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IN THIS ISSUE:

Choreographic Residencies, Opportunities & Funding:  Current listings for the U.S., Latin America, Europe & Asia

New Works & Events: Jacob’s Pillow Festival, New Pilobolus at American Dance Festival, Marco Goecke’s new creation KAFKA at Stuttgart Opera, New Sasha Waltz in Berlin & Arsen Mehrabyan’s Forceful Feelings in Sweden

Trending: NYCB Choreographic Controversy in Ratmansky’s New “Odessa” – Sanitizing Ballet from Scenes of Violence? Kouhei Nakama's digital choreography with virtual cast – no physical presence needed? Kika Nicolela's Transdisciplinarity: Site Specific Moving Body in Video as an Art Installation! 

Learning Opportunities: TANZWERKSTATT Europe in Germany, Estancias Coreográficas Workshop in Spain & Senza Confini Di Pelle in Italy, Choreographic Summer Lab in Paris

Competitions: Choreography Film Competitions in Germany

New Movies: Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan, produced and directed by Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger

New Books: Ralph Lemon MoMA Dance (Modern Dance), August 2016, by Thomas Lax, Ralph Lemon, and 5 others

CHOREOGRAPHIC RESIDENCIES, CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES, & FUNDING:

NATIONAL:

ARIZONA:

Choreographers for chamber dance companies are invited to apply for the Wickenburg Residency, which offers the opportunity to pursue new projects, mount work, or collaborate with other artists. The three-week residency will take place at a historic guest ranch where participants will be free from everyday pressures. The average number of artists in residence at a time ranges between one and five. Application is open to U.S. artists and is ongoing.

Visit: http://dewpac.org/programs/the-made-in-wickenburg-artist-residency-program/

HAWAII: Under the guidance of University of Hawaii’s dance faculty, Asia Pacific Dance Festival offers a unique collection of coursework with the leading choreographers, dancers & scholars of Hawaii, Asia & the Pacific. The intensive will run from July 25 - August 7, 2017.  Apply by July 12, 2017. Visit: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/outreach/asiapacificdance/festival-intensive-2017/

LOUISIANA: The National Performance Network (NPN) residency directly fosters engagement between touring artists and the community it is visiting by bringing artists and their creative tools to new constituencies and audiences across a wide array of settings. NPN residencies support salaries, transportation, housing, per diem, and more. Residencies take place at NPN partners in 28 states and 42 cities across the U.S. Visit: http://npnweb.org/whatwedo/programs/performance-residency/.

NEW YORK: 2018 Women in Dance Leadership Conference is accepting choreography submissions by female choreographers to present their work at Jack Crystal Theatre of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Conference dates are January 11 - 13, 2018. Apply by June 30, 2017. Visit: www.womenindance.com

NEW YORK: HERE Arts Center supports the work of artists at all stages of their careers, as well as multidisciplinary work that does not fit into a conventional programming agenda. The SubletSeries@HERE Program supports 250 guest independent artists and groups. This creative curated rental program provides subsidized performance and rehearsal space, technical and administrative assistance, and a fully staffed box office. Now accepting online applications. Visit: http://here.org/programs/subletseries/

VIRGINIA: Radford University’s Department of Dance is looking for choreographers to work with dance majors on one choreographic project during the 2017 fall semester or 2018 spring semester, on either a new creation or a choreography selected from their own repertoire.DThe collaborative project will be presented in Radford’s annual Spring Dance Performance and possibly will represent the Department at the American College Dance Association’s (ACDA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference. Apply by July 1, 2017. Email with the subject as “Call for Choreographers”: dvbella@radford.edu

WASHINGTON, D.C.: As part of its Organizing Artists for Change initiative, Dance Exchange Institutes emphasize process and performance, dialogue and dance making, and the role of artists as change makers through innovative creative practices. Institute participants from the local region and across the globe will gather as leaders, innovators, movers, and thinkers. Anyone 18+ years of age is welcome. The program is divided into two sections: July 7 - 14, 2017 and July 16 - 23, 2017. Visit: http://danceexchange.org/2017-institutes/

