Choreographed by and starring Viji Rao (pictured, right) and Miro Dance Theatre’s artistic director, Amanda Miller, the two-woman show How Am I Not Myself? offers a series of nuanced reflections on the lives of two dancers and their often-complex feelings toward their classical training.
Originally a ballet dancer, Miller spent nine years with the Pennsylvania Ballet, leaving in 2003 to found Miro with Tobin Rothlein, this show’s director. Likewise, Rao trained in Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form from Tamil Nadu, before moving toward more contemporary work. The show reflects this shift from the classical to the contemporary. Miller and Rao change in and out of costumes from various points in their dance careers, reinterpreting their own personal histories through dance.
Rothlein, a video artist with a background in documentary film, provides the self-critical lens that makes these performances so interesting: Miller and Rao engage with video projections of themselves, which chastise the real-life performers even as they dance, accusing them of abandoning their classical roots. Click For More »
Philadelphia’s freewheeling, progressive theater company, Pig Iron, will bring its annual benefit cabaret and auction to the Trocadero this Friday. But what’s with the event’s hammy name, “Hams Across America”? “We’re nerds who love wordplay,” says Pig Iron star Dito van Reigersberg. “And the campaign in the ’80s that tried to make a human chain across the country. And failed. We also love failure.”
Just a quick reminder that our Old City neighbor, Vivant Art Collection, is hosting a fundraiser this evening to assist with rescue efforts in Haiti. They’ll have light refreshments, as well as psychologists, grief counselors, politicians and members of the Haitian community on hand; and all donations will go directly to the Haitian Rescue Fund.
Florcy Morrisett, Vivant’s owner, tells us that not only will they be accepting donations, but a portion of all art sales will go toward the Haiti Rescue Fund, as well, so if you’re looking for something new to hang on your wall (like A. Giervilil’s Market V, pictured above), now’s the time.
Additionally, Morrisett and the Haitian Professionals of Philadelphia have gathered a truckload of medical supplies, which Morrisett tells me they’ve shipped today. “It’s one bit of good news we have today,” she says.
Vivant Haitian Relief, Mon., Jan. 18, 5-8 p.m., free admission (donations welcome), Vivant Art Collection, 60 N. Second St., 215-922-6584, vivantartcollection.com.
As music ed Pat Rapa noted in this week’s cover story, Kenzo bluesman Jack Rose was preparing to go on tour for his new album, Luck in the Valley, at the time of his Dec. 5 death. As a tribute to the man — whose personality and cooking skills were, according to friends, as lovely and striking as his ragtime instrumentals — the Luck in the Valley record release party on Feb. 13 will feature performances by Thurston Moore, Pelt, Meg Baird, D. Charles Speer & The Helix and more. Tickets for the show, which will take place at The Latvian Society (531 N. Seventh St., 215-922-9798) on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m., go on sale on this site on Mon., Jan. 10, and cost $18.
If you didn’t torture your hungover self on New Year’s Day to wake up and see the Mummers, you’ve still got a chance to check out what may be the very best/least racist group of the parade: Space 1026’s Vaudevillians. Their “Philly Phood Phantasia” performance, which came in fifth in the parade, was utterly strange and maybe even a little beautiful. It’s going down again at 10 p.m. tonight after the Pabst Blue Ribbon Art Contest Viewing Party at Tattooed Mom (530 South St., 215-238-9880).
Twirling on her toes, glimmering in a white tutu and crown, the Sugar Plum Fairy spins gracefully across the stage — only to stop with a sigh, shrug, and take a drag from an imaginary cigarette. Suddenly, the music switches from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker score to a heavy beat, and Sugar Plum is rapping.
A Sugar Plum Fairy turned gangster, breakdancing mice, a “Hip Hoppin Santa”— all this and more turned the traditional Nutcracker ballet on its head in ContempraDance Theatre’s Philly-Nutt-Crak-Up, a blend of comedy, jazz, hip-hop, modern and ballet dance. The Nutcracker spoof Saturday night throbbed with energy, acrobatics and exaggerated capers, and while it was clearly more of a family-oriented show, the flood of references to Philly culture kept the adults in the room grinning. The music ranged from Tchaikovsky to Mortal Kombat, James Brown and Fatboy Slim.
