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Sunday, November 29, 2009

SCREENCAST: hot dance classes this week

There are three really hot visitors in town this week! You don't want to miss Nildinha from Ballet Folórico da Bahia with her husband Zé and Babacar N'Diaye from The National Ballet of Senegal.



Looking for the calendar? Go to http://www.afrologic.ning.com. Join up and post your listings directly. Membership is free!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

SCREENCAST: post-turkey possibilities

on the up or back swing?

Howdy!

DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE

Let's see what Google AdSense does with that.
Seriously, I'm working my way back to you, baby, with a burning desire to have some help run this site and an assortment of other projects I've got my energy hooks in!

This is not yet an official relaunch nor yet an official job posting, but, um...likely, it will become just that.

I am sinking in a mire of invites to post and stunned that I do not have the Feedburner up and wondering why I have not yet pimped these ads on the site and generally, really missing you all and missing going to and making events. I have been scavenging for amazing tools to get it all done. I think I have the right set now.

I know I have the right T.E.A.M. now.

I think I have turned a corner and am on my way back. or forward.

Aw hell, I've gone fractal and I am so proud of it! You can meet me by getting up on the down stroke.

You can thank Jing, especially since it rhymes with Ning.

Blogger sounds too much like Frogger, and we all know what happens to the frog when he tries to cross the highway. At least those of us over 35 know...

So HELLO!!

Get ready for some fun with  Jing, FeedBurner, Posterous, more Twitter action and some art services. Your smart phone will fall madly in love with me and Afrologica.

Now to get there with grace and style:

You wanna get your press out, but you think you should be able to do it yourself and for free, but that is simply not true. I should know, I have spent a good deal of my time editing your invites, correcting your addresses and generally wondering about my sanity. I love you! I love the ARTS! I love community-based fun! For those reasons, I have done your work FOR you, however, I am not seeing an improvement! I am seeing invites and press releases that read like you forgot that you were not jotting a quick note to yourself. I have reformatted date panes because you still have not understood how Google Calendar works. I have thus come to the conclusion, that you could exchange energy with me in the form of cash and really get your press release whipped and ready for prime time! Oh, and learn that an invite is not actually the place for a press release, hint hint. We shall speak more of this, in the mean time, if you are not signed up, please do so!

Hit me with a questions about how I can help you out and put you in touch with other people who can get you WOWED by visiting
http://www.vitavibrare.com

My INSANE editorials will be back, too; perhaps not weekly, but they will be back, bringing you honey loved, mind bending analysis of your day to day. As always, I will continue to strive to center the arts and your body in the flow of "news." You will find clarity and you will find it immediately after and invigorating mind scrub, courtesy of Afrologica.

with deep gratitude and in LOVE,
-Anna

Friday, August 21, 2009

NEWSLETTER: get into the groove cause you've got to move

Peace my Peepeles,
The tail is wagging the dog. We are getting what we asked for, because we were not careful. Energy is flowing exactly where our attention is drawn. Health care coverage is moronic. We should asses how we can generate health, not prepare for its absence. It goes without saying that this "debate" would be idiotic. Why is the right to health predicated on paying for the possibility of becoming ill? Why do we expect to get so ill that we will not be able to afford it, at least once in our lives? Where is the food security policy debate inside this health care reform package? How about a revision of the Food Pyramid to actually reflect the needs of the body and not agribusiness? Why is organic farming not the standard for any and all farming? What happened to the discussion about air and water quality? How come we are not talking about people's inability to take time off to get well or even to rest? Were we to work from the position that HEALTH is a right of all people (not just health care) "hobbies" and "past times" like dancing, performing, singing, painting and acting would become central aspects of each person's everyday; we would be allowed the time to get our art on in order to balance our lives. I think placing the arts firmly in the discussion of what helps generate wellness is vital. With the discussion of arts funding draped to the side of all policy talks, artists and lovers of the arts look kinda insane. Yet the conversation is central to the notion of "health." Thankfully, arts education is picking up steam as a concept with Arne Duncan, Secretary of Ed.(not dance yet), but with the testing industry still in full effect, it will be quite difficult to convince local school boards to go to a system of education and health-generation that liquidates an entire industry; test administration is BIG money and not cost-effective. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared a "drum roll across America" in order to break the "shock and awe" strategy of the insurance companies for convincing people to fear health care reform, she made a ridiculous mistake: she declared war. War being the absence of peace and almost a promise of death, how could we have had any other experience in the townhalls than the one we are having now? The statements of newly appointed NEA chairman Rocco are practically drowned out as news media vie for ratings by covering people who are threatening our president, as if they are simply playing a new, large massive multiplayer on-line video game!! Clearly, we must begin to shift our perception of this false impasse, or leave the discussion altogether. We want and NEED vibrant health in order to continue to make and experience vibrant, moving art. Fighting with paper dragons will only drain our luck. We gotta get out of the box and re think what we are really fighting for...and why we even think fighting is necessary.


Afrolicious. Afrologia. Afrodelic. Afropoesia. Afrologica. How big is your 'fro?
Fractal, improvisational, polemical, but always moving with spirit and in service to lifting us all up!
That's the Logic of the Afro--sign up, read up, be up--you can move mountains, now make it beautiful




BLOWIN BACK THE 'FRO
this week is the end of summer! OMG, I am not ready. But that also means that it is Sunset Junction Time and any other hundreds of street festivals across the nation. It also means it's time to get your season tix...yeah right! If you're lookin for some serious DIY fun, get ready to...park n play. For reals.





FESTIVALS
SUNSET JUNCTION
August 22 - 23 all day
Echo Park turns into an indy music summer wonderland. Last day today, go check out the line up and make sure you either take the bus or car pool. The Highway Patrol are out acting like fools...

LONG BEACH FUNK FEST
August 28 pre-party, - Aug 29th 12 PM - 11 PM street fair
New Festival! Get funky wit it and give the drummer some! Should be funky in all the sense of the word. Here is the link to a very skeletal myspace page, but, they have a player loaded with songs from most of the participants, so you can already get your groove on. I just found the official site, it takes a l o n g time to load, but all the details you will need are there. Bright light: you can go Metro because it is downtown! Might have to carpool to this one after my class on Saturday. I smell the afrosheen!

GRAND PERFORMANCES
El Colegio del Cuerpo
August 28, noon; August 28 -29 8 PM, FREE
Inspiration House turned it out!! It was truly lovely, and the crowd was really inspiring: for POETRY! Go Leigh Ann!! The fest is just about a wrap, but she saved some dance goodies for us. Y'all, we gotta turn out for El Colegio del Cuerpo. These kids have three shows lined up, but I'm not sure where they are rehearsing. Once I find that tid bit out, I'll let you know if an open class is int he works somewhere.

Get ready to put some miles on your car heading up to Oakland bay Area.

FESTIVAL BRASILEIRO
World Dance Center- Casa da Cultura, 1901 San Pablo, Berkeley, CA 94702
September, Thursdays - Sundays, entire month
Alright, this is PHENOMENAL. The entire month of September, each weekend, you can expect amazing dance, music and costuming classes, as well as exciting performances, lectures, photo exhibits, films and parties.The caliber of dance teacher is incredible, in my professional experience: Isaura Oliveir Rosangela Silvestre?! Then new jack Dandha (who is just spectacular)?! Don't get me started on the drumming... Gotta go get you some!! Edutainment at its finest. BLOWOUT COMB!


