NEWSLETTER: step it up

OLA! ALOHA & HOW DO!

Just when I thought I'd overheat from job exhaustion, the natural beauty of living in the moment brought me back to my senses. Pelicans dive bombing for fish while the full tide erased the shore, I was given an experience of potential and effortless grace. You know how trying to clear your mind never works, because you are trying? Well, each time the birds hurtled into the surf, every time I thought I was far enough from the water to not get wet, I was brought back into the present moment, and then just when the fretting started again, it began to rain just for me, over only my and my daughter's head. Big fat, fecund raindrops. Sun rays, rainbows in the waves. Yes we can. Yes we must. Everyday dramas are just excuses to avoid the right now, and right now, we are in a momentous place in the flow of history. So I want to remind you to vote and hold present in your mind the world you want to live in while you vote. There are a series of propositions on the ballot that are vestiges of a now newly-outmoded way of being in community. Educate yourself quickly and thoroughly about these so that you are not tricked by the language (and your adrenaline) while you are in the voting booth. This is the last weekend before election day and The O is bringing it home in high style with his own Keynote slide show. Now we must each do our part to be about democracy with a capital D.

1) Do not wear any t-shirts, buttons, or extra special gear made just for the occasion with any political party or candidate emblazoned on it and in full sight. Pursuant state law, this is considered "electioneering" and is not permitted at the poll site. Make sure your jacket covers it up!

2) Make sure you are actually registered. The link I have provided is for Los Angeles County, but if you click here, you can find other California Counties. You can also call 1-866- OUR-VOTE to verify your registration.

3) Don't forget your valid state picture ID! And it REALLY helps if you take the booklet sent to you in the mail. This will insure that you vote in the correct district, if like me, you have two districts serviced by the same site. It will also speed long your voting if you pre-mark your booklet.

4) Bring snacks and smiles! Likely, you will have a wait ahead of you. And be nice to the polling station staff!

5) Know your rights as a voter. What is a provisional ballot? Did you sign on the roll book? Did the light go green when you submitted your vote into the optical scanner? Here is the voter code for the State of California. The Pew Charitable Trust also has a great non-partisan website with background data on each state's voter laws.

6) Be of service. The print is awfully small on those ballots and the little pin/pencil is hard for elderly and disabled hands. If your fellow citizen in need was not able to arrange for help in the poll (or even to GET to the polls), offer to help them and get permission from the poll worker to assist them. I did this during the primary, and even though she voted in a way I would not have, it was important to me to make sure her vote counted.

7) Hold love and forgiveness in your heart. As they say at home, "too blessed to be stressed!" We have the RIGHT to vote and, wow, what a time to be voting! Emotions will run high. Be the change. Bring tissues.

8) Have the voter hotline number saved into cell phone on speed dial. Yes, be prepared to prevent disenfranchisement. Think of each vote as your vote, regardless of who it is cast for. The national effort is helmed by OUR VOTE Live, that's 1-866-OUR-VOTE. This coalition is sending out poll monitors & lawyers and has volunteers ready to help you with your election day questions. In California, you can call the Secretary of State at 800-345-VOTE.

9) Join in a party or host one yourself on election day! Take EVERYBODY to the polls together! That way your friends have no excuse to "forget to vote." There are also parties to call into swing states to remind voters to get to the polls sponsored by MoveOn.org. If you work with college students, delay your midterm or make your class time a voting party!

10) If you own a business, have a show, or teach a dance class, offer a special discount if a customer comes in with the "I voted" sticker on. My local coffee house is doing that!

Don't forget your camera! And when you are far enough away from the polling place, over 100 feet, flash that shirt and do that chant! BUT do not block the walkways, paths or driveways and DO NOT talk to any potential voters. Now get your Democracy on!


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, get your community on.


BLOWIN BACK DA FRO this week is Halloween feeling like a very vital step towards election day! Get your party on so you can be clear-headed and focused for the last few days of campaigning leading up to the election. Clean out that id closet and let go of fear, lol!


HAMMER MUSEUM
10899 Wilshire Blvd, 310.443.7000
Halloween in Hades
Friday, October 31st 7 - 11 PM; FREE
Good grief, Charlie Brown, it's the great big ole scary group of performance artists who make my sides hurt from too much laughing! A wild night indeed... Glam rockers Discount Cruise to Hell headline, Hecuba screened-dance artist follows and We are the World closes the evening in a multimediated frenzy. Secret horror flick planned in the Billy Wilder Theater. Wear a costume, enter the contest


SHAKTI'S ELEMENTS
717 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA
Halloween Prom of the Un-Dead
Friday, October 31st, 7 - 10 PM; $8 solo/$15 couple, $4 kids
Come let me read your tarot! I will be in da house as Glenda the Good Witch from The Wiz, well, the sluttier version;->This event is pretty laid back and early, so you can go to a rager later if you feel the need.-Crowning of Halloween Prom King & Queen
-Pumpkin Carving Contest
-Tarot Card Readings
-Prom Pictures
-Dance Dance Dance with DJ LADY SHA
-Cuisine provided by Taste Of India


AIR CONDITIONED SUPER CLUB
625 Lincoln Blvd, Venice 310.230.5343
An Evening of Haunted House
Friday, October 31ST, 9 PM doors; $20/$15 with costume
House music that is! This is gonna be a hot party. Reunion party of the DJ Crew, "Funky in the MIddle" featuring Wiseacre, Mr. Caparro, and Deep honcho Marques Wyatt.



HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY, directions
6000 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Dia de Los Muertos
Saturday, November 1, 4- 11 PM; To watch the altars going up, October 31st, 6:30 - 10 PM; $5, children under 10 are free, bring exact change or you ain't gettin in...
Woooo. Nothing quite as invigorating as a rager in a cemetery. You absolutely must go to this event at least once in your lifetime if you claim to live in Los Angeles. Parking is catastrophic to say the least, so get your walking shoes on and use a Melrose St. bus. Gate entry on Gower is less busy than on Van Ness. Check out booth #9, my friend Trisha Casasola's spot. Her family turns it out. Bring a warm jacket--it's colder in the cemetery for some reason (spooky!), a flash light, plenty of dinero for drinks and food and a blankie to sit on. This thing is huge. MUST GO.


