this week in music

TRIBECA FAMILY PRESENTS: ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY

Musical adaptation of classic children’s book comes to TPAC on June 1 (photo by Patrick Dwyer)

Tribeca Performing Arts Center
199 Chambers St.
Sunday, June 1, $25, 1:30
www.tribecapac.org
www.theatreworksusa.org

“I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.” So begins Judith Viorst’s classic 1972 children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. We were hesitant to bring this up — one of the real-life Alexander’s real-life brothers is an FOT (friend of twi-ny) — but on June 1, Theatreworks USA’s musical adaptation is being staged at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. The sixty-minute show, appropriate for ages four and up, features music by Shelly Markham, choreography by Cynthia Thole, and direction by Rob Barron; Viorst wrote the book and lyrics. Theatreworks USA’s repertoire also includes musical adaptations of Charlotte’s Web, A Christmas Carol, Junie B. Jones, Peter Pan, The Lightning Thief, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, among others, and special study guides accompany each production.

FREE SUMMER DANCE 2014

Trisha Brown’s “I’m going to toss my arms — if you catch them they’re yours” will be performed June 25-26 as part of the River to River tribute to the legendary company (© Laurent Phillipe)

Trisha Brown’s “I’m going to toss my arms — if you catch them they’re yours” will be performed June 25-26 as part of summer-long River to River tribute to the celebrated choreography (© Laurent Phillipe)

The highlight of this summer’s free dance programs is River to River’s tribute to Trisha Brown, including an exhibition, a conversation and Q&A, an open rehearsal, and live performances, taking place on Governors Island and other locations. Among the other festivals featuring dance are Lincoln Center Out of Doors, SummerStage, Hudson River Park’s Moondance, and Celebrate Brooklyn! Keep watching this space for updates as more events are announced.

Saturday, May 24
River to River Festival: Open Studio with Tere O’Connor, LMCC Arts Center at Governors Island, 2:00

Sunday, May 25
River to River Festival: Open Studio with Joanna Kotze, LMCC Arts Center at Governors Island, 3:00

Saturday, June 7
Red Hook Fest, with the Dance Cartel, Dendê and Band, Gallim Dance, Godsell Dance Collective, and Underground System, Louis J. Valentino Jr. Park & Pier, 12 noon – 7:00

Friday, June 13
Bryant Park Presents Modern Dance: Elisa Monte Dance, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Jennifer Muller/The Works, Bryant Park Stage, 6:00

Friday, June 20
Bryant Park Presents Modern Dance: Stephen Petronio Dance, NØA Dance, UnderOneDances, the Dash Ensemble, Bryant Park Stage, 6:00

SummerStage Presents Jason Samuels Smith, All Levels Open Dance Master Class with Jamal Jackson at 7:00, performance by tap-dancer Jason Samuels Smith and composer Owen “Fiidla” Brown at 8:00, Herbert Von King Park

Friday, June 20
through
Sunday, June 29
River to River Festival — Trisha Brown Dance Company: “Embodied Practice and Site Specifity,” exhibition, LMCC Arts Center at Governors Island

Friday, June 20
and
Sunday, June 22
River to River Festival — Eiko: Two Women, duet with Tomoe Aihara, LMCC Arts Center at Governors Island, 2:00

Friday, June 20, 3:00
and
Saturday, June 21, 1:00 & 3:00
River to River Festival — Vanessa Anspaugh: What Was Wasn’t Here, performed by Vanessa Anspaugh, Addys Gonzalez, and Bessie McDonough-Thayer, LMCC Arts Center at Governors Island

Saturday, June 21
SummerStage Presents ChoreoQuest: All Levels Open Dance Master Class with Jamel Gaines at 7:00, performance by ChoreoQuest at 8:00, Herbert Von King Park

Saturday, June 21
River to River Festival Living Room — Ephrat Asherie & Hector Arce-Espasas: Everyday I’m Hustlin’, VBar, South Street Seaport, 9:00