18th ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF PHILLIPINE ART & CULTURE
Point Fermin Park, 807 Paseo Del Mar in San Pedro, CA 90731, map
September 12 - 13, 10 AM - 6 PM; $5 pre-sale, $7 @ the gate
Bibinka!!!! Okay, there is a lot more than ingeniuos ways to use coconut in store for you at this venerable festival, but how will you know if you don't go? You can bet the dance stage will be literally bursting with performers. So get this on your calendars. BLOWOUT COMB!


PARK[ing] DAY LA
September 18, 2009, all day at a meter near you..
Septmeber 5, demonstration workshop!! 4590 Santa Monica Boulevard, LA between Madison & Westmoreland
This one is not so much a festival as it is a mass, global action for open space, cleaner air and frolicking in the city. You pick a parking meter, get a team together, decide on a theme, you let the organizing committee know where you will locate your "park," you get your materials together, build your park, pay your meter, and have a wonderful time. It is the ultimate in DIY Festival (well, that would be Burning Man and Kumba Mela, but hey, this is rad nonetheless): YOU can either make a day of visiting as many "parks" as you can, or get some friends together and build your own. I am going to throw down the Metered Dance Challenge as part of a park I'm building and also as an action between parks. Let me know if you are down. I am still working out the location.

Los Angeles Off-Course Golf Open
Alondra Park, Redondo Beach, CA
October 24 -25
Heads up! Come out to Redondo to get your golf on to save the parks in Los Angeles County (speaking of parks). Join this "golfathon" as an individual or a team and help raise funds to keep our parks open and staffed. I just had a zinger of a meeting with the Los Angeles County Parks Foundation and they need your help! Artists, athletes, mommas, poppas, kids on a mission...the board is open to YOU coming up with an idea, organizing an event in the park and raising funds! Talk about DIY...I know, this i what our taxes are supposed to cover, but...Let's do this! Sign up now and start collecting your pledges.



ONGOING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
I just wanted to let you know that you should head over to the Metabolic Studios, like, NOW, if you want to get your Funkamentals on. Sabela is sliding into hour 2 of his workshop. I ran into a friend int he store who reminded me that I had pressing spiritual community duties today, so I am not making it!!! ARGHHHHHH! We had fun yesterday. Get on over there and give the brother some love.
1745 North Spring Street, #4,Los Angeles, CA map. it is literally UNDER the Spring St. Bridge, and more like it's on Baker @ Aurora....

Next week, I am on deck for the final class in the Summer DANCEBank series with FUNdamentals of West African Dance. I'm inviting you to join me in linjin and ekonkon during our two days together, August 29 & 30. $15/class or $25 for both. Saturday, we are diving into the nuts, bolts, and joy of the rhythms and movement, then on Sunday, I am building a bit of choreography. Come check this out, and you will get a deep discount on your first class with me at my new "home," Creative Seeds! Class begins in the fall.

The Unlikely Salsero would like to invite you to his standing Monday classes, Los Angeles Dance Center (formerly JNDA),Upstairs, 324 N. Ford Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90022, map : 7 PM Foundational; 8 PM Intermediate; 9 PM free dance. Each session is $15, but I think they are still are on sale @ $12. Check his great blog to keep up to date.

Kimberly Mullen is killing it at the Electric Lodge in Venice.The students seem to have finally hit their stride and are playing nice with others! The vibration is HIGH! She has amazing guest artist coming through, so best to get to one of her Saturday 10:#0 classes to get in the loop. Yesterday a real mamajama was in the house. I'm sure it was electric for reals.


LOVELY!
I am headed to go get my health on, joining the Blur Flag Daré in welcoming Mandaza, an nganga, to the LA area. After Sabela's class yesterday, we talked a bit about the whole health care mess and really how important, how vital it is to just tap into the desire for HEALTH, and have that be our message of art & love. Take care of yourself, get yourself time to play, to hug, to make mistakes. Forgive yourself when you miss and learn from the attempt. Be health-full. Be love.

in love with all that you are,
-Anna




--

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

AFROLOGICS NEWSLETTER: do the hustle

Hello Love!

I just posted a link on my Face Book page asking my friends over there to vote on the new Afrologica video intros, making a joke about the Afro having to beam up to the Mothership for a while for some intergalactic travel and multidimensional phase shifting. Then I came across this video, described as a steel drum meets a ufo. Check it out:

Indeed! That was some other other, just like these last few weeks on the geopolitcal landscape. How much further can art and politics cross?! The Wise Latina is now on the bench, there is a new NEA chief whose previous job combined with his name really makes me think of wiseguy one-liners and the new senior deputy director comes from the Rockerfeller Foundation. Boy do I have major gossip! But isn't that always the problems with blogs? Suffice it to say, the Rockerfeller Foundation underwent some major restructuring during during Shigekawa's reign, I mean term, so you can expect similar activity at the NEA. Will this mean more money flowing out to working artists? Not likely. We are more likely to see an attempt to bolster the profitability of the arts and insure a high ROI for all grant programs and cycles, those that can't churn out the stats in the right way will be cut. What did I just say? Well, likely, the NEA will start behaving a lot like a private medical insurer, pretending to offer coverage, then withdrawing it at the first sign of a person actually needing it. If you truly need some money to get your art thang off the ground, don't ask the NEA, you will need a proven track record, largely based on your financial records, but with a nod to your "artistic excellence of the highest caliber." And how about this healthcare thing?! OMG! I need to watch that hang drum video all over again just to calm myself down. "I want my America Back" whaat?! Truly, it is time to get my space-travelin behind back on the ship and head for the stars of my birth! National Healthcare will happen, but not with us each sittin on our butts. We need to talk to each other, and continually convince each other that not only is it the right thing to do, but it is the economically sensible thing to do. There is no reason for us to continue on like this. Art dollars are tied up in insurance overhead and high co-pays. Thankfully the new field of energetic medicine is taking off as we in the West finally realize that if we use electricity to monitor the heart, maybe wattage plays an important role in the entire system. I'll have a little goody for you on this at the end. So hold on, your Mothership is in orbit and ready to beam you up when you need it. Just don't forget: ain't no stoppin a fallin star until it hits the ground. Some crashes are necessary for the next round of flight.



Afrolicious. Afrologia. Afrodelic. Afropoesia. Afrologica. How big is your 'fro? Fractal, improvisational, polemical, but always moving with spirit and in service to lifting us all up! That's the Logic of the Afro--sign up, read up, be up, act up--you can move mountains, now make it beautiful.



BLOWING BACK THE 'FRO this week are dance classes and workshop and one very timely dance event about medicine (yes, there was a reason why I tied them two together).

ELECTRIC LODGE
1416 Electric Ave., Venice, CA 90291
Crossing the Bridge, presented by Leonix Movement Theater Ensemble
Friday, August 14th, 8 PM; $15 at the door but advance purchase recommended
The first recipient of the @sk Alternative Transmissions Soup Kitchen plays their last gig in LA before heading out on tour. LA Weekly recommends this show, and so do attendees of the first soup kitchen. Inspired by Studs Terkel's investigation of death, Crossing the Bridge engages how we do and don't die so wonderfully in our current medical system. Come hang out with me in Venice this Friday while we check them out. Tickets are going fast. Just got mine!

