Hello Frame Fans!!

Lydia here, and I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve updated you on the dancemaking around here.  You’ve been getting some great MFA Monday posts, and the helpful Eat Well Wednesday articles, and some fab Links We Like.  But now it’s time to return to the reason we are all here: dance.  Well, maybe that’s hyperbole.  It may be the reason most of us are here.

So, since October we’ve been slowly and carefully created a brand new piece called The Long Line.  It’s a trio of dancers including Jacquelyne Boe, Ashley Horn, and Laura Gutierrez.  Our composition competition winner Charles Halka has created a brand new piece for solo violin.  We are beyond thrilled to work with the musician in rehearsal tomorrow.  Are you in the Houston area?  Come peek in on a run through on Thursday at Hope Stone from 11:15-12:15.  I do have a little treat for you.  I have a video clip from weeks ago.  So I can’t say it’s the most up to date version (at all) but it gives a little flavor of the piece we’re making.  Also this is when only about 3 minutes of the music had been recorded, so the music is the first few minutes of the piece on loop.  The show will be at the Kaplan Theater at the ERJCC Houston on January 26 and 27.  Tickets are sold through the ERJCC.

Hi Framers new and old.  I mean, more expeeerienced.

I’ve been facilitating fieldwork in Houston for several years now– I think 6 or 7 sessions.  But who’s counting?  It’s that time of the year again when the artists of the session present what they’ve been creating for the past ten weeks.  This has been a session of breath, and openness, and respect.  Ahhhhh, respect.  I’m so thankful for the artists in this session.  They are: Diane Cahill Bedford, Rebekah Chappell, Cori Miller and Sara Draper, and yours truly.  I usually make something new in Fieldwork.  I love newness.  I love the beginnings of the creative process.  But a wise, wise friend has been encouraging me to revisit LOVE ME.  You remember LOVE ME, right?

So, I’ve carved, and snipped, and added, and subtracted.  And what we have now is a LOVE ME short.  It’s about 8 minutes.  (the original is 40) and will screen at the Houston Fall Fieldwork Showcase on Nov. 4.

Fall Fieldwork Showcase

When: Sunday, November 4, 2 pm

Where: Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex
Cost: $7 cash/check at the door

Come see the Fall Fieldwork Showcase to catch a glimpse of the newest work by local Houston artists. This informal performance offers you a chance to see what artists in a variety of mediums—dance, poetry, film and more—have been working on during this Fall’s Fieldwork workshop. Live, original art for less than the cost of a movie! After the performance, the audience will be able to offer their feedback to the artists on these works-in-progress.

The Fieldwork method originated in New York over 25 years ago, and CORE has been offering Fieldwork workshops for the Houston arts community since 1993. The workshops will provide support, structure, and community to help artists immerse themselves fully in their creative work. The feedback method reveals how each piece is perceived by others and provides detailed information that helps artists hone their vision. By focusing on what’s happening in the work and how those choices shape the work, Fieldwork supports autonomy and authorship of each artist.

For more information on CORE and the Houston Fieldwork Showcase, call (713) 862-5530, emailinfo@coredance.org or visit visit www.COREdance.org. For more general information on Fieldwork, visit The Field at www.thefield.org.

CORE is supported by the Pattillo Foundation, the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Photo by John Rampsott.

So a few posts back, I introduced you to an upcoming dance film by Ashley Horn, (also a Frame dancer and our costume designer).  More info can be found at www.wanderland.com.  Here’s the first promo video:

It’s that time again— really??  Wow, time flies.  Here we go!

Are you a composer or know one?

We are all about collaboration here at Frame.  All about it.  And once a year, we open a Music Composition Competition to find new collaborators for our live and film work.  Last year’s winner was Charles Halka.  You heard his music in CONTEXT and he is working with us on a brand new piece of music for our piece in Dance Month coming January 2013.  A fiercely talented composer, his works were necessary for the work that we made, and played an integral role in shaping the piece.

Two years ago the winner was Micah Clark, another fabulous emerging composer.

It’s that time when we open the competition again, to find this year’s winner and collaborator with Frame.  Here are the details:

2012-2013 Frame Dance Productions Music Composition Competition

Note: The deadline is January 4, 2013.

