Archive for musicians
February 3, 2008 at 5:07 pm · Filed under dance, new york city ballet, musicians, teaching, kyra nichols, kyra, ashley bathgate, carnegie hall
Dear Winger readers, since retiring from New York City Ballet I’ve been enjoying my home life, and coaching some young dancers. I’m thrilled to tell you that an artist that in some small way I may have helped inspire will be having a big performance this coming week. But she’s not a dancer!
In 1991, when I was in Saratoga Springs for New York City Ballet’s summer season, our neighbors in the condo we rented had a 6 year old daughter, Ashley. We got to know Ashley and her parents and later that summer when I was asked to present the trophy for the Ballerina Stakes Race I brought Ashley along. That’s her in the white hat in the photo.
Every summer we spent time with Ashley and her folks. Ashley developed a passion for softball but made an important decision about her lifestyle early on. She told her Dad that she wanted to “live like Kyra” which meant sleeping until 10 am, (this was before I had children) hanging out in the theater much of the day and having dinner at midnight. Ashley didn’t have any particular interest in dance, but she did like the lifestyle…
Somewhere during her childhood Ashley took up the cello. There was a difficult point when she had to make a choice between cello and softball… and cello won.
The picture below is Ashley today…
Ashley apparently made the right choice. 17 years later she is finishing the Yale School of Music graduate program and making her Carnegie Hall debut. Her concert is in Weill Recital Hall on February 9th at 8:30 pm.
I’d like to think that over the course of my career I might have inspired some people to take up dance, or become better dancers. I never expected that in some small way I might have inspired a cellist… and hopefully in ways other than her interest in sleeping late!
You can hear Ashley, or see her in performance video clips at her website, www.AshleyBathgate.net..
Thanks Wingers,
Kyra Nichols (aka Mrs. Gray)
October 30, 2007 at 4:58 pm · Filed under SLOAN, dance, music, musicians, video, new york, bill shannon, rjd2
Thought this was great (video via quodlibet and spinner.com).
Dance and media artist Bill Shannon’s dance moves (he has a degenerative hip condition and created this way of dancing with crutches) drive a one-take music video shot in NYC for RJD2, who makes appearances throughout the piece.
Beautiful isn’t it? From Bill’s website…
Recently through dance choreography I have juxtaposed abstract forms of urban streetstyle kinetics into a textural landscape with an express focus on time and how it can be used to reinvent the familiar… my role as director and choreographer is in the setting of pace and creation of mood.
…I know choreographers but I am not one of them. I also know dancers but I am not like them either. The reality is that I lack the specialized focus of the choreographer or the training of the dancer. The way I see it, I currently function as an outsider artist of an interdisciplinary nature within the dance field. I use the term outsider because I was never trained in dance.
The dance I perform is pretty much my own invention and, never having seen much choreography, the dance pieces I choreograph lack the sophistication of contemporary artists in the field. So if I am unsophisticated and entirely out of the loop why are the venues normally reserved for those who are so so sophisticated opening up for me?
Bill. This is fantastic. You’ve invented your own dance style and remain true to yourself. But I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. How does not having dance training make you an outsider? If anything, you’re something for a lot of fellow dancers and dance-makers to aspire to, incorporating multiple influences into one raw, hybrid movement style that speaks to people, and most importantly, allows you to express yourself.
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
August 2, 2007 at 9:22 pm · Filed under SLOAN, dance, music, musicians, life
Posted by Kristin Sloan
Last night Doug and I went to The Police concert at Madison Square Garden. We got our tickets through a reselling service on Ticketmaster that’s much like Stub-Hub, which works great for us as we have trouble planning anything more than a week in advance. I wonder if NYCB would consider doing something like that online for people not using their subscription seats. Most people don’t realize that if you go to a show 15 minutes before it starts you can get some of the best seats, and it might help prevent those empty premium seats.
Anyhow, we were up in the top section, but it was actually a great spot from which to see the show… our perspective was kind of like being in the wings, except there was a huge screen showing the show up close from the front as well.
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
July 9, 2007 at 3:40 am · Filed under SLOAN, friends, music, musicians, nyc, rob hudack, lakeside lounge
Posted by Kristin Sloan
I came home to NYC this weekend to help Doug organize for thehappycorp’s upcoming move, and to get a little more editing work done on my larger home screen… but one of the highlights was getting to catch our musically gifted friend Mr. Rob Hudak (now a resident of New Orleans, a devoted husband, and proud father) playing at the Lakeside Lounge on Avenue B during his weekend stay in the city. It is always fun to see him and Jen when they’re in town, and to get the bonus of hearing him sing! You can check out his music at robhudak.com, as well as some of his other super creative work at mechanicalhead.com.
Photos by Doug
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
July 3, 2007 at 4:01 pm · Filed under SLOAN, dance, tour, new york city ballet, saratoga, music, musicians, orchestra, saratoga performing arts center, mobile
Posted by Sloan | via mobile phone
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
June 21, 2007 at 1:01 pm · Filed under dance, music, musicians, new york, choreographer, modern dance, monotract, nancy garcia
Posted by Nancy Garcia
NANCY GARCIA
NO KEYS
in collaboration with Biba Bell, Jacqueline Fritz, Jessie Gold and Maya Timu
June 21 – June 23, 2007
Greene Naftali is pleased to begin its group exhibition, Genesis I’m Sorry, with No Keys, a new dance and sound performance installation by Nancy Garcia.
Through movement and live sound within and throughout the gallery, five performers will activate the space with various rhythms using movement, electric guitars and vocal sounds. Amidst guitar cables and a sound installation, sisters sing deconstructed versions of their favorite songs. You’ll watch their relationships to each other in action, reproducing themselves and destroying old forms of themselves through repetition.
Performing, recording and composing with her band Monotract since 1998, Garcia’s music practice intersects with her dance practice. She has collaborated as a solo musician with artists such as Thurston Moore, Spencer Yeh and Aida Ruilova. As a member of Monotract, she has performed throughout the US, Japan and Europe, and played festivals such as All Tomorrow’s Parties.
PERFORMANCE DATES AND TIMES:
Thursday June 21st: 3pm & 7pm
Friday June 22nd: 3pm & 7pm
Saturday June 23rd: 1pm & 4pm
*Reception on June 21 after 7pm performance
Admission is free
For more information please visit www.greenenaftaligallery.com or www.nancygarcia.org/
Greene Naftali Gallery
508 West 26th Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10001
t: 212-463-7770 f: 212-463-0890
office@greenenaftaligallery.com
Recent Posts by nancy garcia
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