THE HIGHLANDS: HOLLYWOOD
6801 Hollywood BLVD, Hollywood, CA 90028
Salsalegre!
Wednesday, August 19th 8 PM - 2 AM; 21 and over, $15 in advance/$20 @ door; dress code enforced
I am listing this because, well, it is a SPECTACULAR way to raise funds for the hungry, the sick, and the undereducated, which is the mission of this annual dance extravaganza. All you have to do is show up dressed for success on the salsa dance floor, pay your way in, and party party party to : 2 live bands and a few DJs spinning live, floor show at 10 PM. It all goes to their work in Mexico through Su Misercordia. Now, there is likely a big dose of Jésus in their work (I'm not hatin, just not my road), but if that's cool with you and you can't make it, pop some money into their donation bucket on their page. I am just too impressed. Had to let you know about this, cause this is what lifting us all up looks like! I am rocked and you will be too when you read the ticket page. Please. Just read the info in the blue box. Amazing.



FESTIVALS
TOPANGA CANYON
Yoga Desa, 120 N Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga, CA 90290, map
Froggy’s Restaurant, 1105 N. Topanga Cyn. Blvd., Topanga, 90290, map
Topanga World Music & Dance Festival
Thursday, August 13 - Sunday August 16th; all classes $15, all shows suggested donation of $15
You can never get enough of dance community love, so warm up for Salsalegre by going to the 1st Annual (set that intention y'all) Topanga World Music and Dance Festival starting TONIGHT. If you even think about this event, you will get a lovely long distance energetic hug. I'm not kidding. I have this listed up here to talk about the nightly shows, but there are some amazing classes lined up as well. Since I know most of the teachers, I can actually tell you that this will be wonderful, loving dance experience that you don't want to miss. once you get there, don't forget to get a schedule. Carpooling is highly recommended. Give yourself plenty of time to get up the hill!
8:30-10:00 Friday Night Concert @ Yoga Desa with Momo Loudiyi with percussionist Patrick Richey -Moroccan Tribal http://www.loudoasis.com.
Armenian Oud Master Richard Lapachian accompanied by Jamie Papish will open.
7:30-9:30 Saturday Night Concert @ Froggy's with Suzanne Teng & Mystic Journey featuring Gilbert Levy and guests. Opening drum & dance invocation with Cari Ann, Henrik Jakobsson and others (I am one of the others...hee!)
http://www.suzanneteng.com
7:30-9:30 Sunday Night Concert @ Froggy's with iST/West Ensemble (Turkish meets Flamenco) and Guest Russian Clarinet Virtuoso Leo Chelyapov
http://www.Myspace.com/istwest


GRAND PERFORMANCES
Lawdy, if it gets any hotter down there the asphalt will melt! The Watercourt Fountains will host yet another fabulous weekend of live, free music this weekend...
ZAP MAMA is on deck, Saturday, August 15th. Go and get you some! I will be there late, cause I am planning on seeing her gig in Paris, at some point int he near future. Setting intentions!



ONGOING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Alrighty, DanceBANK summer workshop is in full swing. Tomorrow you can take class with Mira Kingsley at the Metabolic Studio / Farmlab, 1745 North Spring Street, #4, LA, CA 90012. Coming up:
Sabela Grimes brings FUNKamentals August 22 & 23
Anna B Scott drops FUNdamentals of West African Dance August 28 & 29 (i had to keep the vibe going)
Please check us out! These classes directly support the teacher with a very small service fee going to SHOWBox. What better way to support your local artists?

Topanga International Drum & Dance Festival has lots of classes lined up for you in two lovely locations. Be advised that Yoga Desi has shared restroom facilities with the entire Pine Circle business residents: best to come dressed to dance or carrying a lapa to get it done in the parking lot. All classes are $15. Cool t-shirts for sale, too!
Saturday Aug 15:
Classes @ Froggy’s
9:30-10:45 Beg. Middle Eastern Drumming with Jamie Papish
10:00-11:00 Beg. Belly Dance with Melanie Kareem
11:00-12:00 Int. Belly Dance to live drums with Melanie Kareem and Jamie Papish
11:00-12:30 Beg. West African Drumming with Henrik Jakobsson
1:00-2:15 Beg. Riq (Arabic Tambourine) with Jamie Papish
1:00-2:15 Int. West Africa Drumming with Henrik Jakobsson
2:30-4:00 Afro-Brazilian Dance to live drums with Linda Yudin
2:30-4:00 Int. Middle Eastern Drumming with Jamie Papish

@ Private Residence 274 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd.
4:45-6:00 Int. Riq (Arabic Tambourine)

Classes @ Yoga Desa
1:00-2:00 Family Drum Circle with Suzanne Teng
2:00-3:30 Adv. Belly Dance Part 2 with Napali Sunshine Cohen
4:00-5:30 Haitian Dance to live drums with Kingsley Irons

Sunday Aug 16:
Classes @ Froggy’s
9:30-10:45 Beg. Middle Eastern Drumming with Jamie Papish
10:00-11:00 Beg. Belly Dance with Melanie Kareem
11:00-12:00 Int. Belly Dance to live drums with Melanie Kareem & Jamie Papish
11:00-12:30 Beg. West African Drumming with Henrik Jakobsson
1:00-2:15 Int. West Africa Drumming with Henrik Jakobsson
1:00-2:30 Flamenco Dance Basics with Assieh “La Mora”
2:30-4:00 Int. Middle Eastern Drumming with Jamie Papish

Classes @ Yoga Desa
1:00-2:15 Beg Riq (Arabic Tambourine) with Jamie Papish
2:30-4:00 West African Dance Dundun Ba with Anna B. Scott, Giavanni Washington & Henrik Jakobsson
4:00-5:30 Showcase

This is so full of love, you just have to come! Stop what you'r doing, and head up to Topanga! I especially hope to see all of my former students in full effect on Sunday! It is going to be HOT! Gia will send you to places unknown and Henrik will give some love by actually playing a break for you to get ont he good foot. As for me, I'm gonna throw down...

And as if that were not enough...Pat Payne is teaching an amazing stage craft workshop at Highways this september! Registration is open now. Go and learn how to make your objects actors. She is no joke. I have seen her do some amazing work with a plank, some chalk and some nails. Take these classes. The first one actually starts next week: IF I HAD A GREEN HAMMER: LOW-COST, LOW-TECH, LOW CARBON FOOTPRINT PROPS FOR PERFORMERS, August 23, 30, September 6, 13* (Sundays) 1:00pm-4pm $175. Follow this link to download the complete series. Pre-registration absolutely required.

I will have a list of upcoming African Dance camps for Washington, DC, Chicago, and I think Atlanta has something, too. And OMG, Oakland is throwing down with a Brazilian Fest for the ENTIRE month of September, more detials to follow...

GRANTS
LA County Arts Commission grant for the the NEA regrant closes on August 24. You must have received a grant from them recently in order to apply for this money. Check here to see if you qualify.

Ford Amphitheatre Partnership summer season 2010 applications are due September 9th. Most of it is done online, and there is a lot to it, so hopefully, you have already started!


