this week in dance

weekly listings nov. 4-11

Taiwanese company will present feast at the Joyce

Taiwanese company will present feast at the Joyce

THE HAN TANG YUEFU MUSIC AND DANCE ENSEMBLE
Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
Tickets: $10-$49
212-645-2904
www.joyce.org

Tuesday, November 3
through
Sunday, November 8        Taiwan-based company brings the ancient painting “The Feast of Han Xizai” to life in an evening-length program featuring costumes and set design by Oscar winner Tim Yip

Disco beats should dominate as Hercules and Love Affair spin at the W

Disco beats should dominate as Hercules and Love Affair spin at the W

SYMMETRY: A DJ SERIES
Oasis Living Room, W New York
541 Lexington Ave. at 49th St.
Admission: free
www.starwoodhotels.com/whotel
www.myspace.com/herculesandloveaffair

Wednesday, November 4    Disco throwbacks Hercules and Love Affair will be sharing their lush, longing sounds spinning tunes at the W’s new DJ series, with such special cocktails as the Backspin Manhattan, Dub a Pear, Pomegranate Wow, and Move It to Mojito, 8:00 – 11:00 pm

THE RED BOOK DIALOGUES
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Tickets: $15-$25
212-620-5000 ext 344
www.rmanyc.org
Analysts delve into Carl Jung’s RED BOOK in a series of fascinating discussions featuring Charlie Kaufman, Alice Walker, David Byrne, Kathleen Chalfant, Marina Abramovicz, Cornel West, Billy Corgan, and many more.

Thursday, November 5    Documentarian Albert Maysles and Jungian analystl Laurie Layton Schapira, $25, 7:00

Award-winning Thai film tells story of an unexpected love

Award-winning Thai film tells story of an unexpected love

TROPICAL MALADY (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004)
92Y Tribeca
200 Hudson St. at Canal St.
Thursday, November 5, $12, 7:30
212-415-5500
www.92ytribeca.org/film
www.kickthemachine.com/works/tropical_malady.html
Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul won the Jury Prize at Cannes for this beautiful, mystical work that will thoroughly engage you — if you allow it to. Part tender love story between a country boy (Banlop Lomnoi) and a soldier (Dakda Kaewbuadee), part folktale set in the deep forests of Thailand, TROPICAL MALADY is a like a visual poem in which details are not as important as the overall effect, which is intoxicating. The unorthodox film features ghosts, a shape-shifter, unusual characters, and a playful sense of humor that come together to form a subtle meditation on life and love.

MOVING IMAGE MASTERPIECES: TOKYO STORY (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953)
Queens Theatre in the Park
Flushing Meadows Corona Park, New York State Pavilion
Tickets: $10
718-760-0064
www.queenstheatre.org

Thursday, November 5    Special screening of Yasujiro Ozu classic, 7:30

Pink Eye lets it all hang out at Fucked Up show in Brooklyn this past summer (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Pink Eye lets it all hang out at Fucked Up show in Brooklyn this past summer (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

FUCKED UP
Thursday, November 5, Brooklyn Masonic Temple, 317 Clermont Ave. at Lafayette Ave., $18, 7:00
Friday, November 6, Market Hotel, 1142 Myrtle Ave. at Broadway, $18, 7:00
www.myspace.com/epicsinminutes
www.myspace.com/markethotelnyc
www.masonicboom.com
On November 5, Fucked Up will be performing THE CHEMISTRY OF COMMON LIFE, with Andrew W.K. on keyboards and the Vivian Girls on backup vocals; also on the bill are Titus Andronicus, the Girls at Dawn, and Katie Stelmanis. The next night members of Fucked Up will appear at Market Hotel as Bitters on a bill with the Vivian Girls, Grass Widow, and Stupid Party.

THE INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR FOR PRINTS & EDITIONS
The Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Ave. at 67th St.
Admission: $20
212-674-6095
www.printfair.com

Thursday, November 5
through
Sunday, November 8        Annual print fair features etchings, woodcuts, lithographs, innovative contemporary projects, curator-led tours, a panel discussion on collecting, a treasure hunt, and more

EDITIONS | ARTISTS’ BOOKS
X Initiative
548 West 22nd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Admission: free
www.eabfair.com

Thursday, November 5    VIP preview benefiting the Annual Exhibition Fund of P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, with a special DJ set by Sahra Motalebi and live music by AJ Slim, $50, 6:00 – 9:00

Friday, November 6
through
Sunday, November 8        Fair open to the general public, with special events featuring Mike Bidlo, Alison Knowles & Alan Bowman, Geoffrey Hendricks, Nancy Hwang & Elaine Tin Nyo, Sal Randolph, Tom Otterness, Larry Miller, and others, site-specific installations by Yoko Onno and Robert Wyatt, and Occurrences curated by Robin Kahn and Kirby Gookin

