upcoming events.
Los Angeles, CA. Jan 20, 2012. Cynthia performs her new collaboration with Carol McDowell at White Chalk Horse: An Evening of New Offerings in Cambodian Dance Ritual.
Prumsodun Ok’s White Chalk Horse: An Evening of New Offerings in Cambodia Dance Ritual, commemorates the anniversary of his father's passing by repurposing the buong suong ceremony, offering to the ancestor spirits and the gods new bodies and languages in a manner that is sweet, personal, and intimate. The evening also features performance offerings by Cynthia Ling Lee with Carol McDowell and Yannis Adoniou's KUNST-STOFF.
White Chalk Horse is part of The Next Steps, a series curated by NATIVE STRATEGIES that highlights dance based performance artists who have taken the next step beyond their personal practice to create a venue or agency for a dance community that would not otherwise exist. NATIVE STRATEGIES is a network of performance art makers, producers and critical thinkers who seek to invigorate and make globally visible Los Angeles's performance art community.
January 20, 2011 at 8 pm
The Sweat Spot
3327 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
RSVP: prumsodun.ok@gmail.com, Information: nativestrategiesla@gmail.com
Artist Statement: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150293354516731
Ann Arbor, MI. Feb 18, 2012. Cynthia and
Sandra Chatterjee co-present a paper
at the
Congress on Research in Dance's
"Meanings and Makings of Queer Dance"
conference
“Solidarity
- Rasa/Autobiography - Abhinaya:
South Asian
Tactics for Performing Queerness” examines the work of D’Lo, a Sri
Lankan-gay-hip-hop performance artist, and the Post Natyam Collective, a
transnational coalition that develops critical and creative approaches to South
Asian dance. The works utilize two strategies for performing queerness in
relation to South Asian cultural practices: (1) autobiographic performance art
rooted in identity politics and (2) the South Asian technique of abhinaya.
These strategies use different modes of identification, approaches to the gaze,
and audience-performer relationships. Autobiographical solo performance creates
solidarity through shared identity or alliances between performer and audience.
Abhinaya evokes pleasure and sensuality in multiple, ambiguous ways towards the
goal of evoking rasa, ideally the audience’s experience of emotional-spiritual
transcendence. We investigate tactical cross-overs between the strategies of
autobiography and abhinaya in D’Lo’s and Post Natyam’s work: how do they
interact, where might they exclude each other, and what kind of performance of
queerness emerges through their interplay?
Febuary 16-18, 2012
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
www.cordance.org/2012SpecialConference
Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Feb 20-Mar 9, 2012. Cynthia teaches an intensive choreography workshop to contemporary Cambodian dance artists for Amrita Performing Arts.
Cynthia will facilitate the exploration of contemporary approaches to Cambodian dance in collaboration with workshop participants. Amrita Performing Arts was established in 2003 to help revive the wide spectrum of Cambodia's traditional performing arts; as a reflection of shifts in the country's artistic climate, their mission has evolved to include pursuits in contemporary dance and theater.
http://amritaperformingarts.org
Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Mar 9, 2012. Cynthia performs contemporary kathak work alongside works-in-progress by workshop participants.
Venice, CA. Mar 23-25, 2012. Cynthia performs Learning to Walk Like Radha as part of the Los Angeles Women's Theater Festival at the Electric Lodge.
Learning to Walk Like Radha is a semi-autobiographical, humorous commentary on the cultural collisions experienced as a Taiwanese-American feminist attempting to learn kathak in Calcutta. Faced with the requirement to perform gender in ways she cannot grasp, the talking dancer butts up against the overwhelming love and expectations of her guru and tradition, torn between competing impulses to act as obedient disciple, earnest anthropologist, and stubborn feminist.
March 23-25, 2012
The Electric Lodge
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recent events.
Santa Monica, USA. 11-13 November 2011. Cynthia's movement collaboration work can be seen in Alison M. De La Cruz's L.A. Malong Malong.
In a mix of semi-autobiography and a queer adaptation of Rapunzel, De La Cruz explores the question, “Who would you climb a tower for?” Zelle, Princely Butch and a host of other characters chart this re-imagined, interactive urban fairy tale. “Part of the show is inspired by a Southern Philippines folkdance,” De La Cruz shares, “in this dance the malong (a traditional ‘tube skirt’ made of woven multi-colored cotton cloth,) can transform into a variety of shapes and uses. I found it an interesting metaphor for the gender roles and our identities based on these roles.”
Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd.,
Santa Monica, CA 90403.
Ticket prices: $20 General/$15 Students & Seniors.
For tickets and info:
www.teada.org, tickets@teada.org or 310-998-8765.
Singapore. October 2011. Cynthia teaches contact improvisation at Maya Dance Theatre.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 1 October 2011. Cynthia performs “ruddha (rude, huh?)” as part of Dancebox.
