Performing Arts

Anna Marie Shogren

The beginning of what couldn't be a more contrasting evening.

We saw Anna working with silence and stripped down movement. There were several simple and isolated scenic elements, and the action that occurred was equally so. It was dark, spare, and uninviting. Some silliness at the three quarter mark emphasized the emptiness of the room. Some strong images were introduced throughout the show, but we would have loved them to be more deeply investigated. The simple movement vocabulary that was given to support these images would have been much more fulfilling perhaps by just finding more awareness of what simple movements had the most potency, and really sink into those moments rather than just move on to the next moment and the next.

Eddie Oroyan

It was a simple piece about a relationship between a couple done with panache, exuberance, and vitality. We laughed, felt deeply sad, and looked forward to where they would take us next on their love journey. The movement was at times telling - some terrific movement conversations - and mysterious. Great justified provocation between the performers. Much of what was said just could not have been said better with words. (So glad they didn't talk!) Terrific use of scenic elements, and a wonderful succession of events taking us to the end. These are both terrific dance artists. The only moment unrealized was Eddie's solo transition after the "balls" scene. Even though we didn't need to know exactly what the balls scene was about, we got the sense that Eddie didn't know exactly what it was about for him either, and so this small section - our sole criticism in an otherwise wonderfully realized piece - didn't stick. A truly successful Momentum production with a generous artistic vision. Do check this out!

Eddie Oroyan: Brown Rocket

"I'm getting eaten by the same beast I'm trying to kill." Wangechi Mutu, visual artist

The tiger is symbolic of passion, power, devotion and sensuality. They are territorial and solitary, coming together only to mate. Most hunt slowly and silently at night. In Hindu ideology, the tiger is kin to the goddess Kali of both creation and dissolution and sexuality and death.

"Who’s That Knocking at My Door," originally titled I Call First, is Martin Scorsese’s first feature film that explores themes of Catholic guilt similar to those in his later films (Wikipedia). The front door opens to a red world, disco ball ambience and rich, passionate play and flirtation in a dance of delight. Man and woman both in fashionable pumas…. he's in a Hawaii jersey and she's in a baby-T reading "I'll Love You When You're More Like Me." The predictable demise of a lust-based relationship is starting to brew.

Cut to first night on the sofa. It is a memorable scene where the 2 characters tease each other in upside down footsie and teen-like curiosity. The male struts his triumphant victory to the live male rock band (featuring Josh Wejen, Wagner, Terry Eason, Casey O'Brien, and Danny Sigelman) to light a smoke and sketch his new honeybee on canvas. Is she supposed to adore his accurate depiction?

The female lead, performed by the stunning Laura Selle Virtucio, throws a fit over his artistry. She twists and turns, arm-wrestling herself, in a tornado frenzy as the storm increases in intensity with giant hail pouring onstage in the form of tube socks. He stands back: observing, evaluating, smoking……. and then tiptoes over to her and joins her on the floor amidst a room full of white flowers as the band plays a sweet guitar ballad. Could this be love?!? We anticipate a tender kiss, but instead, we are greeted with a ceremonial removal of their fashionable puma sneakers and the bull-fight begins.

The heat builds and he removes his shirt. She is politely protected by 2 bandmates to undress behind a bed sheet (let's keep this PG afterall). Whoa Nelly! She emerges in a blown up horse costume. We are all laughing and giggling at the strangeness of this unexpected third party joining in on the action.

After the horse is removed, a fatal attraction dance begins. Is she a "bunny boiler" as the Brits say? They heave, throw, collide, and excite each other in a physically impressive display of the tiger's passion and power. My partner and I viscerally respond to their bodies being thrown against the walls, which are covered in graffiti art of eyes and whiskers, watching the dancers' every move. The music has stopped and we listen to their panting, breathing, and gutteral grunts.

He finally exits, the walls crash down, and she is left- alone and spent- as the lights methodically shut down as inside the walls of a prison cell.

Anna Marie Shogren: La Brea

I see a tapestry of an ink drawing of elephants- a mother and her calf are safe on dry land as the father is drowning in a tar pit, his trunk extended to the heavens and his mouth open as he roars defiantly to his death……..

