Blog – Page 95 – Bourgeon

Seeing Red: A review of Sarah Kaufman’s review of Guangdong

Editor

-

December 10, 2009

Seeing Red: A review of Sarah Kaufman’s review of Guangdong

Sarah Kaufman’s review of the performance “Other Suns” (‘Suns’ revolves around hopes for a changing China, Oct. 31 2009), a co-production between San Fransisco-based Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and China’s Guangdong Modern Dance Company, revealed a shallow understanding of Chinese culture. While her criticisms of the piece were valid, she made an inappropriate leap in her generalizations about how Chinese culture and society as a whole were responsible for those failures.

I agree with Kaufman’s assessment that the Guangdong Modern Dance Company’s (GMDC) section of the trilogy lacked emotional commitment and consisted mostly of pretty movement by nice technicians. However, Kaufman blames Chinese society for the dancers’ lack of expression, quipping “Expressiveness isn’t easy in a society where individual freedoms are still dodgy.”

The performers’ lack of depth resulted not from China’s Great Oppressive Society — a hackneyed cliché which articles like Kaufman’s only help to sustain — but from the same immaturity found in young dancers in any country. The six GMDC dancers on the Clarice Smith Center stage in October are some of the company’s youngest. The dancer bios in the program reflected that most of these performers had joined the company within the last two years. Due to the project’s limited budget, the full company was not able to participate in the US tour. Half of the company, in fact the more mature and experienced dancers, were performing other GMDC repertoire in Europe and Taiwan.

This past July I had the opportunity to enjoy the GMDC section of “Other Suns” performed with the full company in the annual Guangdong Modern Dance Festival in China. In contrast to the version we saw here, that performance of this same piece contained an admirably deep level of commitment and energy. If Kaufman’s goal was to write a more encompassing article about the larger topic of modern dance in China, she could have researched footage, easily available on YouTube, of other GMDC works like “Upon Calligraphy” or works by other modern dance companies in China like the Beijing Modern Dance Company. If she had, she would have found performances of profound expressiveness and emotional depth by performers like Ma Kang, Xing Liang, Tao Ye, and others.

Kaufman asserts that the performance made her consider “the challenges of teasing capitalist narcissism out of a culture of collectivism,” and that this is somehow a prerequisite for better modern dance in China. Not only does this draw a fallacious connection between one dance performance and all of Chinese culture, it also reveals an inaccurate understanding of that culture. Since the establishment of the one-child policy and with rising affluence in larger cities, China in fact is now experiencing what some academics call the “Little Emperor” phenomenon. When asked their goal in life, most young Chinese professionals from this “spoiled” generation will tell you point blank: “To make money.” China today is a culture of capitalist narcissists. This is not what was lacking on stage. Capitalist narcissism does not make good modern dance; experience and maturity do.

The rigors of dance training often produce technical masters who are emotionally vacant, but this phenomenon is not unique to China. Young western dancers can be equally uninteresting to watch as they show off flashy technique before they have gained the depth of expression found in mature performers. Had GMDC’s “A-team” been on stage at the University of Maryland and not on tour in Germany or Taiwan, we would have seen more of these moments from the Chinese side of the co-production. Kaufman’s analysis does a disservice to American understanding of contemporary China, and Chinese contemporary dance.

To see Kaufman’s review, click here. To see Guangdong Founder Willy Tsao’s reply to Kaufman published in the Post, click here.

Alison M. Friedman is the founder/director of Ping Pong Productions (www.pingpongarts.org) which brings together Chinese and international performing artists, scholars and audiences for creative collaboration and exchange. She was International Director of the Beijing Modern Dance Company from 2005 until 2008 when she was hired by Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun to be General Manager of his company Parnassus Productions, Inc. The leading expert on modern dance in China, Ms. Friedman came to Beijing in 2002 on a Fulbright Fellowship to research the development of modern dance in the Middle Kingdom. In addition to lecturing on the art form in both China and abroad, she has conducted research for the Royal Netherlands Embassy and the Asian Cultural Council, and her writing has appeared in Dance Magazine (USA). She has worked as consultant for the US Embassy in China, Columbia University, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as well as other overseas dance and theater companies touring the Middle Kingdom. From 2003-2005 she hosted a live music program on China Radio International (CRI), China’s largest government-run radio station.