Lovely!
So, I have been flummoxed by this phoney healthcare debate we are having as a "nation." I know that lots of working artists are without healthcare or struggle to pay their co-pays of their exorbitant "plans." They also are struggling financially and the added expense of healthcare...well let's just say that there are lots of camels hobbled in the arts world. A great deal of money, personal time and energy gets sucked into managed care plans, co-pays, policy analysis, etc. It actually makes you so stresed out thinking about tending to your health in that system that you get sicker! A while back I found that acupuncture really really solves a lot things for me, like seeing and walking both of which I have learned to do again... The goodie I mentioned earlier is called Emotional Free Therapy, a technique based on acupuncture, you'll also see it called Meirdian Tapping. I just got rid of most of my allergies. Here is the link for the founders site, where you can download a free guide. You can DO IT YOURSELF. Energy medicine is ancient and also the wave of our futre here in the US. Check out this video from a provider in England. I think, I hope you will find it useful. It is free and on YouTube! Why do this? To clear the blocks in our political system, we have to first realize how we are blocked ourselves. Our own energetics affects our interactions. It's so simple, it's actually scary. Yeah. Scary that it could be so easy to be clear, and open to change and ready to make the world that you really want to live in rather than gripe about a world that feels like it has been imposed on you. So, here you go!

in love,
-Anna

Monday, July 20, 2009

ACTION: missing summer school in Los Angeles

Peace & Prosperity to you all,

Over on Face Book, I have a Cause up known as Summer Arts Simple & Easy (S.A.S.E). to help facilitate parents and kids finding affordable if not free summer school alternatives in the Los Angeles area. Included in that is also the offer to provide a series of my own and help other artists I know in setting up their own. Hit me up if you are down.

Below is the recent news item I posted in the Cause. There are two other projects that I know of working to fill this summer gap and they can use your PARTICIPATION. I am also urging members of S.A.S.E. to donate $25. If you've got $25 and want to help out, we are right now fundraising for the Boys & Girls Club of Venice. They are maxxed out. More details below. If you are on Face Book, please join the Cause and donate the cash!

1) PAPEL (People's Assembly for Popular Education & Liberation), an alternative summer school set-up by LAUSD teachers and parents launched last week offering classes @ 100 N Toluca St, Los Angeles, CA 90026. Click on their name and you will be taken to their blog. if you live out that way and want to support with a course of your own, please contact them directly.

2) USC has chimed in with an on-line resource for classes. SOS Classroom . They have a site with kids showing up, making use of the computers there. Please check out their site to see how you can help. The curriculum is free and open to everyone and is "crowdsourced." Very exciting.

3) We have a beneficiary! After reading an article in the Argonaut, I decided to call the Boys and Girls Club of Venice to see how we could be of help. In case you have not heard, this one facility alone is currently seeing 400+ kids per DAY due to the cancellation of summer school. Aileen Martinez explained to me the dire situation they are in: 10 student positions were cut due to budget issues prior to the closing, so they are short-handed, while servicing their community at record breaking levels. It is time to raise some funds and if you are out this way, sign up to volunteer. It is simple to give to them. Just click that you want to donate on our Causes page and walk through the steps! It would be great if you could each give $25, but every bit helps.

Now, right after I decided that we should raise funds for an existing organization and offer volunteer support, I got word that 826LA is also struggling under the weight of closed summer school. While Boys & Girls Clubs charge a very modest fee per week for their summer program ($25 - $35 per week), 826LA is free. They need us, too. So here's the deal:

826LA is having their Paddle Boat Regatta next weekend in Echo Park. Fundraising has already begun, but they are over $1000 short of their target. You can help them out by going directly to their website page for the regatta and donating to any team the tickles your fancy. You can also help them at their two sites in LA, here in Venice and in Echo Park by volunteering to help a child with their writing and reading. I will contact them directly to see if they would be up for a movement theatre-based writing project at either site.

There is so much undone here; it boggles the mind. This weekend I finally made it out to the boardwalk only to see a bunch of kids being arrested by a bunch of police. In fact, the police presence has been significantly increased here in Venice, no doubt, in response to the closure of summer school. This is the only response we can expect from the police. They are doing the job they know how to do. Therefore, it is up to all of us who know how to engage kids with excitement, art, and yes, love, to make ourselves available and PARTICIPATE in saving the kids. This is not metaphorical. The five kids I saw getting carted off can vouch for that.

Let's get the membership up on the Cause! Invite your friends and don't be 'shame to ask them for $25 for the Boys & Girls Club of Venice. If you have a B&GC in your neighborhood, ask them if they need help and let us all know. If you are participating in a project that needs volunteers, please post it to the board. It is my hope that we can rotate beneficiaries every two weeks. More than that, it is my hope that you will give a class of your own. Read the recommendations on how to go about that on the Causes page.

be the love and light,
-Anna

Saturday, July 18, 2009

NEWSLETTER: shake it shake it shake it shake it baby, twist it

ALOHA!
Wow, so the University of California just took a massive financial hit. I am confused as to how slashing workers pay 4 - 10% for one year through a weirdly structured furlough plan is going to save anything since the State of California continues to also not pay any of the rest of its obligation to the University, but hey, maybe that's just me. Right now, this morning, the Repair California folks are meeting and Antonio is giving the welcome. I had hoped to actually be involved and be there, but their phone call for action came yesterday at 11 am and when I returned the call, it went straight to voice mail. I do not feel so bad about my procrastination now. But in all of this, there is a rather sparkly silver lining. For the last several decades the UC and the State of California have been able to determine what was knowledge worthy of knowing and more importantly how & when that knowledge would be distributed. Not so anymore. Any arts education entrepreneurs out there? This is YOUR moment. There is absolutely no way that the educational system K - 12 and into Community College and University can sustain these cuts. Programs and departments will be disappearing in a few weeks and the time to degree will significantly increase, the K-12 experience has been gutted: it is time to create a new path to knowledge, new definitions for "education." And from my point of view, not just the "ed. specialists" should have a hand in this. The parents, even of the college folks (cause, boy are they too coddled to handle college these days) should be part of the teaching team. No more backseat teaching! No more automobile metaphors! We're going for low-carbon emission theoretical and practically implemented models! While the education thing crumbles down around our feet, let's take note of the pieces that can be recycled and/or repurposed responsibly. Swim in the elegance that is life and you'll find that you have more than enough to share, create with, and give.



Afrolicious. Afrologia. Afrodelic. Afropoesia. Afrologica. How big is your 'fro? Fractal, improvisational, polemical, but always moving with spirit and in service to lifting us all up! That's the Logic of the Afro--sign up, read up, be up, act up--you can move mountains, now make it beautiful.


BLOWING BACK DA FRO
right this very minute, aside from the big meeting at USC for the planning of the Constitutional Convention is the Big Parade! Yes, some pretty crafty art that is a mapping project, endurance test, and meet your neighbors cause you might need their help kinda thing. They pushed off about three hours ago in China Town. You can follow their updates via twitter. Go to their blog page to get the links for the parade route, how to meet up with them, to follow the Twitter Feed. If you use Twitter, you can follow them directly @bigparadela. I am likely going to join them tomorrow, though I would love to walk through Echo Park today, gotta see what I can learn from the gathering downtown.



