Make Yourself Uncomfortable

Make Yourself Uncomfortable

Important Terminology

Important Terminology

The Truth of the Body

The Truth of the Body

Rangoon, Burma: Creating a stage on a basketball court

Rangoon, Burma: Creating a stage on a basketball court
A dozen workmen, teak wood, rubber cushioning, linoleum flooring can combine to make a professional-quality stage on an outdoor basketball court!

Pre-tour Planning

Pre-tour Planning
Going through the day-to-day with Aviva Geismar and the teaching artists from Drastic Action and Battery Dance Company

Burma - working with FSN's

Burma - working with FSN's
Nyi Nyi was one of the terrific Foreign Service Nationals at US Embassies overseas who have made our projects go. Here he is shepherding us at the airport in Rangoon.

Luggage

Luggage
I recommend Fibrecases -- these were purchased a dozen years ago, and yes, they look like it, but they've held up and they don't attract pilfering because they look so distressed!

380 Broadway, 2003

380 Broadway, 2003
Tomek Wygoda, whom we met through the Silesian Dance Theatre in Poland, came to New York to work on a solo with Jonathan. This piece was ultimately performance in Krakow at the European Conference on Tolerance with live accompaniment by the Cracow Klezmer Band.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2006

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2006
Working with wonderful dancers from the Amrita Performing Arts, we tried out our newly minted Dancing to Connect project. Fred Frumberg and Kang Rithsal (seen in the yellow shirt) trusted us and facilitated our visit. Who knew that the King would return from Paris especially to see the performance??

Opera House, U.B., Mongolia 2008

Opera House, U.B., Mongolia 2008
Carmen and Mayuna outside the opera house. From the outside, the treacherous conditions are not visible (this is the place with the guttered stage floor.)

Waldorf & Waldkirch Schools, Freiburg, Germany, 2008

Waldorf & Waldkirch Schools, Freiburg, Germany, 2008
Carmen is working with visually disabled students in a Dancing to Connect workshop that brought them together with students from a Waldorf School.

Theater Freiburg, Germany, 2008

Theater Freiburg, Germany, 2008
No one could quite believe that students from 3 different schools could merge into a functioning team so fast as these kids did in their Dancing to Connect workshop with Sean and Mayuna

Beijing, 2008

Beijing, 2008
Master Class at the Chinese University of Nationalities, there's nothing like a little bit of humor to warm up the situation (Tadej is probably indicating that the dancers should get their weight forward, or else....)

Mongolia - 2008

Mongolia - 2008
Blazing Saddles? No - just our one day off in Mongolia with Tadej, Bafana, Carmen & Mayuna

380 Broadway - where it all begins and ends

380 Broadway - where it all begins and ends
From L to R: Carmen Nicole, Tadej Brdnik, Bafana Matea, Sean Scantlebury, Jonathan Hollander, Robin Cantrell, Mayuna Shimizu - this was the composition of our team as we prepared for the 2008 Asia Tour. Our new dancer Mira Cook and our production designers Barry Steele, David Bengali and G. Ben Swope are not pictured here.

Lucknow, India - 1997

Lucknow, India - 1997
This is a much more elegant version of the iron that was proffered by the humble gentleman backstage in Lucknow, but you get the idea!

Freiburg, Germany - 2006

Freiburg, Germany - 2006
DtC is hard work but fun too, bridging generations, backgrounds and transcending language barriers.

Nishinomiya, Japan - 2006

Nishinomiya, Japan - 2006
For its performance at Hyogo Performing Arts Center, BDC teamed up with Japanese duo-pianists and a choir, making the performance truly international and guaranteeing a full house

Taipei, Taiwan - 2006

Taipei, Taiwan - 2006
As part of its 2006 tour of Taiwan, which was anchored by a performance at the Taipei Arts Festival, Jonathan lectured to a group of corporate executives on Corporate Social Responsibility as it pertains to support of the arts. Adding an element such as this within an arts tour broadened the company's outreach and helped implant new ideas of corporate volunteerism, the importance of in-kind contributions and other aspects of corporate support utilizing BDC as a model.

