Watch a replay of an Adams Company Dance favorite: “Itty Bitty Nitty Gritty, “ where a tug-of-war of musical chairs, meets a folk-frenzied ballet, in this trio made up of world class dancers performed at the Ailey Citigroup Theater in 2012. When so many of you have said, “sorry I missed your show,” we’ve made it easy for you to catch up!
RT: 12 minutes in length
See the dance here:
Dancers: Catherine Borrone, Milan Misko, & James A. Pierce, III.
August is typically a month filled with creative ideas, and numerous rehearsals. Sadly, COVID-19 is now center stage, so I have to step aside, and take stock in things that bring me joy. I’m happily reflecting back to a summer where I can’t remember feeling more relaxed and happy making a new work. It was 2008, and I whipped this piece up in a jiffy. The dancers were so into it, and with music by a family friend, Muriel Anderson, it was nothing less than a magical, summer delight! It had numerous runs, but when it appeared in my 2009 concert at the Ailey Citibank Theater, sparks were flying! I yearn to put this back back together someday. Til then, I hope you’ll enjoy watching this slideshow of the making of ‘At Ease,” by Cathryn Lynne. I’ll have the performance online later this year.
Dancers: Julie Fiorenza, Milan Misko, Ryan Schmidt, & Sarah Wiechman
This pandemic has us all needing to adjust and adapt to other ways of thinking and doing. If we can let go of our preconceived notions of normal, then we might just start to see life unfold in new and different ways, which could actually serve us. Resting, napping, cleaning clutter, and exercising have never felt so good. Folding laundry can be meditative if you can allow yourself to ponder the folds and textures of the fabrics. Same goes with editing remotely. I didn’t think I could do it with my editor, (Faith Marek), so well, but as it turns out — the slowed-down, nitty-gritty approach is making me focus more.
The film we shot in February came out of the can, finally! It’ll be laborious to work remotely, no doubt, but that requires more patience, and won’t that be a good lesson? Dancers have a built-in adaptation process. If they didn’t, they’d never survive the demands of the art, but adapting at home now, while no teacher or director is telling them what to do, will be the most challenging time for them. Self-discipline is the key to this make it through this time, and it is my wish for all dancers to keep taking class with great teachers out there remotely — at least in the meantime!
And, in the meantime, enjoy a few of these shots from our film shoot! Previews from coming attractions below:
L to R: Abby, Yasmin, Mitzi, Tsubasa, Misaki, Heidi Post shoot at The Oysterman’s Pearl Studio
2019 was a blend of old and new coming together to flesh out what became a year to remember. Going Solo was a gem of a concert, and occasion to dig out my past and add some new works to the mix, as well. Brooklyn’s Triskelion Arts was the perfect theater for the six, sizzling dancers that burned up the stage that magical night in May. Interspersing my short solo-based dance films seemed to be appropriate for the menu that night. I felt so in awe of the dancers who went above and beyond that remarkable evening!
I had so many energetic movers attend that day, but found a small crew that ended up in my film shoot which took place in Brooklyn later that month back at Triskelion Arts. With the help of my tech and film crew, we managed to get a lot of footage in the can that day — and then added later, another film shoot with soloist Heidi Sutherland, to round out all the footage that later became our new film, Crooked Dreams.
Heidi Sutherland
See film here:
Behind the Lens at the Greenwich Bowtie Criterion Cinema was a culmination of all our films we’ve made over the years. This line-up of dance films screened on a rainy night in October, but we had a hearty audience there to cheer us on. I am so proud of all my dancers who worked on this and gave me the gift of everlasting beauty!
Behind the Lens: Adams Company Dance
Rehearsing for Heart Song: Heidi Sutherland & Christopher Taylor
*Heart Song in Performance at the Emelin Theatre
The Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation invited us to perform on their bill in November, finishing out my year with a look back at a duet I created in 2011 entitled, Heart Song. The Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck was a theater I’ve always been curious about, and finally I was able to get my foot in the door. I loved the grandeur of it, and it featured the dancers so well on their spacious stage. Heart Song this time around had a new twist to it, allowing for its beauty to stretch to higher levels. See photo album of their performance here.
See dance here:
To be honest, 2019 with its current political climate deepening in doo-doo, was not a year of having warm and fuzzy feelings permeating throughout my being. Thank God for art, though, and its ability to transform our hearts and minds, if not only for a day. Each one of the ACD events that came to pass this year left me a little more lifted, and energized — allowing me to look back on 2019 with a smile!
My gratitude to all the dancers, tech staff, camera pros, editors, and my husband, without whom none of this work would’ve been possible!
The evening of May 4th was a magical night! The concert, Going Solo, went off without a hitch. I rarely say that a production went spectacularly, but in fact, it did! Six dancers came together after a whirlwind rehearsal experience, and knocked my socks off! Triskelion Arts in Brooklyn was lit up with high voltage dancing that Saturday, with an audience that enthusiastically supported the event.
The process of rehearsing with so many fits and starts, including two dancers dropping out due to injury and over-commitments, left me scrambling in a search and rescue mission last minute. It seemed the month of April was astrologically challenging us all, but through all the trials, and my dense schedule, the light finally was shed on our event — the special solos, both on film and live, came to life in magical ways. Each and every dancer had their stroke of genius on stage and screen, and whatever sorcery I was doing by pulling all the strings, helped me to unravel some karmic thread, no doubt, as for once, I could say, “it all went to plan.” Thank you, dancers!!
