Thursday, December 1, 2011

It was the first of December -- A day I'll always remember ...


Webmaster Michael Hears Christmas Music!

(Hmmm -- we'll get a whole new year at the end of the month.)

ALL the Programs from the Festival of Fools -- 1975 to 1984.
An online collection of the programs from the Festival of Fools -- searchable, downloadable PDFs. Write your OWN memories: On the BLOG or at the dedicated page on FACEBOOK !
(Thanks to Ed Baker, Marion Onnekink, Cor Schlösser, Sherif El Safourny, and T.I.N.)


Graphics: Charly Jungbauer; Printing: Gestetner 1975

January 13, 14 & 15, 2012 Dansimprovisatie Utrecht (DIU) Workshop Instant Composition & Performance with Katie Duck & Alfredo Genevosi

This workshop is accompanied with live electric guitar and electronics of Alfredo Genevosi and will finish with 3 performances of the students.
NIEUWJAARSDUIK Culturele Zondagen.
Location: FORT B, Kapelweg 7 in Utrecht
Schedule: 10.30 - 17.30 o'clock
Price: € 170
Info & Application: www.dansimprovisatie.com


Katie Duck & Alfredo Genovesi (pre-haircut) at Studio 7.

December 5 Bim Huis Amsterdam 20:30 (free entrance) Curator: MAGPIE (Katie Duck and Alfredo Genovesi) with Miri Lee and the Trust Dance Company Dancers: Jae Young Park, Myung Gyu Song, Sun Jin Gu, Jai Un Lee, Dong Hee Kim, Yun Gyu Kim Musicians: Shim Eun-yong (keomungo), Eunyoug-Shim (geomungo).

Katie and Allies

The Trust Dance Company (Seoul, Korea) performers and musicians will be doing events in Amsterdam from Sunday December 4 until Sunday December 11. All of the events are in collaboration with Amsterdam-based musicians and dancers with varied themes for each project.


This is an unusual opportunity to see the work of these performers, dancers and musicians who, though rooted in traditional Korean dance and music, have a spirit to experiment and collaborate in improvisation. A one-off week of events! Don’t miss it! DETAILS HERE


Sharon Smith and the Masked Botero!

Sharon Smith still tours with Gob Squad.
See Sharon Smith & Felicity Croydon's amazing site maxfactory.org (Updated Flash Required)
Here's a link to her Recent Work with Tom Parkinson.


(L to R) P.J. Droubay, Gary McDonough, and Woody Whitney have performed their Pantomime/Music/Spoken Word version of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas for over 30 years. This year they're also doing a parody version for friends in a charity event. No crappy cartoon songs from the mid-sixties (ever) but no Boris Karloff either -- he died in 1968!


More Ducky Allies and Associates:


Silvia Bennett, digitized from her Facebook site by M.E.

Weekly class with: Silvia Bennett (It), dancer and choreographer Monika Stepak, Shiatsu therapist and Okido Yoga docent.
Every Wednesday -- Overtoom 301 Amsterdam
Starts: 18:00 h - 20.00 h Entrance: 12.00 euro or 4 x 40.00 euro

Sylvain Meret Movement Class:
November 2 to December 21 Wednesdays 2011 18:30 to 20:00 Global DanceLab - Borgerstraat 112, 1053PX Amsterdam / €10 per class / 8 classes block €60 / Open class 26 October 5 euro! Please register by email or call prior to the class. Contact: sylvainmeret21@gmail.com / 06-14 10 23 37


6 DECEMBER 2012 - LOCATION: DOKHUIS, PLANTAGE DOKLAAN 5-12 - START: 20.30
TICKETS: 7 EURO/ STUDENT(ID) 3 EURO - RESERVATIONS: INFO@MOVEMENTALIST.NL
ID - AN EVENING OF THREE DANCE PERFORMANCES WITH SPOKEN WORD AND LIVE MUSIC.

DANCERS: VINCENT VERBURG, MELVIN FRAENK, DAYNA MARTINEZ MORALES,CHERIF ZAOUALI & KAZUMA (Melvin's wearing the hoody, above, in a performance with Katie.)