Sunday, June 22
River to River Festival — In Conversation: Susan Rosenberg on Trisha Brown, LMCC Arts Center at Governors Island, 4:30

Sunday, June 22, 7:00 & 8:00
and
Tuesday, June 24, 7:30
River to River Festival — enrico d wey: where we are right now, Pier 15, South Street Seaport

Monday, June 23
through
Wednesday, June 25
River to River Festival — untitled site-specific duet choreographed by Tere O’Connor, performed by Michael Ingle and Silas Riener, Elevated Acre, 1:00

Tuesday, June 24, 3:00
and
Wednesday, June 25, 3:00 & 5:00
River to River Festival — Souleymane Badolo: , of history (Virgule de l’histoire), John Street Church Courtyard

Wednesday, June 25
River to River Festival — Trisha Brown Dance Company: I’m going to toss my arms — if you catch them they’re yours, open rehearsal, Pier 15, South Street Seaport, 7:00

Wednesday, June 25, 2:45
and
Thursday, June 26, 1:45 & 3:45
River to River Festival — Reggie Wilson: …Moses(es), St. Cornelius Chapel, Governors Island

Thursday, June 26
River to River Festival — Trisha Brown Dance Company: I’m going to toss my arms — if you catch them they’re yours, performance, Pier 15, South Street Seaport, 4:00

Thursday, June 26, 5:00
Saturday, June 27, 1:00
and
Sunday, June 28, 1:00
River to River Festival — The Set Up: I Nyoman Catra by Wally Cardona & Jennifer Lacey, 120 Wall St.

Maria Hassabis PREMIERE will move outside to Bowling Green

Maria Hassabi’s mesmerizing PREMIERE will move outside to Bowling Green

Friday, June 27
Bryant Park Presents Modern Dance: Take Dance, Steps Ensemble, BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance, Bryant Park Stage, 6:00

River to River Festival — In Conversation: Maria Hassabi, Paolo Javier & Kaneza Schall, Poets House, 7:00

Friday, June 27, 3:00
and
Saturday, June 28, 3:00 & 5:00
River to River Festival — Maria Hassabi: Premiere, Bowling Green

Saturday, June 28
and
Sunday, June 29
River to River Festival — Bronx Gothic: The Oval, Open Studios with LMCC artist in residence Okwui Okpokwasili, LMCC Arts Center at Governors Island, 3:00

Friday, July 4
Bryant Park Presents Modern Dance: Booking Dance Festival Edinburgh, with Art of Motion, Antara Bhardwaj, Barkin/Selissen Project, Buggé Ballet, Dzul Dance, Michael Mao Dance, Rebecca Stenn, Reed Dance, Synthesis Dance, and Compagnie Christiane Emmanuel, Bryant Park Stage, 6:00

Wednesday, July 2
SummerStage Presents Urban Bush Women, Laurie M. Taylor, and Soul Movement, Central Park, 8:00

Friday, July 11
SummerStage Presents Ballet Hispanico’s BHdos, All Levels Open Dance Master Class at 7:00, performance at 8:00, St. Mary’s Park

Saturday, July 12
SummerStage Presents Urban Bush Women, All Levels Open Dance Master Class at 7:00, performance at 8:00, St. Mary’s Park

Sunday, July 13
Moondance: Swing with David Berger Jazz Orchestra, Pier 84, Hudson River Park, lessons at 6:30, live music at 7:00

Wednesday, July 15
SummerStage Presents Ballet Hispanico and A Palo Seco, Central Park, 8:00

Thursday, July 17
Celebrate Brooklyn! Shen Wei Dance, Prospect Park Bandshell, 8:00

Friday, July 18
SummerStage Presents Harambee Dance Company, All Levels Open Dance Master Class at 7:00, performance at 8:00, Queensbridge Park

Sunday, July 20
Moondance: Salsa with Los Hermanos Colon, Pier 84, Hudson River Park, lessons at 6:30, live music at 7:00

