Danspace Project Launches PLATFORM 2012:

The opening weeks of Danspace Project's PLATFORM 2012: Judson Now, marking the 50^th anniversary of Judson Dance Theater, include public events that will launch ten weeks of performances and events by artists who participated in the Judson Dance Theater, artists who influenced Judson pre-1962, and contemporary artists who claim Judson as a direct point of reference.

The Platform begins with a ceremonial gathering on the 100^th birthday of John Cage, the "grandfather of Judson Dance Theater" (September 5); a conversation with Judson artist and Intermedia pioneer Elaine Summers (September 7); an afternoon of discussion, presentations, and performance organized by Judson founding artist Steve Paxton (September 8); and a book party and reading in honor of Jackson Mac Low(September 12).

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JOHN CAGE 100^th BIRTHDAY GATHERING

Wednesday, September 5, 2012 * 9-11pm

Admission: Free. Advance reservations are now sold out for this event. Tickets may be available at the door. Audience should visit www.danspaceproject.org for updates.

Historian Sally Banes has called John Cage (1912-1992) the "grandfather of Judson Dance Theater." Says Wendy Perron in Dance Magazine, "Judson Dance Theater was influenced by Merce Cunningham's cool aesthetic, but even moreso by John Cage's philosophy of merging art and life."  

On Cage's 100^th birthday Danspace Project celebrates his genius as well as the legacy of Judson Dance Theater with a celebration to launch PLATFORM 2012: Judson Now. The event will begin with a reception and ceremonial gathering of Judson artists and community, and continue with performances by Rashaun Mitchell,Silas Riener, and So Percussion.  

So Percussion recently celebrated John Cage in a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall that The New Yorker's Alex Ross called "...one of the more entertaining and fulfilling evenings I've had in recent years." For this one-time event, So Percussion will perform several Cage works. "Just as the Judson dance world traces its roots to John Cage as the grandfather, So Percussion traces our experimental roots back to Cage as well," says So Percussion co-founder Jason Treuting.  

Former Merce Cunningham Dance Company members Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener, acclaimed for their recent collaboration in Mitchell's Nox, and for their performance in the work of Cunningham, will also perform alongside So Percussion.

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ELAINE SUMMERS IN CONVERSATION WITH LANA WILSON

Friday, September 7, 2012 * 2 pm

Admission: 0 suggested donation at the door

Intermedia pioneer Elaine Summers danced in front of a projection of her chance film Ouverture at the First Concert of Dance at Judson Church in 1962. For over 50 years she has been investigating the interrelationship of art and technology with Elaine Summers Dance & Film Co. She is a co-founder of the Experimental Intermedia Foundation, and innovator of Kinetic Awareness, a seminal system of bodywork practiced by many choreographers and performers. On this afternoon, Summers and curator Lana Wilson address the socio-political context of the pre-Judson era and how it fed into Judson Dance Theater, with special interest in parallels between that time and the present. Summers will be honored as a distinguished leader of modern dance at the Opening Night Gala of The American Dance Guild's annual performance festival (September 6, 2012).  

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CONVERSATIONS WITHOUT WALLS:

An afternoon marking Judson Dance Theater's 50th Anniversary organized by STEVE PAXTON

Saturday, September 8, 2012 * 1:30pm - 5:30pm

Admission: 0 suggested donation at the door

This Conversation Without Walls organized and moderated by Judson founding member and Contact Improvisation originator Paxton is a combination of formal presentations, informal discussion, and dance.

The afternoon includes a performance of Paxton's Intravenous Lecture (1970), an improvised meditation on censorship, by choreographer Stephen Petronio. Petronio performed Intravenous Lecture as part of his recent season at The Joyce Theater in New York City.

Toronto-based dancer Yves Candau has taught Contact Improvisation since 2001, giving classes and workshops in France, Italy, Germany and Canada. On this afternoon Candau performs Paxton's Material for the Spine, which examines the spine of Contact Improvisation.

Photographer Peter Moore (1932-1993) began chronicling avant-garde performances in 1962. By the time of his death his archive included tens of thousands of images, many of them the iconic representations of Judson Dance Theater, Fluxus, happenings, multimedia environments, performance art, and their offshoots. His wife, Art historian and writer Barbara Moore collaborated with him as the research arm of his photographic archive. Barbara Moore will present a pictorial memoir of Judson Dance Theater with the photos of Peter Moore titledJudson Solos, Pas de Deux, Trios, Sextets & More.

Judson scholar and curator Joanna Steinberg will present a history of Judson Memorial Church. Steinberg's exhibition A Sanctuary for the Arts: Judson Memorial Church and the Avant-Garde, 1954-1977 at Fales Library, New York University (October 28, 2010-January 7, 2011), explored Judson Memorial Church's involvement in the downtown New York arts scene.  