Beau Finley: What is Music

What is Art?

Editor

-

December 7, 2009

0

At its most basic, music is the arrangement of tones with melody, rhythm, and a sense of intent (by listener or creator) so as to be discernible from other sounds.

Beau Finley is an attorney, ninja, and rockstar who is infatuated with the interrelations of sounds. He is most often found involved with Fuzzy Panda (www.fuzzy-panda.com) and its sister site Panda Fuzz (www.pandafuzz.com).

Washington Ballet’s Program at THEARC by Katrina Toews

Editor

-

October 20, 2009

6

Washington Ballet’s Program at THEARC by Katrina Toews

Thanks to a unique partnership between the District and the developer William C. Smith & Co., the non-profit Building Bridges Across the River was able to construct a state of the art 110,000 square foot community center on 16.5 acres in SE Washington, DC (Ward 8.) The Town Hall Education Arts and Recreation Campus (THEARC) opened in 2005, offering a safe haven for youth and families. Approximately 7,000 children live within one square mile of THEARC; more than half of them live at, or below, the poverty line. Building Bridges Across the River continues to manage THEARC; THEARC houses ten nonprofit agencies, including a branch of The Washington School of Ballet.

The Washington Ballet’s main campus is in Northwest Washington, DC. In order to appropriately program for this new campus, and community, we commissioned a one-year exploratory study. Callahan Consulting for the Arts conducted the study, meeting with Ward 8 leaders from politics, education, the arts, and religious practice. The findings helped us understand community expectation and perception, and engaged us with some “what to expect” scenarios.

The Washington Ballet opened its doors at THEARC with one full-time employee and two part-time dance teachers. I was hired in 2005 as the Education Director, and then in 2006 became Director of TWB@THEARC. We opened the studios with a month of free classes in the summer of 2005. Eight hundred and thirty people, ages 5 – 55, attended classes during that month. Our first school year began with over 200 students walking through our doors; we expected 60-90. The first year came and went with much excitement and exuberance for the opportunity “to take dance classes so close in the neighborhood,” but the excitement waned after the first year, replaced with the hard work of training each and every student.

We essentially have two groups of students: students who want pre-professional dance training, and students with no prior ballet experience interested in exploring the art. As we watch the different skill levels of these two groups diverge, staff, faculty, and parents wrestle with questions about the direction and quality of the program. “Is the training at the SE location on the same level as the NW location? Are the teachers receiving the same technical training?” And, since the Ballet opened a campus in Old Town, Alexandria in 2009: “Are we expecting the same things from student’s at all three campuses?”

Last year, as we marked our fourth year of programs, we engaged in a capacity building study with Katherine Coles Associates. We were excited to discover that staff, faculty, and parents all wanted the highest level of training for our students. The study revealed a clear direction to take our programs to the next level of intensity and excellence. This meant systemic change in process and behavior for all involved. We introduced a mandatory parent meeting in September to discuss expectations of students and parents, and to set program goals for the coming year. The school director from the NW campus visits the SE campus weekly, working with faculty and students to ensure standards are rigorous and consistent. And, we now have monthly meetings between the Washington Ballet’s Executive Director, Artistic Director, School Director, and me (THEARC Director.)

My professional goal is to unlock hidden potential, and open eyes to an array of future possibilities. My greatest joys emerge from the constant dialogue with my students, their parents, and our teachers. The families who attend classes at The Washington School of Ballet do not want “handouts.” They want and expect a “level playing field” with the Northwest Campus in terms of quality education, resources, and access. It has always been our goal to build relationships with THEARC Community. Relationships are built on trust and trust is built through disclosure and transparency, a give and take of open conversation. I hope that THEARC program will emerge as a guiding light in dance education for the nation.

