Programs
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Town Hall: American Dance Recon 2012
This event has already occurred. Please enjoy photos, videos, and event information below.
When: Wednesday, October 3, 2012, 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Where: Gibney Dance, 890 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY
Thank you for your interest in our Town Hall: American Dance Recon at Gibney Dance on October 3, 2012. Dance/NYC paired with American Dance Abroad for a town hall discussion with participants in American Dance Recon, a new travel and symposia opportunity for international presenters to reconnect with American dance or use it as a reconnaissance.
Join Dance/NYC and the American Dance Abroad for a town hall discussion with international dance presenters and producers participating in American Dance Recon. Made possible with support from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, American Dance Recon is a new travel and symposia opportunity for international presenters to reconnect with American dance and/or to use it as reconnaissance to better appreciate the diversity of American dance. In this town hall, New York City dancemakers can learn about participants’ work and curatorial styles, and trends in dance abroad, from Latin America to Asia and Eastern Europe.
Featured Speakers
Balzs Arat, Art Manager, National Dance Theatre, Budapest, Hungary
Pter Ertl, Deputy Director, National Dance Theatre, Budapest, Hungary
Georgia Hendy, Producer, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia
Low Kee Hong, General Manager, Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore
Ou Jian-Ping, Dance Consultant, Shanghai International Arts Festival, China
Alejandro Jimenez de la Cuesta, Director General, eje 7, Mexico City, Mexico
Risima Risimkin, Artistic Director, Dance Fest Skopje, Macedonia
Carmen Romero, Director, Santiago A Mil Festival, Santiago, Chile
Claudia Urdaneta, Executive Director, Festival Internacional de Teatro de Caracas, Venezuela
Josh Wright, Associate Producer, Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Australia
Speaker Bios
Balzs Arat, Art Manager, National Dance Theatre, Budapest, Hungary
After completing his dance education as a ballet dancer at the Hungarian Dance Academy (Budapest, 1997) Balzs Arat danced with the Hungarian National Ballet (Hungary), and with the Konzert & Theater St. Gallen (Switzerland). After finishing his dancing career he started to learn cultural and museum management at the Eotvos Lorand University (2003) and at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (2012). He has founded his own company and also worked at the Aranytz Cultural Center as art manager until 2005, when he got invited to work in the management of the National Dance Theatre, Budapest. During his time with the National Dance Theatre he has worked with Shen Wei Dance Arts, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Cullberg Ballet, Bridgman/Packer Dance, and many others. In 2004 he started a cultural online magazine (www.tancelet.hu) that is focusing on the dance life of Hungary. Beside his engagement with the National Dance Theatre he has co-produced a musical, and works with Hungarian dance and contemporary fine art artists as their manager. Balzs Arat speaks fluent English and German.
Pter Ertl, Deputy Director, National Dance Theatre, Budapest, Hungary
After completing his dance education as folk dancer at the Hungarian Dance Academy (1987) Pter Ertl danced with the Honvd Dance Ensemble for nearly 20 years (1987-2005). During this time he was working also as assistant choreographer and choreographer. He has a degree in ballet and folk dance pedagogy (1996) and he graduated from the Pcs University as cultural manager in 2003. In 1992 he founded the Cifra Kids Camp, Nigara Fall’s (Canada) where he taught Hungarian folk dance culture for Canadian children. During his time as a dancer and choreographer he has worked with the Tanztheater Wuppertal in the ’Wiesenland’ production and with the Szkene Theatre in their production ’ Temporary title’. In 2001 he was awarded the Hungarian Golden Cross. During his time with the National Dance Theatre he has worked with Shen Wei Dance Arts, Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras, and Les Ballets Trockadero des Monte Carlo. From January 2013 Peter Ertl will be the new director of the National Dance Theatre, Budapest. Pter Ertl speaks fluent English.
Georgia Hendy, Producer, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia
Georgia Hendy is the Producer of Theatre & Dance at Sydney Opera House. Georgia produces Spring Dance – Sydney’s only international contemporary dance festival that takes place over two weeks in late August each year. This festival strives to present the finest dancers and choreographers from Australia and around the globe. Running throughout the year to complement this annual Spring Dance program Georgia also produces a variety of stand -alone dance and theatre performances. Next year Georgia will be part of the producing team celebrating the 40th anniversary of Sydney Opera House.
