this week in dance

bobrauschenbergamerica

bobrauschenbergamerica returns to New York City for an extended run at DTW (photo by Richard Termine)

Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
April 23 – May 16, $25
212-924-0077
www.dtw.org
www.siti.org

In October 2003, New York City-based SITI Company presented bobrauschenbergamerica at BAM’s Harvey Theater. The production is now back for an extended run at Dance Theater Workshop as part of the Guest Artist Series, with cast and crew Talk Backs following the April 27, May 4, and May 11 performances. Here’s our original review; please note that we have not seen the current show, so some aspects, of course, might have changed: Playwright Charles L. Mee and director Anne Bogart’s Americana romp is set on a perpendicular American flag with openings a la LAUGH-IN, wherein characters will suddenly appear, sometimes in the midst of showering. The multitalented cast features a biker, a homeless man, a bikini babe, a prom queen, a roller-skating cheerleader, a gay man, a white professional man, a black man in love, and artist Bob Rauschenberg’s mother. Making art out of everyday objects, the show is an avant-garde collage of American apple pie, featuring such songs as “Love Will Keep Us Together,” a picnic with fried chicken, a human martini, Ping-Pong balls, a swinging tire, and text from Rauschenberg, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Walt Whitman and Merce Cunningham. “Art was not a part of our lives,” Bob’s mother says to the audience several times. But it is surely a part of her son’s vision of America, making for a wacky, wild, and fun night.

BEHIND THE BURLY Q

BEHIND THE BURLY Q (Leslie Zemeckis, 2010)
Opens Friday, April 16
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St.
212-255-8800
www.behindtheburlyq.com
www.quadcinema.com

Actress Leslie Zemeckis delves into the fascinating history of American burlesque in the playfully dirty little documentary BEHIND THE BURLY Q. Zemeckis, the wife of Oscar-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (who served as an executive producer on the project), wrote, directed, and edited this oral and visual history of the burlesque movement, speaking with many of its stars and uncovering wonderful old photographs and film clips. She speaks with such burlesque beauties as Joan Arline, Lorraine Lee, Taffy O’Neill, Sunny Dare, White Fury, Dixie Evans, Tempest Starr, Kitty West, and Blaze Starr, cutting between them today and archival footage of them in their prime, taking it almost all off. Zemeckis also speaks with journalists, musicians, comedians, and relatives of deceased legends (Sally Rand, Lily St, Cyr, Lou Costello), including Alan Alda, who talks extensively about being raised on the burlesque circuit since his father, actor Robert Alda, was a popular straight man. The dancers discuss run-ins with the law, battles with local government, famous fans (Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie & Clyde, Elvis Presley, JFK, Walt Disney), drug and alcohol problems, and fighting and jealousy among some of their own, including stories both very funny and rather tragic. Zemeckis keeps it all proceeding smoothly as she documents a generation that is quickly disappearing, as evidenced by the long list of burlesque performers who have since passed away after being interviewed for the film. Zemeckis will be at the Quad to participate in Q&As following the 7:05 screenings on Friday and Saturday night.

BREATH MADE VISIBLE

Anna Halprin shares her inspiring approach to life and art in BREATH MADE VISIBLE

BREATH MADE VISIBLE (Ruedi Gerber, 2009)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between Fifth Ave. & University Pl.
Opens Friday, April 23
212-924-3363
www.breathmadevisible.com
www.cinemavillage.com

Revolutionary dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin shares her inspirational life in the unforgettable new documentary BREATH MADE VISIBLE. Producer-director Ruedi Gerber (HEARTBREAK HOSPITAL) lets the innovative dance pioneer tell her own story, starting out as a child of the Great Depression, through her years dancing with and/or teaching Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainer, Eiko and Koma, and Meredith Monk. The film reveals her remarkable battle with cancer and her long, beautiful relationship with her husband, landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, as well her life today. As Halprin approaches ninety, she is still performing, teaching, and choreographing in her unique way. Gerber tracks down amazing archival footage of Halprin from throughout her career, including many gatherings on the deck she and her husband built at their home, a sort of hippie commune in Marin County. In her work, Halprin gets close to nature, allowing the body to express deeply felt emotions while exploring its spiritual presence and its relationship with the land. The documentary features clips from such pieces as “Planetary Dance: A Prayer for Peace,” “Circle the Earth,” “Parades and Changes,” “Intensive Care, Reflections on Death and Dying,” “Seniors Rocking,” and, most dramatically, her 2003 one-woman show at the Joyce in Chelsea and her epic outdoor elegy “Return to Home.”

