Centre Choregraphique National de Grenoble-Jean-Claude Gallotta Group Emile Dubois

Ted Shawn Theatre
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
July 19, 2009

_{Photo: Karli Cadel}

Jean Claude Gallotta's *Des Gens Qui Dansent* (people who dance) plays out
like a French romantic comedy, ripe with charm, intriguing characters and an
intangible breeziness that goes down like a fine champagne. Gallotta's
troupe, cryptically called Groupe Emile Dubois (there is no Emile Dubois)
consists of authentic people who dance of all shapes, sizes, ages and
technical ability and therein lies its subtle power. How we love to watch
civilians dance, it reminds us that dance is the domain of the world, which
includes us. And how fitting to see this troupe at Jacob's Pillow Dance
Festival, a place that honors and supports all forms of dance.

Gallotta harks from a background in painting, theater and film, and it
shows that his interests go beyond dance. *Des Gens Qui Dansent* is
structured with duets, solos, and trios that come and go as they might in
real life. Gallotta himself stumbles about on stage, whispering funny things
into a microphone. He inhabits a persona that falls somewhere between
something rapper and ringmaster. At times he looks lost, or in the wrong
dance. He is both of the group and not, much the way of choreographer
functions in a company setting.

The space, open and un-contained, works as a territory for social
interactions to take place, some tender, some gently combative, others
funny. Each dancer is stunningly unique, making them divinely watchable.
When they partner each other, they come from a place of deep knowing,
allowing the dance to become a communal event with the audience as voyeurs.
There's such a rare beauty in witnessing this level of honesty. Strigall's
pulsing electronic score adds a theatrical veneer and at times a pop lift.

A film snippet of Henry Miller on his deathbed talking about his life made
for poignant punctuation to the dancing. His words, “I am alive to the end,”
seemed to sum up the ballet's lingering perfume.

Reprinted from CultureVulture.net

Toni Valle at Fringe Festival

Toni Leago Valle

Photo by David A. Brown

Toni Leago Valle, a prolific choreographer on the rise, will be showing three pieces in the upcoming Freneticore Fringe Festival. Valle freely uses her own life as material, yet manages to stay clear of "journal entry" dances. She gives us a glimpse of the Valle vortex below.

29-95: You danced I am Mother, a Butoh-inspired dance about fertility goddesses, when you were about to give birth. Now, you are a mother of a five year old. What's different?

Toni Leago Valle: Mythological mothers and realistic mothers don't have much to do with each other. But, that said, I can do a lot more than I could than when I was pregnant, like back bends.

29-95: Why did you choose Butoh?

TLV: I studied the history of Butoh in college and have always been interested in the form, although I am not trained in the style. Butoh is a backlash to traditional Kabuki dance, just as modern was to ballet in the West. Butoh sought to move away from Kabuki fairy tales and show the reality of life, hence the often deformed body poses and facial gestures.

29-95: You also will be showing The Victim solo from Tetris, your most recent piece. Why did you choose this excerpt?

TLV: The festival aimed at more theatrical work and I thought Catalina Molnari's solo would stand alone. It's very athletic and performed on top of Thomas Boyd's magnificent set of gigantic boxes. You don't need to know who she is.

29-95: The two excerpts from Cracked, your confessional opus on women, contains your most compelling, and dare I say, disturbing work. Both Interview for a Date” and I Take my Clothes off, show women in a subservient position. The man interrogates his potential date, asking her about her body, her finances, what she brings to the table. Finally she screams "I am good at sex." You seem to be saying women are still second-class citizens.

TLV: Discrimination is still around, it just went more underground. Women are still expected to be thin, beautiful and successful. Now, it's just more subtle and less overt. My mother never told me to be subservient, but told me to find a good man. When I realized that these issues were still there, I was able to fight it.

29-95: What's the second section, "I take my clothes off" about for you?

TLV: I wanted to be able to get up in front of an audience in a bra and underwear and say this is my body and totally except it.

29-95: Give me a break. You have a great body.

TLV: But that's the point. As a dancer, I am always still looking in the mirror. It doesn't matter what kind of body have, the fact that its not good enough is woven into the fabric of our society.

29-95: You have big news: You're starting a company called 6', (a reference to six degrees of separation) and will be sharing a double bill Amy Ell at DiverseWorks in May of 2010. Why start a company now with this dang recession going on?

TLV: I have gone as far as I can as an independent artist, so I am ready to make the next move. I want to grow more.

