Sep 6, 2014

On September 8 Claudia La Rocco will read from her new book The Best Most Useless Dress, a collection of essays, poetry and criticism published by Badlands Unlimited. La Rocco spoke with Curatorial Fellow Katy Dammers about the creation of this collection and her thoughts on writing. Katy Dammers: How did this book project get started? Claudia La Rocco: Several years ago, Paul Chan emailed me and said he had been a fan of my writing and he wondered if I was willing to have a conversation with him for the Brooklyn Rail. This was during the time of the ebook release of Waiting for Godot in New Orleans: A Field Guide. I went to his studio and we ended up talking for four hours. We talked for so long I totally forgot I was on deadline for a New York Times piece, which I never do (I had... Read On

Aug 12, 2014

A copy of the SoHo Weekly News from 1980 shows a grainy image from Dance Day at The Kitchen: in the shadowy space of The Kitchen’s old home at 484 Broome Street, two women dance in close proximity, facing away from each other. One runs behind with clasped hands raised overhead and the other winds down to her left as if she might reach the ground in the next scene, perhaps snaking out to grab her partner. The caption reads, “Molissa Fenley and Elizabeth Streb: Boca Raton.” For those familiar with Elizabeth Streb’s Extreme Action Company of fearless and indefatigable flying dancers, or Molissa Fenley’s sinister, impassioned State of Darkness (1988), this image is like a childhood photo—a reminder of how far someone has come—epitomizing the significance of The Kitchen’s role in the early c... Read On

Aug 11, 2014

In their newest live performance project, the Half Straddle ensemble led by artistic director Tina Satter will be in residence over an 8-month period at the Kitchen to create and rehearse the varying layers of their new piece which include video mise en scene, video interactions, a live choral score, and live performative elements. Operating essentially as a Half Straddle Experimental Pop-Up T.V. / Movie Studio, these work days will be open to the public to watch the elements going into the rehearsal, music rehearsal, and/or video shoots being held on those days – and offer a meta-view of the company’s process; the layering in of specific aesthetic interests including the look-and-feel of the overall design, make-up, and costumes; and new experimentation with video, leading up to the ... Read On

Aug 7, 2014

The Kitchen is pleased to announce the release of their fall season from September 5–December 13. Executive Director and Chief Curator Tim Griffin said, “The fall season is among the most ambitious presented by The Kitchen, in terms of artists’ incredible undertakings of new directions in their work. In fact, what’s particularly remarkable as a common thread among these artists is a desire to engage and, in many cases, overturn established narratives both in art and culture more generally. We can’t wait to see what stories unfold.” The season begins with the U.S. premiere of Berlin-Based artist Lothar Hempel’s Mäusebunker, a science-fictional film in the vein of Chris Marker, featuring figures from the Berlin art scene and presented with live dance. Genre-blurring art continues with “M... Read On

Jul 18, 2014

The Kitchen congratulates Jen Rosenblit on her New York Dance and Performance Award (“Bessie”) for Outstanding Emerging Choreographer in recognition of her a Natural dance presented at The Kitchen in May! Members of the Bessie Award Committee described Rosenblit’s work as “a confident voice investigating the fluidity of identity, the pulse of time, and the nature of what it is to dance.” This award was given yesterday at the press conference for the New York Dance and Performance Awards.  Gillian Walsh was also nominated for Outstanding Emerging Choreographer for her piece Grinding Equations; Two Duets at Abrons Arts Center, a piece that combined formal structure with moments of swagger. Gillian participated in Dance and Process at The Kitchen in June.  Several artists ass... Read On