Halprin is an engaging, generous figure who seems to have thoroughly processed her life experiences, intelligently assessing her vast history as she reunites with longtime partners John Graham and A. A. Leath, deals with her husband’s fading health, shares even the most personal stories without fear or regret, and exhibits an infectious joie de vivre that will have viewers reconnecting with themselves and reevaluating their own destinies. Halprin clearly cherishes every moment of her life, just as audiences will cherish every moment of BREATH MADE VISIBLE. As a special treat, Gerber and Halprin will be at Cinema Village on Friday and Saturday nights to talk about the film but even more exciting is that Halprin will be leading a rare all-day New York City workshop, addressing the question “How does dance inform our real life relationships with our own bodies in interaction with others and in community?” at Judson Memorial Church on Saturday that’s not limited to experienced dancers, so don’t miss what should be an incredible, very special event.

NATIONAL DANCE WEEK: CARMEN DE LAVALLADE

The magnificent partnership of Carmen & Geoffrey is on view in documentary

CARMEN & GEOFFREY (Linda Atkinson & Nick Doob, 2006)
Film: Friday, April 23, Maysles Cinema, 343 Malcolm X Blvd. / Lenox Ave between 127th & 128th Sts., 7:30
Performance & discussion: Sunday, April 25, the Philoctetes Center, 247 East 82nd St., free, 2:30
www.mayslesinstitute.org
www.philoctetes.org

CARMEN & GEOFFREY is an endearing look at Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder’s lifelong love affair with dance—and each other. The New Orleans-born de Lavallade studied with Lester Horton and went to high school with Alvin Ailey, whom she brought to his first dance class. Trinidadian Holder is a larger-than-life gentle giant who is a dancer, choreographer, composer, costume designer, actor director, writer, photographer, painter, and just about anything else he wants to be. The two met when they both were cast in Truman Capote and Harold Arlen’s Broadway show HOUSE OF FLOWERS in 1954, with Holder instantly falling in love with de Lavallade; they’ve been together ever since. Directors Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob combine amazing archival footage—of Eartha Kitt, Josephine Baker, Ulysses Dove, de Lavallade dancing with Ailey, and other splendid moments—with contemporary rehearsal scenes, dance performances, and interviews with such stalwarts as dance critic Jennifer Dunning, Alvin Ailey artistic director Judith Jamison, and choreographer Joe Layton (watch out for his eyebrows), along with family members and Gus Solomons jr and Dudley Williams, who still work with de Lavallade. The film was made on an extremely low budget, and it shows, but it is filled with such glorious footage that you’ll get over that quickly. The film is being screened at the Maysles Cinema in Harlem on April 23 as part of National Dance Week, followed by an after-party at the Harlem Brewing Company.

In addition, de Lavallade will be participating in “Moving and Playing: Jazz Improvisation and Dance Conversation” on April 25 at the Philoctetes Center, a free program that also features Jane Ira Bloom, Rufus Reid, Aaron Shafer-Haiss, and Andrea Weber discussing collaboration and performing.

TRIBECA DRIVE-IN

Mat Hoffman will take to the air onscreen and in person at special Tribeca Drive-In presentation

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
World Financial Center Plaza
April 22-24, free
Doors open at 6:00, activities at 6:30, films at approximately 8:15
www.tribecafilm.com

This year’s free Tribeca Drive-In features three films on successive nights outside at World Financial Center Plaza. On April 22, live performances by salsa bands, a dance contest, and salsa lessons will precede a screening of Francisco Bello and Tim Sternberg’s 2009 documentary, THE SPIRIT OF SALSA, about New Yorkers who take salsa classes at the Santo Rico Dance School. On April 23, a waterfront carnival accompanies Penny Marshall’s endearing comedy BIG, starring Robert Loggia, Elizabeth Perkins, and Tom Hanks about a boy inside a man’s body. And on April 24, Jeff Tremaine’s THE BIRTH OF BIG AIR, which looks at BMX competitor Mat Hoffman, will feature BMX demos before and after the movie, including a live stunt by Hoffman himself.

