NEWSLETTER: party like it's 2009!

Hallo!

I feel like I should say it again, so I will, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Yes, the divorce is final and the new wedding plans have finally been finalized (whew did they drag it out or what) so we should get together and sing and dance and act like natural fools! We did it! Now, time to get on-line and keep doing it. A significant part of the Obama effort is hearing out the populace, actually having the government be by the people, for the people and of the people. If you don't make time to interact, do not be surprised when odd-ball policies start gaining momentum. Life in the Big City can be all scrabble and scrape, with little time to reflect and initiate. We have to let that go and realize that we can make time to govern ourselves, otherwise how else will the arts get an agenda? When will classroom innovations for the few become the new standard for all? How else will that little strip of green space turn into an oasis of good eatin? When and how will wars get ended if you don't stop, write in, collaborate with your neighbor, help out at the local school or library? Who will heal Gaza? Obama the magical negro cannot take away the pains instantaneously, but he can inspire us to do it ourselves! Isn't that how it works in the movie anyway, except maybe this time he will get credit as he goes along instead of after he's 80. Uh, yeah. Signed sealed delivered, he's ours and we're his. Don't forget that.


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 possibility! Oh my goodness. Or should I say, the harvest of possibility? This week UCLA struts and crows about its bountiful harvest and UCI follows next month. But right now, daring dance theater, traditional hijinx and uncommon performance spaces show just how busy folks have been making a way when there appeared to be none! Let's eat! Metaphorically speaking...harvest, reap, thresh, yeah....



TONIGHT
WORLD ARTS & CULTURE, UCLA
Gloria Kaufman Dance Theater
Anyone Home Reunion Tour
January 16 & 17th; $10/$8 show, $9 parking in Lot 4 (car pool or bus in)
Eighteen alumni from a span of 34 years descend upon Kaufman Hall to show the young'uns how its done. This is a fantastically cheap show given the bill. Choreographers include: Linda Gold, I Made Bandem, Li Chiao-Ping, Banafsheh Sayad, Tamica Washington-Miller, Jackie Lopez and Amrapali Ambegaokar. Linda Yudin will present part of her glorious company, Viver Brasil. There is also an exhibit with the remaining artist presenting their work. All this for $10?!



UNKNOWN THEATER
1110 Seward Street @ Santa Monica Blvd Los Angeles, CA
Rupture: An Evening of Dance Theatre
Thursday January 16 - Sunday 18th, 8 PM/Sunday 6 PM; $18 advance/ $25 @ door
LA Weekly said you better get your backside up and out of the house to see this show. Nuff said. Final Weekend.



TRACK 16 GALLERY
2525 Michigan Ave, Bldg C-1, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Crocheting with Plastic bags: A workshop A presented by IFF
Saturday, January 17th 2- 4 PM
Now, this is truly something to participate in. I know you've got that stash of plastic bags that you keep forgetting to recycle in front of the grocery store. Here's your chance to divert it from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and look stylish at the same time. The workshop is followed by a lecture by none other than Captain Charles Moore, the dude who went out into the Pacific Ocean and came back to tell us that a patch of plastic trash the size of Texas was about to jack up our surf and turf buffet plans. Not to be missed.


UC RIVERSIDE, UNIVERSITY THEATER, directions
Off Campus Drive by the intersection of Canyon Crest Drive and MLK BLVD
Wonderboy, Joe Goode Dance Group
Wednesday, January 21st, 8 PM; $35/$17
Come out on a Wednesday evening--traffic not too bad--to see one of America's most highly awarded living dancers choreograph live bodies and a puppet. Yeah, shocked me too, but Joe Goode was named a United States Artists Fellow for 2008, one of only five national dance artists so honored. Wonderboy has already made itself known as a must-see piece of artistry and revelation. I"m just going to see the puppet dance though.



