TECHNIQUE, MUSICALITY, AND THE JOY OF MOVEMENT WITH GERRI HOULIHAN

Sundays 1-2:15pm on ZOOM

September 13-December 13

These classes are offered to dancers of various skill levels to bring us together in an open and supportive way and connect us all to our love for dance and community. Grounded in the fundamentals of traditional modern technique, particularly the work of José Limón, the class focuses on concepts of alignment, core strength, and the use of breath for efficiency of movement. The class will begin with simple floor exercises and develop into standing warm-up combinations and a center movement phrase.

Because music and its relationship to movement is such an important focus for Gerri’s approach to dance, we are delighted to say that music for these classes will be provided by our wonderful long-time ADF musician, John Hanks.

Save the date: Second Wednesday of the month at 7pm for our Virtual Jazz Jam! Led by Carol Sudhalter and our wonderful house band, the jam welcomes musicians including our jazz jammers from Queens/Long Island, as well as newcomers from around the world, to share their music, lift our spirits and honor those we have lost. 

If you'd like to watch this session LIVE, simply tune in to our Facebook page or ZOOM.

Up to 15 musicians are welcome to participate in the jam. Please email: education@flushingtownhall.org and mention the name of your 3- to 4-minute tune (spontaneous: live or pre-recorded but please not a professional, edited recording).

Friday, October 23 at 8:00pm ET until Sunday, October 25 at 10:00pm ET

Presented via Vimeo

$10 Student Ticket/ $18 Individual Ticket/ $25 Multiple Person Ticket

Full program is approximately 60 minutes.

This event includes a welcome from ADF Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter, introduction by Rennie Harris, the presentation of an specially edited version of their 2019 ADF performance of Rennie Harris FUNKEDIFIED, and a special Q&A session with Rennie Harris and Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Robert Battle.

A multi-media work that celebrates funk music and street dance of the 1970s is set against the landscape of a video montage of African American Communities of that era. Inspired by the political turmoil and atmosphere of Rennie Harris’ childhood, Rennie Harris FUNKEDIFIED will feature the funk band Invincible who will highlight a unique funk sound. Rennie Harris FUNKEDIFIED will not only feature dancers from Rennie Harris Puremovement but also one of the most seminal locking groups since Don Campbell and The Campbell Lock Dancers—The Hood Lockers. Narrated by Rennie Harris, Rennie Harris FUNKEDIFIED is a visual motif of the political, economic, and social state of the 1970s.

“The Basquiat of the US Contemporary dance scene, Lorenzo Rennie Harris has literally embodied the history of hip-hop dance.” —London Times

Mark DeGarmo Dance broadcasts its first Virtual International Arts (VIA) Festival for Social Change: 138 artists and scholars from 18 countries present artist-scholar works, October 27-29, 2020 at 7PM Eastern Time on Zoom.

Tuesday, October 27: Cutting Edge Global Video Series (Curated from Melbourne)

Wednesday, October 28: El Grupo Folklórico P'urhépecha (Indigenous Dance from Mexico)

Thursday, October 29: MDD’s Virtual Salon Performance Series (Emerging Dance from the U.S.)

Performances begin promptly at 7PM Eastern Time (Portal opens 6:30PM) on Mark DeGarmo Dance Zoom*

Donate to Register:

Online: www.VIA.givesmart.com

Paypal: paypal.me/markdegarmodance

Venmo: Mark-DeGarmo-2

1 donation = 1 ticket for 1 evening. When making a donation via PayPal or Venmo, please indicate which night you plan to attend. If you'd like to attend more than one night, please make a separate donation.

*Zoom Link will be sent to attendees at 5PM Eastern Time the date of the performance. If a donation is made after that time, MDD staff will send the link via email as soon as possible.

Mark DeGarmo Dance welcomes 138 artists and scholars from 18 countries and 12 of 24 time zones to present their original works in its Virtual International Arts Festival (VIA) for Social Change held on Zoom on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday October 27, 28, and 29, 2020 at 7PM Eastern Time. Separate tickets available by donation for each evening. 

