Body And Soul

Brazil-born/New York-based Regina Nejman will bring "Reveal" to the Merce Cunningham Studio, May 1-4. This new dance-theater piece explores the meaning of privacy in today's technology-driven world, delving into the relationship between privacy and technology, and the impact of this relationship on everyday life. BIO Regina Nejman has been creating her own choreography since 1993. She formed Regina Nejman and Company in 1997. Recipient of the Outstanding Choreography Award at the 2005 New York International Fringe Festival for the premiere of "The Velocity of Things," Regina and her company have been steadily touring Brazil for the past two years, where the company has been received with standing ovations. Regina is a 2007/08 Artist in Residence at Joyce SoHo and has been awarded a Dance Theater Workshop Outer/Space residency for next summer. She has received commissions from Princeton University, The Yard and The New Jersey City University, and her work has been presented at Jacob's Pilow Dance Festiv

Alex Escalante's new evening-length work--"Clandestino"--pays tribute to his Mexican heritage, his immigrant parents, and the courage of undocumented workers, living in the United States, who, in the spring of 2006, turned out for massive rallies for their human rights. At a time when illegal immigration has become an exploited political flashpoint, Escalante asks audiences to confront their own feelings and opinions on this issue. The personal is the political, and vice-versa, in this vibrant presentation featuring live and recorded music, film, and a movement vocabulary inspired by contemporary Mexican social dances. Visit "Clandestino" on MySpace (see link below). BIO Alex Escalante, originally from Los Angeles, graduated from SUNY Purchase. He has worked in New York with Donna Uchizono, Jennifer Monson/Birdbrain, Doug Elkins, Doug Varone, David Neumann, Gerald Casel, the Metropolitan Opera, and has been fortunate to tour as Merce Cunningham's personal assistant. He was featured in the musical film Roman

Here’s my conversation with Sandra Catena, popular belly dance instructor and performer, personal trainer and author of “The African Belly Dance”–the first murder mystery to feature a belly dancer as its protagonist. BOOK FACTS “The African Belly Dance” is a murder mystery featuring Santina Cole, a first generation Italian-American from Newark, New Jersey. Santina was raised in a blue-collar family with deep Catholic roots and much to the chagrin of her family, becomes a belly dancer. Santina is a feisty, funny, red hot woman from the hood who finds herself in the middle of trouble. While performing in West Africa at a Lebanese nightclub, a murder occurs. Santina is in the thick of it and helps find the killer. Get on this magic carpet ride that takes the reader from Newark, New Jersey to Manhattan to West Africa! BIO Sandra Catena has performed in Europe, West Africa, Canada and the United States. She has also performed on national television shows such as MTV, The Joy Brown Show and WB11 News. Sinc

Lynn Neuman, the talented artistic director of Artichoke Dance Company, is currently showing her new work, “If You See Something...,” at Dixon Place. This evening-length piece is wrenching, both visually and aurally, which owes a lot to the physical and emotional courage of its performers–Toby Billowitz, Cary McWilliams, Melissa Riker and Neuman–as well as the intimacy of the space and an uncommon relationship to the audience. BIO Lynn Neuman is Artistic Director and co-founder of Artichoke Dance Company. Her movement style is the outgrowth of a background in gymnastics combined with eclectic dance training, including studies in Balinese dance, tango and contact improvisation. She enjoys meddling in other artistic mediums and treasures her dancers. Lynn has been commissioned by Peculiar Works Projects to create several multimedia works combining video and live performance, by Nexus Arts to choreograph numerous operas and by educational organizations to create works for students and pre-professional danc

Dancer and Sufi teacher Dunya Dianne McPherson’s new memoir–Skin of Glass: Finding Spirit in the Flesh–tells of her exploration of the multisensory intelligence and wisdom of her body. In our interview, she retraces the path that led her to her embodied spiritual practice and reads from her extraordinary book. BIO Dunya Dianne McPherson is an acclaimed dancer and choreographer, writer, filmmaker, and Master Teacher. As founder and Principal Teacher of the healing movement practice, Dancemeditation, she specializes in techniques that open the wonderment of deep, subtle, peaceful self-perception. She received her BFA in dance from Juilliard and her MA in Writing from Lesley University. She was an Artist Scholar at Columbia University. With the completion of 1,001 days of Sufi training, she was given teaching permission by Sufi Master, Adnan Sarhan (Sufi Foundation of America). Her numerous teaching credits include: Barnard College, Montclair State College, Mark Morris Dance Center, Hunter College, Oberli

