Critical Correspondence
Camille Brown in conversation with Rashida Bumbray
Curator and choreographer Rashida Bumbray talks with choreographer and dancer Camille Brown about her piece “Mr. TOL E. RAncE,” running tonight through Saturday, April 6 at The Kitchen (8pm, tickets $15). They discuss Camille’s diverse source material (from vaudeville to Dave Chappelle), reissuing stereotypes, the myth of post-racialism, and the importance of the post-show Q&A.
Rashaun Mitchell in conversation with Ryan McNamara
Choreographer Rashaun Mitchell talks with Ryan McNamara about his history with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and his transition to developing his own work. They discuss his research of psychosomatic networks, his belief in the audience as collaborator, and his process of rendering emotions physical using the face as a visible and manipulable means of expression. Mitchell’s work Interface premieres March 14-15 at Baryshnikov Arts Center.
Miguel Gutierrez in conversation with Marissa Perel
Miguel Gutierrez talked with Marissa Perel about his life transitions, the healing work of Feldenkrais, and his artistic process in the making of “And lose the name of action.” The piece had its New York premier Dec. 4-8 2012 at BAM’s Next Wave Festival and recently toured the MCA stage in Chicago. Gutierrez reflects, “I had been researching the brain, watching boring DVDs, reading books and so much of that research was dry. I suspected that the piece would have a dryness to it, or a kind of rationalism to it, like a powerpoint piece, or the lecture-demonstration-performance, where there’s an overheard projector, everyone’s wearing regular clothes, the house lights are on, and that’s it. What I did not expect to make was a big ole’ mutha-fuckin’ spectacle.”
Diana Crum in conversation with Lindsey Drury
Choreographer/performer/teacher Diana Crum talks with dance maker/performance artist Lindsey Drury about creating new contexts for making and presenting work, “site specific” dance, non-sustainable economy, Diana’s “If I tell myself I have enough time, then I can be with you,” presented in September 2012 in Prospect Park, and creating performances that listen.
Maggie Bennett & Liliana Dirks-Goodman in conversation with Jeanine Durning
Choreographer/performance artist/dancer Jeanine Durning speaks with artist/designer Liliana Dirks-Goodman and dancer/choreographer Maggie Bennett about their collaboration at FACADE/FASAD. They discuss shifting perceptions of space and time, labor, value and compensation, desire, utopia, and the “practice of artistic practice.”
BodyCartography in conversation with HIJACK
BodyCartography co-directors Olive Bieringa and Otto Ramstad speak with HIJACK collaborators Kristin Van Loon and Arwen Wilder about the premiere of BodyCartography’s Super Nature, the use of scale and undifferentiated space, casting as choreographic choice, new works as antidotes to past works, challenging the value of reinvention/newness, and “sensory deliciousness.”
Emily Johnson in conversation with Ain Gordon
Choreographer Emily Johnson speaks with writer/director/performer Ain Gordon about her newest work, Niicugni, co-presented by Performance Space 122 and Baryshnikov Arts Center as part of COIL 2013. Niicugni is part 2 of her trilogy of works, which include The Thank-you Bar, winner of a 2012 Bessie Award for Outstanding Performance, and part 3, SHORE, to premiere in 2014. She discusses her research around the act of gathering, her Alaska upbringing, storytelling in performance, the impact of physical land and cultural heritage, and the importance of paying attention.
Part 3: Daria Faïn and Robert Kocik in conversation with Marissa Perel
Choreographer Daria Faïn and poet Robert Kocik spoke with CC Co-Editor Marissa Perel about their opera/Greek tragedy/choral poem “E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E,” scheduled to open October 31, 2012 at New Yok Live Arts. Due to Hurricane Sandy, the production was canceled, but is now rescheduled for February 8-March 2 2013. In an e-mail, Robert explains why the hurricane is part of the process, describes his intended installation, “LOBBYING (acts of re-English),” and shares archival research.
Maida Withers in conversation with Lydia Mokdessi
Washington, D.C. choreographer, director, and George Washington University professor Maida Withers talks with CC’s Lydia Mokdessi about her newest dance theatre work, the nature of Washington audiences, her freewheeling Utah upbringing, and her 55-year teaching career in higher education. Collision Course – a.k.a. Pillow Talk debuted on December 7, 2012.
Infiltrating the MoMA Atrium Part 2: Ralph Lemon in conversation with Marissa Perel on “Some sweet day”
Artist, choreographer, writer, conceptualist, Ralph Lemon, further discusses his artistic and curatorial concepts in relationship to race, and the work of Deborah Hay and Sarah Michelson for “Some sweet day” in MoMA’s Marron Atrium, October 15- Nov 4 2012 in conversation with Marissa Perel. The first part of this conversation can be found on the Art21 blog.
Adrienne Truscott in conversation with Marissa Perel on “…Too Freedom…” premiering Dec. 8 2012 at the Kitchen
Choreographer and performer, Adrienne Truscott, talked with CC co-editor, Marissa Perel while driving to help with Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in the Rockaways. They discussed Truscott’s LMCC residency at Governor’s Island, being alone in the studio, working with jornaleros, and the trials and travails of being a Wau Wau Sister. Truscott premiers “…Too Freedom…” at the Kitchen Dec 8-9 & Dec 12-15 2012.
Annie-B Parson and Sibyl Kempson in conversation with Aaron Mattocks
On Wednesday, September 19, 2012 Critical Correspondence co-editor Aaron Mattocks met with Annie-B Parson (co-artistic director, Big Dance Theater) and playwright Sibyl Kempson in Chelsea to discuss their collaboration, Ich, Kürbisgeist, which was a co-commission of Performance Space 122 and The Chocolate Factory, and which had a three week run in October and November. The production recently closed, surviving Hurricane Sandy, a presidential election and a freak overnight blizzard. The two women spoke about aspects of their creative practice, revealed telling anecdotes about craft, religion, doom and disaster, and making work that is ultimately, sometimes unknowingly, personal.
Part 2: Daria Faïn and Robert Kocik in conversation with Marissa Perel
Choreographer Daria Faïn and poet Robert Kocik spoke with CC Co-Editor Marissa Perel about their opera/Greek tragedy/choral poem “E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E,” scheduled to open October 31, 2012 at New Yok Live Arts. Due to Hurricane Sandy, the production was cancelled, however in a series of posts exclusive to CC, Faïn and Kocik relate their process. In Part 2, the artists discuss working with a libretto, historical research, Chinese energetics, money as a shared resource, and levels of engagement with the work.
Part 1: Daria Faïn and Robert Kocik in Conversation with Marissa Perel
Choreographer Daria Faïn and poet Robert Kocik spoke with CC Co-Editor Marissa Perel about their opera/Greek tragedy/choral poem “E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E,” scheduled to open October 31, 2012 at New Yok Live Arts. Due to Hurricane Sandy, the production was cancelled, however in a series of posts exclusive to CC, Faïn and Kocik relate their process. For Part 1, the artists discuss the formation of the Commons Choir, phonemes, prosody, and freeing language from systemic and institutional oppression.
Steven Reker in conversation with Aaron Mattocks
Steven Reker is a Brooklyn-based musician, choreographer and performer, and the primary songwriter and director of People Get Ready. “Specific Ocean,” a multi-sensory performance mix tape, will be given its world premiere at New York Live Arts, October 18-20, 2012. Steven spoke with Aaron Mattocks, CC Co-editor and a performer in the work, about the path of his career, his use of mix tape as choreographic structure, and the nature of pleasure in art making.
