NEWSLETTER: twists, spirals, & pivots oh my!

ALAFAIA!

Sending you all calming love and light as we weather some serious storms! Goodness! I just want to know: where did "they" get 86 BILLION dollars and the arts can't even get a serious national fund from which to beg money? And how will the clean up of Ike be covered with that money floating off into bankrupt financial companies? What agency will fund dispossessed homeowners who now likely will not even be able to vote in November? Yes, we make and consume art in this economic reality. It is the material condition within which we work. It determines so much, that we often miss it. Like, for example, the rise of hour long dance classes and 3 hour long anti-classes. In one hour, a consumer can feel like they have done something without getting bogged down in the complicated details of how the class will probably not bail them out of their fat bodies, but rather a systematic approach to shifting eating, sleeping and working habits in addition to that precious one hour (multiplying it by 3 times) would do the trick; in effect they need to regulate. On the other end of the spectrum, classes that can best be described as "Gatherings" endure for 2, sometimes 3 hours without so much as one correction on alignment, one tasty tidbit about finding your center (although often the metaphorical center will be invoked). "Students" roam free, dance with abandonment and likely hurt in unimaginable places once the ecstacy, I mean joy, has drained from their system. Hmmm. Me thinks that this financial market thing is not unusual or out of the blue. It seems like we have been living this moment for some time, completely denying and accepting our predicament simultaneously: we desire the stability that an inhumane work ethic brings but want to live in the moment, at specific times. Yikes. Last week I felt the need to tell you to hold to the credits, this week I feel compelled to say the wheel of history has rolled back around, but this time, it is not a repeat. However, it will likely be by the seat of our pants.

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 the facts: everybody is trying to get their house in order, cleaned up, cleared out and ready to go for the soul-stix, I mean equinox. Y'all missed a lovely end/beginning with itch on Tuesday--get your subscription--and dancer types gathered last Sunday to chart a course. Other facts that actually got my ears a wee singed is the collapse of goodwill in the name of international cooperation. As you know, I work with Viver Brasil on their board and they just had a horrific time trying to get a visa application read, just read, even after expedition, to bring the lovely Dona Cici here for the Festival of Sacred Music. Yes, sacred. The facts are, that art and politics have long ago collided, but now you REALLY know, and will ACT accordingly. SO get out there and bring the big bag of love with ya (yeah, i'm preachin)


Lots of openings and one time gigs tomorrow/today! Start it off with a trip to the park.
PARK(ING) DAYLA
Friday, Sept. 19th
Yes! It is here! I plan to go and have tea in a number of these sites. Likely, I will make it after school gets out to downtown, but I will start in the AM in Santa Monica. Join me, e-mail afrologic@gmail.com if you plan to go to either of those spots or text WATA to 41411 for updates on my location. Check Park(ing) DayLA's live map for possible impromptu parks near you!


FORD AMPHITHEATRE
Backhausdance
Friday Sept 19th, 8:30 PM; $25/$5
I did not mention this group last week...but they will dance on grass! What a perfect way to end a day of strolling through park(ing)s. Tickets almost gone, allegedly.


MUSIC CENTER
Dance Downtown
September 19th, 7 PM FREE
Now if you end up downtown for the tea party, likely we will go dance disco at 7 PM, for FREE. Kiddies welcomed, so this might be where I end up. DISCO! Last one of the season, first come first served.

MILES MEMORIAL PLAYHOUSE
1130 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403
Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
September 19-October 5, 2008
Fri-Sat at 8:30pm / Sun at 3pm; $30 for opening night/ $20 general, discount for groups of 5+

Finally, I have ticket info! Good grief, good thing I delayed sending this as ticket info has changed. Well, the show is about craziness, so this is the pre-quel. She got a "go see" from Flava PIll, so watch out now! It opens tonight to sparkling cider fanfare! I am waiting for their Obama Fundraiser on the 21st--all proceeds to the O.


DIAVOLO LAB
6188 Moulton, Los Angeles
LA Contemporary Dance presents an Open Rehearsal
Friday, Sept 19th, 8 - 11 PM
It's a showing, wait it's a cocktail party. Don't you love that word? Cocktail, hmm, goes good with dance. Not sure, but a $20 donation is requested and you can do your best LA chic/slouch fashion statement, or bust out a vintage cocktail gown or smoking jacket. That'll teach them! Show up and help them get the Fall season off to a solid financial start.
Take a sneak peek at a rehearsal for our upcoming October repertory concert with original choreography by Kate Hutter and Kevin Williamson, while of course while enjoying an open bar courtesy of LACDC!

$20 suggested donation, reservations required, 323-883-1948. Free parking!



Looking for something mentioned last week? Check over in the archives.



PHYLLIS STEIN GALLERY
207 W. 5th Avenue @ Spring ST
Saturday, Sept 20th, 7 - 10 PM, FREE?
Artist in Residence Performance/Happy Hour
Come meet Mecca Vazzie Andrews and Sara Paul Occampo as thy host with Phyllis Movement Movement, VUM and Big Swell. Music, performance, drinks, art, a fine evening.

