Danspace Project Hosts 'Not About Romanian Cinema: POONARC' 6/4-13 At St. Marks

Danspace Project will present Yoshiko Chuma and The School of Hard Knocks/ROOT CULTURE in the debut of "Not About Romanian Cinema: POONARC" from June 4 to 13, 2009 as part of its City/Dans series. This next installment in Chuma's ten year project, "A Page Out of Order" (culminating in 2011), features artists of all disciplines from Japan, Romania and the USA. The word "POONARC" in the title is an acronym for "Page Out of Order Not About Romanian Cinema."

Yoshiko Chuma (www.yoshikochuma.org) has been a firebrand of New York's downtown dance scene since arriving in 1978. Writing in The New York Times, Gia Kourlas stated last year, "Yoshiko Chuma's art isn't tidy nor is it always logical. She's a rebel at heart."

This production is inspired by Chuma's interest in the cultural scene currently emerging in Romania. It is imagined as a personal and public dialogue with Romania. Since 2007, Chuma has journeyed five times to Romania, meeting filmmakers and actors and visiting and filming locations used in the their movies. Despite its name, this piece uses several clips from recently acclaimed Romanian films. Intercut with still photos and video taken on their locations, the film clips serve as a backdrop to text created by Jake Margolin with the ensemble. Like previous installments of the Page Out of Order series, there is text dealing with cultural identity and language, accentuating similarities by pointing out differences. This colloquy is interrupted by dance, some furious some slow. Solos and duets are staged in and around the seven-foot aluminum cubes which have been an integral part of the Page Out of Order series since it's inception.

Throughout the piece, the cast and creative team sit around a long table running through the center of the space. Inspired by John Cage's "Variations VII," this table is filled with equipment and lit from below. Across the back of the space, there is a long chalk board at which a performer writes continuously. The room has the feel of a working laboratory or something in process.

Film sources that are excerpted for the performance include " Variations VII by John Cage" from the DVD film series "9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering" (1966), issued by Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), and excerpts of two Romanian films, "Stuff and Dough" (2001), directed by Cristi Puiu and "12:08 East of Bucharest" (2006), directed by Corneliu Porumboiu. Distillations of the films are woven into the performance; this use of multimedia has been a vital component of Chuma's ongoing "Page Out of Order" series.

A vocal and music score is composed and performed by Koichi Makagimi (Japan) with singer and co-composer Sizzle Otaka (Japan). With support from Romanian Cultural Institute NY, four Romanian artists are taking part in this project: performer/writer Theo Herghelegiu, dancers Andreea Duta and István Téglás and actor Sorin Calota. The performance project includes interviews with a variety of Romanian filmmakers and artists.

ROOT CULTURE is a Japanese multi-disciplinary performance ensemble that organizes live concerts, art exhibitions, symposiums, and workshops at various historical buildings, temples and shrines in Kamakura. It was founded in 2006 by sound artist Kohji Setoh, food artist Junpei Katsumi and visual director Seinoshin Yamagishi and has over 20 members. In 2007, Yoshiko Chuma visited Kamakura for the first time. Following her visit, The School of Hard Knocks and ROOT CULTURE collaborated in two performances in 2008, "A Page Out of Order: Kamakura, Kiritoshi" and "Page Out of Order: The Living Room Project," which were developmental to the current piece.

>From April 20 to May 12, the company will be in residence at the Arad Fun International Underground Festival in Western Transylvania and will perform as the opening act of the Festival (www.culturaarad.ro/aradfun). The company will tour throughout Romania May 16 to 25, prior to the NY performances.

Additional developmental workshops have taken place in November, 2008 at Morishita Studio, Japan, with support from Saison Foundation; and from March 30 to April 5, 2008 at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, Tivoli, New York (www.kaatsbaan.org).

The ten-person performing company will be: Yoshiko Chuma, Andreea Duta, Ursula Eagly, Jake Margolin, Theo Herghelegiu, Kristine Lee, Sorin Calota, István Téglás, Sizzle Ohtaka and Koichi Makigami.

The choreography, direction and multiple screen concept are by Yoshiko Chuma. Lighting design is by Rie Ono. Set and costumes are by Nick Vaughan. Composition, music and songs are by Sizzle Ohtaka and Koichi Makigami. Sound design is by Jacob Burckhardt and Soichiro Migita.

"Not About Romanian Cinema: POONARC" co-producers are Casa de Cultura of the City of Arad (Romania); GroundFloor Group, (Romania), Danspace Project (USA), ROOT CULTURE (Japan) and GOH Productions (USA).

The creation of "Not About Romanian Cinema: POONARC" was made possible in part by the Danspace Project 2008-2009 Commissioning Initiative, with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. "Not About Romanian Cinema: POONARC" was created, in part, while in residence at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center in partnership with Danspace Project's Danspace@Kaatsbaan Creative Residency Program and is supported by the New York State DanceForce with funding from the New York State Council on the Arts Dance Program. Touring to Romania is supported by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. Participation of Romanian artists to the USA is supported by Romanian Cultural Institute. The music for "Not About Romanian Cinema: POONARC" was commissioned by the American Music Center Live Music for Dance Program.

The project is supported by Japan Foundation, through a grant to ROOT CULTURE.

The School of Hard Knocks is supported in part by National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts.

Danspace Project was founded by artists in 1974 to provide a venue for independent experimental choreographers. It combines a rich history with an unstinting commitment to that which is contemporary, creative, and cutting-edge. Three defining characteristics have secured its position as a leading advocate for contemporary dance: commissioning and presenting new dance work from New York, the U.S., and abroad; nurturing independent experimental choreographers at all stages of their careers; and professionally producing dance in uniquely flexible and communal settings like St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery and other remarkable venues throughout New York City. Danspace Project's mission is to stimulate, promote, and present challenging new work in dance from a broad range of artistic voices within a distinguished and nurturing environment. Danspace Project encourages choreographers to take risks and is committed to assisting artists in realizing their creative visions within a professional setting. Danspace welcomes the public to engage in and be transformed by the work of artists. www.danspaceproject.org.

June 4 to 13
Presented by Danspace Project as part of the City/Dans series
St. Mark's Church, 131 East 10th Street (at 2nd Ave.), Manhattan
Thursday through Saturday; pre-show begins at 8:00 pm (performance at 8:30 PM).
$18.00 ($12.00 for members).
Box office (866) 811-4111 www.danspaceproject.org
Running time: 97 minutes.
Reviewers are invited on or after June 4.
PLEASE NOTE TITLE CHANGE: The current title is a change from the original title, "POONARC: Not About Romanian Cinema."