Low Kee Hong, General Manager, Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore
Kee Hong is currently the General Manager of the Singapore Arts Festival. Over the last three decades, the Festival organized by the National Arts Council, has played a symbiotic and catalytic role in the development of the artistic and cultural life of Singapore. The Festival saw its turning point in 2010 as it embarked on a new phase of development under the leadership of Kee Hong. Key changes and initiatives include turning this international arts platform into a Creation and People’s Festival and a yearlong participation program, com.mune to sustain the Festival’s engagement with the public beyond individual shows staged during the Festival period. Formerly, Kee Hong was the General Manager of the Singapore Biennale, developing it from its inception in 2006 to the largest international contemporary visual arts platform in Singapore. Kee Hong is also an active scholar, holding a Masters in Sociology with on-going research interests in cultural policy, urban planning and architecture, performance studies, vernacular and contemporary culture and arts of Southeast Asia.
Alejandro Jimenez de la Cuesta, Director General, eje 7, Mexico City, Mexico
Alejandro Jimenez de la Cuesta is founder and director of eje 7 >la vialidad del arte>, a company whose mission is to create new models of financing and marketing to promote artistic production and audience development. Among the most important projects developed through eje 7 is the construction of the monumental work Xipe Totec in the Cultural Center Tlatelolco, the management of the resource for Mexico's presence in the scenography art exhibition of the Prague Quadrennial (before the culture committee of the Deputies Chamber), the administration of the Puebla International Festival since 2009, the artistic programming of the International Spanish Book Fair of Los Angeles 2011, the production of Rolando Villazn tour in 2009, Wynton Marsalis & Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2010, and the opera Il Postino, coproduction of the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the International Cervantino Festival. He is Executive Director for the Cultural Center Roberto Cantoral. He has been a member of APAP (Association of Performing Arts Presenters) since 2009 and ISPA (International Society for the Performing Arts) since 2010, where he is also part of the finance committee.
Ou Jian-Ping, Dance Consultant, Shanghai International Arts Festival, China
As Director, Research Fellow and Supervising Professor for MA and Ph.D candidates of Beijing-based Dance Research Institute under Chinese National Academy of Arts, Prof. OU Jian-Ping has worked as a consultant to all the major performing arts agencies in China such as the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. He has been responsible for writing previews and giving radio & TV talks to promote over 100 foreign dance companies in China, including the American dance companies of Trisha Brown, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Lar Lubovitch, Jennifer Muller, Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theater. He has accumulated knowledge of US dance from his three study tours of the United States with fellowships from the NYC-based Asian Cultural Council and with Anna Kisselgoff as his mentor at the Dance Critics Conference of American Dance Festival in New York City respectively in 1988, 1993 and 2006, the last of which earned him a certificate from THE NEW YORK TIMES Institute of Journalism. In addition, he has been traveling, lecturing and reviewing dances extensively in twenty other countries in Asia, Oceania, Europe and America with fellowships from various governmental and cultural organizations. His research subjects include comparative studies of Chinese and foreign dance history and aesthetics, dance administration and management. He is an author of 28 dance and aesthetics books published in Chinese and English at home and abroad, among which six have been reprinted in traditional Chinese characters in Taiwan and widely read among Chinese readers around the world. He was respectively named “Outstanding Expert” by the Chinese Ministry of Culture in 1998 and “Extraordinary Dance Artist” by the Chinese National Dance Artists Association in 2009.
Risima Risimkin, Artistic Director, Dance Fest Skopje, Macedonia
Risima Risimkin is one of the leading Macedonian choreographers and artistic director of Dance Fest Skopje and Skopje Dance Theater. She received her MA from the University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, at the Academy for Music and Dance Art (AMTI) in the section for Choreography, Ballet Directing and Pedagogy and was awarded the title ballet master. She is currently working as a professor of the University of ESRA Paris-Skopje-New York in Skopje, where she is artistic director of Skopje Dance Academy (SDA). SDA is the first Academy for contemporary dance in Macedonia and the region, the program was established in collaboration with prestigious Rotterdam Dance Academy from the Netherlands. Risimkin is a member of the Executive Council of CID UNESCO, Paris, France and actual president of Skopje CID Section in Macedonia. With this association she is working intensively in Macedonia, organizing several congresses and developing the art of dance. She is the founder of the Interart Centre for Culture (1996), whose activities have helped the development of the Macedonian contemporary dance scene. Risimkin is one of the most prolific contemporary Macedonian choreographers—an avant-garde representative in contemporary creation. She has actively represented Macedonia on the international contemporary dance scene with her own performances, which have received excellent reviews both in the country and abroad. Risimkin is the recipient of several awards, including the award for exceptional contribution to the development of culture in the Republic of Macedonia. In 2011 she was awarded as one of Top Ten women - manager in Macedonia.