Tuesday, July 22
Lincoln Center Out of Doors Brasil Summerfest — screening of Passinho Dance Off: The Movie, David Rubenstein Atrium, 6:30

Tuesday, July 22
Lincoln Center Out of Doors Brasil Summerfest — Behind the Groove: Welcome Party for A Batalha do Passinho, with DJ KS*360, David Rubenstein Atrium, 8:00

Thursday, July 24
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Rennie Harris Puremovement (Get it, Church, Spirit Migrations, Students of the Asphalt Jungle) and A Batalha do Passinho, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 7:30

Pam Tanowitz’s PASSAGEN is part of Lincoln Center dance program (photo by Yi-Chun Wu)

Pam Tanowitz’s PASSAGEN is part of Lincoln Center dance program on June 25 (photo by Yi-Chun Wu)

Friday, July 25
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Pam Tanowitz Dance (PASSAGEN featuring violinist Pauline Kim Harris, excerpt from The Spectators featuring FLUX Quartet) and eighth blackbird (Erase by Andy Akiho, Murder Ballades by Bryce Dessner, Counting Duets by Tom Johnson/“Études” by György Ligeti, these broken wings 3 by David Lang), Damrosch Park Bandshell, 7:30

Saturday, July 26
Lincoln Center Out of Doors — Family Day: Baby Loves Disco — A Family Dance Party, Roslyn and Elliot Jaffe Dr., 11:00 am and 2:00 pm; A Batalha do Passinho Dance Class, Hearst Plaza, 1:00; National Dance Day, Josie Robertson Plaza, 4:00

Sunday, July 27
Moondance: Swing with Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, Pier 84, Hudson River Park, lessons at 6:30, live music at 7:00

Thursday, July 31
Celebrate Brooklyn! Dance Theatre of Harlem and Leyla McCalla, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30

Friday, August 1
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Paul Taylor Dance Company (Fibers, Aureole, Piazzolla Caldera) and Pablo Ziegler’s New Tango Ensemble, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 7:30

Saturday, August 2
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Camille A. Brown and Dancers (Mr. TOL E. RAncE) and Stew & the Negro Problem, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 7:00

Germaul Barnes of Viewsic Expressions Dance will lead a master class at SummerStage program in East River Park on August 8

Sunday, August 3
Moondance: Salsa with Nu D’Lux, Pier 84, Hudson River Park, lessons at 6:30, live music at 7:00

Wednesday, August 6
Uptown Bounce: Summer Nights at 104th & Fifth — Throwback, with DJ D’Marquesina, DJ Grand Master Caz, breakdancers the NBS Crew, video projections and sidewalk art by the Murcielagos Fumando Collective, and discussion with Perla de Leon, 6:00

SummerStage Presents Spectrum Dance Theater and Sidra Bell Dance NY, Central Park, 8:00

Thursday, August 7
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Ragamala Dance with Rudresh Mahanthappa (Song of the Jasmine), Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (Be/Longing 2), and Chinese American Arts Council Dancers (From Chinatown with Love), Damrosch Park Bandshell, 7:30

Friday, August 8
SummerStage Presents Spectrum Dance Theater, All Levels Open Dance Master Class with Germaul Barnes at 7:00, performance at 8:00, East River Park

Saturday, August 9
SummerStage and Valerie Gladstone present Dance Off the Grid, Master Class with Evidence at 7:00, performance at 8:00, East River Park

Sunday, August 10
Moondance: Swing with George Gee Swing Orchestra, Pier 84, Hudson River Park, lessons at 6:30, live music at 7:00

Sunday, August 10
through
Saturday, August 16
Downtown Dance Festival, Battery Park

August 13
Uptown Bounce: Summer Nights at 104th & Fifth — Remix, with DJ D’Marquesina, DJ Grand Master Caz, Kelly Peters and his Generation X Hip Hop Dancers, video projections and sidewalk art by the Murcielagos Fumando Collective, and El Museo founder Raphael Montañez Ortiz in conversation with Chon Noriega, 6:00

