Summer is nearly over and a lot is brewing for Misnomer this fall. Before we dive in, we’d like to catch you up on some highlights from our summer outings.

Chris gathered with a group of innovative dance companies in Washington D.C. this past June to give a presentation about Engaging Dance Audiences at the annual Dance/USA Conference. Chris enjoyed getting together with dance representatives from across the country to discuss and learn about one another’s experiments and adventures.

On June 12th, Chris got married! Friends and family joined together for three days at a summer camp in upstate NY, where, among other things, there was a Friday night performance, or as he refereed to it, “a curated evening of entertainment”. This included stories, songs and dances, a feature of which was a stunning solo choreographed and performed by one of Misnomer’s dancers, Brynne Billingsley. (Brynne will be performing this solo at Misnomer’s benefit party at Galapagos on Nov 5th in NYC).  Another highlight of the weekend was when a crowd formed around Chris’s grandfather who was dancing it up on the dance floor at midnight. Both Chris’s father and grandmother attested that they had never seen his grandfather dance before in his entire life! Chris’s grandparents have been married for 73 years! That’s inspiring.

After the wedding the newlyweds had their honeymoon in Indonesia, where Chris re-connected with his Topeng dance master for the first time since he lived and studied there 12 years ago. Chris will follow up with more on this in a special upcoming blog post.

Meanwhile, throughout the summer AEP development continued with the testing process for an initial group of artists who lent their time and feedback. This included some alpha testing analysis conducted by Ron Evans, which you can read more about at the AEP blog.

Looking forward, Misnomer is excited for an active season ahead! Next weekend, Misnomer will be performing the first piece that Chris ever created for the company, entitled “Misnomer”, from which the company got its name back in 1998. The performance will be for one night only, and will open the program for the closing night of the annual DanceNOW[NYC] Festival at Dance Theater Workshop. The program also includes the works of several other dynamic choreographers from the NYC dance scene, so be sure to get your tickets soon for the September 11th performance at 7:30pm.

We’ll write more soon about some of our upcoming events, including the Columbia Business School’s Social Enterprise Conference (Oct 8), TEDxGotham (Oct 15), and Misnomer’s benefit performance & party at Galapagos Art Space (Nov 5, save the date: tickets online soon). You can always get info at our events and facebook pages, and can sign up for email updates, which are more in-depth than our blog.

We hope you’ve had a great summer, and look forward to sharing some art with you at an event soon!

Helen Lee

Misnomer Dance Theater

(If you’d like to view the video in a larger format, visit our livestream page).

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You can still catch the last two performances on April 9th & 10th, live at Symphony Space. Buy tickets on the Symphony Space website.

Misnomer @ Symphony Space

New Season Opens April 2nd at Symphony Space! Great atmosphere, incredible art. Bring your friends and prepare to be stimulated

More info, visit: www.misnomer.org/symphonyspace/index.html

A few days ago, I attended a performance at the Baryshnikov Arts Center by the Misnomer Dance Theater. Rather than marveling at graceful pirouettes or effortless lifts, I found myself captivated in a search for the dances’ meanings.

Modern dance is still relatively new to me, as I have only a little bit of first-hand experience in hip hop and ballroom. Interpretive in style, the Misnomer performance served as medium for storytelling. The performance reminded me of the music of band The Dirty Projectors. The Dirty Projectors are an indie/experimental rock band out of Brooklyn – they’ve been around for quite a few years now, but I only recently started exploring their music. I am often caught off guard by the group’s juxtaposition of octaves and unsuspecting use of instruments.

The Misnomer performance echoed this emphasis on juxtaposition. The abstract performance took place in a studio named after one of the greatest ballet—a type of movement considered more traditional—dancers of all time. The performers’ outfits ranged from everyday wear to full on, alien-like costume. I was often caught off guard by Misnomer’s interpretation of what constitutes “prop.” At a point in the performance, one of the dancers crawled on top of another dancer and then wrapped himself horizontally around the other dancer before shimmying his way to the floor. I would have never thought to use another person as a type of “pole” before seeing this take place.

I applaud the Misnomer Dancer Theater for promoting innovation. It was obvious that the choreographer and dancers pushed themselves to achieve a unique performance aesthetic. Audience members may not always understand, spot-on, the meaning of their performances, but they can be sure of one thing: attending a Misnomer show means bearing witness to something refreshing and unusual.

- Deaton

A reply from Chris Elam, Misnomer’s Artistic Director:

Hi Deaton,

Thanks for attending our show and for writing your post. I don’t know if you know this, but if not, it’s ironic that you mentioned the Dirty Projectors in your post about our show. They were actually in the audience that day

Glad to share the art with you and appreciate your curiousity!

- Chris Elam

You can read this article and respond to it here.

Misnomer Unpacked Series: Too Late Tulip from Chris Elam on Vimeo.

Choreography: Chris Elam

Music:Greg Brown, Chet Baker, Giora Feidman, Pickpocket Ensemble

Commissioned Music: James Sizemore

Interviewed: Coco Karol, Brynne Billingsley

Appearing: Brynne Billingsley, Coco Karol, Jennifer Harmer, Luke Gutgsell, Dorian Nusikind-Oder

Misnomer's Jennifer Harmer directs models at the Sand County photo shoot.

On October 25th, Misnomer had the pleasure of being involved in a very cool collaborative photo shoot with photographer Tanit Sakakini and Nightjar Creative in Brooklyn, NY. Jennifer Harmer choreographed the shoot – translating Misnomer’s signature movement vocabulary into still shots. Jenny Campbell was one of thirty models involved in the day long shoot outside of 3rd Ward.

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