TONIGHT
UNKNOWN THEATRE
1110 Seward Street Los Angeles, CA 90038; (323) 466-7781, map
Born Dance Company
July 16 - July 26: Thursdays - Saturdays 8 PM, Sundays 6 PM; $18 tix on line, $25 at the door
Quite the collection of dancer-choreographers on this show! Won Sun Choi, an intriguing mover between traditional and contemporary Korean dance, artistic director of this new venture, has layered an evening with a slew of visiting performers from Seoul and new dancers from Southern California. Sue Roginski, a collaborating choreographer will be on hand with "Sandoval's Story," which she showed in progress at Anatomy Riot #31. It was really intriguing since it involves the audience learning the gestures live while doing them. You will not be disappointed. And what a great place to see them altogether! Go check it out!!! (Unknown's website appears to be having trouble right now)


1830 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026
Sunday, July 19th; Doors 8:30 PM, Screening 9 PM $5
1830 Collective presents a mini-Freewaves type of event on their roof in Echo Park! Freewaves is this awesome video festival that places work in the most unlikely places including security monitors, diner TVs and laundromats. Director/curator Anne Bray will be on hand to talk about the work showcased in this event, Civic Statues Unfrozen for One Hour: Clothed Women and Unarmed Men. Run time is 55 minutes and this is a two-channel installation piece of recent international short films. I LOVE the 1830 folks. They have a very quirky vision and they are committed to making it happen. Go check this.
other events from 1830:
Dinner: A raw vegan gourmet Thai dinner under stars and moonlight
Chefs Stephen Hauptfuhr (MOOI) and Bryan Au (Raw in Ten)
Saturday, 25 July 2009, Doors 8pm, Dinner 8:30pm $25
RSVP required info@eighteen-thirty.com




PADDLE BOAT HOUSE ECHO PARK LAKE
1714 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles
826LA Paddle Boat Regatta
Saturday, July 25, NOON; donations being accepted NOW
All things Echo Park today?! I guess so, cause this event is gonna be a lot of fun for a great cause. Even though the city has cut the boat House at the Echo Park Lake (yup that's right, no paddle boats) this event was allowed to happen this weekend. I am not sure but I think the Big Parade was scheduled to get in there and boat across but were denied access since I guess there is only so much OT the City Parks & Recs can carry right now (LAKERS!). Anyway, donate some cash even if you can't go. 826LA needs it ASAP. Any amount accepted. This is a wonderful program with sites around the city. My son loves them.



REDCAT
631 W 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
NOW Festival
July 23–August 8, 2009, Thur–Sat | 8:30 PM; call box office for $35 festival pass or purchase single nights online
Ayana Hampton y'all...with Sheetal Ghandi on the first program. Damn, George Lugg! You tryin' to hurt somebody?! And then closin out the whole thing with the dance Ninja herself, Meg Wolfe? Get that bar stocked, George. get the bar stocked. BLOWOUT COMB, prolly need to bring your own grease...


FESTIVALS
GRAND PERFORMANCES, 350 S Grand Ave, LA, map
Grand Performances is in full swing now. I saw Buika last week and thought I would absolutely not mind dying right there, listening to that voice and that amazing pianist. Last night was certainly a big blast for those in attendance and tonight ALBITA will hurt your hips, direct form Cuba, so you better get there early if you know what is good for you.
Coming up that you don't want to miss:
Jul 25 8:00 PM: Curumin with Money Mark & Novalima, sweeeeet! Nice balançando Brazilian grooves, Curumin will be lovely. Great dancing night.
Jul 31 8 PM Lo Còr de la Plana and Fish Tank Ensemble--OMG! The bass player of Fishtank is HOT. I had to say that. And the music is just ridiculous. I have a weak spot for Gypsy music and that thing with the saw has to be seen to believe. Bring your dancing shoes and tamborines. The other group...hmmmm. Not quite feeling it, but the fountain has a way of bringing out the best in a group. here's hopin'.
Aug 15 8 PM Zap Mama!!! Yes, there was a cancellation in the program , so geez, Zap Mama was gracious enough to fill in. WHAAAAT?! Early, get there VERY early.




ONGOING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Hana van der Kolk has a new class up at the Open Space! 10:30am-12:30pm and Mondays - July 20, Thursdays - July 16th, 23rd, and 30thth, and 27th 7:30-9:30pm; $10/class; 209 S. Garey St. 90012 (2nd floor). Why don't you check out Hassan's page and see what all is crackin there. He has reduced rental rates for this month only (who knows, maybe a slot is waiting for you) and Po One has been giving class there, too.

Right now in Oakland, Muisi Malonga is gearing up to take the peoples out to the woods for 10 days of dance, music, sun and Kongo Arts next weekend. First, she wants you all to stop by for the "warm up" all weekend long at the Malonga Casquelourde Center for the Arts. Go get that 'fro picked all the way out, with some afrosheen gloss spritzer to finish it out. map


LOVELY!
I'm gonna stop here. I am obviously still not downtown for this meeting, likely because it will just make me sad. As part of my investigations into what to do to help keep my babies outta jail this summer (that's right, once you have one child, you get to claim all of them in the whole wide world as yours, check your contracts and memos) since there is no summer school, I have been going around town looking into what already exists and thinking of ways to let folks know about it, support it and participate in it. Museums, performance centers, dance companies, presenters...again, I was reminded about the numbers, those pesky digits from the 2000 census and really became concerned about 2010 numbers as well as an unnecessary split in civic consciousness: city vs. community. While we are refocusing our minds to celebrate the new beginning being handed us by the demise of our educational systems, we better plan a way to break apart this dichotomy. I am getting the sense that these two words are racial codes AND class codes, and that ain't good. City folks are generally white and affluent, or white-identified and affluent and have very little need for city services. Community members work hard for their money, may in fact earn more than $75K a year, but are concerned with and need services to supplement their income and lifestyle; often these are people of color and "white hipsters" who just cannot understand why anyone would waste money as easily as the City does on improvements that don't help the communities. Not good. As I sit with this thought, I invite you all to begin writing letters telling the city administrators exactly what you would like your money to support/improve/eradicate. For instance, I get sick every time I see a new speed bump go up. The issue is fast, accessible, pervasive public transportation; people would not tear through neighborhoods in a huff if the main arteries were not so clogged. Or spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to artically market the city with those lamp post banners when 500+ childern could have a blast in an innovative arts-based summer exploration. Get the idea? Let's start slinging that ink, making those plans and taking the necessary steps to shake the dust out of this rug we call civic pride so we can once again admire its lovely pattern.

in love,
-Anna

Monday, July 6, 2009

NEWSLETTER: listing to the left

or to the right?

