Venerable German label Kompakt to release Parabolas, the new album by John Tejada.  Our June 20, 2011.

For Immediate Release:                                                                                                                                              May 20, 2011

Kompakt Records Presents
Parabolas
New Album by John Tejada
Out June 20, 2011

COLOGNE, GERMANY [re-posted from Kompakt's press release] - “Expect the unexpected,” they say, and it should come as no surprise to many as we warmly welcome to the Kompakt family one of America’s most celebrated producers in dance music, John Tejada!

Born in Vienna, Austria, he relocated to his current home of Los Angeles at the age of 8 and, following a brief career in hip-hop, found his home in electronic music. If you’re even the slightest fan of the genre, you’ll be hard-pressed not to have heard his music over his two decade-long career. Whether on his own Palette Recordings, Poker Flat, or Plug Research – plus a Fabric Mix CD under his belt – it’s thanks to a steady stream of massive releases (think “Mono On Mono” and “Sweat On The Walls”) that he remains a mainstay in the charts of Beatport and uncountable DJs. He is also half of the long-standing City Centre Offices act, I’m Not A Gun (together with Takeshi Nishimoto).

“I wanted to experiment with some longer phrases again and to step away from the analog sequencers more and get back to using my hands to create the melodies. I also feel for the first time in quite a while I’ve made an album of songs for myself without worrying about the usual pressures.” – John Tejada

Kompakt presents his extraordinary new album Parabolas. Resident Advisor called Tejada “one of the most notoriously meticulous producers around” – an unmistakable proof lies within these recordings. Genres collide and combine with an unraveling of blissful layers on Parabolas. The opening track, “Farther & Fainter,” offers a musicality today’s techno and house often lack – an accomplishment that resonates throughout the album. Tracks such as “Subdivided” and “Unstable Condition” reflect the wondrousness of Aphex Twin’s Polygon Window project, something that could only be reanimated and brought to 2011’s standards by Tejada.

Parabolas is a true highlight in John Tejada’s deep catalogue. Bold words indeed for a producer who is known for unexpected variation and tremendous musical imagination.

Highlights from Kompakt’s one-sheet:

- JOHN TEJADA has over a decade of releases under his belt for the likes of POKER FLAT, 7th CITY, FABRIC, PLUG RESEARCH and of course his own imprint PALETTE RECORDINGS.

- We welcome TEJADA to KOMPAKT with his debut album for the label. Truly follows with the tremendous musicality that keeps him on the top 10 charts of BEATPORT on a regular basis.

Parabolas Track List
CD version / double vinyl:

01. / A1. Farther And Fainter
02. / A2. The Dream
03. / A3.  Mechanized World
04. / B1.  Subdivided
05. / B2. Timeless Space
06. / B3. A Flexible Plan
07. / C1. The Mess And The Magic
08. / C2. The Honest Man
09. / C3. The Living Night
10. / D1. Unstable Condition
11. / D2. Hollow Hemispheres
12. / D3. Uncertain End

Credits:
artist: JOHN TEJADA
title: PARABOLAS
label: KOMPAKT
format: CD / 2LP / DIGITAL
cat.no. + barcode:
KOMPAKT CD 93 – 880319059124
KOMPAKT 234 – 880319059438
release date: 20 JUNE, 2011

worldwide distribution: KOMPAKT DISTRIBUTION

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For more information, photos or to request an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

DEEP

For Immediate Release:                                                                                                                                         April 20, 2011

DEEP Presents
Dance Ritual Gets DEEP: Meeting of the Tribes
At Vanguard in Hollywood
Saturday, April 30, 2011

LOS ANGELES, CA – DEEP, LA’s premiere home for house and soulful electronic music for over 12 years, presents Dance Ritual Gets DEEP: A Meeting of the Tribes, on Saturday, April 30, 2011 from 9:00pm to 4:00am, at the Vanguard in Hollywood.  Dance Ritual Gets DEEP is a special collaborative event fusing two of the globeʼs strongest music communities – Dance Ritual (NYC) and DEEP (Los Angeles). It’s a celebration of worlds colliding that will feature some of the most premier international DJs, performers and artists. Including Grammy Award Winning Producer Louie Vega from New York City accompanied by Papo Swing on live percussion along with DEEP creator Marques Wyatt. Vanguard is located at 6021 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028.  Guests must be 21 years of age or older to attend. Tickets are $20 in advance.  For more information please visit http://deep-la.com.