Elephants are symbolic of ancient power, strength and royalty filled with tremendous myth. We've read about "elephant graveyards" where they go to die and the Hindu God Ganesha to bring wisdom and success. They are even known to mourn and grieve because of loyalty to one another. Elephants instinctively divide by age and gender. Ted Andrews in his book Animal Speak writes about the three forms of the feminine energies in life- the child. the mother, and the old wise woman. He further suggests that if elephant totem has come into one's life, that she/he will embrace mutual care for of the young, elderly, and the sick. Where does Anna Marie Shogren fit inside all of this?

Beginning: I see a cloaked figure enter a world and we discover she has "stars in her eyes." Is she Ziggy Stardust? Why does her expression remain so pan? Her shadow joins her and they dance an odd little Irish Jig to reveal an umbilical chord made of hair of some kind (elephant fur?).

New scene: a mattress under a paned window. We hear descriptions of a man trying to remove parasitic bugs from his leg. I feel saliva building in my mouth and am tormented between the duality of germaphobia and addiction. A rug enters and the geometric designs are now seen as bugs, crawling and infecting…….

Shift: Three dancers in fashionable ghetto with matching straw hats jam to the Pointer Sisters. I feel high and am satisfied at how long they play with a rhythmic jazz routine of sautes, jetes, and spirit fingers. I can't help but viscerally join them on the 1-2-3 shape that repeats before Anna Marie is humorously dragged on her tummy around the stage by her 2 friends- laughing, pulling, parading…… and I love the brown loafers!!!!!

End: A rumble, crackling sound I feel in my gut as the 2 friends "Mirror" and "Shadow" retreat upstage to the tapestry. AMS is downstage, vulnerable, as reality washes over her…. and she bows to lose her straw hat and drag herself to the bed to see if the corner is edible.

I can't help but think about film director Gus Van Sant and his controversial films Elephant and Last Days that try a viewer's patience in the most exquisite way. Anna Marie Shogren embraces what Van Sant does in what I can only describe as "delicious pauses" and exquisite patience in timing. Thanks for the trip…..
C

Anna Marie Shogren and Eddie Oroyan’s work is so clearly made through their eyes. I feel like each of them cut a very very thin slice of each of their experiences in the world, put them on a slide and let me examine them under a microscope for 45 minutes. Sometimes they were intriguing and delightful, and once in a while I found myself wandering as I was studying. Perhaps part of the examination is examining myself wandering. I wonder if I am making sense…Anna Marie’s “LaBrea” felt like it compounded everyday moments in just the right way to release them in ways that let the pressure out of my head. Some of the simplest moments made all the sense in the world: Natalie Bogira comfortably wrapping her arm around the corner of a bare mattress as though she was just fine with what she could encompass, Anna Marie being dragged around on her belly as a part of an awkward razzle dazzle ‘em moment, an intricately designed trio moving from one side of the stage to another. Watching Anna Marie perform is a treat. The layers of satire, sarcasm, sincerity and smarts unfold and fold in, alternately lending her performance to utter sincerity and harsh commentary. Some of the middle bits I don’t remember. They didn’t brand themselves on my brain like other moments. Eddie’s “Brown Rocket” presented itself as a roller coaster of emotion, motion and commotion. Eddie’s movement vocabulary, as well as the sheer joy with which he and Laura Selle move separately and together, provide a lush canvas on which to paint Eddie’s intentions. Collin Sherraden’s magically clever set design, along with Danny Sigelman’s beautifully chaotic paintings defined the Southern as a new space. A few scenes stand out in my mind as particularly memorable: the couch sequence evoked many an awkward intimate moment, the opening scene in all its colorful and vivid glory and finally the end, when it all comes magically, silently crashing down. Much of the middle material was hypnotic to me due to the nature of the live music and the almost repetitive series of eternal, internal made external struggle. Again, though, I wonder as I wander. So I’m not mad that I was somewhat distracted during sections of each piece. I seem to be thinking about editing and filtering a lot these days…I’m not sure where the balance is. I will remember and savor the moments that resonated. And there weren’t a lack of these moments in both pieces.

As a member of the arts community I am lucky to know, what I think, are some of the most talented and versatile artists in Minneapolis. One of these artists is my good pal Danny Sigelman. Mr. Sigelman is a jack of all trades. He is a musician, a painter, a DJ, an event organizer, and one of the most friendly people I have ever met in my life. A few months ago he informed me about an audition he was trying for. Little did I know it was for Eddie Oroyan’s piece for Momentum 2009 entitled Brown Rocket. I asked Danny if he would tell me a little more about his process as one of the muscians AND as the set designer for Brown Rocket.