NICER NEWS PRESENTS: GOOD STUFF FUNDRAISER
Sin Sin Leopard Lounge
248 East Fifth St. at Second Ave.
Suggested donation: $5
212-253-2222
www.nicernews.com

Friday, November 6     Nicer News, which delivers “uplifting news and events from all over the world,” what they refer to as “just the good stuff,” is holding a fundraiser for their all-volunteer venture with cheap drinks and live music by the John Powers Band and other guests, 6:00 – 10:00 pm

The Big Man will be discussing his life and career at the Hard Rock

The Big Man will be discussing his life and career at the Hard Rock

CLARENCE CLEMONS
Hard Rock Cafe
1501 Broadway at 43rd St.
Admission: free
www.hardrock.com/newyork
www.bigmanthebook.com

Friday, November 6    Saxophonist Clarence “Big Man” Clemons celebrates the release of his memoir, BIG MAN: REAL LIFE & TALL TALES (Grand Central, October 2009, $26.99), with a reading, signing, and audience Q&A, with special celebrity guests, 8:00
CAGE A SWALLOW CAN’T YOU BUT YOU CAN’T SWALLOW A CAGE: A SONNET SEQUENCE FOR RONI HORN
Whitney Museum of America Art
745 Madison Ave. at 74th St.
Free with museum admission (pay-what-you-wish)
www.whitney.org

Friday, November 6     Whitney Live special presentation in honor of Roni Horn exhibition, composed by Anne Carson and featuring Carson, Olof Arnalds and Kjartan Sveinsson of Sigur Ros, and poets R. Currie and Penelope Thomas, 8:00

Women have something to say in angry punk show

Women have something to say in angry punk show

MONGREL BITCH
Otto’s Shrunken Head
538 East 14th St.
212-228-2240
www.ottosshrunkenhead.com

Friday, November 6     Futurex, 9:00; Ff, 10:00; a Bunch of Girls, 11:00; and Mongrel Bitch, 12 midnight

COOK. EAT. DRINK. LIVE. 24.7.365
The Tunnel and La.Venue
608 West 28th St.
Tickets: $65-$99
www.cookeatdrinklive.com

Friday, November 6
through
Sunday, November 8        Three days of gourmet food and wine and spirits, with tastings, lectures, demonstrations, classes, book signings, and more, featuring such guests as

LUC TUYMANS
The Strand Bookstore
828 Broadway at 12th St.
Admission: free
www.strandbooks.com

Saturday, November 7    Artist Luc Tuymans will be signing copies of his new eponymously titled book (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art/ Wexner Center for the Arts/D.A.P., 10/31/09, $60), 2:00

THE ALL CITY BLACK BOOK SHOW
NYC Arts Cypher
12 Broad St., Staten Island
Admission: $10
www.nycartscypher.com

Saturday, November 7    Special event celebrating the release of GRAFFITI NEW YORK, featuring subway and street legends from all five boroughs, including COPE 2, SPAR ONE, MENIC, BRAZE, STRIDER, SNOOZE, and many more, with two floors of music and graff hosted by ON 2, DJ Fresh Style Rockers, and a live performance by the Bandulos, 6:00

Soup will be celebrating its tenth anniversary at Piano's

Soup will be celebrating its tenth anniversary at Piano's

TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF A TOUR OF TWO CITIES
Piano’s
158 Ludlow St.
Tickets: $12-$15
212-505-3733
www.pianosnyc.com
www.facebook.com/soup.atl

Saturday, November 7    Soup celebrates the tenth anniversary of the release of its live album with special reunion shows in Atlanta and New York City, on a bill with Leisure McCorkle, Emily Long, and the Swimmers, 8:00

City Winery hosts unique kind of tasting this week

City Winery hosts unique kind of tasting this week

SPIT & TWIT: TASTING THE FUTURE
City Winery
155 Varick St. at Vandam St.
Tickets: $35
212-608-0555
http://www.citywinery.com/events/38944

Sunday, November 8        Ticket holders will participate in tasting of some one hundred wines from thirty-five wineries from around the world, then immediately tweet their opinions in what is being billed as the “first ever online fully interactive wine tasting,” with plasma screens at City Winery picking up all the twittering, 2:00 – 6:00

EDOKKO: GROWING UP A FOREIGNER IN WARTIME JAPAN
Noguchi Museum
9-01 33rd Rd. at Vernon Blvd.
Second Sunday of every month
Free with museum admission of $10
Weekend shuttle service: $10 round trip
718-204-7088
www.noguchi.org

Sunday, November 8        Longtime Isamu Noguchi friend Isaac Shaprio, who was born in Japan and raised there and in China, reads from his forthcoming memoirs in the monthly Noguchi Museum Second Sundays series, 3:00

