performance art Archives

Want to Win $1,000? Check Out Gallery5 This Friday

Oliver Mendoza | August 1, 2019

Topics: $1000, 1000 giveaway, art, art collaborative, art exhibition, danny crump, events, First Fridays, flux factory, Gallery5, game show, giveaway, Jackson Ward, local art, one spa at a time, performance art, richmond events, rinkworm, sarah dahlinger, springboard collective

Springboard Collective is bringing their latest interactive art installation to Gallery 5 in the form of a game show with a thousand-dollar prize.

First Fridays in Richmond has always been a great time to visit some of the local galleries, socialize with friends, and enjoy some local art… but add a $1,000 giveaway and an interactive art exhibition, and First Fridays just got a lot more interesting.

Gallery 5, an art gallery and music venue in Jackson Ward, will be hosting a special interactive art exhibition brought by Springboard Collective.

Springboard Collective produces interactive, immersive exhibitions, and encourages their audience to get involved. Originating from New York, Danny Crump and Sarah Dahlinger are co-directors of the production. They’ve collaborated with many different artists for shows in New York, Philadelphia, and now Richmond.

“Because Gallery 5 is also a music venue, we’re making it more of a performative installation, and the $1,000 competition is more of a show,” Crump said. “There will be a lot of sculptural installations as well.”

The two have been involved in such exhibitions as Rinkworm, a week-long pop-up roller rink, and One Spa on a Time, a 60-hour spa resort installation at the Flux Factory in NYC.

According to Crump, there can sometimes be more than 20 artists involved in one exhibition. “Many of our projects tend to have a performative aspect, both interactive and in a programmatic way,” Crump said. The way this works is that Springboard invite specific artists to create a show or a performance art piece within the context of their installations.

The competition that takes center stage at this installation is in the form of a single-elimination bracket-style tournament, with 64 possible entries. Each participant has a 1-in-64 chance to win $1,000. It’s set to be part of the performative aspect of the installation, and will be geared like a game show, such as Legends of the Hidden Temple.

“Playing with people’s expectations is a big part of the transformation of this space, and that helps to create an escape,” Crump said.

According to Dahlinger, their projects tend to bring people out for a variety of different reasons — and though it is sometimes a risk to encourage so much audience participation in their work, everyone who attends is nonethless encouraged to engage at their own pace.

“With this one, the core idea being a $1,000 competition, we’re hoping to stay cryptic with what that entails,” said Crump. “But we can say essentially that if you can play rock-paper-scissors, you can compete in this tournament.”

“For us, artistically and creatively, I think the gesture of giving away $1,000 is generous,” Dahlinger said. “A lot of our projects are really generous, and the spaces all get built from the ground up.”

Dahlinger and Crump said they will be starting the setup of the installation this week as they come into Richmond. They’d like to invite people to come by Gallery 5, check out what they’re up to, and help out with the setup.

Gallery 5 is located on 200 West Marshall St, and doors will open for Springboard Collective’s installation at 6pm on Friday, August 2. The competition will begin at 8pm, followed by an after-party and award ceremony at 9pm. For more info, click here.

Top Photo via Springboard Collective

Richmond Dance Festival 2019, Weekend Three: A Night Of Solos

Christopher McDaniel | May 16, 2019

Topics: Allen Xing, Dhol Tuason, Dogtown Dance Theatre, Kayla Xavier, Michelle Koppl, modern dance, performance art, Richmond Dance Festival, Sayaw! Diversity

For the 6^th annual Richmond Dance Festival’s finale, the third weekend’s performance on May 10 and 11 sported heartwrenching and joyous solos. The first show incorporated many different forms of dance, and the second show strongly hosted a majority of modern duets and company pieces. The final weekend differed only in terms of the number of people performing on stage, and was the strongest weekend yet, featuring some of my favorite solos to date.

“A Solo for 206 Performers,” Choreographed and performed by Michelle Koppl

With a title that tips its hat to the exact number of bones in the human body, Koppl made me uncomfortable in the most pleasant way possible. In Koppl’s words, her solo “explores the relationship between the mind and the body in motion,” and I could feel her breathe as she performed. At one point, she turned to the crowd and slowly scanned the audience with wide eyes and an open mouth; a haunting scene still vivid as day.

“Shape in Water,”Choreographed and performed by Allen Xing

Xing is a one of those dancers you imagine when you picture a dancing career. He has travelled and studied in various parts of the globe, and he has performed in many more. Currently based in Baltimore, Xing brought this immersive solo to Richmond. It is a performance reminiscent of water, lit with five blue spotlights at alternating spots on the stage, giving the image of Xing dancing underwater. His most spectacular move was a jump split with a four-foot vertical.

“Midnight Margarita,”Choreographed and performed by Kayla Xavier

This half performance art/half modern dance solo was served to the audience as comic relief. Most audiences and even dancers can have an air of pretentiousness about them, and Xavier tears it all down with one piece. Acting as an intoxicated partygoer who just arrives home, the dance was full of laughs as Xavier mimed pouring herself another glass, vomiting, and literally spinning out of control. Her entire performance was lit by a lone spotlight, and it just felt right.

