Tag Archives: maria hassabi

MARIA HASSABI: PLASTIC

(photo by Julieta Cervantes / (c) Museum of Modern Art)

Maria Hassabi rehearses PLASTIC at MoMA on October 30, 2015 (photo by Julieta Cervantes / © Museum of Modern Art)

Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
February 21 – March 20, free with museum admission ($14-$25)
212-708-9400
www.moma.org
mariahassabi.com

In a 2011 twi-ny talk, Cyprus-born, New York City–based dancer and choreographer Maria Hassabi declared, “I was born flexible!” That statement is true not only of the remarkable things she can do with her body but also of where she performs her impressive, often painfully slow movement. We’ve seen her wrestle with a carpet at PS122, maneuver through a packed house seated on the floor at the Kitchen, and crawl down the cobblestoned path of Broad St. Ever investigating the relationship between performer and audience as well as dance and object — in 2012, Hassabi collaborated with Lutz Bacher and Tony Conrad on “Chandeliers,” in which more than a dozen light fixtures descended from floor to ceiling over the course of the day at the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève — Hassabi next will set up shop at the Museum of Modern Art, where she will present Plastic for one month. Every day from February 21 to March 20, Hassabi and her team of dancers will be at several locations in MoMA, moving among the visitors, so watch out where you walk, because there will be no barriers separating them from you. You’ll find Simon Courchel, Jessie Gold, Neil Greenberg, Elizabeth Hart, Kennis Hawkins, Niall Jones, Shelley Senter, RoseAnne Spradlin, and David Thomson in the Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium, Hassabi, Hristoula Harakas, Molly Lieber, Paige Martin, and Oisín Monaghan on the Marron Atrium and Agnes Gund Garden Lobby staircase, and Jones, Michael Helland, Tara Lorenzen, and Mickey Mahar on the staircase between the fourth- and fifth-floor galleries. The sound design is by Morten Norbye Halvorsen, with song fragments by Marina Rosenfeld. “Taking place underfoot in the transitional spaces of a museum known for its crowds, the work can be seen from multiple vantage points and inverts the typical relationship between performer and viewer so that it is the dancer who appears static and the onlooker who moves,” writes MoMA associate curator Thomas J. Lax in the brochure for the living installation, which was co-commissioned by MoMA, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. On February 24 at 7:00 ($8-$12) in the atrium, Hassabi will discuss the work with Philip Bither of the Walker Art Center.

RIVER TO RIVER: DANCE

Eiko Otake and Tomoe Aihara will perform site-specific TWO WOMEN on Governors Island June 20 & 22 (photo by William Johnston)

Multiple locations
June 19-29, free
www.lmcc.net/program/river-to-river

The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s annual summer arts festival, River to River, is shorter than ever this year, running only eleven days, but they are packing a whole lot into that time, especially when it comes to dance, which features several choreographers who have participated in twi-ny talks over the last few years; in fact, it feels like we could have curated this exciting lineup. On June 20 and 22 at 2:00, the New York–based Eiko Otake, half of the longtime dance duo Eiko & Koma, will perform the site-specific Two Women with Japan-based dancer Tomoe Aihara on Governors Island, exploring their differences in age and geography. On June 20 at 3:00 and June 21 at 1:00 and 3:00, dance fans who missed Vanessa Anspaugh’s We Were an Island earlier this year at Danspace will get another chance to see the work, inspired by Rebecca Solnit’s book The Faraway Nearby, about creating stories and making connections; Anspaugh will perform the piece with Addys Gonzalez and Bessie McDonough-Thayer at Building 10A in Nolan Park on Governors Island. On June 21 at 9:00, “R2R Living Room: Everyday I’m Hustlin’” brings together food and drink with a Hustle-inspired piece from Ephrat Asherie Dance and DJ Hector Arce-Espasas at Nelson Blue at the South Street Seaport. On June 22 at 4:30, “In Conversation: Susan Rosenberg on Trisha Brown” takes place at LMCC’s Arts Center on Governors Island, with art historian Rosenberg and Trisha Brown dancer Tamara Riewe sharing their thoughts on the legendary choreographer, in conjunction with the multimedia exhibition “Trisha Brown: Embodied Practice and Site-Specificity,” which continues through September 28. Tere O’Connor will present a new, site-specific duet for Michael Ingle and Silas Riender at the Elevated Acre June 23-25 at 1:00. Souleyman Badolo’s , of history (Virgule de l’histoire) examines transformation and acceptance, June 24 at 3:00 and June 25 at 3:00 & 5:00 in the John Street United Methodist Church courtyard.