HIGHWAYS
1651 18th St., Santa Monica, CA
Also has it's own Dia de Los Muertos performances, shrine making and cemetery visitation.
October 31st - Nov 2nd
Calavereando looks like a great time of imaginative theater, Nov 1, 2, $20/$15 on Sat @ 8 PM; $15/$10 on Sun @ 3:30 PM, $5 for Santa MOnica residents. Check the link above for more details.

ECHOPLEX
1154 Glendale BLVD, Echo Park, LA
Nov 1, 9:30 PM until 2 Am Nov 2., $5 before 10 PM, $10 after, 21+
BootieLA! featuring R.A.I.D., special Halloween edition
Learn how to command the dance as you surf mashups from all over the planet. if you have no idea what I am talking about then likely, you should go to get your learn on.


Missing something from a previous newsletter, like Ms Fayeh's show? Check out the archives. They are searchable!


REDCAT, directions
631 W. Second St, LA
Of Volcanoes and Rocks, featuring Sardono W. Kusumo
Monday, November 3 8 PM, $20/$16/$10
Celebrated Javanese choreographer, dancer and filmmaker Sardono W. Kusumo joins with a circle of CalArts master musicians to forge new links across Hindustani, Indonesian and Western performance practices. Kusumo is collaborating this evening with performer-composers Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla), Vinny Golia (winds), Aashish Khan (sarode), Daniel Rosenboom (trumpet), David Rosenboom (keyboards and electronics) and I Nyoman Wenten (Balinese gamelan instruments). This sounds too interesting to miss.


REMY'S ON TEMPLE
2126 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA
Election Night with Exchange Rate
Tuesday, November 4th, 7 - 10PM; $5 suggested donation
A party, a performance, the election returns, all live. Something like watching election returns is best done with folks you know really well, or see everyday. So take a crew with you to check this out if you recognize none of the performers! Or host an event of your own. e-mail me to let me know if you go for it, afrologic@gmail.com. The event will feature performances from Danielle Adair, Camlab (Anna Mayer and Jemima Wyman), Chan and Mann (Audrey Chan and Elana Mann), Zackary Drucker, Lora Ivanova, Jason Kunke, Sibyl O’Malley (directed by Caitlin Lainoff ), Emery Martin and Adam Overton. Karen Atkinson will be exhibiting "Conventions and Attitudes" a curated slide show of election themed images from over 100 artists and GYST Ink. will be presenting a special election reception. The evening will also include live coverage of election results. Presented by Trade&Row with additional sponsorship from Company Wide Shut, Side Street Projects, Chesed v'Tov Foundation and GYST Ink. Additional donations from Morning Glory Confections, Home Restaurant and Cafe Tropical. Suggested $5 donation at the door. After party 10:30pm at WILDNESS, the Silver Platter, 2700 W. 7th St., LA, CA 90057.


ARTSBLOCK, UC RIVERSIDE
Downtown Pedestrian Mall @ University Avenue, Riverside CA
State of the Arts, 2008
November 6 -8
This is an annual conference sponsored by the UC Institute for the Arts. This year it's down here in SO. Cal, so avail yourselves! IN addition to the typical talkfest of a conference, this event, with the theme of "Demonstration," will showcase performers from around the area. Not be missed is the piece "Buck World One," a krumping tale by area youths with Rickerby Hinds as director. It will be performed on the downtown mall outside on Thursday evening. Yes! Pat Payne is planning a stirring installation piece-don't want to spoil it. I'll be moderating a performance panel and have a side-performance of my own on campus in the Dance Dept: I am presenting in Pittsburgh at a conference there while still here, Saturday the 8th at 3 PM, ARTS 300. Parties, mixers, and the lovely Mission Inn Hotel. You gotta come check us all out. Registration info can be found here, as well as the updated schedule.


HERRICK INTERFAITH CHAPEL
Occidental College,1600 Campus Road,Los Angeles, CA 90041
N'Ap Kenbe/We're Holding on: Hope in the Eye of the Hurricane
Saturday, November 8, 8 PM $10
Marshall Dance Company and the Occidental College Department of Critical Theory and Social Justice present an evening of performances to benefit Haitians affected by hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike with Special Guests, Troupe Jaka, straight from Haiti. Elizabeth Chin would love to see you there. So do come and help a great cause.




ONGOING CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
DANCEbank alert: Neil Greenberg is up next this weekend. A little birdy told me, well actually he told me, that he was hoping to find some dancers to work with now that he is in LA. I'm just sayin...
at Farmlab / Metabolic Studio
1745 North Spring Street, #4
LA, CA 90012, NOV 1, 8, 15; 11 AM - 1:30 PM; check it out on the map with other ongoing classes.

Viver Brasil is soon to bid farewell to Dona Cici. Contact Linda Yudin for further info or join Viver Brasil on Face Book for all the details.



GRANT OPPORTUNITY
The MAP Fund--a very good grant for performing artists!
2009 *NEW* Application Deadline: TUESDAY, JANUARY 20th, 2009

2009 Online Application open for registration beginning Monday, November 10th, 2008 (previously announced as November 3rd, 2008)

*These changes are in response to feedback received in two recent surveys of applicants and grantees, which encouraged us to shorten the time between submission and notification, and make notification earlier in the year. This year notification will be made mid-May, 2009. The other change you'll find in the application is the ability to upload your audio and still-image work samples. Implementing that function is delaying our online application launch.

(The new date leaves you free to vote on November 3rd. Don't forget to vote!)

The MAP Fund 2009 calendar is now available on our website.

We encourage you to apply early!!! Begin your application November 10th, 2008.




