Nela H. Kornetová and Lærke Grøntved star in T.I.T.S.’s US premiere of Forced Beauty (photo courtesy T.I.T.S.)
Who: Kari Hoaas Productions, Nela Kornetová and T.I.T.S., Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company, Nora Alami, Jadd Tank, Leyya Mona Tawil/Lime Rickey International, Baye & Asa, Wendy Perron and Morgan Griffin, Bobbi Jene Smith, Kayla Farrish, Kathryn Alter, Francesca Dominguez, Darvejon Jones, Cory “Supernova” Villegas/Soul Dance Co
What: Eighteenth annual La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival
Where: La MaMa, 74A East Fourth St. between Bowery & Second Ave.
When: April 6–30, free (with advance RSVP) – $30
Why: The eighteenth annual La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival runs April 6-30, consisting of ten programs featuring a dozen creators presenting a wide range of works exploring the theme “Research, Resilience, and Testimony.” Referring to the artists, curator Nicky Paraiso explains on the festival website, “They bear witness to the uncertain times we live in, with a deeply felt personal approach that our dance audiences will not easily forget. We are living, perhaps, in a not-yet-totally postpandemic world where emotional response continues to remain tender and raw.”
The festival opens with works by two Norwegian companies, beginning April 6-8 with the world premiere of Kari Hoaas Productions’ Shadowland, in which a group of soloists weave through a web of loss, and April 7-9 with the US premiere of T.I.T.S.’s Forced Beauty, in which choreographer Nela H. Kornetová and Lærke Grøntved, often topless, act out online hate and violence directed at women on the internet. The free panel discussion “Stop Calling Them Dangerous #5, Cinema Has Power” takes place April 8 at 2:00 at CRS (Center for Remembering and Sharing), with screenings of films by Yvonne Rainer and Charles Atlas, organized by Yoshiko Chuma and promising “surprise dance-filmmakers” in attendance.
The second week kicks off with Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company’s Lunch with Sonia (April 12-16), followed by a pair of shared programs: Nora Alami and Jadd Tank’s 3rd Body, inspired by VR technology, and Leyya Mona Tawil/Lime Rickey International’s Malayeen Voices, a futuristic look at folk songs and dance (April 13-16); and Baye & Asa’s duet Suck it Up, which delves into commercial imagery, with Wendy Perron and Morgan Griffin’s The Daily Mirror 1976/2022, in which teacher Perron revisits a 1976 work, now joined by one of her students, featuring film and photography by Babette Mangolte (April 14-16).
The third week is highlighted by the New York premiere of Bobbi Jene Smith’s multimedia dance-theater piece Broken Theater with AMOC* (April 20-30). Kayla Farrish’s Put Away the Fire, dear, pt.2 explores the relationship between live performance and cinema, with Farrish, Jessica Alexander, Tatiana Barber, James Barret, Alexander Diaz, Kerime Konur, and Curtis Thomas (April 21-23). The final program is Hunter College’s Emerging Choreographers Showcase with works by Kathryn Alter, Francesca Dominguez, Darvejon Jones, and Cory “Supernova” Villegas/Soul Dance Co.