KATRINA TOEWS is a professional dancer, choreographer, teacher, Pilates trainer and arts administrator. Over the years, however, Ms. Toews has always loved working with children most. Ms. Toews was first hired to teach at The Washington School of Ballet under founder Mary Day. She enjoyed the children so much that she began work in the education programs as well. She was the originator of the programs for The Washington Ballet @ THEARC as has been at the SE campus since its inception.

Ms. Toews holds an MA in Dance from American University as well as a BA in Fine Arts and Elementary Education from Bethel College in Kansas. She trained with Mimi Legat, Peter Stark, Mandy Jorgenson, and Denise Celestin, among others. Ms. Toews has danced with bosmadance, Sister’s Trousers and Carla and Co., and founded her own contemporary company, K2 Dance in 2005. Her work has been described by Washington Post critics as “solidly crafted quality” with choreography that “stands out.”

Ms. Toews has presented work on dance and education at various conferences across the U.S. and is a member of the National Dance Education Organization. Ms. Toews will receive the 2010 Young Alumni award in Kansas for her work with youth in the field of dance.

White Do-Gooderism in DC’s Dance Education Scene by Jonathan Carrington

Editor

-

September 29, 2009

8

White Do-Gooderism in DC’s Dance Education Scene by Jonathan Carrington

I don’t write this to be critical of Caucasians, or persons who identify as Caucasian. I write this to bring awareness and attention to a few of the administrators of arts education programming, specifically dance educators in predominately African-American and/or Latino neighborhoods in the District of Columbia.

As I think about this issue, I am reminded of the 1995 movie Dangerous Minds. Starring Michelle Pfeiffer as LouAnne Johnson, a White ex-marine who finds a job teaching English in an inner-city high school, Dangerous Minds is based-on-a-true-story. The 2007 movie Freedom Writers (starring Hilary Swank as Vera Drake) hews to a similar boilerplate account of a White crusader ministering to the under-served, predominately African-American and Latinos. The theme that these two movies share reinforces my understanding of dance education programs in the District: the White female heroine archetypes “doing all that they can” inside and outside the classroom to “save the children” from themselves.

Janine Jones, an African-American philosopher, has written about White efforts to empathize with the difficulties of non-white people, and labels characters like LouAnne and Vera as “goodwill Whites”. She describes such people as praiseworthy for the concern they have for others, but asserts that these people usually don’t realize that their efforts are about helping others become more like themselves. Jones writes that unconsciously, “goodwill Whites” believe their customs and beliefs are the “best” customs and beliefs. According to Jones, “goodwill Whites” offer their assistance from a condescending position, because they don’t see themselves as White and thus don’t comprehend how that has come to deeply inform who and what they are. When I think about her analysis and the state of dance education programming in the nation’s capitol, it raises the question: “Should teaching dance in predominately African-American and Latino neighborhoods be left to hippy, free-spirited White women wearing chunky jewelry with their touchy-feely, scientifically-tested, New Age classroom games?”

Dance education programming in predominately African-American and Latino neighborhoods deserves to be investigated. The “white do-gooders”, or “goodwill Whites” who administer these programs express confidently to the outside world that they expose their students to a world that is entirely “better.” In fact, it is just markedly White. As the movies I cited show, the world outside of a ghetto offered to these students is a world full of people who don’t have “dangerous minds”; people who are much “better” than those filling the seats in under-funded, poverty-stricken, racially oppressed inner-city classrooms.

Again, this article is not intended to bash anyone based on skin color. But I have a message to all of the White do-gooders and goodwill Whites out there: We are not a scientific experiment. Your New Age-inspired teaching methods and principles do not work on us. Your job is to educate, inspire, and mentor, not condescend, analyze, normalize, and save us from our-selves. We are powerful beyond measure, despite your blindness to our real potential. Are we just meant to gain exposure to the field of dance? If you have come to help us, you are wasting your time. However, if you have come because your liberation is bound up with ours, then let’s work together.

Jonathon Carrington currently works with Dissonance Dance Theatre, a contemporary dance company in Washington, DC. He has worked with Dissonance as a General Manager for three years; and as an arts manager in the District for seven years. His current professional interests deal mostly with writing about dance-related issues in DC, mentoring, professional development, and arts leadership. You can check out some of his latest blog entries at http://www.ddtmedia.com.