LOVELY!
This has been your election special of Afrologica! Pass it along if you feel so moved. If you have resources for the election you would like to share, or are planning an election day party, please make a comment on the blog or e-mail me and I'll send a special dispatch. I'm so excited! See you at the polls.

in love,
-Anna

NEWSLETTER: fire breathing

ALOHA!

"All right already!" Don't you just want to shout that out loud for no particular reason aimed at no one in particular? Sometimes it just bees like dat, but especially right now with the economy eating itself like a maniacal, cannibalistic pacman AND the election right around the corner AND a sudden influx of drivers returning to the road since oil prices are plummeting. (For the last time: the price of a barrel of oil has scant little to do with the price of a gallon of gasoline on the exact same day.) We are all feeling a mix of euphoria, impending doom, and just a touch of hamster. Yes, hamster. You know, running around that wheel for no particular reason, greedily nibbling that kibble in a corner so no other hamster can get at it...There's just enough of that vibe to make everyday discourse damn near disasterous. Advertising companies like Yahoo are starting to fail, large retailers are going belly up (hello, Mervyn's?!) More financial mergers are happening and foreclosures have not been stopped. The UC system just announced no raises as had been planned. The Sant'Ana Winds are broiling even the beach areas. Time to lift it up! If you hold fear in your heart and focus on what you fear, you will help it manifest. Hold delight, grace and forgiveness in your heart, dance A LOT, and focus on a society full of people ready to make a difference for the good of ALL. Every morning, get up and just sit still with a smile on your face and imagine your day amplifying that sensation of smiling. Thankfully, there are lots of offerings out there to smile about, a number of which require some cash, but we are cutting up those cards because we need to become the solution ourselves.


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, get your community on.



BLOWIN BACK DA 'FRO this week are new subscribers! Hellooooo there! Not to mention a li'l sumpthin sumpthin for those SYTYCD freaks out there, some trips down memory lane and a lot of opportunities to DIY, which ain't QED but well worth the effort IMO. yeah, i can't stand texting english either. What should we call it? "Acronize?" "Digitese?" Whatever. You need to check at least one of these out.


THE MUSIC CENTER, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Night Spot, Miami City Ballet
Thursday October 23rd - Friday 24th 7:30 PM, Sunday October 26th @ 2 PM; $30 - $120
MIAMI CITY BALLET performs the West Coast premiere of NIGHTSPOT, a Twyla Tharp and Elvis Costello collaboration. Big budget, big tour, big names, big ballet. be aware, that Night Spots is not evening length. There are 2 Balanchine pieces, Symphony in # Movements & Tarantella, and a Christopher Wheeldon piece, Liturgy.


ECHOPLEX
1154 Glendale BLVD, Los Angeles CA 90026
Underground Dance Masters: Final History of a Forgotten Era, film by GS Media Group
October 24, Doors @ 8 PM, all ages
This film will likely shake you up if you think you know hip hop. I've seen a few versions, and Thomas Gùzman-Sanchez is adamant about undoing our reliance on easy, sloppy terms and quickly shifting memory. The last bit has gotten him into a whole bunch of trouble. People have the right to forget; does not necessarily make them liars. That said, his reliance on television variety shows to help set a timeline for the evolution of "break dancing" is just sheer genius. The battle for truth still rages on though, so you can expect a lot more films on the topic from a number of "OGs" round the globe. Go check this one out and you will get to see many of the masters in the film, throw down live. Kenny Ortega hosts the jam after the film. No price given for admittance...and I cannot find an actual mention of the event on the Echoplex website; sera que no existera? They sent me a press release directly. For a review copy or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Tom Sachelle, Public Relations (818)727-1979



SEA AND SPACE EXPLORATION
4755 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90042
Exchange Rate: 2008 hosted by the Audacity of Desperation Exhibition
Oct. 26, 6-8 pm; then watch the election returns on November 4th alongside performances
Featuring performances by: Danielle Adair, Dorit Cypis, Liz Glynn, Adam Overton and Sara Roberts
I have to admit to not feeling the title of the exhibition, but the concept sounds very wonderful. The event here is one of many around the globe, all focused on the US Presidential election. Elana Mann helms the project. Check out their home page.


AVENUE 50 STUDIO, directions
131 N Avenue 50, Highland Park, CA
The Black/Brown Dialogues: Inspiration House Poetry Choir #4
Saturday October 25th, 7 - 10 PM
Hosted by Peter Harris, this evening of poetry is going to rock you and move you. If you remember his radio show back in the day on KPFK, Inspiration House, you know this will get you lifted. Featuring Music by Maria Elena Gaitan, cello; Robert S. Hilton, slide harp; Curtis Robertson, Jr., acoustic bass & Spoken Word by Peter J. Harris, Amalia Ortiz, Francisco Letelier, Imani Tolliver


THE NEW LOS ANGELES THEATRE CENTER
514 S Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Saturday October 25th & 26th, 3 & 8 PM on both days; $35, though discounted tickets may be had
The Limón Dance Company presents: Lament for Ignacio Santos Meijas and The Moors Pavane
Truly, this tour is a dance history course unto itself.


HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY, directions
6000 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Dia de Los Muertos
Saturday, November 1, 4- 11 PM; To watch the altars going up, October 31st, 6:30 - 10 PM; $5, children under 10 are free, bring exact change or you ain't gettin in...
Woooo. Nothing quite as invigorating as a rager in a cemetery. You absolutely must go to this event at least once in your lifetime if you claim to live in Los Angeles. Parking is catastrophic to say the least, so get your walking shoes on and use a Melrose St. bus. Gate entry on Gower is less busy than on Van Ness. Check out booth #9, my friend Trisha Casasola's spot. Her family turns it out. Bring a warm jacket--it's colder in the cemetery for some reason (spooky!), a flash light, plenty of dinero for drinks and food and a blankie to sit on. This thing is huge. MUST GO.


