R E C E N T H A P P E N I N G S

Salon Lute

November 22,23, & 24, 2024

Douglas Dunn and Christopher Williams offer five performances of Salon Lute at 541 Broadway. An evening of new dances, poetry, and song featuring music for Baroque lute and theorbo by French composers Denis Gaultier (c. 1597 or 1602/3 – 1672) and Robert de Visée (c. 1655 – 1732/1733), among others, performed live by acclaimed lutenist/theorbist Dušan Balarin. Recitation of original poetry by Lal Ensari, video by Jacob Burckhardt, décor by Mimi Gross, lighting by Leo Janks, singing by Paulina Francisco and dancing by Christiana Axelsen, Alexandra Berger, Cemiyon Barber, Janet Charleston, Maxfield Haynes, Justin Lynch, Logan Pedon, Emily Pope, Deniz Erkan Sancak,and Jin Ju Song-Begin.

NYU DANCE CONCERTS

November 15 & 16, 2024

On a mixed program with works by other faculty members, Douglas Dunn premieres a short piece titled Must a’ Been Love, made with NYU dance education students at the Frederick Loewe Theater in NYC. Dancers: Ashlyn Daniel, Maria Ferraro, Rion Kikuchi, Sasha Lane, Fiona Lu, Xutong Shi (Sunny), Dongri Suh, Yujie Xi. Music: Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, played by the Emerson String Quartet "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette. Rehearsal Directors: Janet Charleston & Jin Ju Song-Begin.

Douglas Dunn in Italy: Dance, Dancer, and Spectator

July 25, 2024

The Massachusetts Review publishes Douglas Dunn in Italy: Dance, Dancer, and Spectator by Aline Nari, Translated from Italian by Joan Benham. Click HERE to read the essay.

The Academia Nazionale di Danza

May 29, 2024

Douglas Dunn gives a talk and shows the film Rubble Dance - Long Island City at the The Academia Nazionale di Danza in Rome, Italy.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

May 9, 2024

Mark DeGarmo presents to Douglas Dunn the "Educational Visionary" Lifetime Achievement Award at St. Mary’s Church, NYC. Introduction by Joan Finkelstein, Director of the Harkness Foundation for Dance; Phyllis Lamhut likewise honored.

Danspace Gala

May 7, 2024

Judy Hussie-Taylor of Danspace Project invites Douglas to their 50th Anniversary Gala honoring Carol Mullins, Kyle Abraham, & Kristy Edmunds, Grazia reads a poem by Torquato Tasso, first in Italian, then in English, as Douglas dances.

The CROTON FREE LIBRARY

April 13, 2024

At the instigation of former DD+D dancer Gabriella Hiatt, DD+D presents THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM at The Croton Free Library in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Dancers: Alexandra Berger, Janet Charleston, Douglas Dunn, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams; Music: Jerome Begin. Reader: Grazia Della-Terza. Grazia reads poem by Torquato Tasso; the dancers show THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM and Orchard Variations; Q&A afterwards with Jerome Begin & DD moderated by Gabriella Hiatt.

The AMERICAN DANCE GUILD FESTIVAL

February 24, 2024

Douglas Dunn + Dancers show The Three-Body Problem as part of American Dance Guild Festival at Ailey Citigroup Theater, NYC; Dancers: Alexandra Berger, Janet Charleston, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams. Music by Jerome Begin.

The Poetry Project

January 1, 2024

At the Poetry Project’s New Year’s Day Marathon at St. Mark’s Church, Douglas dances with Jules Bakshi & Paul Singh. Live music by Steven Taylor.

NYU Distinguished Faculty concert

November 17 & 18, 2023

On a mixed program with works by other faculty members, Douglas Dunn premieres a short piece titled The Three-Body Problem, made with NYU dance education students at the Frederick Loewe Theater in NYC. Dancers: Corinne Lohner, Yiwen Deng, Lejing Liu, Jingxi Li, Abby Zeng, Anne Marie Robson Smock. Music: Jerome Begin. Rehearsal Director: Janet Charleston.

Salon Hannes Schüpbach

November 8, 2023

Douglas Dunn invites artist Hannes Schüpbach to screen his film Essais (2020, 43’), with choreographed shots of dancer Kira Blazek Ziaii – a DD+D member 2008 to 2014 – in an exchange of gestures with artists Stephen Watts, Éléonore Bernard, Heba-Raphaëlle Meffre, Flurin Cuonz, Marco Baschera and Jiajia Zhang. Followed by a conversation between Douglas and Hannes, a video of Kira Blazek performing Mertseger at the DD Salon in 2014, and a newly published book, Essais, Verlag für moderne Kunst, Vienna, 2023.

Salon Catherine Tharin DANCE

November 3 & 4, 2023

Douglas Dunn invites Catherine Tharin Dance to present recent dances and two films. Dancers: Amelia Attleberry, Dylan Baker, Hannah Kearney, David Parker. Composers: Sam Crawford, Eleanor Hovda. Music and Sound Design: Jon Kinzel. Costumers: Colleen Howland, Sue Julien. Filmmakers: Lora Robertson, Liz Schneider-Cohen. Special guest: Esmé Julien Boyce. Douglas Dunn moderated a Q & A with the artists after the performance on November 3rd.

BODY / SHADOW

October 27 & 28, 2023

Composer Paul J. Botelho, Visual Artist Brice Brown, Choreographer Douglas Dunn, and Media Designer Steve Gibson present the premiere of BODY / SHADOW, a new experimental opera featuring 17 dancers at Judson Memorial Church, NYC.

BODY / SHADOW is an experimental opera with music by Paul J. Botelho, images, set design, and text by Brice Brown, choreography by Douglas Dunn, and visual media design by Steve Gibson. Presented in the round, the work features 17 dancers who perform a series of nonlinear, one-minute acts. Dunn conducts the dancers in real time, improvising the sequencing of each act. As the dancers move throughout the space, they activate a five-channel video that is projected onto dancer-handled screens. Simultaneously, Botelho circulates among the dancers, performing vocal improvisations to an electro-acoustic score. This layered multimedia-based opera calls into question the coherence of the human body, highlighting its vulnerability and doubleness.

BODY / SHADOW is performed by Jules Bakshi, Cemiyon Barber, Jay Beardsley, Alexandra Berger, Dwayne Brown, Janet Charleston, Savannah Jade Dobbs, Steph Jacco, Eve Jacobs, Vanessa Knouse, Corinne Lohner, Cassidy Martin, Emily Pope, Deniz Erkan Sancak, Jin Ju Song- Begin, Mac Twining, Timothy Ward, and Arthur “Trace” Yeames. Costume design and construction: Mimi Gross and Sue Julien. Zebra costume: Andrew Jordan. Lighting coordinator: Carol Mullins. Prop fabricator: Jennifer Lippert.

Click HERE for PDF of the playbill

More Information on the BODY / SHADOW website: https://www.bodyshadowopera.com/

Video: BODY / SHADOW video clip by Steve Gibson, 2023.

ROSES

October 6 & 7, 2023

Douglas Dunn’s duet, Roses (1990),was performed by New York Theatre Ballet at Florence Gould Hall on the occasion of its 45th Anniversary season, “Legends & Visionaries”. DD+D dancers Emily Pope and Timothy Ward staged the duet for a double cast of NYTB dancers: Kieran McBride, Jonathan Leonard, Mónica Lima, and Charles Rosario. Along with Roses, NYTB presented works by Merce Cunningham, David Gordon, and Amanda Treiber,and a world premiere by NYTB Artistic Director, Steven Melendez.

