Friday, January 31, 2014

February 2014 D.C. Dance Events Guide

WASHINGTON D.C.


Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance
Atlas Performing Arts Center
2/22-3/8, Atlas Intersections Festival, Multiple Atlas Locations
“INTERSECTIONS presents performances in music, theatre, dance, film, spoken word and performance art that offer new ways to see ourselves and to celebrate our community and our world.”

Dance Place
2/7 from 8-11pm, Cuban Dance Social with DC Casineros (All Levels) at the Edgewood Arts Center, 3415 8th St NE
Join the DC Casineros’ company of community DJs and dancers for an evening of Son, Songo, Timba, Guaguanco, Salsa, Cha Cha Cha, Guaracha, and Rumba.”

Joy of Motion
2/22 at 8pm, Shannon Dunne Dance Presents: Sean-Nos in Concert, The Jack Guidone Theater
“Join Shannon Dunne Dance youth and adult companies as they showcase the tradition of sean-nos dance ("old style" Irish dance) through theatricality, choreography and structured improvisations.”

The Washington Ballet
1/29-2/2, The Jazz/Blues Project, The Harman Center, Sudney Harman Hall
“Americana at its finest-the iconic music of Etta James and Charlie "Bird" Parker and world-class dance come together inTrey McIntyre's Blue Until June and Val Caniparoli's Bird's Nest. Along with a world premiere by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa,whose Sueno de Marmol had audiences and critics alike reaching for superlatives last spring and guest appearances by Helen Hayes Award Winner E.Faye Butler and the Howard University Jazz Ensemble, this program promises to be the most exhilarating dance event in town.”

The Kennedy Center
2/1 at 4pm, Ballet 360: Contemporary Dance for Ballet Lovers: Revelations, The Kennedy Center, Terrace Gallery
“In this continuation of the popular Ballet 360° lecture series, dance critic Alexandra Tomalonis uses video of well-known ballets to take us beyond the steps and into the fine craft of making a ballet.”

2/3 at 7pm, Master Class: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Rehearsal Room - Hall of Nations
“The Explore the Arts master class series gives you an opportunity to take classes led by some of the most talented and creative artists in the world of dance.”

2/4-2/9, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Opera House
“America's cultural ambassador to the world, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the Kennedy Center for its annual engagement with its winning combination of captivating new works and enduring classics.”

2/7-2/8, Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company Presents: Modern Dance Concert: Four by Burgess, The Kennedy Center, Terrace Theater
“The Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company performs new works by critically acclaimed choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess. He is recognized for his modern dances that sensitively translate the psychology of our human condition.”

2/12-2/13, Bowen McCauley Dance presents: An Evening to Love, The Kennedy Center, Terrace Theater
“Using classical ballet as the point of departure, artistic director Lucy Bowen McCauley creates emotionally charged dances that defy categorization, set to musical scores ranging from Brahms to Stravinsky to country rock legends Jason and The Scorchers.”

2/27 at 7pm, Master Class: Compagnie Kafig/CCN Creteil et Val-de-Marne, The Kennedy Center, Rehearsal Room - Hall of States
“The Explore the Arts master class series gives you an opportunity to take classes led by some of the most talented and creative artists in the world of dance.”

2.28-3/1, Compagnie Kafig/CCN Creteil et Val-de-Marne, The Kennedy Center, Eisenhower Theater
“Compagnie Käfig makes its Kennedy Center debut with Artistic Director Mourad Merzouki's Agwaand Correria. The all-male Brazilian cast performs these celebrated works inspired by hip-hop, bossa nova, and capoeira.”



MARYLAND


Pilobolus
The Clarice Smith Center for the Performing Arts at University of Maryland, College Park
1/31-2/1 at 8pm, David Rousseve/Reality: Stardust, Clarice Smith Center PAC, Kay Theatre
“Choreographed, written and directed by David Roussève, Stardust follows an African American gay urban teenager’s dreams, misgivings and challenges.”
2/8 at 6pm, Maryland Masti 8, Clarice Smith PAC, Kay Theatre
“Maryland Masti 8, the nation’s premiere intercollegiate dance competition features top garba/raas teams from around the nation competing for bragging rights and an invitation to Raas Revolution — The League of Champions in East Lansing, MI.”