Greetings!
Though I had a burning desire to send out a post pre-Independence Day, full of irony and likely a tad too much bile, I decided instead to take action and be of service. Wow, has the last week not been surreal, or what? I had a complete list typed out in my head, which means that it is time to start putting stuff onto a channel on YouTube, of all of the crazazy things going on in California, especially in LA, that required our true love of citizenship, not jingoistic patriotism. So, I guess, I'll rattle off the list, because time is of the essence y'all. We got to get into motion towards resolutions and solutions, not just studies (though those are cool, they can suck needed resources away once the picture is clear enough to make a good educated guess about the action part), not just talking (omg, how many projects do you have mostly completed because you could not shut up about it and got tired of it your own self) not just letter-writing ( a recent study, note irony here, found that all those cool little emails you shoot up to DC and your state's capital go unread because they are form letters and therefore 'not real,' I know, I know) but person to person, thoughtful action embedded in loving kindness. Irony is fun y'all, but often, not productive, so let me get it off my chest:
  1. Michael Jackson dies of a heart attack and the haters are soon silenced by the flood of love washing over the interwebs. Many are stunned that black people even still like Michael Jackson. Spontaneous dancing ensues around the GLOBE.
  2. Meanwhile, back in Iran, the mullahs start putting people to death for rising up and claiming that their votes weren't counted. You likely missed that. I get a direct report fed from the country, and I can tell you, it ain't good. And no, I can't give up my source, because it would be literally giving up a body...
  3. People born between 1967 and 1974 suddenly feel very old because a)they remember the last debacle in Iran driven by US policy; b) they either owned ABC, a zipper jacket, or a sequined glove or all three; c)Ed McMahon was evidence that it was late and they were growing up when they got to see him; d) Charlie's Angel's fashion sense was just making a comeback, and now Farah couldn't show the young'uns how it's really done.
  4. ON Thursday of last week, the State of California began to issue IOUs to its vendors and service providers, with the Guvenator claiming that this would be a wake up call to the state: I did not know that dead things could wake up.
  5. Around that same time, UC employees of all grades and classes were asked HOW they wanted that 8% pay cut, and to please vote on it.
  6. LAUSD administration realizes that maybe parents were upset that summer school was cancelled afterall and hastily makes a crappy mini web page announcing some 'great things' to do over the summer, meanwhile a handful of us continue to scrap away at finding a decent solution.
  7. Black people really really love some MJ. Suddenly it actually doesn't matter if you're black or white, even in Harlem, for a minute...or two.
  8. The meetings of "mad as hell and we can't take it anymore" citizen groups begin in earnest in California, still mirroring the white to the right, white to the left problem that the Ecomonist pointed out as the reason for the failed state budget in the first place.
  9. LA, having just thrown a party for the victorious Lakers, will now host the funeral of Michael Jackson and hastily begins to fundraise because they can't pay for the Laker's party which already happened and oh yeah, summer school, and um, those pesky parks, and what pothole? I don't see no pothole? Who need public transit anyway?! Walk! Oh, sorry, gotta go, cain't miss my flight!
  10. There is a coup in Hondurus. Let me say that again, there is a coup in Hondurus rigged right between people using the Law of Attraction to get tickets to MJ's funeral and the first Fourth of July Celebrations helmed by "El Negrito," as the new phony prez of Hondurus repeatedly called Barak Obama (that's nasty race talk btw).
I can't even mention Sara Palin, oh damn, just did it! So what we have here is a failure to find our alignment, to get clarity, to accept that we are all connected and need each other to be healthy, happy, loved, cared for, with all basic needs met. Where there's a will there's a way. Even MJ had one...


Afrolicious. Afrologia. Afrodelic. Afropoesia. Afrologica. How big is your 'fro? Fractal, improvisational, polemical, but always moving with spirit and in service to lifting us all up! That's the Logic of the Afro--sign up, read up, be up, act up--you can move mountains, now make it beautiful.



BLOWIN BACK DA 'FRO right now is my own shimmy and shake for da peeples. This past weekend, after years of working behind the scenes with Viver Brasil, I got to witness them take some risks on that wild Ford Amphitheatre stage and receive a big time international agent!! Go Linda! That made me feel great to be a part of that. Whaaat! Next, Nehera Kalev pushed me up my own big-mouth-thinkin-out-loud hill, with Sara Wolf right alongside screamin' and kickin' and together we three (with emo support from Arianne Hoffmann, Meg Wolfe & Taisha Paiggett) hosted the first-ever Alternative Transmissions: Sunday Soup Kitchen, or @sk for short. We gifted $100 to Leonix Dance Theater! Now I am about to drop some bombs with the S.A.S.E. project and urge people to go to their local schools and do TEACH-INS next week. That's right. Action, Jackson. Check out how P.A.P.E.L. is rockin it. Sometimes, you gotta tell yourself, "thank you self, for sticking in there and letting the Higher self get a crack at shining that light." This week is pretty much a continuation of more of the same madness, so luckily there are PLENTY zany, community-based arts projects to get your mind free so that your ass can follow. Now grab that Afro Pick and let's get this thang all the way round and crowned!


AVENUE 50 STUDIO GALLERY, 131 North Avenue 50, Highland Park, CA
Ashé Blessings, Energy, Power
FREE Reception: Saturday, July 11, 2009 from 7-10 pm
Exhibiting artists: Katie Elizabeth Brown, Eddy Bello-Sandoval, Viredo, Ricardo Silvereira Miró, Wendell Wiggins, Susan Matthews, Betty Kano, Lili Bernard, Gloria Longval, and an Eleggua altar by Jorge Luis Rodriguez. Modupe Orixá! Come one and come all! This is a glorious ocassion! Bring some candy for Eleggua!


IMIX BOOKSTORE, 5052 Eagle Rock Blvd, Eagle Rock, CA
WORDS WITH A PURPOSE Free fundraiser reading
Saturday, July 11, 7:30pm
Featuring the words and rhythms of Olga García Echeverría, liz gonzález, reina alejandra prado & Frankie Salinas with special guests Gloria E. Alvarez and Lysa Flores. Yes, this is free, BUT it is a fundraiser, so to get them the cash to help out a local bookstore and a school library please do the following: If you can't make it to the event and want to make a donation, gift certificates from IMIX or online bookstores, like http://www.powells.com/, are preferred. Make checks payable to “Friends of the Arroyo Seco Library.” Send gift certificates and checks to
Erika Montenegro, Adult Librarian
Arroyo Seco Library
6145 N Figueroa St
LA CA 90042
For more info about donations, contact Erika Montenegro: emontene@lapl.org or 323.255.0537
Alright? It sounds as if once you get there, there will be a basket/bucket/can collection thing happening, otherwise, DONATE even if you can't make it! They are STILL taking donations...


Chinatown's Historic Central Plaza, 943 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA

The Funk Rumble Block Party

Sat Jul 11 12pm – 10pm
Alfie Numeric and her possee are at it again! Get yourself downtown and have a good time at what promises to be an unusual street party. "Half music festival – half block party, The Funk Rumble is a blend of live music, djs, vendors, and artists coming together to celebrate urban soul and create the ultimate summer party!" DJ Jeremy Sol will be on the block as will a bevvy of live painters. You wanna check this one.



PHY aka PSA,
207 West 5th St ( @ Spring St), Los Angeles, CA
BEYOND THE FRAME: LIVE ART & FILM
Sat Jul 11 9pm – 11:55pm;FREE
This is part of the Outfest PLATINUM program. Curated by Cheryl Dunye, this program is intense! Not of rthe wee ones, but promises excellent art. most excellent.
EYE_WITNESS, an in-progress video collaboration by Abigail Severance and Julie Tolentino, YOU HAVE ONE FIST IN MY MOUTH AND ONE FIST UP MY ASS; YOUR ARMS ARE TRAPPED INSIDE ME LIKE A CHINESE FINGER TRAP, a work-in-progress by Zackary Drucker; and a new performance by Ashland Mines in collaboration with Elijah Crampton.


REDCAT, 631 W 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
NOW Festival
July 23–August 8, 2009, Thursdays–Saturdays | 8:30 PM; $36 for the entire series if you call 213-237-2800
AWESOME! Three weeks of mayhem with TWO folks whom I would absolutely stop and rearrange my schedule to go and see (out of about 5 or so): Meg Wolfe and Ayana Hampton. I should also add in there, George Lugg (teehee), director o da facilities. The Line up:
EARLY MORNING OPERA: ABACUS/SHEETAL GANDHI: BAHU-BETI-BIWI/AYANA HAMPTON: THE AYANA HAMPTON SHOW. program 2 CAROLE KIM w/ OGURI, ALEX CLINE & DAN CLUCAS: N1/JENNIFER THE LEOPARD: LEOP YEAR (NO JAMMING) program 3 ZACKARY DRUCKER , MARIANA MARROQUIN,WU INGRID TSANG: PIG/MEG WOLFE: WATCH HER (NOT KNOW IT NOW)/LAUREN WEEDMAN: OFF





ONGOING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
African dance camp season is HERE! Fareta kicks it off this weekend. Should be amazing. Pay upon arrival


Here in town, N'Deye Gueye Teaches West African Dance Workshops @ Lula Washington Dance Studios, Wed. July 8th & Thurs July 9th @ 8-9:30pm. This is a special treat. Definitely advanced level. $15/class.

