Sasha Soren

ARTE SIX
APRIL 2004
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Arte Six: April 2004
All the arts. All the time.
[Art – Music – Dance – Film – Books – Travel – Life]
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Arte Six is the official newsletter of SashaSoren.com.

Read online: http://www.sashasoren.com/newsletter.htm
Subscribe: artesix@sashasoren.com

NB: Use info listed at your own risk. Arte Six gives no warranty to completeness, accuracy, or fitness for any purpose, ie. use your head, like yo' mama said.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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LIVES
Patty Wagstaff, stunt pilot

ART
NYC/"Get Off!"
Ohio/"Splat Boom Pow!"
NYC/"Speaking in Tongues" @ P.S. 122
LA/Royal Elastics Streetwise 3 - LA

MUSIC
Aiko Shimada, Moonraker, Haruno Kira, Faith Kleppinger, Parthenia
[Site news/new review: "Spoonful of Voodoo"]
MASS/Ute Lemper

DANCE + THEATRE
INSIGHT/Choreographer Donna Uchizono
NYC/"Butterflies from my Hand"
NYC/DanceBrazil
NYC/North Carolina Dance Theatre
NYC/"Tricodex"
NYC/"A Woman Who Outshone the Sun"
NYC/"SplitStream"
NYC/First Weekends@BAX: "Venus", "Desire", "Eustasis"
San Francisco/"24 Views"

FILM/SCREENWRITING
NYC/Screening, "The Blonds"
Toronto/Festival, "Hot Docs"
San Francisco/Festival, 47th San Francisco International Film Festival
NYC/Festival, NYC/Avignon Film Festival

BOOKS/WRITERS
Writers Bloc series - novelist Andrea Semple, on writer's block
The Agent series - literary agent Jenny Bent takes a (virtual) meeting

TRAVEL
Antarctica: "No Horizon is So Far"

LIFE
Eight ways...
NY Unplugged

SCI/TECH
"Back to the Stars/Retour vers les étoiles”

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LIVES (interviews and profiles)
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LIVES: Patty Wagstaff, stunt pilot
“Fly Girl”

I think that sometimes things choose you, rather than you choosing them.

I didn't know anything about stunt flying or aerobatics while
I was growing up in Japan. My father was an airline captain.
My sister is also an airline captain. They both influenced me to fly, but growing up, my parents told me that girls didn't become pilots, that I would just become a wife and mother.

My dad had books on flying - airplane manuals that I used to love to read. I always offered to quiz him when he had a checkride coming up. I read his aviation novels. I had airplane posters on my wall.

Airplanes always represented freedom and escape, adventure.
But in Japan there weren't any airshows and very little "general aviation" (small craft aviation).

Years later, I was living in Alaska and taking flying lessons from my ex-husband and other instructors.

I had never seen aerobatics, just heard about them. Living in Alaska there wasn't much chance for exposure to them, so we traveled to the states (in Alaska they call it the ‘Lower 48’)
and went to an airshow, then to an aerobatic competition.

I remember watching the airshow in complete amazement. I watched the best pilots at the aerobatic competition and thought, "I can do that! I can do that, I can be one of them and that's where I belong."

I went back to Alaska, took aerobatic lessons and one thing led to another. I flew my first airshow in May of 1984 and flew in a contest in August of 1984, after flying my little airplane from Alaska to Wisconsin.

I think that by becoming a stunt pilot I was fulfilling and living my destiny. There were a series of things that brought me to the place where I could actually fly, learn aerobatics and continue with aerobatics. I always felt that whatever I was doing at the time would lead me to the right place eventually.

I particularly like the precision of aerobatics. I like flying a perfect loop, a perfect hammerhead -- a perfect maneuver. I do all the maneuvers - torque rolls (rolling and sliding backwards at the same time), lomcevaks (tumbling end over end), etc., but my biggest interest is doing some of the more simple appearing maneuvers with perfection.

I think I've always chosen activities (like jumping horses, competition aerobatics, etc.) that give you the most freedom within the most disciplined structure. Only through great discipline can you achieve that freedom. Ironic, isn't it?

BASIC TRAINING

Staying in good physical condition is very important and makes you better at anything you do.

Aerobatics specifically demands a lot of training to keep your
G-tolerance up. During an airshow routine I pull up to l0 positive Gs and 8 negative Gs.

The Gs are very hard on your body and you have to condition yourself to them. I take a couple of months off in the winter, but when I start up again in early March it takes me several months to get in top condition again.

When you're in top condition, you can't take off more than a week or two before losing a lot of G-tolerance. You have to fly almost daily during the airshow season when you are doing really hardcore aerobatics. I also work out, go to the gym, swim, and ride horses.

You can never forget that you have to be very focused before flying an airshow or performing a stunt. You have to take it very seriously and never be complacent, and that requires mental focus and concentration.

There have been studies done on aerobatic pilots. They are detail oriented, extroverted introverts in general. They have good hand-eye coordination and the ability to focus and the need for excitement and challenge in their lives. And, yes, the ability to act under pressure and in fact, excel under pressure.

The most difficult part of competition in any sport is presence of mind and mental control. Keeping your head together under pressure is what separates the winners from the losers.

CHAIN OF COMMAND

Flying in formation is not difficult, but does take specialized skill. However, flying in close proximity to another airplane adds an element of danger that makes it extremely important to brief and prepare well on the ground and follow those rules while in the air.

If you can’t trust your "wingman" then you shouldn't be flying close to them in the air. Flying in formation takes a great deal of trust, skill and preparation.

Flying an airshow performance, aerobatic competition, or a stunt, requires a great deal of team effort. I rely on my crew chief and mechanic to make sure the airplane is in top condition (and of course I check it over myself).

I have to make sure that the fuel is not contaminated beforehand. I have to make sure my engine builder knows how hard I'm going to fly the airplane, and I also have to rely on people on the ground to keep the airspace sterile while I'm flying.

However, final responsibility always comes down to the "pilot in command." It is the pilot who has to make sure the team operates correctly.