HIGHWAYS
1651 18th St., Santa Monica, CA
Also has it's own Dia de Los Muertos performances, shrine making and cemetery visitation.
October 31st - Nov 2nd
Calavereando looks like a great time of imaginative theater, Nov 1, 2, $20/$15 on Sat @ 8 PM; $15/$10 on Sun @ 3:30 PM, $5 for Santa Monica residents. Check the link above for more details.



Missing something from a previous newsletter, like all those awesome dance performances happening at 10 AM at the Music Center? Check out the archives. Add a comment while you're at it!



as promised for the So You Think You Can Dance fanatics:
THE EL PORTAL THEATRE
5267 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood
Sonya Tayeh Presents, Battles
Thursday November 6 & Friday the 7th, 8pm, $25 @ www.elportaltheatre.com or call 866-811-4111. Get your tickets now...this show will sell out!
Last year's show was one night only and completely oversold according to Grover Dale. This year a second night has been added. I checked some of the footage: the work has a certain ferociousness that is appealing, the ballet fits some of the time. It was definitely surprising and engaging. Go see it if you can and take class with her at Millennium. She LOVES to move, get others moving and be moved.


HERRICK INTERFAITH CHAPEL
Occidental College,1600 Campus Road,Los Angeles, CA 90041
N'Ap Kenbe/We're Holding on: Hope in the Eye of the Hurricane
Saturday, November 8, 8 PM $10
Marshall Dance Company and the Occidental College Department of Critical Theory and Social Justice present an evening of performances to benefit Haitians affected by hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike with Special Guests, Troupe Jaka, straight from Haiti. Elizabeth Chin would love to see you there. SO do come and help a great cause.


UPCOMING
Urban Bushwomen & Compagnie Jant Bi present "The Scales of Memory" at UCR November 14th. get tickets NOW!

Caseboldt & Smith present California Touring Project @ Diavolo Dance Space, November 21-23, tickets are on sale.

UCIRA, State of the Art conference @ UCRiverside, Nov 6 -8. Panels, performances & a party, too. Mission Inn is the conference hotel. Pat Payne is staging an instigation you don't want to miss.



ONGOING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Don't forget about the Cuban and Haitian workshops coming up. Cuban song and dance hit this weekend, Haitian follows after Halloween. Check it out in last week's newsletter.

Kinky Stretch with Gregory Barnett has started at The Open Space. Get details on that as well as other ongoing classes on the dance map.

Viver Brasil is still hosting Dona Cici. Study Afro-Brazilian dance at a great depth...


CALLS
itch is looking for submissions. get your subscription if you have not already. The launch party for issue 8 was a good time. Red Cat lounge has just the right levels of swanky and boho geek. itch # 9 is Before/After: a small book of predictions, outcomes, and paradigm shifts
they consider all kinds of writing and images. submit@itchjournal.org. also, respond to issue #8, which can be purchased through their website.





LOVELY!
OH MY GOODNESS. Thank you to all of you who came out to Asphalt Sea this past Saturday. The performances & projections were magical and the Techno Hillbillies laid down some cool acid jazz riffs. Tiffy G burned up the side of the buildings with her VJing. It got me to thinking: perhaps we all need to get ready for the return of the rent party, not that we was raising some rent money (boy did we not) BUT, we did elevate all who came. With purse strings a-tightening, it is more important than ever to make art for the people, by the people and with the people. Art that can literally keep a roof over somebody's head. Art that can help heal the void of consumerism. Art that relieves the symptoms of affluenza and poverty. Art that informs you. Art that makes you laugh & puts a song in your belly. It's time y'all. Get Up Stand Up. Shine your light.

i love you!
-Anna

NEWSLETTER: rise and fall

Hello there,

Up and down, around the mulberry bush and down the talking point check list we go! I don't know about you, but I have been distracted by the Sant'Ana winds and the smell of burning wood. Yet, the fire season takes on an added urgency when I think about the 3 billion dollar hole in the California budget that was just passed, and the 7 billion the Governator is hoping to get from...where I don't know (as a loan of all things). If we can't pay for elder care programs in this state, then how do we fight fires with the "new world water" (as Mos Def prophetically called our precious dwindling resource a few years back)? So I wind up thinking about the markets again, which reminds me of the bailout "plan" (use the term loosely), which reminds me of regulations meant to embezzle legally, which takes me to the presidential talking point debates, which makes me wonder if they haven't noticed that our collective house is not only on the auction block, but it is on fire. But one of them knows that we are angry. The other is ready already to get to work and tired of talking about it, but is expecting us all to sacrifice. As makers and consumers of art, are we willing to be sacrificed? Have we given much thought to how we can shift the discourse around change and sacrifice so that we find opportunity and invention? We kinda need to get ahead of that curve. As Sartre said, "You don't talk philosophy to a starving man." But you can cause us to think and act with a well-placed performance piece.

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, get your community on.

BLOWIN BACK DA 'FRO THIS WEEK are dances about the times, opportunities to step across a portal to another dimension, and up close studies of the "who" in "who dat?".

OPENING TONIGHT
CARPENTER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater, 6200 Atherton Street, Long Beach, CA
October 16 -17, 8 PM; $25/20
Not About Iraq, choreography by Vic Marks
How timely is this? After the debate last night, clearly, it's all becoming about Iraq, our national money trap monument. Vic Marks dives into the subject, looking for a way to understand what is honor and where is it found in a place and idea like "Iraq?"

DIAVOLO DANCE SPACE
616 Moulton St., L.A., CA 90031
October 17th -26th, Fridays & Saturdays at 8 PM; Sundays at 5 pm; $25 reserved/$20/$15
Peep hole| People, LA Contemporary Dance
Opens to the public today. Are we really that paranoid? Have we all begun to think of ourselves as characters in a film? Some of the unsettling questions handled by this evening of work. Leave your ego at the door but plan to have a good time laughing at that other person, not yourself. (right)!


