Digital Media and Learning Conference @ UC San Diego

This is a quick note about a conference where I will perform in a few hours! The MacArthur Foundation is supporting the Digital Media and Learning Hub at UC Irvine to host its first conference on the topic. Registration was closed once they hit the 400 attendee mark!  That is great, and yet, kinda terrible, because there does not appear to be a streaming alternative.


Well, I am working on one.


Just for Texterritory, of course.  Sheron Wray, performance architect and her co-conspirator Fleeta Siegel are (re)launching the platform tonight, Thursday February 18 @ 8:30 PM.  I play a new character for the series, Lily Anna deForce. This is proving to be a rather hard hitting installment to the journey of Grace, a legal secretary just looking for love, via your cell phone suggestions;->

Register your cell phone NOW to participate in the show: TEXT UCI to 72648


To find out more about this SMS-induced performance, please check out
http://www.sheronwray.com   and
http://www.texterritory.com


To maybe see a bit of the show remotely, look for my Ustream feed:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/texterritory-dml


We don't have an extra body yet, so  cannot promise that the feed will go live. I think I will get that solved shortly. You can follow the conference feed on Twitter by searching #dml2010.

See you soon, or at least chat/text with you...

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

NEWSLETTER: cleansing breath

SO grateful to say : PEACE & BLESSINGS!

Last week found me sitting vigil while my student's filed their last bit of work for me during the quarter. I also had new students for next quarter begging into a full course, the new TA wondering where the syllabus was for the other course and the universe telling me it was time to MOVE SOMETHING! I tweeted as best I could, but could not get my head enough space to send a coherent newsletter. Rather than annoy, I opted out while I handled business. Now fresh off a flu so painful that I thought I had dengue fever again, I just have to say thank you that I survived. It hurt! It also hurt watching two long-running So. Cal dance festivals go head to head on last weekend. The pain was not so much that I could not go ( I was sitting for friends pre-flu) but that one festival was starved for patrons (New Dance @ St. Joseph's Ballet), while the other (Celebrate Dance) was sold out. I saw this train wreck coming, though I do hope that in the end St. Joseph was able to fill its seats. If you want to read more on this, check Afrologica as it is becoming a bit of a series on demographics, value, and arts management. It is clear, that dance artists have to pay careful attention to the head 2 head mashups; it is less true now that there is always an alternative audience. Bailout watching is a great example. AIG seems to think we will soon get fatigued and not want to hear about them anymore. WRONG! Even comedy goes all populist shrill when bailouts come up. If you missed Comedy Central's Jon Stewart of the Daily Show rip Cramer from CNBC's Mad Money a new one, here is the link. This stuff is stealing our art audiences! And I don't mean cause its got their attention; ITS GOT THEIR CASH. Thus, stimulus money continues to trickle up and not flow out (we'd even settle for a downwards trickle at this point) California is practically without government, and hence financing which means the great city-wide shakedown has commenced: pick a city, any city. One thing to think about are all the people being served with tax notices by the City of LA for operating businesses from their homes. With the rents charged here (no thanks to the housing board) you MUST run a business from your home, or you gotta move out of town. Whoops! There we are back to that shrinking middle class. Schools were hit with a barrage of pink slips this week, last hired first fired even if they were hired to alleviate overcrowding. Universities are making excuses to fire junior faculty who would in more normalized times attain tenure (a dude on my campus has challenged our chancellor to a debate for firing him), Madoff goes to jail alone (impossible!) and Obama's smile makes people want to give their money back to the gamblers again. Yeah. Nothing will be as it was folks. Time to MOVE IT or LOOSE IT. Obama got that message and sent his private "all-power-to-the-peoples" army door to door this weekend making sure we don't forget how to do government right. Take one big inhalation, exhale to clear the way for the subsequent greatness that is life, and get crackin on how you're gonna help fix our localized version of this mess. I for one, have mailed off my pledge to join the constitutional convention for the state of California. It is time to recognize the uncommon move, the arduous move, as the most elegant. Just keep breathing.

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 DA 'FRO this weekend is Redcat Studio cause I helped curate it!!!! I can't believe it either. We are very excited to present to you some fantastic work that we can't wait to crow about a year or so down the road "we had it first!" LOL! I got to meet so many interesting folks and learn a lot about LA art scene, many thanks to George and . Aside from amazing myself (geez I'm blushing), I'm also excited by the return of Collage dancers and all sorts of new projects that address our historical moment. Dive in!


