As promised in an earlier post (http://blogs.walkerart.org/ecp/2008/12/16/offering-a-critical-eye-to-lifeworks-2008-traveling-art-show/) I’m sharing an image of the work that received best in show in Lifework’s 2008 traveling art show.

The work is called The Bearded Lady at the Circus and the artist is Layne Lastine. Congratulations Layne!

Layne Lastine, The Bearded Lady at the Circus, 2008, Crayon on paper

I’m particularly excited about the upcoming Free First Saturday, highlighting Larry Yazzie and his son Jessup, who will be performing the fast and colorful Fancy Dance on Saturday, January 3rd. The theme of the day “Styled by Saarinen” is inspired by the exhibition Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future (closing January 4th) and the design innovations of this legendary architect. If you’re wondering what connection the Native American Fancy Dance has to Saarinen and architecture, unfortunately there aren’t any that I know of (except for maybe the stamina and hard work both require). But, there is one important parallel between the Yazzie and Saarinen families-each produced a creative father-son duo, (Eero is the son of architect Eliel Saarinen, well-known for designing the Cranbrook Educational Community in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan). Like Larry and Jessup, who perform together whenever possible, Eero and Eliel collaborated on a number of important commissions as co-architects, the last completed project by Saarinen and Saarinen was Christ Church Lutheran in Minneapolis’ Longfellow neighborhood. So, it’s in the spirit of teamwork and raising creative kids, that we kick-off 2009.

Thanks, Larry for answering some of my questions about the Fancy Dance. You can watch the Yazzies’ performance “Sharing the Gift” at 11 am and 1 pm in the Walker Cinema.

Larry Yazzie, courtesy the artist

Can you explain the Fancy Dance and its origins?

The Oklahoma Feather Dance or “Fancy Dance” is one of the most popular styles of dance seen at modern powwows. It originated as the Fancy War Dance by the Hethuska society in Oklahoma and was invented by Gus McDonald, the first World Champion Fancy War Dancer.

Who dances the Fancy Dance, and are there certain occasions when the Fancy Dance is performed?

Mostly young men and boys. Fancy Dance is usually the highlight at powwows and special events because of the energy and colorful regalia.

How long have you been dancing?

I’ve been dancing for most of my life since the age of 5.

You learned the Fancy Dance from your grandmother and grandfather, and have passed the tradition on to your 10-year-old son, Jessup. Was he a quick study?

Jessup began dancing since he could walk at the tender age of two. Jessup has already developed his own technique and style.

How often do you two dance together?

We dance together whenever possible at powwows and special events.

You were named World Champion for the Northern Style Fancy Dance in 1995, and Jessup has won junior division competitions at powwows across the United States and Canada. Can you describe the level of training and amount of practice that goes into preparing for a powwow?

It requires endurance and stamina to perform the Fancy Dance and takes a lot of training and running. It’s like preparing for a marathon. I also won the world championship in 2007.

Jessup Yazzie, courtesy of the artist

One of the most striking things about your performances (in addition to the dance itself) is the elaborate clothing you wear. Do the colors and style of dress have any symbolic meaning?

The regalia reflects my life and tribal identity-the Meskwaki people of central Iowa.

You’re taking a brief break from a national and international tour with the Native Pride Dancers, which will pick up again in the New Year. What are some of the special places you have traveled to, any tour highlights?

Within the last several years I have been invited to Australia, Ireland, Japan twice, Brazil and numerous cities across the U.S.

What motivates you to continue dancing?

Dancing allows me to be creative and keeps me in top shape especially for my age. It challenges me to improve as a competitor.

Do you and your son Jessup share any other creative outlets?

We enjoy sharing our culture through song & dance by teaching our dance to other children.

What do you want young audiences to take away from your performances at Free First Saturday?

To show what our elders have passed down to us and to be proud of who we are as Native Peoples, and to let the young audience know the Native Americans are the Indigenous people of North America.