UC IRVINE CENTER FOR GLOBAL PEACE
UC Irvine Student Center, Doheny Beach Rooms B, C, D , directions
"Critical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa" A two day conference
Presented by The UC Irvine Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies and UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center
January 16 - 17 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
I did pledge to increase knowledge of Africa on my Face Book page, so I am urging those of you so inclined to go and learn something about how to be of better service to the residents of the continent of Africa. I had a grad student from Indonesia who had quite a lot to say about the "pity factory of philanthropy" which I found extremely interesting. I anticipate that and other scathing assessment of uneven global aid efforts into the countries of Africa. The event is happening now and its Friday (yucky traffic) but tomorrow is still on its way. Co-sponsored by:
University of California Humanities Research Institute, UC Irvine Office of Research, International Center for Writing and Translation, Center for Ethnography, Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality, and Center for Research on International and Global Studies



later on


FIVE THIRTY THREE
533 S. Los Angeles St., 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA
Still Point: Harmony, Justin and Hana
Friday, January 23, 2009 & Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 8:30pm; $15 at the door, no reservations.
A choreographic analysis of a poem by TS Eliot, Four Quartets, Still Point will instead feature six solos that examine stillness. At first, cocky me imagined everyone standing still for 90 minutes, but the sparse industrial backdrop of the gallery space offers opportunities for the audience to think about how we engage noise whether we want to or not. From their web page: "Performers Justin Streichman and Harmony Bench were integral to the development of the work and join choreographer, Hana van der Kolk in the performance. Composer and violist Cassia Streb joins the cast, performing her original score." I have the feeling that this will be a magical and memorable night, the kind that creeps up on you while you think you are getting bored. More details to come once I shake them out of Harmony.


HIGHWAYS
1651 18th Street, (at the 18th Street Arts Center), Santa Monica, CA 90404
THEN, an evening of new dance works and works in progress
Friday & Saturday, January 30th & 31st, 2008; 8:30 PM, $20/ $15 DRC members & students
Curated by Carmela Hermann and Stephanie Nugent
An evening of new and in process choreography by Louie Cornejo, Keith Glassman, Terrence Luke Johnson, Stephanie Nugent & Kristen Smiarowski. Professional dancers are invited to come out and talk to other professional dancers about the act of making professional dance.


STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Roble Dance Studio, Stanford University, 375 Santa Teresa, Stanford, CA
Parijat Desai Dance Company
Saturday, January 31, 2009, 5:00PM, FREE
My favorite critical dance theory copy editor has a rather amazing dance company of her own. Parijat Desai presents Malaysia (excerpts), Listening #5, and Quiet/Fire (excerpts). She is at our alma mater in residence for this quarter, so check her out if you are up that way. You will not be disappointed. Also, if you need a badass copy editor, shoot her an e-mail! Performers: Desai, Aditi Dhruv, Penelope Kalloo and Riyo Mito.
info@parijatdesai.org, diversityarts@stanford.edu http://www.parijatdesai.org/


coming up:
check out a series of speakers I've assembled on the topic of "Dance as Civic Duty." Joe Goode kicks us off this Tuesday evening 4:10 in PE 102 at UCR. more info to come on my "professional" blog, The Gesture and The Citizen.




INAUGURAL BALLS
Yes yes y'all, party on after one of the single most defining moments in our country's history. There are is a link to the balls in DC, should you be on your way out there and there are a few in San Francisco and here in LA. LIkely you'll need to be so-called A-list for some of the LA ones, but I think that paradigm has shifted with the new administration. Who's more superstar than the O right now? Even Oprah had to give up that letter for Barry.

Washington D.C.
For DC only http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/inauguralballs.htm
I think my favorite wild sounding party is the "Chant for Change" a kirtan party for all the yoginis out there hosted by our own Shiva Rhea...in DC no less!

San Franciso
My dear friend Aimee Allison and a bevy of other social activists in the bay Area are hosting "Inauguration West" at The Metreon, 4th & Mission Streets in San Franciso. This looks like THE party y'all. I had an invite, but have to come back for work...but I does got me a j o b ! http://inaugurationwest.com/

Face Book
If you are looking for a viewing party, it is likely that all those new-fangled video billboards will carry the thing live (just guessing, they did carry the returns when he won) and Face Book and CNN are hosting a virtual party, but you will be able to see the actual swearing in and festivities.