DJ support will also be provided by DJ ALA of San Diego’s Dive and DJ Senbad from Phoenix’s Solstice in the main room.  In the DEEP Lounge highlights will include Grammy Award Nominee Vikter Duplaix’s (Kiss-N-Grind, Jazzanova, Masters at Work) global-infused soul sounds, prolific producer Marc de Clive-Lowe, and KCRW’s soul selector Garth Trinidad. With DJ Ty and DJ Shayn on the patio, DEEP is bringing in live drummers, dancers and performers for this special event not to be missed!

About Dance/Sunset Ritual:
Dance Ritual was founded in 1998 by two of dance music’s most respected artists, Louie Vega and Joe Claussell. Dance Ritual was created as a cultural dance music event that saw no boundaries, where African, Jazz, Latin, Soul, Gospel, R&B, and Brazilian sounds would blend through House forms. Whether playing new or classic dance music, Vega and Claussell would always conjure a warm soulful atmosphere for any open-minded spirit.

Dance Ritual has been the home of amazing performances by artists such as the late great Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Roy Ayers, Jocelyn Brown, India, and guest DJs Timmy Regisford, David Morales, Tony Humphries and Francois K to name a few. Dance Ritual was first presented at the club Vinyl and then transcended outside of the club culture to the Annual Summer Boat Ride on the Hudson, Mainstage at Central Park, and even went overseas to the UK, Japan, Italy, Greece, and Spain.

Keeping the Dance Ritual culture alive and venturing into new lands, Sunset Ritual was created by Louie and Anane Vega and debuted at the ultra-exclusive Blue Marlin Ibiza in summer of 2010. Sunset Ritual maintains the traditions of Dance Ritual using the same emblem that is an artifact of the Taino Tribe, representing beautiful, peaceful, indigenous people of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Guests are treated to an unforgettable party in the luxurious setting of the Blue Marlin that gently beguiles the crowd at sunset into an all-night celebration. Sunset Ritual continues this summer on Saturdays on Ibiza island between July 23 and September 3, 2011.

About Louie Vega:
Impossible to pigeonhole and irreplaceable to the scene which he has helped build for more than 20 years, Louie Vega is the quintessential music professional. Also known as “Little” Louie Vega, he is an American musician and one half of the Masters At Work musical production team. He’s the ʻDJʼs DJ,ʼ whose name is constantly thanked on artists’ albums, the one who has influenced and defined countless other DJ-producers from today’s brightest stars to those still beat-matching in their bedrooms. Hailing from, The Bronx, New York, Vega is unquestionably a major force in house music, both as a producer and DJ, and Dance Ritual is his cultural and spiritual home. Learn more at http://www.vegarecords.net.

About Marques Wyatt:
Marques Wyatt is unmistakably a pioneer and seminal force in the West Coast house music scene. His multi-dimensional talent has made him one of the most sought-after producers and remixers in the genre, domestically and internationally.

As the originator, promoter and resident DJ at DEEP, Wyatt has an unmistakable keen sixth sense for culminating epic parties via this institution, which ran weekly for 12 years. As a result, Wyatt has orchestrated bringing in a who’s who of the house music genre’s most elite musicians to DEEP such as: Timmy Regisford of the Shelter (NYC), Ben Watt of Everything but the Girl, Dimitri from Paris, Black Coffee, Miguel Migs, and of course Louie Vega, who performs with Wyatt several times per year.

About Vikter Duplaix:
Vikter Duplaix is a world-renowned singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and DJ. Hailing from Philadelphia and Augusta, Georgia, Duplaix has released several solo records as well as appearing on the releases of Erykah Badu, Jazzanova, King Britt’s Sylk 130, Jamiroquai, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Incognito, Esthero, Cherokee, Jaguar Wright, Eric Benet and Dynamite MC. He is also known for his work with DJ Jazzy Jeff and Kenny Gamble. However, it was due to his tight relationship with the infamous King Britt that ultimately led to Duplaixʼs immersion and success in dance music. Remixes and collaborations with the likes of Jazzanova and an installment in !K7ʼs “DJ Kicks” series all led up to International Affairs, Duplaix’s full-length debut as a solo artist.

