DIVINE RHYTHM NEWS – Nov 19th 2005

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND…

TAP OFF THE TURKEY 2
with
Jason Samuels Smith & Chloe Arnold

A two-hour intensive ultimately designed to work up a sweat and make your feet fly! (Open Level)

Nola Studios, 250 West 54th Street, 11th floor, New York City
Sunday, November 27th
1-3pm
$25 with pre-registration, $30 at the door.

Limited Spots available!
Call 2122621394 or send e-mail to divinerhythmnyc@aol.com
to reserve today!!!

(PRIVATE LESSONS AVAILABLE)

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JAZZ TAP ENSEMBLE in New York City at the JOYCE THEATRE:
Check it out! Limited 2 for one offer on tickets ‘ just call the Joyce box office 212-242-0800
Party People,

www.jazztapensemble.org

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Chicago Human Rhythm Project
Global Rhythms
November 18, 8 pm; November 19, 8:30 pm; and November 20, 3 pm, 2005; Tickets $25, MCA members $22

Celebrating fifteen years of traditional and new rhythm dance, the Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP), in association with the MCA, presents the return of Brazil’s Vat’ Tap, who performs a new work demonstrating the artful fusion-renaissance in Latin rhythmic dance, and Los Angeles’ Jason Samuels Smith of ACGI (Anybody Can Get It), the first tap choreographer to earn an Emmy Award for choreography in more than fifty years.

See related Artists Up Close programs.

For tickets, please call the MCA Box Office at 312.397.4010
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WORKSHOP
WITH

CHANCE TAYLOR

Chance has been tap dancing for 28 years and
teaching for 20. He has performed with many
dancers including Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Jimmy
Slyde, Dianne Walker, Steve Condos, Fayard
Nicholas(Nicholas Brothers), Leon Collins, Eddie
Brown, Sandman Sims…Chance was in the movie “Tap”
with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr. as well as
other films. He danced for several years on the ‘Tim
Conway show’ and other t.v. shows. Chance
performed in the off-broadway production of Savion
Glover’s Downtown ‘Live Communication’ and has worked
on other projects with Savion including the Academy
Awards, the Barbara Streisand’s New Years Concert, the
Regis and Kathy Lee Show…He recently performed with
Savion at the Hollywood Bowl for the PB Jazz
Festival. Chance emphasizes the importance of
‘rudiments’ which are crucial for developing control
and facility. His choreography and improvisation focus
on musicality and it’s visual interpretation.

Date: Sunday November 20th, 2005
Time: 12-1-30pm
Intermediate level class/ ages 10- adult
Price: $20
The Element Performing Arts Center
5919 Severin Drive
La Mesa, ca, 91942 (619) 464-2291

http://www.theelementpac.com

theelementpac@aol.com

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Party People,

HOUSE DANCE CONFERENCE! THIS SHOW IS TAP and BGIRLING! TWO SEPERATE SHOWS!!

ALL ABOVE 18 ARE WELCOME! BRING ID! BUT IT’S COOL! *REMEMBER THE HOUSE DANCE
CONFERENCE EVENT IS THE FIRST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH!! BRING ID!!

*** ALSO BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR DANCE STYLES SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE!! ***

VIDS READY:

1)HOUSE: the late 80/early 90 featuring the HOUSE DANCE MASTERS which are
Shannon “Which Way” Sha, Pee Wee, Spex, and Brian “Footwork” Green
2)ELECTRIC BOOGALOO and Poppin featuring BOOGALOO SAM, Jazzy J, Disco Dave,
Buddha Stretch, Adesola, and some head nods by me: Brian Footwork Green!
Vids will be at the bar!!

