Portland Playhouse Passing Strange Portland Oregon

DanceWatch Weekly: Get on the good foot

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It’s all about shoes this week. Dance shoes to be exact, and tons of them, too. Tap shoes, jazz shoes, pointe shoes, and stilettos. It’s a busy week in Oregon dance. But I’m particularly excited by a pair of sneakers inspired by the work of Portland-based dancer, choreographer, and performance artist Linda Austin. Portland interdisciplinary artist Tiffany Lee Brown designed the shoes through Cultivator as a fundraiser for Austin and Performance Works NorthWest, the dance/performance space Austin runs with husband, lighting designer Jeff Forbes. Austin has been making dances and working tirelessly for many years to provide opportunities and support for other artists.

These limited-edition, one-of-a-kind Nike Pegasus sneakers, called Movement, have “PWNW” emblazoned along the heel, in addition to yellow laces, red soles, and a groovy, topsy-turvy, black-and-white striped triangular pattern across the shoe. They are great for dancing and leaping and any creative thing you can think of to do in them.

You only have until Oct. 21 to buy a pair of these awesome sneakers and support the extensive work that Austin does for the Portland arts community. So get to it!

Performances this week

Melbourne-based choreographer Lucy Guerin’s “Split.” Photo by Gregory Lorenzutti.

Split
Lucy Guerin Inc.
Presented by White Bird
October 18-20
Portland State University, Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 SW Park
Dance Artist Talk: Lucy Guerin
6:30 pm October 22
Reed College, Performing Arts Building, Massee Performance Lab, 128, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd.
This 60-minute duet, which opens White Bird’s Uncaged series, features choreography by Melbourne-based choreographer Lucy Guerin. It’s performed by two women, one clothed and one not, and explores competition, negotiation, aggression, and harmony in an ever-decreasing space.

“BloodyVox: Deadline October.” Photo courtesy of BodyVox.

BloodyVox: Deadline October
BodyVox
October 18-20
BodyVox Dance Center, 1201 NW 17th Ave.
BodyVox’s “scary” show, originally choreographed in 2010 and revamped over the years, celebrates co-founders Jamey Hampton’s and Ashley Roland’s favorite holiday, Halloween. This family-friendly dance theater extravaganza touches on all aspects of Halloween, offering work that is by turns dark, mysterious, magical, beautiful, ironic, odd, hilarious, and absurd. The show, composed of several short dances, incorporates standard Halloween fare such as vampires, zombies, ghosts, and killer spiders, as well as some non-standard material, like creepy identical twins and a new work called “Victorian Secret.” This year’s production also includes Halloween costume contests and dance parties at every show. See link for details.

Wild Rumpus Jazz Co. in a “A Spine Tingling Soiree.” Photo by Jarrid Cammack.

A Spine Tingling Soiree
Wild Rumpus Jazz Co.
October 19-20
Polaris Dance Theater, 1826 NW 18th Ave.
With this gathering of ghouls, Wild Rumpus Jazz Co. (co-founded by Kelsey Adams and Lucy Brush) gives Halloween a jazzy twist. Frankenstein goes on his first date, campfire stories come to life, tap shoes become possessed, and so much more. Audience participation is welcome and costumes are encouraged.

Sponsor

Portland Center Stage at the Armory Nassim Portland Oregon

In addition to Adams and Brush, performers include Cherie Swain, Cassy Adams, Daniel Martinez, Kristina Lindquist, Nicholas Petrich, and Sondra Storm.

“As You Like It: A Wild West Ballet” by Ballet Fantastique. Photo by Bob Williams.

As You Like It: A Wild West Ballet
Ballet Fantastique, Donna Marisa Bontrager and Hannah Bontrager
October 19-21
Hult Center, One Eugene Center, Eugene
Ballet meets the Wild West in this twist on Shakespeare’s romantic comedy. As the play famously puts it, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”: here, those players include a brave heroine, lovers, a troubadour, and a bad guy, accompanied by a banjo and a honky-tonk saloon piano.