Since then Duplaix has released over 12 full-length albums and was nominated in 2008 for a Grammy Awards for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for his track “Make A Baby,” a single from his 2006 album Bold and Beautiful.

About Mark de Clive-Lowe:
Mark de Clive-Lowe (MdCL) is a New Zealand-Japanese musician and producer based in LA after spending the last decade in the UK. He’s a devastating live performer creating studio productions from scratch using drum machines, keyboards and effects – live remixes created on stage for each and every gig. As well as performances at clubs, festivals and parties worldwide, he’s on over 250 releases for Masters At Work Records, Verve, Impulse and collaborating with as diverse a range of artists as Jody Watley, Sheila E (Prince), Omar, Pino Palladino (D’Angelo/The Who), Leon Ware (Marvin Gaye/Michael Jackson), Dame Shirley Bassey, Sandra St Victor (The Family Stand/Chaka Khan) and plenty more. MdCL is one of the most innovative producers and live performers you’ll find anywhere.

About DEEP:
DEEP is nothing short of a phenomenon driving the dance music scene in Los Angeles and beyond. For over twelve years, DEEP has prided itself on presenting the finest soulful electronic music experiences by procuring top DJs and artists from around the world. DEEP forges on as an internationally esteemed sanctuary for house music lovers.

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For more information, photos or to set up interviews please contact Green Galacticʼs Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

Beacon Arts Building
Backgrounder

Beacon Arts Building –
The Beacon Arts Building is an iconic, four-story, solid reinforced concrete monolith in Inglewood, California representative of classic 1950s architecture. Cast in-place, the structure is as much a singular sculpture as an inhabitable building. Outside and inside of the building, signs of its creation are evident – from the wood grain impression made by the plywood that was used to build the forms to the air bubbles in the concrete. The massive 32,400 square foot structure is self-supporting by design, with strong, “open capital” columns – a modern reference to the columns found in early Egyptian ceremonial temples.

Beacon Arts Building Fourth Floor - “Open Capital” Columns (photo credit: Renée Fox)

The structure is located in the heart of the burgeoning Inglewood Arts District. Having stored inanimate items for close to sixty years, originally as the legendary Bekins Moving and Storage Company, this dramatic 1951 edifice is now transforming into a springboard for artistic expression.  In addition to ground floor gallery and retail spaces, the building offers a gorgeous New York warehouse-style environment for professional artists, with spaces in various sizes up to 8,000 square feet with high ceilings and polished concrete floors.  Remodel efforts have entailed reusing existing materials and structural elements, as much as possible, in order to strip down the space to highlight its inherent beauty.

The Beacon Arts Building provides:
• A community for professional working artists
• Private studios in sizes from 425 to 8,000 square feet
• 24/7 access
• Gated parking
• Wi-Fi (included)
• 11’6″ ceilings
• Oversized safety glass doors
• Common area with kitchenette, washer/dryer, eating area, wash sink, men’s and women’s bathrooms
• High rear-loading facility sheltered by a 20’ x 60’ steel canopy
• Large freight elevator
• Shared outside work area
• Sprinkler system throughout
• Building alarm system
• Extra storage availability
• Utilities included
• Natural and daytime fluorescent lighting
• Ventilation
• Professional building management
• Flexible lease options at competitive prices (month-to-month or yearly)

Plans for a ground floor vestibule are in the works.

The property sits prominently on La Brea Avenue, located just 11 minutes south of the 10 Freeway (I-10). On-site parking is available or found on the adjacent streets.

Beacon Arts Building Remodel (architectural renderings by Rees Associates)

Beacon Arts Building is in the process of curating new tenants.  Occupants must be productive fine art professionals who will contribute to the “life force” of the building.  Artist-tenants currently have a unique opportunity to participate in the design of their own studio spaces in order to meet their specific art-making needs. In addition to beautiful new secured studio spaces, ranging in sizes from 425 square feet to 1,200 sq, ft., the Beacon Arts Building also currently offers open floor plans that can allow the possibility for tenants to choose the size of individual workspace up to 8,000 sq. ft.  For further information about availabilities in the Beacon Arts Building, please contact Scott Lane at 310-576-3543 or scottlaneco@yahoo.com.