**THOSE INTERESTED IN ANY OTHER SITES WITH VIDEOS OF DANCING, GO TO:
mrwiggleshiphop.net, justedebout.com, electricboogaloos.com, bboy.com,
urbanvision.net, and they will lead you to others. Family is what will keep
things alive and growing in the right way. **

EVENT: HOUSE DANCE CONFERENCE
DAY: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1
PLACE: SHELTER (club Speed)
ADDRESS: 20 W. 39th St. between 5 & 6th Ave.
PERFORMERS: FULL CIRCLE (bgirl team!!) & TEAM CRAZY 4 ( Hoofers! If you
don’t know: a.k.a. Tap dancers: Andrew Nemr, Shun, Michel Dorrance, and
Jared Grimes!! If you know the young Tap community, this will be a
enlightening show!! There will be a lot more Tap surprises in the conference
coming soon!! )
MUSIC BY:
HOUSE MUSIC: Dj TOMMY BONES
HIP-HOP, FUNK, BREAKS, HIP-HOP, and CLASSICS: DOC
DOOR: $12 no flyer, $10 w/flyer

Websites to chek out:
The final release of the WORLD SOUL website. The crew that I am in that set
it off in France, in NY, and at the conference is now getting together
seriously and doing bookings. Those interested in that show check out:
www.23prime.com/worldsoul for details about the group. If you also have
interests in booking HOUSE DANCE MASTERS or HOUSE DANCE CONFERENCE CREW (the
poppers of the HDC video), just email me: brifoot71@yahoo.com. Or contact
anyone in those crews!

Other websites:

theotherisde.nu
mrwiggleshiphop.net
bboy.com
nustudios.com, and many more!!

CLASSES

PLACE: BROADWAY DANCE CENTER: 221 W.57th St. between Broadway & 6th Ave. 5th
fl.
TEACHER: SPEX
CLASS: HIP-HOP (basics)
DAYS: WEDNESDAYS & FRIDAYS: 9pm-10:30pm and MONDAY: 10:30pm-12pm.

TEACHER: JAZZY J
DAYS: Tuesdays and Thursdays (Poppin and Locking)
TIME: 9pm-10:30pm FOR OTHER CLASSES SEE JAZZY J!
TEACHER: SPEX (Hip-hop)
DAYS: WEDNESDAYS
TIME: 9-10:30pm
PRICE: $15.00
PHONE: (212) 582-9304

TEACHER:Brian “Footwork” Green
CLASS: WACKING (beginners)
DAYS: FRIDAYS: 3pm-4:30pm and Saturdays: 6:30pm-8pm
CLASS: HIP-HOP
DAYS: MONDAYS: 9pm-10:30pm and TUESDAYS 7:30pm-9pm
CLASS: HOUSE (beginners
DAYS: THURSDAYS: 7:30pm-9pm and SATURDAYS: 4:30pm-6pm (Basic HOUSE)

PLACE: STEPS Address: 2121 Broadway (3rd floor)

TEACHER: STRETCH
DAYS: Saturday (Hip-hop)
TIME: 3:30pm-5pm
DAYS: TUESDAY
TIME: 6-7:30pm
DAYS: THURSDAYS
TIME: 6-7:30pm
FRIDAYS (House)
TIME: 7:45-9:15pm

TEACHER: FABEL (ROCK STEADY CREW
CLASS: POPPING and LOCKING
DAYS: MONDAY
TIME: 8pm-9:20pm

CLASS HAS POPPING ONE WEEK AND LOCKING THE NEXT!! THIS MONDAY 5/17/04 is a
Popping Session!

ALSO AT STEPS! CHECK OUT POPMASTER FABEL, FEVER 1, and ROBIN DUNN! Don’t
know their exac t schedules, but trying to support.

