Blogs The Green Room

Backstage Vol. 1, No. 3

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Rider Raves: Dutch theater collective Kassys, at the Walker for Out There 2006, has apparently honored us with a Dressing Room of the Year honor. A few salted nuts and bags of trail mix go a long way. In other news on backstage schwag, The Smoking Gun posts a hilarious, at times non sequitur, concert [...]

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Rider Raves: Dutch theater collective Kassys, at the Walker for Out There 2006, has apparently honored us with a Dressing Room of the Year honor. A few salted nuts and bags of trail mix go a long way. In other news on backstage schwag, The Smoking Gun posts a hilarious, at times non sequitur, concert rider for Iggy & The Stooges. Among the requests, apparently penned by roadie Jos Grain: two heavy duty floor-mounted fans (“So that I can wear a scarf and pretend to be in a Bon Jovi video”) and two tom-toms “with mounting” (“And if you can’t bring the mounting to us, we’ll have to send a bloke called Mohammed to the mounting”). [Thanks, Emily.]

Summer Bands Announced: Alas, Iggy isn’t headlining the 31st annual Summer Music & Movies series, the Walker’s free gig in Loring Park, but the just-released lineup is pretty incredible. International bands are coming including, from Belize, Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective, and UK electropop phenom Metronomy. Locals include The Plastic Constellations, Black Blondie (“Picked to Click” by City Pages; pictured, top left), The Knotwells, and Rob Skoro. The films are a selection of director Douglas Sirk’s best; the fun starts July 16 and runs every Monday through August 20. (Palacio and Co. play June 28 at BAM in Brooklyn. The New York Times calls their music “danceable exhilaration… To an outsider [it] can sound like Andean music sent to the Caribbean seaside.”)

Praising Mekka: The Walker-commissioned Facing Mekka, Rennie Harris’ hip-hop theater piece and anchor performance at the 2003 Hip Hop Moves festival, just premiered in Harris’ hometown of Philadelphia. The Inquirer called the piece “an ambitious, abundantly alive production.” The rave goes on: “You can’t get bigger sound than Mekka‘s mix of live voice, DJ, percussion and cello (perhaps too loud for some), more vital dancing than that of its cadre of phenomenal performers, or a more thought-provoking layering of image and action.” Not a bad homecoming present for Harris on the 15th anniversary of his company, Puremovement.

Momentum 2008 RFP Released

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Walker and the Southern Theater are pleased to announce the release of the Request for Proposals for Momentum: New Dance Works 2008. The basic details are below: The Momentum: New Dance Works 2008 series is a partnership between Walker Art Center and the Southern Theater, with support from the Jerome Foundation. The series will run [...]

Walker and the Southern Theater are pleased to announce the release of the Request for Proposals for Momentum: New Dance Works 2008. The basic details are below:

The Momentum: New Dance Works 2008 series is a partnership between Walker Art Center and the Southern Theater, with support from the Jerome Foundation. The series will run July 17-19 and July 24-26, 2008 at the Southern.

Purpose of Series: The Momentum dance series was 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 by the Walker Art Center and the Southern Theater as well as provide professional development opportunities facilitated by the co-presenters. Momentum seeks out applicants from a full range of styles, cultures, aesthetics, and approaches that represent contemporary dance in the world today.

Eligibility Requirements:

Choreographers/choreographic collaborations who have produced/presented their own choreography at least three times in a non-student context, but who have not worked as choreographers for more than ten years, are eligible to apply.

Previous recipients of commissions that were awarded during the first three cycles of Momentum (2001, 2002, and 2004) may apply, although preference will be given to new applicants.

Applicants must be a resident of Minnesota, have lived in Minnesota for at least one year prior to application, and have produced choreographic works while living in Minnesota.

Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.

Full-time students are not eligible.

Applications due: Monday, August 6, 2007, by 4:00 pm

to The Southern Theater, Attn: Momentum Application

1420 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55454

For official guidelines and a complete RFP and application information, click here.

Please contact Jeff Bartlett at the Southern Theater with any questions regarding these application guidelines: jeff(AT)southerntheater.org or 612.340-0155 x 12