Friday, August 15
SummerStage and the Firehouse Present: The Harlem Dance Caravan: Erasing the Boundaries, All Levels Open Dance Master Class with Theresa Lavington at 7:00, performance at 8:00, Marcus Garvey Park

Saturday, August 16
SummerStage and the Firehouse Present: The Harlem Dance Caravan: Erasing the Boundaries, All Levels Open Dance Master Class with Calvin Wiley at 7:00, performance at 8:00, Marcus Garvey Park

PHIL LESH AND FRIENDS

Phil Lesh & Friends will jam in Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on May 28 and 31

Rumsey Playfield, Central Park
Wednesday, May 28, $49.50 – $99.50, 6:00
Saturday, May 31, $49.50 – $99.50, 4:30
www.phillesh.net
www.thecapitoltheatre.com

It’s hard to believe, but it has been almost two decades since the death of Jerry Garcia brought an end to the “long, strange trip” that constituted the never-ending touring cycle of that most distinctive of rock bands, the Grateful Dead. After Garcia passed away in 1995, the other members of the band pursued various projects of their own, as well as combining forces in varying lineups known as the Other Ones, the Dead, and Furthur, all of them building on and continuing the group’s musical journey and evolution. Any number of the musicians shuffling in and out of the band’s roster had their own musical proclivities: Garcia was a devoted fan of the bluegrass and folk music at the roots of the Grateful Dead’s psychedelicized sound. Bob Weir was a rock ‘n’ roll enthusiast. Ron “Pigpen” McKernan lived for the blues, while Mickey Hart’s interests gravitated toward world music and percussion excursions. Through it all, Phil Lesh was an anchor and a constant presence in the Grateful Dead, manning the bass guitar since their days as the Warlocks in mid-1960s San Francisco. Though his repertoire spanned the entire gamut of the group’s musical interests, Lesh’s own musical leanings veered toward the experimental fringe — Karlheinz Stockhausen and Charles Ives are influences — and in his own excursions interpreting the Grateful Dead canon a sense of improvisation and experimentation is always present.

Lesh has stayed active (and then some) since the demise of the original group. Besides participating in the post-GD offshoots with his former bandmates, he has been on the road with his own rotating collection of musical acolytes for the better part of the past fifteen years. These ensembles, Phil Lesh & Friends officially, have featured a veritable encyclopedia of musicians affiliated with any number of styles, from jam-band veterans to blues legends and any number of Lesh’s contemporaries through the years. The M.O. of his performances can vary but usually highlight songs from the Grateful Dead catalog, both obscure and popular and played in the spirit of the original band; set lists vary night to night, and the songs can be interpreted in different ways depending on the performance. Since receiving a liver transplant in 1998, Lesh has made it a point to promote organ donor awareness at his concerts and continues the tradition of playing multiple charity benefits. In recent years, the septuagenerian (yes, he’s seventy-four) bassist has taken a nod to his health and cut back on his relentless touring schedule to operate from a home base in Marin County, where he has established his own venue, Terrapin Crossroads, getting together with his ever-changing cycle of friends and family members. (Both of Lesh’s sons have joined him onstage in recent years.)

Still, an old road horse like Phil Lesh needs to ramble, and he has always had a special affinity for New York City. Last fall, he joined guitarist Eric Krasno and Furthur drummer Joe Russo for a half-hour impromptu set of jazz outside the Sheep Meadow in Central Park, to the surprise and delight of passersby. Now Lesh will bring his latest ensemble to the Rumsey Playfield stage for a one-off show in the heart of Manhattan, presented by Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre, right smack in Central Park, where the Grateful Dead performed way back in 1968 and 1969 in their psychedelic heyday. Central Park was also where Mayor Giuliani banned fans from gathering for a memorial following Garcia’s death.

