Today we had the pleasure of welcoming Jeff back into the studio (at least for the moment!) He is in between projects with Noemie LaFrance, and we take him any time we can get him!
At the end of rehearsal we watched the footage from the “Pelleas et Melisande” premiere and it made me so inspired to get back to work on the re-staging of it. It’s good to feel that… A positive push to make the better parts better and to change the parts that didnt work so well. I know the feeling when I see something of mine and I just feel like “that’s just not good Kate, let that one go”. But there is something strangely fascinating to me about Pelleas. I just can’t wait to dig back in.
Still searching for the score for what will be the other new piece of the season. Just have not found it yet. But it will surely come.
Anyway, today really was great. It occurred to me that Jeff, Lynn and I have now danced with each other for a decade. We met freshman year at Purchase in 1998. Definitely a special thing to have moved with someone over time.
This is one of the posters starting appear around the city (this one at 5th Ave N/R/W train stop). This is a great event at City Center (all tickets $10!!!) The shows are in Sept. Everything from Shen Wei, ABT, Cunningham, to Oregon Ballet Theater and much much more. A great mix, the right price, and a SUPERB venue. One of these days, we hope SYREN will get on the bill! In the meantime, we are enthusiastic supporters.
Lynn and I have been back in the studio… Just “jamming” right now. Doing a bit of barre together, then she teaches me some new class excercises and combinations she has been creating…which feels great to be told what to do a bit! This week we did a pretty long imrov together to some Brahams mostly (Sonatos for Cello and piano Opp. 38, 99 and 108… and some work by James Newton Howard). Felt AWESOME to just move that BIG and free! Can’t believe we will be in studio with new company members in a few weeks re-staging “Pelleas” and getting “Abravanel” back up and running (we just booked a gig at Ethel Walker School in CT for November) and “Dig” excerpts ready for DanceNow Festival at DTW. Oh and somewhere in that I am starting a new piece for the company that we are trying to have the Artemis Chamber Ensemble play live for!!! So so excited.
And, I have yet to see a copy, but I hear there is a little mention of us in Dance Spirit Magazine for September. Page 150 to be exact!
Lots of really great stuff… But for the 3 hours in the studio, it sure did feel good to forget about running a company and remember where this whole thing started… Just dancing in a studio with Lynn…
SYREN held its first open call last month at City Center. It was alot of fun, we taught phrasework from “Abravanel” and “Dig” as well leading some improvisation. Lynn and I met a TON of really talented dancers. We were blown away by ther talent and joked about how we need to start making work for 100 people!
As it stands, we only needed five! After quite the week of auditions and callbacks, we hired the lovely and talented Aleyse Bradford, Heidi D’Alessandro, Chanelle Lagacé, Brigitte Mitchell, and the very handsome Quincy Junor.
We are really excited to get back into the studio! The first thing on the calendar is the Dancenow NYC festival. We are performing excerpts of “Dig” at DTW, so the company will be back in the studio beginning in September. That gives Lynn and I some more time to keep going with these grant deadlines and foundation proposals. Its a tough nut to crack… funding from the city and state. But with the help of some outstanding feedback from a few different sources, we are hoping that this is the year we break though a bit more from a grant perspective.
We are thrilled to begin our residency next month awarded by DTW. The Outer Space Grant allows us to rehearse in Long Island City’s beautiful Greenspace studio for a generous number of hours for free. WAHOO!!!
Pentacle also approached us recently about representation in their Gallery, which is really great for the company. More visibility and more possibility…
One step at a time.. For the moment we are just thrilled with the new talented dancers on board for the journey!
Well, we started off this morning with rehearsal at Barishnikov, and after a scheduling snafu, they ended up letting us rehearse on their stage. The studios upstairs (where we usually are when we rehearse there) are so big and bright, so it wasn’t what we were expecting, but it turned out to be a great pre-tech rehearsal after all. Then we all hopped on the 2 train up to Symphony Space and worked with great, calm, informed, professional tech crew and everything fell nicely into place! The excerpts looked great on stage (if I do say so myself!) and the company is excited to perform on Saturday!
I have to fix a snap on Bryan’s “skirt”….me and needles don’t get along all that well, but we don’t exactly have a costume designer “on call” (YET!) so me and my fingers better get to work! Then back to my day job tomorrow and then Saturday morning is a performance day..and that’s what its all about.
The chance to share our work.
I hope some of you New York based wingers can make it!
They still have tickets available, and SYREN is in the 7pm slot, actually we open, so we will RIGHT at 7pm!
We are at work getting some excerpts of “Dig” up and running for this weekend’s Dance Sampler at Symphony Space. We are doing four sections and I am thrilled to be putting some of the piece back together. We have a new male dancer working with us (Bryan Campbell) and its great to work with the material on someone who was outside the creative process. It definitely brings a fresh sense to things.
Handel’s score “Israel in Egypt” is breathaking and filled with dynamic shifts and intricate rhythms. It is pure joy to create and rehearse movement to music so alive!
Maybe someday we can do it with a live orchestra and chorus… well, a few grants down the line I guess
;)
These are two clips from rehearsal Thursday at Greenspace.
Come see SYREN in the flesh at Symphony Space on Saturday!
We are in the 7pm slot