Garden Party revisited

September 6-10, 2023

Douglas Dunn + Dancers revisites Garden Party for six consecutive performances; a collaborative work by choreographer Douglas Dunn, visual artist/designer Mimi Gross, and lighting designer Lauren Parrish at Douglas Dunn Studio.

Garden Party is a series of vignettes, each with its own elegant and playful interaction of movement, visual art, music, and language. Dunn partners with longtime collaborator Mimi Gross to transform his loft space into a verdant haven. Ten members of Douglas Dunn + Dancers, including Dunn himself, frolick within this lush garden landscape while lighting and projections by Lauren Parrish illuminate each scene and its interruptions. In the hour-long work, Dunn’s steps are interwoven with poetry (John Keats, Anne Waldman, and others) and music (Robert de Visée and John Lennon, to name a few).

Choreography by Douglas Dunn, set and costume design by Mimi Gross, lighting and projection design by Lauren Parrish, sound engineering by Jacob Burckhardt. Pre-show live music by Tosh Sheridan. Dancers: Alexandra Berger, Janet Charleston, Grazia Della-Terza, Douglas Dunn, Eve Jacobs, Vanessa Knouse, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Timothy Ward, and Christopher Williams.

GREEN-WOOD

June 22, 2023

At the invitation of Cleek Schrey, DD+D dances alongside Schrey's The Daxophone Consort in back to back shows as part of Concert in the Catacombs at The Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY. Dancers: Alexandra Berger, Douglas Dunn, Vanessa Knouse, Cassidy Martin, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Tim Ward, Christopher Williams.

MAB book launch

June 20, 2023

To celebrate the release of three MAB Books, including BODY / SHADOW, the book launch event featured a short dance performance by Alexandra Berger, Douglas Dunn, Emily Pope, Paul Singh and Christopher Williams and a vocal performance by Paul J. Botelho. Brice Brown, Don Joint, Deborah Rosenthal and Jed Perl in attendance.

Salon Jacob Burckhardt

May 10, 2023

Salon Jacob Burckhardt celebrates the paperback release of The Loft Generation: From the de Koonings to Twombly: portraits and sketches,1942-2011 (Farrar Strauss Giroux, 2021) by Edith Schloss (Burckhardt’s Mother) in the form of a slide lecture at 541 Broadway, NYC.

GArden Party

April 24 - 30, 2023

Douglas Dunn + Dancers performed Garden Party for nine consecutive performances; a collaborative work by choreographer Douglas Dunn, visual artist/designer Mimi Gross, and lighting designer Lauren Parrish at Douglas Dunn Studio.

Garden Party, is a series of vignettes, each with its own elegant and playful interaction of movement, visual art, music, and language. Dunn partnered with longtime collaborator Mimi Gross to transform his loft space into a verdant haven. Ten members of Douglas Dunn + Dancers, including Dunn himself, frolicked within this lush garden landscape while lighting and projections by Lauren Parrish illuminated each scene and its interruptions. In the hour-long work, Dunn’s steps were interwoven with poetry (John Keats, Anne Waldman, and others) and music (Robert de Visée and John Lennon, to name a few).

Choreography by Douglas Dunn, set and costume design by Mimi Gross, lighting and projection design by Lauren Parrish, sound by Jacob Burckhardt. Pre-show live music by Tosh Sheridan. Dancers: Alexandra Berger, Janet Charleston, Grazia Della-Terza, Douglas Dunn, Vanessa Knouse, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Timothy Ward, and Christopher Williams.

The Poetry Project

January 1, 2023

At the Poetry Project Marathon at St. Mark’s Church, DD dances to "Oh My Love," written by John Lennon & Yoko Ono, played live by Steven Taylor & Laura Brenneman

American Dance Guild Performance Festival

December 2, 2022

As part of the 2022 American Dance Guild Performance Festival, DD & Jin Ju Song-Begin dance Shovel Dance at The Ailey Citigroup Theater, NYC; Music: "O Virgineta bella" by Acantus.

NYU Distinguished Faculty Dance ConcerT

November 18 & 19, 2022

On a mixed program with works by other faculty members, Douglas Dunn premieres a short piece titled Another Cut made with NYU dance education students at the Loewe Theater in NYC. Music: "The First Cut is the Deepest," by Cat Stevens, sung by Sheryl Crow; Choreographer: Douglas Dunn; Assistant to Choreographer: Janet Charleston. Dancers: Deborah Black, Sydney Ekanayake-Lin, Stephanie Jacco, Lejing Liu, Sky Morgan, Tanya Xu, Abby Zeng, Xinyi Zhang.

Milton Art Bank Residency

October 5-16, 2022

At the invitation of Brice Brown, DD+D in residence in Milton, PA; Dancers: Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Janet Charleston, Grazia Della-Terza, Douglas Dunn, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Christopher Williams, Arthur “Trace” Yeames; Dances: Orchard Variations, Vain Combat, No Man's Land, Dancing Made Easy, RV, One Ways, Mozart, Roundelay. 

Rubble Dance, Long Island City

September 14, 2022

The 1991 Rudy Burckhardt movie RUBBLE DANCE Long Island City was shown at the Museum Tinguely in Basel, Switzerland from September 14, 2022 through January 8, 2023, as part of the group exhibition Territories of Waste - On the Return of the Repressed.

Lewis Warsh Memorial

April 24, 2022

At the memorial for Lewis Warsh, produced by The Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church, Grazia Della Terza & Douglas Dunn dance, Steven Taylor plays guitar & sings on the altar of the sanctuary.

Salon I just want to dance my way through life you know

April 4 -10, 2022

Seven nights of a one-hour Salon of dances (solos, duets and group work) dating from 1974 to the present performed at DD+D Studio. Dancers: Alexandra Berger, Janet Charleston, Douglas Dunn, Grazia Della-Terza, Vanessa Knouse, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Timothy Ward. Paintings by Mimi Gross. All spectators vaccinated, boosted and masked.

CORNER BOOK LAUNCH: RECRUDESCENCE

July 8, 9,10, 2021

Twenty minute dance performed at DD+D Studio, Dancers: Alexandra Berger, Janet Charleston, Douglas Dunn, Kara Hestevold, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams; Music: Norman Westberg playing live; all spectators vaccinated and masked; twenty-two chairs in the round spaced evenly. Great thanks to Brice Brown for his enthusiastic producing of Corner book.

Social Media SOLOS

May 3 - June 9, 2021

The DD+D Social Media platforms show video excerpts from the DD+D repertory chosen to feature a particular dancer. The featured dancers are: Dare Ayorinde, Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Kira Blazek, Emily Bock, Tony Bordonaro, Janet Charleston, Liz Elmquist, Kara Hestevold, Acée Francis Laird, Jessica Martineau, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jake Szczypek, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams.

FLYING SOLO

December 30, 2020

As part of the Utah Repertory Dance Theater, a section of Peepstone is part of a ninety-minute video titled Flying Solo which features significant moments in RDT company's history. The video is streamed live on the web on December 30.

AMERicAN DANCE GUILD PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL

November 9-15, 2020

As part of the 2020 American Dance Guild Performance Festival, 10 Years Over 10 Weeks, works by Joan Myers Brown, Douglas Dunn and Bill Evans were featured. Video documentation of Douglas Dunn + Dancers RV and Near Miss from the 2014 ADG Festival were available to view to the pubic online for one week, November 9 -15.

