The Hide & Seek of Inspiration

Hello everyone, Kaley Pruitt here.  I am a dancer, choreographer, arts administrator, and creative thinker.  I like to include the last one because it’s a part of me that I hope applies to how I am as an artist but also how I am as a person, more importantly.  I’ve been negotiating NYC for just about 2 years now, and it still amazes me how it can turn on you.  Don’t worry, I mean in good ways too.  This place is just full of endless possibilities; pitfalls but also magical moments.  Those are the ones that sustain you until the next inspiration hits.  As a member of Junior Committee, I want to tell you who I am, but I also think we are in a field of showing who we are.  Here is a 2 minute dance film that I created, top to bottom, choreography to filming to the music, at a time when I was truly inspired.  What do you go back to again and again to rediscover yourself and remember what inspiration tastes like? When it is hiding, what do you seek to get yourself back in the game?

I’d love feedback videos of what inspires you all!  Oh yeah, the logistics about me; I currently dance for Natalia Duong in Project Agent Orange, and I am also a dancer for Angelo Dance Project.  I am the Administrative Assistant for Elisa Monte Dance, and also work at Baryshnikov Arts Center.  After all of that, taking class and seeing shows comes next, and then maybe some rest, just maybe.

I really look forward to sharing some thoughts on dance in NYC with you all.  Stay tuned for my post Wednesday, “Taking Ourselves Seriously”.

[Member Blog] Leeanne M. G-Bowley: Sharing Dance Videos

One way that I like to connect with friends and family is to send a youtube video to express a sentiment.  This practice has expanded to sharing “in-spired” videos with the supporters of my dance company via social media.  Also, within In-Sight Dance we exchange videos via e-mail or social media in order to inspire each other, make each other laugh, or share something incredible.  Of course, much of these videos revolve around dance (though the Honey Badger video was an exception to that rule).

I’d like to share some of these videos with you.  Want to join in the fun?  Post your favorite dance video to share with the JComm community!

I frequently trade videos with Cody Potter, one of the dancers I have been working with from the start of In-Sight Dance Company. He shared this video this past weekend.

Here is a video that was shared with me by a great dramaturg after we just finished working on a play that had brought up much discussion about art’s role in social change and action.  The discussion continued with this video–which might be seen as an unlikely source:

A good friend of mine from college posted this on my Facebook recently.  I danced with this friend, and though we’re on different coasts, being able to share dance we see online connects us artistically as well as emotionally.  Like the first video it uses animation and here is amplifies the power of the dancer.

Mishi Castroverde, another dancer with whom I love to trade video, shared this Tedx video awhile back.  Like the Step Up video, it demonstrates how dance can be a tool for change.

Member Profile: Leeanne M. G-Bowley

My name is Leeanne M. G-Bowley and I’m thrilled to be a member of the Dance/NYC Junior Committee.  I’ve been impressed by the Junior Committee since I first learned about it at last year’s Dance/NYC Midwinter Symposium.   (This year’s symposium is less than a week away.  I’ll be posting about that later this week!)

This week I’ll be blogging for the Junior Committee as well as updating our twitter (@DanceNYCJComm).  I’d like to start off the week by sharing a video that inspires me.  This is a video from an international breakdancing competition and features the USA vs. Korea.  It captures what I love about dance—it reaches people.  I am the artistic director of a contemporary dance company that is proudly based in Queens, the borough where I live.  I love Queens due to the great potential held within the most diverse borough in our incredible city.  Through our work, I have an opportunity to see how dance draws people into live performance.  It creates a community through a bond of engagement in the movement.   This video represents my borough’s potential as well as the pure power of the art form.  Breakdancing reaches  people around the world, not because it is promoted by big corporations or by governments, but it organically inspires young people and is typically taught peer to peer or through mentorship.  That is the powerful.

I could watch this for hours.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jbHLRql7Ng&feature=related

More inspiring dance videos to come on the Junior Committee twitter and blog!

Jacob’s Pillow’s KNOW DANCE Project: Add Your Voice

According to Jacob’s Pillow:

“In connection with the award-winning documentary Never Stand Still, directed by Ron Honsa and filmed at Jacob’s Pillow, the KNOW DANCE project aims to stimulate discussion through the provocative question answered by many artists in the film:

“What do YOU want people to know about dance?”

We’re offering you a preview before the project’s official launch in January.  Click on the thumbnail here to see the KNOW DANCE video and create your own individual response. You don’t have to be a performer or a dance professional to participate, and we actively encourage one and all to answer this question and join the conversation.”

If you participate, send us the video, we’d love to see it! What do you wish people knew about dance?

MADE HERE: New York Artists on Life

The MADE HERE Project provides an insight on what it means to live in NY as an artists. They address many subjects we often talk about in the Junior Committee- having more than one job, integrating technology, reaching out to the community.  To be a working artist in NY requires you to think creatively about how to make a living all the while trying to make a home for yourself. This can be quite challenging sometimes so it is nice to hear from a variety of artists in NY how they make it work. I chose to include this video above, one of my favorites, because it speaks about making a home in NYC.

There are ten series in total, with three episodes each. Each are about 5 minutes long and all are viewable on their website. It also airs on NYC Media, Channel 25 on most systems and Channel 22 on Cablevision, on Sundays at 11:00 p.m. and Mondays through Fridays at 3:30 p.m. You can also find other vignettes on their Vimeo. Be on the lookout for new episodes!