this week in dance

HOMESICK

Danielle Agami looks deep inside herself in Homesick (photo courtesy Source Material)

HOMESICK
December 20 – January 10, $10-$25 (pay-what-you-can)
www.homesickthefilm.com
www.sourcematerialcollective.com

Israeli-born, LA-based dancer and choreographer Danielle Agami has reimagined her autobiographical solo piece, Framed, which had its world premiere in May 2018 at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, as the fifteen-minute film Homesick, streaming online December 20 to January 10. In the work, she looks deep inside herself as a woman and a creator, asking such questions as “What is expected for me to provide? Will dance be enough? Am I enough?” Directed by Samantha Shay and photographed by Victoria Sendra for Source Material, Homesick follows Agami as she moves from her apartment to a bar (where she is served by real-life Icelandic cocktail bartender Martin Cabejsek) to an indoor flower market (where she is joined by Jordan Klitzke) to a vast outdoor landscape and, as an encore, around Jerry Moss Plaza at the Music Center in LA.

For much of the film, Agami, a former Batsheva dancer and gaga teacher who has run Ate9 Dance Company since 2012, first in Seattle, then in LA, changes between a black negligee, head shaved, to regular clothing and fuller hair, moving in fits and starts on her hands and knees, shaking her head in trancelike gestures, petting a cat, and extending her arms as if searching for freedom and love. “For me, there are two kinds of home,” she narrates. “There is the outer, and the inner. When I feel safe and peaceful in my surroundings and my mind, I feel at home, and everything falls into place.” Agami dances to a pair of haunting songs by Iceland-based Danish musician Sara Flindt, aka ZAAR, “Homesick” and “How Many Hearts.” The film is followed by a Q&A with Agami (Pick a Chair, calling glenn), Shay (In These Uncertain Times, Light), Sendra, and Flindt, moderated by CalArts professor of dance cinema Francesca Penzani.

A TOAST TO DOWNTOWN

Who: Paul Pfeiffer, Eiko Otake, Amina Henry, Morgan Bassichis, Mona Chalabi, Ivy Mix, Mariana Valencia, Jessica Lappin, Maggie Boepple
What: LMCC benefit fundraiser
Where: Lower Manhattan Cultural Council online
When: Wednesday, December 9, free with RSVP (donations accepted), 7:00
Why: Since 1973, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council has “served, connected, and made space for artists and communities in NYC through programs that deepen artists’ creative practice and afford them opportunities to share their process and work with local communities.” Rarely has that been more important than during the pandemic lockdown. On December 9 at 7:00, LMCC’s annual fundraiser goes virtual with “A Toast to Downtown,” celebrating the great work the organization does not only in Lower Manhattan but on Governors Island and other locations. This year’s civic leadership honorees are Downtown Alliance president Jessica Lappin and former LMCC president Maggie Boepple; in addition, Amina Henry (The Animals, Bully) will receive the Sarah Verdone Writing Award, Eiko Otake will be presented with the Sam Miller Award for Performing Arts, and Paul Pfeiffer will receive the Michael Richards Award for Visual Arts.

The evening will include video from Pfeiffer, who will show excerpts from a new work as well as from 2001’s Orpheus Descending, which was installed at the World Trade Center and follows the life cycle of a flock of chickens; a new video from Eiko, made for this gala and recently shot on location at LMCC’s Arts Center at Governors Island; and appearances by LMCC artists and alumni Morgan Bassichis, Mona Chalabi, Ivy Mix, and Mariana Valencia. It’s free to RSVP, but $20 gives you a chance to win a limited edition “100 New Yorkers” print by Chalabi based on her 2020 River to River project, $50 helps fund artist residencies, $100 supports grants to neighborhood arts communities, and $250 gives artists the opportunity to share their work and their creative process.