The following are some words from Danny about his Momentum experience thus far:

When I first auditioned for Brown Rocket and met Eddie Oroyan I loaded him up with art and music I had been working on. I wanted him to get an idea of what I was about artistically and not just musically. Afterall I think the two go hand in hand and I have always tried to maintain a healthy level of activity in both worlds. However, once I got the gig to play drums in Brown Rocket and Eddie asked me to help out with the set design, I didn’t necessarily anticipate the project Eddie would end up having me tackle.

I have made some pretty large sized paintings before but this was 20 of them!

All together it is about 640 sq ft of painting that works cohesively together as the set for Brown Rocket. Much of the design is inspired by a series of drawings, paintings and collages I have been working on for years now that I call “Natural Satellites”. Ultimately the idea is a reflection on community, consciousness and the ebb and flow of society. In other words symbols, like the eye or drums represent the way in which we watch, observe and communicate in daily life. I thought in great abundance together the theme envelopes and compliments the main story of Brown Rocket.

Eddie Oroyan with one of Danny’s set pieces.

Musically I have been working as the Self Sound Orchestra since Fall 2007. After rehearsing so much with Terry Eason in Brown Rocket, who is also a verteran recording artist himself whom I have long admired, I was able to snare him to collaborate with me on future musical ventures. I am looking forward to performing more and recording with him.Currrently, the latest in the “Natural Satellites” paintings are on display at the Matchbox Coffee shop in Northeast Minneaoplis. Self Sound Orchestra has some upcoming gigs and will be releasing a CD, LP and DVD before the end of Summer.

-Danny Sigelman

Check out Momentum week 2 starting tonight! July 24-26 at the Southern Theater 8PM!
Danny Sigelman is a resident of Northeast Minneapolis where he also shares an art studio in the California Building.

A Diablog in which Galen Treuer and Kate Strathmann have a Sunday morning g-chat date to drink coffee and discuss this weekend’s performance in the comfort of their respective homes.

11:43 AM me: So galen, we went to Momentum last night

galen: yes we did

First we sat behind Karen Sherman and her camera

then we saw chris schlichting wearing a pink shirt and the hair of the joker

me: Yes- I did have a weird moment because his hair and the way he stroked it were strangely similar to Heath Ledger’s Joker, which I saw the night before.

but I think this is a good place to start- the hair in Chris’s piece

galen: It is all so horribly referencial!

me: I became sort of obsessed with the fact that everyone had the SAME HAIR

11:46 AM galen: Except that some had their normal hair and others not. This is a function of knowing the dancers and seeing them “around” and also on stage either wearing this hair or wearing other hair.

11:47 AM me: Which is a good point- and sort of why I became obsessed with it…there’s a facet of the dance community, and in particular the po-mo dance community, where I feel like they are often making work for each other

So as I’m noticing the hair- and thinking about seeing all of these people around town…It became this strange insider-y detail of who normally had that hair and who had on “costume hair”

11:48 AM galen: I enjoyed chris’s statement about Jeff Bartlett. It was good to hear it in the Southern. As we type let’s remember that it’s a struggle to put this art up. (interjections are a function of this format sorry people who read it just try to follow the diverging lines of thought).

11:49 AM me: yes- I agree. I’m glad someone pointed to the elephant in the room

11:50 AM galen: Yes, costumes and hair. These piece was nicely costumed. It was nicely lit. It was nicely musicked. It was nicely danced. It was precisely choreographed. It was full of pace. It was very intentional to details.

me: lovely details

galen: And now I want to make sure we talk about both pieces at once because I saw two pieces last night.

me: and I think they provided a really good contrast

galen: We saw Maia Maiden and Ellena Schoop’s The Foundation, et cetera

11:51 AM me: And Chris Schlichting’s love things (the aforementioned hair piece)

11:52 AM galen: The Foundation had costumes and light and dancing and choreography and details. That wasn’t what stood out for me though. it also had text and spoken word and bits of narrative and history.

me: If I were going to set up a correlation to your statement about Chris’s piece…I would use the verb “I felt” instead of “I saw” when talking about The Foundation.