Special event will help children in trouble

Special event will help children in trouble

A WAY FROM NO WAY: ISRAELI ARTISTS AND COLLECTORS FOR ELEM
Opera Gallery
115 Spring St.
Sunday, November 8, $35-$120 (tax-deductible), 6:30-10:00
www.elem.org
A group of Israeli artists and collectors will come together to help support the King’s Road mentoring program of ELEM, an organization that helps Israeli youth in distress in Israel. The evening begins at 6:30 for VIPs with an art tour, wine, and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a silent and public auction at 7:30 for all ticket holders. Among the participating artists are Ron Agam, Aliza Olmert, Moshe Kupferman, Dror Daum, Karen Gillerman, and Michal Cole, among many others. In addition, works by children helped by ELEM – including a special guest, sixteen-year-old Ilan, who has turned his life around with the help of the organization – will also be up for bidding. The auction will be run by Sotheby’s president Jennifer Roth.

EYE TO EYE: ARTIST-LED TOURS OF KANDINSKY
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th St.
Tickets: $25
212-423-3500
www.guggenheim.org

Monday, November 9        Multidisciplinary artist R. Luke DuBois leads a tour of the Kandinsky exhibit, focusing on the correspondence between Vasily Kandinsky and composers Arnold Schoenberg and Alexander Scriabin, followed by a reception, 6:30

DIRTY: ONE WORD CAN CHANGE THE WORLD (Raison Allah, 2009)
National Black Theatre
2031 Fifth Ave. between 125th & 126th Sts.
Tickets: $15-$20
212-722-3800
www.imagenation.us
www.nationalblacktheatre.org

Tuesday, November 10    Special premiere of new documentary about Ol’ Dirty Bastard of the Wu Tang Clan, preceded by a live performance by Brooklyn Zu and followed by a panel discussion with director Raison Allah, Terrie Williams, Dr. Jeffrey Gardere, Brooklyn Zu, and members of the Wu Tang Clan, 7:00

WALTER DEAN MYERS
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West at 77th St.
Free with museum admission of $7-$12
212-873-3400
www.nyhistory.org

Wednesday, November 11    Award-winning author reads from, discusses, and signs copies of RIOT, which examines the 1863 New York Civil War draft riots, held in conjunction with the museum’s “Lincoln and New York” exhibition, 10:30 am

Justin Townes Earle will be singing about movies and more at Webster Hall (photo by Joshua Black Wilkins)

Justin Townes Earle will be singing about movies and more at Webster Hall (photo by Joshua Black Wilkins)

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
Webster Hall
125 East Eleventh St. between Third & Fourth Aves.
Tickets: $25
www.websterhall.com
www.myspace.com/justintownesearle

Wednesday, November 11   Justin Townes Earle plays on a bill with Dan Auerbach and  Jessica Lea Mayfield, 7:00

PERFORMA 09

Fischerspooner will kick off Performa 09 at MoMA on Nov. 1

Fischerspooner will kick off Performa 09 at MoMA on Nov. 1

Multiple venues
November 1-22
Admission: free – $30
www.performa-arts.org
The third biennial Performa festival gets under way on November 1, kicking off three weeks of eclectic performance and installation art sponsored by Performa, a nonprofit interdisciplinary arts organization founded by RoseLee Goldberg that celebrates cutting-edge visual art and education. Although we’re suckers for multimedia performance art and site-specific sound and video installations, it can also be hit or miss, with concept often winning out over execution. But we’re here to narrow down the myriad choices for you; below are ten of our recommendations, in chronological order, to help you sift through the more than 150 artists participating in some 110 events at 80-plus institutions.

Lilibeth Cuence Rasmussen will look at the present and future at the Performance Project

Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen will look at the present and future at the Performance Project

Other highlights include Arto Lindsay’s “Somewhere I Read” at Duffy Square on November 1, Tracey Emin reading from “Those Who Suffer Love” and “Strangeland” at the Performance Project at University Settlement on November 7, Kalup Linzy at Taxter & Spengemann on November 8, Omer Fast’s reinvention of the game Broken Telephone at Abrons Art Center November 11-13, Mai Ueda’s “Family Dinner in a Parallel Universe” neo-fluxus event at the Emily Harvey Foundation on November 14, Yeondoo Jung’s “Cinemagician” theater piece at the Asia Society November 19-21, Marina Rosenfeld’s “P.A.” audio installation at the Park Avenue Armory on November 22, and Guy Ben-Ner’s live untitled film being screened nightly at 7:00 at Performa Hub at 41 Cooper Square throughout the festival.

Many of the events are free, with other ticket prices ranging from $10 to $30. There’s a whole bunch of awesome events, so do your best to try to check out at least one of these ultracool happenings.