INTERNATIONAL:

AUSTRALIA: Ausdance Peggy van Praagh Choreographic Fellowship is a biennial fellowship of $10,000 awarded to a mid-career choreographer (35 years and over). The fellowship supports choreographic development that advances the profession. Apply between June 1 and August 1, 2017. Visit: http://ausdance.org.au/projects/details/ausdance-peggy-van-praagh-choreographic-fellowship

AUSTRALIA: Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) offers national and international touring opportunities for Australian or New Zealand based contemporary performing arts groups and artists. While APAM champions and invests in Australian arts, it also provides a platform for artists and companies to present and pitch their work to key national and international presenters, producers, and peers. Apply by July 3, 2017 for showcase and pitch applications. Visit: https://www.performingartsmarket.com.au

AUSTRIA: Soup Residency for professional dance artists will run September 4 - 10, 2017.  Residents are invited to deliver a 3-hour session of their practice to fellow participants.

Program is limited to 6 residents. Visit: www.blipcollective.com

CANADA: From July 2 - 16, 2017, the Canada Dance Festival (CDF) will present a series of contemporary dance works at the National Arts Centre, Arts Court Theatre, and in unique spaces and non-traditional venues in Ottawa. Visit: http://canadadance.ca

CANADA: The Guelph Dance Festival celebrates its 19th season in 2017 with the best in Canadian contemporary dance presented in theatres, parks, and studio settings. The festival takes place from June 1 - 4, 2017. Watch: https://youtu.be/o4zHRC9DrR8

FRANCE: Fondation d'Entreprise Hermes calls for projects for the 8th edition of the New Settings Program, which is dedicated to the performing arts. Collaborations between stage artists and visual artists are encouraged. The premiere will be scheduled between January and December 2018. Projects can be from emerging or experienced professionals from national or international backgrounds. The program will support the production of selected projects and will offer performance dates in autumn 2018 around Paris. In addition, the Foundation will partner with the Alliance Française to present the New Settings projects at the Crossing the Line Festival in New York. Apply by July 1, 2017. Visit: http://www.fondationdentreprisehermes.org/Savoir-faire-et-creation/Arts-de-la-scene/Programme-New-Settings

FRANCE: Le Groupe des 20 Theatres in Île-de-France is launching a call for applications and will support a multi-faceted contemporary creation project. Criteria for eligibility: date of premiere must be in the 2018/2019 season, use of a minimum of two artistic disciplines, and the leader of the project must have completed at least two professional creations. Open to national and international companies. Support includes a coproduction budget of 20,000 euros, tour dates of up to 15 performances, residency for creation, and presentation of the project at the Plateaux du Group des 20 Théâtres on November 29 & 30, 2017. Apply by June 8, 2017. Visit: http://www.groupedes20theatres.fr

GERMANY: Dancers, choreographers, filmmakers and artists are invited to apply with dance short films and dance animations for this year's edition of POOL Festival held from October 4 -7, 2017 at Berlin's DOCK 11. Films should be no longer than 30 minutes. Apply by July 17, 2017. Visit: http://www.pool-festival.de/#OC_english

GERMANY: As part of the 27th edition of euro-scene Leipzig Festival of contemporary European theatre and dance, professionals as well as amateurs are invited to participate in a competition looking for the best German dance solo -- a 5-minute piece to be presented on a round table of 7 meters in diameter. Apply by August 25, 2017. The festival program will be available online as of early July 2017. Visit: http://www.euro-scene.de/v2/en/festivals/2017/programm/uebersicht/ankuendigung-im-fruehjahr.php

GERMANY: Künstlerhaus Lukas, located in Northern Germany on the coast of the Baltic Sea, invites artists of any genre, including choreography & performance, to apply for a residence scholarship for the years 2018/19. Application is open to artists of any age residing in Germany or any country bordering the Baltic Sea (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark) as well as Norway, Iceland, and the UK. Apply by July 31, 2017. Visit: http://www.kuenstlerhaus-lukas.de/englisch/index1.php?Scholarships

