Hello Framers!

We had a ROCKIN Soiree.  Thanks for coming out and having fun with us!

We had a rockin review.

“Hance frames her dancers in each shot with a keen eye for proportion, letting the shot’s visual organization register before a movement sequence begins. Each scene feels composed with attention to its larger container of the building, city and sky….Quiver may be the least whimsical and most otherworldly of Hance’s films, and feels like a move toward a serious discussion of the mover in an urban landscape.”  A+C Magazine Houston

Framer Ashley Horn got some rockin recognition on those GORGEOUS blue skirts you all have been raving about.

“Shot in and around the Pennzoil Place building, Quiver follows a tribe of movers, clad in Ashley Horn’s minimalist cobalt blue felt skirts. The flesh tones of their skin, combined with the fuzzy felt of their skirts, makes a strong juxtaposition to the surrounding gray steel architecture. Throughout, there’s attention to the sharp contrast between body and building. The curved outlines of Hance’s choreography are viewed through the linear grid of the building. Even the way the felt skirts hold their rounded contours adds to the play of textures, creating a middle ground between skin and steel.”

Composer Mark Hirsch got a rockin shout out about his music.

“The visual rhythm of turbulence and calm becomes the underlying current in Quiver. Eerie electronic music by Mark Hirsch amplifies the unsettling elements, punctuating the piece with shifts in sonic structure to galvanize our attention. The duality is further explored in alternating between interior and outside shots.”

We’re super proud of the film, and we have plans to screen it again.  Stay tuned, dear Framer.

Hi Framers,

Happy Thursday.  We are almost there.  Power through, people.  Did you notice our wonderful Frame Dance Soiree logo?  First a shout out to Framer Jacquelyne Jay Boe whom you see performing with Frame Dance all the frickin time.  She’s such a talented dancer, but she also does graphic design and I’m so pleased that she made our Soiree logo.  I can hear you thinking, “what soiree?”  Well, let me tell you.  You know those photos we have on our facebook page and on the blog with the Framers in those long blue skirts (made by Framer Ashley Horn)?  We are premiering that film on April 9.  But we’re making it a party.  We like it like like that.

We will have a silent auction, drinks, games…(no, no games.)  No planned games anyway.

What is also super exciting is that composer Mark Hirsch is creating the score for the film.  If you follow us, you know that we’re fans of new music and local composers.  So you’ll get a treat with his music and our film coming together to make Quiver.  I’m editing now.  Oh you caught me, I am procrastinating now.  I edit best with quick brain breaks.  I like to consider it perspective, coming back into the work with fresh eyes.  I heard that chuckle.  Hey– don’t judge my artistic process.

Check back in here and on facebook and jump into twitter too.

to art,

Lydia

I’ve been following the Dance Anywhere movement for a few years now.  And secretly I’ve participated in my living room.  And now I’d like to rally some Framer support of the movement.  What does it mean?  Dance wherever you are on March 22 at 2pm central time.  What if everyone, everywhere danced at once?  Participate with us!  Here’s some more information:

About dance anywhere®

What if there was a public celebration of dance everywhere, around the world, simultaneously? What if, in one moment, the whole world started dancing? Why wait for a performance opportunity to come your way? No audition, no application, no references, no formal dance training needed. Everyone is invited!

dance anywhere® is a simultaneous worldwide public art performance and we want YOU to be the star! For the past 8 years, people of all ages and artistic capacities have made dances in parks, museums, street corners, schools, work places, community centers, offices, and just about anywhere you can imagine. Participants have been professional dancers and artists, plumbers, doctors, soccer players, teachers and politicians. Some dances are choreographed, some are improvised, and some stretch the definition of what dance is.
We hope you will participate on Friday, March 22, 2013 at noon CA, 3pm NY: (click here for your time).

Where will you be?