Jeff Larson co-curates the enormously popular Catch performance series with Andrew Dinwiddie. He’s also co-curator of Movement Research’s Spring Festival 2008. Jeff called in today to talk about Artists’ Map, his new project for Movement Research. You can submit your address to Artists' Map by emailing Jeff at jeff.larson@mac.com. BIO Jeff Larson is Associate Technical Director for Theatrical Production and Adjunct Faculty for the Department of Design for Stage and Film at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Together with Andrew Dinwiddie, he curates the Catch performance series. Jeff is also the co-founder of PHILIFOR & PHILIMOR productions. Current activities include: performing in HUGO with choreographer Chris Yon (DTW, Spring 2008); scenic design for Beth Gill's “Eleanor & Eleanor” (DTW, Fall 2008); “The Principle of Trim,” the second short video of two with longtime collaborator Zach Steel (Spring 2008); co-curating the Movement Research Spring Festival (Spring 08); and a project centered around

My guest, Carrie Ahern, is a dancer and an independent choreographer whose work shows a powerful sense of visual order and psychological depth. We met in the dressing room at St. Mark's Church, home of Danspace Project, to talk about "Red," which premiered there in 2006, and her new piece--"The Unity of Skin"--which will premiere on April 3 and run through April 5. To listen to original music composed for "The Unity of Skin" by cellist Greg Heffernan, visit http://www.carrieahern.com/calendar/calendar.html. BIO Carrie Ahern, a Wisconsin native, is an independent dance and performance artist who has been based in New York City since 1995. She worked primarily as a freelance performer/choreographer for over a dozen dance and theater companies until forming Carrie Ahern Dance in 2005. Her current evening length project, "The Unity of Skin" is commissioned by Danspace Project for performances April 3-5, 2008 and is being presented at Baltimore Theatre Project March 6-9, 2008. Investigations into "The Unity o

Choreographer Makeda Thomas (of Roots and Wings Movement!) called from Trinidad to speak with me about the tragic killing of her colleague, Augusto Cuvilas, one of Mozambique's most celebrated dance artists. Although the sound quality of this phone interview is not ideal, the information she presents is very important, and time is of the essence. Makeda has been invited to join with South African choreographer Boyzie Cekwana to complete a project that the three were working on at the time of Cuvilas's death. For more information on how you can help, visit Makeda's site at www.makedathomas.org. Makeda Thomas is from Trinidad & Tobago and has presented work at HARLEM Stage/Aaron Davis Hall, Dance Theater Workshop, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Chicago Women's Performance Arts Festival, Maputo's Teatro Africa, Caribbean Contemporary Arts (CCA7), and as a Cultural Envoy for the U.S. Department of State. Her choreography has been commissioned by 651 ARTS Black Dance: Tradition & Transformation (20

The talented Trajal Harrell is one of dance's versatile, committed workers. He has learned to balance various roles including performer, choreographer, curator, journal editor and instructor. His innovative art, in concept and execution, investigates the links between postmodern and popular aesthetics. Dance Theater Workshop will host the premiere of Harrell's "Quartet for the End of Time," October 15-18, 2008. This full-evening work for four dancers takes the story of Olivier Messiaen's famous music of the same name (composed and first performed by Jewish and Christian musicians in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp) as a foundation for investigating the antagonism between sincerity and irony in our contemporary time. BIO Trajal Harrell was born in Douglas, Georgia. He graduated from Yale University, majoring in American Studies with a concentration in creative processes--researching theater, literary theory and art history. He has also studied dance and choreography at Brown University, The Martha Graham

What happens when dance artists project their inner/alter selves into the vast reaches of cyberspace? I sat down with freelance dance critic and media scholar Brian McCormick to talk about what's happening with dance in Second Life. Brian McCormick is a dance writer and member of the NY Dance & Performance Awards (Bessies) Committee, and part-time faculty in the New School University Media Studies MA program. He has written for Dance Magazine, The New York Times, and The Advocate, and is a long-time contributing editor at Gay City News. Since 2003, he has been the teaching dance-writing to New York City area high school students through a program created by Dance Theater Workshop and High 5 Tickets to the Arts, called Dance TRaC (Teen Reviewers and Critics). LINK Second Life http://www.secondlife.com/ Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml. (c)2008, Eva Ya