I do believe that Juan Carlos is back for his now monthly class in LA (see, there is a dance fairy god mother) Sunday, July 12, 2:00- 3:30; 3:30-5:00 p.m. Afro-Cuban Folklore, Rumba & Cuban Popular@ Clarita's Arte Flamenco- Center for World Dance. $15 each or $25 for both




GRANTS
The NEA still thinks that bigger is better, and older unchallenging work, too, *sigh*. I am disgruntled, because I personally know so many fabulous dance and performance artists who could do so much with a $25K grant, it doth spin my heart. Most of these projects are MAJOR grants, 100K plus. But if say, LA County wants to get together with Grand Performances & The Redcat and put together a touring show called "LA Dance En Route," or something to that effect, I would not hate on them...I'm just sayin', pay close attention to option number 2.

1)American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius is a major initiative to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy. Through American Masterpieces, the National Endowment for the Arts will sponsor performances, exhibitions, tours, and educational programs across all art forms that will reach large and small communities in all 50 states. Scaled so they can be shown in small and mid-sized exhibiting institutions.
Shown for a period of 8-12 weeks at 2-5 venues which may include the organizing institution. The number of venues should be appropriate to the nature of the works on view.
Accompanied by related educational and interpretive components including brochures and catalogues. Educational material for children and youth must ensure the application of national or state arts education standards. Substantial efforts should be made to reach underserved communities.for full announcement see http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/AMVAT.html
Due date is September 17

2)This component of American Masterpieces will celebrate the extraordinary and rich contribution that presenting organizations make in American communities. Through American Masterpieces: Presenting, presentations of the performing, visual, media, design, and literary arts of the highest quality will be experienced by Americans in communities across the nation. This category is for projects that embrace multiple arts disciplines. Projects must consist of either a single multidisciplinary project or a multidisciplinary series comprised of several different single-discipline presentations. Presenting organizations of all sizes, genres, and aesthetics are encouraged to apply. Projects may be initiated by:
Networks of presenters.
College or university presenters.
Local, regional, or national presenters.
National service organizations and their networks.
The Arts Endowment plans to support a variety of multidisciplinary presentations that are artistically, historically, and culturally significant and that reflect the full breadth of genres. Presenters may define master artists or masterworks within their own context, community vision, or goals. For full announcement see http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/AMPresenting.html Due date is September 24

3)This component of American Masterpieces will celebrate the extraordinary and rich evolution of dance and choreography in the United States. Through American Masterpieces: Dance, reconstructions and restagings of significant work of the highest quality will be experienced by Americans in communities across the nation.
Grants will be awarded in two areas:
*For dance companies, presenters, and festivals: The reconstruction or restaging of significant American dance works and their performance at home and on tour.
*For college and university dance programs: The restaging, performance, and documentation of significant dance choreography in order to provide dance students with access to the legacy of American dance history. While faculty can assist with a project, the primary reconstructor/artist must be someone from outside the campus.
All projects must be accompanied by related educational, interpretive, or contextual components. Curriculum-based educational components for children and youth must ensure the application of national or state arts education standards. Substantial efforts should be made to engage and expand dance audiences by reaching underserved communities.
For full announcement see http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/AMDance.html
Due date is October 8

And don't forget the Durfee is do Aug 1, the SSRC (for you academic types in social sciences) and the Alliance for California Traditional Arts has several LOOMING deadlines (think hrs) that you might wanna meet.

LOVELY!
Al Sharpton Brought it at MJ's funeral! Bringing that deep dark black love for MJ's kids. Priceless. Reminding us all what we must now continue to do: focus on the good we want to bring to the world and dissolve the ignorance that consistently attempts to thwart our best efforts our own and others. This is harder than it looks. Who would've thought that a) Sharpton would have been the one to get our undivided attention and make the point the clearest 2)That Michael Jackson was really, actually, almost totally using his record sales to heal the world? I am stunned, invigorated, and challenged...

in love,
-Anna

Thursday, June 25, 2009

NEWSLETTER: making that change

Alafia, peace unto you

This has been such an incredible week of takin it higher: the people of
Iran tryin to get full representation; the President Obama trying to get that health care thing movin while First Lady calls you to take to the streets and be of service serve.gov; Twitter discovers it is a weapon of mass communication; communities across the US battle to get their summer school back for their kids; perhaps the most embattled Republican governor in the union admits that he knows love and screwed it up; California lawmakers become the bane of the state's existence, pushing citizens to new histrionics/heroics; LAUSD thinks about raising taxes to save services; and the king or pop, loved and reviled, champion of innocence and erstwhile destroyer of it, lord of the catchy phrase, video cultural emissary, changer of the world, uniter through a sequined glove-- MICHAEL JACKSON, has passed away today. Strut on, bruh.





Afrolicious. Afrologia. Afrodelic. Afropoesia. Afrologica. How big is your 'fro? Fractal, improvisational, polemical, but always moving with spirit and in service to lifting us all up! That's the Logic of the Afro--sign up, read up, be up, act up--you can move mountains, now make it beautiful


BLOWIN BACK DA 'FRO
right now, is the knowledge that no matter how twisted we think ourselves to be, no matter how ridiculous we allow ourselves to act, when we open up, the love and light will shine through each and every time. Play that video one more time and take the lesson.


HIGHWAYS
1651 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
FAR FROM HOME by KEITH GLASSMAN
Friday, June 26 + Sautrday, June 27 @ 8:30 PM; $20/$15
"Choreographer Glassman presents a suite of dance and performance works that reveal the underbelly of our intercontinental community. In dialects foreign and familiar and with movement ranging from enigmatic gesture to shout-and-holler Krump dancing, the cast of twelve uncovers the secret of cultural endurance - and long life!" Yup, takin it higher still. Go see Ms. Pat Payne rock this here stage.


JAPANESE-AMERICAN CULTURAL & COMMUNITY CENTER
244 S. San Pedro St, Little Tokyo, Downtown LA
Free Screening in JACCC Plaza of Astroboy, Gigantor, and Voltron
Friday, June 26, 7:30 PM
Bring picnic, hairs, blankets jackets, kiddies and have a good time watching these classic animated films that probably inspired all of those kids who grew up to make sci-fi effects, video games, and a user-friendly internet. Don't miss this one.


THE ECHOPLEX
1154 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
826LA's Tiny Vaudeville #4, for the kids - but not *for* kids
Tuesday, June 30 @ 8 - 11 PM; pay what you can with on-line pre-reg/$15 at the door
If you don;t know about this fabulous little org that could, you should. 826la has two sites, one here in Venice and another cross town in Echo Park that has an afterschool open-door policy for homework help and they hold special writing events on weekends and during the summer. Some pretty amazing folks turn up as the teachers. This fundraiser looks like a big laughs, with professional actors doing a staged reading from the many student-created books that 826la publishes. Great cause. Cool place. Check it out.



