Performing Arts

I was listening to The Books as they hosted a radio show and they mentioned Shooby Taylor – the Human Horn – as one of their all-time favorites. I was sad to later then discover that he had passed. Here is a short video of his performance, too short and the audience is not very warm, but nonetheless, Shooby Taylor: http://www.shooby.com/video/index.html

This will be my first show at the Walker and with Halloween in the air, it is going to be an indescribable evening.

I have been reading up on GGD to prepare for the experience and this is what I have found:

GGD have left a sporadic, almost shadowy, impression upon people.

They’ll surface to play a clutch of shows only to disappear again.

The lucky [ticket] holders were treated to the kind of mesmerizing experience we have come to expect from these mystic experimentalists.

Gang Gang Dance is a musical vehicle without brakes, constantly innovating and dropping material out the rear.

I imagine my night with GGD this Saturday will be somewhat shabby exotic in essence with some otherworldly aspect to it.

For fans that know exactly what they are getting into:

The band’s DVD release, Retina Riddim, was originally scheduled for release in December, but now will be available in CD-R format at GGD’s merch tables, with the official release following in January. The DVD is part concert film, part album and unreleased material remix and part conceptual film.

For those new to GGD like me, this will help complete their elusive picture: ohmyrockness.com.

See you there! Michèle

P.S. Ask me what else.

Michèle Steinwald has been living (and wearing, as you’ll read in a minute) multidisciplinary art since she was a kid. After a teenage role fronting for a spit-themed Canadian punk band, she went on to become a dancer, choreographer, and arts administrator. In Seattle, she worked at On the Boards as an artistic associate; helped start up the film distribution site IndieFlix; and, most recently, founded 44 Arts Productive, a service organization aiding dancers and choreographers. As the Walker’s new performing arts program manager, she’ll be involved with all aspects of producing performance works, including blogging. By way of introduction, here’s an interview we did this morning.

I understand you were in a punk band called “Hork P’tew” when you were 14. What was your role?

Yup! I was the singer. We never had a gig. I actually was asked to replace the original singer who was in jail. I was asked because I couldn’t sing, and by the end of the summer the band split anyways, but not because of my singing. The guitar player, for those interested in 80’s Canadian punk, was Warren Peace of Grave Concern. His brother Paul Ste-Marie was the drummer. Tension grew when the original drummer of Hork P’tew stayed in the band.

What were some of your songs?

My favorite was “Oatmeal Blues,” which Warren wrote, but we also did an apocalyptic version of “Fraggle Rock.”

Where has your performing arts career taken you since Hork P’tew?

I am a trained contemporary dancer, now retired, and have done some choreography over the years. My favorite choreographers are Deborah Hay and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (of Rosas), who performed last season at the Walker. I flew in from Seattle to see Anne Teresa perform a solo here and it was so great! I also danced for Simone Sandroni when I lived in Europe. Simone brought his new company Déjà Donné to the Walker last year, too. My favorite Canadian choreographer is Benot Lachambre and he too was at the Walker with Meg Stuart last season. As you can see, I am a big fan of the Walker’s performing arts programming.

Where are you from?

I was born in Elmira, New York which is the hill next to Ithaca in upstate NY but was raised in Eastern Canada. We moved around a lot and I have continued to travel because of my career. In all I have lived, in order since Elmira, in Springfield, VT; Peterborough, Ontario; Sydney River, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; Burlington, Ontario; Ottawa, Ontario; Montréal, Québec; Arnhem, The Netherlands; Brussels; Prague; Tokyo; and then Seattle for the last 8 years (the longest I’ve lived anywhere). Now Minneapolis! I am really happy to be here. It feels like home already.

Tell me the story of how you’re related to a work in the Walker permanent collection.

As a young dancer of 17, I was asked to “perform” for a visual art installation at the National Gallery of Canada. The work called Remote Control II was by Czech/Canadian artist Jana Sterbak. I was suspended by the crotch in a large metal crinoline which had wheels and a remote control motor. The following year, the gallery called and asked if I could be a part of Jana’s solo show and hang in the metal skirt again but also, model a “meat dress.” My dad thought this was very funny as I was vegetarian at the time. I agreed and was sewn into the steak garment for a photo shoot. The piece is named Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Anorectic Albino and the Walker has one in its permanent collection. The picture in the Walker archive is of the original model, although I am still surprised to find pictures of me used in publications.

You wore the dress in the controversial showing in 1991?

That’s me. It was a big scandal in Canada so my picture was in the newspapers and on the evening news for a day which was exciting at 18 years old.

Image: Michele performing in Remote Control II, from the exhibition catalogue

The Walker Art Center and Southern Theater are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2007 Momentum: New Dance Works commissions. The proposals and work samples were carefully considered by a panel composed of the Southern Theater’s Jeff Bartlett, Walker Art Center’s Philip Bither, and 2007 ad hoc panelist Erin Thompson. The following four artists/companies will be presented at the Southern Theater over two weekends in July, 2007:

July 12-14

Justin Jones

Maggie Bergeron

July 19-21

Cathy Campbell

Off-Leash Area

Momentum: New Dance Works 2007 is a partnership between Walker Art Center and the Southern Theater, with support from the Jerome Foundation, created to promote the work of an exciting new generation of dance and dance-theater creators in Minnesota. The series enables innovative, under-recognized choreographers to have their work presented to the broader public.

This will be the sixth year of the series, applications were numerous and of outstanding quality, making the selection process extremely competitive. We would like to thank all the artists for the time and energy invested in this application process, and we congratulate the recipients on their achievement!