This concert will be broadcast live to audiences via Concert Window on Sunday, October 21 at 2:30 pm PST. Click here to learn more/sign up to watch.

The tap shoes of The Skylark Tappers. Photo by Annika Abel Photography

Everything’s Copacetic
The Skylark Tappers, Artistic Director Judy Tibbles
October 19-22
The Headwaters, 55 NE Farragut
Showcasing the rhythm and dynamics of tap, Portland’s Skylark Tappers will explore an array of songs under the musical direction of Jack Buddeke, accompanied by jazz vocalist Anandi Gefroh, saxophonist Jeff Homan, drummer Rivkah Ross, and bassist Perry Thoorsell, with Buddeke on keyboard.

“Clock that Mug or Dusted” by Cherdonna Shinatra. Photo by Sally Kohn.

Clock that Mug or Dusted
Cherdonna Shinatra (Jody Kuehner)
Presented by Risk/Reward
8 pm October 20
Portland Institute For Contemporary Art, 15 NE Hancock St.
Working at the intersection of dance and drag, Seattle’s Cherdonna Shinatra (Jody Kuehner) pits vintage feminism against today’s feminism. This messy conceptual experiment, which includes paint and birthday cake, explores the idea of the body as a canvas for social change, rebellion, and personal expansion.

The Portland Tap Company debuts this weekend with “The Man Who Forgot.” Photo by Nicholas Teeuwen

The Man Who Forgot
The Portland Tap Company
Choreography by Jessie Sawyers and Kelsey Leonard.
Presented by the Portland Tap Alliance
October 21
Winningstad Theatre, Antoinette Hatfield Hall, 1111 SW Broadway
Based on recorded excerpts of Neil Gaiman’s story “The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury,” combined with an original score by Grammy-nominated pianist and composer Josh Rawlings, the Portland Tap Company makes its debut with an exploration of the human mind and its ability to remember and forget.

A still from the film “sweetgrass” by Portland artists Amy Leona Havin/The Holding Project and Tomas Alfredo Valladares.

Portland Dance Film Fest
October 20-21
Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St.
There are just two nights left of this six-night adjudicated dance film festival, so go. Directed by dancer-choreographer Kailee McMurran, the festival features dance films from around the world, shot anywhere from sand dunes to city streets to a squash court. (And as long as we’re talking shoes, look for the man in the white-winged angel shoes.) Check out the festival’s website for descriptions of the films and interviews with the filmmakers.

Sponsor

Upcoming Performances

October
October 26, Star Dust, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Eugene
October 26, Flamenco Pacifico, Presented by Berto Boyd
October 28, Matices Criollos, Peruvian Cultural Festival

November
November 1, Windows 11, Roesing Ape and Beth Whelan, Night Lights
November 2-4, A Midsummer Night at the Savoy, Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theatre
November 4, civilized-Happy Hour, Catherine Egan
November 9, ¿LISTEN?, ELa FaLa Collective and Polaris Dance Theatre
November 9-11, Cloth, PDX Contemporary Ballet
November 11, Unfolding, a dance film premiere by Muddy Feet Contemporary Dance, SubRosa Dance Collective, and director Dylan Wilbur
November 11, La Sylphide, Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema-Live from Moscow, presented by Fathom Events, BY Experience, and Pathe Live
November 13-14, The Hip Hop Nutcracker, Jennifer Weber
November 14, Tangueros del Sur, Presented by White Bird
November 16-18, Perceiving The Constant, Jessica Hightower
November 23-25, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with PSU Orchestra, The Portland Ballet

December
December 2, Don Quixote, Bolshoi Ballet in cinema, presented by Fathom Events, BY Experience, and Pathe Live
December 6-8, Winter Performance, NW Dance Project
December 8, So You Think You Can Dance Live! 2018, Eugene
December 8-25, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, Oregon Ballet Theatre
December 14-16, Babes in Toyland (World Premiere), Ballet Fantastique, Eugene
December 21-23, The Nutcracker, Eugene Ballet, Eugene
December 23, The Nutcracker, Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema-Live from Moscow, presented by Fathom Events, BY Experience, and Pathe Live

