Did you see the Sioux?

NOVEMBER 6, 2009 - 9:34 PM

Lakota Sioux Dance TheaterThe Lakota Sioux Dance Theater troupe performs in Atwood Concert Hall on Nov. 6 and 7. Did you see the show? Tell us what you thought here.

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REVIE: MOMENTUM DANCE COLLECTIVE

NOVEMBER 6, 2009 - 9:29 PM

Momentum

By ANNE HERMAN
Daily News correspondent

Exploration is the name of the game for contemporary dance companies like Momentum Dance Collective. Choreographers and performers launch themselves into little-charted territory to see what they can discover and use in crafting a dance. Whether that new territory is in their minds or their bodies, what results can be exciting, dangerous and at times perplexing.

Momentum Dance Collective opened its second season with “Levels,” an hour long concert Friday night at the Sydney Lawrence Theater. Many of the works on the program were more familiar than alien, but the tang of artistic adventure was there.

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First Friday Rambles

NOVEMBER 6, 2009 - 9:27 PM

By Mike Dunham

Alaska Womens Training Bra: Cindy Shake's contribution to "Wild Bras on Parade." Photo by Martha Peck
The "Wild Bras on Parade" fundraiser for breast cancer patients wound up without the proposed style show on Friday night. Many of the pieces of frolicksome foundations proved to be too fragile for facile handling and few were actually wearable. But that didn't stop a crowd from inspecting them and bidding on their favorites at Half Moon Creek Gallery, where the bras wound up after parading through nine other galleries or stores over the past month. My favorite was Diane Barske's clock-bearing "Felix the Cat." All of the art left the gallery with the owners as soon as the auction closed, but you can get a look at some of them at our online gallery.

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Review: UAA Dance Ensemble

NOVEMBER 5, 2009 - 10:08 PM

UAA Dance Ensemble: Old publicity photo. This particular pose wasn't part of the opening night show.
Two complex and contrasting pieces bookend the showcase of new choreography presented by the University of Alaska Anchorage Dance Ensemble this month.

Leslie Kimiko Ward’s “iTouch, 5 meditations on interdependence” suggested narratives on how contemporary America keeps up a guard regarding physical contact. It opened with the company walking and talking on beeping cell phones then cut to a scene where a man and two women flirted, clung or dismissed one another as a fourth dancer flitted behind them delivering distracting taps on the back — I thought of Cupid — while others sat on the sides with laptop computers.

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CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES

NOVEMBER 5, 2009 - 4:01 PM

MUSIC/THEATER/DANCE

Auditions: World Premiere of “Wind Blown & Dripping” By Peter Porco. 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Cyrano’s Off Center Playhouse, 413 D St. (cyranos.org)

Auditions: “Caroline or Change” Bring a song of your choice, blues, pop, gospel, opera. Performances in May 2010. 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10. at the Opera Center, 1507 Spar Ave. in Ship Creek (Next to Alaska Mill & Feed). (cyranos.org, anchorageopera.org)

Auditions: Alaska Sound Celebration invitation for Women to visit us during our Membership Drive. Learn holiday music and join us on stage to perform as guest artists on the Midnight Son’s Holiday show. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, Wayland Baptist University, 7801 E. 32nd Ave. (566-3987, alaskasoundcelebration.org)

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Kane reading on First Friday

NOVEMBER 5, 2009 - 11:07 AM

By Mike Dunham
Joan Kane
Fresh back from picking up her Whiting Writers' Award and launching her first book in New York, poet Joan Kane will read from her work at the first Friday opening at the Alaska Native Arts Foundation gallery, 500 W. 6th Ave., at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6. The visual art will feature guest curator Holly Nordlum's "Sharing the Spirit" group exhibition of new work by Ed Mighell, Aakatchaq, Francine Chiklak, Moses Wassilie and others. Hot tip: for the first time in my recollection, the gallery will have a pre-holiday 25 percent off sale through this weekend. The gallery handles both top-quality traditional work as well as contemporary art.

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Oboe-Organ collision avoided

NOVEMBER 3, 2009 - 3:30 PM

By MIKE DUNHAM
Sharman Piper
A chamber recital featuring oboist Sharman Piper, violist Anne Gantz Burns and pianist Cynthia Epperson has been planned for months to take place this afternoon at Anchorage Lutheran Church, 420 N Street. Then came word that Paul Jacobs, head of the organ department at Juilliard, would perform at the same time at St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3230 Lake Otis Parkway.
Paul Jacobs
Jacobs, 32, is winding up a marathon of performances in all 50 states, Alaska being the final one in the series. His national reputation is nothing short of spectacular.

