[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.]
enero 2024
¡feliz año, difus@s!
amid the end-of-semester frenzy and holiday gluttony, i managed to squeeze in a few performances and several films. the crypt session’s production of the little match girl passion was terrific (the setting alone was pitch-perfect, and ekmeles is a fantastic ensemble, but lang’s polyphony tends to favor the cerebral over the visceral), and justin vivian bond’s take on the holidays always makes me happy. all of us strangers deserves all the praise that’s being heaped on it and, as one critic (but i’ve forgotten which) has commented, makes a fascinating triptych with weekend and 45 years about time and contingency (an unrealized future, an unstable present, and an uncertain past, respectively). the zone of interest is unabashedly polemic (despite its aesthetic austerity); though i get manola darghis’ take, i’m ultimately more on shirley li’s side—perhaps because i saw fallen leaves the week before and was struck by the formal parallels between the two, i.e., the juxtaposition of the domestic-intimate and the world-historical. (also, santiago sierra has done much worse.) maybe menus-plaisirs les troisgros didn’t need all four hours, but it’s a gorgeous portrait of a local economy and the love of craft (as well as the highs and lows of haute cuisine). i’m still processing occupied city, which is almost too overwhelming in presenting historical information and, conversely, almost too understated in articulating its political argument—but that “almost” is what makes it thoroughly compelling.
performance + theater: around the annual apap conference, several festivals and showcases—under the radar, the exponential festival, special effects festival, the fire this time festival, suite / space—make january a performance bonanza, so one of the best things you can do this month is to sample the offerings (especially since the tickets are generally reasonable). outside the festivals, some of the shows i’d like to see are bodycast (the third of suzanne bocanegra’s artist talks), it’s a motherf**king pleasure (kwame anthony appiah’s latest was on my christmas list), palatable gay robot (beta) (the longstanding “gay / assimilationist split” is of acute interest for me), bacon (another timely edinburgh import), hybrid peasant (which had me at “makes light of bottoming for capitalism”), ernie’s secret life (it’s been too long since i’ve seen some good puppet theater), the art of becoming (i haven’t seen penny arcade since longing lasts longer), the whole of time (this venue’s new to me), and the heaux church (who doesn’t love “a rousing shame-free service”?).
dance: apap also brings out a lot of dance, including festivals like the uptown underground dance festival (at the guggenheim and lincoln center) and motion / matter: street dance festival and showcases like american dance platform. other performances worth looking into are faye driscoll, juliana f. may, dual rivet and roderick george, compagnie hervé koubi, “uroboros / akme,” and nycb’s program of “wheeldon + martins + peck.”
music: going strong for over a decade now, the prototype festival brings new and often innovative opera to the city’s stages (and, i’d wager, has certainly influenced the met’s future direction), and there’s more music at the next festival, the in:formation festival, the composers now festival, and the winter jazzfest. if you missed the little match stick girl passion last month, you can catch it this month at the met museum. other new music shows i have my eye on are arvo pärt’s passio, ian antonio and josh modney, sandbox percussion with conor hanick, mary halvorson, yuniya edi kwon and holland andrews, international contemporary ensemble, “apollonian circles,” and “celebrating ryuichi sakamoto.” i’m also interested in “the chevalier: the life and music of joseph bologne,” “garden of good and evil,” jo lampert’s “constant craving: a night of queerly re-imagined tunes from the dyke canon,” and tuvergen band.
film: if december brought an awards-race bounty of new releases, january’s all about intriguing series. momi’s “curators’ choice 2023” is top of my list (not least for a chance to rewatch r.m.n. and pacifiction and to catch godland), followed closely by “baldwin,” “under the skin: the pleasures of discomfort,” and “days of being wild: the films of leslie cheung.” other series of note include “alexander payne,” “animation first 2024,” “marlene dietrich,” “never look away: serge daney’s radical 1970s” (i really want to spend some time exploring the 70s this year), “panic attacks: the films of dario argento,” and “to save and protect: the 20th moma international festival of film preservation.” among the features out this month that i’m eager to see are arab israeli dialogue, last things, the settlers, and a storm foretold (as if i don’t have enough election year dread).
art: a great way to kick off the year in art is to work your way through hyperallergic’s “concise new york art guide for january.” after that, some of the shows i’m hoping to catch are carol bove, carolee schneemann, charles ledray, g. peter jemison, hélio oiticica and nevilles d’ameidas, mary lucier, pipilotti rist, “season affective,” and “time travel: italian masters through a contemporary lens.”
since tinyletter is closing, I’ll be moving this newsletter over to mailchimp, so if you don’t get the next issue by the first week of february, just e-mail me to let me know.
