Whistle While We Twerk

While we've been working this week, these are the tunes that have put an extra pep in our step.

We've been mostly listening to lots of Beirut:
Elephant Gun
The Flying Club Cup
Forks and Knives
Call To Arms
A Sunday Smile
Mausoleum
Nantes
The Penalty

And listening to stations on Pandora.
Beirut Radio
Four Tet Radio
Miike Snow Radio

And these bands:
Fleet Foxes
Fleetwood Mac

We highly recommend these tunes for your listening pleasure.

Mirror, Mirror

A little game for you, if you will. One of these pictures is of Alex's real body. One is a mirror image. Which is which? Post your answers!




Here is a quote for you while you contemplate your answer.

Be good to your body. If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred.

--Walt Whitman

Body Mapping

This week we continue our work on the Arkansas residency. For our residency we are exploring our bodies through body mapping. Below is an example from the internet.



Then, we generated movement from what we discovered in our body maps. Look here for more discoveries and movement for our residency.

COREs newest art crush is Nicole Cromartie, Coordinator of Museum Interpretation at the High Museum of Art. Not only is she a fabulously knowledgeable art historian, but she's also a beautiful dancer!

She graced us with her style, skills and smarts as she guided us through the High Museum's Modern Masters: Picasso to Warhol.

CORE will be performing at the High April 26th in response to the exhibition.

Thanks Nicole!

new beginnings!

Here at Core Performance Company we are gearing up for some really exciting stuff! We have a major residency coming up in Arkansas in order to promote healthy body image. On other fronts, we will be creating a "dance walk," of sorts here in downtown Decatur. We are still in the preliminary stages of actually mapping out the routes of the walk, but it is something that should not be missed!

NTH

Tonight is opening night of Navigating the Hallway with KDNY!! Please come check out this very special performance tonight and tomorrow!!

http://www.coredance.org/atlanta/nov-17-18-navigating-the-hallway/

hammer time

Blake and Claire (CORE engineering team) shown here taking care of some minor studio repairs.

TTI: Round 2

Tomorrow we are joined by the generous and knowledgeable Dance Education Consultant Melissa Dittmar Joy to discuss "multiple intelligences" and arts education.

The session will commence at 9am and run till 4pm and promises to fill us with information and inspiration. Come one, come all!

CORE vs. corps

Wanna know how compelling CORE dancers are? How they just make you wanna get up and dance? Exhibit A: our friendly soldier on the Decatur square. Nice shoulder stand, sir. We salute you.

Room writing

Alex and Claire (seen here) map out the space as we gear up for the remount of Sue Schroeder's Room and the Atlanta premier of Kathleen Dyer's Navigating the Hallway with our guests KDNY. The gals from New York arrive Nov.16th and will be teaching class Wed. Thurs. and Friday 9-10:30 am at CORE studios. Come on out for Lunchtime in the Studio next Thursday and our performances the 17th and 18th at 8pm at CORE studios. You don't want to miss it!

Follow this link for the trailer of Navigating the Hallway! http://youtu.be/E4WcohssFlM

Break on Through to the Other Side

CORE will be performing this Friday for TedX at the Atlanta Zoo. The topic is Breakthrough.

What do you think of when you hear the word "breakthrough?"

Blake's response: Cellophane...

Alex's response: I think of science & technology.

From Halloween Monday

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

Corian & Alisa work on choreography someone warms up their feet

What do Claire and Alisa bring to the Table today?

Perhaps they are 'tabling' their issues?

Do they like to shop at 'Sur le Table'

Maybe they are looking at the 'table of contents'?

Or are they discussing the 'Periodic Table of Elements'?

Actually I think that they are working on 'Navigating the Hallway'!

See what they serve at their Table

November 17th, and 18th, when we perform 'Navigating the Hallway' at CORE Studio

Today is Food Day!

Today is FOOD DAY and it is very appropriate that right now Sue is in Conway, Arkansas as part of The Moving Toward Health Project, CORE’s long-term collaboration with the University of Central Arkansas.  The mission of MTH is to use dance to talk about health and to raise awareness of body image, healthy lifestyle and disordered eating.  For the next few days she is meeting with faculty and staff of UCA and the Conway Public School system and members of the Conway Regional Health and Fitness Center.   With this project we are embodying the arts' ability to engender communication and to facilitate change in the context of social issues.  We are engaging the Conway community through meetings, workshops and forums and by creating and performing a new dance work that will premiere in Conway in February, 2012 during National Eating Disorders Awareness week.  Stay tuned for more details!

http://www.facebook.com/FoodDayEatReal

Nourishing the body!