GERMANY: From September 1 - 30, 2017, Frankfurt LAB -- a rehearsal and performance space for experimental work in the performing arts -- offers two residencies. Apply by June 10, 2017. Visit: http://www.frankfurtlab.de/en/programme/detail/frankfurt_lab_residencies.html

GERMANY: MeetShareDance is a participatory dance festival that aims to create and promote an international dance network for individuals or groups that are working with dance and disability. The festival is based on a philosophy of inter-exchange, promoting the exchange of knowledge and experience through workshops. Running August 24 - 26, 2017. Apply by August 10, 2017. Visit: https://goo.gl/forms/UrESpEvDCMSSEfqC2

GERMANY: Joint Adventures is inviting choreographers, dancers, and film/multi-media artists to develop new aesthetic approaches and visual languages for choreography and film in a 60-second format. Apply by June 30, 2017. Visit: www.choreooo.org

GERMANY: Lucky Trimmer is a festival that provides regional and international choreographers with a platform to present their newest ideas as short pieces up to 10 minutes in length. The festival is accepting applications for artistic projects that embody the “LUCKY spirit.” Ideas should incorporate physicality, movement, or performance, and must showcase how art’s social dimension can address cultural responsiveness and responsibility. Apply by June 23, 2017. Selectees will be invited to present their projects at the Lucky Summit #9 in Berlin in 2018. Visit: www.luckytrimmer.com

GERMANY: Young and emerging street dance and industrial choreographers are invited to apply for the international Urban Dance Camp (UDC). UDC 2017 offers more than 160 classes from July 15 - August 30, 2017. Visit: http://www.urbandance.eu/camp/

ITALY: OpenFLR 2017 is an intensive dance lab in which three internationally acclaimed choreographers and OpenFLR Young Talent Dorotea Saykaly will work with recent graduates and professional dancers for two weeks. Each choreographer will devise a new piece for the participants that will be presented in a theatre in Florence on July 23, 2017. Open to the public. Apply by June 18, 2017. Visit:  http://openflr.net/

ITALY: Choreographers of all ages, nationalities, and genres are welcome to apply for the Glosoli International Residency for Artists in Torino. Glosoli offers a space for artists, different art forms, dance, and Afro-contemporary dance in particular. Glosoli is especially interested in the connection between art and nature, assisting residents in finding wonderful locations and inspiration for original art work. Presentation of artists’ work is arranged on a case-by-case basis. Visit: http://robertatirassa.wix.com/ivreaartresidency#!about2/cfah

SPAIN: Festival Hop 2017 is currently accepting submissions. The festival is a platform for research, creation, exhibition, and diffusion that urban dancers have as a meeting point for developing and exhibiting their artistic works. Apply by July 15, 2017. Visit: http://elgenerador.org/open-call-festival-hop-2017/

SPAIN: Festival AGITART presents its 2nd summer workshop series hosting international guest teachers. During the festival, participants will convene to take morning classes based on a wide variety of techniques and to participate in longer workshops based on the works of international workshop leaders. The festival runs July 3 - 8, 2017. Apply by June 15, 2017.

Visit: http://www.agitartcompanyia.com/festival/workshops/ 

TAIWAN: The Taipei Artist Village and the Treasure Hill Artist Village offer residency opportunities for innovative makers of visual art, music, literature, and performance, while fostering artistic and cultural exchange between Taiwan and the rest of the world. The artistic villages are secluded by a serene garden, but are located within the vibrant City of Taipei. Housing 10 residents for 8 to 12 weeks, the program is open to U.S. and non-U.S. artists and includes use of studio and media equipment. Apply by June 9, 2017. Email: air@artistvillage.org Visit: www.artistvillage.org

NEW CHOREOGRAPHY, WORLD PREMIERES, EVENTS, & NEWS:

NATIONAL:

MASSACHUSETTS: Jacob’s Pillow will open its 85th Anniversary Festival Season from June 17 - August 27, 2017. This year’s festival includes Miami City Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, UK-based artist Aakash Odedra, 2016 Jacob’s Pillow Dance award recipient Camille A. Brown, and Japanese-born artist Eiko Otake. Visit: http://jacobspillow.org/

