titan that he is today, he was in an 80s avant rock band, Cassiber.
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:
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).
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
Here's what some local publications have written so far: Slog:
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!
Amelia Reeber. Congrats to her and to all the amazing and talented participants!
Hello and thank you to everyone who has been participating in this event!! It has been interesting.
There are a couple of things I would like to address: a response to a comment about the audience being qualified and my thoughts about viewing performance.
Audience votes determined that Amelia Reeber will proceed to the final night.
For info or tickets about Sunday night's final performance, see the performance page.
Michael Upchurch at the Seattle Times recaps Friday night's performance:
From Laura Curry:
A few initial impressions: it was wonderful to see condensed, diverse representations of the art form, and the diverse – at capacity – audience.
Audience votes determined that Catherine Cabeen will proceed to the final night.
Stay tuned for more updates on who will be joining her on Sunday. For info or tickets, see the performance page.
Brendan Kiley has posted a follow up to both his preview of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! and his coverage of the NEA's stats that art attendance, according to their tracking, is at an all time low.
Michael Upchurch at the Seattle Times reviews Thursday night's performance of The A.W.A.R.D. Show!:
From Anne L:
Things that I liked a lot:
1. The huge audience. How often does the Mainstage sell out on a Thursday night? I hope OTB makes a lot of money from this format.
2. Tonya Lockyer running the post-performance Q & A. Her intelligence and insight almost seemed to be contagious.
The review even includes videos from Singin' in the Rain and "Buffalo Stance." They totally relate.
Congrats to Deborah Wolf, the finalist for Thursday night's performance.
Jeremy Barker explains how "dance meets bracketsville" in this weekend's performance over on The SunBreak. Check it out!
Brendan Kiley wrote up a preview of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! on the Slog:
Seattle Met's Culture Fiend blog features a preview of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! by Jean Lenihan.
Sandi Kurtz lays out the way this production works, interviews some of the artists involved about how they feel in this competition and even includes a little known fact about Merce Cunningham, John Cage and an Italian quiz show.
Michael Upchurch of the Seattle Times explains the background of The A.W.A.R.D. Show!, the experience in other cities and interviews Linda Shelton of The Joyce Theater. She responded to a question about the competitive nature of the program with the following:
Reggie Watts and Tommy Smith just had their first public performance/workshop of their latest piece, Dutch A/V. The collaboration with Seattle writer Brendan Kiley "seeks to replicate the first hand experience of being a flâneur in another city." The boys packed up spy glasses and headed to Amsterdam where they filmed a myriad of people and places.
Brendan wrote up what the experience of getting this onstage was like on the Slog.
Tim Summers, local photographer extraordinaire, was featured in yesterday's Seattle Times in an article about publicity photographers. Tim's work has been consistently featured at OtB, from the festival to the NW Series. OtB's Sean Ryan is quoted in the article:
"Having been such a dance enthusiast for so long, he knows when to shoot . . .
Alice Kaderlan talks about The A.W.A.R.D. Show! on KUOW. From KUOW's site:
A profile on local dancer Jim Kent is the first part of the latest episode of ArtZone on Seattle Channel.
Linas Phillips, an 08/09 alum, will be heading to Sundance this year with Bass Ackwards. The film also features Jim Fletcher (his partner in crime from Lasagna), Davie-Blue and Paul Lazar.
The charming and talented Olivier Wevers talks about his upcoming performance Three Seasons here at OtB in January. Listen [mp3]
BLOG RSS FEED