IMMIGRANT HERITAGE WEEK

immigration

Multiple locations
Most events free
Through April 21
www.nyc.gov/immigrants

The seventh annual Immigrant Heritage Week continues through April 21 with numerous, mostly free events across the city. Art exhibitions include “Our Heritage Through Fashion: A Showcase of NYC’s Russian-Speaking Designers” at the Russian American Foundation, “Photographs of the Mexican Immigrant Community of Staten Island” at Snug Harbor, “Art Without Borders” at El Taller Latino Americano, “Immigrant Women United in Art” at Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano, “Impractical Hats: Indie Crafts Reinvent Everyday Gear” at the Bronx Council on the Arts, “LibertyNeighborhoodStory” at the A.I.R. Gallery, “Immigrant Trail Painting” at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, and a photo exhibit of “Non-Native New Yorkers” at the Statue of Liberty. On April 20 at 6:00 at the International Center in New York, a group of Tibetan immigrants will discuss their work in “Ancient Art in a Modern City,” while on April 21 at 6:00, the Greek Museum will host “In Search of the American Dream: The Greeks of New York.” Also on Wednesday, “Voices of Liberty” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage invites visitors to share their own personal stories. In addition, there will be family programs at several branches of the New York Public Library.

At NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, the Havana Film Festival will feature New York and U.S. premieres (April 19-20), DCTV will present the Oscar-nominated documentary THE BETRAYAL (April 19), and the Turkish Cultural Center will celebrate “New York Sufi Night with Rumi” through film, performance, and poetry readings (April 20). There will also be film screenings and/or theatrical productions at the YMCA, the Maysles Cinema, the Alwan Foundation, and the CUNY Graduate Center and live dance and/or music at Michael Mao Dance, the American Composers Orchestra’s Langston Hughes Branch, and the Djoniba Dance and Drum Centre as well as a host of walking tours.

INSIDE MEDIA

Edie Falco will discuss Nurse Jackie’s bedside manner and more at the Paley Center

Paley Center for Media
25 West 52nd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Suggested contribution: $10 adults, $5 children under fourteen
212-621-6600
www.paleycenter.org

While Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s and Elvis Mitchell’s “The Black List Project” continues at the Paley Center through May 1, featuring scenes from their third documentary and photographs of a wide range of successful African Americans, the institution formerly known as the Museum of Television and Radio will be hosting a series of very special events, with tickets going very fast. In collaboration with Food for Thought Productions, the Paley Center is in the midst of a three-month series of live staged afternoon readings ($65, followed by a Q&A and a reception); coming up is Arthur Miller’s sister, Joan Copeland, reenacting scenes from her brother’s plays (April 21) and Len Cariou taking on Thornton Wilder and Dorothy Parker (April 26), with future shows dedicated to Tennessee Williams’s IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL (May 5) and A. R. Gurney’s LOVE LETTERS (June 17). The cast of THE GOOD WIFE gathers together on April 21 ($25, 6:30), while THE BIG BANG’s Jim Parsons will have the stage all to himself on May 4 ($15, 6:30). On April 26, prima ballerina Cynthia Gregory interviews choreographer Eliot Feld about his career ($25, 7:00), on April 27, actor and photographer Joel Grey will talk about television (don’t forget he was on BUFFY) and more ($35, 6:30), and on April 28, Harry Potter audiobook reader and Broadway star Jim Dale will present “Jim Dale: Still Carrying On,” previewing his new one-man show ($30, 6:30). We’re most excited about “Paging Jackie” ($25, 7:00), in which star Edie Falco and the executive producers behind Showtime’s excellent NURSE JACKIE will screen a sneak-peek episode and take the audience behind the scenes of this unusual, entertaining drama. And looking further ahead, Jimmy Fallon will get into the late-night wars on May 27 ($25, 7:30).