Reggie Wilson’s . . . MOSES(ES) is part of exciting River to River dance lineup this month (photo courtesy of the artist)

On June 25 at 2:45 and June 26 at 1:45 and 3:45 at St. Cornelius Chapel on Governors Island, Reggie Wilson’s . . . Moses(es) explores the concept of leadership. On June 25 at 7:00 on Pier 15, the Trisha Brown Dance Company will hold a public dress rehearsal of the choreographer’s final piece, “I’m going to toss my arms — if you catch them they’re yours,” followed the next afternoon at 4:00 by the official performance. On June 26 at 5:00 and June 27-28 at 120 Wall St., Wally Cardona and Jennifer Lacey continue their eight-part collaboration with the fifth installment, The Set Up: I Nyoman Catra, creating a new work with Topeng master Nyoman Catra. And on June 27 at 3:00 and June 28 at 3:00 and 5:00 in Bowling Green, Maria Hassabi will restage her grippingly original Premiere, which takes another unusual look at the relationship between audience and performer; Hassabi will also participate in the panel discussion “In Conversation: Maria Hassabi, Paolo Javier, and Kaneza Schaal” June 27 at 7:00 at Poets House. River to River and LMCC have put together one helluva dance lineup that actually has us salivating; be sure to catch at least one of these fab events, which are all free.

MARIA HASSABI: PREMIERE

Choreographer Maria Hassabi is joined by four other dancers as they redefine the relationship between audience and performer in PREMIERE (photo © Paula Court)

The Kitchen
512 West 19th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
November 6-9, $12-$15, 8:00
Performa 13 continues through November 24
212-255-5793
www.thekitchen.org
www.13.performa-arts.org

In the November 2011 premiere of Maria Hassabi’s Show at the Kitchen, the audience stood or sat on the black floor as the Cyprus-born, New York–based choreographer and regular cohort Hristoula Harakas weaved ever so slowly through the crowd to a soundtrack that incorporated the audience’s preshow chatter. Hassabi has redefined the relationship between performer and audience once again in Premiere, which premiered at the Kitchen on November 6 and continues through Saturday. When the doors open, Hassabi, Harakas, Robert Steijn, Biba Bell, and Andros Zins-Browne are already carefully positioned on the floor, three sitting, two standing, facing the empty seats as ticket holders enter and walk around them to sit down. Blazing lights on either side illuminate the stock-still performers, who are soon bracketed by semicircles of fresh shoe prints. Once everyone is seated, the doors are closed, and for the next eighty minutes, the five performers, wearing different-colored denim pants, tucked-in button-down shirts with minute but strange extra details, and black shoes or boots, eventually begin moving nearly imperceptibly, slow enough to make Butoh look like the Indy 500. The only sounds are the squeaks made by hands and feet pressing against the floor, except for occasional electronic noise coming out of the speakers (as well as every stomach grumble, cough, and shift from the audience). Never making contact with one another, Hassabi, Harakas, Steijn, Bell, and Zins-Browne perform deeply pensive and carefully choreographed simultaneous solos, fiercely focused, never smiling or breaking concentration, creating a nervous energy between audience and dancer, filled with both trepidation and anticipation. Once you figure out how the performance will end, sheer elation takes over. And then, indeed, it comes to a close, and the audience exits much as it entered. A copresentation of Performa 13, Premiere is another fabulously creative, involving, and challenging piece by Hassabi in her continuing exploration of movement, expectation, personal connection, the nature of performance itself, and the endless intricacies of the human mind and body.