Grand Union

October 21, 2020

Douglas Dunn, Sean Curran and Wendy Perron discuss Wendy’s new book The Grand Union: Accidental Anarchists of Downtown Dance, 1970-1976, on NYU’s Skirball TV. Watch video recording of the event HERE.

Salon Karen Bernard

February 6, 7, 8, 2020

Salon Karen Bernard; Lakeside, a 45-minute collaborative duet with Karen Bernard & Lisa Parra.

The Cattle

January 10 & 11, 2020

The Cattle, a collaboration allowing choice during performance; Michael Hammond, Text; Cleek Schrey, Music, playing an harmonium lent by Dick Connette, & other instruments; Jacob Burckhardt, Live Video; Douglas Dunn, Dance.

The POETRY PROJECT

January 1, 2020

At the Poetry Project Marathon at St. Mark’s Church, DD dances with Jin Ju Song-Begin & Kara Hestevold, Steven Taylor & Laura Brenneman playing & singing Beetles songs.

Sundays On Broadway

December 15, 2019

At the invitation of Cathy Weis, Douglas dances in “Shorties,” a mix of open structures: solos, duos, trios, quartets, as part of her Sundays on Broadway Salon Series, 537 Broadway, NYC; the other dancers: Emily Climer, Patrick Gallagher, Fumi Kikuchi, Jon Kinzel, Luis Lara Malvacías, Dustin Maxwell, Jennifer Miller, Jennifer Monson, Wendy Perron, Vicky Shick, and Cathy Weis; there are two other presentations, one by Carolyn Hall, one by Ellen Fisher.

NYU Open Structures Class

December 12, 2019

Douglas Dunn hosts end-of-semester NYU Open Structures Class, taught in collaboration with Randi Sloan and students present their work.

Florence to New York Project 2019

December 8, 2019

At the invitation of NYU Professor Esther Lamneck, DD dances with his NYU "Open Structure" students amid her on-stage music students to Alfonso Belfiore’s La Città Sommersa in Loewe Theater as part of her NYU "New Music Ensemble’s Florence to New York Project 2019.

Guatemala

November 27 & 28, 2019

Dance-Forms Productions presented Douglas Dunn + Dancers Tandemette in Guatemala City at the Teatro Abril. Vain Combat performed outdoors as part of of the Rambla Festival.

FALL DANCE SHOWCASE

November 15 & 16, 2019

How To Sink Back Into Yourself was featured in the Fall Dance Showcase at Bucknell University in the Harvey M. Powers Theatre (Lewisburg, PA). Student cast: Paige Braun, Mikki Du Bois, Maddy Kho, Tyler Luong, Shaun Parrish, Rosemary Reng, Caitlyn Schuette, Aisling Sullivan, Lauren Sullivan, Emma Smith, Allison Wagner.

THE ROAD AWAITS US

November 8 & 9, 2019

Douglas Dunn performs in The Road Awaits Us at NYU Skirball. This evening of performance featured three works by Big Dance.

MAB Corner Book Launch

October 20, 2019

Douglas Dunn and Gibson + Recoder celebrate the MAB Corner Book Launch at the Campus Theater in Lewisburg, PA.

Salon Maurizio SAIU & Marco Cappelli

September 29, 2019

Rio Grande Union, Inc. presents Salon Maurizio Saiu & Marco Cappelli. The two of them show We Never Played Together, Maurizio singing & dancing, Marco making music; in the DD+D Studio. Maurizio Saiu is a singer, dancer and choreographer from Sardinia (Italy) who has been involved in various experimental artistic projects around the world. Marco Cappelli is a guitar player and composer from Napoli (Italy). He lives in New York.

InCLINATIONS

August 12, 15, 16, 17, 2019

Douglas Dunn + Dancers perform Inclinations, an outdoor dance made for various Manhattan stairways. Dancers: Alexandra Berger, Emily Pope, Cassie Roberts, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Vanessa Vargas.

Technique Classes

June 3-28, 2019

Douglas Dunn leads Technique Classes at 541 Broadway, 3rd Floor, Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings.

The Body in Language: An AnthologY

May 3, 2019

At the invitation of Edwin Torres, DD+D dancers Emily Pope and Jin Ju Song- Begin dance their 5-minute duo from Stretch Duo Section of Tandem (2018), while Douglas moves around them; in the Parish Hall at St. Mark’s Church, as part of the launch of Edwin’s The Body in Language: An Anthology, in which Douglas has an entry. 

NYU STEINHARDT DISTINGUISHED FACULTY CONCERT

April 26, 27, & 28, 2019

On a mixed program with works by other faculty members, Douglas Dunn premieres a short piece titled Wrest, made with NYU dance education students at the Loewe Theater in NYC. Dancers: Takako Amitani, Melanie Coats, Trashina Arwanda Conner, Nyasia Fraser, Jacqueline Ledesma, Jai Marie Williams. Music: Excerpts from “Serenade for String Orchestra in C major, op. 48,” by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky; “Ilahi Dostum Bagina,” played on the bagiama and sung by Ali Akber Cicek.

VAIN COMBAT

April 22 & 29, 2019

Douglas Dunn + Dancers perform Vain Combat in Washington Square Park. Dancers: Alexandra Berger, Tony Bordonaro, Kara Hestevold, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jake Szczypek, Timothy Ward.

Merce Cunningham’s Centennial

April 1-13, 2019

Douglas Dunn and Holly Farmer were invited to participate in a two-week residency with advanced choreography students from Cornish College and University of Washington to generate a new work as part of the Merce Cunningham’s Centennial, culminating with a showing at the Henry Art Gallery on April 13th.

Deborah Jowitt Celebration

March 20, 2019

Douglas Dunn was invited to participate in From The Horse’s Mouth Honoring Deborah Jowitt Celebration at the 14th Street Y Theater - Special “Critic’s Panel” moderated by Linda Murray, Curator of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts. Panel: Deborah Jowitt, Alastair Macaulay, Wendy Perron, Jack Anderson, Mindy Aloff, Marcia Siegel and Elizabeth Zimmer - CAST:  Ella Baff, Patricia Beaman, Darrah Carr, Pat Catterson, Yoshiko Chuma, Emily Coates, Ze'eva Cohen, Tina Croll, Jamie Cunningham, Carmen DeLavallade, Douglas Dunn, Liz Gerring, Naomi Goldberg Haas, Ellen Graff, Sara Hook, Djassi Johnson, Deborah Jowitt, Elizabeth Keen, Kenneth King, Phyllis Lamhut, Cherylyn Lavagnino, Marcia Lerner Hofer, James Martin, Madeleine Nichols, Norton Owen, Wendy Perron, Rajika Puri, Barbara Roan, Tamar Rogoff, Jan Schmidt, Valda Setterfield, John Mario Sevilla, Hala Shah, Vicky Shick, Marcia Siegel, Robert Small, Gus Solomons jr, Andy Teirstein, Martine van Hamel, Elizabeth Zimmer.

CRAG at Harkness Dance Festival

March 8 & 9, 2019

Douglas Dunn + Dancers invited to perform the world premiere of Crag as part of the 2019 Harkness Dance Festival at the 92Y on March 8 & 9. Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Grazia Della-Terza, Janet Charleston, Kara Hestevold, Acée Francis Laird, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jake Szczypek, Christopher Williams. Music: Steven Taylor; Design: Andrew Jordan.

Harkness Dance Festival

March 2, 2019

Douglas Dunn participated in the Harkness Dance Festival Conversation, “Drawing Dance: On Tour with The Merce Cunningham Dance Company” at the 92Y.

