Fang-Yi- Sheu,
Principal Dancer, Martha Graham Dance Company
Dance companies in New York City these days
are literally melting pots of races. However,
I must say that it is still quite rare for an
Asian dancer to lead a major dance company as
a principal. One such rarity, Fang-Yi Sheu,
appeared like a comet in the ranks of the Martha
Graham Dance Company and immediately and unquestionably
stole the hearts of New York audiences. Recently
The Arts Cure spoke with the dancer who may
lead the Graham company into the next generation.
Sheu, who shuttles busily back and forth between
this city and Taiwan, was in her home at the
time of this interview.
Photo:Photo: Chih-hua Yei, 2004 John Deane
◆Special Feature
Cobi Narita
Making Music and Dance Happen At 80
IThere's
a day in Japan when prayers are said for the
health and happiness of girls. It's called Hina
Matsuri, or National Doll Day, and it falls
on March 3. That day also happens to be the
birthday of Nobuko 'Cobi' Narita, who turned
80 this year, and one can only suspect that
Narita was graced with the blessings of Hina
Matsuri, because her generosity and vitality
are amazing. A mother of seven, Narita moved
to New York from California in 1969 and immediately
started helping young artists. She founded three
organizations in the 1970s: the Universal Jazz
Coalition, Women In Jazz, and The Jazz Center
of New York. Over the years her women's jazz
festivals became legendary, and her concerts
in the parks led the way for larger-scale events
that developed throughout the boroughs. Even
today, though the drive from her home on Long
Island takes an hour and a half, this winner
of both the Flo-Bert Lifetime Achievement Award
and the Saeko Ichinohe Dance Company Cultural
Bridge Award continues to champion the arts,
mostly at the performance space she opened four
years ago, just off Times Square, called Cobi's
Place......
Photo:
Anabel Craft
◆Report
Aspiring Japanese Artists in New York City
Aika Tagawa, Dancer /Sonoko Kawahara, Director/ Kimiko Hata, Opera Singer
Many
Japanese artists come to New York City, the
ultimate melting pot and Mecca for the performing
arts, to chase their American Dream. Yet language
and cultural barriers certainly don't make it
an easy place for foreigners to live. What is
on their minds as they strive to make it here,
in spite of all obstacles? In this issue we
interviewed emerging Japanese artists pursuing
their dreams in dance, theater, and opera.
Photo: Courtesy of artists
◆Report
Rokafella and Kwikstep bring breaking from the
street to the stage
The
Full Circle of Hip-Hop
Anita “Rokafella” Garcia and Bessie-winning
choreographer Gabriel “Kwikstep” Dionisio are
two of breaking’s best known practitioners. Collectively
known as Full Circle, the couple has been wowing
audiences and competitors alike for over a decade.
Their newest piece, Innaviews, recently premiered
at NYC’s Dance Theater Workshop. In a candid interview,
Rokafella and Kwikstep spoke to The Arts Cure
about their new work, their dedication to breaking,
the emergence of hip-hop theater, and their own
attempts to bring breaking from the street to
the stage.
Photo: Truckine
◆Report
Interview
Michael Kaiser,
President,
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The field known as “arts management” was born
in the United States. This phrase entered our
vocabulary due to the situation in this country,
very different from that in Europe, where governments
enthusiastically protect the arts and artists.
In the U.S., on the other hand, arts organizations
are required to stand on their own as professional
business entities.
Michael Kaiser, known in the business as “Mr.
Fix-It,” is considered a pioneer of America’s
arts management field. Twenty years ago, Kaiser
sold his management consulting firm, which had
worked for major corporations like General Motors
and IBM, and launched himself into the world
of the arts. Since then, he has signed on with
several struggling, major performing arts organizations,
including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,
American Ballet Theatre, and England’s Royal
Opera House, and succeeded in improving management
structures and clearing huge accumulated deficits
to restore them to financial health. Mr. Kaiser
is currently President of the Kennedy Center
in Washington, D.C.
