[note: many, if not most, of these links may no longer be working, but such is the nature of the digital. hopefully, the url and context are enough to help you find any further information you want. if not, feel free to contact me, and i’ll try to help.]
abril 2022
¡hola, difus@s!
the two shows i was most looking forward this past month didn't disappoint. heather christian's oratorio for living things was visceral and vital, with its (admirably) ambitious scope, (necessarily) elusive logic, and (incredibly) committed cast, and the builders association's i agree to the terms is the best piece of digital theater i've seen (though, in all candor, i've assiduously avoided this genre), a concise, critical history of internet culture and an incisive, empathetic portrayal of digital labor.
the tension between tradition and innovation that trinity irish dance company's program wrestled with was interesting (and their technique, impressive), but the results were less exciting than similar recent experiments in spanish music (e.g., baiuca, califato 3/4, niño de elche, rodrigo cuevas, or tanxugueiras). turning marshall mcluhan into dance theater seemed certain to be either phenomenal or painful, but somehow the medium managed to be neither. tristan perich's infinity gradient, though, was utterly execrable, which wasn't entirely surprising after his red bull academy performance, but everyone deserves a second chance, if not a third...
this month has a lot of promising work on offer, so i'm hoping for more hits and fewer misses:
film: two of the films i'm most excited about this month are at anthology: derek jarman's blue (screening as part of "imageless film, part 1," which also features guy debord) and luís lópez carrasco's the year of the discovery. i've seen both before (blue, twice at moma, and el año del descubrimiento last year at lincoln center), and i am more than eager to see them again. also high on my watch list are celine sciamma's new petite maman (because i loved portrait of a lady on fire) and bam's series "photographing the ether: the internet on film, 1983–2022." other films of note include babi yar. context, the business of birth control, cow, los conductos, paris, 13th district, and the tale of the king crab.
music: julia wolfe's cruel sister is something i've long listened to (thanks to a doug varone and dancers' "stripped / dressed" performance at the 92y), so i'd love to hear it live when it plays at carnegie hall. andy akiho's seven pillars at baryshnikov arts center and theo bleckmann's collaboration with the westerlies at joe's pub are two other performances that have my interest quite piqued. if possible, i'd also like to catch the telsa quartet (who, really, should consider a name change), on-site opera's production of gianni schicchi, and roulette's presentations of l. shankar with abhijit banerjee and mamadou diabate.
dance: despite my dwindling enthusiasm for the gilman opera house experience, i am genuinely looking forward to seeing what sasha waltz & guests do with terry riley's "in c" and how candoco dance company interprets trisha brown's set and reset. i'd also be keen to see yvonne rainer at issue project room, david dorfman at skirball, rashaun mitchell + silas reiner at danspace project, mufutau yusuf at irish arts center, and / or ashwini ramaswamy at baryshnikov arts center.
performance + theater: top of my theater list this month is the drag seed, not just because the source material is so rich but also because its old-school camp sensibility is fast disappearing. having so enjoyed i agree to the terms this past month, i'm eager to see new golden age. other shows of note include #enough: plays to end gun violence, at the wedding, balkan bordello, feast, trash, and wish you were here.
art: the opening of the whitney biennial is this month's major museum event (protests included), but if you're waiting for the initial frenzy to wane (as i am), there's plenty to see in the city's galleries: melvin edwards, sam gilliam, and william t. williams; barkley hendricks; walid raad (whose prior work makes me curious about his new nft collaboration—despite all my misgivings about nfts); tabboo!; joana choumali; sascha braunig; mimi park; juan muñoz (a longtime favorite); michael heizer; and robert irwin.
