Still / Here we go...
Hello, newsletter friends. Wow, so much happening every day... trying to sum up a week feels wild but here are a few things worth noticing.
Still/Here gets a revival
News from the concert dance world is that Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company is remounting Still/Here, originally premiered in 1994, at BAM this coming week. The work is well-known thanks to the huge controversy kicked up by Arlene Croce, dance critic for the New Yorker, who didn't see the work in question but nonetheless wrote a whole screed against it and the idea of 'victim art.' Gia Kourlas has a good explainer of the controversy as well as Jones reflecting on what the piece means now.
Back then, he was still grappling with the relatively recent loss of his partner to AIDS, and this explanation of grief as an artistic motivator makes sense to me: "“How can the people that you’re with right now come on this journey, and what do you need to do?” Jones said he asked himself. “I need to sing and dance. I need to hear people talk about the worst days of their life. And I need to know how they’re getting by.”
I've taught about this incident in dance history classes, but footage of the actual dance was hard to come by, never mind a live performance, so I'm excited to see this blast from our '90s past with my own eyes.
Film of the week
There's a new film out that features choreography by Philly legend Rennie Harris and stars Ailey alum Jeroboam Bozeman. Once Again (for the very first time) doesn't look like it will be widely available in theaters, but it does look like it has a ton of dance and will be viewable on demand. Here's a trailer for this "hip-hopping supernatural fantasy":
West Philly housemate wanted
Human/star Karen Orrick is looking for a third housemate for a place on 53rd and Osage, available nowish. No pets or smoking.
The available room is $400/mo plus utilities (avg $133/month).
The room is *small*: it's a West Philly 2nd floor middle room with a closet.
We’re both white queer cis women in our 30s who have deep Philly roots and connections to organizing and artist scenes. We’ve lived together for years.
We’re looking for someone who’d want to support a peaceful, warm, home environment, where there is space to build friendships with each other and also do our own thing. We love hosting friends and gatherings and also love space to recharge.
We’d ideally love to find someone in their 30s (give or take), who is kind, responsible, a thoughtful communicator, neat (cleans up after themselves, keeps common areas clutter-free), who we could build a comfortable, warm home with. Artists &/or organizers welcome - there will be a lot of shared interests.
If you are intrigued, let me know and I'll send you more details from Karen.
Quote of the week
The New York Times had this extremely distressing news that the Connelly Theater will need to have all content for plays screened by the Catholic Church before they can be presented to the public. [gift link: This Theater Was a Haven for Bold Art. Then the Archdiocese Intervened] So renters from New York Theater Workshop to the SheNYC summer festival are looking for new venues, never an easy task and only getting more of an uphill struggle.
[Josh] Luxenberg, who at the time of his resignation was the theater’s director as well as its general manager, said he was unwilling to continue in the job under the current circumstances. “Remaining in this position now requires screening production proposals for any content that is objectionable to the Catholic Church,” he said in an email. “This puts me in the untenable position of becoming a censor rather than an advocate of artistic freedom.”
Combine this news with the billionaire-owned Washington Post and Los Angeles Times declining to endorse a presidential candidate, and it just gets even bleaker.
Sisterly Affection (a bit of Philadelphia appreciation)
This video of the Temple University marching band doing an arrangement of Chappell Roan hits was shot a month ago, but it's a feel-good boost that feels right for the moment. (Thank you to miryam.moves for sharing!) Happy to see a gender-inclusive cheer team with multiple genders doing the same choreography (in the Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl section) and the sheer joy in the Hot to Go portion.
Next week it will be November! And our second-ever "New to Town" (in a loose sense) interview feature with a special guest will appear! See you then...
If you are new to the newsletter, welcome! You can check out the 'about' page if you'd like a little context for where I'm coming from. Each newsletter closes with a Philadelphia moment, institution, or window cat of the week because I love it here. And you can always hit me up with what you're curious about, steamed about, excited about in your own arts ecosystem or in Philly at solidseam@gmail.com.