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

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

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

World Premiere ODD Performed by AXIS Dance Company and inkBoat

NOVEMBER 5-7: "ODD", at ODC in San Francisco. Tickets available via ODC website.

NOVEMBER 12-14: "ODD", at Malonga in Oakland. Tickets available via Brown Paper Tickets or call 1-800-838-3006.

" Kitsch is the opposite of the public space, of the public conversation, of the demand for objectivity and functionality. Kitsch is the intimate space, our selves, our love and our congeniality, our yearnings and our hopes, and our tears, joys and passion. Kitsch comes from the creative person’s private space, and speaks to other private spaces. Kitsch deals therefore with giving intimacy dignity." ~Odd Nerdrum, 2000

For the first time ever inkBoat dancers Sherwood Chen, Dana Iova-Koga, Yuko K, and Peiling Kao will share the stage with AXIS Dance Company, one of the world’s most acclaimed and innovative ensembles to integrate performers with and without disabilities. The resulting world-premiere collaboration, ODD, is a series of dances choreographed by current ODC artist-in-residence and inkBoat Artistic Director Shinichi Iova-Koga, with musical accompaniment by famed cellist/composer Joan Jeanrenaud (formerly of the Kronos Quartet) and musician/vocalist Dohee Lee. The collaboration was inspired by the paintings of Odd Nerdrum, the Scandinavian painter renowned for his emulation of old-master techniques and textures, and his devotion to the depiction of flesh. With echoes of Rembrandt and Caravaggio, Nerdrum plumbs the depths of the human condition, exploring themes of loneliness, fear, brutality, hatred, sexuality, birth, death, and degradation with a precision that borders on the hallucinatory.

“[AXIS Dance Company’s] dancing drew us in, and by the finale, the evening was coruscating with brilliant dancing, and there was no place on earth I'd rather be.” -Dance View Times

"Jeanrenaud's sheer technical virtuosity is what a listener notices first--the full-voiced beauty of her string tone, her melodic fluency, her rock steady ryhthmic control." -San Francisco Chronicle

"...inkBoat is at the forefront of a new generation. Founder Shinichi Iova-Koga creates startlingly imaginative psychological journeys of humor and horror..."
-San Francisco Chronicle

Featuring

AXIS Dance Company (dance)

inkBoat (dance)

Joan Jeanrenaud with Dohee Lee (music)

Directed and Choreographed by Shinichi Iova-Koga
Music Composed by Joan Jeanrenaud

Image: AXIS Dance Company and Inkboat in 'ODD'. Photo by Michele Clement

AXIS Summer Intensive 2010 - last post from intern Cayenne

Congratulations to all the 2010 AXIS Summer Intensive participants!!! I am so proud of all the beautiful dancing and so glad I got to be a part of such an amazing collaboration.


Day 3:… 25 dancers of various ages, walk, motor, hop or wheel through the studio space, chanting different syllables;

"..huh, huh sss,sss, whooO, whOO eeeEEEAAaah eeeEEE…"

This is the AXIS Summer Intensive, a part of our technique class warm-up. For me, the uniqueness of the AXIS Intensive was a focus on the mental and social aspects of dance. The range of backgrounds, ages, and physical abilities were very enriching.

To see what I mean, check out our latest updates on YouTube and Flicker!

In the afternoon we had improvisation, and during composition we created solos inspired by anatomical pictures (for example knee joints or the shoulder). We then combined solos to create a duet, finally combining duets to create a piece for the showing at the end of the week. I loved watching the metamorphosis and evolution of all the beautiful quartets.




It's been a wonderful AXIS Summer, and I wanted to thank all the people I've met - staff, dancers, board members, and fans, for being so welcoming! I also want to thank all the summer intensive participants. It was an amazingly warm, friendly, and supportive group, and I really felt comfortable challenging myself. I hope that you can all take some of that openness into the real world and pay it forward. The last thing I would like to say is, hopefully you got some rest first : ) but keep on DANCING! - Cayenne Ross