this week in dance

NEXT WAVE FESTIVAL: POLITICAL MOTHER

The Hofesh Shechter Company will perform its explosive POLITICAL MOTHER this week at BAM (photo by Ben Rudick)

HOFESH SHECHTER COMPANY: POLITICAL MOTHER
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
October 11-13
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.hofesh.co.uk

British-based Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter, a former drummer and tap dancer, has struck a chord around the world with his debut full-length piece, the brash and bold Political Mother. A work for twelve dancers, Schechter’s follow-up to Uprising/In your rooms once again features his physical, in-your-face choreography set to his own propulsive score, played by a live heavy-metal band led by music collaborator Yaron Engler, with Lee Curran contributing the powerful lighting design, Tony Birch the sound design, and Merle Hensel the costumes. The seventy-minute multimedia assault on the senses, first performed in 2010, was expanded into a “Choreographer’s Cut” at Sadler’s Wells last year with even more dancers and musicians. Political Mother, which is built around ideas of control, is running October 11-14 at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House as part of the thirtieth Next Wave Festival. In addition, while in New York, the Hofesh Shechter Company will be holding intensives at Cedar Lake in Chelsea from October 15-19; the 10:00 am – 2:00 pm slots are sold out, but there is still limited availability for the 3:00 – 7:00 pm workshops, designed for “professional dancers/recent graduates and third year students in full time dance training.”

Music and dance collide in loud, beautiful ways in POLITICAL MOTHER (photo by Julieta Cervantes)

Update: As the audience enters, a smoky mist drifts through BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House. Soon a lone figure appears center stage, dressed in a samurai outfit. He pulls out a sword and commits hara-kiri. Then the soundtrack suddenly blasts out of the speakers and two words are illuminated on a backdrop: Political Mother, announcing that Hofesh Shechter’s hotly anticipated international sensation is about to blow your mind. And blow your mind it does, for more than an hour of energizing movement, blaring music, and blazing lights. A dozen dancers move on- and offstage, running, jumping, writhing on the floor, and forming a hora-like circle as they change costumes from ordinary clothing to gray, dingy prison garb. Behind them, drummers in military outfits pound away, while above the percussionists are five guitarists who play screeching industrial hard rock tinged with Middle Eastern melodies. Occasionally a man up top, dressed alternately as a heavy metal hero, an old-time crooner, or a brutal dictator, grabs a microphone and bellows out an unintelligible song or command as the dancers/inmates below wait on his every word. Somewhere in the middle of this marvelous maelstrom, a classical interlude gives everyone, onstage and in the audience, a brief respite, but then it’s back to the madness as Shechter explores ideas of power and control in his breathless choreography, with Lee Curran’s superb lighting signaling changes like a strobe operating in slow motion. Then, as explosive as it’s been, it stops, reconfiguring itself with a song choice that makes the audience laugh out loud, bringing it all back home with a fond simplicity. No mere dance, Political Mother is like an event unto itself, a daring, balls-out work that takes over your mind, body, and spirit for seventy glorious, unforgettable minutes.

CROSSING THE LINE — RAIMUND HOGHE: PAS DE DEUX

Raimund Hoghe and Takashi Ueno examine the history of the duet in PAS DE DEUX (photo by Rosa Franks)

Baryshnikov Arts Center, Howard Gilman Performance Space
450 West 37th St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
October 10-12, $20, 7:30
866-811-4111
www.bacnyc.org
www.fiaf.org

German dancer and choreographer Raimund Hoghe made his U.S. debut at FIAF’s 2009 Crossing the Line festival with Boléro Variations and L’Après-midi, followed in 2010 by Sans-titre, his collaboration with Faustin Linyekula, and his site-specific Skyroom Project, in which he examined his blossoming relationship with New York City. Hoghe is back in New York for the 2012 CTL festival, teaming up with Japanese dancer Takashi Ueno for Pas de Deux, another unusual exploration of the art form from one of the dance world’s most iconoclastic characters. (Hoghe and Ueno performed an excerpt from Pas de Deux at the the Cultural Services of the French Embassy as part of the free Fiction & Non-Fiction opening day at the 2011 CTL festival.) Hoghe’s unique sense of stagecraft was influenced by his ten years serving as dramaturge for Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal, based in his hometown; he has been creating his own pieces for more than twenty years now, primarily in collaboration with fellow German artist Luca Giacomo Schulte. For Pas de Deux, running October 10-12 at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, Hoghe and Ueno don black and yellow costumes and perform alone and together in a minimalist tribute to the centerpiece of classical ballet.