NORTH CAROLINA: American Dance Festival 2017 will host a workshop led by internationally renowned dance company Pilobolus on June 10, 2017. The class will teach the creative process and shadow-making techniques. Visit: http://www.americandancefestival.org/events/pilobolus-shadow-workshop-for-adults/

INTERNATIONAL:

GERMANY: As part of the Ruhrtriennale 2017 Festival (August 18 - September 30, 2017), Richard Siegal will present his completed Ruhrtriennale trilogy as one magnum opus, touching on both contemporary political discourses and issues of identity. The productions created in the two previous seasons -- Model from 2015 and In Medias Res from 2016 -- will be reworked and flow directly into the new production El Dorado. Opens August 25, 2017 at PACT Zollverein in Essen. Visit: https://www.ruhrtriennale.de/en/program/three-stages-model-medias-res-el-dorado

GERMANY: Stuttgart Ballet's choreographer in residence Marco Goecke will present his new creation Kafka at Stuttgart Opera. Revolving around both the author's work and life, the world premiere on June 30, 2017 will be followed by additional performances in July. Visit: https://www.stuttgart-ballet.de/schedule/2017-06-30/kafka/

GERMANY: German choreographer Sasha Waltz has been working with artist and fashion designer Iris van Herpen and light designer Urs Schönebaum to create a new piece. Dance, costumes and light are the main elements of this new work, which Sasha Waltz has developed with 14 dancers from her company. The piece will open in Berlin at Radialsystem V on June 9, 2017. Visit: http://www.radialsystem.de/rebrush/rs-programme-monatsuebersicht_neu.php?id_event_date=14628436&language=en_EN

SWEDEN: Forceful Feelings presents The Show, a unique concept of the ballet gala with stars of Royal Swedish Ballet, Bavarian State Ballet and State Ballet Berlin. Features works by Mats Ek, Nacho Duato, Jiri Bubenicek, Arsen Mehrabyan, and more. Performance is on June 20, 2017. Visit: http://www.forcefulfeelings.com/index.php/de/

TRENDING:

Renowned Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s newly released Odessa, created for the New York City Ballet, has sparked controversy based upon a sequence evolving into a cluster of men tossing a woman into the air.

Dance writer Siobhan Burke, in The New York Times, objects to what she interprets as a gang rape, which she connects to a legacy of objectifying women in ballet. She refers to the scene as a portrayal of a woman being physically violated, with essentially no consequences, no resolution, no critique of the men’s actions or of their unresolved nature.  

Times critic Alistair Macaulay also points to “moments of personal violence” in the piece --  there are slaps, shoves, and tumbles too -- but adds that “here and there, you also glimpse their souls.”

Siobhan Burke’s disappointment with “Odessa” led her to post a photo on Instagram with the caption “no more gang rape scenes in ballets, please.” The photo was of her face, looking directly at the camera, wearing what she refers to as an “over it” kind of expression. 

Her posting prompted an expansive thread of comments, including Alastair Macaulay, who had reviewed “Odessa” for The New York Times. He asked whether Siobhan Burke’s call for “no more” was a call for censorship: “Must works of art only depict people behaving correctly?”

“The answer, of course, is no,” replies Burke.  She continues, “If artists want to deal with rape, gang or otherwise, as subject matter, they should, as they should grapple with any difficult issue. But they must really deal with it: Say something. Don’t just toss it in as one more incidental plot twist, one more exquisite thing to behold. Acknowledge its urgency, its complexity and the fact that to many in the audience, it may not be so abstract.”

Alastair Macaulay:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/05/arts/for-the-couples-in-this-alexei-ratmansky-ballet-love-is-not-enough.html?_r=0

Siobhan Burke:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/arts/dance/no-more-gang-rape-scenes-in-ballets-please.html

Link to Instagram Conversation:  https://www.instagram.com/p/BTzzPekhDvd/

Alexander Kafka on “Odessa”:

https://dctheatrescene.com/2017/06/07/ny-city-ballet-balanchine-peck-ratmansky-review/

Ivy Lin on “Odessa”:

http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/05/spring-gala-new-ratmansky-old-gala.html

Video Excerpt from “Odessa”: (Does Not Include Controversial Scene):

https://www.nycballet.com/Ballets/N/New-Ratmansky.aspx

Kouhei Nakama's digital choreography with virtual cast – no physical presence needed?