The “Friends” on hand this time around will include drummer Russo, jazz-leaning guitarist John Scofield, versatile keyboardist John Medeski, and blues-rock ax slinger Warren Haynes, a veteran of the Allman Brothers, the (post-Garcia) Dead, and his own bands, primarily Gov’t Mule. Like a magic elixir or a pot of gumbo, the various elements brought to the table by each unique member in this mix of musicians makes for a different concert experience every time Phil’s Friends convene. No matter what songs the band decides to perform, expect some accomplished jamming, a heady dose of improvisation, and the heartwarming recognition of hearing some beloved chestnuts played loud and true by one of the men who first created them. Expect to be surprised: Phil has been known to pull out long-forgotten nuggets from the deepest reaches of the Grateful vault or, conversely, to perform entire sets consisting of reinterpretations of classic works like the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers or even Ryan Adams songs. Expect Phil to enjoy every second of playing for a crowd that’s wholly devoted to a musical adventure that’s been going on for almost half a century. And expect a rabid and knowledgeable crowd of aging hippies in faded tie-dye. That comes with the turf.

— guest post by Pete Millerman

UPTOWN NIGHTS: COUNTERCULTURE

KYLE ABRAHAM:AN LGBTQ NIGHT OF LIVE MUSIC & A DANCE PARTY
Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Ave. at West 135th St.
Friday, May 23, $20, 7:00
212-281-9240 ext 19/20
www.harlemstage.org

It’s been quite a few years for Kyle Abraham. Abraham, who formed his dance company, Abraham.In.Motion, in Pittsburgh in 2006, won the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award in 2012, an honor bestowed in previous years on Merce Cunningham and Bill T. Jones. Later that year he was named the 2012–14 New York Live Arts resident commissioned artist, and his Alvin Ailey commission, Another Night, had its world premiere at City Center. In 2013 he was selected as a MacArthur Fellow and choreographed the pas de deux The Serpent and the Smoke for himself and New York City Ballet principal dancer Wendy Whelan. Now Abraham is curating the May 23 edition of Harlem Stage’s “Uptown Nights” series, celebrating LGBTQ culture with Pittsburgh-based DJ Edgar Um, gay New York rapper Le1f, who runs the hip-hop Camp & Street label; gay rapper Will Sheridan (G.I.A.N.T., Ngoma), who came out several years after playing basketball at Villanova; Brooklyn choreographer, dancer, video artist, and Crystal Consciousness practitioner Wendell Cooper, who runs Complex Stability; and vogue dance champion Javier Ninja of the House of Ninja. The evening begins at 7:00 with a mixer, followed by live performances and a dance battle at 7:30, and a dance party at 9:30.

CELLIST INBAL SEGEV: RECITAL AT THE FLAG ART FOUNDATION

Inbal Segeb will perform works for solo cello at FLAG Art Foundation (photo by ME Reps)

MUSIC FOR SOLO CELLO BY BACH AND PENDERECKI
The FLAG Art Foundation
545 West 25th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves., ninth floor
Wednesday, May 21, free with advance RSVP, 6:00
www.flagartfoundation.org
www.inbalsegev.com

The FLAG Art Foundation exhibition “Roy Lichtenstein: Nudes and Interiors” comes to a close on May 21 with a special live performance by Israeli-American cellist Inbal Segev. The New York-based Segev, whose albums include Nigun: A Celebration of Jewish Music and Beethoven, Boccherini: Cello Sonatas and is a founding member of the Amerigo Trio, will perform J. S. Bach’s Suite in C Major and Krzysztof Penderecki’s Divertimento on her 1673 Francesco Ruggieri cello. The exhibit features more than three dozen drawings, collages, and sculptures by Lichtenstein, along with two new works by curators Ewan Gibbs and Hilary Harkness. The solo recital will take place at 7:00 in the gallery, following a 6:00 cocktail reception with wine and light refreshments. Advance RSVP is a must.