Beacon Arts –
A brand-new, risk-taking fine arts enterprise, housed within the iconic Beacon Arts Building, the venture offers innovative art programming to enrich the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. Its primary directive is to provide and maintain the integrity of an exhibition space for contemporary art by Southern California artists working in all media, including painting, sculpture, installation, video, and performance art. Works by both emerging and established artists are presented in an effort to provide a variety of ideas in different forms that both challenge and inspire. As a catalyst and advocate for new ideas, the endeavor enriches public understanding and appreciation of contemporary fine art by creating conversations through special events, lectures, symposia, and panel discussions with intellectual commentary on exhibitions. Exhibiting artists are encouraged to forge new relationships and learn from arts professionals through programming such as the gallery’s inaugural Critics-as-Curators series – consecutive shows conceived and curated by art writers and critics. This series runs through the first year of the space, from October 2010 to October 2011. Regular gallery hours are from 1:00pm to 6:00pm Thursday through Saturday, Sundays 1:00pm – 4:00pm.

Critics-as-Curators Series –
Critics-as-Curators is the inaugural art exhibition series at Beacon Arts.  In recognition of the gallery’s first year, esteemed art critics and writers — recognized locally, nationally and internationally — have been invited to conceive and curate shows of their choosing at the Beacon Arts Building in conjunction with discussions, lectures, catalogues, or other ways to reveal the thought process behind why exhibition works are chosen with insight into their importance to the curator. The individual expertise and personal taste developed by the curators’ world-view will be on exhibit throughout Beacon Arts’ first year. Critics-as-Curators strives to enrich appreciation of contemporary fine art by critically engaging in art. This series of shows provides a wonderful opportunity for artists and art audiences to learn what individual critics look for, how they think about the art they choose to focus on, and what catches their eye. The series kicked off in October 2010 with Ghost Stories: Happenings, Hauntings, & Curiosities curated by art writer Shana Nys Dambrot.

Ghost Stories performance in the Beacon Arts Building (photo credit: Damon Wellner)

2010 – 2011 Exhibition Schedule at Beacon Arts -

• 10/14/10 – 11/7/10 – Ghost Stories: Happenings, Hauntings, & Curiosities curated by Shana Nys Dambrot*
http://www.greengalactic.com/2010/beacon-arts-ghost-stories

• 11/13/10 – 11/27/10 – Inglewood Open Studios Group Show
http://inglewoodopenstudios.blogspot.com/2010/10/inglewood-open-studioscelebrates-fourth.html

• 12/10/10 – 1/30/11 – Densities: Line Becoming Shape, Shape Becoming Object curated by Peter Frank*
http://www.greengalactic.com/2010/beacon-arts-densities

• 2/5/11 – 3/20/11 - Pieceable Kingdom curated by David Pagel*
http://www.greengalactic.com/2010/beacon-arts-pieceable-kingdom

• 3/26/11 – 5/22/11 - ARATALAND: A Mid-Career Survey of Artworks by Michael Arata curated by Doug Harvey*
http://www.greengalactic.com/2011/beacon-arts-arataland/

• 5/28/11 – 7/3/11 - TEL-ART-PHONE curated by Mat Gleason*

Future BAB exhibitions TBD

* Critics-as-Curators series

1019 West -
Just minutes away from the Beacon Arts Building is its easily accessible sister project, the 1019 West, located on the penumbra, within short driving distance to the trendy, but decreasingly affordable, areas of Venice and Culver City.  1019 West is located just west of the 405 Freeway on the northwest corner of Manchester and Hindry (one intersection west of the iconic LA landmark Randy’s Donuts and the 405 on-ramp). 1019 West is an artists’ compound offering a vast array of studio, showcase, and work spaces of various sizes in a private, secure, yet inviting environment. The unique economic and geographic benefits of 1019 West are fast attracting the interest and attention of highly talented emerging artists and established professionals. Construction is currently underway to further build out studios, upgrade the unique existing spaces, and enhance the privacy, security, and compatibility with artists’ objectives.  The property was previously the location of the first Volkswagen automobile dealership in Southern California.