Salon Tomorrow!

Our Salon tomorrow will be exploring the ideas of shared space, compromise, and the components that are inherent in cohabitation.


Below is a link to a podcast that helped to shape some of the work you will see tomorrow.

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/19/138468870/what-the-word-compromise-really-means

Salon
6:30-8pm
CORE Studios
139 Sycamore St
Decatur, GA
Marta Stop, Decatur
Refreshments generously provided by Cafe Alsace

See you tomorrow!!

Dancers get musical

A little clip of the dancers making music outside the office on Monday.

a haiku to breakthrough

forget the rhythm

don't think about any rhyme

searching for breakthrough

namaste

Spittin' lyrics

bounce
flick
shake
move
groove
...breathe.

feet not lifting
from the paper,
repeat; don't refrain.

bounce
flick
shake
move, groove.

such generic names
in a non-judgmental game.
we all nee labels to list as we:

make and shake
move and groove...
get into a groove like Madonna did.
fearless
angsty
breathe:

breathe through the angst, break through the angst
the bounce
the quake
the shake...
and just dance.

break down and dance
break through and dance...
and I didn't say but, I said and.

bounce
flick
shake
move and groove
break down and through
and
dance.

More photos from BCAF

Thank you to Ken Hudson for sending us some more fun photos from last weekend's Bayou City Art Festival performance of BRINK: BREAK::BROKE:?

Bayou City Art Festival!

Practicing the magic, rehearsal for BCAF

 Here are a few photos from yesterday's rehearsals for  "BRINK: BREAK:: BROKE:?" at the Bayou City Art Festival Downtown. The dancers are down there today from now till 4 pm and again tomorrow, so go out and enjoy the show at the festival!

Our magic

Once again those zany CORE dancers descend upon Bayou City Arts Festival.

Who knows what we have up our sleeves? Check out this picture as an indication of what we have planned for Bayou City Arts Festival.

Breaking into the Bayou

We, CORE Performance Company, return to the Bayou City Art Festival with the premier of BRINK:BREAK::BROKE:?.

In this new work, we find inspiration through the act of the ‘break-through,' as well as the featured artist of the 2011 Downtown Bayou City Arts Festival!

We will yet again encourage situations of hilarity between the audience and dancers, stimulating dialogue between audience and performers while bringing a sense of whimsy, frivolity and off-kilter movement to the Festival.

Performances will take place throughout the Festival grounds on October 8th & 9th, initiating at the HAA performance stage at 1:45 p.m. each day, and concluding at 4:00 PM. For more information, visit www.COREdance.org.

By the way, we at CORE would love to know who left the chocolate in the downstairs refrigerator.

Updates to the space

We've gotten some new decals for the doors to Decatur Square. Both the studio and office doors now have these signs to identify them (hopefully making it easier for folks to find where they need to go!)

Over this past weekend they installed new laminate flooring in the office space in the back hallway and  kitchen area.  This will work much better for clean up in the kitchen space, and it means we have our very own little dance floor right here in the office! :)  

We also have a new awning in the back over the door to the studio from our parking space. It should keep the rain off better than the old covering that was removed earlier this year, which actually ended short of the wall and therefore dumped the rain right on you as you went through the threshold! And hasn't Rose done a great job with the planters too? They look nice, don't they?

Thursday - juggling literally and figuratively! Getting ready for both the Magic of Life event on the Decatur Square at 12:30 Saturday and our adventure in Houston where we will perform in the Bayou City Arts Festival. We are in the studio and out the square today. Keep an eye out for colorful characters doing mysterious things.

Let's Get Physical !

Looking Back

September was a big month for CORE. We started our 25th anniversary season in Decatur. We celebrated CORE Day on September 17th. We acknowledged our past CORE Alumni by inviting them back to our CORE Studios. We premiered The Point and its sister work The Moment Between in the beautiful performing arts space at Decatur High School. It is these recent events of CORE, these "points," that have sparked a discussion among us. We want to know how CORE has created points of impact in your lives. Join our conversation by answering these two questions.

