NEWSLETTER: re-member

Hello there!

This will be a Memorial Day that will not soon be forgotten here in the Golden State. After the election on May 19, it is clear now that...the sky is the limit! That's right. I am not being facetious either; I truly mean this. So much just went wrong here that it is highlighting across the nation everything that can and often does go wrong when money, personal agendas, and politics are mixed in a glass called "democracy." Now that "voters" have made it clear that there is no way that we will collective agree to have children, the mentally ill and disabled, the drug and gambling addicted disenfranchised in our budgetary process. The pundits are asking if the state is ungovernable, but I think that is the wrong question. I believe that what we are now forced to consider in California (and also in major cities across the US with fluctuations in demographics) is whether or not the residents of California are willing to act as citizens and self-govern. I want you all to the read this amazing article in the Economist about the issue. Please. It is super important: knowledge is power! Okay, that was hokey, but really, we arts types and we educator types and we funky freaky wanna be ourselves types really need to check the VOTING reality to get a better handle on the legislative reality. So I opened this by saying the sky is the limit; it is. We have absolutely nothing to loose at his point. By the time Sacramento gets done trying to look as if it can make a balanced budget, thousands currently in "good government jobs" will be unemployed, at least a hundred health and social service programs will be cut, there will likely be another 10,000 people in the street in LA alone (there are currently an estimated 90,000) and the water battle between No. Cal & So. Cal will go "balls to the wall." Sounds grim? It could be, but I have hope that the Constitutional Convention can quickly put us in a fiscal position that will allow us to turn the free fall into flight. It will take all voters, no matter your political persuasion, working on this. It may mean foregoing your own special issue for a few months: I was mortified to receive a frenzied e-mail from Californians Arts Advocates asking me to call my rep to pass AB 700 after the election. I found that ridiculous, even though I understand that right now we are having a hard time getting NEA stimulus money into the state because there is no true strength in the California Arts Council. That email really underscored the facts discussed in the Economist article: there is a highly self-sorted group of white people (non-representative of white folks generally) who are polarized at either end of the political spectrum who are running the state into the ground bickering among themselves through propositions and narrowcasted bills. Miraculously, these folks manage to make it look like it's the rest of us who are the problem. We can all change this. I urge you all to participate, even if you absolutely hate politics, because you live here; this is your home. Admit it, you love palm trees next to firs. It works for you. So stopping thinkin Icarus and start thinking Phoenix. And yet We Rise...


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 this week is a plethora, a grip, a boatload of things to do around LA for three whole days. Whew! I'm gonna be very tired by the end of this. Get your party on! And give that uncle of yours who ain't been right since he got back from da war (pick one) a great big hug and an apology (just don't sneak up on him)



HIGHWAYS
1651 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Tim Miller' Lay of the Land
Has gotten rave reviews and will finish out its run this weekend as part of Highways 20th Anniversary celebration. This is a timely show, but the nailbiter--the CA Supreme Court decision on Prop 8--is still a week away. Again, pundits are guessing that Prop 8 will not be repealed so get your glitter out and set some major intentions that it will.

MASONIC LODGE
My FAV little museum that could, The Museum of Jurassic Technology, is collaborating with my fav mad scientists, Machine Project, to bring you a peepshow/panorama this weekend only. This is a walk-through performance, and while there is a kid price, it is not recommended for the 4yr and under set. Since it's my son's birthday weekend, we hope to be there tomorrow night.

UCLA
Reggae Fest is in effect and from what I hear, actually quite bombastic. I think I OD'ed (sp?) on reggae festivals in college....

LA MARATHON
Wow, so, um, it might be hard to get ANYWHERE is you live along the route, so just go out and cheer.


and...wow. there is not much to look at recently, but check the archives and find some gems that i never published that are going up now...


i think Monday is the new Saturday.

SANTA MONICA BEACH
May 25 @ 2 PM there will be a flash dance mob lead/designed by Christine Suarez. You wanna be there if you can. Last rehearsal is at 12:30 if you want to do it! Where Ocean Park Blvd meets the sand. The action will move all the from there to the Pier. Bring sunblock, water, light snacks.

