Wildspace performs with Staab at Villa Terrace

A lush sunset over Lake Michigan created a ravishing backdrop as the performers began to dance in the garden of the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum. The audience, seated on the long stone staircase that forms the central axis of the garden, was treated to a divine view of the dancers moving within and around Roy Staab's sculptural installation.

Members of the company performed in a variety of spaces throughout the gardens, such as this trellis. The audience, initially divided into groups and then later freed to wander, traveled about to witness each of the segments.

As the evening progressed the lighting became more dramatic. Using my iPhone I took only these three shots to represent the performance. Not only did I not want to disturb the performance or annoy those around me, but I also wanted to enjoy the dance without the mediation of the camera. It was enchanting.

For the finale, the audience was seated immediately before the Staab sculpture, which now loomed large and glowed with colored lighting. The dancers again interacted with the willows and reeds of the installation in marvelous symbiosis.

I attended opening night, last night. There are three more scheduled performances, Sep. 11, 13 and 14. If you act quickly you might still be able to get tickets from the Wildspace website. I heartily recommend it!

"We Are Water" draws a diverse crowd to Bradford Beach to celebrate Milwaukee's waters

There was music, poetry, puppetry, art and invocations of the spirit on Bradford Beach last Sunday evening. It was the third in what has become an annual event called "We Are Water" organized by the Milwaukee Water Commons. Billed as a "celebration of Milwaukee's waters," the event has become a mini-arts festival as well as a meditation on the importance of water to Milwaukee and all life on earth.

Jahmes Finlayson and Dena Aronson got things going with some lively drumming...

...as well as a ritual libation: reflections on water and life while pouring Lake Michigan water onto the sand.

True Skool entertained the crowd with a rap about water.

Three young artists with Still Waters Collective gave an impassioned spoken word performance.

Off to the side of the beach members of Exfabula set up a roving interview station and recorded water stories told to them by volunteers from the audience.

Margaret Ann Noodin, faculty member at UWM, gave everyone a lesson in Ojibwe...

...as member of the Overpass Light Brigade, with help from the audience, spelled out Ojibwe words for water and water-related terms. Jiibigiig means "at the beach," or "along the shore."

Puppeteers got into the act with LED-illuminated figures of a heron and several accurately depicted species of fish native to Wisconsin waters. Mookiibii means "emerge from the water."

The event culminated in an audience-participation creation of a peace sign with lighted cups of water, directed by artist-in-residence Melanie Ariens.

This is the short version of the story. To see many more photos of the event go to my Flickr album.

Real Time dances with the Concrete River at Alfons Gallery

If you're following my work I expect you know that I and my collaborator Melanie Ariens have a major exhibit currently on display at the Alfons Gallery, called "Concrete River: Memorial and Promise on the Kinnickinnic." (If you missed my earlier description of it, click here.)

I am excited to announce that Daniel and Andrea Burkholder are planning to perform a dance that they've created especially for the installation. The performance is on July 1 at 7 PM.

Alfons Gallery is located at 1501 S. Layton Blvd.

"Real Time" is a regular feature held on the first Friday of each month.

This is how they describe the program:
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July’s Real Time performance will draw inspiration from Eddee Daniel’s photography exhibit, Concrete River: Memorial and Promise on the Kinnickinnic, installed at Alfons Gallery, by exploring the inherent tension within the exhibit’s photographs of “urban wilderness.” Real Time will engage these photographs and gallery installation through their subject matter, the beauty of form found in them, as well as the absurdity.

As a 30-minute performance which will repeat, non-stop, three times, the audience is invited to enter and exit the event at their pleasure or whim.

Integrated throughout the performance will be opportunities for the audience to discuss with the performers, Andrea and Daniel Burkholder, as well as photographer Eddee Daniel and environmental artist Melanie Ariens about the art work, the performance, and ecological issues.

Wine and seltzer water will be available, without charge, as part of the discussion with the artists. 

The performance series is completely funded by its open-priced ticket structure. The cash-only tickets go on sale beginning at 6:45pm and are available pay-what-you-will, where the audience puts it’s own value on the live art it comes to see. While NOT a donation format- everyone must pay- the payment is meant to reflect what each individual can afford.

Real Time is curated by Andrea Chastant Burkholder and Daniel Burkholder. It has featured aerial dance from Andrea Chastant Burkholder, improvisational dance from Daniel Burkholder, duets from the two of them, as well as solos and collaborative work with guest artists from Milwaukee and elsewhere in the United States. All shows in the series offer a new insight into the performance form of dance and what it can encompass. With each show lasting one hour or under, there is always time for drinks and conversation at the end of the night.

“We are working to meet our community where it’s at as far as seeing the arts, and from there, we hope to develop together as performers, audience, and as a larger community.” says Andrea Chastant Burkholder one of the creators of Real Time.

Full disclosure: This is not my first collaboration with the Burkholders. In April Andrea invited me to collaborate on her program, Bayou's State, at Danceworks. And in May I was an enchanted witness to their tribute to nature in the open-air and traveling performance of Scenic Route MKE. It has been a great pleasure to be a part of their creative endeavors.