Sunday, November 1    Fischerspooner, “Inbetween Worlds,” the Museum of Modern Art, $20, 6:00

Tacita Dean collaborates with Merce Cunningham shortly before the great choreographer's death

Tacita Dean collaborates with Merce Cunningham shortly before the great choreographer's death

Thursday, November 5
through
Saturday, November 7    Tacita Dean, Craneway Event, feature-length film documenting Merce Cunningham dance rehearsals in an abandoned automobile factory, Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery, $10

Friday, November 6    Jonas Mekas and Now We Are Here, live musical performance with lead singer Jonas Mekas and special guests, Emily Harvey Foundation, free, 9:00

Friday, November 6
and
Saturday, November 7    Auf den Tisch! (At the Table!), curated by Meg Stuart, featuring a revolving cast of artists and thinkers improvising at a large conference room table, including Trajal Harrell, Keith Hennessy, Yvonne Meier, Vania Rovisco, Meg Stuart, and others, Baryshnikov Arts Center, $20, 7:30

Saturday, November 7    First Saturdays: Rock Out, with “Twirl” by Jen DeNike, 6:00, and “Saaqiou” by Terence Koh, 9:30, Brooklyn Museum, free

Brilliant South African multimedia artist William Kentridge will discuss his latest work-in-progress at festival

Brilliant South African multimedia artist William Kentridge will discuss his latest work-in-progress at festival

Monday, November 9
and
Tuesday, November 10    William Kentridge, “I Am Not Me, the Horse Is Not Mine,” multimedia presentation about Kentridge’s work-in-progress, inspired by Shostakovich’s THE NOSE, Cedar Lake, $30, 8:00

Maria Hassabi follows up last month's "Solo" show with "SoloShow"

Maria Hassabi follows up last month's "Solo" show with "SoloShow"

Thursday, November 12
and
Friday, November 13    Maria Hassabi, “SoloShow,” P.S. 122, $20

Friday, November 13    Guido Van Der Werve, “Nummer Elf: The King’s Gambit Accepted, the Number of Stars in the Sky & Waiting for an Earthquake,” Marshall Chess Club, $10, 7:00 & 9:00

Friday, November 13
through
Sunday, November 15    Wangechi Mutu, “Stone Ihiga,” multimedia performance and site-specific installation with music by Imani Uzuri, Saatchi & Saatchi, $15, 9:00

Deborah Hay and Yvonne Rainer collaborate for Performa 09

Deborah Hay and Yvonne Rainer collaborate for Performa 09

Tuesday, November 17
through
Thursday, November 19    Deborah Hay and Yvonne Rainer, “If I Sing to You / Spiraling Down,” Baryshnikov Arts Center, $25, 7:30

WEEKLY LISTINGS October 28 – November 4

Dessner brothers will lead special music event at BAM (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Dessner brothers will lead special music event at BAM (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

THE LONG COUNT
Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Tickets: $20-$45
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

Wednesday, October 28
through
Saturday, October 31    “The Long Count” features three performances led by Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National and visual artist Matthew Ritchie, with guest vocalists the Breeders’ Kim and Kelley Deal, My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, and the National’s Matt Berninger. There will be also be an artist talk with the Dessner brothers and Ritchie at the Hillman Attic Studio on October 31 at 6:00 ($8).

Dr. Leon Chang's life and work are celebrated at TECO (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Dr. Leon Chang's life and work are celebrated at TECO (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

DR. LEON LONG-YIEN CHANG COMMEMORATIVE EXHIBITION
TECO
1 East 42nd St. between Fifth & Madison Aves.
Admission: free
212-557-5122
www.taiwanembassy.org
www.flickr.com/slideshow

Through Friday, October 30     In celebration of the life of poet, teacher, diplomat, artist, and calligrapher Dr. Leon Chang, who passed away this past May at the age of 101, the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in New York is hosting a splendid exhibit of Dr. Chang’s calligraphy, in beautiful scrolls and framed images, along with photographs and other memorabilia of a life well lived

Garth Fagan is presenting its thirty-ninth season at the Joyce (photo by Bob Joe)

Garth Fagan is presenting its thirty-ninth season at the Joyce (photo by Bob Joe)

GARTH FAGAN DANCE
Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
Tickets: $10-$49
212-645-2904
www.garthfagandance.org
www.joyce.org

Through Sunday, November 1   Garth Fagan’s thirty-ninth season features LANDSCAPE FOR 10, live music by the Ying Quartet, and more

SITI reinvents Sophocles at Danspace

SITI reinvents Sophocles at DTW

SITI COMPANY: ANTIGONE
Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Tickets: $20-$25
212-924-0077
www.dancetheaterworkshop.org

Wednesday, October 28
through
Sunday, November 1   Jocelyn Clarke’s reimagining of Sophocles’ classic drama, by the always inventive SITI Company

Emmanuelle Vo-Donh tests the limits of body and space at Danspace

Emmanuelle Vo-Donh tests the limits of body and space at Danspace

ICI/PER.FOR
Danspace Project
131 East Tenth St. at Second Ave.
Tickets: $12-$18
212-674-8112
www.danspaceproject.org