PulCinella

February 21, 22, 23 & 24, 2019

Former DD+D dancer Kira Blazek set excerpts from Pulcinella (choreographed by Dunn in 1980 on the Paris Opera Ballet) on students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, NC, for their WINTER DANCE SERIES. Dancers on Feb. 21 & 23: Mariah Anton, Sofia Baeta, Madalyn Bailey, Zach Burrows, Emma Cumpston, Ethan Digby-New, John Gardner, Jordan Hooks, Grant Kennedy, Blythe Koster, Molly McGlennen, Teresa Noonan, Dylan Parton, Emmanuel Patterson, William Thompson. Dancers on Feb. 22: Madalyn Bailey, Jacob Barker, Zach Burrows, Ethan Digby-New, Eliza Engstrom, John Gardner, Elena Gimenez, Jordan Hooks, Grant Kennedy, Taylor McCain, Teghan Murphy, Emily Sanchez, William Thompson, Samantha Willins, Jacquie Whitmore.

APAP SHoWCASE

January 6 & 7, 2019

Douglas Dunn + Dancers, Molissa Fenley and Company, Jody Oberfelder Projects present latest work in this free APAP showcase held at Douglas Dunn Studio. DD+D Tandemette and DMAC: or Prelude to a New Dance; Molissa Fenley and Company Cosmati Variations and Mali ; Jody Oberfelder Projects Madame Ovary.

December 2018 Choreographers SALON

December 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8, 2018

Six evenings of curated dance at Douglas Dunn Studio. Dances by Jin Ju Song-Begin, The Path Which Empties Me (108), Dancer: Jin Ju Song-Begin; Cori Kresgi, Most Real (excerpts), Dancers: Breckyn Drescher, Cori Kresge; Emily Pope, The Albatross, Dancer: Emily Pope; Christopher Williams, Narcissus  (excerpts from work-in-progress), Dancers: Cemiyon Barber, Casey Hess, Gildas Lemmonier, Alexander Olivieri, Logan Pedon, Joshua Tuason; Costumes: Andrew Jordan & Iggy Soliven. 

SundaYs On Broadway

November 18, 2018

At the invitation of Cathy Weis, Douglas dances brief solo, brief duo with Vicky Shick, & briefly in the finale mix, at Weis’s Sundays on Broadway, 537 Broadway, NYC. Others on stage for this thrown-together-last-minute show: Jennifer Miller, Wendy Perron, Maura Gahan, Jonathon Gonzalez, Christine Elmo, Ashley Renee Watkins, Patrick Gallagher, Maddie Irmen, Fumi Kikuchi, Jon Kinzel, Cathy Weis. 

DuO Multicultural Arts Center

November 7, 2018

Douglas Dunn + Dancers danced a new, fifteen-minute work, Diagonal Gait, on a shared program at Duo Multicultural Arts Center (DMAC) 62 E. 4th Street, New York City in DMAC's beautiful turn of the century playhouse. Dancers: Janet Charleston, Douglas Dunn, Kara Hestevold, Acée Francis Laird, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jake Szczypek, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams.

American Dance Guild Festival

October 26, 2018

On a mixed program, as part of the American Dance Guild Annual Festival, Douglas Dunn + Dancers were invited to perform Tandemette. Dancers: Alexandra Berger, Emily Pope, Jake Szczypek, Timothy Ward and Douglas Dunn. Music: Calabrian Folk Song.

SCREENING & ARTISTS TALK

September 12, 2018

POOL Internationales TanzFilmFestival Berlin invites Douglas Dunn to screen three moving image works: Celeste (1977) and Dancers, Buildings and People in the Street (1986) and Rubble Dance Long Island City (1991) which was followed by an artists talk with Douglas, Yoshiko Chuma and Thomas Körtvélyessy.

AIDOS excerpts AT Battery DANCE FESTIVAL

August 13, 2018

On a mixed program, as part of the Battery Dance Festival, Douglas Dunn + Dancers perform excerpts of Aidos on an outdoor platform in Battery Park City in NYC. Dancers: Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jessica Martineau, Jake Szczypek, Alexandra Berger, Emily Pope, Timothy Ward, Jules Bakshi, Jared Brown (dancing Paul Singh’s part). Music: J.S. Bach Cello Suites by Guido Schiefen.

PoRTAL AT INSITU DANCE FESTIVAL

August 4 & 5, 2018

Dressed in white, nineteen people dance in and out of unison on and around the stairway at Queensbridge Park, making use of the steps and the pathways that are part of the architecture. Dancers: Cherie Burnett, Janet Charleston, Maira Duarte, Rosy Gentle, Kara Hestevold, Lauren Kravitz, Fumihiro Kikuchi, Maya Lee-Parritz, Jacqueline Ledesma, Jenny Levy, Cassie Roberts Rossi, Ella Rosewood, Deborah Schneider, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Manatsu Tonaka, Rebecca Van Dover, Vanessa Vargas, Christopher Williams, Anna Witenberg, 

The Let Go

July 1, 2018

At the invitation of Nick Cave, DD+D gathers fifty friends & acquaintances to participate in his The Let Go at the Park Avenue Armory, NYC, 3:30 – 5:30pm; Performers: Christopher Williams, Ana Karimi, Atillio Rigotti, Alexandra Berger, Astrid Brucker, Barbara Campisi, Brittany Murphy, Steven Hall, Peter Chamberlin, Christine Elmo, Clive Zheng, Douglas Dunn, Breckyn Drescher, Fareen Islam, Fumihiro Kikuchi, Gabrielle Riera, Gabrielle Garevlock, Julia Gleich, Grazia Della-Terza, Richard Gomez, Hsia-Jou, Jacob Burckhardt, Janet Charleston, Jacqueline Ledesma, Jonathan Hulland, Judy Hussie-Taylor, Kimberly Erin Quillan, Maya Lorkovic, Mark Hayes, Marlaine Glicksman, Masako Uetani, Michael Esteras, Jamie LePinnet, Annabel Lee, Carol Mullins, Nobuko, Han Pham, Orsolya Sanchez, Paul Engler, Philip Foster, Dan Reardon, Robin Schatell, Emmett Schatell-Prince, JinJu Song-Begin, Sophia Isidore, Jill Twohig, Ildiko Viczian.

Figment NYC

June 23, 2018

Douglas Dunn + Dancers performing on Governors Island as part of FIGMENT NYC. DD+D performing Disappearances & Tandemette. Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Jules Bakshi, Janet Charleston, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jake Szczypek, Alexandra Berger, Timothy Ward, Paul Singh, Kara Hestevold.

TANDEM at THE YARD

June 14 & 16, 2018

Douglas Dunn + Dancers at The Yard  performing Tandem in the Patricia N. Nanon Theater on two evenings. Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Paul Singh, Jake Szczypek, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams.

VIsion Festival with Critical Response Trio

May 25, 2018

DD+D collaborating with the musicians of the Critical Response Trio as part of the Vision Festival at Roulette. Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Grazia Della-Terza, Jules Bakshi, Janet Charleston, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jake Szczypek, Alexandra Berger, Timothy Ward, Kara Hestevold.

TANDEMeTTE

May 17 - 19, 2018

Douglas Dunn + Dancers  performing TANDEMETTE (10’) on a mixed program as part of the Footprints Fourth Annual Modern Dance Festival at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, 5 West 63rd  Street, NYC; Dancers: Timothy Ward, Jake Szczypek, Emily Pope, Alexandra Berger; Music: fading in & out of Calabrian folk singing.

