New Blog Platform

AXIS is changing social media gears and in anticipation of the launch of our new website we are migrating to wordpress as a blogging platform!

We look forward to engaging with you there.

Read the newest post by our summer intern Kristin.

The AXIS Team.

Keep Spinning the Wheel

by Annika Nonhebel, Education Director

One of my favorite things we do at AXIS are in-school assemblies. It's wonderful to see the kids enjoying our show, to see their exciting faces and be able to introduce them to our dance form. I love receiving letters, poems, and drawings from the students. They are art pieces in themselves. Here is one I definitely want to share with you ( i'm keeping the spelling as is).

Dancing
Dancing everywhere
even using wheelchairs
When you dance
it's so unike
springing and jumping
stunting to
double wheely
spin around
fall down too
crawling on the floor
spinning all together
stacked on top
you were so great
I liked it a lot
So keep spinning the wheel

Sincerely,
Grant
3rd grade, Old Orchard School

Saying Goodbye To Winter Intern: Marguerite

Wow - my last day at AXIS Dance Company! How time flies. Seems like I just arrived a month ago yet a full three months has gone by. I feel integrated into the weekly office functioning and now it is time to go. Reflecting back on the last three months, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

A few highlights: I have learned a tremendous amount regarding the ins and outs of setting up performance events, from flight arrangements to venue, hotel and presenter coordination. I have also dabbled quite a lot in the marketing of upcoming events. This has involved internet research and write-ups - two things I love to do! On a more practical end, I have helped to organize a couple of important office functions, like the music library and Annika's desktop space. I have also learned how to use a Mac! While this may seem trivial to some, to me it is an accomplishment I am now proud to add to my list.

On the more unusual office skills side, I have had a chance to be a part of the finalization of the curtain installation process! Yay, for completion! Thanks to Annika and Christy for getting lighter curtains, a suitable curtain rod and deciding to go for it! And what a wall we had to work with. Try hanging a curtain rod on a wall base of tin, drywall and cement. Needless to say, we had fun!



On the per-formative side, I have really enjoyed watching rehearsals and participating in the Monday Night Master Classes. I am also enjoying the Professional Teacher Training in Arts Integration. And on a personal note, I have started taking risks previously often avoided in dance. I am learning how to access choreography! This is a tremendous accomplishment for me, one that leaves me feeling really satisfied. I am continuously amazed at the parallels of learning choreography and other aspects of life. I am dyslexic. Determining left from right, up from down, flip-side from downside etc. can be really challenging for me. Because of the acceptance I encountered both in office and on the AXIS dance floor, I now feel a sense of inner integration and greater self-awareness. I have learned to handle and recognize many aspects of a learning disability previously frustrated by. Thank you AXIS!!!

All in all, my experience with AXIS Dance Company has been tremendous! Many thanks! See you on the dance floor!

Marguerite

Through a Fan's Eyes

Think of a dancer dancing. Now think of how the perceived dancer’s body moved. Now think of that dancer, dancing how you imagined, but in a wheel chair. Now imagine that dancer without legs, without an arm. That perception, joined with physically disabled dancers, is AXIS Dance Company.

AXIS Dance Company is based in Oakland, California and has been changing the way the world thinks of dance since 1992. ''We don't look at being disabled as an obstacle or a limitation,'' said Judith Smith, 49, a company founder who dances in a motorized chair. ''We look at the possibilities. There is a potential for movement that is radically expanded from what another dance company would have,” (Webber, 2009). This approach to dance allows AXIS to create and perform dances that people aren’t used to seeing, but are drawn into, nonetheless. This newly achieved aesthetic of dance: dancing in a wheelchair, without ‘necessary’ limbs to dance with, with a muscle control disorder, allows AXIS to create the un-creatable, a dance that shows dance as a movement, a passion, a life form that is without boundaries, and without stereotype. The ‘impossible’ that AXIS found possibilities in is changing the way the world looks at dance.