ONE LOVE TO ALL and GOD BLESS ALL,

Brian “Footwork” Green

———————————————–>

SF Hip Hop DanceFest!
> The Finest Hip Hop Dance Companies from the Bay Area and Beyond!
> Companies from France, Virginia, Vancouver, Chicago, Montana and 4
> companies from New York!!!
> Nov 17-20 Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, San Francisco
>
> This year— 2 entirely different programs! ( *info on paper flier is
> incorrect, however the following info is corrected)
> Program A – Thursday Nov 17, 8pm and Saturday Nov 19, 8pm ( 12
> companies performing!)
> Program B- Friday Nov 18, 8pm and Sunday Nov 20, 7pm (12 entirely
> different companies performing!)
>
> To purchase tickets call City Box office.. 415 392-4400 or to purchase
> tickets and get info go to…
> www.sfhiphopdancefest.com
>
>
> Also Master Classes taught by visiting artists!
> Saturday Nov 19 at the Palace of Fine Arts Stage
> 3:00-4:15pm Meech and Go, (O-trips, from France)
> 4:30-5:45pm Buddha Stretch, (Mop Tops from New York)
> Master Class Cost/Registration:
> Cost: $15 for one class, $27 for both
> To pre-register, send check (specify O-TRIPS, STRETCH or BOTH) to:
> SF Hip Hop DanceFest
> PO Box 5232
> Larkspur,CA 94977
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M.A.D.D. Rhythms is GIVING BACK:

The Sabala Dance Ensemble

proudly presents

DISASTER RELIEF BENEFIT CONCERT
NOVEMBER 21, 2005

7:00 PM
LAKE ZURICH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
LAKE ZURICH, IL

Featuring:
Sabala Dance Ensemble
MADD Rhythms
Xtreme Dance Force
RASA
Lake Zurich High School Orchesis
Fremd High School Orchesis
Legend Dance Company
and other community arts organizations

TICKET INFORMATION
$20.00 per person(before November 21) or $23.00 at door
Please contact:
Denise Sabala Dance Studios
847-438-5569 or
e-mail your order to sabalajazz@aol.com

All proceeds from this concert will go to the

American Red Cross of Chicago to aid families affected by the recent national disasters who have been brought to the Chicagoland area.
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MARY BETH’s CITY STOMPERS

www.clogdancenewyork.com

CLOGGING CLASSES

Now offering classes in Manhattan at Chelsea Studios – (see website for full details)
Saturdays 10-1pm
Chelsea Studios
151 W. 26th

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WORLD SALSA CHAMPIONSHIPS
TICKETS AND REGISTRATION ON SALE NOW!

Travel Package #1: 7 days/6 Nights including Hotel and Full Event Pass (Competitions plus Live Music Show and Dancing till 4:00 am) only $499

Travel Package #2: 4 days/3 Nights including Hotel and Full Event Pass (Competitions plus Live Music Show and Dancing till 4:00 am) only $349

Click here to register online now!!!

or Call Toll Free 1-888-Salsasi(725-7274) or (310)445-9705

Advance tickets available also at all Orleans Arena ticket outlets including all Coast Casino Showroom Box Offices, The Galleria at Sunset, or charge by phone at 702-284-7777, and online at www.orleansarena.com. Once we’ve reached our capacity for the night no other tickets will be sold. For additional information, call 702-365-7469 or visit www.orleansarena.com.

1st Annual World Salsa Championships
December 15-17, 2005
Tickets: from $55
Seating Chart

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ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Hello, fellow tappers – Just a note to let you all know that Fayard is up,
out and around. The amazing 91 year old bundle of love is doing just fine
and has bounced back with the stamina of a 19 year old…thanks to everyone for
their concern and prayers – God Bless – Jim Taylor, I.T.A. Rep.
P.S. Please pass along this wonderful news!

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25th Anniversary Chicago Music Awards (CMA)

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Museum of Science & Industry (Lake Shore Drive & 57th Street, Chicago, IL)

VIP Celebrity Reception starts at 7:00pm – Tickets are $75ea.

Awards Program starts at 8:00pm – Tickets are $49ea.