 One of the great things about strolling through the galleries at the Walker is the fact that you can use your cell phone to get information about a particular painting that you want a little more information about. It’s called Art on Call. It’s a little something that just ties everything together. Like having an expert at your fingertips.

Now the same is true for Out There 21, Performing Arts’annual showcase of new and contemporary performance.  I know there have been many times you wish you could have picked up your cell phone during some of the more challenging performances and had someone turn the light on above your head. That’s what we do best down here in Education!

This year’s lineup is great, and I’m not saying this just because all of the creators called and left messages on my voicemail telling me so. I’m saying this because each is constructing a thoughtful, energetic, and engaging piece about thorny and serious issues.  Tim Crouch’s England which takes place in the galleries asks us why we put so much value on art, and how that parallels the value or lack of value we place on human life.  His piece poses moral questions in an interesting way.

Toshiki Okada/chelfitsch production Five Days in Marchpresents a darkly comic look at Japanese teen culture in the well to-do suburb of Shibuya while examining the first days of the Iraq war in 2003.

Young Jean Lee, whose previous work Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven, was a smash hit, returns to give us a show about religion. In her interview, she said the way she works is that she thinks of a show that she would never want to make and then forces herself to make it. Even if you don’t come for the carefully constructed sermons in the piece, show up to hear a full gospel choir. Performing Arts curator Phillip Bither said that after they commissioned Songs of the Flying Dragon, they immediately asked her to create another new work. Bither says she takes the same scalpel to the subject of religion as she did to Asian stereotypes in Songs of the flying Dragon. “Her work is startling, provocative and exciting,” stated Bither.

National Theatre of the United States of America is constructing a real circus tent on the McGuire Stage, using local in-line hockey players, and offering free beer in the newly added beer garden in the McGuire for their show Chautauqua!. It promises to be one of the more ambitious performances. Apart from making the Events and Media Production staff very nervous, the piece presents an interesting challenge to Performing Arts staff. It forced them to re-think of the way they function as presenters as NTUSA blurs the line between National and Local in this piece. Oh, and the performance features the Walkers own Jill Vuchetich. She will present a history of the Walker as part of the show.

Each of these four pieces was chosen, Bither said, because, “of their fresh and never seen before approaches to theatre. They challenge us to re-think what theatre is.”

So, you should go and see Out There 21 next month.  And, you should let your fingers do the walking and let the experimental theater artists do the talking as you wait for the lights to dim.

WACTAC just finished shooting their screen tests yesterday, inspired by Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests. We put together a little teaser of the footage we got on video. You’ll notice that there is a major element missing: a soundtrack. That is where you come in.

We extended the deadline for high school musicians to score our film until Wednesday, December 17th. Send a link to your myspace or email your demos to teenprograms@walkerart.org. If you are selected you will have the opportunity to perform live at the screening of this project in February. GET YOUR SUBMISSIONS IN! This is a great opportunity. You can rap, read poetry, submit as a band, submit as a choir, make a beat, etc… just get it in by the 17th.

To kick off every year, the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) meets with curators from the various programming departments to talk about what films, exhibitions, and performances might be of interest to them.  After the initial meet and greet, WACTAC brainstorms ideas for programs, events, and workshops that tie into the year’s programming.  Sometimes it takes a while for WACTAC to come to a collective decision about the programs they are interested in, but after hearing about Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips’ 13 Most Beautiful performance in February, they unanimously voted to create a project around it.

Taking 13 Most Beautiful as a template, WACTAC has begun creating 16mm film portraits based on Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests. The resulting films will accompany original soundtracks performed live by a select group of young musicians in late February in the McGuire Theater. We are searching for this “select group of young musicians”, so if you know high school age musicians, spoken word poets, rappers, or bands, please help us pass along the call for artists (click on the image below)! To participate – send music samples or a link to a myspace page to teenprograms@walkerart.org

We have been working with our resident 16mm filmmaker Allison Herrera. Our first shoot was a couple of weeks ago and here’s some photos from the day’s events.

Today, we got our first look at the films in the Cinema and we were really excited about the results.