1) Can you share a favorite memory of CORE?

2) How have your experiences with CORE impacted you?

Please post your comments below or on our Facebook page. We are interested in what you have to say.

Juggling a new piece

What is CORE Performance Company up to?

Could it be a new piece?

More to come.

From yesterday--dress rehearsal

Happy Friday everyone!

So after class with jhon, we had a mini-break (where I took the time to get juice & baked goods) until we had to be in the rather lovely, & brand spanking new Decatur HS Performing Arts Center!  Which is a really wonderful and impressive facility.  Big shout out to Deb, Evan, & John...our wonderful tech crew.

Some performers believe that a "bad" dress rehearsal means the show will be "good.". I think it is comforting to know that anything can happen during a performance.  No matter how well rehearsed a dance is, when adrenaline is pumping anything goes.  

Today, during the run, I got so lost I walked off-stage at the wrong moment.  My brain scrabbled to make sense of what was happening on stage; I walked back onstage and just had faith that if I stayed with the dance, I could find it all again.  When the mistake was made, I really had to re-center myself and simply commit.  All-in-all, I think it was a decent run...I mean, nothing is perfect.  It is in the moment between the action and the reaction where it is possible to find out what you are made of.

All I can say is, there is a reason it is called "live" theatre...because that stuff is alive!  Now, I am off to nap and rest up before tomorrow's opening night, or Sunday afternoon!

Hope to see you there....Alex

Hitting the ground running

With the season having just started, and opening that with a performance close at hand; I am anxious...in many senses of that word.  I am still trying to find my way back to my body (after our summer "break").  In addition to that, I cannot expect to psychologically/mentally be in the same performance "head-space" because as time goes on we grow as beings, and that influences our dancing.

That being said, today we will run both dances twice.  Let me tell you: these are NOT easy dances.  They require a lot of physical & mental stamina.  It is as if we are race horses waiting for the gates to open and the only thing to do is hit the ground running.  The anticipation is killer, but when it is all over; it is so worth it.  All the aches, the mental struggles...it will all be a distant memory.  Each performance is live & real!

How do you prepare to go from zero to one hundred in two seconds flat?  I think the answer is: you don't prepare...you just do.  As jhon r. stronks (former CORE company member & collaborator in The Moment Between) reminds us, "just do the work and it will be fine."
 --Alex

Finding Comfort in Chaos

CORE explores The Moment Between

In the world of dance, motion heals. Stillness can reign, but dance channels emotions through movements that have a purpose. Centering accompanies plies. Swooshing arms symbolize acceptance. A rigid point illustrates surety. This is how dancers talk with their bodies.

Jhon Stronks gets this, and it may be the key to what makes him such a vivid choreographer. Stronks, a Houston resident, has been working with CORE Founder and Artistic Director Sue Schroeder to piece together the company’s upcoming performance, to be held in Decatur High School’s Performing Arts Theater September 17 and 18. Inspired by Buddhist notions of emptiness and author William Forsythe’s Improvisation Technologies, Stronk’s The Moment Between will be integrated into Schroeder’s larger work, The Point. The works will be performed free for the Decatur community this weekend in celebration of CORE’s 25th season in the city. Music for both pieces was created by German composer, Christian Meyer.

“Dancers have to learn how to work in congress with one another to be united with what’s happening,” Stronk says. In The Moment Between, he wants company members to move as a group, but hopes to document their motivations and growth as individual artists, too. “We’re processing what keeps each dancer centered,” he says. “When I see the dancers perform this work, I know what I’m seeing is the result of the process, how much affinity they have for it, how much they’ve actually engaged with the process and how much consistency they have in their movements.”


The process Stronks speaks of is an individual’s ability to examine and accept life’s flow and those unexpected situations which arise for all of us. How, he wonders, do people react to those moments when everything is unclear and unsure and they lack control over the events in their lives? Are they able to empty themselves of their anxieties and fear through employing various degrees of movement and stillness? “It’s that reaction which makes all the difference, and the way it plays out is a little different for each dancer,” Stronks says.

