January Dance Festival Returns to Northampton
Northampton will be treated to a festival of dance this January at the new Arts Trust building, located at 33 Hawley Street. For over fifteen years, A.P.E. Ltd. Gallery hosted a January Movement Month at Thornes. Reviving that successful series this January, A.P.E. @ Hawley Street brings over twenty-five local and national dance artists and their collaborators to the new arts facility for four weeks of performances and workshops. The month-long festival will feature a different focus each week—improvisation, contemporary dance in performance, streetdance and Butoh, and new works created by local choreographers. Additional workshops and lectures will be held during the course of the month. Scholar in Residence Deborah Goffe will host conversations with the dance makers, and four affiliated visual artists will create and present their work in relation to the dance events.
The month-long series begins with the Architects, highly skilled improvisors known for their dynamic collaboration: Lisa Gonzales, Pamela Vail, and Katherine Ferrier along with colleagues Peter Schmitz and Kathy Couch. Week two features Xan Burley + Alex Springer, former performers with the NYC-based company Doug Varone and Dancers, now in the graduate program at Smith College. Week three introduces Cameron McKinney and his NYC-based company Kizuna Dance, blending streetdance with Japanese Butoh ideologies in a new work for the Hatchery, the youth company at the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought. The final week hosts the Improvisation Ensemble directed by Angie Hauser, long-time dancer with the Bebe Miller Company and chair of the dance department at Smith College.
Historic Northampton teams up with festival hosts A.P.E. Ltd. and the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought to present a special film, Vision of Thornes, honoring Gordon Thorne and his contributions to the arts in the Northampton community. The film also reflects the role of local newspapers and news media in bringing the arts into the public eye. Following the screening, there will be a conversation about the role of creativity in shaping community and the dialogue between business and the arts.
A special Sundays at 5 series begins on January 13 with a stunning evening-length duet by Jen Nugent and Paul Matteson, another piece apart, recently presented in the New York Live Arts series. January 20 will feature a showing of new works by Lailye Weidman and Doug LeCours—two young artists actively performing on both coasts. Kizuna Dance the young dancers of Hatchery, plus a work in progress by local dancer and choreographer Meredith Bove will be shown on January 27. The Festival Finale on February 3 highlights five area dance artists with works created at Hawley Street throughout the month—Katie Martin, Barbie Diewald, Sarah Lass, and Leah Fournier, along with NY-based artist-in-residence Andrew Pester.
A Festival Pass lets you support this lively month of dancing by attending any five events.
For the full schedule and tickets, see A.P.E.@Hawley.
About the Artists: Selected Websites
Week I: Improvisation—
The Architects: Katherine Ferrier, Lisa Gonzales, and Pamela Vail, (https://www.architectsdance.org/)
Peter Schmitz (www.scdtnoho.com/improvisational-practices.html)
Kathy Couch (https://www.amherst.edu/people/facstaff/kcouch)
Sundays at 5: Paul Matteson and Jen Nugent (45 minute duet) https://www.pbs.org/video/nyc-arts-nyc-arts-profile-jennifer-nugent/
Week II: Contemporary Dance
Xan Burley + Alex Springer (http://www.themedianmovement.com/the-work/)
Sundays at 5: Lailye Weidman (www.lailyeweidman.com/)
Week III: Street Dance and Butoh and New Works
Sundays at 5: Cameron McKinney (https://www.cameronmckinneydance.com/)
Meredith Bove (https://meredithbove.wordpress.com/)
Week IV: Improvisation Ensemble and Festival Finale
Angie Hauser (www.angiehauser.com/)
Sundays at 5: Festival Finale
Barbie Diewald (https://barbiediewald.weebly.com/)
Sara Lass (https://www.facebook.com/239866362825199/.../sarah-lass.../994297894048705/ )
Meredith Bove (https://meredithbove.wordpress.com/)
Katie Martin (https://www.fivecolleges.edu/dance/facultystaff/guest-artists/katie-martin)
Photo Credits:
Burley and Springer by Francisco Graciano
Visual Artists:
- Michael Tillyer: www.tillyervision.com/
- Jil Crary-Ross: https://cargocollective.com/jilcraryross/JIL-CRARY-ROSS
- Stephen Petegorsky: https://spphoto.com/
- Peter Raper: https://www.flickr.com/photos/111040228@N03/albums/