DANCE PARADE: BE THE MOMENTUM

Parade: Broadway & 21st St. to Tompkins Square Park, 1:00
DanceFest: Tompkins Square Park, 3:00 – 7:00
Saturday, May 17, free
www.danceparade.org

The eighth annual New York Dance Parade, a celebration of all kinds of movement, will shake and bake through the city on May 17, beginning at 1:00 at 21st St. & Broadway and making its way southeast until it reaches Tompkins Square Park, where DanceFest takes place from 3:00 to 7:00 with live performances, workshops, demonstrations, information booths, special presentations, and other activities. Leading the parade of ten thousand dancers from 142 representing 77 different styles will be a trio of grand marshals: remixer Hex Hector, tap dancer extraordinaire Savion Glover, and Urban Bush Women founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. The parade started as a response to New York’s antiquated Cabaret Law, which in 1926 held that dance was not a form of artistic expression and was not protected by the Second Amendment. The event’s mission is “to promote dance as an expressive and unifying art form by showcasing all forms of dance, educating the general public about the opportunities to experience dance, and celebrating diversity of dance in New York City.” Dance Parade is always a hot, sweaty, sexy, and fun event, whether you’re participating or just checking out the scene, which brings everyone together in the spirit of this year’s theme, “Be the Momentum.”

ZÜRICH MEETS NEW YORK: A FESTIVAL OF SWISS INGENUITY

Zürich Meets New York festival honors upcoming centennial of the Dada movement

Multiple locations
May 16-23, free – $20
www.zurichmeetsnewyork.org

In The Third Man, one of the greatest movies ever made, Harry Lime (Orson Welles) tells his childhood friend Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), “You know what the fellow said — in Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace — and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” Of course, Switzerland has contributed a whole lot more to international culture and history than the cuckoo clock — and by the way, who doesn’t love the cuckoo clock? — as evidenced by this month’s Zürich Meets New York: A Festival of Swiss Ingenuity. From May 16 to 23, more than two dozen events will be taking place around the city, from concerts and dance to panel discussions and film screenings, from art exhibits and seminars to theater and scientific conversations, with a particular focus on the one hundredth anniversary of the Dada movement, which was born at the Cabaret Voltaire. Aside from “How Black Holes Shape Our Universe,” a multimedia presentation at the Explorers Club that requires a $20 ticket, everything else is absolutely free, although most events require advance RSVP. Below are only some of the highlights; other participants and programs include Dieter Meier of Yello, game developer Tim Schafer, Jungian analyst Christopher Hauke, complexity scientist Dirk Helbing, financial economist Didier Sornette, IBM director of research John E. Kelly, novelists Renata Adler and Ben Marcus discussing the work of Max Frisch, and a pair of documentaries about artist Urs Fischer.

Friday, May 16
“Collegium Novum Zurich: Live Music & Silent Films,” David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Broadway between 62nd & 63rd Sts., featuring screenings of shorts by Hans Richter, James Sibley Watson Jr. and Melville Webber, René Clair, and Joris Ivens with live musical accompaniment, free with advance RSVP, 7:00

Saturday, May 17
“Giants Are Small: Dada Bomb,” Dada performance art journey, free with advance RSVP, 7:00

Sunday, May 18
through
Thursday, May 22
“Dada on Tour,” art exhibition in a “nomadic” tent, Whitebox Art Center, 329 Broome St. between Chrystie St. & Bowery, free, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Monday, May 19
“What Can Robots and Economics Teach Us About Humanity?,” with Rolf Pfeifer and Ernst Fehr, moderated by Maria Konnikova, New York Academy of Sciences, 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich St., 40th Floor, free with advance RSVP, 7:00

Monday, May 19
through
Thursday, May 22
“Dada Pop-Up: The Absurdities of Our Times,” opening will include spontaneous performances and exchanges, Whitebox Art Center, 329 Broome St. between Chrystie St. & Bowery, free, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Tuesday, May 20
and
Wednesday, May 21
“Simone Aughterlony/Antonija Livingstone/Hahn Rowe: In Disguise,” dance performance with choreographer Simone Aughterlony, performer Antonija Livingstone, and composer Hahn Rowe, the Kitchen, 512 West 19th St. between Tenth and Eleventh Aves., free with advance RSVP, 8:30