Taipei, Taiwan - 2006

Taipei, Taiwan - 2006
Running a choreography workshop for the teaching staff of Cloud Gate Dance School cemented a relationship with Taiwan's leading contemporary dance company, adding content and depth to BDC's program in Taipei. The Company was invited to visit a rehearsal of Lin Hwai Min's new choreography and enjoyed a reunion with Bula Pagarlava and Nai-Yu Kuo, two dancers who had performed with BDC and who had moved up the ladder with Cloud Gate. ,

Freiburg, Germany - Dancing to Connect 2007

Freiburg, Germany - Dancing to Connect 2007
Tapping into the well-springs of students' creativity, we have learned over the past 6 years and across many countries that high school students, boys and girls, can find joy, build teams, open up new channels of communication and expression through dance. Most of these students had never set foot in a modern dance class, and yet their imaginations and explorations were unbounded.

Cleaning Costumes in Ulaanbaatar, 2008

Cleaning Costumes in Ulaanbaatar, 2008
Dealing with sweaty costumes on a long, multi-country tour is a huge challenge. Bringing a case of woolite and lots of plastic hangers is one way to deal with it. But sometimes the weather and conditions (and timing) are such that there is no opportunity to wash and dry before it is time to pack and go. And, if you are foolish enough to have some costumes that require dry cleaning (I am), then the problem is further compounded. And dry cleaning at a 5-star hotel is not advised unless you have a pocket full of cash that you don't mind spending. I was delighted to find a superb dry cleaner in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. We couldn't understand how there could be enough business in this very poor country to sustain such a thriving operation, but we certainly kept them busy for a day or so!

New York City - Downtown Dance Festival, August, 2006

New York City - Downtown Dance Festival, August, 2006
International Cultural Engagement is not a one-way endeavor. The fact that BDC produces New York City's longest-running outdoor dance festival gives us a wonderful public platform for presenting dance from around the world. Ocean of Light was the brainchild of Sanjay Doddamani, bringing together dancers from New Orleans with those from South Asia, in a cross-cultural production that recognized the anniversary of Katrina and the Asian Tsunami.

Poznan, Poland; Malta Festival, 2002

Poznan, Poland; Malta Festival, 2002
Just as friends lead one to other friends, and a network builds, international cultural engagement often thrives on individual partnerships, relationships, mutual respect. Such is the case with Battery Dance Company and Silesian Dance Theater of Poland. Jonathan met Jacek Luminski, Artistic Director of SDT in 2004, introduced by a mutual friend, Fulbright Senior Scholar and theater professor Juliusz Tyszka of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. The fruits of these relationships includes performances by SDT in New York, hosted by BDC; performances by BDC in Poland, hosted by SDT and the Malta Festival in Poznan which was launched by students of Juliusz', and on and on.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Full house!

Last night was the first performance of Dancing to Connect, German Edition IV!
A full-house of over 700 people including young children, teens, adults and seniors flooded the Kulturhaus in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, and from the sound of their applause, they were not disappointed.
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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Dessau-Rosslau; Wolfen-Bitterfeld

Visiting the dance workshops yesterday was a revelation as it has been in the past. Students summon up new ways of expressing themselves, teaming up, experimenting. Despite the natural shyness of many of the students, a glimmer of passion shows through. While in Halle on Friday, I was asked, "Don't you ever do a project that lasts more than one week?" I was rather surprised by this because it always seems like a major achievement when schools allow us to work for 6 days with their students (given the fact that these students are absent from their academic classes...)
However, here in this region, I see that a longer process would be advantageous. The extroversion required to dance and perform is not a natural attribute here. Each day new layers of reticence are peeled away and more of the spirit is allowed to surface. We're set for many surprises on Tuesday night when, at 6:30, the curtain will open at the Kulturhaus in Wolfen and five new pieces of choreography will be unveiled!
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Monday, September 14, 2009