DOUG VARONE AND DANCERS: TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

The New York premiere of CARRUGI is part of Doug Varone and Dancers’ twenty-fifth anniversary celebration at the Joyce (photo by Cylia von Tiedeman)

Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
October 9-14, $10-$49
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org
www.dougvaroneanddancers.org

For twenty-five years, New York City-based choreographer Doug Varone has been creating works for opera, theater, film, fashion, and his company, Doug Varone and Dancers, which he started back in 1986. He’ll be celebrating his silver anniversary with a series of events that kick off this week with a six-day stand at the Joyce, where last year he brought his riveting Chapters from a Broken Novel. This time around he’s presenting a pair of programs, the first featuring the New York premiere of Carrugi, a dance opera with singers and musicians that examines duplicity and myth inspired by the pathways and labyrinths of Liguria in Italy, set to Mozart’s La Betulia liberate; 2001’s Ballet Mécanique, a groundbreaking twenty-six-minute multimedia piece for eight dancers that intertwines movement and technology, set to George Anthreil’s 1925 score and with projections by Wendall Harrington; and 1994’s Aperture, a work for three dancers that imagines life outside the frame of a photograph, set to Shubert’s Moments Musicaux, No. 2. The second program is highlighted by the world premiere of Able to Leap Tall Buildings, a duet with movement based on that of superhero dolls, set to Julia Wolfe’s “Cruel Sister”; 2006’s Bessie Award-winning Boats Leaving, with images adapted from photos in the New York Times and reproductions in an art book, set to Arvo Pärt’s “Te Deum”; and a reconstruction of 1993’s signature dance Rise, an investigation of structure built around John Adams’s “Fearful Symmetries” that changed the nature of Varone’s choreography. There will be a Dance Chat following the October 10 performance and a preshow discussion led by Amy Kail on October 11. In honor of the anniversary, Varone has created a series of videos, “Uncovering the Archives,” looking back at his repertoire; you can watch them here.

FIRST SATURDAYS: MICKALENE THOMAS’S ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE

Mickalene Thomas, “A Little Taste Outside of Love,” acrylic, enamel and rhinestones on wood panel, 2007 (© Mickalene Thomas)

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, October 6, free, 5:00 – 11:00 (some events require free tickets distributed in advance at the Visitor Center)
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

The Brooklyn Museum will celebrate Brooklyn-based artist Mickalene Thomas in the October edition of its free First Saturdays program. Thomas, who explores the concept of female beauty and power in sparkling works that incorporate rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel into 1970s-style tableaux, recently received the Asher B. Durand Award from the museum, along with Martha Rosler and Amy Sillman, for their contribution to Brooklyn culture. The First Saturdays programming is built around Thomas’s “Origin of the Universe,” her first museum exhibition, which continues through January 20. Visitors are encouraged to come dressed in 1970s clothing as they check out musical poet Candice Anitra; a multidisciplinary performance by Latasha Diggs, Beatrice Anderson, and Jaime Philbert, followed by a Q&A; an artist talk with G. Lucas Crane, who will create a live sonic collage and place it in context with Thomas’s work; a curator talk by Eugenie Tsai about Thomas’s painting “A Little Taste Outside of Love”; an art workshop showing how to make a Thomas-like collage; an interactive performance and discussion with poet and conceptual artist Harmony Holiday; “Betty’s Story,” a musical tribute to Betty Mabry Davis (Miles Davis’s ex-wife and singer in her own right) by Nucomme and the Curators; and a fashion show, open to all, hosted by Raye 6, Marcus Simms, and Gizmovintage Honeys Beeline.

JACK FERVER: MON MA MES

Jack Ferver will examine his life and his work in special Crossing the Line Festival presentation at FIAF (photo by Yaniv Schulman)

CROSSING THE LINE
Le Skyroom, French Institute Alliance Française
22 East 60th St. between Madison & Park Aves.
Saturday, October 6, $20-$25, 8:00
Festival runs through October 14, free- $45
212-355-6160
www.fiaf.org

Back in May, New York City-based dancer, choreographer, and writer Jack Ferver told us, “The ego begins with ‘Me, not me.’ As an artist I make my work so that people donʼt feel as lonely as I have felt. Therefore my work expands into something more akin to ‘I am you.’” The man behind such well-received shows as Rumble Ghost, A Movie Star Needs a Movie, Swann!!!, I Am Trying to Hear Myself, and Two Alike will once again be looking at his life in Mon Ma Mes, which is being presented October 6 at the French Institute Alliance Française as part of the 2012 multidisciplinary Crossing the Line Festival. Ferver, who regularly crosses the line between fantasy and reality, fiction and nonfiction, will analyze himself while also performing and deconstructing one of his pieces. Ferver’s work always cleverly balances chaos, humor, introspection, movement, intelligence, and playful stagecraft in entertaining ways, so this promises to be another unique and memorable night in his growing ouevre.