THE DRILL

I have a two page checklist that I use to check everything from the aileron attach points, landing gear, general airplane condition, oil and fuel quantity.

In addition, I wear a parachute and have to make sure it's in "re-packing" date. We have to have them re-packed every l20 days.

Airshow coordinators generally know what's going on. The good airshows have a professional "air boss" who handles all the logistics for the performer, gives them clearance to take off and keeps the airspace sterile while they are flying.

Usually you plan your takeoffs, but there are times you have to fly earlier than scheduled due to someone else's airplane breaking, an accident or something like that.

I've had to make a few emergency landings as well...so yes, you have to prepare for any eventuality.

I've had to fly early because someone had crashed. It's difficult flying over the wreckage of an airplane when you knew the pilot.

STUNT FLYING

Like anything different, people consider being a stunt pilot very
"glamorous". At times it is, but at times it's work, just like anything else.

Being on the road, traveling, away from home, in mediocre hotel rooms, etc. can get really old and depressing. It's not all fun and games and can be exhausting. But flying gives you freedom. I've never felt bored flying, and it's always been a challenge. When flying I've never felt that I've wasted my time.

I’ve been involved with stunts for “Drop Zone”, “Up Close and Personal”, “Lois and Clark”, “Discovery Wings”, The Learning Channel, ESPN, Speedvision, and lots of others. In stunt flying for movies and television, there are a number of things a pilot can be asked to do.

A fixed wing (as opposed to helicopter pilot) can be asked to do low level aerobatics, land on top of a truck, land on a road, fly under a bridge, crash an airplane, make the airplane look out of control.

A helicopter pilot will either be a "photo platform" or be used in an action sequence during a movie.

Watch the "Italian Job" for a great action sequence with a helicopter in it. The sequence was actually filmed by another helicopter.

There are certainly risks, but those risks can be minimized.
Most pilots will tell you that we don't consider any of it particularly dangerous, if flown within the limitations of the equipment and the skill level of the pilot.

Actually, as a woman you have to work even harder to appear professional. I've worked very hard at that. A lot of people watching me fly think it's a man in the cockpit. When I land and get out they’re surprised.

Some of the maneuvers I perform are the inverted ribbon cut, torque rolls and lomcevaks, snap rolls, rolls, avalanches, tumbling cartwheels and more.

I really enjoy performing the inverted ribbon cut. This is where I have a ribbon stretched across two poles that are 22 feet high. People hold the poles up and I fly upside down and cut the ribbon with my propeller.

I try to keep my l2-minute airshow routine rocking and rolling, and moving fast during the entire time so I don't "lose" the spectators, and keep them excited the whole time, from take off to landing.

I travel at least l00 plus days a year. I've flown in some wonderful and exotic places - Argentina, Russia, Hungary, Kenya and recently in Iceland.

I took off to fly an airshow in Rekyavik and looked down at a geyser shooting straight up at me. The most difficult conditions have been on film sets (flying skydivers off narrow
runways in turbine aircraft, etc.)

None of it has been scary, but I have to admit I've gotten lower than I've intended a couple of times and scared myself. It has always been a wake up call to focus more and take it more seriously and to never be complacent.

I think the weirdest thing I've done was the first time I did an inverted ribbon cut. It was just a very weird, strange feeling being that low, seeing the ribbons coming up to you, flying through them.

MARGIN OF ERROR

You have to be very careful what you do right after takeoff. Some pilots do a snap roll on take off. A snap roll is a high speed, stalled roll. I will do that, but only on an upwards vector, climbing as I do it.

If something goes wrong or if you've forgotten something - like switching to the aerobatic fuel tank (which enables you to fly inverted), or have something floating around in the cockpit (like a chart, or screw driver) by mistake, then it will make itself evident right after your takeoff.

I've never had an accident. I've had a few little incidents, like hitting my propeller, etc., but nothing where I was injured. I was in an accident once in Alaska...but that was as a passenger and before I learned to fly.

The airplane went off the end of a soggy, muddy runway and we flipped upside down. No one was hurt, but it was pretty strange.

COMING UP

I've just returned from my fourth visit to Kenya. Working with the Kenya Wildlife Service has been extremely rewarding. I’ve just returned from my fourth year of working with the pilots.

I give the pilots recurrency training, some bush pilot training and aerobatic training and of course, have learned a lot from them too. Giving aerobatic training to pilots who do dangerous, low level work in difficult conditions in the bush (like chasing cattle out of National parks, looking for and catching elephant and rhino poachers, etc.) is important as it gives a pilot much more confidence and awareness of their airplanes.

I have always wanted to go to Africa, and Kenya in particular, so to be able to combine travel with working and volunteering has been an incredible experience for me.

I am getting my airplanes ready for the airshow season. I’m looking for a new major sponsor.

My airplanes are now going through their "annual inspection."
The aerobatic airplane gets torn down and checked over very carefully each winter, and a new engine is built up that is modified especially for top performance.

I’m going to be flying the Texan II for Raytheon at the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom this summer.

This summer I will be inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame (www.nationalaviation.org) in Dayton, Ohio. This is a huge honor, so I am getting ready for that. I am on the Board of the National Air & Space Museum in Washington DC and will be going to Board meetings. I lead a pretty active life.

I don't want to look back at a certain age and regret that I didn't do everything I could have done. Life is short and there are no guarantees for a tomorrow, so I want to take advantage of the opportunities that come my way and the opportunities that I can create.

I don't know what the future will bring, but I feel that I have other exciting things coming my way in the future.

There's a saying, "Life is mysterious, don't take it serious." While that's easier said than done, it's a good thing to remember. People, myself included, tend to worry too much.

There's also something we all need to remember, myself definitely included...as soon as one door closes, another opens. Just be ready for the open door and don't be afraid to take a gamble.
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Bio: Raised in Japan, professional stunt pilot Patty Wagstaff was the first woman to win the title of U.S. National Aerobatic Champion. Her stunt work has been featured on ESPN, and in "Up Close and Personal" and "Drop Zone". She’s trained with the Russian Aerobatic Team and flown airshows and competitions on five continents. She is the co-author of “Fire and Air”.