TANDEM

April 23 - 28, 2018

Douglas Dunn + Dancers performing Tandem for six consecutive nights as part of the April Festival - Early & Late. Q&A with Douglas Dunn and Wendy Perron on Tuesday, April 24th after the second performance.

Tandem -(2018) (60 minutes) Performers: Douglas Dunn, Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Paul Singh, Jake Szczypek, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams.

Dunn writes: "The new piece imagines wide space. You look out over a savannah, turning your head. What's going on over to the left, what's going on over to the right? In the studio, audience will sit against the brick wall, allowing maximum sideways stretch. The title? With bodies, singly or together, one move must follow another. While working, I consider this limitation an opportunity."

NYU STEINHARDT DISTINGUISHED FACULTY CONCERT

April 13 -15, 2018

On a mixed program with works by other faculty members, Douglas Dunn premieres a short piece titled Tandemette, made with NYU dance education students at the Loewe Theater in NYC. Dancers: Hannah Castoro, Jacqueline Ledesma, Jessica Moore Ruhlin, Chie Schultz. Music: Peer Gynt Suites No. 1 & 2 by Edvard Grieg

TIME OUT

April 2 - 7, 2018

Douglas Dunn Solo -  (1973) (60 minutes)

As part of the April Festival - Early & Late, Douglas Dunn performing Time Out for six consecutive nights in April 2018.  Q&A with Douglas Dunn and Deborah Jowitt on Monday, April 2nd after the first performance.

Time Out - It was a pivotal year for Dunn. He was thirty-one. He had left the Cunningham Company in the spring of 1973. Grand Union was sporadically continuing. He had danced duet concerts with Sara Rudner, David Gordon, and Pat Catterson, here and there had also presented short solos on mixed programs. What now? He wrote: "I'm in turmoil. It's a question of confidence. These theatrical scenes running around in my head, for years. If I can bring them to life as an evening-length solo, my dance-heart will strengthen, I will persevere. If not, retreat to shyest corner is likely." The piece premiered at The Westbeth Theater, NYC, December 4,5. Parts of the solo were then included in a collage of '70s work at Dance New Amsterdam in 2007. Dunn says: "It's character work. There's hardly any dancing in it. I think I can do it. One last foray. The mature version."

SALOn ED Bowes  

December 9, 2017

On Saturday, December 9, 2017 Douglas Dunn hosted Salon Ed Bowes for the premiere of Seahorse Powder Room which included a Q & A with the filmmaker Ed Bowes.  Seahorse Powder Room spends personal time with two adults and two children; variously writers, thinkers, and musicians, presenting in a weave of text, considerations of Judith Butler and queer poetics, a severed fox head and performance, as they mix in the the shadow of words, light and impermanence. The performers are Steven Taylor, Serena Chopra, Uli Miller and Patrick Pethybridge.

Dixon place 

November 29, 2017

Douglas Dunn + Dancers were invited to dance on a mixed program as part of "8 in Show", a series curated by Sangeeta Yesley, at Dixon Place in NYC. Douglas Dunn + Dancers performed Oh Acis, a trio of dancing the story from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Oh Acis is Dunn's first narrative dance (after 46 years). The mortal Acis (Paul Singh) is in love with the goddess Galatea (Emily Pope). the jealous Polyphemus (Dunn) kills Acis. Galatea, using her power as an immortal, turns Acis into a river. The score for the ten-minute piece: Giovanni Bonocini's Polifemo (1702). 

MILTON ART BANK

September 29 & 30, 2017

Douglas Dunn + Dancers were invited to dance at Milton Art Bank (MAB) at the invitation of Brice Brown in late September. Douglas Dunn + Dancers performed Contours inside the MAB Gallery on Friday, September 29th and on Saturday, September 30th the dancers performed Vain Combat through the streets of Milton, PA.  Dancing by Douglas Dunn, Grazia Della-Terza, Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Kara Hestevold, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jake Szczypek, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams, and Keslie Koontz. Live music for both events by Steven Taylor.

VAIN COMBAT

September 2017

Trying for something rougher than my indoor work, I made the street dance Vain Combat in 2010. The word Vain was meant to mean both arrogant and futile. No irony. From past experience I knew the difficulty of grabbing the attention of New Yorkers in their daily rounds. I allowed simple configurations and welcomed unison. The piece has been performed many times all around the boroughs over the last seven years There are fifteen sections, well over an hour of material. The dancers get together before a foray and settle on the half-hour score for the day. We behaved as a guerrilla force, entering public and private spaces without permission. Sometimes we are stopped and driven away, most famously on the Lincoln Center Plaza, where both guards and police confronted and banished us. We dedicated September 2017 to this dance. It was shown often and in diverse locations in NYC and Brooklyn. For the first time, we invited those interested to join the accidental audiences we will encountered. - Douglas Dunn

The rotating cast included: Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams, Jake Szczypek, Paul Singh, Dare Ayorinde, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Alexandra Berger, Jules Bakshi, Kara Hestevold.

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE

August 7-11, 2017

Douglas Dunn + Dancers were invited to dance on a mixed program as part of the Dance-Forms' 74th International Choreographers' Showcase which was part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Emerald Theater/Greenside Venues. Douglas Dunn + Dancers premiered Oh Acis, a trio of dancing the story from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Oh Acis is Dunn's first narrative dance (after 46 years). The mortal Acis (Paul Singh) is in love with the goddess Galatea (Emily Pope). the jealous Polyphemus (Dunn) kills Acis. Galatea, using her power as an immortal, turns Acis into a river. The score for the ten-minute piece: Giovanni Bonocini's Polifemo (1702). 

Screening & ARTISTS talK

June 6, 2017

Spectacle Theater in Brooklyn invites Douglas Dunn & Charles Atlas to screen two video works, The Myth of Modern Dance (1990) and Secret of the Waterfall (1983) which was followed by an artists talk.

Brooklyn Performance Combine 2017

June 3, 2017

Douglas Dunn + Dancers were invited to participate in a collaborative evening of poetry, sound, dance and performance as part of the Norte Maar Brooklyn Performance Combine 2017 which took place at The Muse in Brooklyn. Dancers: Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Janet Charleston, Douglas Dunn, Kara Hestevold, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jake Szczypek, and Timothy Ward.

The italian Dance Connection 2017

June 2, 2017

Douglas Dunn + Dancers were invited to dance on a mixed program as part of the IDACO NYC - The Italian Dance Connection 2017 festival which took place at The Baruch Performing Arts Center in NYC. Douglas Dunn + Dancers premiered a new piece titled Oh Acis. Oh Acis is a trio of dancing the story from Ovid's Metamorphoses and the lovers Acis and Galatea. Polyphemus in jealousy kills Acis, but Galatea turns Acis into a river as immortal as herself. Dancers: Douglas Dunn,  Emily Pope, Paul Singh.

IDACO ROUNDTABLE

May 31, 2017

Douglas Dunn participates in a Thematic Roundtable Eventt the Italian Cultural Institute as part of the IDACO - The Italian Dance Connection 2017 Program. The discussion facilitated by Cecilia Fontanesi.

Celebrating Fridays at Noon 

May 20, 2017

Douglas Dunn + Dancers were invited to dance on a mixed program in celebration of three decades of Fridays at Noon (1987-2017) at the 92Y Harkness Dance Center in NYC. Douglas Dunn + Dancers premiered a short piece titled While Away.

Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams

Music: a) Estonian folk melody arranged by David Simons  b) Codex Chantilly

Celebrate Deborah

April 29, 2017

Grazia Della-Terza and Douglas Dunn were invited to dance on a mixed program in celebration of the retirement of Deborah Riley at Dance Place in Washington D.C. Deborah has been leading Dance Place for many years and she was a member of Douglas Dunn + Dancers in the 1970s and '80s. Read interview with Deborah HERE.

Nyu Steinhardt Distinguished Faculty Concert

April 14 & 15, 2017

On a mixed program with works by other faculty members, Douglas Dunn premiered a short piece titled Rain Shadow, made with NYU dance education students at the Loewe Theater in NYC. Dancers: Whitley Green, Jacqueline Ledesma/Kara Hestevold, Miguel Lerma, Aliya Kerimujiang, Belle Ritter. Music composed by Steven Taylor.

ANTIPODES

February, 2 , 3, 4, 2017

Choreography: Douglas Dunn

Design: Mimi Gross

Costume Construction: Jennifer Fadel, Sue Julien, Quinndustry, Zak Vreeland

Set Construction: Mike Levy, Mimi Gross

Douglas's costumes made by Andrew Jordan after an idea by Douglas Dunn

Lighting: Carol Mullins

Original Score & Performance: Steven Taylor, Laura Brenneman

Additional Music: Shawn O'Sullivan, Katie O'Sullivan

Dancers: Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jake Szczypek, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams. With Grazia Della-Terza as The Moon, & Douglas Dunn as The White Dwarf

The creation of Antipodes was made possible, in part, by the Danspace Project 2016-17 Commissioning Initiative, with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

www.danspaceproject.org

Salon Steven Taylor

October 28, 2016

For this Salon event, composer and musician Steven Taylor sang selections from William Blake's Song of Innocence and Experience Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul (published 1794).

Douglas Dunn: American Modern Dancer at NAP Gallery & Performance

Gallery Exhibition: September 9 - October 30, 2016                                                                                                     

Performance: October 1,  2016

An exhibition of works showcasing the Douglas Dunn + Dancers archive was on view at New Arts Program Space Gallery in Kutztown, PA from September 9th until October 30th, 2016.  The title of the exhibition was Douglas Dunn: An American Modern Dancer. On October 1, 2016, Douglas Dunn + Dancers performed Infolding at  St. John's UCC. Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Grazia Della-Terza, Alexandra Berger, Jules Bakshi, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Timothy Ward. Music by  Steven Taylor.

PerFormances & Workshops in NC

September 23 & 24,  2016

DD+D performed Infolding at St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, NC as part of the Celebration of Black Mountain College. Founded in 1933, Black Mountain College was the first interdisciplinary liberal arts school. The school attracted and connected many talented artists including Merce Cunningham and John Cage. Cunningham formed his company at  Black Mountain College and in 1952 John Cage presented his first happening there. Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Grazia Della-Terza, Alexandra Berger, Jules Bakshi, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Timothy Ward. Music by  Steven Taylor.

While in North Carolina, DD+D also conducted workshops with dance and theater students at UNC Chapel Hill, Duke University and Elon University. Teachers: Douglas Dunn, Timothy Ward & Jules Bakshi.

VAIN COMBAT at Astor Place

September 17, 2016

Douglas Dunn + Dancers was invited by Danspace Project to celebrate the reopening of Astor Place in New York City. DD+ D performed Vain Combat at the Astor Alive! Festival on September, 18th. Dancers: Timothy Ward, Emily Pope, Emily Bock, Douglas Dunn, Jake Szczypek, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Alexandra Berger. 

VAIN COMBAT AT Socrates Sculpture Park

August 6, 2016

Douglas Dunn + Dancers were invited by Julia Gleich and Jason Andrew / Norte Maar to perform Vain Combat at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, NY on Saturday, August 6, 2016.  Dancers: Jules Bakshi, Emily Pope, Emily Bock, Timothy Ward, Tony Bordonaro, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Alexandra Berger. Choreography by Douglas Dunn, Music by Steven Taylor.

VAIN COMBAT AT Washington Square Park

August 5, 2016

Douglas Dunn + Dancers, one of the inaugural recipients of The Washington Square Park Conservancy Arts Mini-Grants, performed Vain Combat on Friday, August 5th at Washington Square Park. Dancers: Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Emily Bock, Douglas Dunn, Tony Bordonaro, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jane Szczypek and Timothy Ward. 

Disappearances

July  18-22 & 25-29, 2016

Breaking the monotony?

Is this The Dance of Death, or the death of dance?

Is it that you don’t want to bother us?

I can’t tell what you’re doing.

Though built by us humans, and for us humans, these Bunyanesque buildings make me feel really small. You know what I mean? Every day.

---Now I go back to work.

---So do I.

You’re like the chipmunks in my backyard; I’m not sure if I see them or not. If I saw them or not.

Are you performing?

I think I’m enlightened, but I don’t feel the benefit yet.

It’s 1994 and Douglas Dunn + Dancers is short of money. I think of Wall Street, right down Broadway from the studio, no shortage there. How address a whopping discrepancy of available wealth? Disappearances emerges. The instructions for the piece are to mix with the lunchtime crowd in the plaza at Broadway and Liberty for half an hour, then move to the Chase Plaza one block east for another half hour. Any behavior, dance or otherwise, is acceptable, but you are obliged not to be noticed as performer.  If you are so noticed, you are to dissolve into a position or gesture or movement that reestablishes you as worker-on-break, or as tourist. If asked what you are doing, you are to lie your way back into contextual familiarity.

Impecuniousness strikes again like lightening here in 2016. Should Company operations cease completely? No. What, therefore, could be more felicitous than to remount this insubstantial protest, this wan gesture meant through contradictory evanescence to fulfill the promise to myself never to complain? A second time around, twenty-four years of living and dancing later, are we not better prepared to appreciate the subtleties of the interactions? Our attitude, the facial expressions with which we move, for example, often determine whether we remain acceptable as legitimate personae within New York City’s glorious anonymity, or suddenly stick out, like that phantom limb of the body politic, the Dancer. 

Performers July 18-22 & 25-29, 1994 

Company Dancers: Grazia Della-Terza, Kari Richardson, Douglas Dunn. Guests: Marie Baker-Lee, Dorothee Caan, Maja Lorkovic, Alice MacIntyre, Rachel Odoroff, Michele Oppliger, Mary Seidman, Margaret Whalley, Kriota Willberg, Rebekah Windmiller.

Performers July 11-15 & 18-22, 2016

Douglas Dunn, Michelle Applebaum, Jules Bakshi, Grazia Della-Terza, Carlye Denice, Dina Denis, Maira Duarte, Chie Kurokawa, Maja Lorkovic, Pavel Machuca, Alice MacIntyre, Alex Pfister, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Danielle Staropoli, Lex Stavrou

Further writing on Disappearances will appear in a forthcoming issue of Tether.  tether-magazine.com

Vision Festival with BILL COLE

June 9,  2016

DD+D collaborated with composer/musician Bill Cole as part of the Vision Festival at Judson Church. Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Jules Bakshi, Jessica Martineau, Emily Pope, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Paul Singh.

Salon Solos, Etc

May 31,  June 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5,  2016

This Salon presented a fluctuating array of solos, duets and trios drawn from Douglas's 45 years of organizing bodies aesthetically to be viewed. Each evening was different, with some bits repeated here and there. The dancers were released from being one of many in the supportive context of a whole dance. They took to the stage on their own, in individual relation to the audience. We hope enjoyed these fragments, this archive-come- alive.

Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Grazia Della-Terza, Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Janet Charleston, Emily Pope, Paul Singh, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Jake Szczypek, Timothy Ward, Christopher Williams. Set by Mimi Gross.

Evolving Collaborations: Mimi Gross + Douglas DunN

May 22, 2016

Presented by Cathy Weis Projects. Mimi Gross's Evolving Collaborations is a collection of drawings, designs, costumes and three-dimensional works developed over her nearly 40-year collaboration with choreographer Douglas Dunn. The presentation included a lecture, screening of video clips and live dancing which was followed by a discussion.

TOur Review Party

May 16, 2016

Show & tell event of our travels to Perth, Australia and San Francisco; Sharing photos on the big screen, live music, some dances and talking about our experiences on the road.

SARA DOES A SOLO - Sara Porter

March 4 & 5, 2016

After three decades as a dancer and a writer, Sara Porter stands at the collision of the two in Sara does a Solo, a fearless account of an aging body and a reflective mind. Part memoir, part stand-up comedy, part dance performance, Porter creates a world where intimacy and pathos, hilarity and beauty co-exist in the physical stories she tells about life as an artist and a parent. Prompted by a chance encounter with singer Mary Margaret O'Hara, Sara does a Solo is a bold and beautiful account of mid-life.

CANNING WORLD ARTS EXCHANGE - PERTH, AUSTRALIA 2016

February 6, 2016

Douglas Dunn + Dancers traveled to Australia to participate in the Canning World Arts Exchange, a one night, outdoor extravaganza with audience in the thousands. Douglas Dunn, Grazia Della-Terza, Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Timothy Ward, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Emily Pope and Paul Singh performed in conjunction and collaboration with Taikoz drummers from Sydney, Link Dancers from Perth, Canning’s own Community Choir, and the featured UNESCO Vietnamese Ede Gong Group. The costumes for DD+D are by andytoad.

DOUGLAS DUNN + Dancers in San Francisco

January 22 - 29, 2016

Douglas Dunn + Dancers performed at 500 Capp Street, San Francisco Art Institute and PianoFight in San Francisco, CA in celebration of David Ireland's life and work. Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Grazia Della-Terza, Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Timothy Ward, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Emily Pope and Paul Singh.

DOUGLAS DUNN Curates Choreographers

December 4 & 5, 2015

Two evenings of dances by Jules Bakshi, Douglas Dunn, Paul Singh, Jin Ju Song-Begin & Christopher Williams at Douglas Dunn Studio.

Douglas Dunn + Dancers at Sundays on Broadway

October 25, 2015

Presented by Cathy Weis, Douglas Dunn + Dancers presented an evening of video, poetry, and dance at 537 Broadway. Featuring video by Glen Fogel,  Jules Bakshi and Sandra Gibson, reading by Tom Haviv, live music by Steven Taylor, and dancing by Douglas Dunn,  Jules Bakshi, Alexandra Berger, Jin Ju Song-Begin, Paul SIngh, Emily Pope, and Timothy Ward. The evening ended with Q&A and conversation.

DOUGLAS DUNN + DANCERS WITH CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS

June 26, 27, 28, 2015

As part of an evening Spirits of The Air & Heroes presented by Christopher Williams Friday June 26th, 8pm, Saturday June 27th, 8pm,  Sunday June 28th, 3pm at 92Y. Dancers: Douglas Dunn, Jules Bakshi, Tony Bordonaro, Alexandra Berger, Giulia Carotenuto, Peter Chamberlin, Grazia Della-Terza, Jessica Martineau, Emily Pope, Jake Szczypek, Paul Singh,  Jin Ju Song-Begin, Timothy Ward, Mark Willis. Music by Steven Taylor. Musicians: Jessica Schmitz (flute), Alicia Lee (clarinet), Ha-Yang Kim (cello), Steven Taylor (guitar).

SALON NEPAL RELIEF

June 11, 2015

Douglas Dunn + The Bakshi Family hosted Salon Nepal Relief to raise money for earthquake relief. Photos by Jules and Ken Bakshi. Performances by Subtle Details Dance Theater: Jules Bakshi, Emily Pope, Lulu Soni. Live projections by Avery McCarthy, Music by Elias Meister + Dancing by Douglas Dunn.

SALON INTERLACED DANCE JOURNEY

April 28, 2015

Micheline Lelièvre, Jean Guizerix & Douglas Dunn hosted screening of the documentary Interlaced Dance Journey. Wilfride Piollet & Jean Guizerix on Tuesday April 28th, 8pm 2015 at Douglas Dunn Studio, including dancing by Douglas Dunn  Jules Bakshi  Jin Ju Song-Begin.

DOUGLAS DUNN WITH SALLY SILVERS

March 22, 2015

Douglas appeared with Sally Silvers & Dancers  on Sunday March 22nd at 92 Y as part of SIlvers' series: Actual Size Plus

DOUGLAS DUNN + DANCERS AIDOS AT BAM

February 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15, 2015

NY TIMES REVIEW 2015

ARTS JOURNAL REVIEW 2015

Charles Atlas Releases New Book FeatURING Douglas Dunn

2015

TORONTO CHRONICLE 11/21

November 21, 2014

Steven Taylor and I just spent ten days in Toronto. Three professional musicians and six experienced dancers appeared for our Saturday-Sunday workshop, Music & Dance: Friends or Enemies. We worked head-on, side-by-side, and back-to-back, playing as many dance-music juxtapositions and permutations as we could imagine. The rapport and the material were so enlivening that we fantasized taking the show on the road.

On Monday, at the invitation of Artistic Director Patricia Fraser, I lead a workshop at The School of Toronto Dance Theater. A record-for-me fifty-five students crowded the Studio Theater. Half had to sit no matter how free the moves. The congestion was in fact instructive: as viewers, each waiting group saw the kind of dance that results from setting mini-activities and allowing them to be executed in any order.

On Tuesday we had our tech. Steven sounded firm playing guitar and piano and coordinating with computer and multiple gizmos. Myself I was still figuring out how to arrange and how to time my planned bits, including a memorized monologue (“…asparagus grows out my head…”). To my dismay, despite the “age-justified” context, I felt a new vulnerability at the prospect of appearing solo, no accompanying youthful dancers to demonstrate vigor and virtuosity to offset my ramshackle anatomy.

On Wednesday at York University, at the invitation of Associate Professor Carol Anderson, I screened Secret of the Waterfall, the half-hour video-dance commissioned by Susan Dowling of WGBH Boston in 1983. What a pleasure! The direction, costumes and editing by Charles Atlas make mighty sprightly the steps I set on the company of that era: Susan Blankensop, Grazia Della-Terza, Diane Frank, John McLaughlin and Deborah Riley. Anne Waldman and Reed Bye weave in and out of the various scenes speaking lines they wrote during the eight days of shooting on Martha’s Vineyard. Despite being among young strangers, I teared up occasionally, falling headlong into the emotionally charged gap between here and now and these long-ago camera-caught moments of clarity, spirit and dedication. I recalled how numerous were the takes to arrive at perfected versions of each scene, how, despite our lack of experience dancing for film, we never flagged. Afterwards, with the students I talked about the process of adjusting to setting moves for the limited space of the camera as opposed to the breadth of a proscenium stage, where one needn’t be telling audience exactly where to look.

Later that day I lead a workshop with a different York group, making numerous small Open Structures, which they then performed as a Mix. A student asked afterwards do I construct dances in this way, inviting dancers’ choreographic choices. No, I answered…because I take pride in generating and organizing every aspect of what is to be seen…because it is unfair to dancers who may wish later to do their own work to have it already exposed in mine…because what interests me in art is original, risked, individual vision.