The international festival creates a space for artists, scholars, and audiences to share, respond, and reflect beyond traditional, commercial performance spaces that often exclude people and limit access. Tuesday’s Cutting Edge Global Video Series presents a set of short experimental videos created by collaborative teams of scholars and artists, curated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the University of Toronto. On Wednesday, founder and director of indigenous Grupo Folklórico P'urhépecha in Michoacán, Mexico, José Alberto Velázquez Campoverde, presents selections of traditional dance work performed by the youth group. On Thursday, Mark DeGarmo Dance presents the Global edition of its Virtual Salon Performance Series 2020-2021, dance works-in-progress with a facilitated audience response, to begin the series’ upcoming season.

“We are excited to connect with our local, national, and global colleagues reflective of our BIPOC and inclusive reality and to experience the possibilities explored by these artists and scholars for contributing to our societies,” says Mark DeGarmo, the festival’s curator, host, and facilitator.

Mark DeGarmo Dance recognizes the impact of COVID-19 on global artists and our communities and is committed to offering opportunities for artists to safely share and develop their work. Through virtual programming, MDD connects the embodied imaginations of the international arts and scholar community.

About the Curators, Artists, & Scholars

Tuesday (10/27)

Anne Harris is an American-Australian artist, academic, Director of Creative Agency research lab, and RMIT Vice Chancellor’s Principal Research Fellow..

Annette Markham is an ethnographer, critical pedagogy scholar and professor at RMIT in Melbourne.

M.E. Luka is a Toronto-based award-winning scholar, activist and digital media producer.

Wednesday (10/28)

José Alberto Velázquez Campoverde is the founder and director of the Grupo Folklórico P'urhépecha from that ethnic indigenous group occupying ancestral lands west of Mexico City.

Thursday (10/29)

Rachel Cohen’s company Racoco fuses raw materials, absurdist visuals, and quixotic choreography.

Sofia Engelman and Em Papineau are dance artists and co-founders of freeskewl, an experimental, donation-based platform for online teaching.

Dawn States is invested in ways to make dance more accessible after experiencing 2 spinal surgeries.

Teresa Fellion founded Teresa Fellion Dance in 2011, after her work as a choreographer since 2004.

Additional information about the guest curators and all artists and scholars can be found at www.markdegarmodance.org/performance.

About Mark DeGarmo Dance

Founded in 1987, Mark DeGarmo Dance is a nonprofit organization that educates New York City communities and children; creates, performs, and disseminates original artistic work; and builds intercultural community through dance arts. MDD commits its resources to serving social justice, equity, and equality issues across multiple fronts through dance arts in NYC, the U.S., and internationally.

About Mark DeGarmo
Mark DeGarmo, Ph.D., is a New York City-based dancer, choreographer, writer, and researcher. Dr. DeGarmo is Founder, Executive & Artistic Director of Mark DeGarmo Dance, New York City; Dance Director of Crossing Bridges International Artist Residency, Michoacán, Mexico; and an Artist-Scholar with Creative Agency, Australia.

https://markdegarmodance.org, Follow Mark DeGarmo Dance on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter 

We are grateful that this program is supported in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of  

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

"Fundraising for Individual Artists 101" 

with Jessican Peña, FTH Director of Development, and Jay House, FTH Grants Manager

WED, OCT 28, 7 - 8 PM EDT

on Zoom Webinars

Join Jessica and Jay as they discuss an overview approach to fundraising tailored for individual artists. Learn strategies for getting financial and other types of support for your art practice from friends, family, and other sources not in your network!

The conversation will be followed by a Q&A

The session is free but RSVP is required. Registered participants will receive a Zoom link prior to the event date. RSVP: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/MRv2NUe/ProfDev2

http://www.flushingtownhall.org/professional-development

Experience TOTAL FEAR online!