January 2019
January 9-20, The Lion King, Eugene
January 20, La Bayadère, Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema-Live from Moscow, presented by Fathom Events, BY Experience, and Pathe Live
January 24-February 2, The Cutting Room, BodyVox
January 31-February 2, Shay Kuebler/Radical System Art, Presented by White Bird

February
February 9-10, Romeo and Juliet, Eugene Ballet, Eugene
February 13, Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo, Presented by White Bird
February 16-23, Cinderella, Oregon Ballet Theatre
February 20, Beijing Dance Theater, Presented by White Bird
February 28-March 2, Compagnie Hervé Koubi, Presented by White Bird
February 29-March 2, Trip The Light Fantastic, NW Dance Project

March
March 1-3, The Odyssey, Ballet Fantastique, Eugene
March 1-3, Materialize, PDX Contemporary Ballet
March 7-9, Compagnie Marie Chouinard, Presented by White Bird
March 8-10, Interplay, Eugene Ballet, Eugene
March 9, Painted Sky Northstar Dance Company, Walters Cultural Arts Center
March 10, The Sleeping Beauty, Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema, presented by Fathom Events, BY Experience, and Pathe Live
March 29-31, New Expressive Works Residency Performance

Sponsor

Portland Playhouse Passing Strange Portland Oregon

April
April 4-6, Parsons Dance, Presented by White Bird
April 4-13, The Pearl Dive Project, BodyVox
April 7, The Golden Age, Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema, presented by Fathom Events, BY Experience, and Pathe Live
April 9-10, Savion Glover, Presented by White Bird
April 11-14, Director’s Choice, Oregon Ballet Theatre
April 13-14, The Firebird, Eugene Ballet, Eugene
April 24, Philadanco, Presented by White Bird
April 25-27, Spring Performance, NW Dance Project

May
May 9-11, Contact Dance Film Festival, BodyVox and NW Film Center
May 10-12, Shaun Keylock Company
May 10-12, Current/Classic, The Portland Ballet
May 10-12, Cleopatra (World Premiere), Ballet Fantastique, Eugene
May 17-19, Undone, PDX Contemporary Ballet
May 19, Carmen Suite / Petrushka, Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema-Live from Moscow, presented by Fathom Events, BY Experience, and Pathe Live
May 26, Derek Hough: Live! The Tour, Eugene

June
June 7-15, The Americans, Oregon Ballet Theatre
June 7-9, Up Close, The Portland Ballet
June 13-15, Summer Performances, NW Dance Project

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Photo Joe Cantrell

Jamuna Chiarini is a dance artist, producer, curator, and writer, who produces DanceWatch Weekly for Oregon ArtsWatch. Originally from Berkeley, Calif., she studied dance at The School of The Hartford Ballet and Florida State University. She has also trained in Bharatanatyam and is currently studying Odissi. She has performed professionally throughout the United States as a dancer, singer, and actor for dance companies, operas, and in musical theatre productions. Choreography credits include ballets for operas and Kalamandir Dance Company. She received a Regional Arts & Culture Council project grant to create a 30-minute trio called “The Kitchen Sink,” which was performed in November 2017, and was invited to be part of Shawl-Anderson’s Dance Up Close/East Bay in Berkeley, Calif. Jamuna was a scholarship recipient to the Urban Bush Women’s Summer Leadership Institute, “Undoing Racism,” and was a two-year member of CORPUS, a mentoring program directed by Linda K. Johnson. As a producer, she is the co-founder of Co/Mission in Portland, Ore., with Suzanne Chi, a performance project that shifts the paradigm of who initiates the creation process of new choreography by bringing the artistic vision into the hands of the dance performer. She is also the founder of The Outlet Dance Project in Hamilton, N.J.

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