The article “A Dance Company Mixes Arms, Legs and Wheels,” featured in The New York Times November 2009, by Bruce Webber, interviews AXIS company members and how they feel about dancing either with physically disabled, or dancing as a physically disabled company member. There are many quotes from the company members that show their support of their fellow dance company members, and continual excitement about what the company is bringing to the table in the world of dance. One of these quotes I found very telling of the physically abled dancer in a physically integrated dance company: “…company member, Janet Das, said the ability to create ensemble work with disabled dancers was a talent, a gift that some have more than others. The hardware, she said, takes some getting used to, but she likened it to learning to work with the floor, another unyielding barrier that is nonetheless, at times, a foil.” I love how this company and everyone in it is so willing to incorporate physically disabled dancers into a world of dance that, to seemingly everyone else, is so picky, unyielding and for lack of better words, mean.

AXIS does a remarkable job of creating dances that evoke emotion and stir the imagination. It’s companies like these that remind me that no one is ‘disabled’, but differently abled, as there are many things these dancers can do, that I could never do as a physically abled dancer. Their pieces are so inspiring and beautiful that I have used clips of their performances countless times for presentations and discussions. The members of AXIS are remarkable movers and, I’m sure, remarkable people. Working with their company, or a company like them, would be a dream come true. Creating a company like them in Alaska, would be Utopia. Along with creating dances with such limitless possibilities, there would be opportunity to change a company member’s life, and an audience member’s perception.

by Hannah Gauthier

References
WEBER, B. (2009, November). A Dance Company Mixes Arms, Legs and Wheels. New York Times. p. 37B. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..

Dance Anyhwere!

Sonsheree Giles and Rodney Bell, dancers part of the Axis Dance Company, perform “To Color Me Different” choreographed by Alex Keltley at the SFMoma on Friday March 18, 2011. Sasha Tivetsky / staff photographer

Posted on March 20, 2011 | GoldenGateXpress
By Chase S. Kmec

A true entertainer is in no need of fancy footwork to achieve a memorable performance.

On Friday afternoon, performers across the world celebrated “Dance Anywhere,” a simultaneous, unplanned public performance. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art hosted a performance of two dancers from AXIS Dance Company in commemoration of the day.

AXIS, an Oakland-based nonprofit founded in 1987, features physically disabled and able-bodied performers who specialize in physically integrated dance. This form of contemporary dance emphasizes the role of the disabled performer while also challenging people’s perceptions of the human body and the traditional notion of dancing.

“I was interested in challenging stereotypes when I joined AXIS,” said Sonsherée Giles, a dancer and associate director of AXIS. “We help educate people with our performances. It’s not for the weak of mind and it’s definitely unique.”

Giles, who has been with AXIS since 2005, often performs with Rodney Bell, who is paraplegic.

“Dancing in public spaces is harmonic in a meditative way,” Bell said. “But it can also be daring and edgy.”

Bell is originally from Te Kuiti, New Zealand and played basketball for the country’s Paralympic team from 1999 to 2006.

In the spirit of Dance Anywhere’s “no boundaries” philosophy, Giles and Bell performed “To Color Me Different” to onlookers in the SFMOMA lobby.

Bell was not confined to sitting. At times, he would leave his wheelchair and crawl across the museum floor, sometimes embracing his partner. Other times he would make use of the wheelchair, lifting it and utilizing his upper body strength, to perform an intricate pose. In turn, Giles would grab her partner and, while performing traditional dance, often used Bell’s back as a springboard to emphasize her flexibility with Bell wheeling about–all done in the name of artistic expression.

The performance was without any musical or audio accompaniment.

While many SFMOMA patrons milled about the lobby, others encircled the two performers, studying their physicality.

“For the observer, they’re doing their thing and a group of people become their backdrop,” said Ron Saunders, a photographer and art enthusiast. “I find it interesting how people don’t become aware of activity happening in their immediate area.”

In regards to the day itself, 12 p.m. marked a flurry of spontaneous performances courtesy of the Dance Anywhere organization.