11:53 AM galen: What stood out was emotion and context and generations and history and well meaning. it was a dance in the form of an essay or an essay in the form of dance. it was a rumination and a dialogue on the stage.

galen: Correlation for The Foundation is I felt rather than I saw?

i like

that

thought

me: Yes- like I didn’t really feel much seeing Chris’s piece…I saw all of what you described above. But it was really “cool” and I didn’t have a lot of “feeling” about it

I have two images that I liked the best though.

want to know what they were?

11:57 AM galen: yes

let me guess one

was it the trio with Jessica doing referencial jazzy dance, chris copying her, and Justin copying him?

11:59 AM me: hmm… that wasn’t what I was going to say. But! now I want to talk about that scene…because that was one of my favorites. I loved Justin in that part. I figured out the score/game of it pretty quickly- and then I just watched Justin watching Chris. He had a great intensity about it.

12:01 PM galen: It was a beautiful to see and for me what was most beautiful was how despite, the lights, music, and precision of Jessica’s movement I stopped watching her after 10 seconds.

me: Yes- me too

galen: It says something about Chris’s process, the post-modern process, and is so very honest

12:02 PM me: I’m interested in what was honest that made you stop watching Jessica- who was ostensibly the “focus” of that trio…except then she wasn’t…

galen: It reveals a value system.

Much of the work seemed so “cool” as you said. It was very distant from me as an audience, the world outside, even from one performer to the other.

The power dynamic of that scene and where my eye was moved reveals a value system in the choreography, a very clear statement of what is worth more.

Chris values the abstract. He said this honestly and beautifully and much more articulately than just saying “i value the abstract”

That’s good dance, if you’re using dance as a means of expressing aesthetic and artistic values.

12:06 PM me: Which is why I really liked that bit (and what I like about the piece)- I think the way he inverted the traditional choreographic value system was delightful. It was subtle. And as you say, I think he clearly expressed his aesthetic and artistic values- I felt like I understood his values as a choreographer, even if I didn’t understand everything that was happing in the piece at every moment.

12:07 PM galen: Right, that was nice. Just to clarify I don’t feel I ever need to understand everything that is going on, but I do appreciate when there is a clarity of purpose.

12:08 PM me: exactly!

I think that’s the most important thing for me when I see dance

galen: At some point I lost focus on Chris’s piece.

me: I lost focus too. I put it at about 3/5ths through.

galen: My focus wandered at the Morgan and Hannah duet. Not sure why.

12:10 PM me: I was with it through much of that section- but that is what I wrote down as the point at which I wandered off.

(Galen’s internet cuts out…Kate sweeps her kitchen floor in the meantime.)
12:20 PM galen: I was saying that the moment they looked outside was predictable but interesting because it highlighted the formal, isolated, self-contained quality of the work, maybe even the style.

me: It was literally a “breath of fresh air” in one sense.

12:21 PM galen: It was but it was also a tension building moment that made me question why they were doing it this way. Was it because it is easier to achieve clarity in a contained and cleaned space - removed from the mess of the world. A space that allows the possibility of intense focus and intentionality?

12:23 PM me: In a way that moment created a problem for me while watching the rest of the piece- because it brought up all the “whys” of what they were doing…and I wandered off when the piece went back to the contained space. There wasn’t really a shift after they openened the exit door, was there?

12:24 PM galen: No not really.

I struggled to line up the sections as more than isolated pieces of choreography throughout the piece. They were held together by a powerful overall aesthetic.

12:26 PM me: It didn’t really build as a structure

galen: For example: I wondered what was going to happen with Justin after copying the others. But as far as i could tell it didn’t change him.

Maybe this added to the emotionless quality.

me: because there weren’t real characters or relationships

12:27 PM galen: there were nods at character like actions that looked like relationships. there were plenty. there were very clear “put on” faces.

me: sure- but nothing carried through. the nods to character reinforced the discontinuity between the sections.

12:28 PM galen: so this is it. I didn’t care about the dancers. That made it a formal exercise.

me: Yes. and maybe this is a good time to talk about The Foundation. etc…

Because that piece was quite the opposite.

12:29 PM galen: one last thing: Love Things was like a series of poems describing an environment, with a few gems of insight and a very consistent esoteric style/rhythm.

12:30 PM me: I can agree with that.

galen: Yes The Foundation was opposite in so many ways. Similar in that it was local and staged at the Southern.