Thursday, October 29
through
Saturday, October 31   Emmanuelle Vo-Dinh, with live music by Zeena Parkins, lighting design by Francoise Michel, and costumes by Virginie and Jean-Jacques Weil

COMMEDIA is part of Morphoses presentation at City Center

COMMEDIA is part of Morphoses presentation at City Center

MORPHOSES: THE WHEELDON COMPANY
New York City Center
130 West 56th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Tickets: $15-$110
212-581-1212
www.morphoses.org
www.nycitycenter.org

Thursday, October 29
through
Sunday, November 1   One of the city’s hottest dance companies presents two programs: Wheeldon’s COMMEDIA, with music by Stravinsky;  Lightfoot Leon’s SOFTLY AS I LEAVE YOU, with music by Arvo Part, J. S. Bach, and others; Alexei Ratmansky’s BOLERO, with music by Ravel; and the U.S. premiere of Tim Harbour’s new ballet, with music by Ross Edwards; and the second program: Wheeldon’s CONTINUUM, with music by Gyorgy Ligeti; SOFTLY; and the U.S. premiere of Wheeldon’s new ballet, with music by Rachmaninoff

SOUND/FRAME/REMIX
Austrian Cultural Forum
11 East 52nd St. between Madison & Fifth Aves.
Admission: free
212-319-5300
www.acfny.org

Through Saturday, October 31    Multimedia exhibit focusing on new video coming out of the sound:frame festival

Amy Stein, "Riverside," digital C-print, 2009

Amy Stein, "Riverside," digital C-print, 2009

AMY STEIN: DOMESTICATED
ClampArt
521-531 West 25th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Admission: free
646-230-0020
www.clampart.com

Through Saturday, October 31     Photographer (and taxidermist!) Amy Stein re-creates actual scenes involving animals that have been reported in a small town in northeast Pennsylvania, resulting in fascinating images that are at once beautiful and a little frightening

Sarah Silverman will go Jungian at the Rubin

Sarah Silverman will go Jungian at the Rubin

THE RED BOOK DIALOGUES
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Tickets: $15-$25
212-620-5000 ext 344
www.rmanyc.org
Analysts delve into Carl Jung’s RED BOOK in a series of fascinating discussions featuring Albert Maysles, Alice Walker, David Byrne, Kathleen Chalfant, Marina Abramovicz, Cornel West, Billy Corgan, and many more.

Friday, October 30   Sarah Silverman, $25, 7:00

Wednesday, November 4   John Boorman, $25, 7:00

HAUSU (HOUSE) (Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977)
BAMcinematek
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.youtube.com/hausutrailer

Saturday, October 31   Special Halloween presentation of very strange Japanese horror film, 2:00, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15

MARATHON FIREWORKS
Central Park
Outside Tavern on the Green
West Drive at 67th St.
Admission: free
www.ingnycmarathon.org

Saturday, October 31   Live entertainment and fireworks in honor of the New York City Marathon, 6:30

The wild rumpus continues in SoHo

The wild rumpus continues in SoHo

SENDAK IN SOHO
Animazing Gallery
54 Greene St. at Broome St.
Admission: free
800-303-4848
www.animazing.com

Through Saturday, November 6    Special exhibit of the work of Maurice Sendak in conjunction with the release of WHERE THE WILDE THINGS ARE movie

Japanese ghost stories get the multimedia treatment at P.S. 122

Japanese ghost stories get the multimedia treatment at P.S. 122

AMERICAN KAMIKAZE
P.S.122
150 First Ave. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Tickets: $15-$20
212-352-3101
www.ps122.org
www.temporarydistortion.com

Through Saturday, November 14    Temporary Distortion’s adaptation of Japanese ghost stories, written and directed by Kenneth Collins, with video projections by William Cusick, and starring Brian Greer, Yuki Kawahisa, Lorraine Mattox, and Ryosuke Yamada

Taylor Mac's multigenre epic begins long run at HERE Arts Center

Taylor Mac's multigenre epic begins long run at HERE Arts Center

HERE Arts Center
145 Sixth Ave. at Dominick St.
Tickets: $35
212-352-3101
www.here.org

Through Sunday, November 22    Taylor Mac’s epic consists of five parts with forty musicians and performers, with direction by Paul Zimet, Rachel Chavkin, Faye Driscoll, Aaron Rhyne, and David Drake, with Kyogens directed by Kristin Marting

ORBO NOVO (THE NEW WORLD)

Cedar Lake goes inside and outside the brain in stunning ORBO NOVO

Cedar Lake goes inside and outside the brain in stunning ORBO NOVO

CEDAR LAKE CONTEMPORARY BALLET
Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
Through Sunday, October 25
Tickets: $10-$49
212-645-2904
http://www.joyce.org
http://www.cedarlakedance.com