Dance Anywhere arranged for the AXIS performance to perform at SFMOMA but many other individuals and organizations throughout the world also participated in the annual spontaneous performances.

“People can just do whatever they want,” said Dance Anywhere media director Janina Angel Beth. “Some people dance on the street, some are spontaneous, others are conceptual.”

While other spontaneous dancing events occurred throughout the Bay Area and in San Francisco–including a performance at United Nations Plaza- it was AXIS who captivated many within SFMOMA because of its alternative take of dance.

“It’s not something that happens all the time,” Saunders said. “Using that wheelchair as an extension of his body is truly amazing and very powerful.”

read full article

AXIS through the eyes of an Intern

by Marguerite
I am starting to get into the swing of things in my new role here as an intern with AXIS Dance Company. Not only am I getting into shape biking over an hour to and fro the Malonga Center every shift but am also noticing I am feeling more integrated as a part of the 'inner' team. Juan, the pleasant security guard welcomes me and bike with smiles into the Malonga Center. I make my way up the stairs for a change of attire and am greeted with cheery 'hellos' upon my entry into the office - warm interpersonal dynamics I truly appreciate!

And the learning curve continues. I have recently had opportunity to further develop itineraries for two company tours; for Denver Colorado and Chandler, Arizona. Developing itineraries typically involves securing flights, hotels, talking with event organizers, making arrangements with venues, super-shuttles and car rentals, to name a few of the details needing attention. Requesting a refund with Super-shuttle on one occasion was an involved, challenging yet in the end, satisfying experience, providing opportunity to further hone my negotiation skills!

On another note, I have had opportunity to put into practice my home renovation skills, complete with drill, a very large pair of wire cutters and wall anchors! We tried to put up a curtain to further organize and beautify the office - alas to no avail, the curtain wire hanger was not strong enough to hold the curtain! A 'to be continued' project to return to as time permits...

A highlight and challenge has been taking the Monday night classes. The highlight is to study with AXIS Dance Company's wonderful teachers. The challenge: to find pathways to learn and retain choreography! The search continues, my intention: to find a solution....

Much continues to inspire me to new levels of understanding and experience with my stint as intern with AXIS Dance Company. I look forward to more as the remaining time allows.

New Work In on Conventional Places

Hello All - Happy 2011 - it feels like we’re certainly well into the New Year. Joe Goode’s GUSH Festival at Brava was a great way to jump start the year. Joe curated a fabulous program and we were genuinely humbled not only to share the stage with him, but by a comment from his program notes: “To my mind, this is one of the most important companies working in the Bay Area today. Not only are they committed to artistic excellence, but they are also offering a fresh perspective on what it means to be human.”

This is so validating and gives us a bunch of energy for the great projects we’ve planned for 2011. For the first part of the year we’re focusing on OutBound our first ever Outdoor Performance Season! OutBound consists of two distinct collaborations. The first work, find way to fall II, will take place at Yerba Buena Gardens Festival in June. Choreographed by AXIS’ Associate Director Sonsherée Giles, this will be a site-specific work featuring AXIS dancers and a huge community cast. It was a hit last year and this year we’ll be exploring different places to dance in the Gardens. The second work, The Dislocation Express, is our long awaited collaboration with Dandelion Dancetheater, directed by Eric Kupers and Kimiko Guthrie. This performance work will take place at or near various BART stations throughout the Bay Area in July. Music will be performed live, composed collaboratively by members of the ensemble and played on instruments, voices and the sounds of wheelchairs, crutches, prostheses, and more.

Outdoor performances in public places provide exposure to large numbers of ’accidental audiences’ that may have never seen AXIS, or anything like us for that matter. OutBound performances will be free and open to the public and will give us an opportunity to give back to the community. We’re really excited about adding something new and different to our season. Watch for details and come out and enjoy AXIS up close and personal in the out of doors this Spring and Summer.