At the end of Chris’s piece that music came on, and I actually wrote down - non of them are black. I just found the note.

In the Foundation - non of them were white.

me: Actually that “touch of soul” in the music at the end of Chris’s piece strikes me as kind of funny now.

12:32 PM galen: Yeah.

Hmmmmmm……

It really left me writing “non of them are black” and thinking. maybe that’s great.

me: Anyway…I didn’t write down any images in my notes on The Foundation

galen: Yeah not so much the images, more the emotions.

12:33 PM me: That’s why I say “I feel”

Because it was all character, narrative, emotion

galen: it was very sincere, steeped in sincerity that i didn’t feel earlier in the evening.

me: I actually really appreciated the complete sincerity after seeing Chris’s

12:34 PM galen: Yeah, but initially it was a little shocking for me. It took a bit for me to warm into it.

By the end, especially at the end I bought it. I had little tingles.

I also felt a little voyeuristic or at least like an outsider looking in.

I couldn’t fully relate emotionally only intellectually but the performance was appealing to emotion so much that I would get stuck in my head and feel I was missing something.

12:37 PM me: Do you think you would have felt differently if you hadn’t been pulled so far into your head earlier in the evening?

galen: No idea. It is definitely part of the experience.

But I have seen a lot of performance that deals with issues/struggles within specific groups (racial, sexual, political) and one of the common problems I experience is relating fully. There is a serious danger of over-emoting or assuming that I care equally or that if you care so much so will I.

In the moments where The Foundation worked, I cared. It felt good, it challenged me, and it stimulated new thoughts.

12:42 PM me: And there were definitely successful moments where I cared too. But overall, no, I didn’t get into it for the whole ride. It’s really difficult to take a personal, specific narrative and make it universal.

But then sometimes I’m like “so what”. I’m sure Chris’s piece confused and alienated a lot people

(although I should clarify because he wasn’t going for a personal, emotive response)

galen: Yeah, it really is. I’m not sure it needs to be universal but when I pulled back into my head I began to wonder and judge (as in Chris’s piece). But here the judgment was different, would this be easier to absorb if it had the clarity and specific detailed intentionality of Love Things? How would you retain the emotion when focusing on this clarity? I’m sure it’s possible but very tricky.

Pulling back from Maia and Ellena’s work felt like I was judging them. I felt guilty not just intellectual. That’s a benefit of isolated, formalistic art work. I can judge it and feel powerful about engaging my intellect. Hey it’s just a formal exercise. There are human and social consequences when I judge a piece where the stories, politics, and real people are at the center (something at the center of hip hop, which was a big part of The Fountain).

12:49 PM me: Right- but it implicates you. I think even if you weren’t “in” emotionally, you’re outside judging and you’re still implicated.

which is really interesting and powerful in itself

12:50 PM power dynamics…

galen: Right. Power. Both pieces were very much about power, in subject and form. Interesting. Well, now we’ve spent about as long chatting about these shows as we did watching them.

12:51 PM me: hmm…it’s true though- they didn’t have the clarity or the set/lighting/images to focus on when you were removed from the performers and the emotion.

12:53 PM galen: Power - the stage is a safe space to display and discuss power.

me: they were both about power/hierarchy- but in such radically different ways.

intellectual- choreographic/visual hierarchy vs. historical, generational, real-people power and heirarchy.

or something like that.

galen: I wonder if next week they deal with power too? Power is sexy.

me: sure…Eddie’s is about a relationship.

hooha! that’s a lot of power dynamics

Momentum 2008
paul herwig and jennifer ilse of Off-Leash Area
www.offleasharea.org

Chris Schlichting

We really liked Chris’s presence on stage: likeable, self deprecating, not ironic, just simply hangin’ around with the dancers - but connecting, too. We also liked the music and the pink costume and scenic elements. Really fantastic movers, super skilled, very committed performances, of course with this group of performers.

The piece explored love. It seemed to be a very adolescent love, so young and quirky and thin and jumpy and fidgety - it was a lot of fun. The piece really worked as a whole, both visually and in the movement. The missing element for us was risk - emotional risk - love is a risky thing, throwing your entire being out there to be mashed up, stomped on, and overwrought with passion and giddy joy. That whole spectrum of this crazy, humorous, tragic journey was there in the essence of the work, but for some reason didn’t often find that place of being out of control. Perhaps it’s just that thing of clarifying intentions, and the piece could find some real brilliance.

