Rules Of The Game

ROG_Family

Enforced Arch founder, James Koroni has been invited by Jonah Bokaer, media artist and choreographer to participate in Rules Of The Game. This past month Koroni traveled to Dallas, TX and had the pleasure of dancing with some of the most talented dancers from around the world: Sara Procopio, James McGinn, Elisabetta Rollo, Szabi Pataki, Laura Gutierrez, Callie Lyons & Albert Drake. Here's is the formal announcement from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra:

RULES OF THE GAME

JONAH BOKAER X DANIEL ARSHAM

A NEW CHOREOGRAPHY BY JONAH BOKAER WITH SCENOGRAPHY BY DANIEL ARSHAM AND ORIGINAL MUSIC BY PHARRELL WILLIAMS

Collaborators

WORLD PREMIERE AT THE NANCY A. NASHER AND DAVID HAEMISSEGER FAMILY

SOLUNA INTERNATIONAL MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL ON MAY 17, 2016 IN DALLAS, TX

At Chez Bushwick’s annual gala honoring Daniel Arsham, Rules Of The Game, a new collaborative, performance project was announced. The piece is a partnership between choreographer Jonah Bokaer and his dancers, visual artist Daniel Arsham, and an original score by Pharrell Williamsperformed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Rules Of The Game will have its world premiere in Dallas on May 17, 2016, at the Winspear Opera House as part of SOLUNA International Music & Arts Festival. Rules Of The Game will be the first collaboration between Arsham, Bokaer and Williams, collectively.

Rules Of The Game, a multidisciplinary work for eight dancers, is currently being developed. The music by Williams represents his first composition for live dance and theater. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra will provide the live accompaniment at the premiere.

“This collaboration is something that we have worked on for a long time,” said Anna-Sophia van Zweden, Director of Festival Advancement for SOLUNA. “We wanted to bring Daniel and Jonah to SOLUNA, and in our conversations, this project emerged. We are thrilled to present the world premiere performance of this work and to have the Dallas Symphony Orchestra perform original orchestral music by Pharrell.”

“I am excited to be working again with Jonah and Pharrell,” said Arsham. “We are currently in production, developing the concepts for the score and scenography, so it will be interesting to see how the piece changes shape over the coming months and to see its premiere at SOLUNA.”

Arsham has been designing and building sets since 2007, when he was commissioned by legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham to create the stage design for his work eyeSpace. His collaborations with Bokaer, who he met through Cunningham’s company, began in 2007, and over the past eight years, the duo have created a unique scenic language exploring themes of spatial reorientation and the perceived passage of time. Arsham and Williams have collaborated, beginning in 2013, when he cast Williams’ Casio MT500 keyboard, a formative part of his musical development, in volcanic ash, crystal and steel. The following year, Arsham cast Williams’ entire body for GIRL, Williams’ curatorial debut at Galerie Perrotin. The gallery represents Arsham, and has collaborated in the past with both Williams and Bokaer.

More information to follow. Tickets for the performance will be available later this year.

Neither

Jonah Bokaer Neither Hudson Workshop September 2015-2944

© William Nadylam took this picture during the Open Rehearsal at the Second Ward Foundation in Hudson this summer. (Photographed, James Koroni)

James Koroni has been invited by media artist and choreographer Jonah Bokaer, to participate in a staging of Morton Feldman & Samuel Beckett's NEITHER.

In Jonah Bokaer's words:

NEITHER is the encounter between modern composer Morton Feldman, and the avant-garde writer, playwright, and poet Samuel Beckett. It is their only opera, a 1-hour Monodrama work in 1 Act. It is a very unique musical score, with only 86 words of libretto.

I have been researching the production for 8 years, and I will direct and choreograph it in my own way, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Jonah Bokaer_Neither

© William Nadylam took this picture during the Open Rehearsal at the Second Ward Foundation in Hudson this summer. (Photographed, James Koroni & Faris Al-Shathir)

At the moment Neither is still in residency. A performance schedule will be posted soon.

For more information about Jonah Bokaer, visit: http://jonahbokaer.net/

Four Women

Four Women, Jonah Bokaer During the Holocaust, four women lost their lives after an attempt to revolt against the Natzi's: Róa Robota, Estera Wajcblum, Regina Szafirsztajn, Ala Gernter. By smuggling gunpowder under their nail beds and in the bodies of their murdered friends they were able to help destroy Crematorium IV on Oct 7th, 1944. Somehow their heroic venture was not recognized in history books.

The world premiere of choreographer Jonah Bokaer's "Four Women," a dance/film installation inspired by four women who were hanged for their participation in an attempted rebellion against the Natzi's on October 7, 1944 at Auschwitz, opened at the Center for Jewish History on October 7. This film is part of an exhibition entitled "October 7, 1944," which takes place within the Popper Gallery at the Center for Jewish History. Details:

"October 7, 1944" is open to the public Monday, 5pm-8pm, Wednesday, 11am-8pm; and Friday, 11am-2:30pm. The exhibition closes December 30.

Tickets: Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday are $8.00 for adults, and $6.00 for seniors and students. Monday, Wednesday(5pm-8pm) and Friday free.

The Popper Gallery is located at the Center for Jewish History in New York City, 15 West 16th Street.

Jonah_BokaerJonah Bokaer has cultivated a new form of a choreography with a structure that relies on visual art and design. He ultimately aims to transform notions of how the public views and understands dance.

Bokaer was born to Tunisian and American parents, and has been active as a choreographer since 2002. He has created over 55 works in a wide range of mediums, such as film, opera, app, and instillation, in a variety of venues, ranging from stages, to museums and galleries. He works internationally, exhibiting and touring worldwide.

Bokaer has created works within museum spaces that live between choreography, visual art, and moving images.

This approach to art making has been acknowledged by museums such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, PS1 MoMA, The New Museum, The Museum of Arts & Design, MASS MoCA, Miami MOCA, MAC Marseille, IVAM Valencia, Palazzo Delle Arti Napoli, Kunsthalle St. Gallen, SCAD Museum of Art, Ludwig Museum of Budapest, MUDAM Luxembourg, along with many others.

A few of Bokaer’s frequent collaborators are Daniel Arsham (2007-Present), Anne Carson, Richard Chai, Merce Cunningham, Anthony McCall, Abbott Miller, Tino Sehgal, Robert Wilson (2007-Present), along with other leading innovators in mediums such as performance, visual art, literature, and design.