Official site: http://www.pattywagstaff.com

BONUES: More about Patty Wagstaff:

Movies
I'm a big movie nut and have seen hundreds of them.
Sad movies – “Horse Whisperer”, “On the Waterfront”.
Funny movies - I love the Coen Brothers' movies, "Fargo", "The Big Lebowski", "Oh Brother Where Art Thou"...movies like that.

Downtime
I have a lot of hobbies, but my most favorite thing besides spending time with my pets is riding horses. I enjoy it for similar reasons that I enjoy flying....it's always a challenge and there is always something to learn.

In other ways I enjoy it because it is really good for my soul to be out at the barn with the horses. You can't rush anything, because horses are sensitive, intelligent creatures. You have to take your time while dealing with them, so they force you to slow down and listen.

Riding itself is a challenge, because I want to improve my skills and learn to ride with rhythm and understand my horse. It's a quiet place to be. I also love to go the beach with my dogs and watch them run.

Favorite quotes
There's one that describes me that I like, from Mark Twain:
"She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined. She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot."

Another by Neil Young from "Comes a Time"
"You and I, we were captured
we took our souls and we flew away
we were right, we were giving
that's how we kept what we gave away.

My recommendation for something new to do this month:
Adopt a pet, but know that it's a big commitment. Animals give you more than you give them. They also make us more human.

Interesting fact that nobody knows about me yet: I am very shy.

Writing
I think creative people are usually creative in many areas of life. I've already written a book, "Fire and Air", with a co-author. It's my life story up until about l994, but so much has happened since then, that I'd like to write another book. I've written songs, but particularly enjoy writing lyrics. And, I have had a couple of poems published.

I've written so much in the past, and one of the reasons I wrote my book was so I didn't have to answer too many more questions. But so much has happened during the past ten years that it would take another book to discuss it. I would like to write another book, but not autobiographical...I'm just not sure what format it will take. I'm sure it will come to me.

Philosophy
Life is...a long strange journey. Don't take it too seriously.

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ART (events and news – painting, photography, sculpture…)
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Art/NYC
"Get Off!"
Opens April 1, 2004
In their new exhibit, MoSex gives viewers an eyeful of -- fun smut? pop erotica? Yes, it's porn, but, ah, is it art? Decide for yourself, as you stroll through this contemporary art exhibition featuring the work of artists who investigate sexual titillation in pop culture.

"Get Off!" takes an uplifting, humorous look at the art of stimulation, expressed in a variety of media ranging from video, sculpture, photography, painting, and performance.

Artists include Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, political cartoonist Greg Curry, Jane Dickson, video artist Lisa Dilillo, eteam, Terence Koh, public sculpture artist Tom Otterness, industrial designer Karim Rashid and photographer Laurel Nakadate.

The exhibition also features an installation of ephemera curated by art historian Kirby Gookin. It includes ads, cartoons, drawings, and photocopies by post-war artists who use sexual titillation to provoke political and social responses from the viewer.

Get Off! is organized by guest curator Robin Kahn, an artist whose own work examines issues like gender conditioning and sexual identity. Her work appears in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), the Whitney Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
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ART/Ohio
Through May 2, 2004
"Splat Boom Pow!"
The wildly colorful "Splat Boom Pow!", an exhibition of
nearly 70 works of art using cartoon imagery, is both a survey of the impact of cartoons on contemporary art and a chronicle of the social and political issues of the past 40 years.

The show features works in a variety of media -- painting, photography, sculpture, and video -- by more than 30 emerging and established artists, including Roger Shimomura, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Elizabeth Murray, Roy Lichtenstein, Dara Birnbaum, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Kenny Scharf, Henry Darger, and Andy Warhol. The show reveals how these artists, using cartoon imagery and techniques, have explored such issues as American commercialism, the Vietnam War, sexism, and racism.

"Splat Boom Pow!" is divided into three sections addressing modes of communication and methodologies borrowed by contemporary artists from the world of comics and cartooning.

Splat!: This section reveals how artists across generations incorporated images from pop culture into their work. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, artists living in America and Europe had begun to focus on everyday objects as subject matter, giving birth to Pop art.

Artists incorporated existing cartoon iconography to critique an increasingly consumer-oriented society. In the following decades, this appropriation continued, presenting divergent views on the Vietnam War and the injustices of racism, sexism, and other social issues. By the 1990s, many artists were reshaping the content and context of cartoons, while others returned to more painterly investigations, dissolving popular icons into abstraction.

Boom!: Pop artists appropriated not only images, but also the symbols and techniques of mass media printing. The use of silkscreen printing technology and its visual characteristics, including the appearance of enlarged Benday dots, were tactics adopted by a number of artists.

Over the next three decades, artists adopted even more tools drawn from cartoons, including sequential narratives, the symbolic use of color, and flat and geometric line and form. When computer technology emerged, artists put it into practice, using a variety of digital strategies in their work.

Pow!: In the wake of important cultural changes in American society, such as the rise of multiculturalism, a number of artists abandoned existing iconography in favor of invented icons and narratives that more accurately reflected their own communities and experiences.

Some fashioned new imagery based on media stereotypes in order to address the complex politics of identity, while others would reframe street art, punk rock, and hip-hop culture to give voice to a new generation of young people. Still others would use images and narratives drawn from deeply personal experiences to create alter egos and new mythologies.

Find it: Wexner Center Galleries at The Belmont Building
330 W. Spring St./Neil Ave.
Get info: (614) 292-3535

Kenny Scharf

Fun’s Inside, 1983
Oil on canvas

Courtesy Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York

On view in Splat Boom Pow! The Influence of Cartoons in Contemporary Art, Jan. 31-May 2, 2004 at the Wexner Center Galleries at The Belmont Building.