REDCAT
631 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles, CA directions
Sunday October 19 & Monday October 20 @ 8:30 PM; $15 gen, $12 alum, & $8 studs
Studio
It's studio time! The line up is pretty interesting this time around. PLUS, Laclau was hanging out around the bar this afternoon, sounding all smart and what not. LACLAU! That was the geek in me. He's on stage right now bending minds for $10. But the Studio line up for this weekend:
The Fall 2008 edition of Studio was curated by Leilani Chan and Leslie Tamaribuchi, and includes the following six original works:
KAREN ANZOATEGUI: SER; MARSIAN & COMPANY: GROWING UP LINDA -- FUDGIE'S DEATH; DYS-: TAPE MUSIC; KELLY & DAVID with BETTINA HUBBY: UNTITLED FEATHER CHORALE #1; SHEETAL GANDHI: BAHU-BETI-BIWI (DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, DAUGHTER, WIFE);CHRISTINE MARIE: GROUND TO CLOUD
I am going to see Sheetal. I've seen an earlier version of her piece and it was masterful. I do have to say, that the other pieces sound very edgy and inventive in their genre explorations of objects, but rather heady. Kinda my style, but not a light night out.

THE RED MERMADE
2814 Abbot Kinney Blvd @ Washington, Venice, CA 90291
Saturday October 18th, 8 PM - Midnight
Asphalt Sea
Wow. I'm about to explode with excitement, anticipation and a big case of the nerves--the boats just got moved around!! We are all repositioning ourselves accordingly. Come out to see Pat Payne, Meg Wolfe, Gregory Barnett, d. Sabela Grimes, Michael Sakamoto, Anna B Scott, Cari Ann Shim Sham*, and Maia negotiate the newly dry-docked boats, an alley and some stairs. Bring your flotation device for seating. The Techno Hillbillies advise that you should also come prepared to splash around on the asphalt like one funky amphibian during their set to close the night with VJ Tiffy G. This will be a great night. I promise. I rarely do that.


Looking for something mentioned last week? Check the archives.



THE LUCKMAN FINE ARTS
Paseo Rancho Castila, but follow their directions
Saturday October 18th, 8 PM; $45/40
The Limón Dance Company presents: Anna Sokolow's "Rooms" (Major Revival Premiere) and Clay Taliaferro's "Into My Heart's House" (World Premiere)
One of the founding sensibilities of what has evolved into "Dança Afro" in Bahia, Limón technique has profoundly influenced local dance practices around the world with its ability to allow for social as well as personal idiosynscracies. The company is celebrating José Limón's 100 birthday with a world tour, starting here at home. If you can't afford or make this event because you are, er, occupied, you can see...

THE NEW LOS ANGELES THEATRE CENTER
514 S Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Saturday October 25th & 26th, 3 & 8 PM on both days; $35, though discounted tickets may be had
The Limón Dance Company presents: Lament for Ignacio Santos Meijas and The Moors Pavane
Truly, this tour is a dance history course unto itself.


Things to look for soon:
Urban Bushwomen & Compagnie Jant Bi present The Scales of Memory at UCR November 14th. Get tickets NOW!

Caseboldt & Smith present California Touring Project @ Diavolo Dance Space, November 21-23, tickets are on sale.

N'Ap Kenbe/We're Holding on: Hope in the Eye of the Hurricane, Performance and Workshops to benefit Haitians affected by hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike" With Special Guests: Troupe Jaka, straight from Haiti! Saturday, November 8, 8pm Herrick Interfaith Chapel, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, CA 90041


UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AND ONGOING CLASSES
The Caribbean is coming!!! First, Cuba.
Sunday, October 26 JUAN CARLOS BLANCO, former soloist with CUBA's esteemed folkloric company, RAÍCES PROFUNDAS, returns to L.A. to teach two classes:
*1:30-3 PM: BEMBE, & CONGO TRADITIONS ;
*3-4:30 PM: RUMBA: GUAGUANCÓ.
LIVE DRUMMING @ 'DANCE STUDIO NO. 1' (in Studio A) 2037 Granville, WLA 90025--between Barrington & Bundy, 1 blk. no.of Olympic Blvd., brick building). $20 per class; or $35 for both. BLANCO presently directs the AFRO CUBAN folkloric company OMO ACHÉ, based in San Diego. Women, bring full or circle skirts.

And now, Haiti:
Marshall Dance Company and the Occidental College Department of Critical Theory and Social Justice Present: N'Ap Kenbe/We're Holding on: Hope in the Eye of the Hurricane Performance and Workshops to benefit Haitians affected by hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike With Special Guests: Troupe Jaka, straight from Haiti!
(all workshops in the Occidental College Alumni Gym Dance Studio) Nov, 8
9:00-10:30 am -- Music and Song
10:30-12:00 -- Dance
2:00-3:30--Dance and music
3:30-5:00-- Dance and music
All workshops $10

Are your classes still going on? Have you had to move? Hit me up so that the dance map is current. I have added my Th - Sat morning offering, Olojo Oni, to the dance map. This weekend is special due to the show, but check in, I may be out there getting my head screwed on properly.


ACTION
If you are out Pomona way, or feel moved to get up and get out there, right now there is a gathering of LGBT folks in a local bar, The Press Restaurant, where a professor from the Claremont Colleges was verbally accosted by a drunken patron. Apparently, this is type of behavior is par for the course, so the lovely Shakina Nayfeck has organized this night of Guerilla Gayness, "because there is more than one thing you can do with a fist!" 129 Harvard Ave, Claremont 8 PM until 1:30 AM get your best queer chant out and support the right to be who you are, wherever you are.




