We live in a time when cultural identity is often effusive and rarely singular. And if we look closely enough, it is never singular. Yet even as we become more aware of the inherent artifice of borders, issues of identity and labels can still be given an importance that goes beyond an individual's humanity. Through our featured artists Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Shantala Shivalingappa we see how cross-cultural perspectives manifest themselves into art that challenges the limits of performance as well as staid notions of cultural boundaries. This is not melding one culture into the other, but rather claiming both, or as many as exist, at one time, and often in one place, one home, one body.
At Home, Elsewhere features public events and performances, a multi-media art installation, film screenings, talks, master classes, and a symposium featuring leading makers of cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary work.
Arts Bank at The University of the Arts
601 South Broad Street (at South Street)
Wheelchair accessible
Sept 11 + 12 at 8pm
$25 (students + 25-and-under tickets $15) / 60 minutes
>> Click here for more information or to get tickets to Namasya.
Special offer! Enjoy the breadth of Shantala Shivalingappa's creativity and artistry in two dynamic yet contrasting performances. See her first at the Live Arts Festival in her contemporary work Namasya, and then on November 5 at the Annenberg Center in Shiva Ganga, a classical Indian dance which explores the balance between two Hindu gods.
See both for only $30! Click here for more information and to order.
Prince Music Theater
1412 Chestnut Street
Wheelchair accessible
Sept 15–17 at 8pm
$25–$30 (students + 25-and-under tickets $15) / 75 minutes
>> Click here for more information or to get tickets to Play.
Independence Black Box
Prince Music Theater
1412 Chestnut Street
Wheelchair accessible
Sept 17 from 10am-2pm
Free
"I am deeply interested in how my American formalism, and the nationalism that it implies, clashes, intersects, manipulates and is manipulated by the art and life aesthetics of distinct world cultures... What I once viewed as boundaries have become artistic and philosophical border crossings. At the same time, the boundaries between other realms-racial, political and cultural-and my own concerns as a human being and as a performing artist are being crossed and re-crossed." -- Ralph Lemon, choreographer and visual artist
"The medium of dance-the body-is shaped and moved by the cultural contexts it inhabits. It can express nuance and complexity in ways that we can intuit without resorting to words, language, or reasoning." -- Simon Dove, Festival Spotlight Series curator
Cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary approaches are catalyzing new possibilities in dance and contemporary art-making. The migration of forms, ideas, and perspectives across borders has given rise to a huge variety of inter-cultural work. Leading artists from Africa, Europe, North America, and South Asia discuss their current projects, which raise questions about identity, culture, and our notions of borders. These conversations highlight the perspectives of the artists themselves, and provide a fascinating insight into the ways artists navigate complex ideas of identity.
Moderated by Simon Dove, director of the Herberger Institute School of Dance at Arizona State University, curator of Crossing the Line festival in New York, and former artistic director of Springdance, the international dance festival in the Netherlands.
10am / Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Shantala Shivalingappa
Both discuss the making of Play and their individual approaches to the work. Larbi is the son of a Flemish mother and Moroccan father. A former member of the Ghent-based choreographic group Les Ballets C. de la B, his work focuses on identity, cultural differences, and boundaries. Shivalingappa was born in Chennai, India, and brought up in Paris. She is an accomplished dancer in the classical Kuchipudi form, and has been a collaborator/performer with Pina Bausch and Peter Brook amongst others.
10.45am / Ralph Lemon
One of America's leading figures in choreographic, visual, and interdisciplinary arts, Lemon talks about his recent production How can you stay... and how his personal experience informs his art practice. He grew up in Minnesota and is the artistic director of Cross Performance. For each of his projects, he builds a team of collaborating artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, countries, and artistic disciplines, who bring their own histories and cultural aesthetics to the work.
12.00pm / Jayachandran Palazhy
The artistic director of Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts in Bangalore, India, discusses and demonstrates his new performance work at the center, and his development of a distinct contemporary South Asian dance practice. Jayachandran Palazhy's background includes training in classical dance in Chennai, performing street theater, and exploring Western contemporary dance in London.
12.45pm / Nora Chipaumire with Ralph Lemon
A Bessie Award winner, Chipaumire is a solo artist and the former associate director of the renowned Urban Bush Women. She investigates the cultural, political, and economic identities of contemporary Africa. She holds degrees in law from Zimbabwe University and dance from Mills College, California.
1.30pm / Open Discussion
A roundtable talk with all the artists, and featuring questions and comments from the audience.
Independence Black Box at the Prince Music Theater
1412 Chestnut Street
Wheelchair accessible
Free / 110 minutes
Sept 14 at 7pm
"Each artist's performance is never simply a choreographic performance, but something that emerges from everyday life, which is intimately linked to the socio-political context in which this something was created." -- Alain Platel
Alain Platel directed this documentary about members of his highly acclaimed Belgian company Les Ballets C de la B. Who are the dancers of Les Ballets C de la B? Where do they come from? And how do they transcend the world on stage? In a series of portraits Patel traces the life stories of the performers whose origins include Turkey, France, Burkina Faso, and Vietnam. Performance and rehearsal footage features the choreography of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Christine de Smedt, Koen Augustijnen, and Alain Platel.
Show is free but RSVP is recommended. Please click here to reserve your seat.
Demonstration by Hema Bharathy Palani, senior dancer at Attakkalari
Independence Black Box at the Prince Music Theater
1412 Chestnut Street
Wheelchair accessible
Free / 60 minutes
Sept 13 at 7pm
Explore the physical traditions of Indian performing arts with the artistic director of the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, India's premiere organization working in contemporary movement arts. From its research of ancient forms, Attakkalari is developing a contemporary South Asian physical training program for a new generation of performing artists. This presentation focuses on Kalarippayattu, one of the oldest known martial arts forms, and its various body concepts and movement principles. Features filmed interviews with master teachers, movement sequences, and stunning shots from inside the training arenas, dug down into the red soil of Kerala, in southwestern India, where the form first evolved. Interspersed with the film segments are a conversation with Jayachandran Palazhy, the project's director, and a live movement demonstration.
Show is free but RSVP is recommended. Please click here to reserve your seat.
Previously selected Philadelphia dancers receive an intensive introduction to the ideas of Attakkalari's unique contemporary movement vocabulary, which incorporates concepts of Indian performance and physical traditions including Kalarippayattu. Jayachandran Palazhy is the director of Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts. Hema Bharati is one of Attakkalari's leading dancers.
A one-day session with the performer and co-creator of Play and Namasya. Shivalingappa will introduce area dancers to Kuchupudi, a classical dance form of South India characterized by its rhythmic, vibrant style, full of quick, intricate footwork and jumps. Reserved for professional dancers. Interested participants should email workshops@livearts-fringe.org. Selected participants will be notified by August 26th.
The Festival Spotlight Series is supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through Dance Advance.
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