The 1019 West compound and studios features a wide variety of uniquely sized studios and work spaces, ranging from 430 to 6,500 square feet, for rent offering amenities including:
• Soaring 30’ high Bow Truss ceilings
• Skylights
• 24/7 access
• Concrete floors
• Large roll-up doors
• Outdoor work areas
• Ample gated and secure parking
• WiFi (included)
• Common area wash sinks
• Utilities included
• Eating and lounge areas
• Men’s and women’s bathrooms
• Storage facilities
• Frequent trash pick up
• C-3 and M-1 zoning (ideal for welding)
• Professional building management
• Flexible lease options at competitive prices (monthly or longer term leases available)

The property is located at a signalized corner on a well-traveled commercial boulevard. 1019 West is just 16 minutes from Santa Monica, 11 minutes from Venice, 13 miles from downtown Los Angeles, and proximate to the 405, LAX, Loyola Marymount, and Otis College of Art and Design. For further information about available spaces at 1019 West, please contact Scott Lane at 310-576-3543 or scottlaneco@yahoo.com.

Renée Fox, Beacon Arts Creative Director –
Renée Fox, a contemporary artist working in mixed media painting and drawing, was tapped to run the Beacon Arts gallery space based on her success organizing Inglewood Open Studios. The Open Studios project grew quickly from 7 to 39 participating artists, attracted large crowds, and garnered great press in just a few short years under Fox’s leadership, providing a nexus for the blossoming art community in the area. The firecracker mover-shaker was born in Frederick, Maryland, attended the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C. and graduated from Otis College of Art and Design in 2002. She is an experienced curator and owner of art-related businesses (archiving and decorative painting).   She has participated in and curated art exhibitions in Washington DC and Los Angeles.  Fox currently directs the new Beacon Arts gallery space in Inglewood, CA and continues to organize Inglewood Open Studios.

Scott Lane, Beacon Arts Building/1019 West Projects Manager –
Scott Lane is responsible for the creation, development, and leasing of Highwood Properties’ Beacon Arts Building and 1019 West projects. A graduate of the University of Southern California (USC) School of Business, with graduate studies at the Annenberg School of Communications at USC, Lane has over twenty-eight years of commercial retail real estate experience in California, the Pacific Northwest, and Southeast United States. His professional background includes corporate real estate positions with May Department Stores’ Payless Shoe Source, Burger King Corporation, La Mancha Development Corporation, and San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. Throughout his career, his contributions have resulted in the successful development of over one hundred thirty (130) shopping centers and commercial properties throughout California. He also served as Director of Synergy at Clear Channel Communications and Vice President of Business Affairs/Partner of Intercomcon LLC, a broadcast media consulting company.

Beacon Arts Building (photo credit: Dave Teel Photography)

Our goal is to serve as a catalyst for compelling experiences that engage the hearts and minds of Los Angeles art audiences. With that objective in mind, we are embracing smart, risk-taking curators and artists with new perspectives and fresh ideas. – Renée Fox, Beacon Arts Creative Director

BEACON ARTS BUILDING 808 N. La Brea Ave. Inglewood, CA  90302
1019 WEST 1019 W. Manchester Blvd, Inglewood CA 90301

http://beaconartsbuilding.com/

Los Angeles, CA – Humanitarian organization NextAid presents its second annual World AIDS Day campaign fundraising event at LA’s top “green” event location, Marrakesh House. Entitled SOUND>EFFECT and taking place on Saturday December 11, 2010  from 5:00pm – midnight, NextAid and partners will create an unforgettable evening of music, dancing and art.  NextAid joins forces with like-minded organizations Family Affair, HearME, Green Wave and Africa10 at film director Chris Paine’s noted sustainably remodeled home located on a scenic hillside in Culver City (private address, parking info revealed upon ticket purchase).

For Immediate Release

NextAid Unites Los Angeles’ Dance Music Scene
For World AIDS Day Campaign Fundraising Event
SOUND>EFFECT
At LA’s Premier Green Space, Marrakesh House
December 11, 2010

Los Angeles, CA – Humanitarian organization NextAid presents its second annual World AIDS Day campaign fundraising event at LA’s top “green” event location, Marrakesh House. Entitled SOUND>EFFECT and taking place on Saturday December 11, 2010  from 5:00pm – midnight, NextAid and partners will create an unforgettable evening of music, dancing and art.  NextAid joins forces with like-minded organizations Family Affair, HearME, Green Wave and Africa10 at film director Chris Paine’s noted sustainably remodeled home located on a scenic hillside in Culver City (private address, parking info revealed upon ticket purchase).