In 1996, neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor suffered a stroke from a hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain. It took her eight years to fully recover, and she documented her struggle in the bestselling 2008 book MY STROKE OF INSIGHT: A BRAIN SCIENTIST’S PERSONAL JOURNEY. Her difficult battle — and the fight between the right and left sides of her brain — are vividly and creatively brought to life in Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet’s stunningly brilliant ORBO NOVO (THE NEW WORLD). The extraordinary seventy-five-minute piece, choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and performed by Cedar Lake’s strong, extremely talented cast of sixteen, examines the human brain in both words and image and is filled with both humor and fear. The show begins as a man and a woman reach out to each other from opposite sides of Alexander Dodge’s complex set, a series of movable interconnected lattice walls that alternately form cages, trapping the dancers, and trellises, up which they climb, or membranes, through with they pass. The company  begins by reciting sections of Dr. Jill’s scientific yet playful text, spoken by a rotating series of men and women, individually and in tandem and dressed in contemporary clothing, the words themselves forming a thrilling dance as if moving with the performers’ bodies.

The thrills continue as a series of solos, duets, and trios display exciting dichotomies, evoking both inside and outside, right and left, motion and paralysis, and life and death, with memorable turns by Nickemil Concepcion, Soojin Choi, Jon Bond, Ana-Maria Lucaciu, and the always impressive Jason Kittelberger. From violently shaking their bodies to curling up in fetal positions to crawling up, down, around, and through the grid walls — part erector set, part flattened brain image — the dancers evoke both Dr. Jill’s heartbreak and struggle as well as her joyful recovery in an emotional and physical whirlwind. Meanwhile, behind an semi-opaque black scrim at the back of the stage, the Mosaic String Quartet and guest pianist Aaron Wunsch play Szymon Brzoska’s subtle, compelling score. ORBO NOVO is not just good — it’s mind-blowingly good, pun absolutely intended. Dance theater recently lost its brightest light, Pina Bausch, but has a rising star in Cherkaoui.

WEEKLY LISTINGS: Oct. 21-28

Artistically redesigned bikes are on view at armory before going to auction (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Artistically redesigned bikes are on view at armory before going to auction (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

ARTS AT THE ARMORY: STAGES
Park Ave. Armory
643 Park Ave. between 66th & 67th Sts.
Admission: free
212-616-3930
http://www.armoryonpark.org
http://www.livestrong.org

Through Thursday, October 22 Exhibit of bicycles used by Lance Armstrong while training to return to competition, designed by Damien Hirst, Yoshitomo Nara, Kenny Scharf, KAWS, Shepard Fairey, and Marc Newson, which will be put up for auction at Sotheby’s November 1, along with a preview of painting and sculpture that will be part of an exhibition at Deitch later this month, including works by Cai Guo-Qiang, Raymond Pettibon, Richard Prince, Dustin Yellin, Os Gemeos, and a fab bike by Tom Sachs; all proceeds benefit the LiveStrong foundation

Vella Lovell (Andromache, seated) and Sol Marina Crespo (Hermione) star in new version of Euripides' ANDROMACHE

Vella Lovell (Andromache, seated) and Sol Marina Crespo (Hermione) star in new version of Euripides' ANDROMACHE

EURIPIDES’ ANDROMACHE
Workmen’s Circle
45 East 33rd St.
Tickets: $8-$20
http://www.fullofnoises.org

Through Sunday, October 25 Greek tragedy is staged in New York City is staged for the first time ever in a new version by Jesse Alexander Myerson

ANCIENT PATHS, MODERN VOICES
Carnegie Hall
57th St. at Seventh Ave.
212-247-7800
http://www.carnegiehall.org/chinafestival

Wednesday, October 21
through
Tuesday, November 10 Three weeks of special events and exhibitions celebrating Chinese culture

LOOKING FOR CALVIN AND HOBBES
Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art
594 Broadway, Suite 401
Admission: $5
212-354-3511
http://www.moccany.org

Thursday, October 22 Nevin Martell, author of LOOKING FOR CALVIN AND HOBBES, in conversation with cartoonist Ruben (“Tom the Dancing Bug”) Bolling, discuss the life and career of Bill Waterson, 7:00

SUSIE ESSMAN
Carolines on Broadway
1626 Broadway at 50th St.
Reservations required
212-757-4100
http://www.carolines.com

Thursday, October 22
through
Saturday, October 24 Comedian and actress Susie Essman returns to Carolines hot on the heels of the new season of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM and the release of her new book, WHAT WOULD SUSIE SAY?