LIVE MUSIC: RAPHAEL VANOLI, BERNT NELLEN - TEXT & SPOKEN WORD: CLAUDIO RITFELD

Melvin's teaching regular classes at Amsterdam Dance Center too!

Contemporary Dance Classes (Advance Level) by Rakesh MPS
Wednesday, November 2 at 8:00am - Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 9:30am
Latin Dance India -- 80 feet rd, Koramangala Bangalore, India
These classes will focus on a variety of contemporary dance techniques such as Release, Double Skin, Double Mind, Flying Low as well as partnering, improvisation and choreography.


(L to R) Abhilash Ningappa and Rakesh -- performing in the shadow of violist Noortje Köhne!

Rakesh started his career as a Bollywood dancer. Since 2003, he has been doing contemporary dance, and has been associated with Attakkalari centre for Movement Arts in Bangalore, India for 5 years. Rakesh has been working as an independent artist. He participated in the Apprenticeship Program with Magpie Umbrella Organization under the Direction of Katie Duck.
Since 2009 Rakesh has been invited as a contemporary dance teacher in many prestigious dance festivals and companies across India and Europe.
Please note that all participants from these classes can perform (its optional) at the end of 3 months in a production put up by Rakesh. Visit www.latindance.co.in.


Digital watercolor of Lily Kiara (L) and Lee Miri (R) by M.E.

Women of Substance Radio is playing two of Lily Kiara's songs: Cradle Me and New Day throughout the next three months! Every Tuesday at Triple A Show and Fridays at New Acoustic Shows. Lily says: Have a listen. There is lots of great music to discover there!

Dancer Carla Behal was in Algorta, Spain (Basque country) during late December.

Kirstie Simson -- Improvisation -- The Art of Listening
December 19th to 23rd 2011 at Graner
c / Jane Addams, 14-16, 08038 Barcelona

, Spain


Kirstie Simson -- Digitized from live sketches by M.E.

Classes draw from her knowledge of Contact Improvisation, Dance Techniques, Aikido, Meditation and her extensive experience ... in performance.
The focus will be on exploring uninhibitedly the huge potential of the body’s response to the primal urge to move ... Kirstie will be focusing on various aspects and techniques for freeing up the body - allowing it to move with greater ease and grace. She has spent many years researching ways of moving which generate full and fearless dancing, and she enjoys the challenges of intense physicality ...
The classes offer students a way to extend and deepen their experience of moving, to practice the skills of dancing in partnership with others and improvising with greater sensitivity to each other and the environment. In recent years Kirstie’s focus has been directed towards the art of deep listening within her practice of improvisation ...
.
Information: 
+34 934 308 763
 mudances@margarit-mudances.com

Chris Torch returned from the Caucasus
For more info about the next CORNERS event -- see INTERCULT (Sweden)

Barsham Faire and Albion Faire, East Anglia UK


Hold onto your hat, George-O! -- Barsham Fair 1975

The website -- Currently being upgraded. It is being rebuilt using a content management system (CMS) called Plone. Straightforward to use, contributions and assistance welcome. Descriptions or impressions of individual fairs are especially appreciated.
The exhibition -- Having a rest under Madeline's spare bed. Shouldn't be allowed to get settled in. Venues and dates need sorting out. Publicity and launch events too. Improvements need looking at ...

CONTEXT: Barsham Faire is where George-O first met Johnny Melville, which eventually led to Kaboodle and Salatka Balloon Band coming to Amsterdam's Festival of Fools.
There is quite an active group documenting these East Anglian Fairs!
They made an informative Website,
but are collaborating on said exhibition via their blog HERE

Speaking of Friends (Roadshow and Mobile): Davey Norket is featuring The Friends Story: 'According to Dave' on his already-fun Website! (Click on the letter "U" to go forward, or the letter "T" to go back.)

Footsbarn Theatre & Fellow Travelers:

Sad to report a catastrophe --


Footsbarn's 300 seat marquee tent at La Chaussee suffered the loss of its canvas in a windstorm on December 16, 2011.
(Photo by Haris Haka Resic
)

Insurance may help, but this is a major trauma to a group trying to crawl out from under bankruptcy proceedings JOIN FRIENDS OF FOOTSBARN !