Thursday through Sunday Steven and I performed our latest iteration of Near Miss at Canadian Stage as part of the 15th anniversary season of Older & Reckless, the inspired format invented by Claudia Moore. Thrice yearly she provides a platform for past-prime dancers who have yet something to offer. Click here to see the diverse lineup: http://moonhorsedance.com/older_and_reckless_season_2014_2015.html

The warm generosity of these performers and their friends was wonderfully welcoming, as were the impeccable administrative attentions of Natasha Powell of Dance Umbrella. Steven and I felt valued and at home.

If dancing when youthful was flying free with wax-less wings…if dancing in middle age was pouncing cloud-to-cloud, landing ever so softly…then dancing at seventy-two is climbing The Eiger in a blinding snowstorm with frozen fingers and no rope. Stage fright I always found energizing. The trepidation surrounding and impinging on my five fifteen-minute exposures during this week was something new. Steven’s dynamite music and serious plus fun-loving presence buoyed. Whatever other resources came into play (“I’ve done this before, I can do it again,” and the like) were new and necessary. The semi-harrowing experience ignited an unexpected illumination: that without knowing it I have always held inwardly a qualitative threshold below which my company and I must not fall—because audience deserves at least that level, preferably above. Whether I made the grade is hard to know. We came through without disasters (I did not, for example, drop the shovel), and the responses were positive, so I take heart and will continue to plan to dance in Aidos, the new evening we are preparing for the BAM Fisher space, Brooklyn NY, February 11 – 15, 2015

JUDSON FRAGMENTS

October 28, 2014

On Tuesday October 28th, 2014 we presented a rare screening of Summers' film Judson Fragments, containing some of the only footage of Judson Dance Theater performances by Yvonne Rainer, Steve Paxton and Deborah Hay, and vignettes of Fred Herko shot specially by Summers for Fantastic Gardens. 

The screening was part of a weeklong program of events to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Herko's death. For details of the full program, visit:www.freddieherko.com.

The film was followed by a Q&A session with Elaine Summers. 

On three consecutive nights in February 1964, Judson Dance Theater choreographer Elaine Summers presented a cornucopia of dance, music, sculpture, film, slide projections and audience participation. 

Fantastic Gardens featured music by John Herbert McDowell and Malcolm Goldstein, sculptures by Al Hansen, photographs by Billy Linich (Billy Name) and Stan VanDerBeek and costumes by Johanna VanDerBeek.

The dancers included Judson Dance Theater regulars Carla Blank, June Ekman, Sally Gross, Elizabeth Munro, Sandra Neels, Rudy Perez and Arlene Rothlein, as well as composer Philip Corner, poet Kenward Elmslie, artist Al Hansen, and Summers' husband Carol and infant son Kyle. Fred Herko, Christine Meyers and Sally Stackhouse played "Creatures," their naked bodies gradually accumulating multicolored layers of paint as they traversed the space.

Summers describes the event as follows:

The concert was presented in three parts with two intermissions. The first section consisted of a film collage of dances, using chance methods inspired by John Cage. In the second section [...] film images were splashed over the ceiling, floor, walls and audience, who were given small hand mirrors with which to pick up additional images. As the projected images, partially aided by mirrors placed near the projector lens, splashed very slowly over the audience, dancers began to dance inside large sculptural pieces which were placed within and outside the perimeters of the audience. The audience was then invited to participate in the dance by using their mirrors to light the dancers.

In the third section, "Other People's Gardens," one of the sculptures, a large metallic "tree" built of junk, became the instrument played by composer Malcolm Goldstein. [...] Fantastic Gardens was made with the rather bitter acknowledgement that you can't see in the back of your head. You were not meant to see everything. You were meant to deal with that question: "Where shall I look?" If you came back another night, you would see a whole different thing. 

In his review in The Village Voice, Jonas Mekas described the work as, "a huge ballet-happening, often involving the entire audience and using the entire presence of the church itself, its walls, its columns, balconies, ceiling. Mirrors were distributed which the audience used to catch the beams of light crisscrossing the church. When one looked at the audience, it seemed to be dancing too, going through a variety of fluttering, floating movements, hands moving in the air as if they were chasing and following the light beams, in a strange ritual of light."

BOOK LAUNCH FOR JIM KLOSTY'S JOHN CAGE WAS

October 18, 2014

On Saturday October 18 from 5:30 – 8 PM at the Douglas Dunn Studio we held a book launch celebration of James Klosty’s John Cage Was "Intimate portraits and remembrances of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century."

The event featured live music by Cleek Shrey & Friends, and dancing by Jules Bakshi, Jin Ju Song Begin, Yara Travieso. 

LE MOUVEMENT: BIEL SWITZERLAND

September 8, 2014

Company members Jules Bakshi, Ji Ju Song-Begin, Paul Singh, and I have just returned from Biel, Switzerland where we were part of Le Mouvement: Performing the City.

Invited local dancers worked with us for three days to fill out the cast for Vain Combat, the street dance DD&D has been showing anonymously off and on on the streets of NYC over the last four years. We then danced the piece three times a day for four days running.

This link will give you an idea of the breadth and goals of the festival. The curatorial emphasis was on conceptual work, the human body occupying public space in ways that articulate city densities and bring into focus the many often contradictory layers of urban consciousness. Vain Combat, with its energetic display of moves, tempos, rhythms and spatial configurations, came off as dancier and less idea-driven than other offerings. 

Instead of the hit-and-run anonymity of the piece in NYC, in Biel we found ourselves one of many well-advertised performances daily taking over the heart of the not big city. Audience responses ran the usual gamut for street work, from total indifference to awed attention, with everything in between. Of course there were dogs, of course there were children (some beautiful young imitators, some obnoxiously derisive adolescents), and of course there were older folks wavering between annoyance at our being in their way and curiosity at the unexpected appearance in their familiar surround of a large coherent group of highly stylized human bodies. Noticeably different from NYC was deference on the part of those not caring to engage: they would walk well out of their way in order to avoid interrupting viewers, not to mention the performers. On the last day, Sunday, the stores were closed, the pedestrian traffic at a minimum, the viewers nearly all intentional festival spectators...the hush during quiet moments of the piece was magical.

Best Fall Wishes

Douglas

THe NEW School

March 19, 2013

At the invitation of Bonnie Marranca, DD+D offers “performance/demo” at Wollman Hall, Eugene Lang College, The New School, NYC. Nick Bakshi reads from Dancer Out of Sight, video mix plays, Douglas makes duo on Jin Ju Song-Begin & Jules Bakshi; then they show the duo phrase by itself; then a Q&A.

Douglas receives this email about the event from Ellen Saltonstall on April 4, 2013:

Hi Douglas,

I really enjoyed the event you offered at the New School a few weeks ago. It was fascinating to watch the process of making the segment of choreography, seeing how the movement looked on you and then how it looked on the dancers. I enjoy how your movements are both weighted and light, both classical and quirky, and your sense of rhythm is so strongly expressed. It was really fun to see the old films, how you carve the space and have such amazing horizontal speed punctuated by vertical bursts.  Hearing what you said and the material that was read aloud, I noticed even more the combination of a preferred vocabulary but also something always new and unexpected, and the feeling of moving for the pleasure and adventure of it. After all these years, those many times I watched you and everyone in Merce's company dancing comes right back to me, and it's very satisfying to see that kind of movement in a new form through what you're doing. 

Warmly

Ellen