Stephen Petronio at the Joyce

Next week, Stephen Petronio, my favorite modern dance choreographer, again collaborates with my favorite classical contemporary composer/arranger/musician/opinionated blogger/adventurous eater, Nico Muhly. Just bought my tickets. And if you've never seen his dance company before, you'd better get yours soon, since it's sure to sell out.

The evening's program includes a world premier "The Architecture of Loss"- with original music by Valgeir Sigurðsson collaborating with Nico Muhly, along with 2002's "City of Twist" billed as "a love letter to New York City in the aftermath of 9/11", featuring music by Laurie Anderson (another of my favorites!). Also, a special treat: the first-ever revival of "Intravenous Lecture" (1970), conceived by contemporary dance legend Steve Paxton and performed by Stephen Petronio. (Steve Paxton is sited by Mr. Petronio as one of his earliest inspirations.)

The Vimeo teaser shows Petronio in the studio working with his dancers on "The Architecture of Loss", with the Sigurðsson music in the background. Watch it full screen.


Stephen Petronio Company and The Architecture of Loss from Blake Martin on Vimeo.

Laurie Anderson's Forty Nine Days in the Bardo: The baad lamb Interview

It's no secret I'm a major fan of Laurie Anderson's work. For more than 40 years, this world-famous visual and performance artist has been captivating and thought-provoking in nearly every medium: performance, sculpture, music, painting, spoken word, video projections, photography and pheromones. (OK, I'm not sure about the pheromones, but if she hasn't used them yet, she will!)

I have yet to see Laurie's current multi-media exhibit at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philly, Forty Nine Days in the Bardo, where she very publicly works through her grief over the loss of her beloved dog and constant companion, Lolabelle (the Bardo is the 49 day intermediate state of transition from death to rebirth as described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead). I jumped at the chance to speak with her, and ask questions about this new work as well as discuss some of the major themes of her recent (and past) work.

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I see the “transitioning” theme of this show - between life and death, death and rebirth, loss and remembrance, underlined in a section of “Animal Stories” from the live lecture: The world as Pre-9/11 and Post 9/11. [note: watch the video above]

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“That was just one story, I’m not sure I would be so global about it, but now that you mention it, it is kind of  a different world in many ways... I can’t think of any 10 years in my life time that are more different.”

Laurie Anderson's Delusion: Living,Waking and Dreaming

Photo credit: Leland Brewster

“I love the stars because you can’t hurt them.”

On Saturday Sept, 25, 2010, Tony and I attended “Delusion” Laurie Anderson’s most recent multi-media work that received its world premier at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Many of the stories recounted are from her newest release Homeland, and deeply explore themes of how humans cope with the realities of everyday existence, including the distrustful nature of memory, the blurry lines between waking and dreaming states, and the delusions we engineer to navigate love and loss, life and death.

Delusion unfolds at the BAM Harvey Theater, (an acclaimed Majestic Theater renovation by Hugh Hardy in 1987) a fitting surrounding for this show, since the grand building is more decayed preservation then renovation; the old columned and arched interior looks to have been heavily shellacked in the moment just before collapse.

As the performance begins, a small window high on a wall allows a glimpse of autumn leaves blowing across a grey sky, while an Arabic woman chants and wails (a lament of grief over death?).
Laurie enters dragging her bow across her violin, adding to the sorrow. “I want to tell you a story/about a story…”, she begins, and we soon learn her life of accomplishments is based on her internal construction of tasks and rewards, a carrot and donkey system that served her well. “Then one day, my donkey died”.