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Should I see the corpses?

OCTOBER 28, 2009 - 4:40 PM

By MIKE DUNHAM

So here I am in Seattle. I've seen the Michelangelo and Calder exhibits at the Seattle Art Museum. But I have a conflict about another show.

"Bodies: The Exhibition" has returned to Seattle, skinned and disected people posed in lifelike positions. Some call it beautiful and fascinating. Others suspect the display is of people who criticized their government and, as a result, are now displayed to make money for the government that they dared to criticize.

I don't know. I walked by the place, a few blocks from the SAM, and debated buying a ticket to go in. In the end, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

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Grant Hall Haunting

OCTOBER 27, 2009 - 10:05 AM

By Mike Dunham

I've received some terrific pictures of TBA's "The Daemon of Darby Castle," by P. Shane Mitchell, now playing at Grant Hall auditorium - correctly identified in the press release as Brown Auditorium. Unfortunately, I'm on the road and unable to load them onto the blog. But costumes and sets look striking for this spookfest based on accounts of Ireland's most haunted castle.

A brief synopsis from TBA: "Henry and Millicent have come to the Darby's ancestral home to be married. An ill fated attempt to communicate with the world beyond leads to a series of mysterious deaths that build to a breath-taking climax. Recommended for ages 10 and up or those that can handle a good scare."

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REVIEW: PercaDu with Anchorage Symphony

OCTOBER 24, 2009 - 11:28 PM

By Mike Dunham

The Anchorage Symphony Orchestra opened its season with a concert that included only the third American performance of a curious work for percussion and orchestra. “Spices, Perfumes, Toxins,” was created by contemporary Israeli composer Avner Dorman as a showpiece for the duo of Tomer Yariv and Adi Morag, aka PercaDu.

The three-movement piece is notably “accessible” — to use the code word for modern music that numbers of listeners will find more entertaining than perplexing. The piece begins with a persistent motor rhythm on two marimbas, which are the most prominent instruments in the score. (One of these full-size devices had to be shipped up from Seattle for Dorman’s work.) Aside from an episode of dueling drum sets, the marimbas dominate the first movement, “Spices;” each movement supposedly represents one of the nouns in the title.

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Less arts money for Alaska?

OCTOBER 23, 2009 - 2:14 PM

(First published in the Anchorage Daily News ArtBeat column on Aug. 30, 2009.)
Not as good as Alvin Ailey?: Maryann Sundown of Scammon Bay, performing at Quyana Night in Anchorage, 2006. Photo: Bill Roth

I'm still trying to weigh the ramifications of remarks in last week's New York Times article about Rocco Landesman, the new chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

In recent years, NEA funds have been spread through all congressional districts, meaning Alaska could expect roughly 1/435th of whatever money the Endowment hands out.

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INUIT ACTORS SOUGHT FOR FULL-LENGTH "SIKUMI"

OCTOBER 23, 2009 - 8:45 AM

By MIKE DUNHAM
Barrow: Award-winning director Andrew MacLean plans to film his full-length feature in his home town.
Andrew MacLean, whose short film “Sikumi” (“On the Ice”) has won awards at the Sundance Film Festival and elsewhere, will hold auditions in Anchorage starting today for an expanded version of the movie. Prior acting experience is not needed.

Producer Cara Marcous said that the upcoming movie will be MacLean’s first full-length feature film. It takes the premise of the short film — a murder and the conflict faced by a witness to reveal what he knows — and transplants it to modern times, with the action set in contemporary Barrow.

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CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES

OCTOBER 23, 2009 - 8:39 AM

MUSIC/THEATER/DANCE

Auditions: “The Afterlife of the Mind” a new play by William Bivins. A comedy about neuroscience, metaphysics and sex. Noon, Nov. 7 and 8, Out North Theatre 3800 Debarr Road

Auditions: An ACT Production, directed by Kevin T. Bennett, "Heart" is a comedy about middle age and all its surprises and revelations. Runs January 8-24 at the Wildberry Theater; author, Judd Lear Silverman, will attend the opening. Roles for 16 (actorshoneymooners@gci.net, 440-0682)

Rehearsals: The Anchorage Community Concert Band will practice 7 p.m. Tuesdays. The band has a varied group of ages and talents and plays a variety of music from classical to marches. (258-7263, akband.org)

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REVIEW: FRANKENSTEIN

OCTOBER 22, 2009 - 10:29 PM

(The following was submitted by a parent on Thursday, Oct. 28. My own take follows:)

Just this morning "Frankenstein," a play put on by the Alaska Youth Theater, was mentioned by Mark and April (Channel 2 - Weekend Calendar) as this being the last weekend to see it.

