LABA Festival April 18th 2p and 7pm

I've been one of 20 Laba Artist Fellows that have gathered at the 14th Street Y to discuss texts based on Pardes, Hebrew for Orchard. I have been so impressed by the imagery throughout our discussions...singing trees praising creation, blood on the earth, non-burning fires, pillars of cloudsmoke...
I've been thinking about environments, digging my hands in the dirt, unifying with nature, seemingly unnecessary rituals that supposedly bring one to deeper mystical states of being.
It seems that much of what we've read describes the process of entering the mystical garden, but the actual realizations and penetrations are more elusive.

So...I created a dance that includes the images (supported by the creative insight of set/prop/costume designer extraordinaire Magdalen Pierrakos) from our text studies. I played with the ritual of creating a space for entry. I played with creating an environment that invites each viewer to experience entering as well as the obstacles to entering a 'mystical garden.'

I hope you come see the piece at the LABA Festival on April 18th at 2pm or 7pm at the 14th Street Y theater. Tickets are $10. 212-780-0800 for tix or www.labafestival.org

Spring Residency at York CI

Our 9th season at York Correctional Institution was very successful and heartwarming. The theme was "Remembered Moments," and the women created text and drawings based on memories. The women then created movement solos and group movement "murals" that depicted details and portrayed overall emotions from their individual backgrounds. The performance was a collage of snapshots and memories along with several group phrases that referred to the passing of time. Also some of the women who have been participating in Avodah residencies for several years created movement based on the instruments from "Newman's Blanket." Each dancer chose an instrument and choreographed a short phrase while Newman Taylor Baker composed and accompanied her.
This year's program included two performances in the school at York and a special performance for visiting families and friends, also in the school.
We also performed Stephanie Miracle's piece, "so we fix our eyes not on what is seen," adapted for the setting. The women were very intrigued and had many comments and questions about Stephanie's piece. We hope to develop the piece to include participation from the women at York.
Looking ahead to next year's 10th anniversary at York, I am dreaming about: bringing guest artists throughout the year for performances and workshops including hip hop, afro-cuban, rhythm and percussion, and African inspired modern dance.
I'll keep you posted!

Performance at Bedford Hills Correctional Institution

On March 1-5th Avodah dancers Sarah Zitnay and Meredith-Lyn Olivieri joined me in leading a week-long residency at Bedford Hills Correctional Institution for women in Bedford Hills, NY. In December 2009, Regina Ress and I led a workshop for the participating women including "The Body Poem," a series of movements based on Tai Chi that include imagery and visualization. The women created drawings with markers based on their experience with The Body Poem. Later in March each woman built a movement mural using their drawing and the rest of the participants as part of their palette. One woman broke through a human chain, another woman represented being called to action through sound, some depicted memories, while others worked with more abstract images. The dance included choreography by Sarah Zitnay and a large group phrase that we built altogether--purely movement based. The 15 minute piece featured seven women from BHCP (Bedford Hills College Program) and was performed at "Crossing Borders III," the third academic conference held at Bedford Hills Correctional Institution. If you'd like to read an article about the event go to: http://www.mmm.edu/cgi-bin/MySQLdb?MYSQL_VIEW=/news/view_one.txt&newsid=1546