BODYART: LOFT

Erin Yokayama becomes a predatory bird in New York City premiere of BODYART’s LOFT (photo by David M. Burns)

Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Ave. at 25th St.
October 4-6, $20, 8:00
646-312-5073
www.baruch.cuny.edu
www.bodyartdance.com

Founded by artistic director Leslie Scott in 2006, Astoria-based BODYART specializes in multimedia performances that meld the physical with the imaginative. This week the nine-member company will present two New York City premieres and one world premiere at Baruch, centered around Loft. On a stage covered in a snowlike material and with a row of small bright lights behind them, nine dancers (Rachel Abrahams, Madeline Day, Michele Jongeneel, Alexandra Karigan, Megan Krauszer, Stephanie Mas, Allison Ploor, Kathy VanDereedt, and Erin Yokayama) in black tutus move about the space like a flock of predatory birds to a live, contemporary classical score by W4 New Music performed by PUBLIQuartet. In addition, the world premiere of I want . . . features Abrahams in a solo piece, interacting with animated video by Adam Scher and illustrator Ryan Taylor. The evening also includes 2010’s Script, a piece for seven dancers commissioned by Denton High School in Texas and set to a Philip Glass composition that has been rearranged by the students.

OPENHOUSENEWYORK WEEKEND

Green-Wood Cemetery is among the many historic locations opening its doors and gates to visitors for free during openhousenewyork Weekend (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Multiple venues in all five boroughs
Saturday, October 6, and Sunday, October 7
Admission: free (advance reservations required for some sites)
OHNY Passport: $150
212-991-OHNY
www.ohny.org

The fabulous openhousenewyork Weekend celebrates its tenth anniversary by once again offering people the opportunity to experience the nooks and crannies of many of New York City’s most fascinating architectural constructions. Among this year’s special programs, some of which require advance reservations even though admission is free, are Designers’ Open House, with such interior designers as Thomas Jayne, Ali Tayar, Paul Ochs, Aizaki Allie, Christopher Coleman, and Lea Ciavarra inviting guests into their private homes; the Peace Bike Ride led by Nadette Stasa of Time’s Up!; a treasure hunt for kid explorers at the Park Avenue Armory; “Dance on the Greenway,” with Dance Theatre Etcetera performing site-specific pieces by four emerging choreographers in Erie Basin Park behind the Red Hook IKEA; “Paseo,” consisting of short works by choreographer Joanna Haigood and composer Bobby Sanabria that take place on fire escapes and stoops at Casita Maria in the Bronx; “Spirits Alive,” with actors in period costumes portraying famous people buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens; “Wilderness Plan,” in which costumed dancing creatures lead people through the Elevated Acre in the Financial District; and “Frost Court,” a performance installation featuring dancers Jon Kinzel, Silas Riener, Stuart Shugg, Saul Ulerio, Enrico Wey, and Aaron Mattocks. Although some of the special tours are already booked, plenty of others have vacancies or are first come, first served (unless you buy a $150 front-of-line Passport), so you can still check out the Fading Ads of New York City with Frank Jump, the Manhole Covers of Fourteenth St. with Michele Brody, the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Spaces, the Harlem Edge: 135th St. Marine Transfer Station, the Bronx River Right-of-Way, the Kings County Distillery Tour, Historic Richmond Town, the Noguchi Museum, the New York City Photo Safari for shutterbugs, the Lakeside at Prospect Park Construction Tour, the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden, the Tenriko Mission New York Center, the Alice Austen House Museum, Fort Totten, the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, the Grand Lodge of Masons, the New York Marble Cemetery and the New York City Marble Cemetery, the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, Scandinavia House, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, Merchant’s House Museum, the Jefferson Market Library, the Little Red Lighthouse, the High Line, the African Burial Grounds, and so many, many more. The annual opendialogue series features talks and tours at such locations as the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92, Runner & Stone, UrbanGlass, the East Harlem School, the Horticultural Society of New York, the Museum of the Moving Image, New York City Center, and the TWA Flight Center at JFK. Keep watching the official website for late changes, additions, sell-outs, and other updated information.