Estelle Woodward Arnal (Director of Artist Services, Dance Theater Workshop) and Levi Gonzalez (dancer-choreographer) join me today to talk about DTW's Outer/Space Creative Residency Program. Levi Gonzalez is an independent choreographer living and working in New York City who has created a body of solo and group choreographic projects. He is interested in presenting work in a variety of venues and contexts, from small and intimate spaces to more traditional stages. Often the placement of the work in a certain environment shapes the content. Gonzalez is interested in furthering a dialogue of ideas about the body in society-at-large and about how we experience physical presence. He has gradually distanced himself from dance that concerns itself with the abstract designing of movement as an end in itself and towards work that addresses performance and the power and meaning of embodiment in daily life. His work and his choreographic collaborations with Luciana Achugar have been presented by Movement Research at

Presenting site-specific dance in the bustling financial, commercial and historic environment of downtown Manhattan is not without risk but can yield considerable excitement and rewards. Producer-curator Nolini Barretto and the artists she selects for her annual Sitelines series bring imagination and vision to this challenge and opportunity. In summer 2007, I spoke with Nolini about past productions and current highlights of this well-regarded festival, a project of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (http://www.lmcc.net/). GUEST BIO Nolini Barretto has long been part of the New York arts community. She worked for the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance for thirteen years, the last few years as Administrative Director of the school. She was a founding Director of the Emergency Fund for Student Dancers and continues to serve on its Board and the advisory Board of Buglisi Dance Company. She was the Director of Marketing for Dance Theater Workshop in Chelsea, helping it transition into its new build

My interview with dancer-choreographer Ashleigh Leite, conducted in the fall of 2007, is a reminder of how critically important it is for emerging creative artists here in New York to have the support of organizations like Joyce SoHo. As an artist-in-residence at Joyce SoHo's Mercer Street studios, Ashleigh was provided with ample time, rehearsal space, guidance and helpful feedback as she developed Crawl Space, her evening-length, multi-media ensemble which received its premiere at Danspace Project in November 2007--a major step forward in her career. I hope you'll enjoy my talk with this interesting, thoughtful artist and look for the next opportunity to see her work. GUEST BIO Ashleigh Leite, originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, graduated (cum laude) from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Dance Performance in 1997. Upon graduation, Ashleigh joined Stephen Petronio Company, where she served as Assistant Director/Rehearsal Director and a dancer for over eight years (1997-2005). While maintaining a full schedule

Nadine Helstroffer is one of dance's treasures--a poetic, luminous performer whose choreography reflects her insight into life, nature and spirituality. She has been a good friend for many years, and I'm pleased to present an interview we recorded in the summer of 2007 in the home she shares with filmmaker John Bush. Among other things, Nadine and I talked about their experiences filming in Tibet, and I urge you to follow the links for more information about all of John and Nadine's projects. GUEST BIO Nadine Helstroffer, French-born, has been presenting her choreography in the U.S., Canada and France since 1981. Her work includes “Clock Lock,” “Threshold” and “Earthbound.” She has taught dance and directed workshops in France, Korea and the U.S. Since 1998 she has been leading the BodyResonance Workshop which explores the link between meditation and movement. She has been presenting her workshop at the Zen Center of NYC, the New School University, New York Insight Meditation Society and Bowling Green State

Dalia Carella is one of those bold, glamorous, old-school entertainers clearly born to rule the stage. And she's a serious creative artist whose painstaking approach to the dances of diverse cultures has been shaped by mentors of notable integrity. I interviewed her in October 2007. She was then a new member of the faculty of Dance New Amsterdam (DNA), and we spoke about her career and her pioneering involvement in DNA's Performance Project where she introduced students to the rich music and dance traditions of the Near and Middle East and the Maghreb. GUEST BIO Dalia Carella is a world-renowned Near/Middle Eastern contemporary dancer, choreographer, instructress and global fusion artist. Audiences from around the world have applauded her mystical and innovative dances and choreographies that are taken from the tradition of the countries she is representing. Carella has delved deeply in the studies of dances from the Near and Middle East including Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, as well as North Africa including Mo