TROPICO DE NOPAL GALLERY ART-SPACE
1665 Beverly Blvd./near Union Ave. Los Angeles (Echo Park), CA 90026; 213-481-8112
Faces of Nature -- a solo performance
Monday, May 25, 6:30 p.m. doors, 7:00 p.m. performance begins, $10
Rosangela Silvestre is finally showing her dance work here in LA! This is not to be missed!
"This unique performance will culminate with an invitation to partake in an open discussion about the nature of her extraordinary work and artistry." BLOWOUT COMB! plenty of street parking, but do carpool. www.tropicodenopal.com

HIGHWAYS
1651 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Queer Mondays is turning folks out over at Highways, last Monday of each month. This Monday should be legendary as the celebration for Highways 20th continues. To sign up:
E-mail IAN MACKINNON at imackinn1@hotmail.com Mon 7:30pm $5

REDCAT
631 W Second St, Los Angeles, CA
The REDCAT has a lot more programming beginning on Sundays and Mondays these days. I just went to the Spring Studio, which I co-curated with Chi-wang Yang and had a blast! George Lugg claimed I conjured that earthquake, but I think it was the voice of Jasmine Oripilla. Riveting! The next Studio is in the Fall, so prep your new works! For now, we are about to enter summer season there and weekends will reign supreme, kicking off with Dance CameraWEST on June 5. Buy your tickets NOW!

THE OPEN SPACE, on dance map
209 S. Garey Street, 2nd floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Anatomy Riot #32 is going to be a zoo! I am co-curating with Arianne Hoffman. We had a good time at AR #31, Time Clock OFF, and hope to see many of you at this next one, GrrrrrrAnimals or Beasts & Burdens or Pets that I can’t keep. This will be legendary, though I cannot and will not promise an(other) earthquake.




FESTIVALS
several series kick off the first weekend in June, and I've got my picks for you. but after i go dance in the sand and then scoot over to watch rosangela silvestre!




ON GOING CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
Well, y'all just missed Rennie Harris give a $15 master class at The Electric Lodge. it was smokin. All house, all the time. Hopefully, he will do it again next month.

Also in town for special workshops and events is the inimitable (though many try) Rosangela Silvestre, a great example of perseverance, dedication, and a whole lotta gumption! She gave an INSPIRED class, also at The Electric Lodge this Saturday as a guest in Kimberly Mullen's slot. Next class with Rosangela is Tuesday, May 26 @ 8 PM at the Dance Art Academy.

Next class series that is likely burning a new whole in the minds of the participants is Michael Sakamoto in the DANCEBank. The last Saturday is next weekend at 11 AM in the Metabolic Studio / Farmlab, 1745 North Spring Street, #4, LA, CA 90012. This brother really will rearrange your perception, so go take this class. A steal at $12.

At the CENTER THEATRE GROUP, DANCE GOOD DAMMIT, is offering a special workshop at the dirt cheap price of $10, Gregory Barnett is one rare bird and I have to say that you will feel sooo liberated afterwards that looking back at how you thought about your body and its place in the world, you go "WTF?! You mean I coulda done_____ anyway?!" Yeah, free your mind and your ass will follow. Except I think Greg would say, "release your ass and your mind will thank you." Sundays, 2 - 5 PM June 7th, 21st, 28th. Class is limited to 15; few spots left. Contact him now (dancegood.damnit@gmail) 310-749-0348 and specify which date(s) you will attend. NO DROP INS due to security: they need a list of who they're letting in the building. once confirmed exact location and entrance to use will be sent via email.

All locations on the Afrologic Dance Map!



LOVELY!
I've got some cool grants to tell you about and some more ideas about liberating ourselves from lack consciousness, but I gotta get to walkin so I can make rehearsal out on the beach! I want to urge you to join the Afrologica network at http://afrologic.ning.com and PARTICIPATE. My Twitter feed is live over there and soon I will upload a grip of videos from here and there. I hope you can join us since there is about to be big movement on several fronts around a number of the things I like to preach about here, lol! Seriously though, it's time to connect reader to reader to build networks that can help sustain us through this very difficult transitional move. Yes, it is just transitional, but it is complex, polyrhythmic, weight-bearing and zone-shifting, so please, do not hang onto your hat: hold somebody's hand...and smile, all eyes are on each and everyone of us!!!

in love,
-Anna

NEWSLETTER: lifting the arches

Ola, Aloha, and hello!
Ok. I need to catch my breath. September is no joke! The weather shows us how the month is moving: extremities balanced by a small, almost pivotal transition well past midday. Yikes! So lift your soles in order to get your soul grounded with a good inhalation and a superb exhalation. Truly, those who seek to thrive rather than simply survive this month will really need to become mindful of that exhalation. As is customary in market driven mayhem, the art scene is flourishing because, as we artist types really know, i mean KNOW in our bones, when there is nothing to loose other than the moment to do IT, we go and do. There is lots of doing, aside from the Festival of Sacred Music, some of it just to be out there, others in obvious response to the Call from the Universe to be brilliant and brave no matter what. In this upcoming week, make sure you are tuned to the right frequency and be brilliant and brave in all that you do.


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.

Now that we are falling back into it, I will likely get the class back up and running, with a twist. Stay tuned!

Right now BLOWIN BACK DA 'FRO is time itself: September is half over! But that means that the stage dance season is about to hit full stride, but will likely feel a wee empty if you made it out to half of the dance stages produced this summer. Three cheers for local dance and savvy producers!!