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un abrazo,
p
abril / apri
1: hear (dance)
1: members only boylesque (performance)
1-2: giving up the ghost (theater)
1-3: a song of songs (theater)
1-3: i agree to these terms (theater)
1-5: squirrels to nuts (film)
1-7: feast (theater)
1-8: left bank cinema (film)
1-10: 7 minutes (theater)
1-10: balkan bordello (theater)
1-10: bridget everett & the tender moments (performance)
1-10: city center dance festival (dance
1-10: confederates (theater)
1-10: heartland (theater)
1-10: help (theater
1-10: the drag seed (theater)
1-14: pop plays itself (film)
1-17: at the wedding (theater)
1-17: coal country (theater)
1-17: oratorio for living things (performance)
1-19: oh, the humanity! the films of larry fessenden and glass eye pix (film)Ç
1-20: imageless films, part 1 (film)
1-30: buster's century (film)
1-: babi yar. context (film)
1-: barbarians (film)
1-: nitram (film)
1-: suffs (theater)
1-: take me out (theater)
1-: the business of birth control (film)
1-: the skin of our teeth (theater)
1-: you won't be alone (film)
2: canela y limón (music)
2: devonté hynes: selected classical works (music)
2: jeanine de bique, soprano; jonathan c. kelly, piano (music)
2: l. shankar with abhijit banerjee: indian masters (music)
2: pablo sainz-villegas, guitar, plays albeniz and more (music)
2: sing (dance
3: arracht (film
3: boston early music festival (music)
3: sonya belaya and дача: new childhood (music)
4: stravinskey reimagined (dance)
5: liederabend (music)
5: vivienne dick's 'new york our time' (film)
5-10: barn series! (theater)
5-10: soledad barrio & noche flamenca (dance)
5-23: songs about trains (performance)
6: paul taylor dance company in kurt jooss’ the green table (dance)
6: sara serpa: intimate strangers (music)
6: the philadelphia orchestra (music)
6: yvonne rainer’s "remembering and dismembering trio a" with brittany bailey / david behrman’s "open space with brass" with ed bear & ensemble (dance)
6-7: andy akiho: seven pillars (music)
7: david rosenboom (performance)
7: karen power | stuart saunders smith (music)
7: matana roberts (music)
7: orchestra of st. luke's (music)
7: the year of the discovery (film)
7-8: miguel poveda (music)
7-8: no diving 2 (dance)
7-9: dark de luxe: a mess for body, shadow and other rogue im/materials (theater)
7-10: gianni schicchi (music)
8: #shakespearessh*tstorm (film)
8: django l’impressionniste (music)
8: mamadou diabate & percussion mania: percussion of west africa (music)
8-9: candoco dance company (dance)
8-9: gloria (dance)
8-10: a map to nowhere (things are) (theater)
8-13: photographing the ether: the internet on film, 1983—2022 (film)
8-: cow (film)
8-: inland empire (film)
8-: the girl and the spider (film)
8-: the vagrant trilogy (theater)
10-: unraveling paradise (film)
11: regina spektor (music)
12: gamba sonatas (music)
12: missing words (music)
12-17: compañía nacional de danza (dance)
12-: a case for the existence of god (theater)
13: bright light bright light: so gay. so dramatic. so public. (performance)
13: fast forward (dance)
13: julia wolfe: cruel sister (music)
13: new york festival of song: the wider view – songs by black composers (music)
13-14: landmarks of the barcelona school (film)
13-15: ashwini ramaswamy: let the crows come (dance)
13-: wish you were here (theater)
14: dion tygapaw mckenzie: devil woman (obeah woman) part 1: dem nuh like we an we nuh like dem (performance)
14: for the trees (music)
14-15: alarm will sound (music)
15-16: fresh tracks: new works (performance)
15-17: distance is malleable (dance)
15-21: flesh for frankenstein + blood for dracula (film)
15-: mississippi masala (film)
15-: paris, 13th district (film)
15-: the tale of the king crab (film)
16: 50 years of collectif jeune cinéma – where is our body? (film)
16: jordan belson: an evening of film, audio, and visual rarities (film)
16: kiran ahluwalia (music)
16: the hong-kong-a-thon part iii: hong kong never dies! (film)
17: first reformed (film)
17: force majeure (film)
17-18: allen downs: chasing light from minnesota to mexico (film)
18: theo bleckmann & the westerlies (music)
19-: limón dance company (dance)
20: #enough: plays to end gun violence (theater)
20: sydney spann: cow, cow, cow, rabbit, recalcitrance, bunny, dog, dog, dog (performance)
20: takács quartet and julien labro, bandoneon, play bryce dessner, clarice assad, labro, and more (music)
21: natu camara (music)
21-23: as of it (dance)
21-23: black hole: triology and triathalon (performance)
21-24: mufutau yusuf: òwe (dance)
21-24: smashed2 (performance)
21-28: friedl kubelka vom gröller (film)
22-23: (a)way out of my body (dance)
22-24: flamenco festival (dance)
22: il pomo d'oro (music)
22: octopus (performance)
22: the marian anderson string quartet (music)
22-: petite maman (film)
22-: the duke (film)
22-: visionary voices (dance)
23: joyce didonato: eden (music)
23: pedrito martinez: afro-cuban rhythms (music)
23: the rocky horror picture show interactive experience (performance)
23-: wedding band (theater)
24: “…whatever norm bruns decides to bring”: a norm bruns retrospective (film)
25-: oh god, a show about abortion (theater)
26-: golden shield (theater)
26-: the lucky star (theater)
27: 8 in show (dance)
27: liederbend (music)
27: new york philharmonic (music)
27-: robert downey: a prince (1936-2021) (film)
28: amir elsaffar's “rivers of sound” (music)
28: emmanuel ax, piano (music)
28: nia imani franklin (music)
28: the secret trio: ismail lumanovski, tamer pınarbaşı & ara dinkjian (music)
28: with care — created by bobbi jene smith in collaboration with keir gogwilt (dance)
28-30: in c (dance)
28-30: mindsex (dance)
28-30: queens terminus (performance)
28-30: rashaun mitchell + silas reiner: retrofit: a new age (dance)
28-30: trash (theater)
28-: new golden age (theater)
28-: the maturation of an inconvenient negro (or inegro) (theater)
29: los conductos (film)
29: tatyana tenenbaum: for selma (performance)
29-30: zolle & a cockroach’s tarantella (music)
29-: anais in love (film)
29-: hatching (film)
29-: vortex (film)
30-: the bedwetter (theater)