Photo | Lauren Seibert
In ContempraDance’s version, Clara is known as “Liberty Belle Anne” (played by dancer Jackie Kokolus) and hosts a Christmas slumber party for her pajama-clad girlfriends, who playfully fight over presents and throw down preppy dance moves to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Suddenly, accompanied by Harry Potter theme music, “Uncle Franklin Rosselmeyer” (played by Ryheen Thomas) bursts in to charm the girls over and distribute his gifts of life-size “City Hall Dolls.” The dolls, including a Barbie and Princess Leia, each unstiffen to perform individual dances poking fun at today’s pop culture.
The awkward, fumbling “City Cheesesteak Guy” (dancer Timothy Zimnoch) fills the Nutcracker role, and Liberty Belle Anne spends the rest of the show searching for him. Other Philly references include a visit to the Kingdom of Prussia and a dance-out between the Phillies and the Yankees. Guess who wins? Click For More »
It looked dire for the 941 Theater for awhile. The NoLibs movie theater/concert venue/weird-ass event space was shut down by L&I in October, making things like rent, bills and daily operative costs nearly impossible to cover. But the boys at 941 are picking themselves and holding a series of fundraisers. They’ve already raised $1000 via private donations. If they raise another grand, they have found an investor who will match the donations dollar-for-dollar.
The string of events kicks off tonight with a Mad Division DJ night featuring Joker, Nomad Subdivision Crew and more at the Mausoleum (12th and Spring Garden), where there will be a $2 suggested donation going to the 941. In fact, K. Ross Hoffman gave you the skinny on it in this week’s issue.
Without venues like 941, filmmakers, musicians and other artists lose an important avenue to present their work. Go out and support your local art scene! Click For More »
In this week’s City Paper, I interviewed Miro Dance Theatre choreographer Amanda Miller about her upcoming work-in-progress, How Am I Not Myself? The piece, which she performed last night with classical Indian dancer Viji Rao, is a reflection on the two dancers’ realization that, despite their differences, they’re really quite alike:
When Miller met Rao, she probably felt like she was stuck in a modern-dance Parent Trap: Despite their differences in race, gender and hemisphere, the two had led eerily identical lives — same birth week, same dance background, same shift from classical to contemporary.
Even if you missed last night’s Open Studio Series at Girard College, you can still follow Miller and Rao on their travels to India — they’ll be video-blogging, and we’ll be stalking them and reporting back periodically on their experiences. Till then, check out my Q&A with Miller, and visit mirodancetheatre.org if you want to help them in their fundraising efforts. (Donate $250 or more and Miro will take a personalized photo for you each day they’re in India; donate $1,000 or more and you’ll get your own dance video. Pretty cool.)
City Paper: How did you come to the realization that despite being from such different backgrounds, you had a lot in common with Viji? Amanda Miller: Viji and I met when Miro was putting together Principles of Uncertainty for the 2007 Live Arts Festival. Miro was looking for dancers from all disciplines who were interested in experimental work and Viji fit that bill perfectly. Curing the process she and I started talking about our work and our dance traditions and then it became clear that we were having some of the same dilemma in terms of our work. Some would say it was too conventional or classical and others would say it was too modern or experimental. I think it was actually Tobin [Rothlein] who started asking us questions about our lives and how we each got to this point in our careers and that is when we found the stranger similarities — born a few days apart, started dancing at the same age, had our first big performance at the same age, both started working with more contemporary work in London, and so on. Click For More »
Every kid should get the chance to revel in the cheesy glory of a circus’ clowns, magic and acrobatic feats on large animals. Now, as a young adult, let me modify that thought: Everybody, appropriate-age or not, should see the UniverSoul Circus at the Mann Center, performing through Nov. 15. My friend and I were not accompanied by the safety net of a small child to justify our presence at this circus this Sunday. But I’m not gonna lie — we had a ball.
Staff Blog