FOLKSBIENE CHANUKAH SPECTACULAR

Who: Carol Burnett, Emanuel Azenberg, Mayim Bialik, Billy Crystal, Tovah Feldshuh, Beanie Feldstein, Joel Grey, Jackie Hoffman, Carol Kane, Barry Manilow, Mandy Patinkin, Itzhak Perlman, Eleanor Reissa, Neil Sedaka, Steven Skybell, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Jerry Zaks, Geni Brenda, Mendy Cahan, Yefim Chorny, Josh Dolgin, Suzanna Ghergus, Miwazow Kogure, Shura Lipovsky, Freydi Mrocki, Polina Shepherd, Merlin Shepherd, Motl Didner, Zalmen Mlotek, Frank London, Tatiana Wechsler, Elmore James, more
What: Global online Chanukah celebration
Where: National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
When: Tuesday, December 8, free with RSVP, 7:00 (available for ninety-six hours)
Why: National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene is doing more than its part in keeping alive Yiddish theater and the Yiddish language itself, with regular presentations at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. But with the pandemic lockdown, it has adapted to online shows and discussions, and on December 8 it will welcome in the Festival of Lights with a Chanukah celebration with guests from around the world. Debuting on December 8 at 7:00 and available on demand for ninety-six hours, “Folksbiene Chanukah Spectacular” features an all-star lineup, beginning with an audio greeting from Carol Burnett and including appearances by such favorites as Mayim Bialik, Billy Crystal, Tovah Feldshuh, Beanie Feldstein, Joel Grey, Jackie Hoffman, Carol Kane, Barry Manilow, Mandy Patinkin, Itzhak Perlman, Neil Sedaka, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and many others.

Although it’s free to watch, Chanukah gelt will be gladly accepted, as this is a fundraiser for the company, which in recent years has staged such wonderful Yiddish productions as Fiddler on the Roof, The Sorceress, and The Golden Bride, under the leadership of conductor and artistic director Zalmen Mlotek, who said in a statement with executive director Dominick Balletta, “We’re excited to present this exceptional Yiddish celebration, bringing together Yiddish ambassadors from across the globe, from across the United States to as far away as Australia. This will be a theatrical experience like no other — presented virtually so that families and communities across the world can enjoy it together.” Directed and produced by Adam B. Shapiro, the evening will include music and dance, comedy sketches, and tributes to the golden age of Yiddish theater, along with a grand finale led by members of the Children’s Choir from Tzipporei Shalom of Congregation Beth Shalom in New Jersey. There’s also a special preshow Zoom event with Skybell, Mlotek, and others if you donate at a certain level, in addition to an appetizer delivery from the Lox Cafe.

KENNETH TAM: THE CROSSING

The Crossing marks Kenneth Tam’s live, virtual debut at the Kitchen OnScreen (rehearsal photo courtesy Lumi Tan and Kenneth Tam)

Who: Kenneth Tam, Lumi Tan
What: Kenneth Tam’s first live performance
Where: The Kitchen OnScreen Zoom
When: December 5-6, free with RSVP, 7:00
Why: Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist Kenneth Tam has been in residence at Queenslab in Ridgewood since October 30, preparing a new work for the Kitchen, following all Covid-19 protocols as he rehearses the piece and prepares for its livestream debut December 5-6. Performed by Martin Richard Borromeo, Paulina Meneses, James Lim, and Resa Mishina, The Crossing explores issues of race, gender, identity, ritual, and assimilation in relation to Asian Americans and Culturally Based Fraternal Organizations, centering on Taoist funeral rites, probate ceremonies, and the brutal hazing death of Baruch college freshman and pledge Michael Deng in 2013 while running through the gantlet known as the Glass Ceiling. Admission is free with RSVP; the December 6 performance will be followed by a Q&A with Tam (All of M, Breakfast in Bed) and Kitchen curator Lumi Tan. You can see previous Kitchen OnScreen projects here by Baseera Khan, Autumn Knight, and Ka Baird with Max Eilbacher.

EdgeCut: SANITY

Katelyn Halpern and Paul Pinto’s Living Room video is part of “EdgeCut: Sanity”

Who: Malena Dayen, Karen Lancel & Hermen Maat, Caitlin & Misha, Katelyn Halpern, Paul Pinto, divinebrick, Chris SooHoo
What: 3D live, interactive experience
Where: New York Live Arts
When: Saturday, December 5, $7-$15, 1:00 – 4:00
Why: On October 10, EdgeCut introduced us to the remarkable NowHere platform for the first part of its collaboration with New York Live Arts, “Captivity,” five hours of short performance works, discussions, and networking in which audience members navigated through different levels in order to watch livestreamed events in little pods and hang out with curators, creators, and other visitors in their pods. You could steer through fantastical landscapes, float in space, and pull up next to another pod and talk about where you’d been so far or where you were off to next, with cameras on so your face is visible on the front of your pod. I’ve tried just about every form of online entertainment while we’re all sheltering in place and arts venues are closed, and nothing else comes close to this one, even given various hiccups that require patience.