Renee Cox
Lost in Space, from the Rajé series,1998
Cibachrome print
48 x 60 inches

On view in Splat Boom Pow!
Wexner Center Galleries at The Belmont Building January 31-May 2, 2004
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ART/NYC
"Speaking in Tongues"
P.S. 122 Performance Space
April 22-25, 7:30pm
"Speaking in Tongues" is a true story about an offbeat journey towards enlightenment -- sort of. Eliza Jane Schneider cashed in her assets, quit a lucrative job on an Emmy-winning sitcom, shaved her head and set off on a cross-country spiritual quest in a second-hand ambulance.

Along the way Eliza Jane stopped in at beauty parlors, swimming holes, bars, street corners and churches, asking everyone she met the question “what’s going on?”

1000 interviews, 317,000 miles and 10 years later Eliza Jane has compiled the responses of 30 disenfranchised Americans to create a hilarious Gen X sociopolitical manifesto.

Find it: P.S. 122 Performance Space
150 1st Avenue at East 9th Street
Get info: 212-477-5288
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ART/LA
Royal Elastics Streetwise 3 – LA
April 24, 6-9pm
Royal Elastics Streetwise 3 - LA is a quintet of interrelated, but unique exhibitions, featuring works by 20 top American urban artists. Live DJs, and painting accompany each exhibition.

As the Urban Art movement continues to grow, RE SW3 continues to grow along with it. RE SW3 is comprised of five self-contained exhibitions featuring leading 'urban influence' artists. The exhibit runs from March through August, and features new works each month.

The Lab 101 aims to showcase the urban art that has evolved from a form of inner city expression to a massive global art movement. Rooted in the creative voice of inner city youths, this art forum continues to evolve.

Opening reception April 24th, 6-9pm
Artists: Kinsey, Doze Green, Kenton Parker, Andrew Schoultz

Find it: The Lab 101
1534 17th Street, #101
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Get info:(310) 453-5225

[NB: We’d like to cover more art events. If you’re in touch with artists or gallery directors who’d be interested in being mentioned in upcoming issues, please tell them to get in touch:
“Arte Six” c/o artesix@sashasoren.com]

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INDIE MUSIC (reviews, features, events, info)
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[Reviews courtesy of: CDBaby.com, http://www.cdbaby.com]

Chill out, watch the droplets hit the window sill...sip your favorite tea or coffee...contemplate the small wonders of life and solve the world's problems -- from the couch. Music for a rainy day fix:

AIKO SHIMADA: Window
Strange and beautiful songs. Jazz, progressive rock and folk influences from singer/composer Aiko Shimada.

MOONRAKER: Nada Brahma
Moonraker blends elements of drum & bass, house, trip-hop and
jazz-infused funk to create some of the freshest and most intelligent music on the Boston scene.

HARUNO KIRA: Breath
Haunting album of contemporary classical piano compositions features the chilling and ghostly beauty of the Japanese shakuhachi flute.

FAITH KLEPPINGER: Asleep in the Well
Stripped-down, woozy, late-night drift through softly-sung urban stories.

PARTHENIA: Parthenia Sampler
Dynamic string ensemble that explores the extraordinary repertoire for viols of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, from Elizabethan England to the Court of Versailles. The members of Parthenia are well-known individually for their performances with early-music ensembles like Les Arts Florissants, Anonymous 4, Waverly Consort, Piffaro and ARTEK.
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Site news/new review, "Spoonful of Voodoo"
http://www.cdbaby.com/hexmusic
Surreal gothic art house rock with techno
and dance elements, layered with ethereal poetic female vocals. Soundtrack worthy!
-- "Maximum Ink"
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MASS/Ute Lemper
April 24, 8pm
Lithe German-born chanteuse Ute Lemper is best known for her stage performances in musicals such as "Chicago" and "Cabaret" and for championing the music of the German cabaret. Her interpretations of the darkly beautiful songs of the Weimar era are laced with an edge of vampish ribaldry and acerbic wit. The daring lasciviousness and estranged yearning expressed in songs by Kurt Weill, Berthold Brecht, Jacques Brel and others spring to life at Lemper's touch.
Find it: Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MASS
Get info:(617) 747-2261

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DANCE (events, news, opps)
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NYC DONE
INSIGHT/Choreographer Donna Uchizono, on "Butterflies from my Hand"
April 21-24, 7 pm
The striking opening image of "Butterflies from my Hand" served as a springboard to explore questions about the power that can be gained through the act of letting go and the possibilities that loss and vulnerability have to offer.

The work explores movement that uses personal experiences surrounding resistance, loss, power and uncertainty as a motivating force to uncover a physical language that gives the piece a sense of an emotional journey that is viscerally powerful.

As a choreographer, I am dedicated to the experimentation within the movement medium. With each new work, I create a new movement vocabulary specific to that particular piece, thus setting up a dialogue with the dance itself and fostering a symbiotic relationship between form and content. "Butterflies from my" Hand utilizes the opening image as a metaphor for guiding its kinetic direction.

The title "Butterflies from my Hand" came about while I was talking with a visual artist about the new piece. I discussed the fact that I was exploring the power of letting go and was holding my hands tight in a fist and asked “What would happen if I just let go?”

He responded, “Maybe butterflies would fly from your hand”.

The dance opens with a dancer suspending herself off the ground by holding on to a red curtain that is attached to the ceiling. Slowly she pulls out a pair of scissors and starts to slowly cut the curtain that is supporting her body...

The dance is imbued with layered fragility, striking visual images, bold gestures and emotional sublime inviting the audience through a multi-emotional experience.

Each viewer comes to the theater with their own intelligence, information and experiences and through their own particular lens will come away with their own emotional journey.

I am personally discovering that there is power in letting go.

Each piece I make is very different from each other. "State of Heads" (1999) with it’s odd, but endearing characters in all-white, to "Low" (2002), which is sensual, yet cool, heightening the investigation of weight and the constant dynamic interplay of exchange between partners through the constriction of space, to "Butterflies from my Hand", a play between tension and release.

I approach each piece as a unique entity that warrants a new vocabulary to define itself. I think the audience will be delighted with the opening image, the dance and the end.