Sponsored by:

* Star Planet TV Network-25 * Caribbean Shipping & Postal Services * Chicago Defender * African Spectrum * Kingston Mines * ICEE Records * Remax Realtor Leroy Viamille * Herbert Witter Insurance Broker * 115th Street Mini Mall * Insurance Center, Inc.*

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(1) CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE NOMINEE…

Circle or Check ONE nominee per category! Your decision should be based on… Materials/Releases between October 2004 and September 2005, social relevance of materials, originality, sales, the scope of local & national performances, quality of performances, and stage appearance.

(2) SUBMIT YOUR BALLOT…

Only one entry per person is allowed. Deadline is November 20, 2005!

Submit ballot to: Chicago Music Awards, c/o Martin’s Inter-Culture, PO Box 5836, Chicago, IL 60680

… or VOTE ONLINE @ www.CHICAGOMUSICAWARDS.com!

(3) GO TO THE CHICAGO MUSIC AWARDS!

Don’t forget to purchase your tickets to the Chicago Music Awards! Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com (312-559-1212) or call the Chicago Music Awards office (312-427-0266).
———-

Awardees for CMA’s Special Lifetime Achievement Award!

The Emotions

Willie Rogers-The Legendary Soul Stirrers

Bob Sirott, Host of WTTW’s Chicago Tonight

Inez Andrews, The Caravans

The Chicago Federation of Musicians

Honorees for CMA’s Award of Honor!

Ramonski Luv

Neil Tesser

Illinois Entertainer

Mama Curtis

AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians)

Let your voting begin…

28) Most Outstanding Dance Group:

* House Arrest

* Lisa “La Boriqua” & the Chicago Latin Street Dance Company

* Muntu Dance Theater

* Madd Rhythms

* Joel Hall Dancers

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE FOR M.A.D.D. RHYTHMS!!!

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REVIEWS:

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 (SF Chronicle)
Bring in da noise, bring in da classical Indian dance. East meets West in a one-of-a-kind collaboration.
Rachel Howard, Special to The Chronicle

One man was 23, the other 60. One wore tap shoes, the other four pounds of
bells tied to each ankle. But when Kathak master Chitresh Das found
himself backstage at the American Dance Festival with tap prodigy Jason
Samuels Smith, he knew he had to seize his fate.
“I said, this is my chance, I have to get his attention,” Das said
recently, his aging but nimble body slick with sweat from his day’s
discipline. “So I started to dance and Jason says, ‘How can you do that
with your bare feet?’ “
Smith, a rising star in the tap world best known as an alumnus of “Bring
in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk,” was so enthralled by his first glimpse of
North Indian classical dancing that Das’ company members had to restrain
him from following Das onto the stage. “It was like two lovers kept apart
for centuries finally coming together,” Das said, his theatrical eyes wide
with passion. “The Divine put me in that hallway with Jason.”
It might sound more like a star-crossed liaison: the elegance and
mathematical precision of Kathak meets the slouchy streetwise virtuosity
of contemporary tap. But when Das and Smith are in the same room, they’re
just two hoofers. Since that “Festival of the Feet” in 2004, Das and Smith
have kept on jamming. The result is “India Jazz Suites,” an
East-meets-West collaboration premiering this weekend at the Cowell
Theater.
It’s the fulfillment of a life calling for Das, whose parents ran a school
of Kathak dance in his native Calcutta. Trained by one of the most
venerated Kathak gurus from age 9, Das moved to Marin in 1971 with a goal
of building what he calls his “rainbow coalition”: a multi-ethnic company
of American-born Kathak dancers.
As Kathak dance in India veered toward a watered-down hybridism, Das drew
his innovations — like his meditative “Kathak yoga” — from deep within
tradition. But he also longed to reach out to other traditions, and
dreamed of riffing with tap greats like Gregory Hines and Savion Glover.
“Now,” he said, “I finally get to do something truly Indo-American.”
“India Jazz Suites” is a conversation between cultures, not a fusion.
First Das and Smith will each give solo performances. Then Das will jam
with Smith’s band — the Marcus Shelby Jazz Trio — and Smith will jam
with Das’ — bass, piano, sitar and “a very fast tabla player,” according
to Das. For the finale, they’ll dance together.
No one knows what will happen when that curtain rises, but rehearsal gives
a hint. On a typical evening at the Sunset’s Cultural Integration
Fellowship, with Smith away in Australia, Das simultaneously played tabla
and danced while a veteran jazz drummer hung on for dear life. Das’
all-female company sat in a circle, playing chimes and chanting to help
the drummer keep the complex beat. Das launched into a spin; the drummer
supplied a raucous fill and screamed. “I have to watch you like a hawk,”
he said, smiling with excitement.
That’s nothing compared with the sparks that fly when Smith, who lives in
Los Angeles, and Das are in the same room. “One of us will set off a
rhythm and start dancing and the other will start accenting or putting
breaks in it, or we’ll start trading,” Smith said by phone. “It’s just a
vibe.”
The differences are plenty: Kathak, which originated in the temples where
dancers mimed stories of the Hindu gods, is pulled up and beautifully
sculpted in the upper body, with the feet kept close together. “In Kathak,
if I start to move wide, I start to lose it,” Das said. “In tap, if they
start to draw in close, it’s difficult.” But there are basic rhythms in
common. “Their ‘dak a deemi’ is toe toe-heel-heel,” Das said. “And ours is
flat-flat-heel-heel.”
It all works because the dance forms share two things: a history of
improvisation and a veneration for past masters. “We both say, ‘What have
the gurus taught us and where are we going?’ ” Das said.
Smith sounds as if he’s found a new guru to add to his list of influences.
“This cat, he’s at a peak in his style and form,” Smith said. “I’m humbled
to be working with him.”