When you need to look at the arts from a lot of different angles, it's helpful to have someone like the versatile Fran Kirmser in your corner. Here’s an interview I conducted with Fran in the fall of 2007 as she was preparing to facilitate a series of workshops for performing artists, sponsored by The Field. We chatted about the many roles she has played in her distinguished career as a performer, choreographer, theater producer, master fundraiser, a consultant to dance and theater companies, and a founder of Manhattan Theatre Source. This radiant, seemingly tireless advocate of dance and theater has a grand vision and the practical tools to back it up. Guest Bio Fran Kirmser has worked for over twelve years, producing, promoting and fundraising for dance and theater. Collectively she has raised millions of dollars in institutional funding and corporate sponsorships for hundreds of companies. She has held positions in Development, Public Relations, Management, or Booking and Representation with the followi

I admire Yanira Castro's darkly poetic and mysterious artistry. Her sense-laden works have the capacity to take watchers deep into experience and to change our habits of seeing, listening and thinking. I hope you will enjoy my interview with Yanira and find yourself similarly immersed in her newest work, "Center of Sleep." GUEST BIO Yanira Castro+Company is a New York City-based ensemble of dancers and designers that fuses experiments in movement with original music and visual elements such as video and installations to create vivid, contemporary scenarios for their audiences that transform and engage their experience of the work. Award-winning choreographer Yanira Castro was born in Puerto Rico and received her B.A. in Theater & Dance and Literature at Amherst College. She has been making work with a core group of performers and designers since 1997, presenting this work widely, including at Dance Theater Workshop, The Chocolate Factory, Danspace Project and numerous other venues. Most recently, sh

Gina Gibney's choreography always reminds me of what's most important to me about art: serious attention to craft and an equally serious concern about human connection and communication. Gina is a thoughtful spokesperson for the art of dance. I've always enjoyed our encounters and usually go away feeling a little more focused and motivated as a result. I hope you'll be similarly inspired by our discussion about her work, including her development of The Distance Between Us, which premiered at the Ailey Citicorp Theater in November 2007. This year, Gina’s company celebrates its 10th Anniversary as an all-female troupe. See below for updated information on Gibney’s projects. GUEST BIO Gina Gibney’s choreography has been widely presented and commissioned in the United States and abroad at such venues as Danspace Project, White Bird Dance, Yale Repertory Theater, The Duke on 42nd Street Theater, WORKS & PROCESS at the Guggenheim Museum and elsewhere. In response to her growing concern about the status of

Today, we’ll hear from Mary Cochran (Chair of the Dance Department, Barnard College of Columbia University) and Luciana Achugar (2007 Bessie Award-winning choreographer) about Sugar Salon, a program dedicated to mentoring, commissioning and presenting women at the forefront of contemporary choreography. GUEST BIOS: Luciana Achugar Luciana Achugar is a Brooklyn-based Uruguayan choreographer. After moving to New York upon graduation from Cal Arts in 1995, Achugar danced with several choreographers, including Chameckilerner and John Jasperse. From 1999 to 2003, she worked in a close collaborative relationship with choreographer Levi Gonzalez. Their work was presented in New York by Dixon Place, Movement Research at Judson Church, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Dance-in-Progress at The Kitchen, and at Dance Theater. Achugar has also worked collaboratively with visual artists Marcos Rosales and Michael Mahalchick. Mary Cochran Department of Dance Chair and Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Barnar

One of the interviews I’m most proud of was conducted in late 2007 with dancer-choreographer Jen Abrams. I’m delighted to bring this episode out of the archives and present it in Body and Soul’s new home. When our "half-hour" interview concluded, we were amused to see that it had actually lasted a full hour! But that's what it takes to tell even part of the story of her work with the WOW Cafe Theater collective, an historic and essential part of the still-hearty cultural abundance of Manhattan's rapidly-changing East Village. Listening to Jen talk about her background in contact improvisation, I discovered a fascinating connection between contact improvisation and the "open source," grassroots nature of WOW. Her intensity and strength as an artist working in dance, theater and poetry are more than matched by the tenacity of this theater collective and space that she so clearly loves. And here’s her bio: Jen Abrams’ work has been presented at BAX, HERE, Dixon Place, the Nuyorican Poets Café, and the Bowe