18th STREET ARTS COMPLEX
SOMA FEST is just about over. Classes are a wee pricey, but with anywhere from 3 -5 years for certification in these intricate techniques, we understand the price schedule. Tonight, check out...
HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE SPACE
1651 18th Street, Santa MOnica, CA
Friday, Sept. 19th - Sunday 21st, $20 gen/$15 student DRC discount
"conscious embodiment in performance" (um, i hope you don't phone it in when on stage, but maybe they mean, nothing repetitive without thinking), a show featuring: Christie Svane, Kirk Andrews, Lionel Popkin (go Lionel, cause he uses his name), Jamie McHugh, Stefanie Cohen, Craig Ng, and Teri Carter, the hostess with the mostess. Show repeats with different cast on Saturday night, both at 8 PM; then Sunday at 3 pm.

THE OPEN SPACE
209 S. Garey ST, Los Angeles, 90012
One Step Ahead Fundraiser
Saturday, doors at 7:30, show at 9 PM,; $15 suggested donation
Marissa Labog wants you to come out and shake it! She just launched One Step Ahead, a hip hop nation exploration and has invited Rodney Mason of Rome & Jewels fame to come and share the space as the raise the roof and the company. Check it out.


ELECTRIC LODGE
1416 Electric Avenue, Venice
MAX 10, featuring Simone Forti and Rae Shaolan Blum performing "icebergs"
September 28th, Saturday, $20 at the door as this is a fundraiser for the full season

If you've ever been to an Anatomy Riot and wondered, "whose grandma is that?" you should go see her dance! Simone Forti is grandma to all of us; and the coolest type: the one who knows just how foolish and crazy you really are so she eggs you on, knowing you will stumble across something wonderful that she can't wait to see. Forget candy in a purse! Every time I see her, I am just filled with gratitude. This past Tuesday at the itch launch party, she blew us away with her writing as well. There are so few true Elders willing to walk among us, don't miss the opportunity to see one do her thang. And Rae can D A N C E, so you don't want to miss the young thang work it! bonus: there are two slots which will be raffled off to audience members to perform...


ONGOING CLASSES/WORKSHOPS
A new stripper-inspired class has just joined the Tuesday line up at The Open Space. Gregory Barnett presents dancing with your pole, I mean pole dancing as you likely often have seen it and thought , "i love to swing!" Just kidding. Check out the dance map for directions. Class begins October. Follow this link to the Open Space for more info.

Please, don't forget Viver Brasil's sponsored workshop for the Festival of Sacred Music at the 18th Street Arts Complex, Sat Sept 20th at 1 PM. $10 gets you choreography, song instruction and a SHOW. If you feel so moved, please leave double after the event. This one will be awesome.


LOVELY!
So this is sooo bloody late, that I have to apologize. Mil desculpas! I've had quite the week--likely I should've danced more! But the writing task that got in the way our/my weekly love offering to you is almost complete, and hopefully, I'll see you soon in a new studio space. I do have a show coming up that I am curating with Pat Payne in October; part of our VISCERA thang. So if you are not on Face Book, get on there and join our group! While you're at it, look around for groups that strike your fancy. Hot ones I recommend: Viver Brasil, Lula Washington, itch, LA Contemporary Dance, The Open Space, R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dance), House of Wong and Phyllis Stein Art. SInce you are already in the business of donating your money to industry(86 billion from where?!), why don't you actually do it on purpose and "tithe" to your favorite group? $19.99/mo, every month. Just do it. At least you know you'll get a good return on your money.


in love and wishing you an abundant and expansive Autumn Equinox,
-Anna

NEWSLETTER: engage your core

Hi there (with a big hug)!

Kiddies are back in school and the beach is once again returning to the creatures that live there year round--marine, plant and human. In six days, scientists buried deep beneath CERN will turn on a machine to help them see beneath the Mother's Veil, or more commonly known as Dark Matter. The Republican Party is wrapping up its convention and the Democrats exploded from Denver last week feverish to get back into the White House. Hurricanes return to the same location like they were on an exact time table while old Cold War rivalries do the same. Fall. And recover. Finding the subtle shift in our core to keep the whole thing upright and perambulating. This seasonal change will have all the intrigue and excitement of a great spy movie, so stay tuned till the credits for the big surprise.

Closer to home, we enter the season of Grand Visitors, but don't let those season ticket holders fool you: there is plenty to see locally and I hope to keep bringing you info at least info on the bit I know. I had a fantastic time going to shows and events this summer and look forward to doing the same this fall. If you have pieces that work the skirt in particular, let me know, as I am teaching a course on the skirt and looking for people to match my students with! Onwards...


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. New reviews are up! Go check 'em out and get into the conversation.


BLOWIN' BACK DA FRO' this week is the official start of Fall in underground LA: ANATOMY RIOT, the wrap of a GREAT summer dance series at the Ford, and a new find.