The Chitresh Das Dance Company presents ‘India Jazz Suites’ Thursday
through Saturday at Fort Mason’s Cowell Theater, Buchanan St. at Marina
Blvd., San Francisco. Tickets: $18-$35, (415) 345-7575. www.kathak.org. ——————————-

Copyright 2005 SF Chronicle

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Dance Review: Chitresh Das, Jason Samuels Smith: India Jazz Suites

Chitresh Das & Jason Samuels Smith: India Jazz Suites
Nov 11, 2005

By
ALLAN ULRICH
allan@voiceofdance.com

Jason Samuels Smith, Photo by Carl McClarty and Pandit Chitresh Das, Photo by Marty Sohl.

Alone, they’re captivating. Together, they’re magic. And if the magic takes a while to settle in, patience is still a virtue. India Jazz Suites, which Thursday evening (Nov. 10) opened a too-brief run at Fort Mason’s Cowell Theater unites Marin County-based Pandit Chitresh Das, an acknowledged master of the Indian dance form, kathak, with Los Angeles-based Jason Samuels Smith, one of the brilliant young talents reanimating the art of tap dancing. The two suffice to carry the show. Who would ever want more?

Fusion means confusion, claims Smith in a beguiling rap monologue, and, true enough, these two forms of movement artistry remain distinct in this two-hour show featuring the two dancers, the Marcus Shelby Trio and a quartet of fine Indian classical musicians. The instrumentalists are arrayed on bandstands on opposite sides of the stage throughout the evening.

The project began as an idea when Das and Smith met at the American Dance Festival last year. At the time, each was struck by the other’s facility at generating percussive music from their limbs. Both, of course, were propelled and inspired by the accompanying music of their respective cultures, When, in a fascinating jam session in the second part of the program, Smith performs to music by the Indian consort (adopting Western modes and scales) and Das takes off to the sounds of the splendid Shelby Trio, the sparks fly.