R. CRUMB IN CONVERSATION WITH FRANÇOIS MOULY
Barnes & Noble Union Square
33 East 17th St.
Admission: free
212-253-0810
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Friday, October 23 R. Crumb and François Mouly team up in a discussion, visual presentation, and signing of THE BOOK OF GENESIS, 7:00

dangergiantess

GIRLS & BOYS PRESENTS THE AM ONLY CMJ SHOWCASE
Webster Hall
125 East Eleventh St. between Third & Fourth Aves.
Tickets: $15-$25 ($1 entry and $1 drinks with below link)
Girls get in free all night long
http://www.websterhall.com/dollardaze/friday
http://www.websterhall.com

Friday, October 23 Yes Giantess, Red Wire Black Wire, Vega, We Are Enfant Terrible, Body Language, Two Fresh, and Beast in the Studio (7:00 pm – 12 midnight), with Danger, Felix Cartal, Filthy Dukes, Bird Peterson, Mickey Factz, Wallpaper, 12th Planet, and Shout Out Out Out Out in the Main Room (11:00 pm – 5:00 am), resident DJs Alex English, Gavin Royce, Kids with Snakes, Gavin Royce, and Rekles, Trash! with DJ Jess & Alex Malfunction, and more, 10:00

John William Coddling adds a whole new level of fear to Christopher Walken

John William Coddling adds a whole new level of fear to Christopher Walken

SUNDAYS WITH CHRIS
DVF Gallery
444 West 14th St. between Washington St. & the West Side Highway
Admission: free
http://www.sundayswithchris.com

Friday, October 23
through
Sunday, November 1 Exhibition of John William Codling’s obsessive paintings of Christopher Walken

Maya Lin exhibit will continue through October 24 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Maya Lin exhibit will continue through October 24 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

MAYA LIN: THREE WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE EARTH
PaceWildenstein
545 West 22nd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Through October 24
Admission: free
212-421-3292
http://pacewildenstein.com
http://www.salon94.com
When we saw Maya Lin’s “Systematic Landscapes” at the Corcoran earlier this year, each piece was squeezed into a different room, photographs were not allowed, and interaction with some of the works was not allowed. Things are very different at PaceWildenstein in Chelsea, where visitors can snap pictures, get up close and personal with the art, and even stick their heads through various openings. The three large-scale pieces offer environmentally friendly alternate takes on physical landscapes, from the ocean to mountains to a hill, and they are arranged so that all three can be seen at the same time, a boon for architecture lovers. While “Three Ways of Looking at the Earth” ends October 24, Lin’s “Recycled Landscapes,” consisting of colorful, smaller sculptures made out of plastic toys and other found objects, will continue at Salon 94 (12 East 94th St.) through November 13.

GREENPOINT OKTOBERFEST
Transmitter Park, Brooklyn waterfront
1 Greenpoint Ave. near West St.
Admission: free

Sunday, October 25 Beers and brauts, as well as root “bier” floats, pumpkin decorating, face painting, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, Hallo Berlin, Robicelli’s Cupcaes, live music by Michna and Cowboy Mark, DJ Synapse, and brews as Blue Point Old Howling Bastard, Nut Brown Ale, Hoptical Illusion, Black Chocolate Stout, Benegali Tiger, and more, 12 noon – 8:00 pm

GOODWILL NY/NJ COSTUME DESIGN CLOTHING SWAP
Boxcar Lounge
168 Ave. B between East Tenth & Eleventh Sts.
Admission: $5 Goodwill donation or one bag of lightly used, freshly laundered clothing
http://goodwillnynj.wordpress.com

Sunday, October 25 Crafters from I Love to Create will be on hand to help people make low-cost, environmentally friendly costumes for Halloween, with music, drink specials, 3:00 – 7:00

GRANA PADANO
Multiple locations
Admission: free
http://www.nycmarathon.org/schedule.htm

Tuesday, October 27
through
Sunday, November 1 In preparation for the New York City Marathon, Italian cheesemaker Grana Padano will be offering tastings and in-store promotions at BuonItalia in Chelsea Market, Di Palo’s Fine Foods in Little Italy, and Murray’s Cheese in Grand Central and on Bleecker St.

AME TO AME (CANDY AND RAIN)

Yuko Kaseki and Shinichi Momo Iova-Koga experiment with butoh at the Japan Society

Yuko Kaseki and Shinichi Momo Iova-Koga experiment with butoh at the Japan Society

Japan Society
333 East 47th St. between First and Second Aves.
October 15-17, $18, 7:30
212-715-1258
http://www.japansociety.org

Emanating out of postwar Japan, butoh is a wide-ranging, still evolving dance form that is so hard to pin down that Yuko Kaseki, the Berlin-based Japanese dancer, choreographer, and teacher who is staging AME TO AME (CANDY AND RAIN) at the Japan Society with Shinichi Momo Iova-Koga of inkBoat, had great difficulty getting a performance visa to enter the United States for the production. Yoko Shioya, the artistic director of the Japan Society’s current season, “Japan Transatlantic: Tokio-Berlin,” writes in the show’s program, “At one point, the U.S. immigration office requested us to submit materials to prove two things: 1) that butoh is a culturally unique art form of Japan; and 2) that Yuko is a master of this art form…. The process awakened me to the fact that butoh is indeed a soil that encourages hybridity and cross-pollination in its artists.” We are all fortunate indeed that Yuko was granted that visa and that the “hybridity and cross-pollination” have been allowed to go on.