This group of dancers, who seem to work together so often, ought to start a company, don’t you think?!

Maia Maiden and Ellena Schoop

The dance segments of this alternating dance-theatre work were really the strongest. The opening and closing, with the women walking the stairs, was a great bookending, and the final piece where each dancer was on stage, walking/dancing/talking, transitioning into a percussive, wonderfully eclectic hip/hop/African/modern/gumboots dance, the conclusion of this work, was a great coming together of past and present. This section felt really strong.

For the theatrical sections, the most successful were those where the performers skipped the conventional trappings of “doing a scene”, and just spoke directly to the audience. These spoken word segments were strong.

The scenic elements worked well to establish a spatial identity that related well to the subject matter, although the masks - hard to see with their reflective color under dark lighting - could have been much better employed physically.

Overall there was a choreographically successful melding of the contemporary and traditional forms of African American dance with modern dance, though we’d vote for some more rehearsal time for many of the group pieces. And though there were many powerful cultural/political/philosophical views presented, the persistent question of generational differences-past and present- was most powerful in its universality.

Chris Schlicting’s love things made me ask so many questions throughout its entirety: questions that amused, alarmed and delighted me the entire time. I wondered who these people were to me, to each other, to their world. And the answers came and kept coming. Chris deftly created a world of gesture, rhythm, intricacy, moment and image. The dancers knew the rules and played wisely and skillfully. Pink nail polish. Moments of air after feeling like the ceiling was caving in. Hannah and Morgan finding a moment of humanity within the world of quirky interaction. Surprises around every corner. The question I kept asking myself during the show was “Where are they?” My imagination was fed just enough to thoroughly enjoy answering this question. In a birthday cake. In a flocked garden at sunset. In a world full of excess and misdirected interactions. Somewhere where authentic moments were just around the corner. The deftly crafted ensemble sections unfolded in satisfying ways. Jessica flaunting her dance moves in a most uncomfortable way. Justin and Jessica dancing a duet of the future. Of never quite being where the dance is in a way that makes me question how I am watching. At the end of it all, I felt like Chris and his ensemble presented me a fascinating snow globe containing a world worthy of study. And I really would like to keep shaking it up to see what happens next. Maia Maiden and Ellena Schoop’s The Foundation, et cetera not so delicately wove a series of vignettes into a commentary on generational differences in an attempt to unify and activate. Watching Anneka and Roxane is always a treat. The fast-paced structure moved in a way that made me interested in what was next, and Tiyo Siyolo and Selfish generated and performed words that came from an authentic, motivated place. Very satisfying. The evening was varied in the way the audience received it. Momentum is always good to bring people of differing training, life experience, gender, sexuality and ethnicity into a space to tell their stories, attracting different populations into the seats. I distinctly felt that these two pieces were designed to speak to very different groups. I felt included and unincluded. I think the rest of the audience felt this too. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Interesting. And troubling somehow. I don’t have any answers. Just questions. Let’s talk…

Momentum: New Dance Worksopens tonight and runs for two weekends.

Here are some behind-the-scenes Q&As from each of the artists to give you a sneak peek on these brand new works. What will you ask them after the show?

Anna Marie Shogren

Are there any explicit / direct / literal moments in your work?
Anna: Nastalie does all of the movement from the scene where Bobby dies in Saturday Night Fever, which includes euphoric and dorky dancing, a sort of childish crying fit and falling off the bridge (or in this case a bed).

Is your work personal? How? Why?
Anna: Yes, thoroughly, perhaps to a shameful point, although I try to justify it in many different ways. It's always helping me to get a grip on what’s in my head, embarrassingly. But it is helpful and necessary for me. And I hope/believe that one way to connect with an audience is to be specific and personal and detailed and not try to be reaching and universal. I hope it doesn’t seem selfish or indulgent. I hope it seems genuine.

Maia Maiden

How do you title your work?
Maia: The title, The Foundation, et cetera, came to me because the issues brought up in this work are related to the foundation of Black people in America and the exploration of self identity for everybody.

Did you use other art forms to develop your piece? How and why did you use those mediums?
Maia: Yes. Spoken word, theater, and film. These were used because it brings the work full circle.

