Danspace Project announces our action-packed Winter 2011 season, which includes the latest installment in our acclaimed PLATFORM series. Body Madness, the fourth in a series of Danspace Project platforms, is organized in two parts: Absurdity & Wit (February 3-March 5, 2011), curated by Danspace Project Executive Director Judy Hussie-Taylor, and Rhythm & Humor (March 9-April 2, 2011), curated by award winning choreographer David Parker.

PLATFORM 2011: Body Madness – Absurdity & Wit, curated by Judy Hussie-Taylor (February 3-March 5, 2011)
In Part 1 of Body Madness, Hussie-Taylor considers dynamic dance artists who, in her words “employ play, wit, and absurdity, often through rigorous improvisational practice,” and ”manifest delightful madness through the body.” Inspired by master improviser Yvonne Meier, Hussie-Taylor was reminded of the anti-serious approach to performance of early avant-garde artists. “Absurdity and wit are still important artistic strategies for many experimental movement artists today,” writes Hussie-Taylor.  Artists included in this section are Cori Olinghouse, Benny Ninja, Javier Ninja, Miguel Gutierrez, Ursula Eagly, Chris Schlichting, Yvonne Meier, Mariangela Lopez, and Arturo Vidich. Eccentric Dance Sampler mini-workshops will be taught by Cori Olinghouse, Colin Gee (choreographer, performer, former member of Cirque du Soleil) and Archie Burnett(“voguer” and “waacker,” and grandfather of the House of Ninja).

PLATFORM 2011: Body Madness – Rhythm & Humor, curated by David Parker (March 9-April 2, 2011)
Part 2 of Body Madness emphasizes curator David Parker’s artistic interests in rhythm, humor and American vernacular dance forms. Parker focuses on artists who “comprise a multi-generational statement about the persistence of rhythm and humor in New York’s contemporary dance world.” Artists in this section include Michelle Dorrance, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Laurie Berg, Aynsley Vandenbroucke, Adrienne Truscott, and Douglas Dunn.

In addition to the platform performances and events, Danspace Project’s energetic Winter season kicks off with Danspace Unplugged APAP Showcases. Danspace Unplugged is a low-tech showcase of artists commissioned by Danspace as well as performances by members of Danspace’s Artists Advisory Board.

Another exciting feature is our bi-annual food collection series, Food for Thought, which returns with an inspiring new group of guest curators Will Rawls, Nina Winthop, and Nami Yamamoto.

Our DraftWork series, curated by Ishamel Houston-Jones, is slated to include informal Saturday afternoon performances by Jen McGinn and Ronja Ver (February 12, 2011) and Benjamin Kimitch and Stacy Spence (March 5, 2011).

Visit our website to see the full listing for this exciting season!