Creating ‘Postcards’ by Alec Simpson

Editor

-

September 28, 2009

0

A number of months ago I went to a conference and exhibition at the World Bank called: “AFRICA NOW! Emerging talents from a continent on the move.” Although the conference and exhibition were impressive on many levels, I was really moved by two female African artists who in their slide shows emblazoned the tag of “Artist Entrepreneur” under their name. Apparently, in their culture, being an artist is the provenance of men and, as females, they were completely shunned and un-supported by the community. In a nutshell, these artists had to learn their craft on their own, manage their day-to-day survival, and also learn how to push their craft before the public and into the marketplace. Hence, they had to take on the dual role of artist and entrepreneur in a serious way.

Although I do not face their exact challenges, I face my own challenges that are large enough. After I saw how they proudly presented themselves as artist entrepreneurs, a strong sense of connection to that notion took over. Now, when asked the question about what I am working on, I answer unequivocally that I am working on owning and becoming comfortable with the notion of being an “Artist Entrepreneur” and all that that means.

What exactly has that meant for me? It has meant that I had to stop acting as if I were asleep at the wheel and start to awaken to the opportunities that were already coming my way. One is not an artist entrepreneur unless one gets his or her work out there. My sister does websites, and has been begging me for several years to create my website. I finally woke up to this opportunity when she recently offered to do my website as a birthday present. My website is currently under construction at www.alecsimpson.com

On the Artist side of the equation, I have been working hard on closing the time gap between the germination of an art idea and its actual execution. I make myself do some kind of artwork each day. And if I get a new idea about an art technique, art materials, or art process that I would like to “play with,” then I try my best not to wait another month or two to try it out. I just make myself go in there and do it. I have not been a hundred percent successful in this, but I have made real strides in this direction.

The opportunity for a one-person show came my way. This put fire under my feet to begin working in earnest on a series that I had started during a recent trip to Berlin. I needed something new to show and those works would be perfect; I now had a reason to commit to getting them done. The name of the series is: “Postcards from Berlin: Rising from the Ashes.” The works in this series are composed of materials I literally picked up off the streets, and from the gutters, of Berlin; announcement postcards from many different performance and exhibition venues, chotchkies from the colorful Turkish bazaar in the Kreuzberg section, maps, beads and colored sand from arts and crafts stores, and many other items. Some items were burned to create ashes that were mounted on Berlin post cards or card stock, and then painted with various acrylic media.

For me, the works have a universal message. We all face times in our life when we need to rise from the metaphorical ashes of whatever challenge we are facing. I am facing just such a time in my own life … taking ownership of being an artist entrepreneur, and coming to terms with what that means for me regarding making a living. For others, I would imagine that “rising from the ashes” could and would have so many meanings. Whatever the meaning, it is my hope that these works act as symbols of empowerment, courage and overcoming to face each day as a new day with potential for hope and joy, no matter the challenge being faced. The show, “Flash-back/Fast-forward: An Exhibition of Artwork Past and Present,” opens on October 10, 2009 and runs to November1, 2009 at the Corner Store Gallery, 900 South Carolina Avenue, SE in the Capitol Hill Area of the District (www.cornerstorearts.org).

As the show gets closer, I am getting photos of my work done, updating my artist bio and statement, and thinking more about the pricing of my work. I am confronting what it means to really take care of business regarding my artwork. Being an Artist Entrepreneur means managing a balancing act. That said, now that I know the name of the game I am in, I am better able to learn the rules, play well and win. This is what I am working on.

Bio:
Color, energy, music – these are the elements I think of as I create artwork. My approach is akin to jazz improvisation. Once I have my “sub-text and back-story,” then process and flow become very important. For me, this means allowing materials that want to work with me the opportunity to express freely within loosely set parameters. Therefore, most of what I produce shows up as abstract mixed-media works. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Music, an art history and aesthetics M.F.A. in Comparative Arts, and an M.B.A. in General Management. For more information, please feel free to contact me at: info@alecsimpson.com.