◆Review
Dance
Grupo Cprpo
Noemie Lafrance
Donald Byrd / Spectrum
Dance Theater
Batsheva Dance
Company
Lar Lubovitch Dance
Company
New York Butoh
Festival, Masaki Iwana and Cokaseki
9th Annual Japanese
Contemportary Dasnce Showcase
National Ballet
of China
Saar Hariri
(Left) Masaki Iwana in Beast
of Grass CAVE's New York Butoh Festival 2005
Photo: Piotr Redlinski
(Right) Lar Lubovitch Dance
Company in Elemental Brubeck Photo: Rose Eicchenbaum
Photo: Truckine
◆Review
Performance
Theatre
Desquiulibrium
Ping Chong/
Shanxi Folk Art Theater
Cirque
des Elephants Photo: Courtesy of Company
◆Review
Theater Desert Sunrise Mr. Hoover's Tea Party Egress Theater Company / The Maids
Propeller
The Queen's Company
◆Review
Film The Cronicle of Narnia Crash
◆WIND FROM THE EAST
History of Japanese modern Dance
Tokyo Report
◆The Chamber of Healing
◆NY Dance Company Directory
◆Dance School/ Studio Guide in New York
◆Theater Production Guide in New York
◆The Arts Cure News
◆The
New York Performance Calendar
Performance
Location of Events
Workshops
Broadway Show Listing
Fang-Yi Sheu in the
Martha Graham Dance Company's Cave of the heart
Dance companies in New York City these days
are literally melting pots of races. However,
I must say that it is still quite rare for an
Asian dancer to lead a major dance company as
a principal. One such rarity, Fang-Yi Sheu,
appeared like a comet in the ranks of the Martha
Graham Dance Company and immediately and unquestionably
stole the hearts of New York audiences. Recently
The Arts Cure spoke with the dancer who may
lead the Graham company into the next generation.
Sheu, who shuttles busily back and forth between
this city and Taiwan, was in her home at the
time of this interview.
IThere's
a day in Japan when prayers are said for the
health and happiness of girls. It's called Hina
Matsuri, or National Doll Day, and it falls
on March 3. That day also happens to be the
birthday of Nobuko 'Cobi' Narita, who turned
80 this year, and one can only suspect that
Narita was graced with the blessings of Hina
Matsuri, because her generosity and vitality
are amazing. A mother of seven, Narita moved
to New York from California in 1969 and immediately
started helping young artists. She founded three
organizations in the 1970s: the Universal Jazz
Coalition, Women In Jazz, and The Jazz Center
of New York. Over the years her women's jazz
festivals became legendary, and her concerts
in the parks led the way for larger-scale events
that developed throughout the boroughs. Even
today, though the drive from her home on Long
Island takes an hour and a half, this winner
of both the Flo-Bert Lifetime Achievement Award
and the Saeko Ichinohe Dance Company Cultural
Bridge Award continues to champion the arts,
mostly at the performance space she opened four
years ago, just off Times Square, called Cobi's
Place......
Many
Japanese artists come to New York City, the
ultimate melting pot and Mecca for the performing
arts, to chase their American Dream. Yet language
and cultural barriers certainly don't make it
an easy place for foreigners to live. What is
on their minds as they strive to make it here,
in spite of all obstacles? In this issue we
interviewed emerging Japanese artists pursuing
their dreams in dance, theater, and opera.
Anita “Rokafella” Garcia and Bessie-winning
choreographer Gabriel “Kwikstep” Dionisio are
two of breaking’s best known practitioners. Collectively
known as Full Circle, the couple has been wowing
audiences and competitors alike for over a decade.
Their newest piece, Innaviews, recently premiered
at NYC’s Dance Theater Workshop. In a candid interview,
Rokafella and Kwikstep spoke to The Arts Cure
about their new work, their dedication to breaking,
the emergence of hip-hop theater, and their own
attempts to bring breaking from the street to
the stage.
The field known as “arts management” was born
in the United States. This phrase entered our
vocabulary due to the situation in this country,
very different from that in Europe, where governments
enthusiastically protect the arts and artists.
In the U.S., on the other hand, arts organizations
are required to stand on their own as professional
business entities.
Cirque
des Elephants Photo: Courtesy of Company