PERFORMA 13: “PREMIERE” BY MARIA HASSABI

Maria Hassabi’s PREMIERE will have its world premiere at the Kitchen as part of Performa 13

PREMIERE
The Kitchen
512 West 19th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
November 6-9, $12-$15, 8:00
Performa 13 continues through November 24
212-255-5793
www.thekitchen.org
www.13.performa-arts.org

Like her titles, Maria Hassabi’s performances might seem minimalist on the surface, but there’s a whole lot more lurking underneath. In such works as 2009’s SOLO at P.S. 122 for FIAF’s Crossing the Line Festival, that same year’s SoloShow at P.S. 122 for Performa 09, and 2011’s Show at the Kitchen (and later held outdoors on the Broad St. cobblestones for the River to River Festival), Hassabi usually appears by herself or with one other dancer (most often the magical Hristoula Harakas), utilizes few if any props (a carpet, a single platform), and moves not to music but to live and prerecorded local sounds that can even incorporate the audience’s own preshow murmurings. This week the Cyprus-born, New York-based dancer and choreographer returns to the Kitchen for the world premiere of the aptly titled Premiere, a copresentation with Performa 13. Featuring Hassabi, Harakas, Robert Steijn, Biba Bell, and Andros Zins-Browne, with sound design by Alex Waterman and visual art and dramaturgy by Scott Lyall (both Hassabi regulars), Premiere explores that moment when a new piece and the public first come together, as performers and the performance meet viewer and critic. It’s sort of like a blind date, neither side quite knowing how things will go but hoping to make a connection. It’s a situation rife with fear, anticipation, and promise, and it should be fascinating to see how Hassabi brings that to life. Premiere runs at the Kitchen from November 6 to 9; Performa 13 continues through November 24 with such other shows as Molly Lowe’s Hands Off at Temp Arts Space, Cally Spooner’s And You Were Wonderful, on Stage at the National Academy, Einat Amir’s Our Best Intentions at Affirmation Arts, Pete Drungle’s Dream Sequences for Solo Piano at Roulette, and Katarzyna Krakowiak’s free The Great and Secret Show at the James A. Farley Post Office.

AMERICAN REALNESS — MARIA HASSABI: SHOW

Maria Hassabi and Hristoula Harakas will take SHOW back indoors for “American Realness” festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Abrons Arts Center Playhouse
466 Grand St. at Pitt St.
Thursday, January 10, 7:00; Friday, January 11, 7:00; Saturday, January 12, 4:30; Sunday, January 13, 7:00
Tickets: $20
212-598-0400
www.abronsartscenter.org
www.mariahassabi.com

In November 2011, Maria Hassabi presented SHOW at the Kitchen, where she and longtime collaborator Hristoula Harakas slowly weaved, wiggled, and wound their way across the floor amid the audience, which was allowed to go wherever they wanted, whether standing in the back or sitting right next to the performers. This past June, Hassabi and Harakas took the fab gathering outdoors on Broad St. as part of the free River to River Festival, where they interacted not only with an audience specifically there to see them but with passersby who had no idea what was going on. Intricately connected with its surroundings, SHOW can next be seen January 10-13 at Abrons Arts Center as part of the “American Realness” festival. Featuring sound design by Alex Waterman that incorporates freshly recorded noise and voices, including those of the audience itself, SHOW is an intimate experience in which Hassabi and Harakas do amazing things with their bodies, displaying remarkable elegance and strength as they move incredibly slowly, staring deep into each other’s eyes, crawling over their bodies, and holding their legs in the air in breathtaking positions. But SHOW breaks down the wall between audience and performer only so much as the crowd separates like a human Red Sea to let Hassabi and Harakas dance through. “American Realness” runs January 10-20 and also features works by Trajal Harrell, Faye Driscoll, Jack Ferver, Jeanine Durning, Tere O’Connor, Juliana May, and others.