TOTAL FEAR is a twenty-minute horror dance-theatre production based on research of Total Theatre and the process of generating fear for stage through live dance and theatrical performance. The production is the capstone project of Katie Burks’ graduate research at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in pursuit of an MFA in Choreography.

TOTAL FEAR will be presented live in over 10 global locations through various capacities - outdoor, socially-distant cinema screenings, indoor watch parties, theatrical venues, and more. Live performers will be included in cities where restrictions allow.

This online event invites any who dare to join together in isolation and experience TOTAL FEAR from home or work via global livestream. 

The livestream link will be posted closer to October 30th.

Please check katieburks.com/totalfear for details or visit the Facebook event via https://fb.me/e/1NNqBqF7m. Thank you.

Diwali Festival

SAT, NOV 7, 7 PM EST

STREAMING ON ZOOM 

On Saturday, November 7, Flushing Town Hall will celebrate the Festival of Lights with its sixth annual Diwali Festival–reimagined as a FREE virtual event. Our virtual celebration mixes live and pre-recorded content and opens with footage of a home traditionally decorated for Diwali and an explanation of the holiday and traditional foods. Then Nupur Arora, owner of Queens Curry Kitchen, will demonstrate mouth-watering authentic Indian dishes with ingredients that you can find at your local grocer, including aloo gobhi (spiced potato and cauliflower), tikka marsala sauce for chicken or tofu, and chai tea.  Then move the furniture and get ready to move as master Indian dancer Abha B. Roy and the Srijan Dance Center shows you traditional, folk and Bollywood dance moves. Once you are warmed up, keep moving as DJ Rekha spins the music for a Bhangra dance party. 

The free event runs from 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM on Zoom: here or at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83474221283.

Audiences can support these amazing artists and Flushing Town Hall by making a donation- and receive some fantastic gifts.

Please visit http://www.flushingtownhall.org/diwali-festival for more information and updates.

SAT, NOV 14, 7 PM EDT

STREAMING ON YOUTUBE | RSVP HERE

New Music Horizons returns to Flushing Town Hall virtually to present two dynamic jazz composers: classical composer David Shenton and jazz composer Mark Wade. David Shenton will present a set of his lyrically inventive compositions. The Mark Wade Trio will follow with their brand of group interplay and expressive improvisation that has brought them an international following.

Mark Wade has been voted one of the top bassists of 2016, 2018, and 2019 by the prestigious Downbeat Magazine Reader's Poll. He has played with notable jazz artists such as James Spaulding, Jimmy Heath, Conrad Herwig, Harry Whitaker, Pete McGuinness, Peter Eldridge, Don Byron, and Stacey Kent.

David Shenton pianist, violinist, composer, and arranger based in NYC. As pianist/music director David has worked with renowned members of the music profession in all genres, including Vanessa Williams, Tony Bennett, Renée Fleming, Sherrill Milnes, Marilyn Maye, Liz Callaway, Sir André Previn, and Stephen Schwartz.

PART II: Bruce Arnold & The Mark Wade Trio

SUN, DEC 20, 5:30 PM EDT

STREAMING ON YOUTUBE | RSVP HERE

New Music Horizons Part II presents two dynamic jazz composers: Bruce Arnold and Mark Wade. Bruce Arnold will present a set of solo acoustic guitar featuring his style of lyrical melodies and raw dissonances. The Mark Wade Trio will follow with their brand of group interplay and expressive improvisation that has brought them an international following.

Mark Wade has been voted one of the top bassists of 2016, 2018, and 2019 by the prestigious Downbeat Magazine Reader's Poll. He has played with notable jazz artists such as James Spaulding, Jimmy Heath, Conrad Herwig, Harry Whitaker, Pete McGuinness, Peter Eldridge, Don Byron, and Stacey Kent.