THE ELECTRIC LODGE
1416 Electric Ave, Venice CA
September 12 - 13, 8:30 PM; Sept. 14th @ 2:30 PM; $13/$10
Mix Match Dance Festival, hosted by Hart Pulse Dance Company alights at the Lodge.
Alexandria Yalj strikes again! I hope to check out a bit, but the image is too small for me to tell you who is on the line up in addition to Alexandria, who sent me the notice. Hart Pulse Dance has the links for the tickets, which are best purchased on-line.


UNKNOWN THEATRE
1110 N. Seward ST, Hollywood, CA 90038
Thurs - Sat 8 PM; Sunday 6 PM: $18 on-line, $24 at the door or by phone 323-466-7781
Fables du Theatre Sex. Death. Clown
"Yeah, yeah , Anna you want us to go see this show," Yes I do. The reviews alone should make you want to shake a leg and get over there right now. It is running until the 24th and LAPD has tried to shut it down--twice in one night. Yowsa. Go to study up.


REDCAT LOUNGE
631 W. 2nd ST, Los Angeles, CA; directions
Tuesday September 16th, 6 - 9 PM; readings begin at 7 PM
itch#8: PORNOCRACY launch Party
So last week I gave the wrong address for this space. It is in the Redcat, so hopefully you figured that out and will show up to Hassan's house and try to break in. Itch is really a fantastic thing: a dance writers' collective (go Taisha Paggett, Sara Wolf and Meg Wolfe!), this collection of pages has now gotten a website going, has an easy way for you to subscribe (even institutions for those of you who work in the college circuit) and makes you think about the act of thinking about dance as something larger than muscles firing in patterns. I'm chatty! Come to this launch party and you'll get to hear my voice and see me. A number of us will be reading a snippet from one of our submissions to itch and there may be a little bit of a performance stashed in there as well. This is great networking moment, hint hint. $3 drinks.



PARK(ING) DAY LA
Friday, September 19th, all day, check live map for specific times and locations
all over the City; Free
I WANT TO DO THIS!!! But it might be too late to pull this off; check out the video, you'll see why I am hesitating. So I am going to have tea in as many of these places as I possibly can. Parking Day is this fantastic event where citizens take over parking spots and make mini-parks for two hours. This is a GLOBAL event, created to draw attention to the amount of space allocated cars, and the lack of open spaces in the urban environment. If you have ever heavily sighed when a house or building finally went up on a vacant lot that you had come to cherish, this event is for you. On Park(ing) DayLA's website, if you have been inspired, you can find instructions for setting up your own park--there is still time! Everything you need paperwork related is there as well as the 10 steps towards a successful park. Happy Parking!


MILES MEMORIAL PLAYHOUSE
1130 Lincoln BLVD, Santa Monica 90403; 310-998-8765
September 19th through Oct 3; Fridays & Saturdays 8:30PM; Sundays 3 PM, 420 - $30
Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Kristina Wong takes the stage all by herself in her nationally acclaimed one-woman show, finally having its premiere here at home. Wong is crazy stuff. The kind of humor that makes milk spurt out of your nose, even if you're not drinking any. Check her out. Opening night should be a blast but I have no idea where you can get tickets. The playhouse website is still under construction. If you helped with a half-knitted sweater, you should go to make sure it is not being hurt.


REDCAT
631 W. 2nd ST, Los Angeles, CA; directions
September 19 - 20, different bills each night; 8:30 PM; $20/$16/$10
Creative Music Festival
This event inaugurates the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts. If you are not attending events at the Festival of Sacred Music, then you must go see Wadada Leo Smith hold court with his trumpet. Also on the bill: Music and the Voice: Thomas Buckner and the Silver Orchestra; Anthony Davis and Episteme; Amina Claudine Myers Trio and the CalArts Choir. Music and Video: Lian Ensemble and The Golden Quintet.


ARMORY CENTER FOR THE ARTS
145 N. Raymond Ave, Pasadena CA 91103
Saturday September 20, 7 - 9 PM Opening reception
TAPESTRIES, a video installation by Marsia Alexander-Clarke
A fixture on the art scene in the Inland Empire, Marsia brings her hypnotic video work to Pasadena. This is a rare treat, so go see it. I love how she continues to go at it, no matter what. And work is inspiring in surprising ways given its formalism. Check her out through November 16th.


AVENUE 50 STUDIO, Inc.
131 No. Avenue 50, Highland Park, CA 90042 (323) 258-1435
Avenue 50 Gallery's Fundraiser
Sunday, September 26, Noon to Midnight, $10
Imagine a 12 hour poetry jam and you've got this evening in Highland Park. Avenue 50 is a mainstay in the city, and this is an interesting way to get the funds to their projects. The fee covers all day--you can come and go--and there will be food for sale. The line up is stellar. It includes my fav, Ms. Pat Payne so I'll have to figure out how to sneak away to get to see her throw it down.