At work? Taking a lunch break? In class? Running an errand? In line at the bank? The library? The grocery store? Walking the dog in the park?… Perfect! Your participation doesn’t need to be an event you plan months in advance! … Tap your foot, do a little jig, bob your head… You have our permission. And you will be joined by thousands around the world. Get together with your friends, family, colleagues or strangers on the street – wherever you will be – and have some fun!

the mission of dance anywhere®

• Build community by engaging people worldwide in a simultaneous, public art, performance

• Reconsider the definition of art, public space, and community

• Make dance accessible to more people

• Inspire creativity

• Change perspectives through community art experiences

Artist Beth Fein first created dance anywhere® in 2005 …what if there was a public celebration of dance anywhere and everywhere simultaneously? Why wait for a performance opportunity to come your way? No audition, application, no references, no formal dance training needed. Everyone is invited no matter age or ability.

Beth Fein originally conceived the idea in an effort to acknowledge dance practice (rehearsal, class, etc) as an art form, that formal performances are only a part of dance, that the less observed dance practice is also an art form. As a dancer and visual artist, Fein has continued to develop this original concept to not only blur the line between art practice and art, but to dissolve the line that often separates art and dance from our daily lives. This is dance that transforms our familiar and ordinary locations.
To learn more about Beth Fein and her dance and visual arts practice visit www.bethfein.com.

–Lydia

Support Frame Dance Productions by sending us a Valentine!

A purchase of this $5 Valentine is considered a donation to Frame Dance Productions, and is 100% tax deductible. Buy 1 valentine or a dozen! Your support helps us create art.

Not in the lovin’ mood this Valentine’s season?  

Check out what these cute kids have to say about love…

“What is Love?”

My personal favorite response: “Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” – Karl, age 5                                   My sentiments exactly. 

We just finished a weekend of performances in Dance Month’s Choreographers X6 program.  What a fun and fulfilling process this has been.  I posted a little teaser of the rehearsal a few weeks back and a lot has happened since.  Charles Halka, composer collaborator (and last year’s winner of our Composition Competition) finished writing the piece, we met the violinist Micah Ringham– whom we love– and the piece fell into a beautiful place right before the performance.  We will post video of the piece on the website sometime soon.  In addition, the piece came to a fullness that I had not anticipated in the beginning stages of dreaming.  At that time I had titled it A Long Line.  I’ve changed it since then, and the composer said it would be okay if I stole used his much more eloquent, memorable and fitting title, To the Brim.  Find out why I changed my mind here.

Yesterday Houston Press’s review came out.  Adam Castaneda writes this:

“Perhaps the most provocative choreography on the program was Lydia Hance’s A Long Line. The piece was performed to an original violin composition by Charles Halka. The music was performed live to captivating effect, as it gave the impression that the score and dance were married in synchronicity. Halka’s music is at times haunting, at time reflective, and Hance’s choreography is filled with such impulses. The trio of Jacqueline Boe, Laura Gutierrez and Ashley Horn moved in releases of the spine and contractions that suggested a personal investigation of self and space that is at times scary, yet, necessary to fulfillment. The dancers’ technical proficiency was also matched by soulful performance and an insightful understanding of musicality.”

view review here.

Happy Tuesday!

Seeking:

Motivated, positive, hard-working, creative, organized, curious individuals interested in leaning about non-profit management.

Qualifications:

Strong writer, excellent people skills, college student or graduate, interested in marketing and organization development.  A dance background is not a prerequisite.

Job Description:

Development Assistant

Assisting Artistic/Executive Director Lydia Hance in areas of development and marketing.  Frame Dance Productions has recently been selected for Houston Arts Alliance’s Pre-Incubator program for capacity building.  This next year will entail exciting and significant growth for the organization and the Development Assistant attends meetings and workshops to learn about and implement the changes necessary to grow Frame Dance Productions.

Term: 6 months, negotiable.

Interested applicants can email Lydia.Hance@framedance.org

About the Competition:

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.