Warmly, Judy

read more here

Marguerite - AXIS' winter intern

Hi, this is Marguerite, AXIS Dance Company’s winter 2011 intern excitedly reporting after a little over a week’s involvement! I am delighted to intern with this premiere integrated dance company. Having long been involved in the lives of people with disabilities and special needs, the concept and practice of integration had been both a part of my professional and personal life. Then I developed a disability.

Developing a disability further heightened my dedication towards the practice of integration. In recent years this commitment crossed over into the dance realm. I became an avid contact dancer and started studying various forms of technique. I started experiencing learning challenges. As a dancer, I had to find ways to adjust. It has not been easy as my needs are hidden. In response, I started researching, developing, facilitating and promoting movement and arts educational programs that looked at unique needs, starting with my own. So began my integrated dance adventure.

When given the chance to spend quality professional time with AXIS Dance Company, I jumped! It is such a great opportunity to look more in-depth at the inner workings and logistics of creating an integrated dance and dance education company that is both sensitive to the needs of dancers with physical disabilities as well as highly professional. It is also wonderful to have an opportunity to give towards a cause I dearly support. I am particularly interested to learn the specific ‘how-to’s’ of creating such an amazing endeavor as I may wish to apply some of the same principles to my future professional life.

Stay tuned as my journey continues!

Marguerite

Joe Goode on AXIS and their performance at GUSH!

by Joe Goode on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 12:34pm

Hello, my artistic people! I have put together a series. GUSH! Come and see Melecio do "29 Effeminate Gestures" and catch Ledoh's amazing "Color Me America" this weekend at Brava Theater Center!

What is GUSH?

GUSH is a theatrical impulse

GUSH is a gesture that is too lavish

GUSH is a statement that is too bold or truthful

GUSH is the unleashing of feeling

GUSH is a stand against the bland and the mediocre

GUSH is a desire to feel and be felt

When Raelle offered me the opportunity to curate a series of performances here at Brava I jumped at the chance. One of the stellar differences between the dance scene here and in other countries (notably South America and Europe) is that, here in the US, artists are rarely given the opportunity to champion other artists and to offer the kind of insight and context that we are so perfectly equipped to provide.

So I dove in by choosing this topic, GUSH. I wanted the series to be a celebration of a kind of dance theater that is frankly emotional, that acknowledges the interior life in all of its glorious tumult and wisdom.

One of the benefits of reaching the dubious position of elder artist in the Bay Area dance scene is that I can nudge and wink at my dear faithful audience and say, “Take a look at this.”

LEDOH and SALT FARM

Ledoh is an original. It has been a pleasure to get to know him a little bit through this process. He speaks from the heart. He says things like,

”I don’t want to talk about art as though it were something separate from daily life. This is a very western concept. In my country of origin (Burma) we don’t think this way. We believe art is in every moment, not just something made by experts for commercial consumption.”

This ethos gets reinforced when he talks about how he believes the real gift of performing is in how one must fully inhabit and bring attention to the body. He believes that being solely and intimately focused on the body is a way of finding the truth of a moment.

“Truth has no opposition. If I can discover my real interest or engagement in a simple action then I am tapping into the simple truth of my body and that is something universal, something that can be shared.”

Clearly, this attention to the body and its experience has paid off. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Rachel Howard says:

“… the heart of "Color Me America" is in the movement. Ledoh, born in Burma, is trained in butoh, that apocalyptic post- World War II form where focused physical intention is all, where the performer's roiling facial expressions expose the emotional inauthenticity of our typical existence. …It speaks to our most intense emotional experiences because of the care Ledoh has taken in shaping every hunch of his shoulders and spiderlike curve of his fingers, the thought he's invested in the motivation of every motion. In his entrancing performance, the political (is) universal.”

Stay tuned for his newest work entitled “Suicide Barrier: Secure in our Illusion”. The barrier refers to the Golden Gate Bridge and the controversy over how to stem the flow of jumpers who choose this sensational path to life’s end. It promises to be another poignant and exciting work.