Das plays drums and Smith picks up the rhythm. Das utters those syllables (“tika-tika-tak”) called bols and Smith transfers their pulse to his feet. Das looks for the beat from the Shelby Trio and finds something that energizes him. You watch the two dancers processing the sounds and allowing them to spread through their limbs, capitalizing in their strengths. Das spins more dramatically than Smith. Smith is more adept at dynamics. The performers don’t really dance together, but the parallel monologues are marvelously revealing. There’s a sense of discovery here, as much for the performers as for their audience.

The whole presentation is a bit shaggy; and if the rumors are true, that a tour is in the offing, a bit of streamlining is to be expected when the pair get together again. In a brief prologue, Das and Smith casually introduce themselves and attempt to recreate their first meeting. Then, the solos, starting with Smith’s Freedom, danced to Cole Porter’s “What is this thing called love?” Smith, who is not familiar to Bay Area audiences, is a wonder. In the wake if Savion Glover’s visit to Marin last week, Smith will seem, to some, a more conventional performer. Unlike Glover, he favors a relaxed upper body and arms, he is more-audience directed, more the conventional charmer and perhaps, less self-absorbed. But Smith is also gifted with an extraordinary musical imagination; the Porter song, with its awesome range in dynamics, evolves into a true collaboration.

In his solo spot, Das delivers a mini-dance drama about Princess Shakuntala, Prince Dushanta and a bee, eyes darting, fingers eloquently fluttering. Later, in “Invocation of the Gurus,” Das illustrates the evolution within tradition of the kathak style, melding movement and rhythmic vocalization. The number, called “The Train,” finds the performer chugging across the stage like the Delhi Express. Das has been called a Bay Area treasure for so long he has virtually retired the title.

So, consider the above words on India Jazz Suites a hearty endorsement; it continues through Saturday at 8 p.m. But be warned: the parking at Fort Mason is almost impossible this weekend. The Cowell Theater box office is inadequate to deal with the long line of patrons snaking out the door. The show begins long after the announced time. The ushers don’t know the hall. Screaming and kicking babies and young children are everywhere in the crowd, and members of the audience wander in and out at will.

Cultural differences or poor planning? You be the judge.
——————

For more info:
Go to the Chitresh Das Dance Company Web Site
Go to Jason Samuels Smith’s Web Site
What do you think of this feature? Give us your opinion in Sound Off!
Read through Allan’s bio and archives

*The views of Allan Ulrich are not necessarily the views of Voice of Dance*
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Review No. 50
Posted: November 12, 2005
Jane Goldberg
Blue Mountain Gallery
November 11, 2005
through November 26 (Note: Thanksgiving weekend shows added.)

by Eva Yaa Asantewaa
Disclaimer: I’m a longtime friend of Jane Goldberg, but whatever I write here won’t be tainted with bias. I care too much about my readers’and about the dancers I write about’to try to pull a bellydance veil over your eyes. If I say I’m thrilled that Goldberg’that energetic, essential tap dance maven–has come back to performing after knee replacement surgery, that’s a friend talking. If I say I’m delighted with her new solo program, Belly Tap for World Peace!, set in a Chelsea art gallery featuring work by her beau, painter Owen Gray–that’s coming from a fan of humorous performance art. I would love BTFWP even if I didn’t already love Jane.

From the evidence of other reviews, there seems to be some concern over how to label what Goldberg does in this nutty show. Maybe that’s because she does so much, and’just like tap dance and sometimes like bellydance–it appears to flow forth with a minimum of planning. Therefore, an attempt at a little organization on my part might be in order.

Let’s start with the bellydancing since Goldberg does, bedecked in a coin belt, diaphanous, rust-colored skirt, black gloves, and silver tap shoes. A vintage peace sign patch rests atop her ample bosom. (“Bellydancing is a celebration of the female form,” she remarks later on. “And I’ve got lots of female form to celebrate.”) Twirling slowly, she bravely maneuvers an olive-colored veil while striking up the taps. Although she avoids big or complicated moves, her tap steps ring as sharp and clear as ever. She might poke fun at her forgetfulness and draw attention to her weight, but she knows she’s on solid ground’and a nice floor, to boot’when those expert feet start clacking away.