Bruce Arnold has developed an extensive reputation as a composer, educator and guitar virtuoso.He has played with such diverse musicians as Stuart Hamm, Peter Erskine, Joe Pass, Joe Lovano, Lennie Pickett, Randy Brecker, Stanley Clarke, the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

"Presenting Your Work Online for a Virtual Audience" 

with Steve Mecca, FTH Director of Production

WED, NOV 18, 7 - 8 PM EST

on Zoom Webinars

During the time of COVID-19 and social distance mandates, more and more artists and arts organizations are bringing their works online to present to audiences remotely.

Join Steve as he talks about his experiences bringing FTH's programs online - the challenges of hosting livestreams and online programs, as well as tips and insights picked up along the way while navigating a new virtual world.

The conversation will be followed by a Q&A

The session is free but RSVP is required. Registered participants will receive a Zoom link prior to the event date. RSVP Here

http://www.flushingtownhall.org/lioness

Lioness: Women in Jazz Concert Series

https://www.facebook.com/flushingtownhall

http://www.youtube.com/user/flushingtownhall

Convergence Arts and Flushing Town Hall present Lioness: Women in Jazz Concert Series. This is a three-concert/Q&A series presented by Lioness, a collective of female jazz instrumentalists/composers/bandleaders and a program of Convergence Arts, a non-profit committed to sharing the art and fun of improvisation with the community at large.

Lauren Sevian's LSQ

THUR, NOV 19, 7:30 PM EDT

STREAMING ON YOUTUBE 

This second conert features Grammy sward winning baritone saxophonist Lauren Sevian's LSQ with pianist Helen Sung, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer E.J. Strickland. 

Grammy award winning baritone saxophonist Lauren Sevian is one of the most in demand musicians on the scene today. Ms. Sevian came to NYC in 1997 to attend the Manhattan School of Music, and soon thereafter began touring with groups such as Diva and the Artie Shaw Orchestra. She can be seen performing as a bandleader around the NYC area with her quartet, the LSQ, or  LSAT, her quintet co-led with alto saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, which recently won first place in the “Made in NY” jazz competition. As a sidewoman, she can be heard regularly with the Mingus Big Band, and has performed with countless other groups, notably the Dizzy Gillespie all star big band, Christian McBride’s Big Band, Robin Eubanks Big Band, and the legendary Count Basie Orchestra. Her debut album “Blueprint” was released on saxophonist Greg Osby’s label Inner Circle Music to critical acclaim, winning a SESAC jazz award for national performance activity, and receiving rave reviews in publications such as Downbeat, Cadence, and All About Jazz. Her sophomore album, “Bliss”, was released spring 2018 on Posi-tone Records. She has been nominated on her instrument in Downbeat Critics poll for “rising star” since 2007. Her versatility as a musician has led her to a variety of playing situations, working with the likes of actor Denis Leary, and most recently with Maurice Hines in the theater production of “Tappin Thru Life”.  She is a frequent guest artist at many universities, high schools, middle schools, and jazz festivals across the country. As an educator, she has been teaching privately for over 15 years, and she is on faculty at Jazz at Lincoln Center as director of the “Young Women’s Jazz Orchestra” and instructor for the middle school jazz academy. She has adjudicated at many jazz competitions & festivals, notably the Essentially Ellington Competition at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Monterey Jazz Festivals’ “Next Generation Jazz Festival”, the Victoria Music Festival in Melbourne, Australia, and the Eau Claire Jazz Festival at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire. Ms. Sevian endorses Buffet-Crampon saxophones, Rico Reeds (D’addario), RPC mouthpieces, and BG France accessories.

SAVE THE DATE! Lioness: Women in Jazz Concert Series continues with new artists! 

The Lioness Ensemble

SUN, DEC 13, 2:30 PM

Alexa Tarantino - alto saxophone

Jenny Hill - tenor saxophone, flute

Lauren Sevian - baritone saxophone

Amanda Monaco - guitar

Akiko Tsuruga - organ

Sylvia Cuenca - drums