un abrazo,
p
enero / january
1-4: desire/expectations: the films of edward yang (film)
1-7: all the devils are here (theater)
1-7: arcadia (theater)
1-7: becoming chavela (theater)
1-7: momix (dance)
1-7: the gospel according to chaim (theater)
1-7: walk on through: confessions of museum novice (theater)
1-8: ennio morricone (film)
1-10: the contenders 2023 (film)
1-13: danny and the deep blue sea (theater)
1-14: hell's kitchen (theater)
1-27: the whole of time (theater)
1-28: curator's choice 2023 (film)
1-: africa & byzantium (music)
1-: appropriate (theater)
1-: here we are (theater)
1-: occupied city (film)
1-: the society of the snow (film)
2-6: jess tom: less lonely (theater)
2-26: nabucco (music)
3-6: mary halvorson (music)
3-10: marlene dietrich (film)
3-27: carmen (music)
4-7: conjunction (theater)
4-7: jaap van zweden conducts beethoven and brahms (music)
4-13: la bohème (music)
4-21: it's a motherf**king pleasure (theater)
4-27: ernie's secret life (theater)
4-28: bacon (theater)
5: boyscott (music)
5-6: 100 feet in the air (music)
5-6: the little match girl passion (music)
5-7: justin vivian bond: icing (music)
5-10: alexander payne (film)
5-11: artie shaw: time is all you got (film)
5-11: leon ichaso: poet of latin new york (film)
5-15: motion / matter: street dance festival (dance)
5-21: days of being wild: the films of leslie cheung (film)
5-21: jester in the court: jean-pierre léaud’s finest follies (film)
5-21: the future looks bright from afar (film)
5-21: under the radar festival (performance, theater)
5-21: under the skin: the pleasure of discomfort (film)
5-: a storm foretold (film)
5-: céline and julie go boating (film)
5-: exponential festival (dance, performance, theater)
5-: you can't stay here (film)
6-19: esther's revenge (theater)
7: everything brunch is new again (theater)
7: new england symphonic ensemble (music)
9-12: faye driscoll: weathering (dance)
9-14: american dance platform (dance)
9-17: odd man out (theater)
9-28: beverly johnson: in vogue (theater)
9-30: being birkin (film)
10: works & process underground uptown dance festival: kayla farrish’s put away the fire, dear (dance)
10-13: 50th anniversary of time & space limited tsl: said & done (dance)
10-13: david mirarchi (music)
10-18: nyc winter jazz fest (music)
10-21: prototype festival (music)
10-24: new york jewish film festival (film)
10-24: out-front! fest. (dance, film, performance)
11: dual rivet and roderick george | knoname artist (dance)
11: the next festival with yvette young and curtis stewart (music)
11: works & process underground uptown dance festival: pontus lidberg, taylor stanley, and alec knight
(dance)
11-13: hybrid peasant (theater)
11-13: juliana may: family happiness (dance)
11-28: days and nights (theater)
11-: driving madeleine (film)
11-: get your ass in the water and swim like me (theater)
11-: the aristocrats (theater)
11-: to save and project: the 20th moma international festival of film preservation (film)
12: alexandra nowakowski, soprano; michał biel, piano (music)
12: the incredible drunkertons: from the bottom to the top, to the bottom back to the middle (performance)
12: tuvergen band (music)
12: underground uptown dance festival (dance)
12: yuniya edi kwon and holland andrews: work in progress - how does it feel to look at nothing (music)
12-13: a shared evening: jordan demetrius lloyd & mina nishimura (dance)
12-13: moment in time (theater)
12-13: ruddur dance & gallim (dance)
12-13: special effects festival 2024 (theater)
12-13: the limón dance company, meenmoves, and annie rigney (dance)
12-14: thunderbird american indian dancers in concert (dance, music)
12-15: lisa fagan and lena engelstein: deepe darknesse (dance)
12-18: last things (film)
12-25: baldwin (film)
12-25: i heard it through the grapevine (film)
12-: household saints (film)
12-: inshallah a boy (film)
12-: the connector (theater)
12-: the settlers (film)
13: evangeline: a song cycle (music)
13: kravis nightcap: hilary hahn & tiler peck (music)
13: molly lieber and eleanor smith: zero station (dance)
13: works & process underground uptown dance festival: ladies of hip-hop: speakmymind (dance)
13-14: yydc & emerge125 (dance)
13-15: i will dance with those oak trees as long as (theater)
13-15: the movement — an acappella musical (theater)
13-28: falling sideways off the edge of the earth (theater)
13-: the greatest hits down route 66 (theater)
14: ny phil ensembles at merkin (music)
14: works & process underground uptown dance festival: lloyd knight and company stefanie batten bland (dance)
14-15: mlk day 2024 (film)
15: works & process underground uptown dance festival: passion fruit dance company and preeti vasudevan & amar ramasar (dance)
16: apollonian chronicles (music)
16: br-an-ch: angelica sanchez, brandon ross and chad taylor (music)
16: elia cecino, piano (music)
16: really?! this is it?! (theater)
16: works & process underground uptown dance festival: francesca harper and kash gaines (dance)
16-17: harry smith’s ‘film no. 18 (mahagonny)’ (film)