Behold the latest video from art director Kouhei Nakama who uses a variety of generative and particle-based animation techniques to bring 3D figures to life in this motion graphics short aptly titled MAKIN’ MOVES. The Japanese Kouhei Nakama is a Visual Art Director, working at WOW inc. 

Video Sample:

https://vimeo.com/218597363

Kika Nicolela's Transdisciplinarity:  Site Specific Moving Body in Video as an Art

Installation! 

Kika Nicolela is interested in the encounter with “the other,” mediated by the camera -- mostly the video camera. Her works often involve participative methods, engaging communities in the creative process, as well as collaboration with other artists and performers.

She assimilates both fictional and documentary aspects in her moving image works, fabricating a space of fluctuation and indeterminacy in which borders and opposed binaries become incongruous. This ambivalence in the moving image is what she is searching for: works that produce a real experience of the very ambiguity of our own subjectivity and of the real.

Having graduated in Film and Video from the University of São Paolo, Kika Nicolela has also completed a Master of Fine Arts at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHDK). She was nominated for the international award EXTRACT – Young Art Prize in 2014, and she was the recipient of several prominent Brazilian grants and awards, such as the FUNARTE Award to Contemporary Art.

Her latest work ENTRE-TEMPS // exhibition documentation was presented at The Jewish Museum of Brussels in May of 2016. Watch: https://vimeo.com/174224133

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES:

NATIONAL:

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Dance Exchange’s summer training institute features innovative creative practices and boundary-breaking dance making opportunities. Institute participants from the greater Washington, D.C. region and across the globe gather as leaders, innovators, movers, and thinkers in a multi-generational collective intent on deeply engaging with the community. Open to dancers, dance makers, and those interested in moving and community who are 18 years old and up. Program runs from July 7 - 14, 2017 and July 16 - 23, 2017.

Visit: http://danceexchange.org/2017-institutes/

INTERNATIONAL:

FRANCE: For the first time ever, La Fabrique de la Danse is introducing a new kind of Summer Intensive in Paris tailored to the needs of international choreographers. During this workshop, you will explore your choreographic process with Christine Bastin, Artistic Director of La Fabrique de la Danse. You will also learn about Lighting with Emmanuelle Stäuble, who has been a technical director for more than 20 years. The intensive will take place from July 24 - 29, 2017. Apply by June 16, 2017. Contact: Lucie Mariotto, formations@lafabriquedeladanse.fr

Visit: http://www.lafabriquedeladanse.fr/evenements/the-first-choreographic-summer-lab-in-paris-by-fabrique-de-danse/

GERMANY: Tanzwerkstatt Europa offers a diverse and high-class workshop program. Renowned teachers and choreographers from Munich and the world will hold workshops and choreographic labs from August 2 - 12, 2017. Visit: http://www.jointadventures.net/en/tanzwerkstatt-europa/workshops.htm

INDIA: Attakkalari is a study program for young dancers and choreographers which culminates in a one-year diploma in movement arts and mixed media. The program contains regular technique classes in contemporary dance, Indian traditional movement, and ballet, among other genres, plus brief modules focusing on specific elements of production. 