Entertainment will include live performances by trip hop vocalist Shana Halligan of Bitter:Sweet and funk/soul band King Kid, along with some of Los Angeles’ favorite DJ’s Marques Wyatt, Andy Caldwell, Braden and Mr. Caparro, Michele Bass, and more with dancers and percussionists. The evening will be MC’d by KCRW’s Raul Campos and Debi Mae West. Visuals will include projections from the World Cup film Africa10 and HearME’s music programs. This will be one of Marques’ last LA performances before he moves to New York City. The evening will also include a silent auction featuring ecological and fair trade products and services, and work from local and African artists. Supporters include Fusicology, Flavorpill, and Deep-LA. For more information, go to www.nextaid.org/wad2010

This exclusive event has a strict capacity limit of 300 people. The first 100 tickets are $30 and are only available through November 30^th, the price then goes up to $40. VIP tickets are $60 and include open bar all night long. There will be an open bar cocktail hour from 5:00-7:00pm, with a fundraising bar the rest of the evening. There will also be light food provided by organic and/or local restaurants. Tickets are available via http://soundeffect.eventbrite.com.

Proceeds from SOUND>EFFECT, as well as all of NextAid’s World AIDS Day events and online campaign, will support current NextAid projects in Africa which include constructing an eco-friendly micro-enterprise facility for a street youth project in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya; supporting the education of orphaned children and youth in South Africa by providing school uniforms and supplies; and donating to critical maternal health programs for girls and women in Sierra Leone.  Proceeds from the Marrakesh House event will also benefit Green Wave and HearME. Green Wave is raising funds to build a “green” children’s sanctuary in a Nairobi slum, and HearME provides mini music studios and an online music network to orphanages around the world.

Sound>Effect is part of NextAid’s 4th Annual World AIDS Day campaign that kicked off on November 27th and runs the entire month of December. Over 14 parties in 10 cities in 3 countries are on board! Visit NextAid’s website to find detailed info for events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Cape Town, Detroit, Baltimore, Boston, Vancouver, Omaha, and San Diego.

For those who cannot make it to a benefit party, they can still be a part of the global campaign by joining the online campaign. NextAid artists, such as DJ Dan and DJ Colette, will be raising awareness and funds for projects through a Twitter generated $10 tweet campaign. Supporters can make direct donations to NextAid, send holiday eCard gift donations to friends and family, shop for great music gifts from OM Records at the Holiday Pop Up Store (launching soon) where 10% of sales will go to NextAid, and make other purchases from over 1200 retailers at NextAid’s We-Care.com shopping mall. Changemakers are also invited to take action with NextAid’s “10 Ways to Do Good” list that makes it easy to be a part of the movement.  Anyone anywhere can donate, email, make a tweet or a beat, and be part of this global campaign! For all the campaign info, go to www.nextaid.org/wad2010

About NextAid -
NextAid is an LA-based nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of music to support sustainable development projects that serve vulnerable children, youth and women in Africa. Through music events and public education initiatives, NextAid provides empowering opportunities for concerned individuals to make a difference.  www.nextaid.org

About World AIDS Day -
World AIDS Day is a day when individuals and organizations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. This year marks the 22^nd anniversary of World AIDS Day with the theme of “Universal Access and Human Rights.” The human rights approach is comprehensive, tying directly into the response needed for universal access to treatment, prevention, care and support. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done. More information can be found at www.worldaidscampaign.org.

About Family Affair –

Family Affair is an event & marketing company based in Los Angeles specializing in raising money and awareness for social and environmental causes. The company has created and developed “Parties with a Purpose” which focus on the idea of “Responsible Entertainment” combining fun entertainment, education, and empowerment to deliver a powerful and emotional message inspiring guests to make a difference on the planet. In the past 2 years, Family Affair has partnered with some incredible organizations which include Trees for the Future, The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, The 11th Hour Action Campaign, Tree Media, Surfrider Foundation, The Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Give A Glass, and more. www.family-affair.org

About HearME –

HearME’s mission is to connect orphans around the globe by providing them with computers, music software, and an online studio enabling them to collaborate with each other across cultural boundaries.  The organization aims to bring empowerment, peace, and understanding through music. HearME has Hubs in Iraq, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, and Puerto Rico. The goal of HearME for The Sound Alliance is to raise money for the Los Angeles Hub which creates online classes for children to view around the world. For more information and to see videos please visit http://hearmehub.com.