LOVELY!
There was a lot to think about in the debate last night. Sorry, but I can't wrap this one up quickly. I've had the sense that I live in a bubble, that all of the "calamity" is taking place somewhere else. The language of those invested with our trust to lead tells a different story. I'm not quite buying it. If we got out of Iraq and Afghanistan and reduced the Pentagon's budget, we would be back in the black with a quickness (not to mention the NEA and NEH and even that awful No child Left behind could be fully funded)! And what about that money pit called "Dept. of Homeland Security?" Hatchet and scalpel! Yet, "we will need to make sacrifices"...Are we willing to take care of our elder performers, many of whom had marginal healthcare to begin with, but most of whom probably lost retirement funds in the money markets? Are we willing to hold rent parties, share our homes, help fix roofs, car pool, split dinner duties and expenses? Though these will all lead to a better social network, stronger sense of community, I kinda feel like I do when I'm in the grocery store and its 68 degrees, all the freezer sections are open and lights are on and the state has announced a power emergency. The up note here? We the people can bring about the change we want as long as we make sure we still have the laws we depend on to allow us to express ourselves. So rather than try to soothe you, I urge you to learn something you did not know about either the tax code, laws of public assembly, or immigration. When you find out something you don't like, write to your representative immediately. Make a piece about it if you are an artist. Tell your neighbor and co-worker. Change will come no matter what. Whether or not you help guide it to benefit you and your community without doing harm to others is another story.

in deep love and gratitude,
-Anna

NEWSLETTER: contract & release

ALAFIA!!!!

Gosh darnnit (wink*)! Okay, I had to do that. This morning I went for a power walk, ended up at the ocean and discovered some clarity in my calling. Given that nothing fiscal much matters any more (where is your 403b or 401k and do you know who its with?), we have been set free to start our society anew, in tiny pockets that will soon meet each other and become something else. Think, rain drops. They look completely whole, impenetrable, but if they meet each other, they become a bigger drop and bigger and bigger until a stream, and well, you get the metaphor. Like the Cook County Sheriff's Office in Chicago refusing to evict people anymore! So, starting anew, afresh, working to keep my ability to walk and doing dance as a civic duty, you are welcomed to join me on Thursday, Friday and Saturday's at 8:30 AM on the beach for Orisha moving and West African grooving. It's not a class per se, rather, an offering. Be prepared to get wet, but wear layers! Donations based @ Venice City Beach, by the rocks on the knoll where you can watch crab and sea anemone. E-mail me for further details. Possibility to do mini offerings on M & W at 6:30 AM.


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, get your community on.



BLOWIN BACK DA 'FRO is a mega video festival that we all need to go see! Makes me wish I had my t-shirts together; "I read Afrologica." Field trip! The fall keeps comin at us in this month where we pretend that Columbus did something first and that it was all good (don't get me started on my son's homework assignment), and the dance and performance art is looking swanky!


OPENING TONIGHT
Hollywood Blvd between Wilcox Ave and Orange Dr
Freewaves presents "Hollywould" 11th Media Arts Festival
This festival is so smart, I could just go back to grad school. Part of Hollywood BLVD will be closed for portions of the festival, but more importantly, video works and installations will happen in local businesses like laundry mats, restaurants, dollar stores and the like. There are projections on sidewalks and building sides. Basically, you will need to down load the program from Freewaves, the organizers, because there is so much that I would recommend. Did I mention that a great deal of it is free? GO SEE!


THE ELECTRIC LODGE
1416 Electric Ave. at California Ave., Venice 90291
The Other Venice Film Festival
Thursday, October 9th, 6:30 PM - Sunday, October 12th
A must see night is October 12th for the film "The Rising Tide," by Robert Adanto about the burgeoning Chinese po-mo Art scene. Right now, the cocktail and kick off party is happening! Food by Primitivo, Music by Black Cat and an desert arrangement by Edible. Wear your best art black.


POMONA COLLEGE
Seaver Theatre Complex/Allen Studio Theatre, 300 E. Bonita Ave. Claremont, CA 91711
October 10th Friday 4 PM, $10/$5
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf
Box Office Phone: (909) 621- 8525 or 607-4375
Ntozake Shange's memorable play still brings down the house, production after production. This one sold out its 3 night run an added a matinee because director Shakina Jared Nayfeck heard that you didn't have a ticket. So you best call and go see these girls WORK IT!


THE ACTOR'S WORKOUT STUDIO
4735 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood 91602
Sunday October 12, sign 3:15 $8; reservations @ 818.506.3903
Cornucopia
Mad as hell and wanna get up and tell somebody why? Show up early to get in the grab bag of this well-established afternoon of poetry.


HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE
4th Annual Latino new Works festival, Dance night
Saturday, October 11th, 8:30 PM (however, Jose Reynoso is on LGBT night, the 10th) $20/$15
It appears to be one piece, investigating Afro-Cuban dance, salsa, capoeira and HIp Hop. Why am I pumping it if I don't know what it is? Gustavo Caldas and Emeka. Need I say more? Get some tickets and get your drool I mean groove on.


Looking for something mentioned last week? Check the archives.


THE OPEN SPACE
Monday, October 13th, 8 PM
Anatomy Riot #27, guest curated by Samantha Giron
A hearty number of sacred fools have been let loose in this one! Come out to see this always satisfying night of daring. On the bill: Dance Good Damnit!, Samantha Giron dance project, Ryan Heffington, Marcus Kuiland-Nazario, Nina McNeely, Alexandria Yalj, Serene Zloof / Datgirl



CARPENTER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater
October 16 -17, 8 PM; $25/$20
Victoria Marks presents, "Not About Iraq"
Talk about dance as a civic duty...Launched here in LA last year, the piece is circling back to the general vicinity. If you missed it last time, here is your chance.


DIAVOLO DANCE SPACE
Peep Hole|People
October 17th -26th, Fridays & Saturdays at 8 PM; Sundays at 5 pm; $25 reserved/$20/$15
LA Contemporary Dance presents the choreography of Kate Hutter and Kevin Williamson, usually collaborators, but for this bill they each put in a piece to burrow deep into the alienated mind of, well people. Sounds like The Office meets Arrested Development but with dance and Michael Gondry filmmaking.


