Misnomer is honored to receive new major support for our Audience Engagement Platform (AEP) through Dance/USA’s “Engaging Dance Audiences” program. We were one of nine organizations selected from 179 submissions by this new national funding program established by the Doris Duke Foundaton and the James Irvine Foundation.

For more information on AEP – visit misnomer.org. or email aep@misnomer.org.

Jaki Levy and Chris recently contributed an article to the site as well, called “Sharing a Staged Peformance Across the World.” Published in two segments, the article explores the process of producing a live dance webcast.

Read “Sharing a Staged Performance Across the World: Part One” (by Chris Elam).

Read “Sharing a Staged Performance Across the World: Part Two” (by Jaki Levy).

Zipper from Chris Elam on Vimeo.

We’ll be performing Being Together, which premiered at Joyce Soho this past December. The night will feature a performance of Zipper, with music by Evan Ziporyn from Bang on a Can All-Stars fame.

Curious about the show?
Watch preview videos, interviews with the artists, or even a full performance of Being Together (from Misnomer’s webcast in December).

RSVP on Facebook

You can buy tickets here [Link]

Want more info?
Visit Summer Stages’ website for the full details

Misnomer Dance Theater’s Artistic Director Chris Elam will be a guest at this week’s chat, “New business models for arts organizations” which will take place online on Thursday May 28th at 12 noon (EST). Other participants include Clara Miller -  president and CEO of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, Steve Runk – Executive Director of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and Holly Sidford – a strategic planner, program developer and fundraiser.

Official description from the NFF:

Thursday, May 28, 2009 at Noon (EST)
New business models for arts organizations

Arts organizations face unique challenges in weathering the recession. Many groups are facing a significant decline in their audiences as patrons cut their expenses. Many others are seeing a drop off in charitable support.

This discussion will give arts leaders and those who support them an opportunity to talk about new, promising approaches to overcoming financial pressures, driving profits and business outcomes, managing high capital costs in the current market, and connecting with audiences in new ways.

To join, visit http://philanthropy.com/live/recession_series/ on May 28th at 12noon (ET) and click “Join the Discussion”. If you can’t join us live, check back after the chat for the complete transcript.

To submit questions now, visit http://philanthropy.com/live/recession_series/. Questions submitted in advance have a better chance of being answered.

To read the transcript of last week’s web chat “Nonprofit Financing Options in Recession”, visit http://philanthropy.com/live/2009/05/financing_options/index.shtml.

Join Misnomer Dance Theater for a live webcast from inside the vault on Wednesday, April 29th at 5:30pm EST.

Watch it online at http://www.misnomer.org.

The 30 minute show includes an introduction from Artistic Director Chris Elam, followed by Misnomer’s newest work-in-progress, and an excerpt from Too Late Tulip.

Misnomer Live Webcast April 29th, 5:30 PM EST from Chris Elam on Vimeo.

What do you do you when you’re not dancing with Misnomer?

Outside of working with Chris Elam, I have a very diverse and busy artistic life. In addition to dancing for Chris, I dance with Cherylyn Lavagnino performing contemporary ballet, which, yes, means pointe shoes! I am also currently dancing as a puppeteer for Christopher Williams upcoming show at DTW. In addition to the choreographers I work for, I also have many of my own artistic projects, most of which are centered around installation and collaboration. I have collaborated with various sculptors, designers, painters, video artists, and photographers, performing in festivals such as DUMBO under the bridge arts festival, AUNTS, and at the New York Studio Gallery. In addition, I run a small performance space in Brooklyn which I built and live in called The Petri Space, meant to be a petri dish for the exploration and experimentation of a range of artistic work. There, along with two other women, we feature dance and installation work, along with comedy shows and poetry and prose readings. In conjunction with The Petri Space and an art collective called Subject To Change, we are currently working on spring show that will feature a modern roof top victory garden and engage with themes of community through the metaphor of plants and branches, roots and growth. And when I have a minute to spare you will usually find me with my nose in a book or my fingers covered in watercolors!

What are your feelings on creating new work in the bank vault?

Wow, well its an extraordinary time to be an artist working on Wall street across from the New York Stock Exchange. The poignancy of the metaphors in this run very deep. And I am reminded of that every day as I go to the studio. As the US and global economy are suffering, the artists are going to keep making art despite it all. Artists, dancers, writers, musicians, we are going to keep doing what we do in some form and capacity. We will make space, dance in bank vaults, get creative about how and where and what, but we will continue to make work. When I am rehearsing in the vault, which is underground, I like to think of the image of Wall st. bankers and tourists walking above an empty bank vault with us dancing below. Where stacks of money and credit used to be stored under high security, there are now bare feet prancing around and exploring the many ways to make meaning out of space.

What was it like to work with Bjork in the Wanderlust video?

Working on the set of Wanderlust changed my life and in many ways the way I have been approaching my own work these days. I was struck by how many people, most of them unpaid interns or underpaid artist, came together and created something spectacular, because they believed in the vision and in Bjork. They did it with an overwhelming positivity you rarely find in such a large project. And getting to work with Bjork was really quite magical. the first shot with her, I was uncomfortably harnessed to her back as she sat on one of the yak puppets. When she began to sing, I not only heard, but felt the vibrations of her voice through my back, and they echoed through my chest like some sort of beautiful cymatic sound healing. It was a truly amazing way to begin the shoot. Furthermore, I very much respect Bjork’s work and it was a treat to get to know her a little better as a person, to see her as a loving mother, a woman, and an artist.

photo by Brynne Billingsley

Misnomer spent the last two weeks in residency at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS. In addition to setting choreography on the students, Misnomer performed for the public on February 7. Everyone had a great time! The trip had special significance since the University is Brynne’s alma mater, and it was the first residency for new company members Jenny and Val.

Jenny’s thoughts on the experience:

University of Southern Mississippi was a wonderful place to go on my first tour with Misnomer. The university was incredibly hospitable and it was a great opportunity to bond with the other dancers. Feeling more integrated as a company member combined with the extremely warm and welcoming students and faculty allowed the work to achieve an energy that I had not felt until performing on the USM stage. It was a great experience and I look forward to future tours with Misnomer!

Brynne shares her alumna perspective:

The USM residency has been such an amazing experience. The university students have been terrific to work with. As a USM alum, I’ve really enjoyed sharing with them my experiences as a dancer in New York City, and teaching them Misnomer repertory. They are so eager to learn and have given so fully of themselves in the artistic and creative process. It has also been such a fulfilling experience to work outside of the university with children in the community and with students throughout the state. I feel that we were able to have such a positive impact by sharing dance and art in such a unique way with the Mississippi dance community.

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