I think we are all hungry for “live” interaction, and true physical contact. Dance is a “live” art form. It is ephemeral, temporal and alive, as is life.
Find it: Dance Theater Workshop
219 W. 19th St.
New York, NY 10011
Get info:(212) 924-0077
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NYC
"Butterflies from my Hand"
April 21-24, 7pm
Shiny silver scissors, glistening against a scenic landscape of red fabric, peppered with intense physical motion sets the tone for Butterflies from my Hand. Donna Uchizono’s new piece examines the ideas of “surrender” though movement, resistance, power and loss. Known for her spicy movement, wit and rich invention, Butterflies from my Hand solidifies Uchizono’s reputation as a master of innovative movement experimentation.
Find it: DTW - Dance Theater Workshop
219 W. 19th Street
New York NY, 10011
Get info: (212) 691-6500
Box office: (212) 924-0077
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NYC
DanceBrazil
The Joyce Theater
April 20 - May 2
The gravity-defying dancers and soul-stirring musicians of DanceBrazil bring their power, precision, passion and electrifying virtuosity to the stage. Under the leadership of artistic director Jelon Vieira, DanceBrazil fuses the best of traditional and contemporary Afro-Brazilian dance. This season brings the premiere of "Street Girls", along with other favorites from the company repertoire. Enter the mystical world of capoeira and discover the exhilaration of this extraordinary art form.
Find it: The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street
New York, New York 10011
Get info/showtimes: 212-868-4488
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NYC
North Carolina Dance Theatre
April 13-18, 2004
Living in the South has inspired Artistic Director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux to create Shindig, a ballet performed to live music by North Carolina's hottest bluegrass band, Greasy Beans. The result? Let's just say it's not your typical night at the ballet. This stylistically varied program also features Nicolo Fonte's contemporary work, Brave!, set to an original score by Deigo Dall'Osto, and Alvin Ailey's landmark collaboration with Duke Ellington, The River, performed on pointe.
Find it: The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street
New York, New York 10011
Get info/showtimes: 212-868-4488
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NYC
"Tricodex"
April 20, 7pm
April 22—24, 7:30pm
"Tricodex" is the concluding chapter in a trilogy of works by French choreographer Philippe Decouflé. Initial work "Codex" was created in 1987, with "Decodex", following in 1995. The trine of modern dance productions were all inspired by "Codex Seraphinianus", an absurdist encyclopedia designed by Italian naturalist and artist Luigi Serafini.
[http://www.almaleh.com/se-auth.htm]

Serafini's peculiar 400-page masterpiece features illustrations, charts, and descriptions depicting an imaginary world of unearthly creatures and plants, invented formulae, card games, flying contraptions, labyrinths and fantastical machines, all described in lavish but nearly indecipherable scipt.

The "Codex Seraphinianus" evokes topics ranging from gardening, anatomy, mathematics, and geometry to hairstyles, card games, flying contraptions, and labyrinths.

The "Codex" has inspired and fascinated Decouflé throughout his career, culminating in "Tricodex", an otherworldly and mystical performance combining dance, mime, acrobatics, video, and film, featuring 30 dancers and more than 150 costumes. This slightly surreal but mesmerizing production pays tribute to the mystical and unpredictable workings of the human imagination.
Find it:
BAM - Brooklyn Academy of Music
Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Get info:(718) 636-4100
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NYC
"A Woman Who Outshone the Sun"
April 22-24, 8pm
April 25,6pm
Rubí Theater Company presents "A Woman Who Outshone the Sun/Una mujer que brillaba aun mas que el sol". Inspired by a Mexican folktale, this urban-grown musical explores the hopes and dreams of three generations of women struggling with working conditions in a dye factory.

The performance details a teenage girl's coming-of-age during the summer vacation she spends working with her mother. A stranger visits town and and changes the course of the three women's lives by leading this community of immigrants to speak out against the dye factory's poor working conditions. Written by Patricia Herrera, choreographed by Alicia Diaz.
Find it:BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange
421 Fifth Avenue
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Get info: (718) 832-0018
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NYC
"SplitStream"
April 29 – May 1, 7pm

Triple-bill program featuring works by choreographers presenting three different views of connections -- between survival and death, memory and prophesy, love and hate.

Jonathan Berger's "Souvenir" tracks three central disappearances, in the Bermuda Triangle, the Alaskan Tundra and the continent of Atlantis. Forged together and traced back, through a set of fevered hallucinations, recollections and prophesies, this unlikely group of places and events reveal their connections to each other, and create an elaborate story of transformation spanning several thousand years.

Ann Liv Young’s "dance, small show" is truly a party and you’re invited. There are two girls and then two more girls and a boy. There are Converse sneakers everywhere. There is music and flowers and chairs and everything is really nice. And, there is a turtle that never stops swimming. So nice. There is love and there is hate. People sing and laugh and cry and scream but the turtle keeps swimming. It's scary. Overall it's horrific. Overall there is a lot of hair swinging and hip shaking. And a swimming turtle.

A six-year-old Antonio Ramos nearly drowned in a well. There are no memories of who saved him; only the hypnotic pull of the water, the blood rushing to his fingers and the fear. In "Me, Me, Me", Ramos reveals these exquisite and painful moments. The work is a trilogy of Ramos’ memories lying between physical control and abandon. The characters represent an array of mystical relationships and social pressures. They are full of possibility and expectation and icons of magic.

Find it: DTW - Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th Street
New York NY, 10011
Get info: (212) 924-0077
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NYC
April 30, 8pm
First Weekends@BAX: "Venus", "Desire", "Eustasis"

Three works by new choreographers, in the BAX performance and discussion series.

The dancers in "Venus (looks like me)", choreographed by Pele Bauch, shape themselves into abstract designs, ordinary people, and desirable feminine objects, presenting their spectacle with deadpan irony.

In her new solo "Desire", Drastic Action artistic director Aviva Geismar grapples with hunger, punishment and need. She rhythmically layers physical images to create a distorted kinesthetic language by turns primal, ornate and comical.