AXIS DANCE

My history with Axis is a fairly long one. I have made two pieces for them over the years and our last venture together “the beauty that was mine/ through the middle without stopping” (which is on tonight’s program) won an Isodora Duncan Dance Award for Choreography. Still, when I first met them in their studio I was intimidated. How to make a meaningful work with dancers in wheelchairs, some of whom have very restricted mobility and other dancers who are beautifully trained modern dancers? What was the common thread?

What I discovered is that the thread is perhaps the limitations themselves.

Every human body has limitations and these limitations will inevitably grow and become a larger part of who we are and how we define ourselves. So can we look into these limitations and start to see them as part of the interest, part of the beautiful individuality of the body? And what thrilled me in the course of the rehearsal process was how my expectations were dismantled. I found surprising strength and determination in the body where I might have expected weakness. And the company themselves were so full of wry humor about who they were and what there bodies represented to them.

Which brought me to another fascinating aspect of this work - it directly confronts some of the aversion that society feels toward illness or difference. These dancing bodies are a political statement. Artistic Director Judy Smith says,

“We got together to do art… to make dance. We realized along the way that what we were doing had a sociopolitical impact. Even though it’s not what we set out to do, it’s just there.”

And it’s there in a beautiful way that has attracted some of the most accomplished choreographers working in the field today-Ann Carlson, David Dorfman, Bill T. Jones. And while I think we are all initially drawn to the challenge of making this kind of work, and perhaps to its importance as a statement about otherness, we eventually come to understand the lesson of the body that it has to teach. Again Judy Smith-

“The idea is to show a range of ability. I don’t want everyone to be a “supercrip”.

I want to have people in chairs and people with prosthetics and people who are whizzing around in their “able” bodies. I want to show virtuosity and beauty, yes, but in its entire range.”

And the result is what Axis calls “physically integrated dance”. To my mind, this is one of the most important companies working in the Bay Area today. Not only are they committed to artistic excellence, but they are also offering a fresh perspective on what it means to be human.

-Joe Goode

Live to Dance!

by Judith Smith

In late October, Rodney, Janet, Sonsheree, Alice, Sebastian and I flew down and back to Burbank for an invitation only audition for Paula’s new show Live to Dance. They found us via the internet and contacted me. I really wasn’t convinced it was the right thing for us to do for many reasons. But after many calls back and forth with casting directors and producers, they convinced me that we needed to do this.


First, Son and I got together to map our piece, 90 seconds total! I called it our 90second aim for fame. We decided since partnering is a definite strong point that we do a series of duets drawn from our favorite moves out of pieces by Sonya Delwaide, David Dorfman, Joe Goode, Alex Ketley and AXIS. We used music composed by Michael Wall and Albert Mathias for David Dorfman’s piece. I contacted all the choreographers to let them know what we were up to and to get their permission. We wore costumes from Vessel—black and sparkly. I’m still finding glitter everywhere...

We got together for three brief rehearsals, sketched out our piece, video’d it, made adjustments and showed it to Mollie, Annika, Christy and Kat. They were quite entertained by the three ring circus atmosphere!

We arrived on time at Burbank, found our shuttles and off we went to Dodger Stadium—luckily no rain. It was a scene. We were first sent to a tent w/ a rubber floor, some water, porta potties and lots of dancers everywhere. We put on costumes and did make up. Our few minute wait turned into 70 min. We did a ton of paperwork and ‘shortly’ after were whisked to the warm up/interview tent. Warmer, carpeted and yes, full of dancers and cameras, lots. We were filmed warming up and got set up to be interviewed.

But no, they needed us in the performance tent so off we went! We were crammed in this smaller tent with - you guessed it—lots of dancers, lots of crew, a monitor for the stage action and the host Andrew Gundsburg. We watched on the monitor as a very young ballerina performed and her parents watched. Then, we got instructed about what was going to happen.