"Scenic Route: MKE" dances in the park

Daniel Burkholder has been dancing in the natural environment for some time now. Last fall he began a series of seasonal dance programs called Scenic Route: MKE. I had the great fortune of seeing the most recent iteration, spring, which was third in the series. The event involved a select group of audience members who attended a 2-hour nature hike with site-specific performances at various stops along the way. Burkholder and company led the audience along one of Milwaukee's most beautiful parks--the exact location of which remains secretive so that ticket holders can have an exclusive viewing. (Anyone can buy a ticket, however.) I found it a lovely way to experience both nature and dance.

Here is my photo essay of the event.

"Scenic Route: MKE" is directed by Artistic Director Daniel Burkholder, and created in collaboration with Andrea Burkholder, Dani Kuepper, Joseph Pitalek, and Jenni Reinke.

The fourth and final "Scenic Route: MKE" will be held July 17. Tickets can be purchased here. The suggested donation starts at $10.

To see more of my photos of "Scenic Route: MKE" go to my Flickr album.

Bayou's State: Dinner, dance and ecology

Bayou's State is a dance program about the Louisiana coastal wetlands that also includes a cajun dinner and--I'm pleased to announce--my photography!

Pictured above is Andrea Burkholder, dancer, choreographer and cajun chef extraordinaire. She has roots in Louisiana and has brought her exciting program to share with the Milwaukee community. For while one of the themes of the program is the sinking Mississippi delta another is building community and finding common ground.

Two dinner/dance programs: 
April 16, 6:00 pm and April 17, 5:00

Location: Danceworks, 1661 N. Water Street, Milwaukee

Buy tickets: Danceworks

Reservations required! 
(It is a dinner, not only a dance, after all. Gotta know how much to cook.)

Here is Burkholder's description of the program:
Choreographer and performer Andrea Chastant Burkholder explores her Cajun heritage as she travels through the declining Louisiana coastline, and it’s swamps and marshlands via an aerial net, bungee cords, and trapeze. Bayou’s State, an original aerial dance/theater piece reflecting on Louisiana’s coastal land loss as it relates to the local culture and environment.

With a focus on the creation of community and finding places of common ground, Andrea begins the evening by offering everyone a traditional Southern Louisiana dinner of homemade gumbo, red beans and rice, greens, and cornbread. Ingredients are provided by Springdale Farm, Rolling Meadows Sorghum Mill, and other local farmers and gardeners. Andrea and her Cajun father, Lafayette, LA native, Lloyd Chastant, will prepare the dinner and serve it at Danceworks, just steps from the Milwaukee River.

The dinner will be followed by a 50-minute performance event that will include storytelling, aerial work, dance, theater, and photographs as set design by Eddee Daniel. Inspired by her own family history, bayou travels, and readings, Andrea navigates the issues of rising coastal waters, disappearing marshland and barrier islands, man versus nature, and increasing water salinity. She uses Louisiana’s experience as a metaphor for the many places where waters define a way of life, but are being threatened.

I was delighted when Andrea approached me to collaborate on this remarkable program. Her set designs were inspired by my construction fence series of photographs (above right). In order to make a connection between Louisiana and Milwaukee, she has asked me to display prints from my Kinnickinnic River project series during the dinner portion of the event. She also has asked me to participate in the audience talk back after the show each night.

I hope you'll join me and Andrea for this dynamic presentation.

For more information, go to Andrea's website.

Sneak preview:

Kinnickinnic River Channel, 2015

Water, Art and Spirit on Bradford Beach in Milwaukee

Months in the making, We Are Water: Beachfront Celebration of Milwaukee's Water had its debut last night on Bradford Beach. The celebration took many forms, including recitations of poetry and spoken word, a dance performance, and a solemn spiritual ceremony led by members of a local Indian community.

As dusk grew deeper the beach was set aglow. The culminating activity was a participatory temporary art installation created and led by environmental artist Melanie Ariens. The audience was invited to take a clear plastic filled with water illuminated with small LED lights and to place them on the beach in a prearranged pattern that represented the Great Lakes. In the gathering darkness the radiance of the lakes were joined by illuminated words provided by members of the Overpass Light Brigade.

The event was organized by Milwaukee Water Commons, a network of individuals and organizations intended "to foster connection, collaboration and broad community leadership on behalf of our waters" that was inspired by plans to make Milwaukee a “fresh water hub." (The Milwaukee Water Commons is the local chapter of a larger initiative called the Great Lakes Commons.)

There were a wide variety of participants of all ages. I didn't hear an official estimate but it looked to me like over a hundred people. When the ceremony ended with everyone gathered around the glowing Great Lakes in the darkness a local pastor gave a blessing and said, "Go in peace." No one moved; no one, it seemed, wanted the moment to end.

Here is my visual meditation on the event.

I was delighted to be in the company of many talented photographers. To see more images from the event go to the Milwaukee Water Commons Facebook page.

The Artery was hot today!

The Artery in Riverwest is part of Milwaukee's Creational Trails project. Today there were events taking place on three performance spaces set up along the trail between Keefe and Capitol. I got there just as a thunderstorm interrupted the beginning of the festivities. The storm passed quickly, however, and the sun returned to dry everything off.

The Saehee Chang & Garam Drum Group gave a short performance and then invited audience members to join in, which I did. Although I am rhythmically challenged I love drum circles. No one seemed to notice!