Peggy Peloquin presents her new duet "Eustasis" which addresses the dynamics between mother and daughter and the physical tensions inherent in the unpredictable shifts that occur with dependence and independence.
Find it:BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange
421 Fifth Avenue
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Get info: (718) 832-0018

Photos on this page:
Aviva Geismar/Drastic Action: (photo credit: Onno DeJong)
Rubi Theater Company (photo credit: Amarelys Pérez)
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San Francisco/"24 Views"
April 23, 7:30pm
Choreographers In Action (CIA), a new consortium of over 100 Bay Area choreographers, presents "24 Views" at the ODC Theater, featuring bite-sized previews of upcoming work by Bay Area dancemakers.

The dance groups participating in the event all deliver a two-minute preview of new works.

Dandelion Dance Theater presents their ongoing naked dance project -- the Undressed Project (two minutes of it, anyway).

Indian/South Asian dance company Shri Krupa debuts at the ODC Theater venue. Also on the program, Middle Eastern dance by the Suhaila Dance Company, and performances by Fellow Travelers Dance Theater and Veda.

Blink and you'll miss it -- "Capacitor" choreographer Jodi Lomask puts in an appearance. Lomask's work features themes of technological vs. human evolution, and wild stylistic approaches, making the 120-second preview of Capacitor's work a must-see for fans of fantasy and science.

Find it: ODC Theater
3153 17th St. @ Shotwell St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
Get info: (415) 863-9834

Capacitor
Images from "Digging in the Dark" 2004
All photos by: Edgar Lee

capacitor_1a.jpg
performer: Alexander Zendzian

capacitor_3a.jpg
performer: Zack Bernstein

capacitor_4a.jpg
performers: Katie Diamond, Zack Bernstein
(left to right)
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LA/Theatre
"The Empire Builders"
Through May 9th
In Boris Vian's play "The Empire Builders,", a respectable family of father, mother, daughter and their maid, flee from a strange, unknown and terrifying noise within the confines of their home. The unidentified noise pursues them as they move upward from floor to floor until they reach the attic.

The darkly comic play is a disturbing essay on the culture of fear. It exposes how easily a society becomes the prisoner of its own paranoia.

Vian, with ruthless precision, paints a vivid and deeply relevant portrait of what happens when we allow ourselves to be ruled by the terror of an unspecified, but always imminent, threat. Among the issues explored is creation of a culture of fear: when we allow ourselves to be persuaded that our enemies are everywhere — hidden, faceless, nameless, and always ready to strike — to whom do we give up power, and at what price?
Find it: City Garage
1340 1/2 4th Street alley
(between Third Street Promenade/4th Street)
Santa Monica, CA
Get info: (310) 319-9939

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FILM/SCREENWRITING (news, events, opps)
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NYC/Screening, "The Blonds"
Through April 20th
In 1977, when she was four years old, Albertina Carri's parents were kidnapped and murdered by the Argentine junta, whose 'dirty war' claimed some 30,000 victims.

"The Blonds" doesn't rehash these tragic events so much as use them as a jumping off point to investigate questions of identity and responsibility.

"The Blonds" succeeds as a meditation on what it means to remember, what it means to be a good parent and a good citizen — and how a cruel and untimely death complicates the answers to those questions. Written and directed by Albertina Carri.
Find it: Film Forum
209 West Houston Street
New York, NY 10014
Get info: (212)727-8110
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FILM/Festivals/Toronto
“Hot Docs”
April 23 to May 2
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America's largest documentary festival. Each year, the festival presents a selection of over 100 cutting-edge documentaries from Canada and around the globe. Through its industry programs, the festival also provides a full range of professional development, market and networking opportunities for documentary professionals.

Hot Docs also hosts the Toronto Documentary Forum; this limited-seating pitch-forum has quickly established itself as North America's most important international market event for buyers and sellers working in the social, cultural and political documentary genres.

Over 75 broadcasters from Europe, Australia, the USA and Canada participate and each year over 50% of the projects pitched attract additional financing. Last year, the festival attracted over 1400 documentary filmmakers, buyers, programmers, distributors and commissioning editors from around the world.

Find it: Hot Docs International Documentary Festival
517 College Street, Suite 420
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Get info:(416) 203-2155
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FILM/Festivals/San Francisco
47th San Francisco International Film Festival
Through April 29th

The 15-day San Francisco International Film Festival presents nearly feature-length and short 200 films from over 50 countries, in screenings at various venues in San Francisco and Berkeley.

Festival head Roxanne Messina Captor says this year’s slate of films cover everything from “underground movements in politics, culture and the arts, from coffee-house counterculture to underground jazz to political corruption in Peru and activist grandmothers in Argentina.”

There’s even a bit of scandal; “Suite Habana” filmmaker Fernando Pérez of Cuba was set to appear, but the U.S government denied him a visa.

On the less scandalous, but more mysterious front, director Jean-Michel Roux unveils the inspiration for his movie, “Investigation into the Invisible World”: fourteen years ago, Roux was location scouting in Reykjavík, for another feature film he was working on. One evening, wedged comfortably into his hotel bed and slipping into dreamland, he felt someone touch him. He opened his eyes, and saw a shadowy figure scurry around his bed, then vanish.

The following morning, he mentioned his midnight guest to the hotel manager, who drawled, “Oh yes, we have ghosts here.” Fourteen years later, Jean-Michel picked up where his ghostly meeting left off.

The hotel manager did ask Jean-Michel for a favor, though. “If you find a medium while you’re doing your research,” he asked, “could you ask him to stop by the hotel so he can look into our little problem?”

Back to the more pragmatic details…the festival includes several premieres: hard-hitting documentary, ”Girl Trouble”, by local filmmakers Lexi Leban and Lidia Szajko, about San Francisco’s juvenile justice system; Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest, “Doppelganger”, and “Route 181 – Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel, a unique collaboration between a Palestinian filmmaker and an Israeli filmmaker.