About Green Wave –

Green Wave is a 501(c)(3) human/planet service agency providing green education & coaching through consulting, campaigns, workshops, collaborative projects, and volunteer retreats. Green Wave believes in teaching by creating living examples in order to lead future generations to a sustainable future. The organization’s mission is to inspire waves of change focused on living peacefully and harmoniously with the environment and with each other for the conscious well being of our planet. Green Wave’s goal is to create a legion of international ambassadors to assist in the creation and support of powerful education initiatives and eco- friendly developments with collaborating nonprofits on a global scale. www.inspiringwavesofchange.org

About Africa10 –

Africa10 uses film, music, and social media to inspire soccer fans and non-fans alike to celebrate the power of the game in Africa and support African unity. At the heart of it all is a character-driven feature length documentary that tells the story of a diverse group of Africans across the continent to illuminate the transformative power of soccer. Subjects range from impoverished fans to soccer super stars such as Sulley Muntari and Abedi Pelé, musicians such as Femi Kuti and will.i.am to African dignitaries Kofi Annan and Desmond Tutu. Proceeds from the Africa10 project go towards supporting charities such as Grassroot Soccer and Right to Play who use soccer and sport to teach life skills and create change in Africa. Find out more at Africa10.com

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For more information please contact Susan von Seggern on susanvonseggern@nextaid.org or 213-840-0077.

Jae Hwa Yoo - "Wind City" - 2010, acrylic on canvas (photo courtesy of the artist)

Beacon Arts continues its Critics-as-Curators series with Densities: Line Becoming Shape, Shape Becoming Object curated by respected art writer Peter Frank, opening Friday, December 10, 2010. The exhibition features works in a range of media by artists Philippa Blair, Ran Harari, Tom Jenkins, Joel King, John White, and Jae Hwa Yoo, all with a sensibility that favors visual complexity driven by a profusion of active linear forms.  Densities runs from December 10, 2010 to January 30, 2011.  Exhibition special events include an opening party on Friday, December 10, 5:00 – 8:00pm; an open house on Saturday, January 22, 11:00am – 6:00pm; and a closing event on Sunday, January 30, 11:00am – 4:00pm, which will include a catered brunch and a panel discussion.

Jae Hwa Yoo - "Wind City" - 2010, acrylic on canvas (photo courtesy of the artist)

For Immediate Release:
November 12, 2010

Beacon Arts Presents
Densities: Line Becoming Shape, Shape Becoming Object
An Exhibition
Curated by Peter Frank
Friday, December 10, 2010 – Sunday, January 30, 2011

LOS ANGELES, CA — Beacon Arts continues its Critics-as-Curators series with Densities: Line Becoming Shape, Shape Becoming Object curated by respected art writer Peter Frank, opening Friday, December 10, 2010. The exhibition features works in a range of media by artists Philippa Blair, Ran Harari, Tom Jenkins, Joel King, John White, and Jae Hwa Yoo, all with a sensibility that favors visual complexity driven by a profusion of active linear forms.  Densities runs from December 10, 2010 to January 30, 2011.  Exhibition special events include an opening party on Friday, December 10, 5:00 – 8:00pm; an open house on Saturday, January 22, 11:00am – 6:00pm; and a closing event on Sunday, January 30, 11:00am – 4:00pm, which will include a catered brunch and a panel discussion.  Beacon Arts is located at 808 N. La Brea Ave., Inglewood, CA 90302.  Regular gallery hours are from 1:00pm to 6:00pm Thursday through Saturday, Sundays 1:00pm – 4:00pm.  The gallery will be closed for the holidays from December 24, 2010 to January 4, 2011.  Most events are free unless otherwise stated.  For additional information please call 310-621-5416 or visit http://www.beaconartsbuilding.com as well as http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inglewood-CA/Beacon-Arts-Building/129817703733091?v=info.

