NEWSLETTER: on the road

Greetings from Mississippi!

Well, it has been so hot, that I actually have not wanted to sweat since I got here! Now that's funny. I got my sweat on today since there was finally a lovely breeze this morning. Right now, thunder and more thunder has been teasing us all day. I feel like I am in an epic Bollywood film, waiting, hoping for the rain to come, lol! Instead, more thunder, and the clouds roll on past. My hunt for dance is turning up, well, jook joints mostly, so if I can manage it, I'll make my way out to "da club" somewhere in the bush and report back, or maybe just use the phone to track down the few companies I have found in Memphis. But I do hear that real estate is cheap if any of you wanna relocate and own the dance scene out here!

Afrologic. Afrological. Afrologica. How big is you 'fro?
Multiple, fractal, improvisational, polemical, but always moving with spirit and in the service of lifting it/us all up.
That's the Logic of the Afro--sign up, podcasts are dropping like gum drops out of small child's hand.

BLOWIN BACK THE 'FRO this week is the fact that I am not at home. No, really. I'm all grown up. Venice is my home and I miss all of you very much. I am especially missing the Redcat Festival which closes this weekend and several excellent music events and one awesome gallery event that you need to go check out before it closes.


REDCAT
631 W. 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA
Program 3 launches tonight and closes this year's edition of the NOW Festival
The final program of the annual New Original Works Festival brings together a cyber-erotic song cycle from Alpert-award winning composer Anne LeBaron and librettist Douglas Kearney, incisive and comic stories from writer/performer Kristina Wong and the emotionally powerful imagery of the newest work from Rosanna Gamson/World Wide.
redcat.org/season/0708/dan/now3.php


THE BOX
977 Chung King Road, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Los Angeles Poverty Department presents,
Skid Row History Museum
Here's a company that does some amazing work, both challenging to themselves, their audience and the eventual participants. Catch this show before it's gone. Closing reception + perfromance--you know an exhibit is a good one when they decide they have to have a public farewell party--on Saturday, August 2nd @ 6 PM. Donate some money while you're at it.


FORD AMPHITHEATER
2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068
Imani Winds, "Afro Blue"
August 1, 2008, Friday; 8:30 PM, $25/$12
This is a must see! A very unusual wind quintet that brings together jazz, classical music and Afro-Cuban music. And they can DRESS! Go check this out. The Ford was built for evenings like this one. Take a very elegant picnic and get there around 5:30 to have a fantastic pre-show experience. Save some vino for the show!


THE GETTY
1200 Getty Center Drive in Los Angeles, CA
Family Festival is here! August 2, Saturday, 6 - 10 PM
Hike on up to the Getty for a day of fun, arts & crafts, music and storytelling. My pick of the day is Katia Moraes at 11:10 AM. Parking is $8, event is FREE. The festival is built around the art of botanical renderings--really, no kidding! And women in particualr as the artists. SO go get your eco-friendly family feminist fun on!


ORANGE COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
American Ballet Theatre
$105 - $25 (yikes!), August 6 - 10, 2008; 7:30 PM Wednesday -Friday; Saturday 2:00 & 7:30; Sunday 2:00
Twyla Tharpe just debuted Rabbit & Rogues in NYC and brings it straight to the OC, her old stompin ground. Well actually, that would be Riverside, where we have none of her papers in our archives, but I digress (speaking of which, we are always looking to make the future dance scholar and archivist happy, so if you are forward thinking, donate your papers to UC Riverside). Danny Elfman does the score. Should be an evening of wit and wild angles.

MUSIC CENTER
Today is the last day to get a season subscription before single ticket sales begin for the Fall season of dance at the Music Center. The line up is standard-fabulous, so if nothing else, click your way over there and pounce on those few tickets you want as soon as they go for sale individually. Of Afrological interest: Ailey (sporting a registered trademark, watch out!) and the Kirov doing the Nutcracker. Really. The Kirov will be in town to dance the Nutcracker.


SUMMER INTENSIVES
DANCEbank: Summer Intensive begins!
- get a taste of something different every week with this ongoing series of classes led by some of Los Angeles' finest movers, dance experimenters, improvisers, interdisciplinary boundary blenders, and somatic investigators...
Rae Shao-Lan Blum
Saturday/Sunday, August 2nd & 3rd, 11am-2pm
Simone Forti
Tuesday and Thursday, August 5th & 7th, 11am-1pm
These classes will be held at Farmlab + Under Spring
1745 N. Spring Street #4, LA, CA 90012
directions on their website:
http://farmlab.org/2006/12/more-information-coming-soon.html

ONGOING CLASSES
are all on the map. So surf on over there and check it out! If you want to add one of your classes to the map, e-mail me and I will send you a collaboration invitation. Meg Wolfe has a master list of studio spaces. Likely it needs some updating. Anyone wanna help?

LOVELY!
Hey, check out a blog I put up to house these newsletters! Most of the links will "die" since they are connected to events, but any maps I put together and links to Afrologica will stay active. Just a way to store things. They also appear on my FaceBook profile.

AN ATTIC AN EXIT was AMAZING! I am polishing up a rather long review of it that will appear on Afrologica. Also in the proof reading phase: a review of Viver Brasil's "Gift on the Water," a review of Kolpowitz's TASKFORCE water pieces; an entry on the impact of yoga economics on dance production,; and in rough draft a review of GLOW festival and a longer entry on 11 MIssing Days plus guests. More podcasts to come, too! I am not on vacation, but the electrical storm just now has reminded me that everyone needs to recharge! Gotta go before my battery power runs out!

in love,
-Anna