Olives, Robots & Mythbusters: A workshop with Ann Carlson

"¸¸.•**•♪♫•**•.¸¸¸¸.•**•♪♫•**•.¸¸Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaa oooooohhhh haaaaaa hooooooo.no nieh, Naha...!"

It's a gray Monday afternoon in May. Walking by our studio in Oakland you would think the local chorus or theater group is rehearsing, but it's the AXIS dancers standing in a circle, using their vocal cords. Ann Carlson get's sounds out of the dancers I haven't heard before.



A moment later she get's them to write postcards - dancing postcards that is, about the things they love. Crawling on the floor they share their passion for olives, tulle, squeakily blue deflated dinosaur balloons, quad-rugby, honeysuckle, food (especially carbs, protein & cheese!), laughing, and their love for bikram yoga even though "the room smells like a cat box".

After a 36-minute vocal exercise, basically replicating a sound and moving it along in the circle, Ann explains: "I think this is a great performance exercise. It's a lot about being able to surrender and being wacky. Doing this for a long stretch of time allows you to listen more closely and to relax into the illogic of it."

After a short break Ann get's the dancers seated in a line (even though she hates lines)


and starts directing them: a base, intertwined with heavy breathing, than some mumbling & yelping interjected:



"I really want to try and make a piece one day with a vocal score Ann starts and before we know it, the workshop ends with a discussion about robots, mythbusters, aliens, and mermaids. Maybe they will all end up in a piece one day...




About Ann Carlson:
In 2004 Ann choreographed "Flesh" for AXIS. In this piece Choreographer Ann Carlson takes her inspiration from music by Meredith Monk and a 1909 futuristic story by E.M. Forster concerning humanity living underground in a mechanized complex, a young man longing to get free. "Flesh" was co-commissioned by the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, UC Riverside Presents and UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures. To see an excerpt click here.
Ann Carlson is a dancer, choreographer, and performance artist. She creates “dances that reflect and investigate the metaphor of the everyday” and are coauthored by the performers, who have included non-dancers, such as lawyers, doctors, and nuns. With a background in visual and performance art, Carlson often shows her work in unconventional dance sites, including museums, trains, and barnyards.

Great article about AXIS in residency at Montgomery County Community College

A quick note from the Artistic Director from Blue Bell, PA

AXIS is in Blue Bell, PA in residence at Montgomery Co Community College. It's 90 degrees, so we can't complain :)

So far we have held an audition and a rehearsal for our community cast; done a video presentation for 112 nursing students; done a lec/dem for 80 disabled adults and a masterclass for dance students. Tonight we have a community cast rehearsal. So by day three we've introduced over 200 people to AXIS!

Warm greetings from Blue Bell! Judy

Assemblies: what kids say

As most of you might know AXIS' education program Dance Access/KIDS! is an important part of the work we do. Assemblies at schools are one of my favorites. Today I received a package with drawings and letters from students at Mira Vista School, an elementary school in Richmond, CA. Some of the letters and drawings are just too great to not share with you.

"Dear Rodney, I wish I was like you. I like your skills. Are you married to the girl in the red hair? Will you come back to our school
next year? Your friend Chris"

What I especially like about this one is that you can tell what a big impression Rodney made on a young boy: dancing is cool, no matter what!

This quote from one of the teachers shows how important it is to talk with children afterwards:

"The Kindergarten students in Room 1 were fascinated over your presentation. I really didn't realize how captivated and involved they were until our discussion and their drawings."

And their drawings are great. It's amazing to see how much they remember and which details. Like the colors of our shirts in this drawing by Annie Russell, this could have been a photo. Can you tell who's who?

:) I just love my job!

Annika, Education Director

Shinichi, Joan & Dancers discussing Day 1 of rehearsal

Welcome to our blog!

Hello AXIS fans, dancers, staff, board and all around groupies. This is our blog. We will be posting information about our newest projects here.

Today was our first rehearsal with the fabulous choreographer Shinichi Iova-Koga of Inkboat and cellist Joan Jeanrenaud on our latest collaboration called ODD based on the paintings of Iceland-based contemporary painter Odd Nedrum. In the paintings of Odd Nerdrum, survival on bare land pervades.

We'll be working towards the creation of a new piece that is being co-presented by ODC in San Francisco and will premiere there the weekend of November 5-7th followed by a performance at the Malonga Casquelourd Center in Oakland November 12-14th . We hope you follow the creation process of this exciting new piece by following this blog and the posts of all the amazing collaborators.

(photo by Andrea Basile 2009)