Give Footsbarn some money if you can in these hard times.
From a photo by Manu Dubost


Glad this is still going to happen:
Fifteen years after it roped in Malayalee artistes for the hugely-successful Odysseus, Footsbarn Traveling Theatre of France is back in Kerala, this time with the Shakespearian play - The Tempest.

The Odysseus team would be part of The Tempest as well. “Footsbarn http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifplans to set the play in India and premiere it in Guimaraes, Portugal, in May 2012 and later [undertake] a European tour to Spain, France, England and other countries. The team will then return to India for performances in October,” D. Raghoothaman, founder-President of Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre, told Deccan Chronicle.

Read the whole article HERE

Early Winter Tour


When the going gets tough, the tough get going!

The final event marking the 40th birthday of Footsbarn Theatre: Do not miss the Bourbonnaise tour of this exceptional show! 40 Years -- It IS NOT EASY! represents the passage from season to season, from epoch to epoch, from age to age. A ritual to blow back against the wind and cold. A show that daringly mixes theatre, magic, music, cinema, buffoonery, and many other surprises, in a clinking cocktail glass meant for our thirsty public!


Looks like they're showing their colors locally!

Footsbarn family member Rhona Pearce, and extended Footie relatives Ton and Kirschen's in Germany are getting ready to tour their new show LA LUNA.

Another related company Buchinger's Boot Theatre started a residence at the Gare Franche in Marseille, presenting a new show called Petrology


Richard Penny, Mafalda da Camara and Julian Weare, Karine Dumont, and Stanislas Roblès of Buchinger's Boot Theatre.

English site: Buchinger's Boot Theatre

Buchinger's Boot Theatre's manager (and Footsbarn's former manager) John Kilby and I had this Facebook conversation on December 18, 2011:
Me: Just heard about Vasclav Havel's death -- sorry.
John: yep it's a hard one, saw him last year he was already frail - brilliant in every department and a true HUMAN, it's been a honour to have known him. He was supposed to come to Avignon next year - now there will only be a hommage!
Me: I didn't know how frail he was -- I was proud of MIR for featuring him and his work, among other things.
John: ... was ill for quite a long time there'll be his company Divadlo Husa na Provasku performing at the Villeneuve en scène festival in 2012 - performing the full version of Havel's Circus.

On his Facebook page, he wrote: What an incredible honour to have known this extraordinary man in 1989 and 2010 - thanks

Footsbarn veteran Daniel Rovai is in Amsterdam, singing cabaret -- check out his movie Silent Sonata. (Slow Loader)

French allies The Improfessionals are starting their new season -- Clara McBride is carrying on the role Eavan Brennan and Natalie Portman are playing.

The formidable ladies of Dublin, Ireland are still spinning records and performing in theater spaces around the capitol city, while Roseanne studies in London!


DJ Christine Beep Beep specializes in Hard Rock and R&B!


Footsbarn/Great Salt Lake Mime Troupe Alumnus Gregg Moore opened his musical vaults on the Internet:

Look and listen on Relevant Music.
Great Salt Lake Mime Troupe; Friends Big Band; Available Jelly; and even MOORE to come.

Nouveau Clowns

Barcelona's Kras Pataklan administrates a Facebook page alerting all and sundry to performances of the Worldwide Baggy Pants Krewe called Clowns On The Road AKA (EN EL CAMÍ/EN EL CAMINO). Get your translating pages ready though -- the posts can be in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Italian, German or even English!

Karin "Pipa" Wimmer and Sorcas Quircas are performing ariel feats, fire, and black-light on December 3 Sorcas Quircas Facebook Page

Clown Cabaret -- Monthly at The Shop at Fort Fringe 607 New York Ave, NW Washington, District of Columbia
Created By: Karen Beriss, Rich Potter, Matthew Paul, with appearances by Nouveau Clown Mandy Dalton.