Frame Dance Productions announces its competition to select a piece of music for its upcoming Spring season. Its two-fold purpose is to offer outstanding emerging composers a forum for their recognition as well as an opportunity to collaborate with the dance performance company, Frame Dance Productions. We are looking for completed pieces, or for samples in consideration for a future work.

Award and Performance
The winning composer’s music will be the basis of a new original work– film and/or live performance, and your music will be exposed to new audiences.  The composer and music will be featured prominently as a collaborator with Frame Dance Productions.  There are often press opportunities to increase the composer’s visibility as well as the possibility of future commissions.

Eligibility
All composers, who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, are eligible.

Submission Guidelines
Works may be written for solo, duo, trio, quartet, or quintet.
Acoustic works that utilize electronic playback are also acceptable.
Electronic music is accepted and encouraged.

All music must be unpublished.

Interested composers should submit:

• a recording of the piece on a CD
• a biography, with current address, e-mail address, and phone number, and
• a stamped, self-addressed envelope, if they wish their music returned.

Entry Fee and Deadline
The entry fee is $15.00 and composers may submit up to three selections.  Make checks payable to Frame Dance Productions.  Please email for mailing address.

All entries must be postmarked no later than Friday, January 4, 2013.
Frame Dance Productions is not responsible for lost or damaged material.
The winning composition will be announced at FrameDance.org on Friday, January 31, 2013.

For submission details please email Lydia.Hance@FrameDance.org.
For more information on Frame Dance Productions, please visit FrameDance.org.

Check this out if you’re in New York.  We screened two of these films in 3rd Coast Dance Film Festival just two weeks ago!

curated by Michael Bodel
October 7
SUN at 7:00pm

FRAMEWORKS is an ongoing series providing a vital stage for excellent new works of choreography for the camera. Films are selected from down the street and across the ocean and submission is free.

FRAMEWORKS accepts submissions of original works of choreography for the camera, less than 20 minutes in length and made within the last 7 years. Videos of staged work and documentary films are fabulous but won’t be reviewed in this series. On average, 30-75 films are submitted for each screening, and 4-7 are selected. Submission is and always will be free.

This year’s films are:

Transit
Jeffrey Curtis, Greg Catellier

Scout Hut
Jennie MaryTai Liu

Chroma
Jeremy Moss

The Eye of the Beholder
Azure Productions

Errances
Audrey Bergeron and The Broke Lab

WORLD PREMIERE
Bloodlines
Charli Brissey / Maeko Project

Knead
Disa (Malin Sandberg and Anton Wretling)

Photo by Justyna Calińska from “InSide” by Anna Zuzanna Błaszczyk. American Premiere at FRAMEWORKS, Spring 2012

It’s hard to believe that this Saturday and Sunday is 3rd Coast Dance Film Festival.  I have had films in the past two years (Crease and There’s a Height Limit).  This year I’ve had the privilege of curating this festival which has been so much fun.  The entries were numerous– so many films from abroad and the U.S.  Funny, quirky, celebratory, dark….

Each night is about one hour of different dance films.  The event is free, so come back and enjoy both nights.

All the details are in the post below.  Come join us!

Hello Framers!  I invite you all to attend the Third Coast Dance Film Festival Sept. 15 & 16 at the Rice University Cinema.  The event is free to attend and features an exciting array of dance films from around the world.  We are also proud to showcase three Houston artists, Ashley Horn, Lynn Lane and Lindsey Sarah Thompson, in the festival.

From over forty international submissions, 2012 Third Coast Dance Film Festival co-curators Rosie Trump and Lydia Hance paired the films down to the top twenty one. The curators aimed to craft an evening of compelling films with cinematic appeal, diverse themes and innovative dancing.

What to expect: You will see short films (all under 12 minutes length) where the main narrative element is movement, be it highly choreographed, pedestrian or improvised.  Some films feature the journey of a character, some explore a certain feeling or idea and some experiment with dance in fantastic locations (such as underwater or on a rooftop). There is even a mini-documentary about the choreographic process.  The moods of the films range from humorous to contemplative to celebratory.

The films will be divided between Program A on September 15 and Program B on September 16, with the Houston based films screening both nights.  Attending both screenings ensures the audience sees all twenty-one films.

