this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As

PROFESSIONAL BULL RIDERS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN INVITATIONAL

Colby Yates and Luke Snyder prepare for Garden event by going to the top of the Empire State Building last month (photo by Brad Barket)

Madison Square Garden
31st to 33rd Sts. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
January 6-8, $15-$205
800-732-1727
www.thegarden.com
www.pbrnow.com

The World’s Most Famous Arena is promoting this year’s Professional Bull Riders Madison Square Garden Invitational as “three snot-spewing, bone-crushing, adrenaline-soaked performances,” and that pretty much gets right to the point of this heated competition that starts the new year in a wild and woolly way. While the feared Bushwacker recovers from successful arthroscopic surgery, such other bulls as Shaky Waters, Buckshot, Mean Machine, La Grange, Frost Bite, Yellow Dog, Complete Debacle, and John Doe will try to throw such riders as Cord McCoy, Kody Lostroh, Ryan Dirteater, Cody Nance, Douglas Duncan, Paulo Lima, Stormy Wing, and 2011 MSG Invitational champion Valdiron de Oliveira off their backs in less than eight seconds. The sixth annual event also includes meet and greets with Lima, de Oliveira, and Duncan at the Garden’s mall entrance, an autograph session at the Penn Station K-Mart, and a fan club breakfast at Niles.

FIRST LOOK

Chantal Akerman’s ALMAYER’S FOLLY will kick off Museum of the Moving Image’s “First Look” series on Friday night

Museum of the Moving Image
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria
January 6-15, opening night $15, all other films free with museum admission, series pass $40
718-777-6800
www.movingimage.us

Curators Dennis Lim, Rachael Rakes, and David Schwartz have put together an impressive lineup of films for the Museum of the Moving Image’s inaugural “First Look” series, amassing a wide range of international works from established and emerging directors. The thirteen-film festival gets under way January 6 at 7:00 with Chantal Akerman on hand to screen and talk about her latest, Almayer’s Folly (La folie Almayer), based on Joseph Conrad’s first novel, followed by a reception. Other screenings that will be presented by filmmakers include Mark Jackson’s psychological thriller, Without (January 7, 5:00), with star Joslyn Jensen and photojournalist Jessica Dimmock joining him; Gonçalo Tocha’s It’s the Earth Not the Moon (January 8, 2:30), shot on the remote island of Corvo; Philippe Grandrieux’s It May Be That Beauty Has Strengthened Our Resolve: Masao Adachi and Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt’s Palaces of Pity (Palácios de Pena) (January 8, 7:00, Schmidt in person); Valérie Massadian’s Nana and Lisandro Alonso’s Untitled (Letter to Serra) (January 14, 5:00, Massadian in person); Gastón Solnicki’s Argentine family portrait Papirosen (January 15, 2:30); and Raya Martin’s Buenas Noches, España, Ars Colonia, and Boxing in the Philippine Islands (January 15, 7:30). All screenings include access to the museum’s exhibits, which currently feature “Surviving Life: Collages by Jan Svankmajer,” “Ming Wong: Persona Performa Panorama,” “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World,” and the permanent shows “Behind the Screen” and “Tut’s Fever, 1986-88.”

AMERICAN REALNESS

After delighting audiences at BAM, John Jasperse’s CANYON will celebrate the thrill of the dance at Abrons Arts Center (photo by Tony Orrico)

Abrons Arts Center, Henry Street Settlement
466 Grand St. at Pitt St.
January 5-15, Show & Tell free, other performances $15
212-352-3101
www.abronsartscenter.org

No, it’s not yet another reality show. “American Realness” is an eleven-day live performance festival that offers fans of contemporary dance, music, and theater an opportunity to catch productions they might have missed as well as the chance to see works in progress scheduled to debut later this year. Held at Abrons Arts Center in conjunction with the Association of Performing Arts Presenter’s Conference, “American Realness” features second looks at such 2011 works as John Jasperse’s Canyon, which celebrates the thrill of the dance while ostensibly being about nothing; Wally Cardona and Jennifer Lacey’s Tool Is Loot, the result of a yearlong investigation into collaboration; Jack Ferver and Michelle Mola’s Me, Michelle, about ego and power in the form of Cleopatra; and Eleanor Bauer’s (Big Girls Do Big Things), a solo in which Bauer goes through a series of metamorphoses. The festival also includes the New York premiere of Laura Arrington’s Hot Wings, which examines feminine identity; the U.S. premiere of Daniel Linehan’s Montage for Three, in which two dancers re-create images from found photographs; Trajal Harrell’s Antigone Jr., the next stage of his “Twenty Looks or Paris Is Burning at the Judson Church”; and the pairing of Ishmael Houston-Jones’s mean Cait: a fairytale in progress and Yvonne Meier’s Mad Heidi. The free “Show & Tell” section (advance RSVP required) includes such conversations as “Why a dramaturge?” with Reggie Wilson and Susan Manning and “Surfacing & Song-Based Performance” with Holcombe Waller, Cynthia Hopkins, and Miguel Gutierrez in addition to sneak peeks at such works in progress as Big Dance Theater’s Ich, KürbisGeist, Luciana Achugar’s FEELingpleasuresatisfactioncelebrationholyFORM, and Keith Hennessy’s Turbulence (a dance about the economy).