I want to warn parents even though it is advertised for "all ages" this play is NOT for all ages! Not only is there profanity, it is very dark and hard to follow; not suited for elementary age children.

I took my 5th grade students this week and was very disappointed. The children did not enjoy it, let alone understand it. We were told the language had been removed, which was not entirely true.

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Musical miracle at St. Andrew's

OCTOBER 21, 2009 - 11:19 AM

... and other recent music events

By Mike Dunham

I attended four concerts in three days last weekend, starting with the Anchorage Civic Orchestra’s performance in Sydney Laurence Theatre on Friday, Oct. 16. The program included Rossini’s Overture to “Semiramide” and Mendelssohn’s “Reformation” Symphony. The most successful piece was Vivaldi’s “Gloria,” for which the UAA University Singers and the choir from St. John United Methodist Church combined to form a suitable chorus of about 50 voices. The instrumental side benefitted from flawless playing by oboist Emily Weaver and fine piping on the baroque trumpet from Kerry Maule.

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Werewolves in Palmer

OCTOBER 20, 2009 - 6:53 PM

By MIKE DUNHAM
The Predator: Evelyn Campbell's canvas among the wilder wolf images at Madd Matters' invitational.
A juried exhibit at Madd Matters Gallery sufficiently roused our curiosity to make the drive to Palmer recently. The theme of the show is wolves. Many of the pieces on display — which range from watercolors to bronze statues — were naturalistic portraits but a few percolated with imagination.
Jenny Dayton's were-girls: Eerily similar images at Dayton's Off Her Rocker art store.

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A Cappella Propaganda

OCTOBER 19, 2009 - 1:05 PM

The following is a "You Be the Critic" letter from Edwin Anderson of Wasilla.

My wife and I both attended the 16th A Cappella Festivella at UAA (Oct. 15). We were hoping to experience the “rich textures of African American legacy and traditions” through the vocal performances by the group Sweet Honey in the Rock.

Instead of an enjoyable evening of experiencing a culture’s musical history, we were subjected to a lyrical political diatribe, complete with references to President Obama, health care, environmental protection, and the greed of corporate America.

One song titled “Do What the Spirit Say Do” encouraged us “if the Spirit say speak, speak like Martin Luther King and Barack Obama.”

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Review: The Refugees

OCTOBER 17, 2009 - 11:40 PM

By Mike Dunham
The Refugees: Waldman, Holland, Bullens. Old pros, new group, great sound.
You can’t call the three women who performed at Sydney Laurence Theatre on Saturday night a novice act. They have about a century of major league professional work between them. Their resumes include Grammy nominations, backing up stars like Bob Dylan and Bonnie Raitt, penning hits for other singers.

On the other hand, Cindy Bullens, Wendy Waldman and Deborah Holland only recently came together as The Refugees and their first album just came out this year — so you can accurately describe them as a startup group. Maybe the most experienced startup group ever.

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Review: Decker's 'Disclosures' and other items

OCTOBER 16, 2009 - 2:23 PM

By Mike Dunham

The No. 1 “must see” show from the latest First Friday openings is Don Decker’s “Disclosures” series at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art. These deal with things revealed as the seasons change, water, trash, canine jawbones. You might call them abstract landscapes.
Frozen River: The three dimensionality of Don Decker's "Disclosure" series is hard to capture in a photo.

Most have the approximate same shape — a vertical rectangle — and size, about 30 by 40 inches. But each features a completely different group of media ranging from plywood to foam, metal, fabric, resin, found objects and video.

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"Thank-You Bar:" Another perspective

OCTOBER 12, 2009 - 2:02 PM

(The following was submitted as a "you be the critic" letter from Anchorage choreographer/dancer Courtland Weaver.)
Pas des trois: Joel Pickard (l) and James Everest (r, Johnson's husband) dance with her as well as supplying the music. They'll also presented post-performance concerts in Anchorage and will when the piece is presented in Homer, Oct. 16-18.
Alaska born and Minneapolis based choreographer/performing artist Emily Johnson wrote, directed and performed in “The Thank-You Bar” at Out North. I attended the 9 pm show on Friday, October 9. Before the show began, we were invited to visit an exhibit in an adjacent gallery entitled “This Is Displacement”, curated by Ms Johnson and Carolyn Anderson. The exhibit’s perspective of questioning what culture is, why is it important and whom is entitled to lay claim to it set a tone that carried into the theatre.

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