“Singkilan,”Choreographed by Dhol Tuason and performed by Sayaw! Diversity

Taking a reprieve from the solos of the final weekend of the 2019 Richmond Dance Festival, the production’s final piece of the night was a group piece featuring over 20 performers. “Singkilan” is a traditional Filipino dance, broken into three sections comprised of three sets of performers. From young to old, Filipino men and women showed Richmond a rich culture that rarely gets the spotlight. More of this please.

With the conclusion of the Richmond Dance Festival, Dogtown Dance Theatre’s annual programming comes to a close. The 2019 Dogtown Presenter’s Series will take place this September, and it will be feature one local choreographer, who has yet to be announced. Find out more at dogtowndancetheatre.com.

Top Photo by Dave Parrish

Circa, “Carnival of the Animals” at Modlin Center

Joe Vanderhoff | March 6, 2018

Topics: circus, Modlin Center, performance, performance art

“Our zebras juggle and flip… Our kangaroos skip and somersault… We’ve elephants with street-cred and rhythm… And even our dinosaur bones shake, clatter, and roll to the music.” – Yaron Lifschitz, artistic director

The lines between movement, dance, theatre, and circus are beautifully blurred by the Circa carnival and its whimsical tales of creatures of land and sea, who tumble, fly, leap, and spin their way through the many wondrous worlds of the animal kingdom. Carnival of the Animals whisks you away on a thrilling escapade inspired by the music of Camille Saint-Saëns. In a delightful salute to feathers, fur, and fins, Circa’s acrobats bring this classical music suite to life for a new generation of circus, music, and animal-lovers. A work of sophisticated and delightful family entertainment, it is both contemporary and old-world while it amazes, amuses, and uplifts.

Modlin Arts After Words
Join members of Circa following the performance for a question-and-answer session.

https://modlin.richmond.edu/

‘Eternal Forest’ comes to life at Dogtown Dance Theatre this week

Christopher McDaniel | September 7, 2017

Topics: belly dance, dance, Dogtown Dance Theatre, Electric Nomad Dance Studio, performance, performance art

Electric Nomad Dance Studio will perform its annual theatrical belly dance performance, “Eternal Forest,” at Dogtown Dance Theatre this weekend. Owned and directed by Twila Jane Sikorsky, Electric Nomad is a hive of dancers, artists, parents, and activists who support inclusive art based on empowering one another, building community, and creating bridges between cultures.“Eternal Forest” is a 90-minute work about diversity and collaboration that explores themes of cycles, growth, and symbiosis through dance, set to an original score by Four Strings’ Adam Birce.

“Eternal Forest” is a 90-minute work about diversity and collaboration that explores themes of cycles, growth, and symbiosis through dance. The show will also feature paired film work by Patrick Gregory Films, costumes and props designed by Twila and her students, sets built by Dawn Flores of the Forest Project, and dance and music collaborations with Rin Ajna and her experimental dance project, Myriad.“I am inspired by the order of nature,” Sikorsky said. “’Eternal Forest’ includes months, seasons, weather patterns, and the hours in the day. There are twelve pieces that reflect the entire year and what’s happening in the forest during those times, especially in Virginia.”

Sikorsky and Electric Nomad have been cultivating their forest for about a year and a half. “A forest themed show was in my bucket of ideas, and after our successful ocean themed show last year, it seemed like the right time,” Sikorsky said.

“Eternal Forest” is a dance performance entrenched in rich collaboration from top tier choreographers. On top of the production collaborators, the performance will also feature dance pieces from several other local dance companies.

“’Eternal Forest’ features my students and my apprentice dance company, Laterna, alongside Rin Ajna’s Myriad, Jess Burgess’s RVA Dance Collective, Melody Magpie’s aerialist work, and Alyssum Pohl’s contortionism and dance,” Sikorsky said.

Dawn Flores and the Forest Project have been another collaboration point in Eternal Forest. “I saw the ways that Dawn transformed artifacts from her conservation work in the forest, and knew that that it was time for us to get our creative ideas rolling down the same path.” Sikorsky said. “We’ve worked together before, and we both realized that this would be a perfect time to come together again.”

“Patrick Gregory has made stunning film for the production, using his own footage along with some contributions from the Forest Project. He has created film backdrops and short films in between dances,” Sikorsky said. “Adam Birce will perform parts of his original score on piano and violin live during each showing, too. It has been a dream of Adam’s to collaborate with dancers ever since he was young and inspired by the ballet.”Be sure to catch “Eternal Forest” at Dogtown Dance Theatre on September 8 at

Be sure to catch “Eternal Forest” at Dogtown Dance Theatre on September 8 at 8pm and September 9 at 2pm and 8pm

Jesus Christ… MC Chicken is back with a new song/video

Brad Kutner | November 30, 2015

Topics: Mc Chicken, performance art

He’s back, and I’m writing the post this time (BK here).

#ClassicRVA – Sanford Biggers: The Big Idea

Brad Kutner | June 23, 2014

Topics: Jennifer Zackin, performance art, race and racism, RVA sculptors, RVA Volume 4 issue 9, sanford biggers, video art

Sanford Biggers isn’t content to be called a sculptor, video artist or performance artist, even though these media are central to his work. He’s an artist whose interdisciplinary skills allow him to challenge viewers with an unusual practice that resists characterization. He’s not only an idea man in the conceptual art tradition, he also makes amazing and mysterious things.
[Read more…] about #ClassicRVA – Sanford Biggers: The Big Idea