Looking for something mentioned last week? Check out the archives.


ONGOING CLASSES & SPECIAL WORKSHOPS
+There's an upcoming workshop based in Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed work led by Hector Aristizibal on Sept. 27 - 28. The price is $200, and any money the organizers make above their costs will be donated to Sojurn, a safe house for victims of domestic abuse. Call Fred Kahane at 310-396-1325 for further info, and also make checks out to him. $50 saves your spot. Mail to 1122 Marco PL, Venice CA 90291. If you have been looking for a way to push your art making passion into the possibilities of wider social engagement, this will be a significant experience for you.

+SOMA Fest LA is back again! Sept. 16 - 21 at the 18th ST. Art Complex in Santa Monica. The schedule has been announced so you should make your way over to their website to peruse the offerings and buy your packages now.

+Mama Camara has asked me to tell you to hold the following dates for the Debbie Allen Dance Academy African Dance Conference: October 1- 5, 2008. There will be an on-line registration process as well as an updates page. So save the date!

+Kinky Stretch!!! I forgot to put this into the newsletter, but I really really really want you guys to check out this class. Greg is a HOOT and will get you workin'! Class will begin on October 9th, Thursdays 7:30 - 9 PM for only $10. Check it at the Open Space.

The Class Map is getting rather interesting! Viver Brasil is BACK! And they are bringing the heat of Bahia with them for the upcoming Festival of Sacred Music. Check out the DISPATCH on the festival for specifics about their participation, but until then, head over to their regular classes because some FANTASTIC visitors are coming into town for the Dance Arts Academy Tuesday night offerings. Don't miss it!!!!



quickie reviews...
If you checked out Sans Detour at the Ford, you likely left smiling after Catch Me Bird's exquisite and smart piece Silk. If only everyone had that much fun doing a confessional! From the opening scene unfurling the seeming never-ending lengths of red silk from the tops of the amphitheatre, through the wrapping of the audience space with same, Silk was a delight, even as it ran head on into the difficulties of cross-cultural communication and gendered communication. Verging on the silly and circus-inflected, Silk still made a clear statement about the centrality of the personal in the political through often radical athleticism and lyrical articulation. Conversely, I was a bit astonished by the unquestioned, almost ignored, role of racialized, gendered bodies in Baker & Tarpanga Project's piece, Disorder Inside Order. While there was some hot dancing (loved the newspaper dance), amazing music, clear topic (journalistic freedom, almost pedantically hammered home), ultimately, the relationship between Wilfred Souly's character and Ester Baker's character was so brutal and unclear that it really, for me, destroyed the piece. A large black man folding up the body of a lithe white woman like she was a folding chair while she struggles to get away really drags the US mind very far from journalistic freedom. I think the piece would do well to be revisited after a thorough rethinking of the role of race and gender in the company, given the topics that seem to interest this husband and wife team. Their ambitions deserve nothing less.

This past Monday I made it to Anatomy Riot #26 as a lucky audience member who also got to perform! Actually, I was on the bill. I was really glad to be there and have to give it up to Meg Wolfe for humpin' like a camel and Hassan Christopher for his generosity. The night was nicely curated with a great mix of talking dances and performance art tendencies and video dance. UCR was extremely well represented--in downtown LA! It was also great to get to try out something with a willing and rather informed audience; I was grateful for the opportunity. Thank you to those of you who came out and supported us and thank you to the other performers who brought their work selflessly. Though the format is short form, the pieces were for the most part, densely layered and rather profound and still, believe it or not, entertaining. So take yourself to the next one, they happen almost every month. I'll write a bit more about it in...Afrologica! I tend to take a bit more time to think about these events, rather than just dump ideas (unless of course I"m hoping to get a bigger audience for the next night) so I'll have more to say about both evenings, even about myself (Sara Wolfe asked me, "So how is that book going, Anna?" Damn. So busted) on Afrologica. Please feel free to comment! And don't hold those last few sentences against me...


LOVELY!
Writing this newsletter on the anniversary of the collapse of the Twin Towers has made me rather chagrined, but also simply amazed. I could wallow in the fact that we have manipulated those 3000 deaths as a rational for any ridiculous thing that passes for foreign policy these days. Or I could float to the stars in the vibration of a underground that is so large, that it is likely the new Silent Majority, and this group of folks wants to hug you with their cyber hearts and minds; they want to see your face even if they don't know your name. They want to be the change and enjoy the peace...they/we are the love. Now, we become the shift, the much needed exhalation, the eruption for an emptying out, that always makes room for more life. Lift it up y'all.

in love,
-Anna