The Frenetic Fringe Festival presents works by Toni Leago Valle, Mary Ellen Whitworth, Paul Locklear, Eric Fensler and Laura Harrison Aug. 14 and 15 at 8 p.m. at Freneticore Theatre, 5102 Navigation Blvd. Tickets are $18 at the door, $15 advance.

Reprinted from 29-95.com.

Free screenings showcase the Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Merce Cunningham: Courtesy of Menil Collection

As I was taking my seat at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival to see the Merce Cunningham Dance Company on July 26th, a colleague murmured, "This will be probably be the last time we see the company while Merce is still alive."

As it turned out, it was.

Merce Cunningham, 90, passed away later that same evening. The Pillow had been celebrating Cunningham's legacy for that past week, which included a talk with archivist David Vaughan, who told lively tales of Cunningham's early days working with his frequent collaborator Robert Rauschenberg. Earlier in the season, Cunningham received the Jacob's Pillow Dance Award, one among many lifetime honors.

This Friday, Aug. 7, Houston will have a chance to bid farewell to these two titans of the arts. Society for the Performing Arts (SPA), ARTPIX and Microcinema International team up to honor Cunningham and Rauschenberg in a free outdoor film showing of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company performing Split Sides and Interscape. The screening begins at 8 p.m. at the Menil, 1515 Sul Ross.

Split Sides

For those of us coming of age as dancers and artists during the post Martha Graham years, an era has ended. As children of Merce, we benefited from the man who freed dance from the strict confines of narrative, meaning and metaphor. Everything you needed to understand in a Cunningham dance was contained within its boundaries.

Wendy Perron, editor in chief of Dance Magazine, writes in her blog remembrance:

It was never a matter of loving one of his pieces or hating another. It was how he put dances together: based on curiosity, based on what the body can do, and yes, based on chance. It was how he stimulated the mind as he activated the bodies.

SPA brought the Merce Cunningham Dance Company to Houston four times between 1989 and 2005.

"Merce Cunningham Dance Company was one of the first companies that we presented not long after I joined SPA that really gave me an insight into contemporary dance," said SPA Executive Director and CEO June Christensen. "Merce changed our perception of what a dance performance should be, separating the music and dance. He was innovative and visionary, and will truly be missed."

Split Sides (2003) features a score by Britain's Radiohead and Iceland's Sigur Rs. John Cage scored Interscape (2000). Rauschenberg designed the sets and costumes for the latter performance. Both pieces were filmed by Charles Atlas.

Reprinted from 29-95.c0m.

Tamarie Cooper gives us a look inside her brain

George Hixson: Richard Lyders, Tamarie Cooper, and Christian Holmes from "Sex Me Up Gilligan."

Catastrophic Theatre's associate director Tamarie Cooper is back at it, concocting another summer musical extravaganza. Her newest opus, The Tamarie Cooper Show: Journey to the Center of my Brain (In 3D!), plumbs the depth of her gray matter. It's a big and complicated place, so she's enlisted the help of a small army of actors, composers and musicians. Cooper gives us a sneak peek inside her musical making brain.

George Hixson: Tamarie Cooper as Old and Bitter Tamarie with Kyle Sturdivant.

29-95: What's in that noggin' of yours? Any surprises?

Tamarie Cooper: Not for me, it's my head. The audience can expect brain farts, neurotransmitters, a signing and dancing super ego and endorphins, which are played by cheerleaders.

29-95: Why cheerleaders?

TC: My scientific knowledge is limited to 8th grade science and endorphins seemed like positive people who yell “yippee” while waving pom poms.

29-95: Any regulars in the cast?

TC: Several. Walt Zipprian, who has done a ton of shows with us, plays Dopamine. He's dressed as a surfer along the lines of Matthew McConaughey in Dazed and Confused.

29-95: You don't like typical musical theater types do you?

TC: No, we are a much more motley crew. It's such a thrill to watch regular people burst into song and dance.

29-95: The show isn't just about the brain, but also spends a good deal of its time on the psychology of mind.

TC: Yes, it quickly veers into self-discovery, especially love.

29-95: How so?

TC: Gilligan (from Gilligan's Island) was my first crush, so there's this rousing R & B number called “Sex me up Gillian.” Then the id ego and super ego show up as well.

29-95: People may not know that you are a former member of my tribe. Do you use these summer musicals as a way to reclaim your dancer life?

TC: Absolutely. I was a former bunhead, and then I discovered modern dance at HSPVA. Even though I wasn't majoring in dance at UH, I spent most of my time in the dance department. I'm glad to hold on to those dance roots. Plus, I love choreographing for actors.

29-95: Why?

TC: Actors may not be so limber and technical, but they willingly throw themselves into things. I use a lot of pedestrian and pop culture movement so it works.