DANCING TO CONNECT, German Edition, Volume IV

Dateline: Dessau -- Our team of 12 has arrived in the former East German city of Dessau which is actually now the joined city of Dessau-Rosslau. The day after a 20-hour journey from New York, Barry Steele, our intrepid production designer and I went to the nearby Wolfen-Bitterfeld (yup, another joined city) where we reconnoitered with the technical crew at the Stadtisches Kulturhaus. Gabi Schuckelt, the wonder woman from the US Consulate Leipzig who coordinated all the details of our project here served as our chauffeur, translator and hospitality manager all rolled into one. As usual, Barry wasted no time in building team-spirit with the tech guys and promising them a full light plot by noon tomorrow. Meanwhile, the dancers were locating the local fitness center, and then were given a walking tour of Dessau by two delightful high school students who had practiced their English and carried out the role of tour guides with aplomb. We all ended up meeting with teachers and principals from all the schools that will participate in Dancing to Connect this week (I think there are at least 8 schools in all, representing 4 different cities). The meeting itself was a delight: Hosted graciously by US Consul General Katherine Brucker and Public Affairs Officer Jim Seward, we dined at the local Brasserie L'Appart and the delicious food and wines made a warm environment in which the orientation process could occur.
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Saturday, August 22, 2009

Thank you to the Gods of Weather

All the good energy paid off: Saturday's program was delivered in full with no pauses for rain!
The beautiful colors of dancers' costumes against the verdant green London Plane Trees of Battery Park was a sight to behold. Come and join us tomorrow for another day of wonderful dance.
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Never mind that rain, we're going on as planned!

Despite the weather report, we're in Battery Park right now setting up the stage for today's Downtown Dance Festival! We hear things are going to clear up after 1pm today, so we may start a bit late. Bring an umbrella and join us for free dance underneath the trees. Today's performers include Eglevsky Ballet, Buglisi Dance Theater, New Chamber Ballet, Carmen Nicole, Naomi Goldberg Haas/Dances For a Variable Population, Figures in Flight, C-3 Tap Co-operative and Vissi Dance Theater.
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Friday, August 14, 2009

Changes to the Program

If you're planning on coming to the Festival this Thursday August 20th or Saturday August 22nd, please note that we will be making some last-minute changes to the program!

Unfortunately, due to some unexpected visa issues, Kolkha, the folk ensemble from the Republic of Georgia, will not be participating in this year's Festival.

We'll be announcing the programs for Thursday and Saturday as soon as possible--stay tuned here or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/batterydance

See you Monday!
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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Festival Schedule Is Here!

The Downtown Dance Festival is only two weeks away! Take a look at our full schedule below.

Monday, August 17th - Friday, August 21st, 12pm – 2pm
Location: Chase Plaza, Nassau Street between Liberty and Pine

Monday August 17
Janaki Rangarajan
Battery Dance Company
Dance China NY

Tuesday August 18
Stefanie Nelson Dance Group
Vissi Dance Theater
Rebecca Kelly Ballet
The Chase Brock Experience

Wednesday August 19
Curated by the Indo-American Arts Council as part of the Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance

Thursday August 20
Kolkha

Friday August 21
Jamal Jackson Dance Company
isadoraNOW
C3 Tap Cooperative
Stefanie Nelson Dance Group
Naomi Goldberg Haas/Dances For a Variable Population

Saturday, August 22nd - Sunday, August 23rd 1pm – 4pm
Location: The Lawn at Battery Park, adjacent to State Street at Pearl Street

Saturday August 22
Kolkha
C3 Tap Cooperative
Figures in Flight
Naomi Goldberg Haas/Dances For a Variable Population
Vissi Dance Theater

Sunday August 23
isadoraNOW
Dance China NY
Rebecca Kelly Ballet
Figures in Flight
The Chase Brock Experience
Battery Dance Company
Jamal Jackson Dance Company
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