More Nouveau Clowning

THE CLOWN TRIBE OF A NEW PARADIGM
2012 - The Clown Tribe of a New Paradigm is a unique opportunity to train for 10 days with two of the leading teachers of the N.C.I., Johnny Melville & Jango Edwards - who are veterans of stage and screen with thousands of hours of performing experience and success, and who still perform around the globe as comedy surges through their blood and love through their hearts.

March 7th to 17th, 2012:
March 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (Johnny Melville)
March 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 (Jango Edwards)

Barcelona (Spain) C/Tallers, 55 http://workshopwall.com/
Info and reservations: Cristina -- nouveauclown@gmail.com
T-0034 661111127


Jango recently told me: I'm not as young as before buddy...but its unique trying this series!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ONE LIFETIME - 40 Years of Entertainment Jango Edwards will introduce the career retrospect project.
The first 8 performances of a season of 32 different presentations selected from more then 180 productions he has created in collaboration with The Friends Roadshow and numerous Nouveau Clown Artists -- every Friday for 7 consecutive weeks. There will be a seasonal pause and the retrospect will continue from January 13th until the end of June.

Every show unique and different -- All performances and the year they were created and toured are listed below and begin at 21:30h Ticket price 8€ plus membership 3€ (for 1 year) R.A.I. Theater, C/ Carders 12, 08003 Barcelona tel: 932 681 321 - rai-art@pangea.org www.rai.pangea.org/raiart

04 nov -- HOLEY MOLEY
A music based show, originally performed with a 5 piece rock and roll band. Featuring the hard-of-hearing heavy metal group 'D.E.A.F.', the Spanish magician Juan Edwardo Gonzalez, clown rap “Laugh Your Ass Off” by Mr. E and Benny Buns, the worlds strongest man.

11 nov -- LONDON MIME COMPANY
Jango's first performing show, with Nola Rae and the London Black Theater Company. White face, black leotards and effects in ultra violet light. Classic mime pieces include 'Chairs', 'After death' and the 'Western...

18 nov -- LOONEY TOURS
A project originally created for the 'Juste pour Rire' festival in Montreal, takes the audience on a tour of the streets during which they encounter re-enactments of little known events from the history of the city.

25 nov -- I LAUGH YOU
One of Jango's strangest and funniest shows. From the arrival of an elephant alien in a pyramid spaceship, through the dawn of man to Jesus H Christ, the fly-away carpenter, the Ambassador of Food and a musical version of Nuclear Arms (and terrific legs).

02 dec -- BIG BOSS
The most recent creation with Jango directing and performing with the company Passabarret from Valls Tarragona. Presenting a funeral, a circus and a wedding. Created as a moving street event with an all purpose gipsy car, the RAI version will be performed on stage.

09 dec -- NIGHTMIRRORS
Jango's original horror show with slide projections and a 3 piece band. In the RAI Jango will present the 'Haunted House', the 'Suicide', 'Stinky Stankovitch' and his cruel clothes and the epic, opera drama 'Rudolf and Valentina'.
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Johnny Melville and Jango Edwards continue to fool around the cinema. Check out Parade of Fools for the latest on their movie!


Composite photo of award-winning Johnny in Girona.

Johnny Melville wrote: Well, I won the Xavier Cugat award like I was told, then they gave me Best Actor and Best Director for Backtracker, the short film I put in (the Girona Film Festival), so I was a very surprised and happy guy.

Johnny Melville in Chile: Valparaiso Workshop December 19-23
The Festival Invasion Callejeros starts 26-30
I play 3 shows with group in the street then one show in a big theatre.
http://festivalinvasioncallejera.blogspot.com/2011/01/espectaculos-callejeros-en-invasion.html

Johnny Melville (was) appearing at the Girona Film Festival in early December to accept the Xavier Cugat Award and perform music for three days ...


This mashup "draws" Johnny Melville into one of Cugat's scenes from the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, where he led the orchestra for a couple of decades. There are four Marx brothers in the upper right corner, and a self-portrait of Cugat in the lower right.