COIL 2012

Performance Space 122 and other venues
150 First Ave. at Ninth St.
January 5-29, $20-$30 per performance, $75 passport for five shows, $100 for ten
www.ps122.org

“Fully realized, but on the bleeding front edge” is how P.S. 122 artistic director Vallejo Gartner describes the seventh annual Coil festival of experimental theater and dance, taking place January 5-29 at such venues as the Public Theater, the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the Connelly Theater, the Invisible Dog Art Center, the Old School, and Performance Space 122. Lin Hixson and Matthew Goulish of Every House Has a Door combine Dusan Makavejev, Stanley Cavell, and Ingmar Bergman in Let us think of these things always. Let us speak of them never. Lebanese actor, writer, and director Rabih Mroué will present a pair of politically charged multimedia solo narratives, Looking for a Missing Employee and The Pixelated Revolution. Heather Kravas examines idealized feminine beauty in The Green Surround. Mariano Pensotti’s tragicomic El pasado es un animal grotesco (The past is a grotesque animal), which is also part of the Under the Radar festival, uses a revolving stage and a song by Of Montreal to look at the lives of four Argentinians. Audience members do not have to sit quietly in their seats as Michael Kliën with Steve Valk delves into “the absence of certainty” and other philosophies in Choreography for Blackboards. David Levine expresses his Anger at the Movies, complete with audience involvement, in a theatrical seminar based on YouTube clips sent to him. Temporary Distortion re-creates scenes from television and movie cop dramas and real-life situations in Newyorkland. Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company brings together people from theater, cabaret, dance, and burlesque for a provocative examination of identity in Untitled Feminist Show. And on January 8, Bobby Hernreich will host the annual Red & White Party, featuring Jack Ferver, DJ Spooky, Ping-Pong (Thing Thong), prizes, and more at SPiN New York.

UNDER THE RADAR

Judith Malina of the Living Theatre and Silvia Calderoni of Motus collaborate on THE PLOT IS THE REVOLUTION, a special Under the Radar presentation on January 9 at La MaMa (photo by End & Dna)

The Public Theater and other venues
425 Lafayette St. between East Fourth St. & Astor Pl.
January 4-15, free-$25
212-967-7555
www.undertheradarfestival.com

The eighth annual Under the Radar: A Festival Tracking New Theater from Around the World offers another diverse collection of live performances that provide a welcome alternative to conventional theater. Running January 4-15, this year’s fest includes such promising productions as Hideki Noda’s The Bee, an English-language drama at Japan Society about a horrible surprise waiting for a businessman upon returning home from the office; Bambï & Waterwell’s Goodbar, a live concept album reimagining of Looking for Mr. Goodbar, at the Public Theater; Suli Holum & Deborah Stein’s Chimera, about a woman who is her own twin, at HERE; and Stefan Zeromski Theatre’s unique musical take on Bernard-Marie Koltès’s In the Solitude of Cotton Fields, set to live Polish punk rock, at La MaMa. The Public will also be home to the LuEsther Lounge, presenting free live music throughout the festival. Among the other free events are the installation Gob Squad Resource Room at the Goethe-Institut’s Wyoming Building (the Gob Squad Arts Collective will also be presenting the interactive Super Night Shot at the Public); Camille O’Sullivan’s Feel, in which the Irish singer will play a different character for songs by Jacquel Brel, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, David Bowie, and others, at the Public; and the panel discussion “Performance and Context: The Black Box and the White Cube,” January 8 at 1:00 at the Public. In addition, a post-show discussion will follow the January 7 performance of Motus’s Alexis. A Greek Tragedy at La MaMa, a preshow talk will precede the January 8 performance of the Living Word Project’s Word Becomes Flesh at the Public, a panel will follow the January 11 performance of biriken & Ayça Damgaci’s Lick But Don’t Swallow! at La MaMa, chelfitsch’s Toshiki Okada (Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech) will lead a workshop for theater and dance professionals on January 14 at 1:00 at Japan Society, and “Everyone’s a Critic! Exploring the Changing Landscape of Arts Writing” will take place January 15 at 1:00 at the LuEsther Lounge. As always, Under the Radar offers adventurous theatergoers a chance to see a bunch of very different works, from an excellent selection of international companies.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD: EPITAPH

The Acorn Theater at Theatre Row
410 West 42nd St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Tuesday, December 20, $51.25 – $71.25, 7:00
www.hdcny.com

The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory Repertory Company is presenting a very different take on the classic fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” on December 20 with Epitaph. Artistic director Safi A. Thomas has created a brutal, violent version of Charles Perrault’s story of the girl in red who meets the big bad wolf, incorporating elements from tales by such other masters as the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen (“The Little Match Girl”). The thirty-minute piece, which explores issues of gender, sexuality, patriarchy, and female empowerment, will be followed by a thirty-minute Q&A with the cast and creative team and a forty-five-minute reception. Premium tickets include a commemorative booklet, with part of the proceeds benefiting the Crime Victims Treatment Center of St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital.

SUPER SABADO: SUPER HOLIDAYS!

Three Kings Day will be the focus of free Saturday programs at El Museo del Barrio (photo by Gary Santana)

FREE THIRD SATURDAYS
El Museo del Barrio
1230 Fifth Ave. at 104th St.
Saturday, December 17, free, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
212-831-7272
www.elmuseo.org

El Museo del Barrio’s free Super Sabado program for December celebrates Christmas on December 17 with a full slate of holiday fun, beginning at 11:00 as members of the musical groups Balún and Tepeu will lead a holiday sing-along in El Teatro. From 12 noon to 3:00, kids can take part in an art workshop inspired by the Three Kings puppets and costumes in El Café and El Taller or make maracas in the Black Box Theater in preparation for the annual Three Kings Day Parade. At 3:00 in El Café, this year’s madrinas and padrinos in the parade will be on hands to talk about the festivities. And at 4:00 in the Black Box, the Peace Poets will get teens to speak their mind in the monthly spoken-word workshop “Oh Snap!” In addition, there will be tours of the museum’s two current exhibits, “Voces y Visiones: Signs, Systems & the City” and “El Museo’s Bienal: The (S) Files 2011.” And as always, be sure to come hungry, because there’s always something interesting cooking in El Café.