Where and when: September 15 and 16, 2012 at Rice University Cinema on Rice University campus, located off of entrance 8, Rice University, 6100 Main St, Houston, TX 77005.  This event is free and open to the public.  For more information, contact Rosie Trump at thirdcoastdancefilmfest@gmail.com or visit http://thirdcoastdancefilmfestival.wordpress.com.

Hi Framers, Lydia here.  I hope to see you all at what will be a fulfilling night(s) of dance film this weekend.  The past two years have showcased Frame Dance films, and I am so delighted to be returning this year as a co-curator.  See you there!

It’s time to give you the low down, the nitty gritty on our upcoming show.  I’ll start with an image:

Next, I will give you a little description.

Fresh Arts invites audiences into the visual and visceral world where the performing and visual arts meet in The Black Space by Lydia Hance’s Frame Dance Productions. The Black Spaceis a multi-media dance installation and performance, running August 30 through September 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.

Participatory and intimate in design, The Black Space explores the concept of forgiveness and the dichotomy between the sanity and healthiness of letting go and the unresolved anxiety that results from holding on to how others have wronged us. The Black Space is live dance performance, dance-on-screen, new sound scores, and the instinctive need to find forgiveness in the midst of injury.

Frame Dance Productions is dedicated to making innovative and vulnerable works.  Frame Dance gives permission to the viewer to interact in any way, to allow the audience to shape both their own experiences and the experiences of the other audience members. The space is intimate, and there is no stage. Patrons are encouraged to enter the performance at any time after 8 p.m., walk through the space, get close to the dancers, interact with the projections, and shape their own experience. Each performance will conclude by 9 p.m. and the audience will be encouraged to stay for a reception with the artists.

What the heck is Fresh Arts?

About the “new” Fresh Arts:

Fresh Arts is committed to supporting and inspiring artists, strengthening Houston’s arts organizations and creative community and deepening public participation in the arts. In April 2012, Fresh Arts was formed with the merger of two local arts service organization, Spacetaker and Fresh Arts Coalition. Through Summer 2012, more information can be found at www.spacetaker.org/blog.

 The Summary:

Fresh Arts invites you to The Black Space, a multi-media dance installation and performance by Lydia Hance’s Frame Dance Productions. Participatory and intimate in design, The Black Space explores the concept of forgiveness and the dichotomy between the sanity and healthiness of letting go and the unresolved anxiety that results from holding on to how others have wronged us. Spacetaker Gallery at Fresh Arts (2101 Winter Street)—$10. www.spacetaker.org

And the necessary Deets.  Please note: Fresh Arts is selling the tickets on their website.  We will not be selling tickets on our website.  Good chance to see what they’re all about.  But share some love with framedance.org too.  Otherwise, we’ll miss you.  🙁

WHAT:        Exhibition: Frame Dance Productions | The Black Space

WHEN:       August 30 & 31 and September 1 & 2, 2012

All shows begin at 8 p.m.

WHERE:     Spacetaker Gallery at Fresh Arts | 2101 Winter Street, B11, Houston, TX 77007

COST:        $10 – reserve your seat by making a purchase at http://bit.ly/TheBlackSpace

MORE INFO:   www.spacetaker.org or call 713.868.1839

“Up-and-coming dance-for-camera artist Lydia Hance founded Frame Dance Productions in 2010. (Some disclosure: You’ll find me in recent films produced by Frame Dance, for which I’ve also served as a board member).

Hance’s work often requires projectors and surfaces to project upon, but conventional dance venues and producers are rarely prepared to meet these needs without compromise. As a result, she’s concluded that, despite the extra legwork required, for now, self-producing events is less challenging than the alternative.

‘I don’t want to pull myself out of these festival environments. I want to be part of the dialogue, even if it takes time,’ Hance asserts. ‘In the meantime, I will continue self-producing. I didn’t look at the Houston dance community and think, ‘I need to fill this niche.’ I looked at my work, looked at the Houston dance community and thought, ‘there’s room for me.’

CONTEXT, her most recent installation at Winter Street Studios, proved a stunning success, and is evidence of efforts to carve her own path, not only in terms of the spatial context in which dance is viewed, but in the trans-discipline defining of dance.”

–Nichelle Strzepek, Arts + Culture Magazine

We are honored and excited to be named in the New Crop of dancers/companies.  Read the full article in Arts + Culture.