Lively discussion with Paxton and other special guests conclude the four-hour event.  

The ongoing Conversations Without Walls series began in 2011 as part of Danspace Project's Choreographic Center Without Walls (CW²).

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JACKSON MAC LOW 90^TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND BOOK PARTY

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 * 8pm

Location: The Parish Hall at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, 131 East 10^th Street (at 2^nd Avenue), New York, NY 10003.

Admission: 0 suggested donation at the door   

Danspace Project and The Poetry Project celebrate Jackson Mac Low (1922-2004), poet, Fluxus artist, and advocate for nonviolence, who would have turned 90 on September 12, 2012. In recognition of the release of his seminal work, 154 FORTIES, edited by Anne Tardos, (Counterpath Press, 2012), Danspace Project and The Poetry Project host a reading from this collection, followed by a reception. Readers include Bruce Andrews,Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Abigail Child, Kenneth Goldsmith, Mitch Highfill, Bob Holman, Tim Roberts, James Sherry, Anne Tardos, and Anne Waldman. This event is part of 40 Dancers do 40 Dances for the Dancers, a series of events celebrating Mac Low's birthday and inspired by his book The Pronouns: A Collection of 40 Dances for the Dancers.

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LOCATION: Unless otherwise noted, all performances and events take place at Danspace Project in St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, 131 East 10^th Street, New York, NY 10003.

TICKETS: Unless otherwise noted, reservations are not required for public events. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are available for purchase at www.danspaceproject.org or by phone at (866) 811-4111.   

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PLATFORM 2012: Judson Now

Fifty years after the first Concert of Dance at Judson Church in 1962, Judson's radical experiments are still influencing the way artists work today. Many artists who participated in the more than 200 experimental evenings from 1962-1966 are still making, performing, exhibiting, and touring their work. Their generative cross-disciplinary experiments gave rise to some of the most important movements of the 1960s and 1970s and still inspire younger generations in multiple disciplines to take artistic risks.

"Judson Now is not a comprehensive survey but rather a snapshot of Judson's influence in the current moment. Judson Dance Theater's mythic reach is vast, its artists were many, its experiments were multidisciplinary, and the anarchic energy and vision spilled out of the Judson Church into lofts, theaters, churches, and even to other cities," writes Hussie-Taylor. "There is no one narrative to sum up Judson and this generative period in downtown New York."

Judson Now takes place over 10 weeks. Public events include performances, discussions, panels, film showings, and artists' residencies. Danspace Project will publish a catalogue co-edited by Jenn Joy and Judy Hussie-Taylor featuring archival and contemporary images, interviews, and essays.  

PLATFORM 2012: Judson Now has been organized by Hussie-Taylor with assistance from a research team comprised of Jenn Joy, Huffa Frobes-Cross, Lydia Bell, Judith Walker, and Adrienne Rooney. Wendy Perron has served as artistic advisor. Judson Now coincides with and complements other Judson 50^th Anniversary events throughout New York City, including workshops and presentations presented by Movement Research.

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FUNDING FOR PLATFORM 2012: Judson Now

Danspace Project's PLATFORM program is a series of guest artist-curated programs that are part of the Choreographic Center Without Walls (CW²). As a framework for Danspace's presentations and commissions, CW² aims to examine and discover ways of providing context, curatorial support, and space for choreographers and their works. The CW² and its PLATFORM series receives major support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition, this fall's PLATFORM 2012: Judson Now has received lead funding from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.  

Special thanks to all our space and presentation partners: Abrons Arts Center, Barnard College, Gibney Dance Center, Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts, Mount Tremper Arts, Movement Research, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Performa, and The Poetry Project.

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About Danspace Project

Danspace Project presents new work in dance, supports a diverse range of choreographers in developing their work, encourages experimentation, and connects artists to audiences.  

Now in its fourth decade, Danspace Project has supported a vital community of contemporary dance artists in an environment unlike any other in the United States. Located in the historic St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, Danspace shares its facility with the Church, The Poetry Project, and The Incubator Arts Project. Danspace Project's Commissioning Initiative has commissioned over 430 new works since its inception in 1994. 

Danspace Project's Choreographic Center Without Walls (CW²) provides context for audiences and increased support for artists. Danspace Project's presentation programs (including Platforms, FOOD FOR THOUGHT, Draftwork), Commissioning Initiative, residencies, guest artist curators, and contextualizing activities and materials are core components of CW² that offer a responsive framework for artists' works. Since 2010, we have commissioned 67 emerging and established artists, produced six guest-curated Platforms, published six print catalogues and four e-books, launched the Conversations Without Walls series, and explored models for public discourse and residencies.

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Danspace Project is located in St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery | 131 East 10^th Street, New York, NY 10003

(212) 674.8112 | info@danspaceproject.org | www.danspaceproject.org