twi-ny recommended events

SPA WEEK 2015

Skin Spa is one of many companies offering special $50 treatments during Spa Week

Skin Spa is one of many locations offering special $50 treatments during Spa Week

Multiple locations
October 12–18, treatments $50
www.spaweek.com

It’s time to start making appointments for Spa Week; through the middle of next month, dozens of salons, spas, and studios throughout the metropolitan area will be booking selected services at the very special rate of $50 each. As Spa Week veterans, we are happy to say that this year the deals are outstanding, particularly the amazing skin care. We have to rave about the skin care at the Skin Spa Flatiron/Chelsea, where we tried a customized facial with microcurrent add-on. The NuFace microcurrent technology firmed and plumped our sun-dry post-summer skin like no other; it was not only painless but also effective for days afterward. Another standout is GemVie Medical Spa in Murray Hill; they’re offering a Medical Grade Chemical Peel, which we can vouch for, a Deep Pore Detox Facial, and Dermaplaning followed by an Algo Mask to remove evidence of summer sun abuse. Returning favorites all over town include Essential Therapy and L’Institut Sothys, but with seven Skin Spa locations around Manhattan, from Midtown West to Soho, we just might go get microcurrent-zapped again in October and be well satisfied.

FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL 2015

New York City Center
131 West 55th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Tickets go on sale Sunday, September 13, 11:00 am
Festival runs September 30 – October 11, $15
212-581-1212
www.nycitycenter.org

One of the hottest tickets of the season is always the annual Fall for Dance Festival at City Center, ten days of performances by twenty companies from around the world, each show a mere fifteen bucks. Tickets go on sale Sunday, September 13, at 11:00 am, so don’t waste any time if you want to see any of the below programs, because these events sell out ridiculously fast.

Wednesday, September 30, and Thursday, October 1, 8:00
Miami City Ballet, Allegro Brillante, George Balanchine
Doug Elkins Choreography, Etc., Hapless Bizarre, Doug Elkins
L.A. Dance Project, Murder Ballades, Justin Peck
Che Malambo, Che Malambo, Gilles Brinas and dancers

Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3, 8:00
La Compagnie Hervé Koubi, U.S. premiere of What the Day Owes to the Night, Hervé Koubi
Steven McRae, U.S. premiere of Czardas, Steven McRae
Project FFD: Pam Tanowitz, One Last Good Chance, Pam Tanowitz
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Four Corners, Ronald K. Brown

Tuesday, October 6, and Wednesday, October 7, 8:00
Companhia Urbana De Dança, Eu Danço — 8 solos no geral, Sonia Destri Lie and dancers
Fang-Yi Sheu and Herman Cornejo, Pheromones, Fang-Yi Sheu
Houston Ballet, Maninyas, Stanton Welch
Paul Taylor Dance Company, Brandenburgs, Paul Taylor

Thursday, October 8, and Friday, October 9, 8:00
Nrityagram, Invoking Shiva, Surupa Sen
San Francisco Ballet, Solo, Hans van Manen
Stephen Petronio Company, Locomotor, Stephen Petronio
Dorrance Dance, world premiere of a Fall for Dance commission, Michelle Dorrance

Saturday, October 10, 8:00, and Sunday, October 11, 7:00
Boston Ballet, Pas de Quatre, Leonid Yakobson
Bill Irwin and Tiler Peck, Time It Was/116, Bill Irwin, Tiler Peck, and Damian Woetzel
Jesús Carmona & Cia, U.S. premiere of Ímpetu, Jesús Carmona
L-E-V, Killer Pig, Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar

THE WARRIORS CONEY ISLAND REUNION

You can come out and play with the Warriors as many of the actors return to Coney Island for a special reunion on September 13

THE WARRIORS (Walter Hill, 1979)
Surf Pavilion
3029 Stillwell Ave., Coney Island
Sunday, September 13, $20-$25, 10:00 am
surfpavilion.com
www.warriorsmovie.co.uk