16-18: monét x change: life be lifin' (performance)
16-21: penny arcade: the art of becoming (performance)
16-21: ronald k. brown / evidence (dance)
16-28: jekyll & hyde: a one-woman show (theater)
17: apollonian chronicles (music)
17: celebrating ryuichi sakamoto w/ sakamoto tribute ensemble, dj spooky & yuka c. honda (music)
17: chamberfest (music)
17-20: amir elsaffar (music)
17-27: first flight: a new works showcase (theater)
17-: public obscenities (theater)
18: angélica negrón & sophie parker (music)
18: infiltrators and foragers (film)
18: kirill gerstein, piano (music)
18: new york festival of song (music)
18: the music of michael ranta & sarah hennies (music)
18-20: noted (theater)
18-20: today you are a man (theater)
18-28: the fire next time festival theater (theater)
19: cillian vallely and kevin crawford (music)
19: existenz (film)
19: international contemporary ensemble: yvette janine jackson’s t-minus, a radio opera (music)
19: julia bullock, soprano; bretton brown, piano (music)
19: tron (film)
19: victor jones is a construct (theater)
19-21: arab israeli dialogue (film)
19-21: thunderbird american indian dancers in concert (dance, music)
19-24: skip norman: here and there (film)
19-25: pasang: in the shadow of everest (film)
19-: one from the heart: reprise (film)
19-: tennessee rising (theater)
19-: the breaking ice (film)
20: ceol na ngael's 50th anniversary celebration (music)
20: eclipse quartet at 20 (music)
20: koal (theater)
20: only voice remains: a recital co-curated by niloufar nourbakhsh and sparks & wiry cries (music)
20: peace seekers xi (music)
20: the cleveland orchestra (music)
21: blackbox ensemble: the sound of space between us (music)
21: durante verzola, a choreographic portrait (dance)
21: the chevalier: the life and music of joseph bologne (music)
21: the cleveland orchestra (music)
21-: uroboros / akme (dance)
22: in my own little corner: my work in progress with bipolar disorder (theater)
22: jo lampert's constant craving: a night of queerly re-imagined tunes from the dyke canon (music)
22: new musicals mixtape (theater)
22: the met orchestra chamber ensemble (music)
23: 74 corridor (performance)
23: ian antonio, percussion, and josh modney, violin (music)
23: shelley hirsch: “and so it was and was and waaaass” (music)
23: the philadelphia orchestra (music)
23: vision duo & chromic duo (music)
23-26: vertigo in concert (film, music)
23-28: animation first 2024 (film)
23-28: compagnie hervé koubi (dance)
24: home grown talent celebration (music)
24: up strung down (theater)
24: why i left the bros (theater)
24: ying li, piano (music)
24-27: sylvie courvosier (music)
24-: wounded (theater)
25: ensemble connect (music)
25: improv nights 2024: a tribute to derek bailey (night 1) (music)
25: negativland & sue-c / valise (music)
25: philharmonia baroque orchestra with richard egarr and reginald mobley: garden of good & evil (music)
25: queen esther (music)
25-: aristotle thinks again (performance)
25-: eddie izzard: hamlet (theater)
25-: sometimes i think about dying (film)
25-: the last thing to go (theater)
25-: wheeldon + martins + peck (dance)
26: arvo pärt’s passio (music)
26: behzod abduraimov, piano (music)
26: hazmat modine (music)
26: improv nights 2024: a tribute to derek bailey (night 2) (music)
26: jiangchen xi, violin; qi he, piano and harpsichord (music)
26: slow burn (theater)
26: string quartet haydn-a-thon (music)
26: the destroying angel (film)
26: the heaux church (performance)
26-27: hamed sinno: westerly breath (music)
26-27: in:formation festival – program a (music)
26-: american star (film)
26-: mambar pierette (film)
26-: never look away: serge daney's radical 1970s (film)
26-: oh, mary (theater)
26-: sounder (film)
26-: the peasants (film)
26-: the pianist (film)
27: arvo pärt’s passio (music)
27: improv nights 2024: a tribute to derek bailey (night 3) (music)
27: juilliard orchestra conducted by tito muñoz (music)
27: rampart (film)
27: young artists recital (music)
27-28: crispr: the musical (theater)
27-28: dances by very young choreographers (dance)
27-28: in:formation festival – program b (music)
28: an evening with david finckel and wu han (music)
28: the meeting* hosted by justin elizabeth sayre (performance)
28: the movie music of terence blanchard (music)
28-: washington (theater)
29: bodycast (theater)
29: palatable gay robot (beta) (performance)
29: sam boutris, clarinet, with sophiko simsive, piano, and the aizuri quartet (music)
29: united in love, until death (theater)
29-: origin (film)
30: boston symphony orchestra (music)
30-: munich medea: happy family (theater)
30-: music from the sole (dance)
30-: split lip (theater)
30-: suite / space 2024 (performance)30-: sunset baby (theater)
31: brad mehldau, piano (music)
31: joshua jay, magician (performance)
31: molissa fenley and company: from the light, between the lamps (dance)
31: sandbox percussion with conor hanick (music)
31: sonatenabend (music)
31-: brandon lopez (music)
31-: composers now festival 2024 (music)
31-: panic attacks: the films of dario argento (film)