Who are you artist heroes? Why?
Maia: Artists in the community who know their craft and do it well. These are my artist heroes because of their passion, knowledge, and connection to themselves and others.

Eddie Oroyan

What are some potent metaphors and symbols in your work? Why are they powerful for you?
Eddie: Pop - The opening scene is one of falling in love. It is all bubble gum and butter. This piece is based on love found on Craigslist and the opening section is a reference to the 200+ emails we wrote before we ever ‘met.’
The band is mine, but it’s her stage - This metaphor has probably directed me the most in my structural decisions for the piece. In the end, the band leaves with me and the stage is torn apart. It is real.
Smooshing - I also wanted some of the violence of the work to be playful. The smooshing that happens in the piece is similar to the severe affection a cat might have with your leg.

What is the intent of your piece?
Eddie: I want people to say, “We are like that, I am like that.” I want them to think, “Yes, this is true.” I am making this because I know it and I think others might as well. I’m not really making any judgment on this relationship. I think I’m showing some really great things and some hard things, hoping they feel legitimate. Then, where ever it takes people is where ever it takes them. Making the piece has brought up questions and ideals that I needed to revisit. Relationships are messy, but they are the meaning of life.

Chris Schlichting

Make a list of ten adjectives to describe your work.
Chris: Large and small, formal and vernacular, cute, clean, awkward, detailed, busy, choreographed.

Are there any explicit / direct / literal moments in your work?
Chris: It depends on what these terms mean. I try to make all movement explicit and direct. Dance to me is literal, but that doesn't always mean the vocabulary is linear, narrative, or working with a universally familiar image.

What inspired you to make this work?
Chris: So many things: seeing other work and feeling the need to respond. A desire to interact with the world. A desire to consider the body participating in that dialogue in ways it might not normally be allowed to.

How does this work fit into your artistic development?
Chris: Many of my aesthetic and thematic tendencies have stayed the same, but others are constantly changing. I simultaneously love and hate work I made 2 years ago. I try to engage with topics and ideas that are exciting to me. Collaboratively, I am realizing how much better the work gets when I step back and allow others to invest and contribute to what we are making together. At the same time I'm still a control freak who needs to have my hands in everything.

What is you relationship to your audience? How do you perceive this?
Chris: I think of my audience as if they are me and then I think about what excites me and I try to create an experience that I want to have in the hope that others will share the interest.

The Walker’s support of local artists is unassailable when it comes to contemporary dance. Every Thanksgiving weekend, our Choreographers Evening presents about a dozen young and emerging dancemakers — many making their first appearances at the Walker. This has gone on for more than 30 years, and the Walker can cover an entire dance floor with the names active artists who can chart their starts through Choreographers Evening. For some, the showcase has also been a stepladder into Momentum: New Dance Works, which the Walker presents over two weekends with (and at) the Southern Theater.

Next weekend’s Momentum opener spotlights new work from Chris Schlichting, a familiar face in avant garde local dance, and the hip-hop-inspired duo of Maia Maiden and Ellena Schoop. The following weekend gives rise to Anna Marie Shogren and Eddie Oroyan. Don’t be surprised if one or more follow in the steps of local artists such as Mathew Janczewski and Emily Johnson to earn full commissions from the Walker.

In pure cash, Momentum commissions are relatively modest compared to, say, the budget for the Walker to bring in an established artist to workshop new work and perform it, coupled with a residency, though the commissions also come with technical, administrative and marketing support from the Walker and Southern. As it happens, choreographers lucky enough to earn Momentum slots rarely pay themselves with commission funds, more often using them to rent studios and pay the dancers, composers and others who, to that point, have worked chiefly on the familiar artist barter of time and talent.

You don’t have to consider yourself a fan of contemporary dance to find charm in Momentum — just a supporter in the flight of local art. Momentum is a plus sign in the artist equation Talent + Commitment + Opportunity = Good Things. While Momentum is likely the first work you’ll see (or at least consciously notice) from these artists, it won’t be the last. Regardless of where or how we hear from them next, those who come through Momentum can stand alongside the likes of Trisha Brown, Merce Cunningham and Ralph Lemon as “Walker artists.”

IMAGES (clockwise, from upper left): Chris Schlichting; Maia Maiden and Ellena Schoop; Anna Marie Shogren; Eddie Oroyan.