Oh, my Lovelies!
I will add on to this later. I need to get up and dance to the Off the Wall album, or maybe Thriller. Cause when all is said and done, all we have is sound, soul/soles and sweat. Boogie down to get up. Sign up on http://www.serv.gov for a project in your community to make that change. If you are an artist in LA, please consider signing up to give summer classes to students in LA through an initiative I am developing with KAIPS called S.A.S.E. If you are a school teacher, we need you, love you and hope that your local prevails in Sacramento to stop the budget cuts. Peace y'all. I'll be back in a few hours with some classes and several other interesting shows that I thought you might like to hear about.

in love with the music,
-Anna





Sunday, June 14, 2009

NEWSLETTER: get on up and jam y'all

Oi!
Head out to the River or to the Hammer Museum today! Great things await you. In the interim, get yourself ready to give the children of LA a community summer school they will NEVER forget. LAUSD officially canceled summer school for all elementary, middle and some high school kids. Now we can either sit back and await the riots (cause LA Community College canceled its summer classes as well) or we can prepare one or two weeks worth of experience for them. There are parents and educators across the city actively fighting to save classes and teachers, but this summer school thing kinda went under the radar. Rather be caught flat footed, I am working with K.A.I.P.S.(Keep Arts In Public Schools) to create a loosely organized group of folks offering classes for the kids. I've decided to name it S.A.S.E.: Summer Arts Simple & Easy. If you are running a summer program of ANY kind for kids, please consider donating some spots for local kids in your neighborhood who now have limited summer options. More details to come via Causes. I'm just about halfway grading my last class work for a while (wooohooo) and prepping for this great summer school adventure as well as a dancer's soup kitchen (look for your invite). There are festivals to attend and trips to take and kids to send away for the summer (wooooohoooo!) so look out y'all, the wind is rising. Time to get on up.



Afrolicious. Afrologia. Afrodelic. Afropoesia. Afrologica. How big is your 'fro? Fractal, improvisational, polemical, but always moving with spirit and in service to lifting us all up! That's the Logic of the Afro--sign up, read up, be up, act up--you can move mountains, now make it beautiful



BLOWIN BACK DA 'FRO right now are just two things, well three: river, museum, summer school (not for fools). Actually, throw on one more: dance classes worth every dime (even when they're free)...and PRIDE, cause everybody should get to be proud of who they are. FEEL IT!


THE HAMMER MUSEUM
Billy Wilder Theatre, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024 310-443-7000
DANCE ICONOCLASTS @ Akram Khan, the EMPAC films
TODAY 2:00PM Sunday, June 14th; FREE
Documenting the Creative Process;
Sunday, June 14, 6:00pm; FREE
MUST GO. I've seen the film Nora; it was simply gorgeous and very inspiring. The rest, have to be just as good, otherwise Lynette would not have them on the same bill!


RIO DE LOS ANGELES STATE PARK - BOWTIE PARCEL
entrance at 2800 Casitas Ave, Los Angeles 90039, map
Cornerstone Theater presents, Touch the River
Today, Sunday June 14 - Sunday June 21st, 8 PM; PAY WHAT YOU CAN, reservations required
This is getting RAVE reviews from all print media outlets I have to say that my girl Pat Payne's description of the work (she plays Crow) has me double intrigued. We hope to make it out tonight. Bring some oranges and honey as a gift to the water if you feel so inclined, or donate to the Friends of the LA River. The play runs Wednesdays - Sundays. Last week is next week, so don't be too slow to go. MUST GO. Ora Ye Ye O!



ONGOING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
Sunday June 14 RIGHT NOW 2 PM: Juan Carlos (Omo Aché Afro-Cuban Dance Co.) will be back to teach two classes covering a variety of Cuban dances. 2:00-3:20 p.m. will focus on Afro-Cuban folklore (Congo & Yoruba traditions) and the second class 3:30-4:50 p.m. will explore the connections between the Cuban popular dance "Son" and it's roots in Rumba. Cost of a single class $15, both classes $25. Arte Flamenco's Center for World Dance, 230 West Main St., Alhambra, CA

Viver Brasil is at the Ford in its J.A.M. Session on Monday, June 15. How this works: get yourself up to the Ford Amphithetre by 6:45 at the latest and at 7 PM Linda Yudin and Badaró are gonna take you higher...for FREE! Don't forget to sign up on their email list. Great stuff!

My wonder twin Arianne Hoffmann has one more weekend of classes in the DANCBank next Saturday 11 AM, Farm Lab +Under Spring, $12. Go get your score on!

Rae Blum is closing out her class at the Dance Arts Academy this Thursday @ 7:30. Go give her some love.

DANCEBank has announced its summer line-up (mostly set, changes possible):
Sat/Sun Aug 1 & 2 Simone Forti
Sat/Sun Aug 8 & 9 Taisha Paggett?
Sat/Sun Aug 15 & 16 Mira Kingsley
Sat/Sun Aug 22 & 23 Sabela Grimes
Sat/Sun Aug 28 & 29 Anna B. Scott
Please come check us out! If you're on Face Book, join the DANCEBank group to be in the loop!

In a few weeks, I'm hosting/leading a marathon West African Dance class at Carol Bristol-Henry's Studio in Compton that I will record for a little bit of research/adventure on the internet. Stay tuned for dates time and location. Fee will be a nominal $5/1.5 hrs. Yes, I did say marathon. ;->

Check the Afrologics Investigation Center Dance Map for locations of classes.



FESTIVALS
Dance CameraWEST is in full effect, as I mentioned above, but there is OH SO MUCH MORE!! Check out their website for all the details.

Gand Performances is rolling it out as usual:
COLA Performing Arts Fellows anchor the month of June. In particular you'll want to check out June 19th, 8:30 PM, with Lionel Popkin, Bruce Bauman & Cheng-Chieh Yu. All events are free and seating is first come first served.


Upcoming...
Oakland and the Bay Area are throwin it down with "Cake in my Face," Rara Tout L'Mwon and Congo Square West boogie to the universal One. Plus, African Dance Camp season has begun with Atlanta delivering a tribute to Ms. Dunham! Viver Brasil takes the stage on July 4 @ The Ford and I am sure I'll find something really h o t for you to go out and do that weekend.


Lovely!
Just hung out at the Ford the last weekend and had a truly lovely time. Not only is it a really unusual space, but it a space dedicated to you! If you are an LA-based arts maker, please consider applying into the Ford's upcoming seasons! I'll have some video posted as soon as my grades are in (help ....me) but they are very informative and you will learn all about a great location. Anatomy Riot #32 was a real hoot! We had a great time. Ari Hoffman is an amazing stage manager, if ever you are looking for someone. We are looking forward to the return of the AR in September. Continue to support your local artists-wherever you may be--because they are likely the folks that are helping make this moment in time worth living through. Don't let go of the arts as divine inspiration. Yes, the arts are incredible social devices/healers/creators, but they are also messages that together we are far more than we ever imagined. It is my hope that you will recall this and join me and others around the city to send a S.A.S.E. into the near future addressed to ourselves full of love, hope, joy and understanding.

in love,
-Anna

ps: follow me on Twitter @doctoradancer for live arts info, updates on my artbiz, Vita Vibrare, and an ongoing flash fiction series, Melanin Patch.