Call for Submissions -- learning to loveDANCEmore

learning to loveDANCEmore, a performance journal

Call for Essays & Photos on the theme “Invisible/Visible”
Submission Date: March 15, 2016

“... in spite of a burgeoning wave of newly minted talent fresh from art schools and universities with direct access to the means of self-representation, the familiar, pyramidal structure of the high culture industry has not only been unfazed, it appears to have become more entrenched than ever before.”

- Gregory Scholette in Dark Matter - Art and Politics in the Age of the Enterprise Culture

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When contemplating a theme for volume 12 of the loveDANCEmore performance journal, I considered that there are thousands of dance artists yet the same handful of individuals and companies tour, listing and re-listing one another on their bios. The upcoming journal explores whether this is a reflection of artistic merit (probably) or whether it sparks deeper questions regarding the presentation of concert dance in the contemporary moment (definitely).

The Western concert stage is governed by a growing list of hierarchies; race, gender, sexuality, aesthetic, and geography, to name a few. Funding, employment, institutional support and presentation - the markers of recognition - flow within the boundaries of these hierarchies rendering the labor of many dance artists invisible. There is a growing urgency to critically inquire about this hidden labor of contemporary dance, illustrated by the article “Is Modern Dance a Pyramid Scheme?” and more recently, the controversy surrounding Akram Khan’s comments on female choreographers. These situations spark the following questions :

1. Who/what bodies is/are represented on the concert dance stage?
2. Whose labor (of performance, creation, administration, education) is marked invisible; how and why does this happen?
3. In what ways has the label ‘contemporary’ been defined? Who is included and excluded in that definition?
4. Most crucially, how do artists disrupt these hierarchies and make their work visible?

In order to explore these issues, most particularly as they impact Salt Lake City, the Mountain West, and other midsize cities in the United States, loveDANCEmore is releasing an open call for submissions.

Submissions could address any of the questions above, or broadly the following topics:

• hierarchies in contemporary dance
• definitions of ‘contemporary’
• ways in which creative labor is made visible

Submissions could be scholarly, storytelling, photos, poetry, or other kinds of content. Please send submissions to Liz Ivkovich, at admin@lovedancemore.org by March 15, 2016.

Thumbnail courtesy of Susan Honer & Gina T'ai, previous journal contributors based in Ohio & Wisconsin. 

loveDANCEmore @ the Alt Press Fest/a call for submissions….

loveDANCEmore had a great time yesterday giving away volume eight of our performance journal at Alt Press Fest at the City Library. In addition to handing out journals, we also had on hand a small library of books on dance and I, Samuel Hanson (in my role as  new media coordinator) was screening documentation and dance films from our archives. I met a great deal of diverse people, including one guy who sat and watched dance films for almost an hour, and another gentleman who lived in LA, but used to teach ballet in the building that houses SLAC almost thirty years ago. It was also great to hang out with the nice people from SLUG (Alex Ortega), Craft Lake City (Nancy Burgess) and the other artists who shared their work with me (Amy Childress and Sam Milianta).

I also got to tell people a little about what I am planning for this winter’s journal, which I’m tentatively titling/theme-ing “Road Trip”. I’d like to include a lot more artwork and imagery  around dance (this issue is a little word heavy as you may have noticed), but as always, we’re open to submissions of almost any kind that relate to dance, be they critical or academic articles, photo essays, crayon drawings, performance texts or scores etc.

The deadline for those sorts of things is August 9th. Questions about that may be directed to me at lovedancemore@gmail.com or at my personal email, samuel.b.hanson@gmail.com. Independent of that deadline however is the ongoing opportunity to write coverage for the blog about any and all events related to dance in Salt Lake City. If there’s a show you’d like to write about, let us know at lovedancemore@gmail.com.

Ask not what the journal/blog can do for you, but what you can do for the journal/blog! Cheers, 
Sam

2014 in Review, Dancing and Journaling in 2015

SL Trib writer Kathy Adams provides an excellent place to start the annual ritual of looking back. She mentions most of the highlights of Utah’s more established companies—RDT, RW and of course, Ballet West. It was also a great year for us. Mudson continued to grow and evolve in unexpected ways. Some of my favorite works this year included Ashley Anderson’s new duet on Alysia Ramos and Amy Freitas and Amy’s own Porridge for Goldilocks with live music by the Apartment Quartet Society. I also really enjoyed seeing Solange Gomes and her flamenco students in that vaulted ballroom—again, the power of live music, but this time integrated with the dancing in a way unique to that form.

Daughters was, I think, better than ever, and many other independent shows graced the eyes of Salt Lakers, including Molly Heller’s if a snake could bite, which I sadly missed and the U’s poorly attended but excellent tour of Matteo Fargion and Jonathan Burrows.

Another way in which our work at loveDANCEmore flourished was in deeper-than-ever discussions on the blog and in the journal. Look back to read the discussions of race and authenticity around Rhythm Migration or the long thread around the various rites of spring different members of our community saw this year. These important local dance dialogues happen nowhere else (that I know of). Then, once you’re inspired, write something or draw something for the new journal!!! The deadline is FEBRUARY 1, 2015!!! The theme is forgotten dance histories!

And remember, if you want to write about a show happening in 2015, there’s no requirement other than that you let us know. If you don’t like what you’re reading, or you just want to share your perspective, all you have to do is ask! Our aspiration is to be an OPEN forum for dance in SLC!!! Happy new year!!!!

Samuel Hanson is the New Media Czar of loveDANCEmore. He also writes about dance here and has edited the last two editions of learning to loveDANCEmore.