New York Live Arts Begins 2013-14 Studio Series Showing With Elena Demyanenko & Dai Jian's BLUE ROOM Tonight

New York Live Arts begins the 2013-14 Studio Series work-in-process showings with Elena Demyanenko and Dai Jian's collaborative work, Blue Room, tonight and tomorrow, October 4th and 5th at 6:00pm, in the third floor studios at New York Live Arts. A 2013-14 Dance Theater Workshop Commissioning Fund Commission, the Studio Series showing of Blue Room will precede the world premiere of the complete work to be shown in New York Live Arts' Theater in February 2014.

A nonlinear sequence of events where re-organization is the predominant method of development and evolution, Blue Room is the latest, year-long collaboration between Russian-born Elena Demyanenko and Chinese Artist Dai Jian, both recent alumni of Trisha Brown Dance Company. In this informal studio showing, segments of the work (developed during the artists' Studio Series residency) will be presented in the intimate working space of the Live Arts studio. Stripped of almost all lighting and costume elements, the showing will feature a hint of the final set design in the periphery of the studio space. Exposing the inside process of Blue Room, the showing will serve as an opportunity for Demyanenko and Jian to test aspects of their structural and sequencing ideas before an audience, welcoming feedback that will contribute to the final product of the work to be shown at New York Live Arts February 13 - 15, 2013, at 7:30pm.

Blue Room is commissioned by New York Live Arts and is made possible, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jerome Foundation and by contributions to the Dance Theater Workshop Commissioning Fund at New York Live Arts.

Studio Series is supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the Foundation for Contemporary Art.

Studio Series work-in-process showings will take place in New York Live Arts' studios. Tickets are $5. There will be free in-process talks after each showing with an array of moderators. Tickets are available online at newyorklivearts.secure.force.com, by phone at 212-924-0077 and in person at the box office. Box office hours are Mondayto Friday from 1 to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 8pm. New York Live Arts is located at 219 West 19th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. There will be no late seating.

*** Studio Series work-in-process showings are not open for review. ***

Listing info:

Elena Demyanenko & Dai Jian:

Fri, Oct 4 at 6pm (in-process talk moderated by Melanie Maar)

Sat, Oct 5 at 6pm (in-process talk moderated by Cori Olinghouse)

3rd Floor Studios, New York Live Arts

Tickets: $5

T: 212-924-0077 | www.newyorklivearts.org

219 W 19th Street, New York, NY 10011

Box Office hours:

Monday-Friday 1 - 9pm | Saturday-Sunday 12 - 8pm

About The Artists:

Elena Demyanenko is a Russian-born graduate of the Academy of Theatrical Arts (Moscow). Demyanenko came to NYC in 2000 to work as guest artist with Riverdance on Broadway. In 2003, she became a member of Stephen Petronio Company (2003-2008). Before joining Trisha Brown Dance Company in 2009, Demyanenko was involved in the Martha Clarke production Garden of Earthly Delights at Minetta Lane Theater. That same year she assisted Trisha Brown in creating aerial work for her new opera Pygmalion. As recipient of a Jerome Robbins Fellowship for the creation of new work, Demyanenko premiered her own work Disparate Bodies (in collaboration Joseph Poulson) at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in 2011. The same year Demyanenko performed as a guest artist in Continuous Replay with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company at New York Live Arts.

Demyanenko has made dances with Pavel Zustiak, Kota Yamazaki, Joseph Poulson, Lindsey Dietz Marchant and Jimena Paz. Her own choreography has been presented at many venues including Baryshnikov Arts Center, Architecture of Movement Festival, Yaroslavl, Russia, WOW Theater, Red Bean Studio, Movement Research at Judson Church, Dance New Amsterdam and Dixon Place. Demyanenko has also created dance films, for which she received an EMPAC Dance Movies Commission (2007) as well as being nominated for the Dance on Camera Jury Prize for her work on Kino Eye (2009). Her dance film Vienna was screened at the opening of the New Galapagos Art Space (2008).

As an alumni of Trisha Brown Dance Company Elena restaged Line Up at Milano Paolo Grazzi School in May 2012.

Dai Jian is an artist from China with roots in contemporary dance, classical dance and Martial Arts. He has created improvisations, performance installations and visual art. Alongside a professional dance performance career, Jian has been creating his own work since he was 18 years old. In 1998 he was awarded at the National Dance Competition in China, and in 2000 he won the New Stars in Performing Arts from Guangzhou City (choreography and dancing) with his first solo creation. He began dancing with New York-based Shen Wei Dance Arts in 2005, Trisha Brown Dance Company in 2008 and was Shen Wei's assistant for the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2012 he was invited to choreograph the compulsory piece for male solo for the Boston International Ballet Competition, and choreographed for Guang Dong Modern Dance Company. He also has collaborated with filmmaker Katrina McPherson, and significantly with Kirstie Simson and Michael Schumaker, visual artist Kimberly Mayhorn, video artist Mimi Gerrard, Yin Mei and Hou Ying. He has choreographed for the Guang Dong Modern Dance Company, and was a dancer/choreographer with Jin Xing Dance Theater.

About the Studio Series:

Created in 2005 by Dance Theater Workshop and continued by New York Live Arts, the Studio Series residency program uses a strong focus on creative process to encourage artist's examinations of movement-based art. Each Studio Series artist receives a commission, 100 hours of creative residency time and is invited to conduct two informal showings. These in-process showings create a framework for the artist to share ideas with an audience in the intimate working space of the studio. Each year, a select number of mid-career artists are given a Studio Series residency as part of a one- to two-year program of support, leading up to a commission and season presentation. Studio Series artists are curated by Artistic Director Carla Peterson in conjunction with Benjamin Kimitch, Producing Associate/Assistant to the Artistic Director, and Marya Wethers, former Studio Series Program Manager (current International Project Director).

ABOUT NEW YORK LIVE ARTS

New York Live Arts is an internationally recognized destination for innovative movement-based artistry offering audiences access to art and artists notable for their conceptual rigor, formal experimentation and active engagement with the social, political and cultural currents of our times. At the center of this identity is Bill T. Jones, Executive Artistic Director, a world-renowned choreographer, dancer, theater director and writer.

We commission, produce and present performances in our 20,000 square foot home, which includes a 184-seat theater and two 1,200 square foot studios that can be combined into one large studio. New York Live Arts serves as home base for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, provides an extensive range of participatory programs for adults and young people and supports the continuing professional development of artists. Our influence extends beyond NYC through our international cultural exchange program that currently places artists in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Funding Support for New York Live Arts

Major support for New York Live Arts is provided by: Bloomberg Philanthropies; The Brownstone Foundation; The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; Con Edison; The Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Ford Foundation; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; Florence Gould Foundation; Japan Foundation; Jerome Foundation; Lambent Foundation; MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts; The New York Community Trust; Robert Rauschenberg Foundation; The Rockefeller Foundation NYC Cultural Innovation Fund; The Jerome Robbins Foundation; The Scherman Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. New York Live Arts is supported by public funds administered by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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