THE RED MERMADE
VISCERA hosts "Asphalt Sea"
Saturday, October 18th, 8 PM, $10
Come experience art out of the box, the building actually, and get your party on, too. The line up: Pat Payne (co-host aka La Negrita Maldita aka Spunky), d. Sabela Grimes, Michael Sakamoto, Maia, Anna B Scott, Cari Ann Shim Sham, Gregory Barnett and a bevy of special guests whom we can't announce cause we don't want to spoil the surprise! Juice, Beer, Wine, art, food all for sale, and maybe the DJ will save your life. Look for more info on Face Book.



ONGOING CLASSES AND SPECIAL WORKSHOPS
Field: A workshop with Rae S. Blum focuses on heightening your awareness of space from the inside out. The first four Saturdays in November, 2- 4:30 @ The Electric Lodge with a sliding scale of $75-$150 for the entire series or $20-$40 per class. Sign up now and pay by check. Contact orchidmoves@earthlink.net. Check the dance map for exact directions.

A living treasure is among us! Well, when we wake up face our greatness, we are each living treasures, but there are those of us who have already accepted that fact with grace and determination. One such individual is Dona Cici, who is the guest of Viver Brasil. She is giving instruction in the choreostories associated with all those exquisite dances in the Tuesday night class at Dance Arts Academy, the Friday gathering in the Dance Garden, and visiting Swing Brasil on Sundays at 10 AM at the Electric Lodge. At least once...you have to go at least once to take class from a woman in her 80s with a seized hip who is simply elegant when she moves...



LOVELY!
I'm moving to the new rhythm of the days and wishing you an upbeat tempo. The shifting economic terrain is really exhausting, but our focus must be squarely on each other. Got a yard? Turn it over to a neighborhood garden effort. Each yard devoted to something else. Plant fruit bearing trees. Car pool, ride your bike. Pitch in with the neighbors kids. Whatever you can do to be the value that we had collectively misplaced in a piece of paper, go ahead and do it. Up tempo, smile on face, dance as civic duty.

in love,
-Anna

NEWSLETTER: spin out

Peace & Love!

Well peoples...I just can't imagine why, oh why the flame throwers have been brought out, turned on high and aimed at our pockets. Actually, I could run a pretty interesting theory for you, but instead, I'll implore you to continue insisting for that 700 billion dollars to be spent on US, not on poorly managed businesses. "Yeah, but they voted," you say. Yes the senate did, but congress is still trying to figure themselves out. But as our outgoing president has shown us laws and agreements can be unsigned...If nothing else, you now know that there IS money for your child's school. There is money for the arts. There is money to stop the foreclosures. There is even money to pay down the deficit. No more excuses from the "leaders!" One of the great things that is happening is that we KNOW now: acting collectively and with great focus, we can make a change. So don't loose heart! I was listening to Howard Zinn today on the radio talking about FDR and how FDR came to be FDR. It was inspiring, because he is holding out for Obama to really become the change, not because he already knows how (heeellooo, nuclear lobby?!) but because we will lead him to his greatness. Yeah, there are forces at work to destabilize our new-found understanding of democracy, but there are more of us than them. And by applying that sense that we are all great, just in need of a bit of a boost from our "constituents" we can live the change, right now. Just look at what is happening in LA dance: the Times fired its reviewers, the performers got mad then organized and are making it happen. There's a shortage of venues: galleries, coffee shops, parking lots, yoga studios and parks are now hosting major performance events. It takes all of us rising to the occasion and taking turns at the helm to create and enjoy greatness. Yes We Can!


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, get your community on.


As if last weekend did not run me deep enough into the ground, this weekend is PACKED with events that will likely be pivotal in your life if you go to any of them. How awesome is that? BLOWIN BACK DA FRO this week? The realization that art happens, no matter what. Check it out.



MILES MEMORIAL PLAYHOUSE
1130 Lincoln BLVD, Santa Monica; 310-998-8765
Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
October 3,4 @ 8PM; 5th @ 3 PM, FINAL WEEKEND
is just about a wrap. I'll be in da house on Saturday night. Also check out other events produced by Teada, they look interesting...

OC PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, directions
Fall into Dance
October 2 & 3, 8 PM; $10 per program--i think...the server is down
Dang it! I had written this entire thing about this mini-festival, picked out folks I recommended, and then...I realized I was looking at last years web page! Well kiss me and call me peaches if they are not back with another fantastic line up, but did they not get the memo that they are supposed to tell me first?! SO I can't go, but some of you should, cause it looks fantabulous.
With works from Nacho Duato's Compañia Nacional de Danza, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Shen Wei Dance Arts, Keigwin + Company and more

*Also at OCPAC, Slow Dancing, the monumental videodance installation by David Michalek is running through October 11th. Hurry!


HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE
18th Street & Olympic, Santa Monica, CA
San Soucci
October 3 & 4, 8:30 PM, $20/$15
Lights, Camera, Action, Post and ACTION! An evening of screendance merging with live performance that should delight and surprise you with amazing synaptic manipulation! I'll be there on Friday.


CAL ARTS, Lund Theater
24700 McBean Pkwy, Valencia, CA 91355
Second Annual Commuter Festival
Thursday October 2 & Friday 3, 8 PM FREE, reservations can be made at 661-291-3046
Whoa as me! The distance is too great to get from Highways to Cal Arts in a timely fashion, but if you are up for a drive to a great venue, please go check out the dance ninja herself, Meg Wolfe, rock the kiddies in the School of Dance with the help of my baby Joel Smith and co-conspirator, Liz Casebolt. Also on the bill: We welcome Lionel Popkin, Oni Dance directed by Maria Gillespie, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company directed by Kate Hutter.


SHAKTI'S ELEMENTS
717 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90401; 310-576-2008
Raga Lounge
Friday, October 3, 8 PM, donation
An open-mic style, laid back night. Give Tova a ring and get on the bill!