Carmen Romero, Director, Santiago A Mil Festival, Santiago, Chile
Carmen Romero is one of the most important women in the environment of the management and promotion of the local scenic arts. In 1994, with Evelyn Campbell she created the Festival International Santiago to Thousand, programming diverse national and international spectacles. The Festival has has been opened to new disciplines, transforming into an event that also presents movies, music, dance and visual arts. In 1991 she created the Latin-American Network of Producers of Contemporary Art, and organized the First Cultural Forum of the Mercosur and the Fair of the Scenic Arts of the Conosur. She is also one of the organizers of the VIII Shows of Theatrical Dramaturgy. In the world of music she has presented Savior Allende, Violet Vine and the concert "Fact in Chile", carried out in Pompeii (Italy). As the founder of Romero and Campbell Productions, she has been connected with the world of the movies of Andrs Wood "Violet he went to the skies", "House of Party", of Joaqun Eyzaguirre, "The lesson of painting", directed by Pablo Perelman and the contest of emerging digital movies organized by the arts center Lastarria 90. She has received diverse awards as recognition of her work: Prize Elena Caffarena, offered by the National Service of the Woman; Prize to the undertaking delivered by the Future Foundation; Prize Terra Woman. The French State granted her in 2004 the distinction "Chevalier of l' ordre Arts or Lettres" by its work as a group with French playwrights of vanguard.
Claudia Urdaneta, Executive Director, Festival Internacional de Teatro de Caracas, Venezuela
Executive Director of the Caracas International Theater Festival (2001 to present). Executive Producer of the Miami World Theater Festival (2005). Executive Director of Danzahoy (1988-2001). General Director of Centro Latinoamericano de Danza -Latin American Dance Center- (1992-2001). Since 1992, she has been the Venezuelan Representative (Ncleo Venezuela) of La Red de Promotores Culturales de Latinoamrica y el Caribe (La Red) -Network of Cultural Promoters of Latin America and the Caribbean. President of La Red for two terms, and member of the Advisory Board. Co-founder and President of Red de Presentadores de Arte del Caribe - CARIBNET (Caribbean Network of Art Presenters - CARIBNET) Consultant for the Dance Department of the National Council of Culture (Venezuela) on the design of a national touring program for dance performances, residences and workshops. Member of the Curators' Commission of Performing Americas (a program of artistic exchange developed between National Performance Network (USA) and La Red). Member of the selection panel of "ArtesAmericas" (2005), University of Texas. Panelist of the Cultural Exchange International Fellowship program developed by the City of Los Angeles (2010). In 1999 she received the National Artists Award as best contemporary dance producer of the year.
Josh Wright, Associate Producer, Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Australia
Josh Wright is a producer from Melbourne, Australia and has worked in Sydney, London and Venice and is currently the Associate Producer at the Malthouse Theatre. Malthouse Theatre is an artist-led theatre and performance venue making and programming theatre, dance and contemporary performance. Josh advises on dance programming and is a consortium member for Dance Massive a curated biennial program of contemporary dance in Melbourne. At Malthouse Theatre, Josh develops artist, youth and education programs as well as community partnerships and audience development strategies. Josh also produces an independent artist season called Helium in the Malthouse’s smallest space, the Tower Theatre. Previously, Josh has held roles at Ausdance Victoria, Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Council England, Cultural Leadership Programme and Tate Britain. Josh is an alumni of the Australia Council’s Emerging Leaders Development Program and has had independent advisory roles at Arts Victoria, Melbourne Fringe, the Office for the Community Sector, Australia Council for the Arts, Ausdance Qld, Next Wave Festival, Arts Industry Council Victoria, Rawcus and Melbourne Bikefest. Josh has an Arts and Communications Degree in Theatre, Film and Dance, Honours in Film and a Masters in Curatorship. He is also a dancer for Body Electric a cult 80s Jazz dance performance group.
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Dance/NYC Town Halls are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Dance/NYC is a branch of Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance. Dance/NYC's mission is to sustain and advance the professional dance field in New York City- serving as the voice, guide and infrastructure architect for all local dance artists and managers. The organization achieves this mission through: advocacy, research and convening. As a convener, Dance/NYC aims to connect and educate our constituency-strengthening the collective voice for dance.
American Dance Abroad launched in July 2011 as an initiative to expand opportunities for equitable cultural engagement between American dance artists/companies and their international counterparts. American Dance Abroad’s primary mandate is to expand international visibility for American dance by securing the foundation upon which long-term, mutually beneficial relationships can be built.