Eleven films compete this year for the SKYY Prize, a $10,000 cash award given to a first-time feature filmmaker. The films include “Ana and the Others” by Argentinean director Celina Murga and Lee Kang-Sheng’s “The Missing”.

This year’s “Extreme Cinema” section is an all-Asian extravaganza of edgy delights. From Hong Kong comes “The Park”, a haunted amusement park horror movie, directed by the inhumanly prolific Andrew Lau. The indescribable cop-revenge-kidnap-sci-fi-comic thriller “Save the Green Planet!”, directed by Jang Jun-Hwan, is a nutjob masterpiece that could be the first cult movie from South Korea.

“Marronier” is a horror movie from Japan with a cast of puppets, directed by Hideyuki Kobayashi. And, in just in time for everyone who’s seen Uma Thurman kill Bill, a retro-screening of “Temptress of a Thousand Faces”, by the director of martial arts favorite “The Five Fingers of Death” (1973), Cheng Chang-Ho.

Find it: Various venues, including the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Castro Theatre, and Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley.
Download festival calendar to PDA: http://www.sffs.org/fest04/calendar/index.html
Get info (locations/screening times): (415) 931-FILM
Get tickets: (925) 275-9490
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FILM/Festivals/NYC
Avignon/New York Film Festival
April 19-25
Celebrating French and American independent film with new films, retrospectives, round-tables on hot issues, interviews with filmmakers and receptions, gourmet foods and booze, with prizes for emerging filmmakers. The first festival we’ve ever seen that features a chef imported from Provence, who’ll be whipping up luscious French meals for festival-goers who make a pit stop at a key festival site. Yes, really.

Other goodies on the francophile menu:

“Body to Body” (“Corps à Corps”) directed by François Hanss & Arthur-Emmanuel Pierre
In this stylish thriller, stripper Laura meets Marco, her seeming Prince Charming. Leaving the strip joint to meet Marco, Laura runs her car off the road and wakes up in the hospital with Marco at her bedside. Marco moves her into his imposing house and for the first time in her life, Laura is happy. But she finds out that her loving hubby is not what he pretends to be.

“Dissonances” directed by Jérôme Cornuau
Nathaniel is driving along the highway with his two daughters playing peacefully in the backseat. A van speeds up beside them to pass, then suddenly one of its passengers begins to shoot at Nathaniel’s car, killing one of his little girls. Nathaniel must confront a new reality and find a pathway through the unacceptable.

“High Tension” (“Haute Tension”) directed by Alexandre Aja
Alexandre Aja revives the great tradition of nightmare films, in this macabre tale of a merciless killer, played devilishly well by Philippe Nahon (“Seul Contre Tous”), who will stop at nothing. Two young women on a country weekend go beyond their limits to survive a night of terror.

“Love Me If You Dare” (“Jeux d’Enfants”) directed by Yann Samuell
Best friends Julien and Sophie continue as adults the odd game they started as children, a fearless competition to outdo one another with daring stunts and outrageous practical jokes. Their relationship veers from the dangerous to the ambiguous, remaining intimate even as their lives take them further apart.

“My Idol” (“Mon Idole”) directed by Guillaume Canet
Trained as an actor, Guillaume Canet proves he is a director to be reckoned with in this sardonic tale of power and manipulation in a world of reality television. No one is spared Canet’s acerbic eye in this a romp through the delusional, perverse world of prime-time media.
Find it: Various venues
Paris Theatre (4 W. 58th St, across from Plaza Hotel)
American Museum of the Moving Image (Astoria, Queens)
Directors Guild of America Theatre (57th Street, bet. 6th & 7th)
The Roger Smith Hotel Screening Room (47th & Lex.)
Châteauneuf Gourmet Restaurant, Penthouse, Roger Smith Hotel:
Master Chef Chef Pierre Paumel in residence through April 25th
Get info: (212) 343-2675


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BOOKS/WRITERS (features, news, tips, reviews)
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BOOKS/WRITERS:
NYC/KGB Bar
Reading
April 21, 7pm
Rick Bowes, "Transfigured Night"
The Fantastic Fiction series, curated by Ellen Datlow and Gavin J. Grant, is on the third Wednesday of every month at 7pm at KGB. Come early.
85 East 4th Street (just off 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
Contact: (212) 505 3360
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BOOKS/WRITERS
Writers Bloc series
Featured columnist: Andrea Semple, http://www.andreasemple.com

Beat the snot out of writer's block
by Andrea Semple

Writing a novel is hard. First off, you've got to cope with
everyone smiling patronizingly at the idea that you could ever be
a published writer. Then you've got all those horrible demon
voices in your head saying: 'YOU'RE CRAP! YOU'LL NEVER BE A
NOVELIST! PUT YOUR PEN DOWN AND GET BACK TO THE DAY JOB!'

As a result, it's not surprising that we all suffer from writer's
block from time to time. Unfortunately, there's no miracle cure
to help you write 80,000 or so words without once wanting to
stick your head in the microwave.

All I can do is offer my own personal solutions which may not be
one hundred percent effective, but if they stop just one of you
from banging your head against the wall then my job has been
worthwhile.

OK, let's get to work -- here are my top ten ways to beat writer's
block:

1. Just do it.
Nike's slogan is not just a way of selling overpriced trainers to
branded teens across the globe. It's a neat encapsulation of how
to overcome writer's block. That's because writer's block tends
to be another name for writer's fear. The fear of crap writing.
You can overcome that fear by just doing it anyway, regardless of
whether it's crap or not. After all, you can edit out the crap
stuff later.

2. Read a book.
Books breed books. Instead of staring at a white wall for
twenty-eight hours stick your head in an old classic and get
inspired. Dickens always works for me.

3. Do some research.
If you are having a case of imagination block, read up on some
relevant facts or general research. Factual information relating
to the place, period, theme or characters of your novel can then
be sprinkled into the story.

4. Don't stress.
Pressure is the enemy of writing. When you are writing your first
novel that pressure is most likely to come from yourself. Setting
yourself a deadline is a great idea, but don't let it give you a
nervous breakdown.