AMERICAN REALNESS 2013: MON MA MES

Jack Ferver examines his life and his work in self-analytical MON MA MES at Abrons Arts Center and FIAF (photo by Yaniv Schulman)

Thursday, January 10, Le Skyroom, French Institute Alliance Française, 22 East 60th St. between Madison & Park Aves., free with RSVP, 212-355-6160, 7:30
Friday, January 11, Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand St., $20, 5:30
Saturday, January 12, Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand St., $20, 3:00

In such engaging works as Rumble Ghost, Swann!, and Two Alike, dancer, writer, and choreographer Jack Ferver digs deep within himself while telling stories inspired by familiar pop-culture tales. He goes a few steps further with Mon Ma Mes, in which he explores the nature of fiction and reality in an extremely intimate and revealing performance about his life and work. Mon Ma Mes premiered at the French Institute Alliance Française’s 2012 Crossing the Line festival, and it is now being presented again at FIAF as well as the Abrons Arts Center January 10-12. In the sixty-minute piece, Ferver takes “questions” from not-necessarily-random people in the audience, pulls individuals out of the crowd to join him, and breaks out into painstaking movements as he relates deeply personal tales from his younger days. As with most of his works, Ferver infuses Mon Ma Mes with intentionally uncomfortable moments in which the audience is not quite sure whether to laugh or cry. An exquisitely talented dancer, Ferver, at times accompanied by Reid Bartelme, moves to Schubert and Chopin as well as a commissioned piece by electronic music artist Roarke Menzies, twirling, jumping, and doing push-ups in tight shorts while John Fireman films everything as part of a documentary he is making about him. Mon Ma Mes is another compelling, self-analytical evening-length work by one of New York’s most inventive performers.

(The performances are part of the annual American Realness series, held in conjunction with the APAP conference.
”American Realness” runs January 10-20 with such other events as Maria Hassabi’s Show, Trajal Harrell’s Antigone Sr. / Twenty Looks or Paris Is Burning at the Judson Church [L], Jeanine Durning’s inging, and Faye Driscoll’s You’re Me.)

RIVER TO RIVER FESTIVAL: SHOW

Maria Hassabi and Hristoula Harakas have taken SHOW outside for the River to River Festival (photo by Francis Coy)

Broad & Wall St.
Saturday, June 30, and Sunday, July 1, free, 5:00
rivertorivernyc.com
www.mariahassabi.com
show slideshow

Back in November, Maria Hassabi presented SHOW at the Kitchen, where she and longtime collaborator Hristoula Harakas slowly weaved, wiggled, and wound their way across the floor amid the audience, which was allowed to go wherever they wanted, whether standing in the back or sitting right next to the performers. Hassabi and Harakas are now taking the fab gathering outdoors as part of the free River to River Festival, where they will be interacting not only with an audience specifically there to see them but by passersby who are bound to wonder just what is going on. Featuring sound design by Alex Waterman that incorporates freshly recorded noise and voices, the performance is an intimate experience that is sure to have renewed life from being out in the sun, compared to the more cramped and dark black-box room at the Kitchen. Hassabi and Harakas can do amazing things with their bodies, displaying elegance and strength, in what we called back in November “a brilliant, often erotically charged evening-length piece performed by two dynamic, brave dancers unafraid to take risks, involving the audience in unique and, at times, demanding ways.”

Maria Hassabi and Hristoula Harakas put on quite a SHOW at River to River Festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Update: As it turns out, SHOW does indeed offer a very different kind of experience in its new incarnation outdoors as part of the River to River Festival. On a cobblestone path on Broad St., Maria Hassabi and Hristoula Harakas move incredibly slowly, staring deep into each other’s eyes, crawling over each other’s bodies, and lifting their legs high into the air in breathtaking positions. Depending on which angle you are watching from ― you can sit on sidewalk benches, move around the area, or spread out on the street itself, where you might have to get out of the dancers’ way as they approach you ― you can see the large American flag on the Stock Exchange building or the George Washington statue in front of Federal Hall in the background. Alex Waterman’s score mixes in noises recorded earlier around Wall St., including construction work and sirens, layered with live sound. Despite the intense heat, Hassabi and Harakas soldier on as tourists gawk, shutterbugs surround them, food deliverers speed by on their bicycles, and dogs on leashes amble past them. Yet the two extraordinary dancers manage to maintain the piece’s inherent intimacy, especially when they make extended eye contact with people in the crowd.