The second iteration, “Sanity,” takes place December 5 from 1:00 to 4:00, a more manageable three hours that will feature four unique rooms. In the Growth Room, you can catch director and singer Malena Dayen’s opera While You Are with Me and the bright and colorful Living Room music video of dancing television heads by multidisciplinary artists Katelyn Halpern and Paul Pinto; in the Worry Room, you can let out steam with Caitlin & Misha’s Infinite Worries Bash, a participatory installation of electroacoustic piñatas that inquires, “Can the destruction of these interactive worry vessels create space for clarity?”; in the Transformation Room, you can meditate to divinebrick and Chris Soohoo’s Performance Prayer; and in the Kissing Room, you can share private moments courtesy of intimacy agents Karen Lancel and Hermen Maat, who ask, “Can we measure a kiss and what kissers feel together?”

Intimacy agents Karen Lancel and Hermen Maat explore what online kissing is like at “EdgeCut: Sanity”

Curated by Heidi Boisvert and Kat Mustatea, the EdgeCut program, which originally convened at the New Museum’s NEW INC incubator for art, tech, and design for in-person presentations, is now seeking to expand and redefine the virtual 3D experience during the pandemic lockdown, exploring the question “How do we create collective experience and transformative gatherings in this moment of ‘a crisis within a crisis’ that speak to transition, change, healing, humanity?” The works were chosen through an open call; the finale of the trilogy, “Humanity,” is scheduled for February 13, 2021. Tickets range from $7 per room to $15 for the full experience, which has to be seen to be believed.

INFRASTRUCTURE (OF A WORK): WAITING

Sidra Bell and Immanuel Wilkins will present a work-in-progress of their new collaboration online December 4 (photo by David Flores Productions)

Who: Sidra Bell Dance New York, Immanuel Wilkins
What: Performance of a new work in progress and conversation
Where: 92Y online
When: Friday, December 4, $10, 7:00
Why: Originally scheduled to debut at National Sawdust in June, Sidra Bell Dance New York and Immanuel Wilkins’s waiting will make its work-in-progress premiere December 4 at 7:00 in a presentation hosted by the 92nd St. Y’s Harkness Dance Center. Bell and Wilkins met in June 2019 at an SBDNY performance and decided to collaborate; because of the pandemic lockdown, they have continued working on the piece, which was commissioned by the Jazz Gallery, over Zoom and are ready to show an early version, to be followed by a live discussion between SBDNY artistic director Bell, whose New York City Ballet commission, Pixelation in a wave (Within Wires), can be seen here, and composer, arranger, and alto saxophonist Wilkins, who released his debut album, Omega, in August. SBDNY, which calls itself “an internationally recognized boutique brand of prolific movement illustrators based in New York City that presents and fosters a canon of innovative and progressive dance theater in a world of ideas and (im)possibilities,” consists of Marisa Christogeorge, AJ Libert, Kimie Parker, Sophia Halimah Parker, and Uma Shannon; Wilkins will be joined by Jeremy Corren on piano, Daryl Johns on bass, and Kweku Sumbry on drums. Virtual tickets for “Infrastructure (of a Work): waiting” are $10 and are available here.