On a sparse set that contains a wooden stool, chair, and small table, Kaseki and Iova-Koga, dressed all in white but their faces not in the chalky makeup that is usually part of butoh, first walk around the stage very slowly and methodically. As they begin interacting, they are soon running around wildly to Sheila Antonia Bosco’s soundscapes and Marc Ates’s careful lighting (Ates, the cofounder of cokaseki with Kaseki, also serves as the show’s director and choreographed it with the two dancers), frolicking about in yet another display that strays from the expected butoh norms. But their sheer glee at breaking away is evident in Kaseki’s wide-eyed smile as they revel in their freedom, fight over seats, and somehow both fit on top of the table. But they pay the price for their enthusiasm when they once again slow things down to barely a crawl and the music stops completely, a silence that echoes through the theater as they display their bodies, including allowing the audience to study their every breath and the beating of their hearts resonating on their bare chests. Evoking both childlike wonder and romantic passion, AME TO AME offers a different kind of look at butoh. (For more butoh, the fourth biennial Cave New York Butoh Festival gets under way October 23; keep watching twi-ny for details.)

COMME TOUJOURS HERE I STAND

Big Dance Theater brings revives Varda classic onstage

Big Dance Theater reinvents Varda classic onstage

The Kitchen
512 West 19th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
October 7-11, 8:00 (plus 3:00 matinee on 10/11)
Tickets: $15
212-255-5793

http://www.bigdancetheater.org
http://thekitchen.org

Agnès Varda’s 1961 Nouvelle Vague classic, CLÉO FROM 5 TO 7, is as much about filmmaking as it is about its subject, a small-time chanteuse wandering the streets of Paris as she fearfully awaits the results of a biopsy. New York-based Big Dance Theater, under the artistic direction of husband-and-wife team Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar, reinvents the seminal real-time film onstage in the vastly entertaining COMME TOUJOURS HERE I STAND. Turning the process itself into the narrative, BDT creates a multimedia mix of dance, music, and video centered around the making of the film, with a diva star (Molly Hickok) playing the diva star. Parson and Lazar, who based the production on Varda’s screenplay — they didn’t watch the movie itself until things were well under way — brilliantly incorporate a wonderful set featuring three vertical multipurpose screens and a rolling staircase. Evoking New Wave master Jean-Luc Godard, much of the action takes place in between shots, “off camera,” involving the cast and crew, focusing on Cléo’s ever-more-frustrated costars, one of whom (Kourtney Rutherford) is in a continuing phone drama with her boyfriend.

Fans of the film won’t be disappointed — BDT includes all the familiar scenes, from visits to a fortune-teller and a hat shop to a musical interlude with Cléo’s pianist (Chris Giarmo, who plays numerous roles) and a walk in the park with a poetic soldier (Ryutaro Mishima). Refreshingly, COMME TOUJOURS HERE I STAND, which runs at the Kitchen through October 11, also maintains Varda’s focus on women’s experience and interaction with each other. Rare for the current New York stage, the production provides three major female roles, with fine performances from Hickok, Rutherford, and especially Tymberly Canale.

Varda film is Nouvelle Vague classic

Varda film is Nouvelle Vague classic

CLEO FROM 5 TO 7 (CLÉO DE 5 À 7) (Agnès Varda, 1962)

Available on DVD

http://www.criterion.com

After getting a biopsy taken and drawing the death card while consulting a fortune-teller, popular French singer Cléo (Corinne Marchand) begins looking back at her life — and wondering just what’s left of it — while awaiting the dreaded results. The blonde beauty talks with old friends, asks her piano player (Michel Legrand, who composed the score) to write her a song, and meets a dapper gentleman in the park, becoming both participant and viewer in her own existence. As Cléo makes her way around town, director (and former photographer) Agnès Varda shows off early 1960s Paris, expertly winding her camera through the Rive Gauche. Just as Cléo seeks to find out what’s real (her actual name is Florence and that gorgeous hair is a wig), Varda shoots the film in a cinema verité style, almost as if it’s a documentary. She even sets the film in real time (adding chapter titles with a clock update), enhancing the audience’s connection with Cléo as she awaits her fate, but the movie runs only ninety minutes, adding mystery to what is to become of Cléo, as if she exists both on-screen and off, alongside the viewer. A central film in the French Nouvelle Vague and one of the first to be made by a woman, CLÉO DE 5 À 7 is an influential classic even as it has lost a step or two over the years. Varda, now in her eighties, has also made such well-regarded films as LE BONHEUR (1965), VAGABOND (1985), THE GLEANERS AND I (2000), and THE BEACHES OF AGNÉS (2008), among others. Big Dance Theater has reimagined the film in a multimedia production, COMME TOUJOURS HERE I STAND, that runs at the Kitchen through October 11.

rubinmusemad