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

NEWSLETTER: step on the one

A BEAUTIFUL evening to you! This weekend in Los Angeles is sopping wet with ... sweat! Dance sweat that is. You must plot your trajectory so that you can catch a bit of it all. yes, that is a lot of money to drop in one weekend, but everyone gets a tax refund, right? Okay. I happen to be one of those people that almost always gets a tax refund (except when I am living in NY), but I am always incensed by the marketing that occurs trying to pry my dollars out of my hand to consume random stuff, just cause I got some dollars! This year, it was a wee different with creditors trying to dump me, even though I pay regularly, cause I am not a big money borrower. I got pay off offers that were almost as panicked as I was when I clicked "submit" the other night at the end of my TurboTax session. During review, I had questions tossed at me for my Schedule C that I had never ever heard...It should not be this complicated to have your own business, especially if your business is dance-related. Of all the arts, dance is the most difficult to monetize and likely has the highest amount of hidden costs. You have your home office but you drive to a studio where you pay rent to give a class where you "earn" money (I can hear all the dance teachers laughing right now). You can write off your mileage, part of your car value, car service etc, etc. How many of you do that? You are flown out to dance with someone, but you are doing "work for hire." You incur costs beyond the per diem (if one is offered) which you might not be able to write off since you were being told explicitly what to do and needed supervision and and andARGGGHHHH! Meltdown. Tax code needs some work. It especially needs to get a true distinction between high concert dance companies and dance laborers. Americans for the Arts are meeting soon, and I bet they will spend their time trying to get money out of the government, rather than investigate ways that money is extracted from performance-based artists at rates that are unfair given the amount of ongoing investment required to run "the business." And while everyone likes to complain about their tax rate, witness the tea parties today, our rate of taxation is the lowest it's ever been in history. What gives? Why do we all feel cheated? because we are in large part not investing that money in each other, but rather into systems to manage us. We gotta change this! Could you imagine being able to select what you want your tax owed to go to? The same way we are up in arms about the bailouts, we should just as actively be about identifying and initiating a shift in how taxes are assessed, collected then distributed. I KNOW we'd all feel a lot better and have more cash to go out to enjoy each other. Vibe on that. Focus. Now step on the good foot and Manifest it.

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 dance programming on almost every stage in town, with two major shows (or as they have called them "queer dance week) that look like NYC imports but are actually local. I'm also astounded and grateful to find myself curating three dance events, one of them, I am seeding to our collective unconsciousness to go viral in time for Int'l Dance Day. Now let's figure out how to get from the west side to downtown then to Hollywood and maybe to mid city for class.


HIGHWAYS
MEG WOLFE /SHOW BOX presents TENDER / Sharon Sherman's DEMOLITION BOY
April 17 - 19
Fri + Sat 8:30pm
Sun 7:00pm $20/$15
OPENS TONIGHT!
I will see you there in just a bit! My pick. (This was an extraordinary night of gritty, intelligent and surprising performances. Here is where queer releases the self-referential and turns its body-intelligence on the brutality of the everyday in overdeveloped society, with tongue firmly in cheek , or against cheek, or between cheeks. Ahem. This show was not only enjoyable to watch--even its more grotesque exchanges-- it was scathing social commentary that was well placed and designed. I really liked how focused each piece was: Sherman's on the rating, valuing and judging of art and bodies and Wolfe's+Barnett's on the physicality of relationships. The dancing was full-on dancing when necessary with only the occasional nod to a postmodern pedestrian palette. And that is as it should be. These dancers do not live in a walkable village and what is an everyday movement now seems like science fiction when compared to "high" Judson Church antics. I hope that the show can find its way on tour.)



REDCAT, map
April 15-17, 2009 The Sharon Disney Lund Dance Series
Dance by Neil Greenberg presents Really Queer Dance with Harps
Thurs 4.16.09 8:30 pm $25 $20 $12 Fri 4.17.09 8:30 pm $25 $20 $12
SOLD OUT! I went and saw it last night. I loved the Coda, but was kinda sad that the men and women did not dance together more: they were truly inspired when they did. As it turns out, that section was a bit of an inside joke between Greenberg and his dancers to finally give the audience what they wanted. Oh well. I thought that section was lush and still smart. The harpists would make Sun Ra proud. I had no idea that a harp could make all those sounds! Flavorpill's pick.


UNKNOWN THEATRE, map & parking
1110 Seward Street, Los Angeles
Mongrels by Samantha Giron Dance Project
Thursday April 16th, 2009 - Sunday April 26th, 2009; Th - Sat @ 8 PM & Sundays @ 6 PM; $18 advance on-line sale, $25 at the door
OPENS TONIGHT
A stripped-down and tripped out investigation of LA's electronica club scene, Mongrels seeks to get the rabid beasts off the street and onto the stage, but don't be surprised if they have filled all the seats in this small house. Lucky for you, it's a two-weekend run. Grover Dale's pick.


UCLA’s Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater, map
120 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA
Saturday Apr 18, 8 PM; Sunday, April 19, 2pm. $10/ $8 call (310) 825-2101 or online
CUP of JAVA
I am so over the title of this show, but the dancing will be without parallel. If you are looking for solid dance drama performed with the music and not in spite of it, this is your type of show. Seven of the most highly regarded performers of Java will take the stage with Gamelan, puppetry and dance; giving a level of enticement to "spectacle."