We were assembled, interviewed by Andrew and then asked to look at the ramp to the stage—it was steep! Then they gave us a countdown and up the ramp and onto the stage we went. The ‘stage’ was round, plexiglass with a large star in the center that lit up. We got into places, our music started and we did our 90 seconds w/ the audience cheering thru most of it. The wheelchairs slid on the surface and the feet stuck so it was ‘interesting.’ Iva, our AXIS tour assistant said we were all beaming through it and when they panned to the panel of experts, Paula, Travis Payne, who worked on Michael Jackson's "This Is It," and former Pussycat Dolls singer-dancer Kimberly Wyatt were sitting with there jaws dropped. Anyway, we managed to not kill each other and actually had a blast. We got a standing ovation from audience and panel.

We were instructed to assemble on the star—which was all lit up-- and I was given the microphone. There was this weird, awkward long pause. Paula had turned around to compose herself—she was in tears and Travis was wiping his eyes. Paula turned back around and they stared at us, we stared at them for what felt like forever. I finally said ’are we supposed to say something?’ and they all hit their buttons and three stars lit up. So, we went crazy—we were told to celebrate if we got stars. Then, they all said some great things and asked us a few questions.

Paula ‘this is not about disability, it’s about A+ ability.’ ‘I know you’re a professional contemporary company but your work translated to the pop culture beautifully.’ She also said she was honored to show such innovative dance on her show and asked about the choreography. So, I got to talk about the structure of the piece and who the choreographers are.

Travis said he prided himself on knowing what was going on in dance but he had no idea. He also said we were on our way to half a million dollars.

Kimberly said she loved how the choreography started out strong and built and built.

That’s about all I remember of the comments.

We were rushed back to interview tent to be interviewed. Every AXIS dancer was so articulate and lovely. Then we rushed to our shuttles—in costume and make up— and off to the airport we went.

Sadly we weren’t chosen and you won’t be seeing us on Live to Dance but we’ll definitely be watching!

Warmly, Judy
Artistic Director

Odd Encounters

By Alice Sheppard (of AXIS)

The performances are over, but somehow the collaboration between AXIS, inkBoat, Joan and Dohee has not left my life. I still have an acute muscle memory for some of the newer moves and positions. Some movements have become expressions in my daily life. ODD has changed my understanding of performance: I am accustomed to talking about process as the way in which we make pieces. Then, there’s the actual performance. Dancing before an audience starts a new process, of development and growth within the piece. I am not used to that growth infusing my off-stage out-of-studio life.

Then again, if any piece were to resonate deeply in my body, it would have been ODD. When I saw the pictures, the terrain of bodies and ground were familiar. They were provocative realizations of a landscape I had first encountered studying Old Norse-Icelandic language and literature. It is not surprising to me that I still find myself singing excerpts of Joan and Dohee’s music; their collaboration was not an accompaniment to the movement; it was as essential an element of our performative landscape as the movement. I would listen to them, waiting, accelerating, slowing, hovering, driving until somehow, silently, we mutually recognized that we were ready to take the next step together. I feel their music rising sometimes as I stretch out a hand; I smile at myself. The performance is over, but the piece has not yet gone.

I am glad there’s something left. Many of the creative processes I have been in have required improvisation; we have improvised movement and I have come to understand it as the movement takes root in my body. This time, we often had a known concept to work from -- realize bird, rock, find cloud in your movement. I would often feel that I would never succeed. I could create movement, but I was not always convinced that I could communicate. Shinichi would say that these were lifelong endeavours--processes--but I could feel the approaching date of performance. I did not know how I would actually do what I was supposed to.

As the performances drew near, I felt unready to move from “exploration” to “performance.” I had not been able to find the kind of surety that I call “rehearsal:” For a piece that started so much with the terrain of the paintings, I wanted more time to find personal ground. At the same time, though, I wanted to do this thing -- to discover what else I had to learn from this complicated piece. My own learning curve was steep, but I also felt that with each performance the work revealed a different aspect of itself. There were different questions; I learned to feel OK with not having any answers. Now, several weeks later, I wish more than anything I could have been in the audience.