The Walker Art Center is seeking choreographers to be presented in the 36th Annual Choreographers' Evening.

Auditions will be held at the Walker's McGuire Theater, 1750 Hennepin Avenue on Thursday, August 21, from 4-9 pm, Friday, August 22, from 2-7 pm, and Saturday, August 23, from 11 am- 4 pm.

You must call to reserve an audition time; auditions are accepted by appointment only.

All forms of dance welcome.

For more information and to schedule an audition, please call: 612.375.7550
- You will receive a call or email confirming your time slot
- Auditions are in 10 minute intervals
- Your audition piece should be 5-7 minutes
- VHS/DVD submissions are accepted, although live performance is preferred

This Choreographers' Evening will be curated by Sally Rousse. Performances will take place on Saturday, November 29, 2008, 7 & 9:30 pm in the Walker's McGuire Theater.

Additional questions may be directed to Emily Taylor at 612.375.7624 or emily.taylor@walkerart.org.

A few days ago, Theatre de la Jeune Lune announced that they are closing the doors of their warehouse home forever. Though there is no doubt that the spirit of Jeune Lune will live on in many different ways, the theatrical landscape of the Twin Cities will be different.

Over the years, the Walker co-presented several plays on the Jeune Lune stage. It's hard to imagine that there could be any playing space that suited those works more perfectly. The company transformed a warehouse building in downtown Minneapolis into a dramatic, versatile playing space with just the right amount of architectural poetry.

One Walker/Jeune Lune co-presntation was Theatre de Complicite's Street of Crocodiles, a show about the life and death of writer/artist Bruno Schultz. That show played 10 years ago but I can still vividly recall the thrill of watching each performer enter the stage in a new and magical way; one climbed out of a bucket that sat on the floor of the stage catching drips of water, another casually walked down the back wall of the theater, his body parallel with the floor. All the images that followed were equally fantastic and captivating. I was introduced to an entirely new way of storytelling and it completely blew my mind. And the touring show seemed so perfectly suited to the Jeune Lune playing space it's hard to picture it on any other stage.

Here's a sampling of some of other the Walker co-presented with Theater de la Jeune Lune:

1999 Improbable Theatre's Schockheaded Peter

2000 El Periferico de Objectos: Hamletmachine

2000 Tiger Lillies

2001 Needcompany's King Lear

2003 Improbable Theatre's Hanging Man

Now the curtain has officially fallen at Jeune Lune. Though I am sad to see Jeune Lune wane, I know that many of the companies, artists and actors who passed through that space left infused with Jeun Lune’s playful spirit.

I'm reminded of the bit of verse the company borrowed from Bertolt Brecht to create their name:

As the people say, at the moon’s change of phases
The new moon holds for one night long
The old moon in its arms

The company of actors was committed to using the theater to find 'the new in the old'.

Now Theatre de la Jeune Lune itself has become the moon that other artists will hold in their arms.

Company members and other collaborators have been launched to many corners of the world. Last summer I watched Vincent Gracieux perform in a tent on the French country-side with Footsbarn Theatre. I have my eye on former Jeune Lune apprentice Paul Thureen who is now part of a New York Company called The Debate Society. Locally, I can still get a fix of exposed brick and visual innovation at Open Eye Figure Theater, founded by frequent Jeune Lune collaborators Michael Sommers and Sue Hass.

I’m glad the Walker was a part of the history of Jeune Lune. With a heart that is both heavy and hopeful, I say farewell to the old moon and look forward to gazing at many new moons.

Untitled from matt peiken on Vimeo.

Here are sights and sounds Saturday from the sold-out Rock the Garden concert in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden (well, technically, the median between the Garden and the Walker Art Center … but we didn’t think Rock the Median sounded as catchy). I posted this video through Vimeo because it was too meg-heavy for YouTube.

Drop into a rehearsal for Songs of Ascension, the work-in-progress collaboration between Meredith Monk and Ann Hamilton. Performances are tonight through Saturday at the Walker Art Center’s McGuire Theater.

MPR’s Marianne Combs produced an illuminating feature this morning on Songs of Ascension, the work-in-progress collaboration between musician/composer/vocalist Meredith Monk and visual artist Ann Hamilton. Performances in the McGuire Theater are tonight through Saturday. Monk and Hamilton first collaborated on Mercy, which the Walker brought to the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium in June 2003.