Have I slipped from writing about her bellydancing to writing about her tapping? No wonder, since Goldberg’s new mission marries bellydance’s perky hipwork to tap’s percussive musicality. Voila! The combo succeeds better than one might expect. And a good thing, too, since Goldberg fully intends to bring the warring world to harmony around our common roots in tap. (Don’t ask.) Oh, did I mention that her ancestor, Bathsheba Goldberg, invented tap? Something about “wandering shoes” and getting pissed and grinding matzoh into fine sand.

It would not be a Jane Goldberg joint without copious schmooze and shtick, and BTFWP takes us on a dizzying, freeform tour of her personal history and tap career. This is a woman who counts among her mentors great hoofers like Honi Coles and Charles “Cookie” Cook and a great radical historian like Howard Zinn. She has tapdanced the Four Questions, including a haunting version of “Why is this night different from other nights?” Her “tap encounter group” met on Monday evenings to dance the Twelve Steps. When a Marxist boyfriend opined that her involvement in tap was “old-fashioned,” she shot back, “Marxism isn’t exactly au courant!” But dig too deep and you’ll find that tap has a “depressing” story, she reminds us. “Racism, sexism…rheumatism.”

Of the racism’a favorite flashpoint of discussion between her and her dear friend, the late Gregory Hines’Goldberg tells us little. Feminism, however, rules BTWP’riding on a wave of hilarity as usual. Goldberg has always devoted herself to highlighting the achievements of women tappers and fostering creative collaboration among them. When an audience member’all right, it was trouble-maker Tony Waag!’urged her to reprise some risqu’ material from her Topical Tap duets with Sarah Safford, she hesistated. She hemmed, she hawed, she talked about how she couldn’t do it without Safford to sing her wacky songs. When she could stall no longer, she launched into one ditty about swallowing sperm, set to the tune of Tea for Two. “And then we talked about it being an acquired taste,” she reminisced. But when the AIDS epidemic hit, the duo had to redirect focus. “Condoms, condoms…if you think they’re not erotic, you might not be using them right!” With profoundities like this, Goldberg and Safford hoofed their way through confabs devoted to sex and dance, feminist porn, and even fat acceptance (“an anti-diet conference led by Gloria Steinem”).

Like any good tap improvisation, each performance of BTFWP takes some of its structure, content, and atmosphere from who shows up and what’s currently on Goldberg’s mind. Attendance has often been low but on the night I went, an expressive audience of friends and colleagues’and the puckishly-grinning Gray’warmed the space and gave Goldberg permission to be her adorably ditzy self.

Blue Mountain Gallery is at 530 West 25th Street (4th Floor). For reservations, call 212-393-1182. For more information about Jane Goldberg, see the American Tap Dance Foundation’s Web site at http://www.atdf.org/awards/goldberg.html.’2005, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