“When their movements become clearer it shows how much of the work they’ve done,” he adds. “Have they been able to ask “what is this thing that I have to let go of?” Having a relationship with the unknown is about being alive in that place…it’s a very vulnerable place to be in, especially in the West.
When confronted with The Moment Between, you have to go with the flow, and allow it to flow through you.”

A little R&R

Can I just say I LOOOOOOVE to sleep!  I love to dance, but I have loved sleeping probably since I was a baby.  I am quite a sound sleeper too!  Ask my housemates and they will tell you that if a train ran into my house while I slept, I wouldn't know until I woke up a few hours later.

Rest, for a dancer, is a wonderful thing.  I am thankful to have a scheduled rehearsal day-off once a week.  I try to sleep on those days, because with as much dancing as we have done the past few rehearsals has been, and our bodies need some TLC.  We have already started being kind to one another by offering neck & back massages, etc.  Anyone who will be kind (& brave enough) to rub my feet will most graciously receive my love...because my dogs are killin me!

Even if not just for the body, resting is good for the mind & soul.  It gives me time to reflect and allows my mind to process the psychological aspects of getting ready for a performance.  Synapses fire to muscles, moving the body releases endorphins, emotional reactions happen; lots of stuff goes on all at once.  Needless to say last night after rehearsal I came home and immediately took a nap.  

Since I don't work my other job until one o'clock today, you better believe I slept in today!  Let's hope it gives me the re-energizing I need to get to this weekend!

So...good morning & enjoy the day!

Alex

Show week

Well...it's show week folks!!!  Ahhh...I get excited, and nervous about it all.  

We just got back into the studio about two weeks ago!  Well, minus our usual Tuesday off and the Labor Day weekend; we've only been rehearsing for little over a week.  Now show week is upon us.

In case you haven't heard about the show, it is Saturday at 8pm & Sunday at 3 pm (ahhh...that is only a few days away!!!). Did I mention it is free?!?!  Yes, FREE...you just need to reserve tickets.  The is also a VIP reception Saturday night, post-show at CORE studios in Decatur for only $10.  More info can be found at our website:  www.coredance.org

I will be at the reception (hmmm...what will I wear??) & I hope to see you this weekend :)

Oh...btw, this is Alex...
much love...CORE out!

Welcome Back, Dancers!

After our 30th season, CORE Performance Company took our summer break, and just like students who are returning school for another year of classroom learning, we are often asked what we did for our summer break.

• Corian Ellisor took the opportunity to travel to N. Carolina for the annual American Dance Festival held at Duke University. There, he had the privilege to work with Martha Clarke, The Forsythe Project, and himself: he presented a piece at ADF called Virility.
• Alex Abarca took the week long GloATL Summer Intensive right here in Atlanta.
• Alisa Mittin worked with Atlanta choreographer Blake Beckham in her riveting site-specific work called PLOT. The evening-length piece, presented by Dance Truck, was shown at the Goat Farm in late July.
• Blake Dalton took the summer to prepare himself and his dance company, Crossover Movement Arts, for their inaugural season. CMA' s season launch was actually in the CORE Studios on August 11th.
• In my opinion, Claire Molla had the best summer of all by taking the months off for some much needed R and R.
• "Sharon, what have I been doing this summer?" Well, I've been right here! I've been working with Sue and the staff as all get ready for our best season yet.

We are celebrating 25 years in the city of Decatur. Woohoo! We've been in the same buildings right here on the Square downtown since 1986!

We are kicking off the season with a FREE performance of The Point (and its companion piece, The Moment Between). Performances are at the Decatur High Performing Arts Center on September 17th at 8pm and September 18th at 3pm. Reserve your FREE tickets! But, we're not going to stop there. This whole season is going to filled with 25th aniversary goodness. So, keep checking the blog, the website (coredance.org), and our Facebook page.

Happy Dancing,

Sharon

"Living Wall" in CORE's alleyway!

Living Walls The City Speaks is a project that brings in artists who paint on walls all over the metro Atlanta area, and CORE's wall in the alleyway between our office and studio is being painted right this very minute! Here are some action shots of artist Sam Parker painting the first stages of his work for our alley wall. He works fast--he's expecting to be finished up tomorrow, so if you're around Decatur, you should come check it out!