8.30pm, Saturday 1 October 2011
The Actors Studio @ Lot 10 Rooftop
Entry: RM 10 by donation at the door
For more information about Dancebox, contact
Bilqis 017 310 3769 or contact@mydancealliance.org
Dancebox is part of the FUSED series at The Actors Studio, and is jointly
produced by MyDance Alliance and The Actors Studio.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. September 2011. Cynthia teaches choreography workshops at ASWARA and Universiti Malaya.
Colorado Springs, USA. 13 July 2011. Cynthia's new work, [4], is performed at Colorado College Dance Festival.
A tongue-in-cheek
postmodern tribute to Trisha Brown’s Cube score as learned from Carol McDowell,
[4] is an four-sided improvisational structure created in collaboration with the
dancers. An absurdist, geometrical, and sonic abstraction, the piece has four
sections that combine pre-composed material and improvisational openness to
different degrees. Directed by Cynthia Ling Lee with improvised performance,
movement, and sound by Khanhsong Nguyen, Jazmyne Koch, Rebecca Van Dover and
Hillary Pokrywka, [4] is inspired by elements from Carol McDowell’s “surrender”
and Trisha Brown’s “Water Motor.”
Young Artists Concert
Wednesday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center
Colorado College
Tickets: $5 at the door
Colorado Springs, USA. 27 June-1 July 2011. Cynthia teaches contact improvisation at the Colorado College Dance Festival.
Los Angeles, USA. 24, 26 June 2011. Cynthia performs SUNOH! Tell me, Sister with Anjali Tata and Shyamala Moorty in the National Asian American Theater Conference and Festival.
In a fluid layering of video, live dance, and theater, SUNOH! TELL ME SISTER brings to life subversive stories of women’s erotic power and resistance. An excavation of seldom heard South Asian female voices from the historical dancer-courtesan of the Indian subcontinent to the contemporary survivor of domestic violence. In collaboration with AWAZ, the violence prevention group of the South Asian Network.
Inner-City Arts
Rosenthal Theater, Los Angeles, CA
June 24 at 7pm and June 26 at 4pm
http://2011.caata.net/sunoh-tell-me-sister
Tickets: $12
students/seniors, $15 general
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/167409
Los Angeles, USA. 17 June 2011. Cynthia's choreographic consulting work can be seen in Sheetal Gandhi's premiere of "Human Nature" at Grand Performances.
"Human Nature" is inspired by Shel Silverstein's classic story, The Giving Tree. Created, directed, and performed by Sheetal Gandhi, this multimedia one-woman show features digital scenography by Anaitte Vaccaro/MOUSAI, music and sound design by Jesse Gilbert, music arrangement and consulting by Ravindra Deo and Chauncy Godwin, choreography consulting by Cynthia Ling Lee, lighting design by Chris Kuhl, and costume design by Stephanie Helms. Funded by a COLA grant by the City of LA's Department of Cultural Affairs.
June 17, 2011, 8:30PM
Grand Performances
California Plaza
300-350 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Free Admission
Los Angeles, USA. 14
May 2011.
Cynthia performs “dreaming in taal” at LACMA MUSE's Artwalk.
LACMA Muse’s major annual event attracts audiences of all ages to the museum for
a day and night filled with exciting programs. Live music, dance performances,
large-scale installations, and interactive art projects proliferate around
LACMA’s campus in conjunction with a number of unique happenings in the
neighboring galleries along the Miracle Mile. From 1-3 pm, a cross section of
Los Angeles contemporary dance and movement artists will present a series of
site-specific performances on the LACMA campus.
Los Angeles County
Museum of Art
5900 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Free Admission
11 am-8 pm
Madison, USA. 30 April 2011. Cynthia performs SUNOH! Tell Me, Sister with Shyamala Moorty at U. Wisconsin-Madison.
April 30, 2011, 8 pm at
Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Tickets: $5 at the door
Athens,
Georgia, USA. 21 April
2011. Cynthia perform SUNOH! Tell Me, Sister with Shyamala Moorty at U.
Georgia.
April 21, 2011, 8 pm at New Dance Theatre
University of Georgia
Tickets: $5, Reservations at the Tate Student Center Box Office, (706) 542-8579
Champaign-Urbana, USA. 17 April 2011. Cynthia performs SUNOH! Tell Me, Sister with Shyamala Moorty at U. Illinois.
April 17, 2011, 3 pm at
Krannert Center for Performing Arts
University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana
Tickets: $5 at the door
Santa Monica, CA. 31
March-3 April 2011. Cynthia performs world premiere of SUNOH! Tell Me, Sister
with Shyamala Moorty at the Miles Memorial Playhouse.
