Green Space Releases January Schedule
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Dec. 23, 2019
Green Space has announced a diverse roster of artists for its signature programs this September. Take Root will present an evening of work by Drastic Action and Nicole Y. McClam on January 24th and 25th, and Fertile Ground showcases works-in-progress by multiple dance artists on January 26th.
Green Space has proven to provide an inspiring and welcoming environment where choreographers can explore, experiment, and deepen their creative process.
Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, Executive Director, Queens Council on the Arts
TAKE ROOT, now in its 11th season, nurtures dance artists at established stages in their careers, pairing them in a split bill or full evening-length program. This monthly series supports dance makers' experimentation and growth by providing our venue, Green Space, along with full technical and marketing support to present their work to the NYC public.
FERTILE GROUND has supported emerging and established artists for 14 seasons, showcasing the work of over 50 choreographers each year. The non-curated program features five dance makers each evening and includes a post-performance discussion with wine, moderated by Green Space's Artistic Director, Valerie Green.
About the Work
Take Root
January 24th and 25th
8pm
Advance sale tickets: $17 online at www.GreenSpaceStudio.org
Tickets purchased at door: $20 cash, $22 credit card
Drastic Action will present four new and recent works by Aviva Geismar that explore multiple survival strategies for this moment of overwhelming national and global tension. In "Pressure/Vapor," performers boil with extreme anxiety. "Up End" is the first solo Geismar has performed in 6 years, and is about coping with the unexpected. Desire and repression drive the characters in an excerpt of "Urge," while the dancers in "The Bind" strain for an elusive sense of true connection. The program includes performer/collaborators Randy Burd, Jenni Hong, Mengying Lin and Kendra Ross. Original music is by Annabelle Chvostek and additional music is by Jonah Parzen-Johnson and Laura Sheeran. Costumes design is by Daye Hwang and Mandarin Wu. This work is supported by the PSC-CUNY Research Foundation.
Nicole Y. McClam's It's All Good Hair began in homogeneous and predominately white Lubbock, Texas and Potsdam, New York. This conversation between a black woman and her hair choreographed and performed by Nicole Y. McClam examines how black women are socialized to value Eurocentric beauty standards as she learns to care for her natural hair. Featuring music by Mariah Carey and Just for Me Hair Care Relaxer and interviews with Imani James, Luisanna Marte Olivo, Andrea Kpelapauee, It's All Good Hair confronts internalized racism and questions what wisdom the straightening processes erase. The discovery and (re)definition of "good hair" mirrors a black woman's self-discovery.
About the Artists
Take Root January Artists
Drastic Action is a contemporary dance company under the direction of Aviva Geismar. Geismar's thought-provoking dances stem from her fascination with the nuances and paradoxes of everyday behavior. Geismar and her collaborators develop innovative movement languages, as they explore the ambiguity of interpersonal relationships and the effects of disintegrating social systems. From 2006-2010, Drastic Action led a dance performance and education program in Germany in partnership with Battery Dance Company. The project, "Dancing to Connect," focused on tolerance within the context and legacy of the Holocaust. Geismar's dances have been performed in prominent venues including Inside/Out at Jacob's Pillow, Danspace Project, Dance Theater Workshop, Dance New Amsterdam, Wilhelma Theater (Stuttgart) and Haus der Berliner Festspiele. Drastic Action has received support from the PSC-CUNY Research Foundation, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the NYC-Department of Cultural Affairs, Bay and Paul Foundations, Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Jody and John Arnhold Foundation and others. Geismar is an Assistant Professor in the Dance Program at Queensborough Community College-CUNY.
Nicole Y. McClam, MFA, CMA enjoys exploring the awesomeness of dance with her students at Queensborough Community College and bouncing to and fro as a founding member of B3W Performance Group plus performing with Keith Thompson/danceTactics and Kayla Hamilton. Nicole's work has been presented in Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD and Brooklyn, NY, Potsdam, NY, and Lubbock, TX. A DC native, she was a long-time member of Deborah Riley Dance Projects. Before that, she apprenticed with Pennsylvania Dance Theater for their 2000-2001 season where she had the pleasure of performing works by Ben Munisteri and Claire Porter. She received her MFA in Dance while also pursuing her studies in the Laban Certification Program at the University of Maryland, a BFA in Dance Performance and a BA in Chemistry from East Carolina University. Nicole enjoys knitting, vegan cupcakes, and researching zombies.
Fertile Ground January Artists
Lyndsay Lewis & Dancers
Lydia Jackson
Muliebris Dance Theatre
Mayu Shirai Dance
Hallie Chametzky
January 26th
7pm
Tickets: $15 at door and online at www.GreenSpaceStudio.org
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