FORD AMPHITHEATER
2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood CA 90068
Friday, 8:30 PM; $32/$5
Sans Detour
Catch Me Bird and Baker & Tarpanga Dance Project team up to bring you an evening of dance rarely presented on one bill: aerialist work and African experimental dance. This dance series at the Ford has been simply inspiring. Grab your fiends and get their early to have a couple of bottles of vino before you head in to be , well, inspired. One more brilliant show to go after this one. Car pooling highly recommended.


THE ELECTRIC LODGE
1416 Electric Ave, Venice, CA 90291
Intersection Dance Project presents Interfacings
Friday, September 5th, 8:00 PM; $25
This appeared to be an open jam at first glance, but I think that it is an actual dance event with collaborators coming in from all over. From their Face Book listing:
"Intersection Dance Project seeks to bring artists of all disciplines together for the collaboration and the production of dance. The Southern California premier will unite dancers and musicians from cities across the country including Seattle, Chicago, New York, the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Among them the intersection Dance Ensemble, Penny Hutchinson, Double Vision, Alexandria Yalj, Dena Bermann, Eathwalk Dance Company and Jennifer Bondy. Collaborations are artistic, energetic and intellectual in order to promote the common vision among dance in the art world." Tickets are available on-line. Alexandria Yalj has recently been working hard to make the LA Dance scene memorable. If you are looking for something much smaller and visceral for Friday, this would be worth checking out. But I'm gonna have to check out the people dancing on ropes. It looks as if this might go on for a while, so...who knows, I'll likely pop up at the end since it's in my neighborhood.

ECHOPLEX
1154 Glendale BLVD
Bootie: La's Monthly Mashup Bootleg Party
Sept 6, 9 PM - 2 AM; $10, 21 and over ONLY
Why list? I want you to arrive for the midnight stage mayhem of R.A.I.D. aka Random Acts of Irreverent Dance. Check out their MySpace Page, and learn how to Command the Dance!

THE OPEN SPACE
209 S. Garey St., Los Angeles Ca 90012
ANATOMY RIOT #26
Monday, Sept 8, 8 PM; $10 suggested donation
Meg Wolfe & Show Box bring you another fantastic, mind-bending segment in this DIY performance adventure. I'm on the bill this evening as is Ms. Wolfe herself so come on out and watch us dance smarter, not harder, LOL (that was an age euphemism in case you didn't catch it). Also on the bill, several excellent dance deployers and movement machinationists (i just made that word up, quote me): Melina Bielefelt, Won-sun Choi, Sarah Leddy, Hannah Schwadron, Anna B. Scott, Rosie Trump, and Meg Wolfe. I'm presenting a Work in Progress: Stream. Looking forward to seeing you!



UCLA ACKERMAN GRAND BALLROOM
308 Westwood PLaza, LA
Celebration of Life: A Fundraise for Esalen Institute
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 6- 10 PM
$25 suggested donation, more if you've got it like that and feel it that way
If you've ever been to a 5 Rhythms class, you know that this event is likely going to lift you right off the ground. Come out and help steady a place of respite for many of us soul-workers. Donna De Lory. Eyedentity, Suzanne Teng &gilbert Levy,Bob Bayobey Wisdom, Christo Pellani, Bolonatha & Russell Feingold, and Caroline Harvey. This is an open dance jam of sorts. Come and be moved.

Looking for something mentioned last week? Click over on the left for the archives.



LOUNGE @ REDCAT
631 W. 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
itch # 8: PORNOCRACY Launch Party
Tuesday, September 16, 6 - 9 PM; readings begin at 7 PM
I will be reading a selection from my piece in itch #7, and there will be many other folks doing the same thing from their entries over the last two years. It should be a blast. I hope to see you there. And please, subscribe already!


And what else? Your inboxes and mailboxes are likely littered with mailings about the companies coming to town. As we get closer, I'll post up, but a lot of those tickets are l o n g gone. But you never know!

Stay tuned for a special edition of AFROLOGICS to make sense of the upcoming Festival of Sacred Music, opening on Sept. 12th at UCLA....



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!

The Class Map is getting rather interesting! Viver Brasil is BACK! And they are bringing the heat of Bahia with them for the upcoming Sacred Music Festival. I will need to do a supplemental for that, 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!!!!

Now, go check out that dance map and find your new favorite thing to do! "I command you!" That's what my daughter says. She just turned 3. Help.



GIG FOR YOU
This comes via Face Book, so if you are interested look for Emma Kayee on there:
"I'm looking for about 20 jazz or street dancers to take part in a TV show we are making for a major UK channel. The show is a celebration of the TV show and film 'Fame'. We are going to be filming in L.A on the 19th September in and around a dance studio in Hollywood." She did not mention pay, but it is likely not union, so if you know folks, let them know. Get on Face Book!!


LOVELY!
I cannot lie: I am very hungry right now, and it is impairing my writing skills! There is much to say about any number of things, but I'll leave you with a kiss on the forehead and a pat on the shoulder, with a deep look in the eyes, full of gratitude. As always, it is so wonderful to share this with you!.

in Love,
-Anna