Xavier Cugat (1900 - 1990) was born Francisco d'Asís Xavier Cugat Mingall de Bru i Deulofeu in Girona, Catalonia. He achieved fame as a violinist, caricaturist, and genial entertainer who specialized in Latin American Big Band Music.


(Above) New York City-born Abbe Lane was Xavier Cugat's lead singer for around ten years. After they split up, Cugat eventually hired a young performer named “Charo,” who became his most famous walking, talking, dancing caricature — whomever the real lady behind that act happens to be!

Across The Blue Horizon ...

Percussionist Linda Anton Curtis continues to play Salsa Music every month, and goes dancing at the Gold Coast in Florida USA.

Linda's friend and fellow Festival of Fools artist Ellen Beier illustrated a book titled The Christmas Coat. Look at her work HERE!

Stuart Curtis invited one and all to: Annual Non-Presidents Ball Saturday Dec 17 from 8:30pm-? Music will be provided by the El Kabong Orchestra ... Proceeds go to the Oregon Food Share.

Stuart's satellite page about the Hamburg production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats is LINKED on the Outline and Scrapbook page of the Great Salt Lake Mime Troupe Saga -- See the
Handy http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifTable of Contents.

Karen Quest was taking a break from riding the USA fair circuit to do the Will Rogers Follies as a black light trick roper. ALSO: Ruby the Reindeer and The All Reindeer Bell Orchestra -- Mittens and Mistletoe: A Winter Circus Cabaret in San Francisco.

NEW from the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus:

Dixon Place Presents -- Bindlestiff Open Stage Variety Show
First Monday of Every Month, starts January 2, 2012
Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street, New York, NY
Door $5 (suggested donation) Showtime: 8 pm

Much more than a simple song and dance. Bindlestiffs Open Stage Variety Show is a non stop variety show experience that may include The Heavy Metal Magician, Kung Fu juggling, trained rats, clown bands, aerial artists, wire walkers, sideshow performers, stripping clowns, living cartoons, physical comedy, a cougar contortionist, emerging burlesque starlets, and more. The show celebrates works in progress, emerging artists, and professionals trying something new, this night promises many surprises.

Bindlestiff Family Cirkus Cabaret is returning to Club Helsinki (Hudson, NY). Second Friday of the month January through March.

Nina (Bird Woman) Cheney on the Eagle Optics Blog.

Check out Nina Cheney's Page from the Great Salt Lake Mime Troupe Outline & Scrapbook.

A deeper blue lies across the blue horizon: Treat yourself to Justin Hunter Case in Sydney, Australia!

Werner Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams, features music by friends Sean Bergin and Ernst Reiseger! MORE INFO HERE

Classic Parliament-Funkadelic & Funky Disciples:

The 420 Funk Mob at the City Winery: Mike Clip Payne, Mike Kidd Funkadelic Hampton, Jeff Cherokee Bunn from Funkadelic; Joey Eppard and Jeremy Bernstein of DRUGS; Chris Gartdrum Gartmann from the band 3; Alana Orr from Van Hunt; The Wefunk Horns -- along with special guest George Clinton INFO HERE

Shaunna Hall's Electrofunkadelica -- Tune in and listen while you surf the 'Net!

Shaunna's friend Ronkat Spearman -- Friday, December 30, 2011, 10pm - NEW YEAR at the Boom Boom Room, 1501 Fillmore, San Francisco. (With Miss Sugar Booty 2011, and the dancers, including Rasa Vitalia.)


Besides George and the P-Funk All-Stars, keep your eyes open for the Eric McFadden Trio; Kim Manning's band from the West Coast; Richie "Shakin" Nagan out of NYC; Freekbass touring out of Cincinnati, home of community activist William (Bootsy) Collins; PFAS lead singer Steve Boyd's solo work; Gabe (420) Gonzales gigging out of Detroit; Greg Boyer (Working quite a bit with Chuck Brown in Washington DC); Maceo Parker (Everywhere); DJ Soul Sister in New Orleans; Lady Miss Kier Kirby out of NYC.

Webmaster Michael's E-Portfolio -- Check out DANCE HISTORIES!

(This blog continues to be be updated after the initial publication date.)