GOArts is short for Georgia Open Arts Month which takes place each October.
It's a collective campaign to raise awareness about arts in our area.

Last October, I took up a challenge to see 31 shows in 31 days and blog about it... in the end, I saw 41.
Sure, it was a bit tiring but it was also an amazing opportunity.

The column on the left is a linked schedule of everything I saw.
For a more logical read of this blog o'adventures, scroll down to the first entry and start reading there.

I'm not a reviewer, nor am I an art critic.
I aim to raise public awareness about the great tapestry of arts & culture in our area and inspire you to get out there and enjoy it.
x ~ Here's a special thanks to the folks who provided me comps to some of these events! ~


Friday, October 23, 2009

Dance this Weekend (Prelude to Events #28, #29 & #31)

The dance performances I'll be attending this weekend cover a range: styles & techniques, site specificity, size of company, local/touring, budgets, fundamentals, presentation, etc.  How fortunate we are to have a spectrum of choices regarding dance in the Metro area.

Tonight, David Parsons tours into town and teams up his company, Parsons Dance, with the East Village Opera Company for a production with contemporary dance, aerial dance, video and visual effects. Their goal is to present a "modern telling of a tragic love triangle" in their Atlanta premier of REMEMBER ME.  George Thompson, Director of the The Ferst Center, has been enthusiastically promoting this one-night-only performance on the Ferst Center's Facebook page.  It will be fun to catch up with him this evening and tap into his excitement... I believe has a background in dance.  Zoetic Dance Ensemble, on the scene in Atlanta for 10 years now, will lead the Pre-Show Lecture tonight.  Get there early (7-ish) and meet others from the local dance scene as we show up for our peers.  After the performance, you'll have a chance to meet the dancers at a post-performance discussion. (Web image of Parsons Dance from Ferst Center for the Arts website)

Saturday morning at 11am D. Patton White and company Beacon Dance take to the environs to do that for which they are regarded -- site specific work.  Recall The Mapping Project: Celebrating the Natural Environment in DeKalb County.  This was a twelve month public arts performance tour of DeKalb County Parks through site-specific performance.  As I write this, I am eagerly awaiting the flyer announcing the location.  This is an interesting component of Patton's approach -- he intentionally gets audience members to be aware of the space, as are the performers, while in the act of getting to and discovering the place.  I'll post specific details when I get them (or after I return from the show, tonight) so that you can join us.  BTW: refreshments and wine always put the period to a Beacon Dance performance.

UPDATE: Here it is... A Bountiful Feast: A Movable Feast at the Lake Claire Community Land Trust (near Chandler Park).  Performances are at 11:00am (free) and 6:15pm ($5 donation to the Land Trust).  This is a great location filled with gardens, out buildings, a pond, chickens, goats and an Emu, an a strong sense of community. This weekend is their Peace, Love & Art Festival - expect family fun, music, entertainment, "dinner under the stars," raffles, costumes, a parade.  Nice choice, Patton!

Lastly, on Saturday evening I'll join friends and colleagues for The Georgia Ballet's performance of A Sleepy Hollow Story. The curtain goes up at 7:30pm and I think we will be treated to two works before beforehand: Paquita and Enigmatic Tangos, a new work by Janusz Mazon.  Mazon is the Ballet Master & Choreographer for The Georgia Ballet, an organization now celebrating its 50th Anniversary. He was featured in an interview with John Lemley today on WABE's City CafeHere is the link to that interview.  The performances take place this weekend at the Cobb County Civic Center and tickets are still available.  (Web image of the Georgia Ballet's A Sleepy Hollow Story from the Georgia Ballet website)

Barring any unforeseen circumstances,  A Sleepy Hollow Story will be the 31st performance/event that I will attend during National Arts & Humanities Month allowing me to meet the challenge of attending 31 Shows in 31 Days (with one week to spare... Hello, Phileas Fogg!) as part of GOArts: Georgia Open Arts Month.  It will be fun to acknowledge that and celebrate with friends and peers after the performance.  I am very grateful to everyone who has been so enthusiastic and supportive along the way.  I am so grateful to all of you who've opened your doors and made it possible for me to see all of these shows.  For real, you have my deepest gratitude.

I still have a week's worth of shows to attend (I'm hoping to get to 40 by the end of the month) and there's the likely chance that the essence of the original challenge and this blog will take on a life of it's own beyond October.  Weigh in on the idea and let me know what you think. Until then -- See ya' at the show.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Keif! Thanks so much for carving out some time to come see A Bountiful Feast: A Moveable Feast!

    Just a bit of background for at least a portion of the performance. My sister recently gave me a book of Six-Word Memoirs put together by the people from Smith magazine. So we took this idea and each of the cast members created 6 six-word memoirs of food or food related stories. We shared them during the performance and then asked the audience to share some with us. We will use those shared by the audience when we return to the Land Trust this evening for a twilight performance at 6:15 PM on the playground area.

    Patton

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