Keep moving with original works
This week at Northrop we’ve been drawing inspiration from a number of our recent performers to get us moving literally, and move us figuratively with their artistry, all while our own movement in the world is limited. I’ll make a plug here for following our Daily Inspirations on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Many of the artists we feature are making their creative work accessible for short time periods and real-time streams. When the original artworks are no longer available when I blog on Friday, I’ll substitute another link for the same artist.
Last night, ODC/Dance offered an online screening of boulders and bones, the program they performed at Northrop in 2017. That was a real-time-only event, but the trailer for boulders and bones will give you an idea of the highlights. I’m really enjoying and trying to make the most of recent opportunities to see dance from around the country. My original summer plans had included trips to Spoleto Festival USA, the American Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, and The Joyce. Now I have the chance to see amazing dance performances online every night while I cook dinner. It’s not the same, but I’m learning to adapt.
One of the artists I would have seen at ADF is Kyle Abraham, whose company A.I.Mis still on my mind as the last performance I saw live in the theater. Abraham created The Gettin’ as part of a residency at New York Live Arts, and it premiered in 2014. Here’s an excerpt of his artist statement:
“Created during my tenure as a Resident Commissioned Artist at New York Live Arts from 2012-2014, this program draws inspiration from jazz legend Max Roach’s seminal album, We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite. This album, originally intended to be released in 1963 to mark the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, was released in the fall of 1960 due to the severity sparked by the sit-ins in Greensboro, NC, and the urgency of the growing civil rights movement in the US and South Africa.
As overarching commentary for both evenings, I keep going back to Roach’s response when asked about the song Freedom Day: “Freedom itself was so hard to grasp … we don’t really understand what it really is to be free.” At this point in my life, I am very well aware of the freedoms I possess. But as a Black Gay American man, I am equally aware of my limitations and those that exist for so many in a polyphobic society of our current times.”
I did travel in 2019 to see LINES Ballet, and I was delighted this week to see and share the new video series There is No Standing Still, created by the company under the leadership of Alonzo King and his creative collaborator Robert Rosenwasser. The first two videos in this series are the most breathtakingly gorgeous work I've seen yet in the COVID-screendance genre, each about five minutes in length, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the series unfolds.
Today we posted about the completion of another video series created by Paul Taylor Dance Company, the group that was days away from traveling to Northrop when we suspended our season. While we plan to welcome the Taylor company back to the Twin Cities, the company’s emails about the web series 22 Rooms have been among the few that I always open immediately. This series of seven videos (each featuring two-four dancers in their own homes - a room for each Taylor dancer) pairs choreography by Larry Keigwin with iconic twentieth- century songs and is sure to brighten your day.
And, finally, to introduce some literal movement for those of you with young people in your lives, the teaching artists at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago have created a three-session Dancing through STEAM series. The videos are available in Spanish and English, with options for kindergarten through second-grade and third- through fifth-grade students.
Keep moving however you can, and we’ll see you next week!