REDCAT, map
631 W Second St, Los Angeles, CA,
Winter Studio
Sunday March 22 & Monday March 23, 8:30 PM; $15/$12/$8
Time for another installment in the Studio series at the REDCAT. I always look forward to this because it's a great way to discover something new and find out more about that person you see at all those events, lol! But this particular series bears a bit of my imprimatur as it were and portends a night of delicious surprises and serendipity (can you tell I've been reading a novel set in the 1700s). Really, there are breakthrough pieces on this bill. We worked hard to create a "show," which made all of us sweat a bit because there were more than 6 excellent pieces. But come and judge for yourself. Drinks after in the lounge on Sunday? The cast:

ANTICS PERFORMANCE: GONE WILD, ORI BAREL: IN A TUBE, BLANK-THE-DOG PRODUCTIONS: CAROLYN BRYANT PROJECT
KEITH GLASSMAN: SONNET (STROKE), ELIZABETH HOEFNER: MOTH-ASOMATI, KATHERINE SALTZBERG: LOS ANGELYNE

TEMPLE AKIBA
5249 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230
Heidi Duckler Collage Dance Theatre presents Really, All About Eve
Sunday, March 22 at 4 p.m.; $20 admission + $1 processing fee for PayPal transactions
Hmmmm. Okay, so I am recommending cause I love what Duckler does and Ms. Mecca Vazie Andrews is in the show, but not sure what to expect with a revisitation of the story of Eve. Their question: "was Eve framed?" This causes me to think about advertising my new service, but I'll restrain myself right now. This is an amazing company, with sharp and unusual takes on space and its relationship to meaning. With Plotz playing live, this should be a rather inventive afternoon.


HIGHWAYS
LOS ANGELES WOMEN'S THEATER FESTIVAL 16TH ANNIVERSARY: UNITED WE STAND!
Thursday, March 26 7:00pm Champagne GALA & Awards Ceremony; 28th, Friday 8:00pm; Saturday 2:00pm & 8:00pm; Sunday 2:00pm & 7:00pm
"A Multicultural Multidisciplinary Festival of Solo Women from throughout the U.S. join hands with the LAWTF for another extraordinary annual festival." My girl the Negrita Maldita, Ms. Pat Payne Spunky Sho Nuff Hurself is on the bill, so you best recognize that this at no flimsy gatherin of folks who could pay for the four walls and gonna show you just any ole thang. NOPE! You will be entertained, and schooled while they at it. Get your tix!
For ticket info visit: www.lawtf.com or call: 818-760-0408


UCLA ROYCE HALL, map
Los Angeles, CA 90095
David Rousseve/REALITY presents Saudade
Wednesday April 1 - Saturday April 4, 8PM & Sunday April 5th @ 7 PM; $46, $34, $15 tix
"Buoyed by mystical images of flight, the night sky and the deep southern bayou, and grounded in folklore, historical fact and personal experience, Saudade is a mosaic of character monologues told from a uniquely southern, African American perspective." As a Southerner myself, I can attest to how difficult it is to leave that place, and how difficult it is to stay. Rousseve has built an illustrious career coming to terms with the forced migration that is " Southern black artist." I hope to see you there.

REDCAT
Saturday April 4- Sunday 5th, 8:30 PM; $20/$16/$10
Gamelan Burat Wangi
The Monkey King is coming to a stage near you! Ok, not quite. Ramayana Monkey Chant, or kecak as it is known in Bali will be presented by this local treasure of a company. If you went to Pichet Klunchun & Me by Jerome Bel and were really pissed off at the whole thing, or just let down that you did not get the background text to the monkey dances, then go to this to clear your kinesthetic memory. You'll be dazzled, too.


coming up:
April 15 - 17 @ Redcat, Neil Greenberg presents Really Queer Dances With Harps
April 17 - 19 @ Highways Show Box presents the premiere of Tender, a new work by choreographer Meg Wolfe (in collaboration with Gregory Barnett), and Demolition Boy by guest artist, Karen Sherman (Minneapolis)
April 22ish, Face Book issue of itch dance journal, jump in and make it happen, details to come




WORKSHOPS & ONGOING CLASSES
Juan Carlos Blanco has moved to LA!!! Catch him every Sunday @ Studio #1- West LA, 2037 Granville Ave., West Los Angeles, CA for mixed level Afro-Cuban dance class that covers Yoruba, Arara, Congo & Franco-Haitian traditions. Cost $15. Accompanied by live percussion. Drop ins welcome! He is also building a company, so stick around for his repertory class that follows immediately afterwards if you are looking for this type of dance adventure.