Dance Exchange
2/20 from 7-9pm, DX Open Rehearsal, a behind-the-scenes look at our creative process, Dance Exchange in Takoma Park, MD
“Come join us in the studio for an open rehearsal and get an inside look at the beginning stages of a new work-in-progress by Dance Exchange Artistic Director Cassie Meador that looks at the life, legacy, and impact of the writing of environmentalist Rachel Carson.” 

Strathmore
2/19 at 8pm, Krasnoyarsk National Dance Company of Siberia, Music Center at Strathmore
Stretching from the Arctic to the border of China, Siberia is a world of cultures—and this vibrant dance company brings influences from many of them to the stage—from leaping, twirling Cossack soldiers to brightly clad peasant dances drawn from centuries of tradition.

2/26 at 8pm, Pilobolus, Music Center at Strathmore
“Founded in 1971 as a dance collective, this extraordinary and beloved company still, to this day, wears its revolutionary stripes on its sleeves. Its signature style, eerily beautiful and witty formations and movements, contortionist gymnastics, and endlessly inventive works make lifelong fans.”

http://www.strathmore.org/eventstickets/calendar/view.asp?id=9628


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Thursday, January 30, 2014

My first dance-making experience in D.C.

Trying to break into a new scene is always hard and beyond that, scary as heck.  All of those little doubts in the back of your head start cropping up and you have to squash them like the dancing diva you are because you didn't work like a dog and succeed over these past many years for nothing, right?

So with that, I am so nervous and excited to venture out into D.C. proper for my next project with the Telephone Dance Project.  I am forever grateful to these ladies for pulling me in to this collaboration made up of dancers who are trying to make it in new cities.  They have given me an outlet for creativity, an excuse to make something, a way to make it that doesn't exist in it's own "Katie" bubble, and camaraderie.  Because a big part of our project is to host the created dances in our own cities, they've collectively forced me to pull a show out of my butt.

Well, here it is, and I'm getting pretty excited about how it's all going to shake out.  It's going to be one part teaching/learning, one part experiencing/practicing, and one part showing/reveling.  And true to the spirit of broke-ass dancer-ness, it's nearly all free or pay-what-you-can.

But here's the kicker:  if you're a dancer, and you come, you can say you've danced at the NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY as a guest dancer for TDP!  Is that worth a Megabus ticket or what?

Read all about the details here: TelephoneDanceProject.blogspot.com
and I do hope you'll join me!

Barbara, Eliza, Rachel, and Katie make up TDP

Sunday, January 26, 2014

My First Performance as a Collaborator for Telephone Dance Project

Whew!  Being a collaborator is crazy!  Not only are you in charge, but you're not in charge.  It all makes for a scary time when the collaboration is happening long distance and the first time you meet for  group rehearsals is the day before your first show!!!!

No pressure.

Find out how it all shook out...

"We had met each other at least once in person in the past to shake hands, share a cup of tea, and familiarize each other about the goings ons in our lives.  Our other meetings had only been through Google Hangouts and Skype to discuss logistics. So we were filled with excitement and trepidation about our first rehearsal as a group.  Would we mesh as dancers?  How would it look to put the phrases next to each other?  Would we remember the score (a framework used to put the phrases of choreography together into a "dance")?  Would it all fall apart?  How would the crowd react?"

Read the rest right here at TelephoneDanceProject.blogspot.com


Saturday, January 4, 2014

It's Here! It's Time!

The Telephone Project is up and running!
My new collaboration with 3 other talented choreographers from different states up and down the East Coast.

Follow us as we make art across state lines and click here to find out why it's a worthy project to support:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/telephone-dance-project