Austerlund

Super talented dancer/choreographer Jonathan Fredrickson showed off his company, Austerlund, last week as part of the Puleio Dance Festival.  Dancing excerpts from his piece, The Edge of Some World, the company performed exquisite, full-bodied movement laced with emotion.  Jonathan has created a world (as the title suggests) with it's own internal logic; deeply relatable, but not quite human.  If you didn't get a chance to check out his work, have no fear; Jonathan will show the full version of the piece this fall.  More photos from Jonathan's tech rehearsal are available at my Flickr page.

dance photo week

Last week I photographed the works of Catherine Miller, Sasha Soreff, HeJin Jang, and Joanna Kotze. Four talented female choreographers, four completely different works.

Catherine Miller is presenting "Juliet Looks to the West", danced by the beautiful dancers Logan Kruger and Reid Bartlme The piece is being presented by the Propel-her Dance Collective at the Cunningham Studio Theatre May 28th & 29th at 9pm and Saturday May 30th at 8pm. For tickets and info email propelherdance@gmail.com. More photos from Catherine's rehearsal are available at my Flickr page.

Sasha Soreff will be holding an open rehearsal Friday May 29th at One Arm Red 6:30-8:30 pm 10 Jay Street, Suite 903A Brooklyn NY. The space is amazing, right on the water and near Jacques Torres! You can also participate in the creation of the piece which will be presented in it's entirety Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater. Again, photos from Sasha's rehearsal are up at my Flickr page.

Joanna Kotze and Hejin Jang presented works at Judson Church on Monday. I can't wait to see more of them! I was lucky enough to get photos of Joanna's piece and of HeJin's piece.

9 questions for HeJin Jang

Dancer/Choreographer HeJin Jang is the first person to respond to 9 questions. Here's what she had to say.

1. How would you describe the piece you are currently working on?

   I am currently interested in use of silence and its politics. Paged/staged/wakeful/watchful/improvised/calculated silence…….Silence that is the other side of sound and image…..

2. What inspired you to create this piece?

   When my silence got read by others, their voice came unstitched over mine. I was very upset. And the only thing I could do about it was dancing. I have tried to back up those words through my body.

3. Where does this piece fit into your overall body of work? Is it more similar or dissimilar to the rest of your work? How?

   I will say this work was inspired by what the previous piece made me forget and remember.

4. What significant shifts in your work or creative process have you seen over time? Why do you think those shifts occurred?

   Creating works became more like carving. I start with various materials and ideas and then start to carve it out. In other words, “empty” it out. It is not just a editing. Even if I cut some out, it is all imprinted in my body. I try to share those invisible left-overs with audience.

5. Why do you choose to express yourself with dance?

   It is because “Embodiment” is louder than my words. I get to forget and re-member through dance.

6. What about today's environment feeds your work? What are your favorite things about dancing now? What do you find the most challenging?

   I like talking about works over coffee. Or, I like have dances to talk to each other. I appreciate draft works and its informal showing with discussion in today’s dance scene. I also like writing about my work and its process. What I am interested in is “performative writing,” and it helps me to go deeper in dance. Both talking and writing about works could be most challenging as well.

7. What is your happiest dance memory?

   I don’t know whether I am “happy” dancing or making dance. I always go though hard times emotionally when make works. But, I do know there is a reason for that place. I guess just believing in dance makes me happy.

8. What do you do on a daily basis to support your choreography?

   Moving and Thinking are not two distinct things. As we move, we think. As we think, we move. I guess I am trying to think in depth in every day life to support my work. It is to enable “bodily thinking”

9. If you were interviewing yourself, what would you ask?

   “What do you think is the reason for you that you just have to keep on keeping on with dance in spite of?”

Check out HeJin's work this Monday May 11th at Judson Church and see more photos of her work in rehearsal here