In the classic cult film The Warriors, a Coney Island gang has to return home after a disastrous gathering in the Bronx. On September 13, many of the actors from the film will be returning to Coney as well for a special reunion screening taking place at Surf Pavilion on Stillwell Ave., including Michael Beck (Swan), Dorsey Wright (Cleon), David Harris (Cochise), Bryan Tyler (Snow), Thomas G. Waites (Fox), Terry Michos (Vermin), Deborah Van Valkenburgh (Mercy), Jery Hewitt (Furies leader Muson), Apache Ramos (of the Orphans), and others. The film opens at a huge gang meeting in the Bronx (actually shot in Riverside Park), where the Warriors are wrongly accused of having killed Cyrus (Roger Hill), an outspoken leader trying to band all the warring factions together to form one huge force that can take over New York City borough by borough. The Warriors then must make it back to their home turf, Coney Island, with every gang in New York lying in wait for them to pass through their territory. This iconic New York City gang movie is based on Sol Yurick’s novel, which in turn is loosely based on Xenophon’s Anabasis, which told of the ancient Greeks’ retreat from Persia. Beck stars as Swan, who becomes the de-facto leader of the Warriors after Cleon gets taken down early. Battling Swan for control is Ajax (James Remar) and tough-talking Mercy. Serving as a Greek chorus is Lynne (Law & Order) Thigpen as a radio DJ, and, yes, that young woman out too late in Central Park is eventual Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl.

Among the cartoony gangs of New York who try to stop the Warriors are the roller-skating Punks, the pathetic Orphans, the militaristic Gramercy Riffs, the all-girl Lizzies, the ragtag Rogues, and the inimitable Baseball Furies. Another main character is New York City itself, especially the subway system. Presented by the LSRR Tour and the Village Voice, the special conclave will include autograph signings, meet-and-greets, a cosplay contest, and live performances by the Gotham City Mashers and Sick of It All. If you can’t come out and play-ee-ay on September 13, The Warriors is also having its annual Coney Island Film Festival screening on September 19 at Sideshows by the Seashore ($10, 10:30 pm).

TREE OF CODES

Park Ave. Armory
643 Park Ave. between 66th & 67th Sts.
September 14-21, $30-$90
212-933-5812
armoryonpark.org

Codes are one-to-one correspondences, messages that have been transformed from one communication into another. Tree of Codes, originally presented earlier this summer at the Manchester International Festival, is a seventy-five-minute contemporary ballet that uses light, sound, color, mirrors, and movement in unique ways, transforming Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2010 book, Tree of Codes, into something entirely other. Foer’s book is a work of art that is both a literary narrative and sculptural object; every page of the paperback boasts a different die-cut as surprising word combinations continually reveal themselves. Foer’s three-dimensional story begins with Bruno Schulz’s Street of Crocodiles — which has previously been adapted by the Quay Brothers into a classically creepy stop-motion animation film — and Foer then cut out words to create a whole new tale. British choreographer Wayne McGregor (Infra, Chroma), London-born DJ and music producer Jamie xx (We’re New Here, In Colour), and Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson (“The Collectivity Project” on the High Line, “NYC Waterfalls”) have turned Tree of Codes into a site-specific multidisciplinary performance piece, featuring members of the Paris Opera Ballet and McGregor’s company, that will take place in New York City’s most creative space, the Wade Thompson Drill Hall at the Park Avenue Armory, from September 14 to 21. “At the armory, we are always encouraging artists to push the limits of their specific disciplines. Wayne McGregor, Olafur Eliasson, and Jaime xx are each pioneers in their respective fields, and their collective vision for Tree of Codes asks us to bend our preconceived notions of traditional ballet and also the world around us,” armory president and executive producer Rebecca Robertson said in a statement. The armory has previously hosted work by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, the Trisha Brown Dance Company, Shen Wei Dance Arts, STREB Extreme Action, Massive Attack, Christian Boltanski, Ann Hamilton, Tom Sachs, Paul McCarthy, Ryoji Ikeda, and many others, who have taken great advantage of the fifty-five-thousand square-foot space. Tree of Codes is likely to do the same.

VENDY AWARDS 2015

Kaya delivers on its promise of bringing the passion of Asian street food to New York (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Kaya is up for rookie of the year at this year’s Vendy Awards, to be held on Governors Island on September 12 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Governors Island
Saturday, September 12, $60-$800 (includes tastings from more than twenty-five food vendors and unlimited beverages), 12:30 – 5:00
www.vendyawards.streetvendor.org
www.govisland.com