Linda Yudin has closed out her Friday class at Dance Garden and moved it to MONDAYS 6:30 - 7:30, $15 single with class packages available. Badaró is having guests at Dance Arts Academy Tuesdays 8 - 9:30.

Rae Blum is back in the saddle at Dance Arts Academy on Thursdays 7:30 - 9:30 PM, $15 or what you can

Kimberly Mullen is in Hawai'i right throwing down a special spring break workshop, but her class at Electric Lodge on Saturdays at 10:30 AM will continue next week.

Meg Wolfe and SHOWBox are about to astound you...stay tuned.

Check the dance map for studio addresses and directions to them!




COLLABORATION
This from Ronald Burton:
Dear Dance Practitioners,
In my return to class next week, I will be conducting a mock audition practice for my students. If you can contribute any information in any technique as to the "real life" practice of preparing, dress, etiquette, what you look for, standing out, choreography retention etc. all will be welcomed credited additions to my information for sharing with my students. Please submit to my email address: rburton01@wesleyan.edu
help a brotha out! Plus, maybe if we ask real nice he will post a blog of the replies.


FRINGE FESTIVAL
nope, not in Edinbourough, but in Hollywood! They are in full production to secure performance venues and a call will go out soon to artists to submit their proposals. But as it is a Fringe Festival, you will be welcomed to put your show up wherever you find a space for it. Application process will open this summer, festival in 2010. Looking forward to this! http://www.hollywoodfringe.org for the details.




GIG
Viver Brail is seeking a Part Time Managing Director!

Provides direction and day-to-day management of several key such as finance, administration, communications, human resources and development; assumes responsibility for major projects such as booking services and touring assistance; assumes responsibility for organization in absence of E.D. Participates as a member of the senior management team to formulate and implement policies and plans to meet the organizations short and long-term objectives. Please go to their website for further details.



LOVELY!
Wow, I always forget how hard it truly is to come back from a big illness. Sorry Cari that I did not make the party:( but I spaced, and listening to my and my children's cough, we still do not need to be out in public. I've been over on Twitter learning new things about the world and meeting people. It is astounding how all of a sudden there is a rush to the microblog mindcast. Like, now everything has to get downsized, including our messages. Actually, what is happening there is likely a great road map for the power of the incremental. With our new found realization that value resides in the people you know, not in the stuff you have hoarded, and that your true monetary worth is only your payments for your labor, ie, your j-o-b, reaching large goals (goodness, what even is large now) takes a personal swarm, not a massive expensive launch of product. Celebrate Dance had a veritable swarm of groups participating and each group worked their email base to sell out 1200 seats, and they were willing to give away price to create value: 25% discount for groups over 15. The value here is the dance class crew, the large extended families, the high school dance team coming out together to see dance styles they would not have opted to see if their rep was not on the bill. It was like a Twitter homepage on stage: items floating by that might not make sense to you, but move you to investigate further. That's all it takes to ignite dance passion in the souls of new patrons. Yeah, we used to talk about enticment and seduction to get someone through the door, but now, we are talking value, that feeling of being loved, of being felt like a kiss that stays with you long after the show is done, that makes you look into the eyes of strangers and pass it on. Now there's a tweet. Let's keep at that.

in love,
-Anna

NEWSLETTER: rise and fall

Hello there,

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

Afrologic. Afrological. Afrologica. How big is you 'fro?
Multiple, fractal, improvisational, polemical, but always moving with spirit and in the service of lifting it/us all up.
That's the Logic of the Afro--sign up, get your community on.

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

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

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


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

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


Looking for something mentioned last week? Check the archives.



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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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




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

in deep love and gratitude,
-Anna