Next week is gonna be BUSY! If you know of a special Dance Week event, hit me up on Face Book so I can list it.



BPS at the BREWERY
618B Moulton, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company presents Value System
Thursday April 23 - Friday 24th @ 8 PM, Saturday April 26 @ 5 PM; $20/$25
Okay, so just off the title of the piece, I am so THERE. Plus, PLUS, have you checked them out?! It is likely you have seen a number of these work-horse dancers laboring in the pieces of choreographers all over town. If anybody was gonna make a piece about the economy, this would be the crew; they know it intimately. When they come together, they tend to go for it. So Imma finally get my butt to one of their shows. You should, too, if you have not. MUST GO.


114 W. 5th Street (b/w Spring & Main), map
IT’S (A)LIVE: BRAVE LIVE ARTS FROM LOS ANGELES
Friday April 24 7pm – 10pm; no tix info but i do beleive that donations are welcomed at the door, plan for $15
Stakes a very big claim in their press release: "is an amalgamation of artists who claim, write and redefine the real, constructed and imagined territories of Los Angeles. The body, gender, race, sex(ualities), history and play are examined and celebrated through dance, movement, literature, storytelling and music." Curated by Dino Dico, what I most like about the promise of this group show is that it is situated in the history of Downtown LA performance scene. So this is uber alternative, kiddies. Go check out part of the luminous darkside. Artists include: RICARDO A. BRACHO : BUTCHLALIS DE PANOCHTITLAN : HEATHER CASSILS : SIR HEFFINGTON & THE FINGERED DANCERS : ICY LYTES : BIANCA OBLIVION : DORIAN WOOD


BEATROCK STORE & GALLERY, map
4158 Norse Way, Long Beach, CA
Because Your Mama Said So: Group ArtShow dedicated to Mr. T
Sat Apr 25 2pm – 11pm, Opening reception, exhibit through
Alfie Numeric can throwdown y'all and this will be quite the jam. Yes, "Mr. T, dammit!" If you are in your 30's, okay, maybe 40s, you know you were lovin you some Mr. T on the A-Team. Come on now, don't try and front! I had to drop it 80s style just then, sorry. Ahem. Mr. T., crazy lookin character that he was, would always tell us kids "Don't be a fool, stay in school!" And so, I did. Cause if that's what lookin foolish was like, I was definitely staying in me some school! Alfie Numeric and massive crew celebrate this giant icon with a day long series of events, and of course, a commerative t-shirt. For more information, please contact Dave Araquel at dave@beatrock.com or Alfie Ebojo at alfie@alfienumeric.com

REDCAT
Marc Bamuthi Joseph/The Living Word Project
the break/s: a mixtape for stage
Wednesday, April 22 - Saturday April 25 @ 8:30 PM, Sunday April 26 @ 3 PM; W - F $25/12; Sat & Sun $30/16.
Now last week I lost my mind about this, and I will once again: THIS IS THE BIG BLOWOUT COMB. Taking HIP Hop theatre to a whole 'nother plane, Bamuthi imagines the stage as masterblaster boom box. MUST GO. I will be there. Connect with me on Twitter to figure out the day.

So I got a lovely call from the Dance Ninja which got me in to see this show on Wednesday. OMG! Fantastic craftsmanship, excellent use of projection and lighting, inspired use of live and canned sound, and the turntabelist? Forget about it! Now, having said all that, after I stood to give bruh his standing ovation, I did start to wonder at all the rferences in the piece that reminded me of other pieces I had seen before...Alright, well, that's hip hop right? Everything is in the mix, sampled, segued, otherwise shapeshifted and repurposed; no big whoop. But I liked the way thet Rennie Harris used Prince's lyrics in Rome & Jewels better than Bamuthi's remix. Then I realized that he never quite answered his own questions, which is all fine and good, but why were they asked, since they were rather polemical most of them? And women...dude's still working on his thang with women. So why did we never hear from his mother? Were his questions now ringing as the eternal quesitons of Hip Hop? The irriducible prime numbers at its core? And that was a long time to watch somebody work through their fantastic, yet personaly troubling life, even though it was wonderfully directed. But dammit if it was not BEAUTIFUL! SO yeah, he was pullin on them white liberal heartstrings to tug the dollars right out of their pockets with some of the most negroidal stereotypes around while playin at the edge of antiracist thought, but he did it with the utmost skill. It was mesmerizing. You should go, but maybe if you do, could you please ask him what the hell is "post hip hop any damn way"? Thanks.



WHEW!! Loving U!
Liked to lost my mind and kinda sat on this one! Actually, weird weird things happened in my Twitter account as I discovered just how little imagination remians among a good swath of people when it comes to the possibilities of the internet. When did we become Ferangiis? You know, that Star Trek "race of aliens" that only live to profit and profit to live? Yuck. Oh yeah, the thrice weekly 140 mile commute (that's 420 for those counting) is taking its toll; seven more weeks to go. I am throwin this newsletter up on the blog and even shipping it out. Yes I have some nerve! But then I am posting a fresh one TODAY, albeit with some of the same stuff, but with a special dance week section. I am feeling a big shift, change, push, lurch into a vision of collaboration. As the picture becomes clearer, I'll share it with you. Intersectional, ambition, collaborative, expansive, loving...yeah yeah yeah. All of that and a bag of dehydrated collard chips (yes, those really are good).

in love,
-Anna