New York Live Arts' 'James Baldwin, This Time!' Presents BALDWIN THROUGH DANCE: CHARLES O. ANDERSON AND DIANNE MCINTYRE, 4/26-27

As part of the second annual Live Ideas festival, James Baldwin, This Time!, New York Live Artspresents Baldwin Through Dance: Charles O. Anderson and Dianne McIntyre. The shared program features the world premiere of Time is Time created and performed by acclaimed dancer and choreographer Dianne McIntyre, and the New York City premiere of Charles O. Anderson's Restless Natives.

Infused with a stunning sound score and original texts by performance poet and singer Ursula Rucker, Restless Natives is an evening of mournful celebration that integrates jazz and blues music, spoken text and African American vernacular gestures and dances. The work explores the core themes-the struggle to love and be loved amid the complexities of racism, sexism and homophobia-from James Baldwin's Another Country. Set in a fictional speakeasy called "Home," the piece is a rhythm and blues saturated kinetic story about emotional and spiritual longing.

Restless Natives was conceived, directed and choreographed by Charles O. Anderson in collaboration with performers Jeremy Arnold, Karama Butler, Dina-Verley Christophe, Danielle Currica, Johnnie Mercer, Jr., Alvin Rangel, Ursula Rucker, Ashley Sleeth and Miko Doi Smith. The sound score was designed by Anderson and features music by Gil Scott Heron, James Baldwin, Betty LaVette, Ursula Rucker, Frank London and Chuck and Mac.

Dianne McIntyre's Time is Time is a celebratory offering exploring the emotional soul of Baldwin's poem "Song (for Skip)." With the foundation of Baldwin's language-which at times is like a whip, at times like a lullaby-McIntyre weaves a tapestry of dance, text, song, instrumental sounds and contemplation. Time is Time will be performed by McIntyre and five fellow artists including legendary pianist and composer Onaje Allan Gumbs.

Additional programming information and a full schedule of events for James Baldwin, This Time! can be found here.

WHO: Charles O. Anderson, director and choreographer

Ursula Rucker, poet

Charles O. Anderson, Jeremy Arnold, Karama Butler, Dina-Verley Christophe, Danielle Currica, Johnnie Mercer, Jr., Alvin Rangel, Ursula Rucker, Ashley Sleeth, Miko Doi Smith, performers

Brenda Dixon Gottschild, dramaturg

Dianne McIntyre, choreographer

Onaje Allan Gumbs, composer

Onaje Allan Gumbs, Dianne McIntyre, Rachel McSween, Yusef Miller, William Roberson and Kalimah Wouadjou, performers

WHEN:Saturday, April 26 at 8:00pm

Sunday, April 27 at 2:00pm

New York Live Arts
New York Live Arts Theater

219 W 19th Street, New York, NY 10011

TICKETS: $15, $40 | Festival Passes $175

T: 212-924-0077 | newyorklivearts.org/liveideas

Box Office hours: Monday-Friday 1 - 9pm | Saturday-Sunday 12 - 8pm

About the Artists
Charles O. Anderson is currently based in Austin, Texas where he is an associate professor of African Diaspora Dance Studies and the M.F.A. coordinator in Dance at The University of Texas at Austin. He is artistic director of dance theatre X (dtX), an afro-contemporary dance theatre company, which he founded in Philadelphia in 2003. Born and raised in Richmond, VA, Anderson earned his B.A. in Choreography and Performance from Cornell University and his M.F.A. in Dance from Temple University. He has performed in the companies of Ronald K. Brown, Sean Curran, Mark Dendy and Miguel Gutierrez among others. His work has been presented nationally and internationally and has earned recognition by numerous grants and organizations, such as the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, one of "25 to Watch" by Dance Magazine, and one of "12 Rising Stars in the Academy" by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine.

Dianne McIntyre is "one of modern dance's reigning divas" (Time Out New York, 2012). Since 1972 she has choreographed scores of concert dances, four Broadway shows, 30 regional theatre productions, a London West End musical, three feature films, three television productions, stage movement for recording artists and five original full-length dance-dramas. Her company, Sounds in Motion/Dance Visions, Inc. operated a studio/school in Harlem, mentored countless dance artists and toured internationally in the 1970s and 80s. Known for collaborations with musicians in jazz, blues, soul, world and avant-garde (Olu Dara, Butch Morris, Cecil Taylor, Lester Bowie) McIntyre also has the opportunity to work with writers and directors (Ntozake Shange, OyamO, Regina Taylor, August Wilson, Des McAnuff, Marion McClinton, Woodie King, Jr., Jonathan Demme). Her individualistic movement style reflects her affinity for cultural histories, personal narratives and the boldness, nuances, discipline and freedom in music and poetic text. Dance companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as well as forty plus university ensembles and the major dance festivals have commissioned her choreography and teaching residencies. As a Tamiris specialist she recreated that choreographer's 1937 "How Long, Brethren?" from Negro Songs of Protest.

Awards include John S. Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, three Bessies (1989, 1997, 2006), NEA, NYSCA grants and fellowships, AUDELCO and Helen Hayes theatre awards, Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degrees from SUNY Purchase and Cleveland State University, ADF Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching, and an Emmy Award nomination for HBOs "Miss Evers' Boys." She also choreographed the film "Beloved" based on the novel by Toni Morrison. Her recent and present projects include choreography for Sweet Honey in the Rock's fortieth anniversary tour, for The Ohio State University and Sarah Lawrence College dance students and a solo for Roxane D'Orleans Juste "She Who Carries the Sky" with the Límón Dance Company which premieres at the Joyce Theater April 29. Ms. McIntyre's mentors include faculty of OSU, Gus Solomons jr, Louise Roberts and Richard Davis.

About James Baldwin, This Time!

From April 23 to 27, James Baldwin, This Time! at New York Live Arts will present close to twenty events across an array of theater, visual art, dance, video, literature and scholarship featuring such artists as Carrie Mae Weems, Jamaica Kincaid, Charles O. Anderson, Colman Domingo, Fran Lebowitz, Patricia McGregor, Suzan-Lori Parks, Carl Hancock Rux, Stew and Colm Tóibín. The festival inaugurates "The Year of James Baldwin," a city-wide celebration in 2014 - 15 of the continuing artistic, intellectual and moral presence of James Baldwin, on the occasion of what would have been his 90th year. James Baldwin, This Time! is being presented by New York Live Arts as part of "The Year of James Baldwin" in partnership with Harlem Stage and Columbia University School of the Arts Office of Community Outreach and Education. Other collaborators include: The New School and its Vera List Center for Art and Politics; the School of Writing; NYU; and others to be announced as the year progresses.

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

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; Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art; 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.

Live Ideas is made possible by The Ford Foundation. Additional support is provided by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The Samuel M. Levy Family Foundation and Theatre Development Fund.

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