Los Angeles
It looks as if fabulous has gotten on the jet and gone off to DC. Since "el lay" is a city of players and performers, everyone will be back east workin' the floor, shakin' hands and grinnin', pretending like they didn't endorse Hilary Clinton early, often and dirty. But never fear, that "Everyone" meant "all the people who think they got juice but will soon discover that they don't" so come out to a parade in Silver Lake then a Bush beatdown in Echo Park and if you are still standing, head downtown for an actual Inaugural Ball, art scene stylee.

*FREE Inauguration Viewing Party at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, 7 AM, and get this FREE Parking
*19th, Double Happiness Parade Silverlake Reservoir Recreation Center - 1850 West Silver Lake Dr. - Los Angeles January 19 : 10:30 a.m. Celebrate MLK & Barack!
* 19th, Bush Bash: It's Over Remy's on Temple, 2126 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90026; 213-484-2884. January 19 : 7 p.m. - 1 a.m. FREE don't forget to bring a shoe to throw! http://bushbashla.com/press.html
*The Art of Change Inaugural Ball, 1038 S. Hill St. - Downtown, January 20 : 7 p.m. Hosted by the Mayan, this will be a musically edgy event, plenty of dancing and a recap video of the inaugural speech are promised. $10


Marcus Quiland-Nazazrio has to be hosting one somewhere. Come on, querido, don't hold out on me. Where's the happening party?



ONGOING CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
International workshops have already been an announced for a number of styles! This is great, because you have enough time to join a credit union with good, stable liquidity, and stuff away $150/month towards the trip. Uh, oops. Make that $350 - $450/mo... hmmm a car note. Well they can repossess your car, but your muscle memories will be all yours, so get that account open and start saving up!

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Baker/Tarpanga Project takes you to one of their homes away from home for intensive traditional and contemporary dances of the Old Mali Empire. $2500, August 1 - 15th. Hosted by Napam Beogo/Center for Artisans and Visual Arts. $250 non-refundable deposit due by May 1, 2009
http://www.btdanceproject.com/content/view/13/29/lang,en/

Salvador, Bahia-Brasil with Linda Yudin/Viver Brasil. This is a trip that just keeps getting better, so every dollar is well spent. Now in its 12th year, the trip includes a stop in São Paulo at the Museum Afro on your way up to Africa West, aka Bahia. $3495, double occupancy, air travel included from LA, Miami, NYC (additional city leg is at your own expense) August 1 - 17, 2009. $400 registration fee. Pay over Paypal!
http://www.viverbrasil.com/HTML_2008/travel_programs.html

Caribbean Dance Cruise (Guinea style) with Youssef Koumbassa. August 16 - 23, 2009; $500 deposit was due on 12/08, so call to see if they are still accepting registrants. Total depends on room type, $1400 - $1700, all double occupancy. Airfare not included. Departure Port is Puerto Rico. http://westafricandance.com/




LOVELY!
This was an effort! Every week, I watch with horror as my in-box fills up with ...newsletters! Then I just have to laugh because I signed up for most of them and use them diligently to bring you a little bit of the word storm as a gentle rain. So keep 'em coming! But please begin to send them to afrologic@gmail.com. Time to get the tributaries into one river. Make sure you go out and party hard this week. Take off work! Declare it a holiday for 2 whole days. Wave and smile at people you don't know. Break out your T-shirts, make Obama Playlists for your MP3 player or phone. Sing out loud. Skip while you walk. Whistle while you pee in a public bathroom. Do little dances while you wait to cross the street. PARTY! Cause it is likely that before that man's hand gets off that bible, we will all need to figure out a new game plan for several old problems that won't go away (with a quickness as they say in the vernacular). Until Tuesday, dream of peace, ask for grace, give hugs and take action for love.

in love,
-Anna