Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Fall News

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I hope you are thriving in these eventful times. Here’s my fall news:

I’m reviving Desert Island, a solo that was the centerpiece of the Grand Tour (1986). On November 14 and 15, I’ll perform it in the Trisha Brown Dance Company Salon at the Judson Church in New York. The solo plays out on a carpet/island; it’s a psychological score, and fascinating 22 years later to see how differently I respond to that scenario. Also amusing how “Lost” and “Survivor” color the image…

Red Thread, the new project with Vicky Shick and Eva Karczag inspired by women’s quilting circles and our own long working association, will reconvene in December after our first two-week intensive at Swarthmore College last July. This segment of work will be supported by my 2008 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Choreographers’ Fellowship. We will be showing in-progress segments at Swarthmore in spring '09. Right now, Vicky is in Budapest where she is developing a project to be seen at Danspace in NY. In August my family visited Eva in Arnhem, the Netherlands, where we used to live. I was pleased to see the new directions in leadership and new building of Arnhem’s ArtEz Dansacademie and Dance Unlimited. There is the very appealing possibility of further exchange in the future...myabe with this project. Back in Philadelphia, I am continuing the work on Red Thread, inviting the excellent Meg Foley into the studio for research. You can check our periodically updated blog posts at redthread08.blogspot.com .

Usually I don’t write about my presenting activities in these updates, but I am proud to have been interviewed in the Chronicle of Higher Education regarding the innovative programming for the Bryn Mawr College Performing Arts Series. The first dance presentation will be Kate Watson-Wallace’s CAR on 10/24 and 25 followed by BalletX and Miro Dance Theater on Feb. 13.
Regarding teaching, this fall I’m continuing to work with MFA and BFA students at Temple University on choreography and am mentoring at Swarthmore.

With all this, writing has taken a back seat. I reviewed three shows for the Philadelphia Inquirer during the 2008 Live Arts Festival and will be covering several performances over the course of this season. Assignments for the Dance Advance website and the Congress of Research on Dance, and a paper with Swarthmore linguistics professor Dr. Donna Jo Napoli are all simmering pots on this writer’s stove.

Lastly, I am pleased to be participating in Artists U , a wonderful strategic planning program for artists developed by Andrew Simonet of Headlong Dance Theater in concert with Creative Capital. Through participating I hope to become more effective at all I do, with more clarity and appropriate support.

All best wishes for a glorious fall,
Lisa

Lisa Kraus, Dance Artist
2008 Choreography Fellow - Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and Independence Foundation
Associate in Performance, Dance - Swarthmore College
Adjunct Faculty - Temple University
Coordinator, Performing Arts Series - Bryn Mawr College
Dance Critic - Dance Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.redthread08.blogspot.com/
http://www.writingmydancinglife2@blogspot.com