The eleventh annual Vendy Awards are set for Saturday on Governors Island, celebrating street food of the highest order. Following nominations from the public, this year’s judges — Marco A. Carrión, Mike “foodbabyny” Chau, Glenn Harris, Claus Meyer, KF Seetoh, Maya Sittisuntorn, and Steph Sumulong — will be choosing the winners in five categories. Up for best dessert are Booqoo Beignets, Butter & Scotch, Doughnuttery, Playjscream, and Squish Marshmallows. The Best of Market competitors are Burmese Bites, Carnitas El Atoradero, Home Frite, the Gumbo Bros, and Your Panadas. Fighting it out for rookie of the year are Coney Shack, Kaya NYC, Lil Zeus Lunch Box, Old Traditional Polish Cuisine, and Shuka Truck. Going after the Vendy Cup as best food truck are Biryani House, Hard Times Sundaes, Guandong Cheong Fun, Snowday, and Souvlaki Lady. New this year is Best Street Drink, with Best Juice Uptown, Catalina’s Champurrado, Coco & Co., Renegade Lemonade, and Tea and Milk seeking the prize. (There is also a surprise category and live entertainment.) A portion of the proceeds goes to the Street Vendor Project, which advocates for street vendors as part of the nonprofit Urban Justice Center.

CINEMA AT MAD: REMEMBER FILM?

Work It Kitty is part of Internet Cat Video Festival at Museum of Arts & Design (photo courtesy Walker Art Center)

Museum of Arts & Design
2 Columbus Circle at 58th St. & Eighth Ave.
Friday nights through October 30, free but tickets required, 7:00
800-838-3006
madmuseum.org

The Museum of Arts & Design follows up its intense eight-week Andrei Tarkovsky retrospective with something a little less demanding. Running on Friday nights through October 30, the free “Remember Film?” series kicks off with “I Don’t Want My Pizza Burning: Comedy Came from the Internet,” comprising more than three dozen comic clips from the Web, and continues with such other unique programs as back-to-school episodes of Art Thoughtz with critic extraordinaire Hennessy Youngman; the 2015 Internet Cat Video Festival, a collection of crazy feline shorts that originated at the Walker Art Center; Phil Solomon’s In Memoriam trilogy, made from Grand Theft Auto footage; Sophie Fiennes’s 2006 The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema, in which Slavoj Žižek takes a unique look at the history of the movies; Star Wars Uncut: Director’s Cut, consisting of a shot-by-shot re-creation of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope made by more than 1,500 people from around the world; 99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film, a documentary of the grass-roots movement featuring such folks as Matt Taibbi, Naomi Wolf, and Boots Riley; and “Early Works of Ryan Trecartin,” which are just that, early videos made by the popular artist, primarily when he was still an undergraduate. The series was prompted by Fujifilm Global’s 2012 announcement that it was no longer producing motion picture film stock and the bankruptcy of Eastman Kodak, two major signals that digital video was defeating film, making everyone with a camera or cell phone a director.

9/11 TABLE OF SILENCE

Special “Table of Silence Project” performance ritual of peace returns for fifth year to Josie Robertson Plaza (photo by Terri Gold)

Josie Robertson Plaza, Lincoln Center
65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
Friday, September 11, free, 8:15 am
www.tableofsilence.org

Every September 11, there are many memorial programs held all over the city, paying tribute to those who were lost on that tragic day while also honoring New York’s endless resiliency. One of the most beautiful is “The Table of Silence Project,” a public performance ritual for peace featuring one hundred dancers on Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center. “The ‘Table of Silence Project’ represents the common threads of humanity which unite all mankind into a single force with common goals and aspirations regardless of race, culture, or religion,” choreographer and artistic director Jacqulyn Buglisi said in a statement. “Through this event, we wish to achieve the dual purpose of celebrating and honoring peace and freedom for all people suffering oppression, through listening, a united moment of silence — a call for Peace in our world.” Beginning at 8:15 am, thirty-one minutes before the first plane hit the World Trade Center in 2001, the dancers, all dressed in white, will slowly begin gathering around the Revson Fountain to a rhythmic drumbeat, followed by silence and then a soft score. Buglisi Dance Theatre partnered with the September Concert and Dance/NYC for the meditative event, which lasts about a half hour and can also be livestreamed here. “The future of humanity depends on what we do in the present,” Buglisi added about the project, which she conceived for the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Buglisi was inspired by Italian artist Rossella Vasta’s ever-evolving series of one hundred ceramic plates that help form the Table of Silence; as Vasta explained on her website, “One hundred is one times 100 and this refers to the original Latin meaning of religion that is derived from ‘religere.’ The dishes become the offering to humanity and represent transcendental values beyond any religion. Silence becomes a sacred space with no religious discrimination.”