Visit: http://www.attakkalari.org/index.php?page=attakkalari-diploma

ITALY: Senza Confini Di Pelle is offering a residential workshop on dance and perception.  Located in the natural setting of the island of Stromboli, the workshop will focus on sensorial perception. The four base elements (air, water, earth, fire) will be the core of the study. Dance, theatre, and yoga techniques will be used during the workshop. Offered June 21 - 26, 2017. Visit: www.senzaconfinidipelle.com

NETHERLANDS: Improvisation Summer Course Amsterdam takes place from July 24 -August 20, 2017. The course provides a platform for musicians, vocalists, actors, dancers, and performance artists to engage in intensive study alongside weekend performance events so that they can re-consider and re-present real time performance in our ever-evolving times. Visit: http://katieduck.com/workshops/magpie-improvisation-summer-course-amsterdam/

SPAIN: Estancias Coreográficas Workshop is a meeting point for dance artists, researchers, dancers, and choreographers that aims to drive artistic creation and exchange. The workshop will run from July 31 - August 15, 2017. Visit: http://www.estanciascoreograficas.com/#home

SPAIN: Summer Intensive Creative Dance Workshops “Drawing in the Wild” will take place in the open air on a specially built platform and consist of a morning contemporary based class of 2 hours and an evening creative dance workshop. The workshops dates are July 17 - 22, July 24 - 29, August 7 - 12 and August 14 - 19, 2017. Visit: www.robertpooledance.com

COMPETITIONS:

GERMANY: Choreographers, dancers, and film and multi-media artists from throughout the world are invited to develop new aesthetic approaches and visual languages for choreography and film in a 60 second format. Apply by June 30, 2017 for the 9th International Choreographic Captures Competition. Visit: http://www.jointadventures.net/en/choreographic-captures.html

NEW VIDEOS ON CHOREOGRAPHY & CHOREOGRAPHERS:

Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan offers an intimate portrait of prima ballerina Wendy Whelan as she prepares to leave New York City Ballet after a record-setting three decades with the company. Produced and directed by Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger, the documentary was released on May 23, 2017.

Restless Creature is also a dance project for which Wendy chose four young choreographers -- Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Bryan Brooks, and Alejandro Cerrudo -- each of whom created a duet for himself and Wendy. All four are presented in a single program that shows Wendy’s incredible range and uncanny ability to absorb and communicate challenging choreographic languages. Restless Creature premiered at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts in August 2013 and will be performed in the future.

TRAILER:

https://www.nytimes.com/video/movies/100000005107168/trailer-restless-creature-wendy-whelan.html

MORE INFORMATION:

https://www.restlesscreaturefilm.com

NEW BOOKS ON CHOREOGRAPHY & CHOREOGRAPHERS:

Ralph Lemon MoMA Dance (Modern Dance), August 23, 2016, by Thomas Lax, Ralph Lemon, Doryun Chong, Adrienne Edwards, Saidiya Hartman, Deborah Jowitt, and André Lepecki

Ralph Lemon (born 1952) is one of the most significant figures to emerge from New York’s downtown dance and performance world in the past 40 years. A polymath and shape-shifter, Lemon combines dance and theater with drawing, film, writing, and ethnography in works presented on stage, in publications, and in museums. Lemon’s genre-transcending works perform an alchemy of past and present, reality and fantasy.

MoMA Modern Dance is a series of monographs exploring dance makers in the 21st century. Each volume focuses on a single choreographer, presenting a rich collection of newly commissioned texts, along with a definitive catalogue of the artist’s projects.

This book, the first monograph on the artist, features a wide range of texts by scholars and performers, an original photo essay by Lemon, and an extensive chronology.

https://www.amazon.com/Ralph-Lemon-MoMA-Dance-Modern/dp/1633450074

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WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS MONTH’S ISSUE AND THAT YOU FIND OUR RESOURCES VALUABLE AND HELPFUL.

KEEP CHOREOGRAPHING -- MOVE DANCE FORWARD!

INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM FOR ADVANCEMENT IN CHOREOGRAPHY, INC.

Dance ICONS -- The Global Network for Choreographers!

Vladimir Angelov, Founding Director | Asami Seki, Executive Assistant

Camilla Acquista, Content Editor | Theo Kossenas, Director of Web Development

We are thankful to all of our amazing Dance ICONS Global Representatives, especially:

Christina Nikolaidis-Strommer (Austria), Elizabeth Gahl (France), Althea Skinner (Brazil), Marc Staudacher (Germany), Maya Zhalova (India), and Atanas Maev (Bulgaria)