THE ARS NOVA FOREVER TELETHON

Who: Julia Abueva, César Alvarez, Frankie Alvarez, Cathy Ang, Brittain Ashford, Jaclyn Backhaus, Courtney Bassett, Gelsey Bell, Nick Belton, Katja Blichfeld, Brian Bogin, Rachel Bonds, Hannah Bos, Michael Breslin, Salty Brine, Starr Busby, Andrew R. Butler, Nikki Calonge, Josh Canfield, Kennedy Caughell, Rachel Chavkin, Karen Chee, Manik Choksi, Claudia Chopek, Heather Christian, Lilli Cooper, Gavin Creel, Lea DeLaria, Blake Delong, Sonia Denis, Vinny DePonto, Dickie DiBella, Billy Eichner, Erik Ehn, Naomi Ekperigin, Bridget Everett, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Patrick Foley, Peter Friedman, Laura Galindo, Nick Gaswirth, Matt Gehring, Alex Gibson, Betty Gilpin, Amber Gray, Deepali Gupta, Stephanie Hsu, Khiyon Hursey, Joomin Hwang, Joe Iconis, James Monroe Iglehart, Michael R. Jackson, Sakina Jaffrey, Kyle Jarrow, Mitra Jouhari, Jinwoo Jung, Stephen Karam, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jennifer Kidwell, Billy Kiessling, Blaine Krauss, Mahayla Laurence, Arthur Lewis, Chris Lowell, Grace McLean, Dave Malloy, Andrew Mayer, Karyn Meek, Sammy Miller, James Monaco, Kaila Mullady, Shoba Narayan, Lila Neugebauer, Ryan O’Connell, Emily Oliveira, Isaac Oliver, Larry Owens, Ashley Park, Joél Pérez, Paul Pinto, Pearl Rhein, Matt Rogers, Phil Romano, Kyra Sedgwick, Shalewa Sharpe, Scott R. Sheppard, Brooke Shields, Rona Siddiqui, Leigh Silverman, Ben Sinclair, Tessa Skara, Peter Smith, Phillipa Soo, Scott Stangland, Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan, Babak Tafti, Jason Tam, Robin Lord Taylor, Stephanie Wright Thompson, Alex Timbers, Anthony Veneziale, Cathryn Wake, Natalie Walker, Jason “Sweettooth” Williams, Beau Willimon, Bess Wohl, Lauren Worsham, Katrina Yaukey, John Yi, Paloma Young, more
What: Virtual fundraiser
Where: Ars Nova online
When: Friday, December 4, free with RSVP (donations accepted), 6:00
Why: What, you were expecting something standard from Ars Nova? Then you don’t know the arts organization very well, do you? Whether you’re a longtime fan of the innovative company or a newbie, you’ll find a vast array of talent participating in the Ars Nova Forever Telethon, taking place over twenty-four consecutive hours beginning at 6:00 pm on December 4. Founded in 2002, Ars Nova develops and nurtures experimental, cutting-edge, innovative presentations at its main home on West Fifty-Fourth St. and its new satellite venue at Greenwich House; among its biggest recent successes are Small Mouth Sounds, The Lucky Ones, Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future, boom, and Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 will be celebrated by original cast members at Ars Nova Forever Telethon (photo by Ben Arons)

The telethon will feature appearances by such theatrical luminaries as Gavin Creel, Lea DeLaria, Bridget Everett, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Betty Gilpin, Amber Gray, Stephanie Hsu, James Monroe Iglehart, Michael R. Jackson, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Lila Neugebauer, Ashley Park, Kyra Sedgwick, Brooke Shields, Leigh Silverman, Phillipa Soo, Robin Lord Taylor, Alex Timbers, and Bess Wohl, among dozens of others, who are all listed above. Registration is free, but donations are encouraged based on what you can afford; if you make a gift of $100 or more in advance, you will receive a watch party box filled with goodies you can eat, drink, and wear during the show. The full schedule is below.

The Kickoff, hosted by Ashley Pérez Flanagan and Grace McLean, 6:00 pm

The Comet Comes Home, hosted by Rachel Chavkin & Dave Malloy, celebrating Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, 8:00 pm

Showgasm, hosted by Matt Rogers & Shalewa Sharpe, variety show, 10:00 pm

Isaac Oliver’s Lonely Quarantine, hosted by Isaac Oliver, midnight

The Witching Hour with the Neon Coven, hosted by the Neon Coven, 2:00 am

Cartoon Camp, hosted by Mahayla Laurence & Matt Gehring, 4:00 am

Ars Nova Rewind: Vintage Videos, rare archival footage, 6:00 am

Morning Meditations: An In-Home Retreat, hosted by Sakina Jaffrey, inspired by Small Mouth Sounds, 8:00 am

“Boom Crunch” Zoom Brunch: A Celebration of Theatrical Choices, hosted by Larry Owens & Natalie Walker, 10:00 am

So You Think You Can KPOP, hosted by Jason Tam, celebrating KPOP, noon

Thon-Tha-Thon-Thon-Thon, hosted by Freestyle Love Supreme, 2:00 pm

The Finale for the Future!, hosted by Lilli Cooper & Joél Pérez, 4:00 pm