Read “Dancing with Eva Yaa Asantewaa” at

http://home.mindspring.com/~magickal1/
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> A tough topic to dance around
> ——————–
>
> Mental-illness theme surfaces at 2 events with compelling results
>
> By Lucia Mauro
> Special to the Tribune
>
> November 10, 2005
>
> Over the weekend, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater celebrated its 10th
> anniversary at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, and Dance
> Chicago
> — a large-scale festival of local choreography now in its 11th year –
> opened at the Athenaeum Theatre. Both events, though unrelated,
> exhibited firm professional growth in their artistry, programming and
> pacing.
>
> Chicago-based Deeply Rooted, headed by Kevin Iega Jeff and Gary Abbott,
> is a contemporary dance troupe that springs from African traditional
> dance. Signature pieces, such as “Oluwa,” “The Dance We Dance” and
> “Heaven,” shared the bill with two premieres that explored mental
> illness and the impact of natural disasters and neglect.
>
> In “Naeemah’s Room,” Jeff paid gentle tribute to his late sister, who
> suffered from depression. But the psychological dance drama doesn’t
> thrash around in unbearable grief. Karah Abiog, whose portrayal of
> Naeemah is subtly textured, embodies the quiet, chaotic moments of her
> troubled character. The dance floats, via this indomitable woman,
> before
> ending in an understated display of strength and peace.
>
> Feeling the pain
>
> Abiog is trailed by three Gracelike women, who could be outside sources
> of comfort or conflicting aspects of her inner self. Jeff achieves
> profound emotion in the work’s various degrees of stillness. The
> audience can feel the invisible wall of pain that Naeemah seeks to push
> away.
>
> Abbott uses a similar streamlined effectiveness in “Hand to Mouth,”
> which addresses the drought, famine and effects of the 2004 tsunami on
> the people of Somalia. Six crouched dancers convey the feel of a
> nomadic community searching for food. The choreographer incorporates
> ritualistic African movements into a curling of the torso that evokes exhaustion
> and abandonment, and the performers convey weakened bodies but intrepid
> spirits through powerful dancing.
>
> The concert showcased a company of taut, poised and emotionally honest
> dancers — particularly Telly Fowler, Carolina Monnerat-Amorim and
> Ghrai Harrison — in choreography that respects the past while paving new
> artistic ground.
>
> Maturity, depth and smooth transitions characterized the opening of
> Dance Chicago. The sampling of artists participating in the monthlong
> festival was diverse but not wildly eclectic. But as a whole, the
> modern, tap, jazz and balletic choreography took some provocative
> chances.
>
> Lauri Stallings, a former Hubbard Street Dance Chicago ensemble member
> now forging a career as an independent choreographer, continues to take
> movement to the unexpected outer limits. In “ahimsa,” her world
> premiere for River North Chicago Dance Company — part of Dance Chicago’s
> Choreography Project — she tears down the scenery to expose the stark
> backstage area. With an equally raw abandon, the dancers — in Tara
> Swadley’s tawdry-swank costumes — appear driven by an unseen, ominous
> force. The choreography inverts the bump-and-grind of Bob Fosse’s style
> and transforms it into an out-of-control locomotive of bodies charging
> through life’s unpredictable entanglements.
>
> Showing his soul
>
> Another original emerging dancemaker is Dmitri Peskov of DanceLoop
> Chicago. “Nijinsky,” his brave solo for the endlessly versatile Paul
> Christiano, flowers into an interior-driven biography in movement of
> Vaslav Nijinsky, the tormented star of Serge Diaghilev’s early 20th
> Century Ballet Russe, who suffered from mental illness. Beyond
> contorting his limbs, Christiano seems to be trying to unwrap his
> dancerly exterior so that the audience can see his character’s soul.
> Peskov injects suggestions of Nijinsky’s famous ballets, such as
> “Petroushka,” but doesn’t linger there. Like Nijinsky himself, Peskov
> takes the art form to another level without losing sight of impeccable
> technique or emotion.
>
> Other standouts included the local improvisational tap group M.A.D.D.
> Rhythms; Frank Chaves’ unconventional odyssey with folding chairs,
> “Take
> a Seat,” for River North; and Stallings’ non-linear “in the belly of
> grace,” featuring dancers (such as flawless technician Calvin Kitten
> from the Joffrey Ballet) and Luna Negra Dance Theater.
>
> ———-
>
> Deeply Rooted Dance Theater performs Nov. 17-20 at the Beverly Arts
> Center, 2407 W 111th St. Tickets: $25-$35. Call 773-445-3838.
>
> Dance Chicago continues through Dec. 4 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936
> N.
> Southport Ave. Tickets: $5-$20. Call 312-902-1500.
>
>
> Copyright (c) 2005, Chicago Tribune
>
> ________________________________

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