PHYLLIS STEIN GALLERY
207 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles
Performance Happy Hour
Saturday Oct. 4, 7 - 10 PM, FREE
I am itching to get down here and visit with Mecca Vazie Andrews. Where is my helicopter taxi?! If you aren't headed west, get downtown and avail yourself. With Movement, Movement and Sarah Paul Ocampo.


Missing something from last week? Check out the archives to your left. Wanna put in your two cents? Scroll down and write us somethin'!


THE MUSIC CENTER
135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012, directions
World City
Select Saturdays, 10 AM queue for 11 AM show; 11 AM queue for 12:30 show
WOW! A very interesting series for FREE, aimed especially at kids. Tickets paid for by the Keck Foundation. Get the kids downtown!
October 11, 2008 Los Llaneros and Ballet Folclórico do Brasil
November 8, 2008 Kevin Locke Native Dance Ensemble
January 17, 2009 Chen Kuai Le Puppet Theater
February 7, 2009 Diane Ferlatte and Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir
March 14, 2009 Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre and Életfa Hungarian Folk Ensemble
April 18, 2009 Le Vent du Nord and Circo Comedia
June 5-7, 2009 Vietnamese Water Puppets

Also, get your tix for the Nutcracker and Ailey! Coming up at the end of the month, Miami City Ballet.


THE OPEN SPACE
209 S, Garey ST, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Anatomy Riot #27 with guest curator Samantha Giron
Monday, October 13, 8 PM, $10 suggested donation
Looking for a GREAT night of risks and comraderie? Get some friends together and go to Hassan's house. On the bill:Dance Good Damn it!, Samantha Giron dance project, Ryan Heffington, Marcus Kuiland-Nazario,Nina McNeely, Alexandria Yalj, Serene Zloof


CAL STATE LONG BEACH/Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater
6200 Atherton ST, Long Beach CA
Not About Iraq, choreography by Vic Marks
Thursday October 16 & Friday 17th, 8 PM; $25/$20
"Can dance be a force for social change? A visceral, exhilarating dance to engage our hearts and minds, Not About Iraq looks at citizenship as it explores how dance speaks about our experience. Through a set of poetics only accessible through dance, internationally acclaimed choreographer Victoria Marks questions the place of the body in matters of courage and valor, knowledge and responsibility." If you missed this last year, here's your second chance! For tickets, call 562-985-7000.


THE RED MERMADE
2814 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
Asphalt Sea
Saturday, October 18th, 8 PM; $10--bring extra money for art & food purchases
A night of performance lurking, motel crashing and *quality* hanging with some of the edgiest performance artists in the city. I am curating and hosting with the lovely Ms. Pat Payne, together, we are VISCERA (!) and hoping to make your guts hurt from all the laughing and sudden surprises. Our invited guests are bringing surprise characters, jammin solo music and stunning dance, all adapted as site specific pieces & projections for dry docked boat, front porch, parking lot, alley and stairwell.
Pat Payne, d. Sabela Grimes, Ayana Hampton, Maia, Pete Lee, Derrick Maddox, Gregory Barnett, Anna B. Scott, Cari Ann Shim Sham + surprise special guests! $10 gets you all o' dis...


DIAVOLO DANCE SPACE
616 Moulton, Los Angeles; (tel) 800-838-3006
Peep Hole|People presented by LA Contemporary Dance
Friday October 17th - Sunday 26th; 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays; 5PM on Sundays, $25/$20/$15
All right. I will manage to get to this because it is time to see the company with my own eyes. They are about to take the stage right now at Cal Arts...alas. Tickets are already on sale.


REDCAT
631 W. 2nd ST, Los Angeles, directions
The Studio
Sunday October 19 & Monday Oct 20, 8:30 PM; $15/$12/$8
An underground favorite and, dare I say, staple, is back with a new installment. A great showcase for local favs and groups on the rise, The Studio is money well spent. On the bill: Ana María Alvarez, Nao Bustamante, Josslyn Luckett, Miwa Matreyek, Needtheater Company, Sarah Paul Ocampo, Poor Dog Goup, Wu Ingrid Tsang, and Kristina Wong. Tickets are on sale now.



ONGOING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
The African Dance Workshop is here! Debbie Allen Dance Academy hosts one hot weekend of dance. The server is not responding right now--I think everyone is trying to get their advance tickets and program--but check back and see if you can get in there and get your package.
Changes in the ongoing class map can be accessed here. Make sure you check out The Open Space's website for their fall schedule of classes. Don't forget Kinky Stretch with Gregory Barnett starts 10/09.

Viver Brasil is hosting the living monument, Dona Cici. Please do yourself a favor and get to their Tuesday 8 PM class at The Dance Arts Academy. Learning the story inside the dance is priceless and RARE. Dona Cici is a true treasure. Classes are also enlivened by the drumming, I said drumming, of Iya Mainha, also in town!! $15 a class.

In San Francisco at the Aceituno Arts Cooperative, 2141 MIssion Street, STE 200, JORGE ALABE will offer an orixá movement class. Jorge Alabe is a powerful drummer and keeper of rhythms. Class is Saturday Oct 4; 3:30- 5:00 PM for $15.

DANCEbank is back! Revamped schedule, new location, new day: Saturdays 11am-1pm unless otherwise noted at Farmlab/Under Spring
October 11, 18, 25 - Rebecca Alson-Milkman
November 1, 8, 15 - Neil Greenberg (11am-1:30pm)
December 6, 13, 20 - Simone Forti (10:30am-12:30)
January 10, 17, 24 - Mira Kingsley
Jan 31, Feb 7, 14 - Susan Rose
Feb 21, 28, March 7 - Rae Shaolan Blum



whew!

LOVELY!
I've been listening to the VP debate and nearly getting sick to my stomach. Yikes! At least the questions are better than the Presidential debate, but good grief. I'm so glad that I have the chance to go see some invigorating, politically astute art making this weekend. Make a trip out to a show, or two or three, and talk to the person in the seat next to you. Learn something, share something, plan something! Be that greatness that we all need. Hop to it.

in love,
-Anna