An Economic Cycle: Intro, Erin Lindsay

I had lunch at Jivamukti Cafe with Erin Lindsay to discuss her recent project, An Economic Cycle (AEC). Her event turned out to be a beautiful evening of sculpture, community and dance. AEC explores an artists careful attempt to transform an abandoned riverside landfill into the now beautiful Socrates Sculpture Park and breaks it down into 9 smaller parts. Socrates Sculpture Park has seen a great deal in the past 25 years. Before it's birth, you would have seen an abandoned riverside landfill and illegal dump site where there was reported criminal activity. This wasteland left little room for safe, communities where children could explore and develop their personal identities. Erin spoke of a man named Mark di Survero who led a coalition of artists in 1986 to develop this piece of land and turn it into an open studio and exhibition space for artists and a neighborhood park for local residents.

AEC Mission Statement:

Artists are humble. They reach out to the industrious society for reclamation and in return; justify the cause of giving back through their ability of creative expression. When industry fails and society begins to landslide. When the economic struggle has set in and innovation begins to lessen; the arts will in fact stand. A garden will be planted where a landfill once lingered. We will change the lives of others and a void that once was; will be diminished. The arts will give back when hope has been lost.

Erin developed a 9 part series which illustrates this transformation, performed by 9 different dance companies. More to come, check back with Enforced Arch as we explore each step of Erin Lindsay's interpretation of An Economic Cycle!

Love Art Japan

DoubleTake Dance in association with the Peridance Capezio Center proudly present LOVE ART JAPAN, a show to raise funds for Japan.

James Koroni's Birthday & Fundraiser

Our fundraising event on Tuesday evening went brilliantly. The turn out was outstanding! A crowd made up of friends, family, artists, activists, fashion industry professionals, dancers, choreographers, Clara Lofaro fans and of course the lure of Bettina May topped it all off! I could not have had a more splendid time. A special thanks you to all those involved including: Bettina May , dough-nut stop till you get enough!

Clara Lofaro accompanied by Andrea Torres on Taps!

Lauren Cox & myself performing 'Please, Don't Touch' with Marlena Pavich's Anti-Fur pants!

Verite Catering

The West Cafe in Williamsburg

Thank you to Cocoa V, Blossom Du Jour, Bettina May's PinUp Class, Foodswings, Tracey Katof, Bud Burdick, Carly Fox Horton, Joshua Katcher, Vaute Couture and of course thank you for being in attendance!

As for the fundraiser element, we raised just enough to send one dancer to Paris which means there is still more outreach to be done. We have created an IndieGoGo web page. If you know anyone that might be interested in our cause please send the following link their way:

http://www.indiegogo.com/Please-Dont-Touch

Here is the launch of our video:

‘Please, Don’t Touch’ focuses energy on a topic that sits at the intersection of social justice, ecology and design. Our ultimate goal is to to become effective conduits for empathy and creative tools for change. Through the use of live performance, transmedia and personal interaction, this project will impact the heavily guarded perceptions of fur iconography by shedding light on what isn’t revealed behind the glitz and glamor.

"Kill" the Paso Doble, Pass Killing the Bull

"In this dance Marko is gonna be a Matador. Who's gonna be going to fight the Bull and obviously kill the bull."-Dmitry Chaplin

"I am an animal activist so I am out to stop him!" -Janette Manrara

Last week on So You Think You Can Dance Janette Manrara, through Dmitry Chaplin's choreography, expressed compassion for animals and a disinterest in Bull Fighting. Why would one kill a bull? To proclaim masculinity, dominion over animals or for sport? Historically speaking, man would kill the beast to show superior intelligence or to establish power over their environment. Centuries later, in our modern culture, is it necessary to torture animals to establish and satisfy our egos? We don't need to abandon the rich history of our relationship to the environment. There is already an alternative form of art that is more of a spectacle and requires no killing. The Paso Doble is graceful and respectful to all parties involved. It represents our relationship with the "beast" yet requires no brutality and is absolutely breathtaking for the eyes to behold. Especially in this performance by choreographer Dmitry Chaplin with dancers Janette Manrara and Marko Germar! See for yourself:

A 2002 Gallup poll found that 68.8% of Spaniards express "no interest" in bullfighting while 20.6% expressed "some interest" and 10.4% "a lot of interest". (source) If an overwhelming amount of Spaniards have no interest in Bull Fighting then why does it still exist? For more info, click here!

Help Enforced Arch get an interview with Janette Manrara by LIKEing her Facebook page and telling her how much you want to see her join the compassionate 'Movers!'

Life Skills Through Dance, Part 1: Intro

Samantha Yu embodies the power and beauty of dance. She sees beyond social boundaries and creates opportunities to inspire others. This past summer she spent her time teaching in a rural village south of Chennai as a volunteer for Promethean Spark. Promethean Spark, in conjunction with Rising Star Outreach, helps individuals who have, and are affected by, leprosy by providing opportunities for education and offering medical treatment. As a temporary faculty member of the Perry School for Rising Stars, she lead leprosy affected children through a series of dance warm-ups and exercises in order to teach them important life lessons. She gives an example, A lesson in spotting quickly turns into a lesson in keeping your eye on your goal. Stretching every day translates into working on big projects a little bit at a time.

In addition to teaching these important lessons she entered two leprosy colonies in order to introduce movement therapy programs to those who have been shunned and neglected for most of their lives.

More to come...

Follow her experiences here: SammDances.tumblr