29-95: Is there a story in this piece?

TC: From the get-go I am looking for my one true self on the premise of a self-hypnosis made easy CD. It's not linear but that's what takes us muddling through this mess.

29-95: Any particular musical genre you are revisiting?

TC: This one runs the gamut; there's standard musical theater numbers, hip-hop, and when the characters from Pride and Prejudice show up there's some harpsichord action.

29-95: Is it not summer for you unless you are putting on a musical?

TC: You would think so. This is my 13th summer musical.

29-95: What's the most amazing thing about your run so far as Houston's reigning goddess of the wacky musical?

TC: That I have this group of designers, composers, actors and musicians willing to put in this work for me every year to create an original musical.

29-95: You are preggers, so technically there are two brains up there.

TC: True, but one is still forming.

The Catastrophic Theater presents The Tamarie Cooper Show: Journey To The Center Of My Brain (In 3D!), Thursdays-Saturdays July 30-August 29, at Stages Repertory Theatre.

All tickets to are pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $25. For tickets, call the box office at 713-527-8243 or visit www.stagestheatre.com

Reprinted from 29-95.com.

Horse Head Theatre Company gets its Ritual On

Kevin Holden and the co-conspirators at Horse Head Theatre Company are determined to shake up the status quo. To launch their inaugural season they have planned Ceremony, which will serve to train audiences members in the way of the Horse Head. Holden, a well known lighting and set designer, attended UT and UH, studying under the legendary Kevin Rigdon. He has designed for Main Street Theater, Stages Repertory Theatre and The Catastrophic Theatre among others. Holden schools us in Horse Head-ology.

This is a horse head: This wooden horse head was built specifically for Ceremony. It will be lit up with moving lights during the event, creating a theatrical bonfire that serves as the focal point of the event. It is 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide.

29-95: What's your hope for Horse Head Theatre Company?

Keven Holden: To bring theater back to its origins. It all began as ceremony. The Greeks took that idea to its highest point.

29-95: Following in the Greeks' footsteps, not a bad start. What else got your thinking rolling?

KH: I started going to Mexican wrestling matches and noticed the level of participation in the audience. I began to wonder how we could get audiences to get that involved in what they are watching.

29-95: Like sports?

KH: Exactly. And FYI, there will be no shows on the days of UT games.

29-95: Bless you for that. So, you want the audience to hoot and holler?

KH: Yes, if it's appropriate.

29-95: Audiences are used to sitting quietly on their butts these days.

KH: That's why Ceremony also functions as an audience training session.

29-95: So we have to go to a Horse Head education camp?

KH: Yeah. Kind of. We want to re-invent the level of audience participation, and that's going to take some doing.

29-95: Your first play, Adam Rapp's apocalyptic and uber-intense Red Light Winter, opening in September, is hardly a play I would want anyone screaming through.

KH: Do people scream when the bases are loaded?

29-95: Good point. Besides sports, you mention the influence of Robert Edmond Jones, a big time theater thinker, on your website. He talked about the importance of how all aspects of production, such as sets and lights, advance the plot. How will Jones' ideas manifest in your work?

KH: Mr. Jones lectured (even preached) about a theater that exists only in dreams, that truly awakens the full potential of the relationship between an audience and a theatrical experience. This is our prime directive, and we'll begin creating this new relationship by following Robert Edmond Jones' simple production design rules that mandate a truly collaborated and unified concept (as opposed to a traditional compartmentalized design approach).

29-95: The name Horse Head conjures that bloody bed scene from the The Godfather.

KH: I know people jump to that. That's not it at all. It doesn't mean anything. I just liked the name. It kind of sounds like an English pub.

29-95: Will beer be served?

KH: Yes, possibly sold in the aisles.

29-95: Will there be an actual horse head?

KH: It's being built as we speak.

29-95: Can you give us a tiny teaser on what to expect in Ceremony?

KH: From 9 p.m. to midnight it should be an interesting evening of drinking and ambiance. At midnight, we'll see an explosion of sensory input that should create a euphoric, primal, soul tempest.

29-95: The tag line reads, “exotic. altering. tantric. explosive.” Care to explain?

KH: These are words to describe passionate sex, a good art experience should be quite similar.

29-95: You have created this tremendous buzz and you actually haven't done anything yet. Are you remotely nervous about pulling this all off?

KH: Tremendously so.

Horse Head Theatre Company presents Ceremony on July 31st. Doors open at 9 p.m.; Ceremony begins at midnight, the party lasts until 2 a.m., at Frenetic Theater, 5201 Navigation. Free.

Reprinted from 29-95.com