My Three Sons episode: "My Son, the Ballerina" (1965)

[How Board President Thomas Bell was inspired to take dance classes]

I went to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota for my undergraduate degree, and, while there, I was also a competitive cyclist on the college team. This was during Minnesotan Greg LeMond's dominance of the Tour de France, so the thought of racing bikes in a frozen wasteland didn't seem so crazy. The winters in Minnesota are long and bitter, though, and while we would tough it out in temps approaching the freezing point, there were long stretches of the year when we could not train outside without getting frostbite. So I looked around for ways to keep my legs strong during the winters.

Now, memory is a funny thing, and in my memory I had by then mashed together a few childhood memories:

1) Stories of former NFL defensive tackler Rosey Grier's fondness for needlepoint.

2) An episode of "The Brady Bunch" that features a cameo from NFL defensive powerhouse Deacon Jones, who encourages Peter to keep singing in the glee club despite the teasing Peter is taking from his football teammates. (Sound familiar?)

3) An episode of "My Three Sons" in which Robbie, struggling on the track team, is advised by his coach to take ballet lessons. The lessons dramatically improve his performance on the hurdles, and Robbie ends up cast in a ballet recital.

My mind made of these three memories a fantasy episode of "The Brady Bunch" in which Peter was struggling on the track team until Mean Joe Green  (apparently he supplanted Rosey Grier in my memory) showed up and advised Peter to take ballet lessons. There's even a scene in my mind where Mean Joe Green and Peter are in first position releve. Wearing tutus.

I wish I could get that episode filmed.

So anyway, my fantasy episode prompted me to enroll in ballet class with Carleton's dynamo ballet instructor, Toni Sostek. This was not my absolute first exposure to concert dance, though close to it. My only prior experience was performing in my high school's production of "Guys and Dolls," in which I was cast as one of the gamblers and as one of the Cuban dancers. There is, to my knowledge and great gratitude, no video record of this performance.

Now, I was a pretty good cyclist in college, a particularly powerful sprinter, and did well enough in my classes. I was not, however, a good ballet dancer. At all. But I kept doing it anyway. The most important lesson ballet taught me was the value of sticking with something that you're not very good at, that you'll likely never be very good at, but that nevertheless may reward your efforts in expected and unexpected ways. My legs did indeed get stronger, but I also started enjoying ballet for itself, not merely as cross-training for the cycling off-season. I loved the class, loved Toni, and I kept taking her classes not only in the winters but through most of the year. Later, I branched out and took Mary Easter's modern class, and I loved that even more.

In the years since, there have been times when dance has laid fallow in my life, but I always seem to find my way back to it. It enriches my life too much for me to let it go. My thanks to Rosey Grier, Deacon Jones, Mean Joe Green, Greg LeMond, Peter, Robbie, Toni Sostek, and Mary Easter for showing me the way.

School's Out for the Summer

Well we have come to the end of another season here at CORE. The running joke around these parts is that sometimes a season feels like a school year, and when it's time to break for the summer we should all bring in our "yearbooks" and write things like "KATS" and "HAGS." I remember when I was in school there was always that teacher or friend for whom I would save a page, so he or she would have a lot of space to reflect on the how the year was for the both of us. I am curious as to what your reflections are. Write your "yearbook" comment in the comment section.

The blog will be mostly taking a break for the summer, and will resume in the fall. You can always visit our website: coredance.org, check our Facebook page: facebook.com/coredance, send us a tweet on twitter: coredances. We'll keep those a little more active so you can find out what's coming up next season. It'll be our 25th Anniversary in Decatur so look out for some more celebratory fun (and performances and more, of course!)

Interview with Intern Sarah

What has been your strongest impression of Atlanta?

At the beginning, I had a hard time to get around in Atlanta. The city is so spread-out and to know a good place to go out for eating, shopping, dancing was difficult. But after the second week, I was able to ride by MARTA and the bus and by asking, people gave me advice. Being an intern at CORE help me a lot too. You guys were so nice with me, ready to give a hand any time. Thank you for that!!

From your time here, what is your impression of the Atlanta dance community?

There are a lot of amazing choreographers and dancers here. I had a chance to see many of their performances and I would say, thank you again to CORE to get me in touch with all those concerts. My second impression, compare to France, even if it’s hard to get funds, place for performing, the community is really active and passionate.  