5. Don't worry about your daily word count.
Quality and quantity aren't always equal. Indeed, James Joyce,
author of one of the greatest and longest novels in the English
language, suffered from intense writers block. He was once
pleased with himself for having managed to squeeze out seven
words in a day. The pressure of setting a daily word count can
lead to no words being produced at all. Instead, set the amount
of hours you want to work each day.

6. Don't write consecutively.
A lot of people assume they should write a book the way it is
going to be read - i.e. from start to finish. But this approach
can often lead to keyboard constipation. If you are struggling to
start the next chapter write another part of the book which might
come a bit easier, then go back and fill in the gaps.

7. Keep characters to a minimum.
The main cause of my own writer's block is normally due to a case
of character overload. If you are having to write a chapter which
introduces about five new characters into the plot then it can be
an uphill struggle. Therefore strip any unnecessary characters
out of the plot and concentrate on those that are clear in your
mind. This also makes for a tighter, sharper read.

8. Be a sprinter, not a long-distance runner.
Another cause of writer's block is exhaustion. If you've been
working day and night on your future masterpiece then you are
likely to hit what marathon-runners call 'the wall'. Instead of
being the literary equivalent of a long-distance runner it is
best to think like a sprinter. That means giving yourself plenty
of rest periods and making sure that when you perform you give it
your best shot over a relatively short period.

9. Keep it secret.
Now, this is hard. If you are writing a novel your first impulse
will probably be to tell everybody about it. Big mistake. Trust
me, no matter how much people love you they are unlikely to be
quite as enthusiastic about your future novel-writing career as
you are. The end result is a cold bucket of water over your
burning ambition - and a never-ending writer's block.

10. Forget about your readers.
This may seem like strange advice, but it works for severe cases
of writer's block. After all writing a novel is not as private as
some people imagine. Knowing that thousands of people could end
up reading it (or even tens of literary agents), can make you
feel like you are on show. Some instances of writer's block are
actually similar to stage-fright. And once you start thinking
about the different pairs of eyes reading your text it can become
hard to write a good sentence, let alone a chapter. So write in
a way that impresses yourself and don't think of anyone else's
opinion. As one of the screenwriters for Friends recently put it,
'if I constantly thought about the audience, I'd never write a
single word.' If you love what you produce, others will probably
love it too. So have faith in yourself and don't try to second
guess what bookbuyers want to read.

Bio: Andrea Semple is the author of "The Ex-Factor" (Piatkus)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0749933542/ref=sr_aps_bo
oks_1_1/026-3687502-1423624. Her second novel, "The Make-Up Girl" (Piatkus), comes out in July 2004.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0749935049/qid=107722672
7/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_10_3/026-3687502-1423624

Official site: http://www.andreasemple.com
Sign up for Semple's writing tips newsletter: http://www.andreasemple.com/newsletter.htm

About: The Writers Bloc series is an ongoing column featuring practical advice for writers. Nope, not a support group. Not until someone busts out the tequila, anyway...

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BOOKS/WRITERS
The Agent series

Q: Why do I need an agent?
A: You may not, in fact, need an agent. If you already have an offer for your book, or if your book will be published by a professional or educational publishing house that will not offer a significant advance against royalties, you may wish to use an attorney instead.

Alternatively, if you regularly receive million dollar offers for your books, you may wish to use an attorney to avoid paying an agent a 15% commission of your millions.

An attorney can negotiate your deal and vet your contract for you. One caveat: please, please, please, use an attorney who has experience negotiating book contracts. Using your tax attorney or divorce lawyer can just lead to disaster-it could even lead to the cancellation of your contract by your extremely frustrated publisher.

You need an agent if you have written or plan to write a book that is directed to a large, general audience, and you want guidance in approaching the correct houses and editors to publish the book.

You need an agent if you have no contacts of your own within publishing. Editors are more receptive to submissions from agents because they regard the agent as the first screening process, and have come to expect a submission of a certain quality for that agent.

You also need an agent to negotiate your advance, to protect you from tricky contract language that takes away all of your rights in the book, to explain your mysterious royalty statement, to yell at publicity when they are ignoring your book, to persuade you that "Yodeling for Dummies" will not be an instant bestseller and probably should not be the follow-up to your novel, and in general, to help you guide your career in the often mysterious and even horrifying world of publishing.

An agent also helps you sell the subsidiary rights to your book-foreign, audio, electronic, and film/tv-that can add up to significant income beyond your advance if you retain them rather than giving them to the publisher.

Q: Fine, so I need an agent. What should I look for in an agent?
A: First, find someone who will actually take your calls. If your agent is too important to talk to you from the very beginning of the relationship, it may be a good idea to look elsewhere for representation.

Keep in mind that your agent will be the only link to the above-mentioned terrifying world of publishing and let that guide you to find an agent who you actually like and feel you will work well with.

Moving on to other, more practical items, look for an agent who has a respectable track record. Ask for a client or project list so you can see the titles he or she has sold and make sure your book seems like it will fit into that kind of list.

As a general rule, it's best to avoid agents who charge reading fees, but there are exceptions to this. Agents have a kind of governing board called the Association of Authors Representatives (AAR) and one of their rules for membership is that an agent not charge reading fees.

The AAR also has a very good list of questions to ask prospective agents at their website. Keep in mind that you should ask an agent these questions after they've indicated that they want to represent you, and never before.

NB: Lit agent Jenny Bent is providing this information as a courtesy to readers. She is not accepting new work. Unsolicited materials will not be read or returned.
##
Bio: Jenny Bent has ten years of experience working in the publishing industry. She is currently a literary agent with the firm of Trident Media Group, LLC in New York City. Prior to becoming an agent, she worked at "Rolling Stone". She was also an editor at Cader Books, where she was responsible for books on pop culture.

About this series: The Agent is an ongoing series of columns or Q/A sessions with literary agents, providing practical advice for writers.

Next month: What's with this ten-page author-agent agreement? Can I just read the book?

Subscribe: artesix@sashasoren.com
Read online: http://www.sashasoren.com/newsletter.htm

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