SUNOH! Tell Me, Sister is
an evening of
multimedia storytelling and contemporary Indian dance-theater that
brings to life
women's stories of being silenced, finding voice, and the importance of sisterly
community . Performed by Cynthia Ling Lee and Shyamala Moorty with
long-distance contributions from Sandra Chatterjee and Anjali Tata. Other
collaborators include Carole Kim (multimedia design), Ravindra Deo (music),
Loren Nerell (music), Mona Heinze (dramaturgy), Sangita Shresthova (dance-media
collaboration), and Kedar Lawrence (lighting design/technical direction).
Miles Memorial Playhouse
1130 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA
Preview (pay what you can): March 31, 2011, 8 pm
Show: Apr 1-2 at 8pm, Apr 3 at 2pm
Tickets: $20 General/$15 Students and Seniors
Reservations: (310) 998-8765, teada@teada.org
Los Angeles, USA. 5
March 2011: Cynthia performs SUNOH! Tell Me Sister (work-in-progress)
with Shyamala Moorty at the Bootleg Dance Festival.
Curated by Heidi Duckler and Alicia Hoge-Adams, the Bootleg Dance Festival
commissions new work from seven exciting choreographers from all parts of Los
Angeles County, whose work covers a full range of styles, cultures, and
approaches representing contemporary dance in the world today. On March 5, Post
Natyam Collective members, Cynthia Ling Lee and Shyamala Moorty, will perform
material from SUNOH! Tell Me, Sister, featuring new multimedia collaborations
with Carole Kim. Post Natyam Collective will share the evening with hip-hop
dance theater company, Antics Performance. The festival, which runs from 4-6
March, will also feature work by Arianne Hoffman, Keith Glassman, Carmela
Hermann, WIFE, and Jamie Benson.
March 5, 2011, 8 pm
Bootleg Theater
2220 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles 90057
Tickets: $18/night or $40 Festival Pass
www.bootlegtheater.org,213-389-3856
Santa Monica, CA, USA. 11-12 February 2011. Cynthia performs Re-tracing Histories, Re-dancing the Past at Highways Performance Space.
How do our bodies remember, dismember, and reshape traces of the past? In this intimate evening of interdisciplinary performance, Cynthia Lee and Prumsodun Ok respectively examine the function of the dancer’s body in North Indian kathak and Cambodian classical dance. At times poetic and vulnerable, critical and political, the two artists share many identities, histories, and movement forms on one stage.
Friday, February 11 and
Saturday February 12, 2011 at 8:30pm
Highways Performance Space and Gallery
1651 18th Street
Santa Monica, CA
West Chester, PA. USA. February 3, 2011. Cynthia performs “Nine-Patch” with composer-pianist David Cutler at West Chester University.
NEW MUSIC at West
Chester University
Thursday, February 3, 2011
in Madeleine Wing Adler Theater
at West Chester University
West Chester, PA
Philadelphia, PA. 7 February 2011. Cynthia performs “Nine-Patch” and “You Ain’t Never Gonna Get Me Down” with composer-pianist David Cutler at Jefferson University.
12-1 pm
Jefferson University
Blumle Life Sciences Building
233 S. 10th St, Philadelphia PA
Dhaka, Bangladesh. 30 January 2011. Cynthia performs an evening of contemporary choreography at Chhayanaut alongside with works-in-progress by choreography workshop participants.
Dhaka, Bangladesh. 24-29 January 2011. Cynthia teaches a workshop in South Asian approaches to choreography Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy through World Dance Alliance-Bangladesh.
San Francisco, USA. January 23, 2011. "s k i n" screens at Too Much! Queer Performance Marathon.
A collaborative
dance-for-camera work by Cynthia Ling Lee and Sangita Shresthova, “s k i n”
intersects theory and embodiment, with words that slide and melt across a moving
landscape of female skin, simultaneously labeling and evading graspable
descriptions. The work’s mysterious, sensual imagery ponders on the conflicted
image of India's dancer-courtesan through the inscription of postcolonial theory
on her eroticized and yet vulnerable body.
Instigated and curated by Julie Phelps and Keith Hennessy, Too Much! provides a
platform for investigation and negotiation - through live performance and video
art - of queer as an aesthetic and tactic. Working the margins of both
mainstream and LGBT cultures, Too Much! strives to offers a temporal community
in the borderlands of artistic contagion, exchange, friction, and tourism.
Crashing the limits of neatly package identity-based events, Too Much! brings
together artists and audiences on the basis of a shared appreciation of
experimental, untried, queer art. Presented by Zero Performance, THEOFFCENTER
and Dance Mission.
Sunday, January 23,
2011
2pm – midnight
Dance Mission Theater
3316 24th Street (at Mission), SF
Tickets: $10 all-day pass,
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/139548
Information:
http://www.circozero.org/too_much/index.html