Not enough time

We are preparing for our Woolly Mammoth Concert by bringing back some text based works (from the 2005-06 project 'Dancing the Page") and several others from before that time. Some of the older ones - like long time friend Kim Roberts' "The Floor is Sticky" - is really a new creation.
since it is holiday time, we'll have to make that all wrap together somehow, the time off that is greatly needed to spend with family and friends, and the getting the stuff completed. It always gets done somehow, or should I say there is really no end. Unlike a writer that meets the deadline and the work is published, there is always that temptation and need to keep altering dance pieces because the cast changes, and dance is just so of the moment that it seems necessary.
We are offering cheap ticket until the end of the month, so please go to the web site. We don't want to cancel a show because of low advance sales, so please let us know you are coming!
Happy Thanksgiving! and I'm enjoying "Across the Universe" (Julie Taymor) as I write...it the film that turned the Beatles songs into an anti-war type opera. It's a good one.

New Look

We have launched a new web look. Thanks to Liz Hutcheson of Liz Hutcheson Fast Snail Creative Greetings & Design, we have some unique art work. It is going to serve us well in the coming months. You can now subscribe, and otherwise navigate around. We've dropped some of the repetitive pages and trimmed things down to be much more manageable for both the web administrator and for our visitors.
So do take a look.
We also have wonderful new company members and some exciting projects ahead this year. Next concert up: Nov 7 at 8 pm and Nov 8 at 2 pm at Gunston Theatre One in Arlington. We'll have performances by Young Dancers Project and by Forty +, a newly formed group of older adults committed to the joys of movement past the age of 40. We have some recent works as well as a couple of pieces that have not been shown for five or more years. Time does fly! Please come catch us at Gunston or try some of our community dance classes in October and November.

2009-10 Season

We are looking forward to a good year of interesting performance venues and partners. I'm excited about a work we'll show on Oct 21 at Greater Reston Arts Center in collaboration with a visual artist Rebecca Kamen. Rebecca has created these terrific fragile sculptures that echo the construction of the elements in the periodic table. These 80+ pieces will be navigated using bodies and the unique setting of Greater Reston Arts Center which is circular/spiral. Later in the year, we plan to show a theatrical version with Bryan Leister doing a virtual rendering of the sculptures.
We are putting out information now about getting a Season Subscription which is a great deal on ticket prices. I'll supply several links:
SEASON SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM

In preparation for our Of Bones & Bridges project, we've been out on the Four Mile Run Footbridge.

June 14 Travel Tales at Woolly Mammoth

It came. and went but was wonderful fun to put together several older works. Woolly Mammoth is a comfortable space for us. Video works well on the concrete walls of the rehearsal hall. We got a nice mention in the Sentinel Newspaper.

Finished the first edition of Adult Dance Camp on Friday. There were a couple of new people who joined in and we danced every day....5 whole days in a row! We also experimented with some repertory and it was good fun with really nice people. I'll be planning more work for adult dancers and I've been thinking of doing an Adult Dance and Video project in August that would take us across the footbridge of Four Mile Run near the Shirlington dog park. Check the web site soon. There is nothing written up as yet, but I am excited about the possibilities of using this time to experiment with an upcoming project: "Of Bones and Bridges."

Videos from Holmes Run Park

In May, six dancers and I went about an outdoor exploration of Holmes Run Park in Alexandria. We worked in several very different locations/environments/ecosystems/habitats within a short distance starting with "Edge" and "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Water" which were done near the bridge overpass of the creek from Van Dorn Street. Further along the bike path going towards Duke Street we taped "Head Over Heels" in an open expanse of greenery on the Beatley Library side of the footbridge and "LOOK" done in a foresty expanse that connects S Pickett Street to the bike path.
It was a great day for us to move and to video these unique locations. Please take a few minutes to see the results on YouTube.
thanks again to the Alexandria Commission for the Arts Special Opportunity Award 2009 and to dancers Wayles Haynes, Andrea Ligon, Cait Moler, Mike Nadolski, Peg Schaefer, and Ji Shin.
Here's the link:
TAKE A LOOK

Alexandria Commission for the Arts Special Opportunity Award 2009 -

Four Short Videos from Holmes Run

Edge

Rock Paper Scissors Water

Head Over Heels

LOOK

Rainy Days

We are headed into spring and there is plenty of rain to open that doorway. Yesterday I went down to the King Street Garden Park (pictured here on the side) where we perform on May 31 at 4:30 pm (free). It will provide a great backdrop for "Incidence" and I love the location, a junction right as you enter Old Town Alexandria on King Street. Now we won't say anything about what rain does to outdoor performances, will we?
Later that same day we have our spring fundraiser, an annual event to help raise money for the coming year. The performance promises an outdoor showing using the Monroe Street side of the Arlington Arts Center as a projection surface. We do have a few things planned for inside plus food and drink. We received our first ever two hour liquor license in order to host the event and there will be a silent auction table. If you have anything you would care to contribute for our silent auction, please do let us know. That event is also free though we will be asking for contributions for food and drink.
So as this rainy day passes and the newspaper says it will be 80 degrees by Friday, I know we are in store for changes. My hopes for change are never disappointed since that is life with all its impermanence. Catch us while you can.

More about Mar 21

Rich Kleinfeldt from Washington Saxphone Quartet came in for a few photos with us last week. As well as playing the NPR theme song (which is heard on NPR all through the US daily), Rich is quite talented with keeping his concentration while dancers leap all about. That's Brianne you see jumping into the frame.
I've been rehearsing with a group of women that comprise our Adult Repertory group - and funneling some of the same material into a reconfigured trio of company members - Andrea, Cait and Whitney. It's been challenging and inspiring to swap material between the dancers, and work with the limitations that are the basis for the choreography.
Hope you can come to see us at The Athenaeum on March 21 at 7:30. We truly look forward to this coming performance with live music. http://www.janefranklin.com/ for tickets - or just give us a call at 703.933.1111 for more information

Its in the Air

After finishing a very full fall season, we are entering a stage of new work. We'll be premiering work with the Washington Saxophone Quartet on March 21, 2009 at 7:30 pm at the Athenaeum in Alexandria. This marks our debut performance at the Athenaeum and we are grateful to be performing in this lovely space in the heart of Old Towne Alexandria. We welcome guest performers: a small group of adult dancers, children from Young Dancers Project, and of course the Washington Saxophone Quartet. The Athenaeum offers a close up experience for audiences and an especially great way to get know recent work such as "Incidence." The installation piece by Howard Connelly will look interesting in this location as the dancers will finally have the height, depth and width to be able to use the apparatus completely.
We are offering ticket discounts right now on our web site. One child is free with each adult general admission purchase. Please save the date to come see us on March 21.