You participated in the Fieldwork workshop this spring. What was that like for you?

CORE give me this opportunity to have a space to create and perform, it was just amazing. It was one of my wishes to try as an un-professional, to explore my capacity and my idea about movement. I don’t think that in France, we have a similar program. It would be so great!!! (CORE responds: There is one in Berlin now. You could always take it back with you to France!)

What will you take with you from your experiences at CORE?

Your involvement for the dance community through the events, the connection that you are doing in the dance community. 

Best wishes on your future endeavors!

Fieldwork Showcase in Houston

The Fieldwork showcase is a performance showcasing works in progress created by artists of different mediums. Each week throughout the process, each artist show their work in progress until the culmination, which is a showing in a local, profession theater. CORE has been a part The Field and has provided the space and facilitators for Field workshops in Atlanta and Houston. The next Fieldwork showcase is in Houston on May 15th, and Lydia Hance, Field Facilitator in Houston, wrote us these words about her experiences with Fieldwork.

"Fieldwork has changed my life as an artist in several ways. First, it has
given me structure and accountability. To have a group ready and willing to
give feedback on my works-in-progress every week has been a challenge to
continue to create new work. While there is never any guilt if I don’t have
work to show at a weekly session, I recognize it as a lost opportunity to
gain valuable feedback from the artists. It’s a momentum that all artists
need.

It has changed my perspective on creating work. Fieldwork has given me
permission to linger in the process, and to realize that I’m free to create
work even if it doesn’t result in a final product to show publically. It’s
exercise, it’s struggle, it’s sinking into creation. For me, art is between
98 and 99.9% process, versus the final product. Showing work that is
mid-process has always felt risky. But through Fieldwork I’ve challenged
myself to show work in its first stage, when it’s barely begun. While this
is very vulnerable, it opens the work to so many more possibilities and
freshness outside of my own boundaries. Invaluable. In this way, Fieldwork
had allowed me to grow in my perspective of my work and myself. It isn’t
about proving myself, but allowing the work to develop— surrendering to the
process.

Thirdly, Fieldwork has provided a community of diverse artists. Poets,
dollmakers, choreographers, filmmakers, actors, musicians, costume
designers… I relish the valuable perspectives of artists outside of my
genre. It’s really all about opening ideas and breaking my self-constructed
boundaries in the way I approach my work. I’ve come to use their words,
reactions, experiences, and perspectives on my work as fuel to grow and take
the work in new directions.

I recommend Fieldwork to everyone who considers herself an
artist—professional or amateur. We all possess creativity, and it must be
nurtured."

Like Linda Hance, many artists that gone through the Fieldwork process experience growth and change in themselves and their work. Come and share in their experience. Again, the Fieldwork showcase in Houston will be May 15, 2011 at 2pm at the Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex. Tickets are just $7. We look forward to seeing you there.

Happy dancing,

Sharon

Weaving Culture into Dance

CORE Performance Company is set to perform Corazón Abriendo (Heart Opening) in Miami, Florida on May 13th for the Miami Dance festival. I was able to sit down with CORE Performance Company member, Alex Abarca to get his take on the the piece.

SS: Talk a little bit about Corazón Abriendo.

AA: It’s about the Mayan people and their culture and how weaving is integral to all aspects of their life. I try to find a common thread (ha-ha, common thread) to link all of the sections together. Each section deals with life and living, and throughout the piece I try to think about how all life is interconnected.

SS: You had to take a trip for this piece. Where did you go? What was it like?

AA: We went to Guatemala. It was inspiring. It was eye-opening. It was humbling. It was very personal. Because of this experience, I think about color. I think about heritage and history. I also think about how magical and mystical everything is. There’s so much mythology involved in the Mayan history and how they explain how the world works.

It is always a treat to hear thoughts from a company member about the work that he is performing. Feel free to post questions in our comment section about Corazón Abriendo for the dancers to answer.

Check out our website for information on our upcoming events. There, you will also find links to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Happy dancing,

Sharon

So Close

We are just hours away from "In the Mood...for Dance." To get your engines revved up, here are some new pictures from rehearsal.




We hope to see you at the Miller Outdoor Theatre tonight at 8pm, for this free dance concert.

'til next time.
Sharon