Densities: Line Becoming Shape, Shape Becoming Object brings together six established and mid-career artists who work in various media and in different styles but with a shared sensibility. That sensibility favors visual complexity driven by a profusion of active linear forms. The artworks themselves can be called abstract, but still brim with references to the observed world. All the artists live or have worked in Southern California, but their aesthetic is as reminiscent of work associated with Northern California (such as that of William T. Wiley and other Funk artists), New York (think Jackson Pollock, for example), or Europe (the elaborate painted images of CoBrA artists such as Pierre Alechinsky and Asger Jorn come to mind, as do Surrealist automatists such as Joan Miro and Andre Masson). In fact, this approach can be found in “high” and “folk” art alike the world over, and half the artists in Densities come originally from the Eastern Hemisphere. The artists work in oil and acrylic, wood and ink, collage and photo media.  For sample images from the show, please see http://gallery.me.com/lynnhasty#100036

“Life is complex, and life in Southern California, genial as it may be, is especially complex. In their art these six artists have manifested both the intricacy of their own minds and of the elaborate social and topological environment they share with us. You can almost see your house from here,” says Frank.

Beacon Arts Building (photo credit: Dave Teel Photography)

Peter Frank, Critic-as-Curator –
Peter Frank is art critic for the Huffington Post and Adjunct Senior Curator at the Riverside Art Museum. He has served as Editor of THEmagazine Los Angeles and Visions Art Quarterly and as critic for Angeleno magazine and The LA Weekly. Frank was born in 1950 in New York, where he wrote art criticism for The Village Voice and The SoHo Weekly News, and moved to Los Angeles in 1988. Frank contributes articles to numerous publications and has written many catalogues for one person and group exhibitions. Frank has also organized numerous theme and survey shows, including Driven to Abstraction: Southern California and the Non-Objective World, 1950-1988, for the Riverside Art Museum; Artists’ Books USA, Mapped Art: Charts, Routes, Regions, and Line and Image: The Northern Sensibility in Recent European Drawing, all for Independent Curators Inc.; Fluxus Film and Video for the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid; Young Fluxus for Artists’ Space in New York; To the Astonishing Horizon for Los Angeles Visual Arts; Southern Abstraction for the Raleigh (NC) City Gallery of Contemporary Art; The Theater of the Object, 1958-1972 for New York’s Alternative Museum; Visual Poetry for the Otis/Parsons Art Institute in Los Angeles; Multiple World for the Atlanta College of Art; and, most notably, 19 Artists – Emergent Americans, the 1981 Exxon National Exhibition mounted at the Guggenheim Museum. Frank has taught at Pratt Institute, Columbia University’s School of the Arts, the Tyler School of Art, the University of California Irvine, Claremont Graduate School, California State University Fullerton, the University of California Santa Barbara, the University of California Los Angeles, Laguna College of Art and Design, and other institutions. McPherson & Co. published his Something Else Press: An Annotated Bibliography in 1983. A cycle of poems, The Travelogues, was issued by Sun & Moon Press in 1982. Abbeville Press released New, Used & Improved, an overview of the New York art scene co-written with Michael McKenzie, in 1987.  Frank has also published many artists’ monographs, including Roller: The Paintings of Donald Roller Wilson in 1988 and Robert De Niro, Sr. in 2004.

Critics-as-Curators Series –
Critics-as-Curators is the inaugural art exhibition series at Beacon Arts.  In recognition of the gallery’s first year, esteemed art critics and writers — recognized locally, nationally and internationally — have been invited to conceive and curate shows of their choosing at the Beacon Arts Building in conjunction with discussions, lectures, catalogues, or other ways to reveal the thought process behind why exhibition works are chosen with insight into their importance to the curator. The individual expertise and personal taste developed by the curators’ world-view will be on exhibit throughout Beacon Arts’ first year. The series kicked off in October 2010 with a dynamic exhibition curated by Flavorpill Editor Shana Nys Dambrot.  In addition to Frank, future Critics-as-Curators include David Pagel, Doug Harvey, and Mat Gleason with additional curators to be announced. Critics-as-Curators strives to enrich appreciation of contemporary fine art by critically engaging in art. This series of shows provides a wonderful opportunity for artists and art audiences to learn what individual critics look for, how they think about the art they choose to focus on, and what catches their eye.

Beacon Arts –
A brand-new, risk-taking fine arts enterprise, housed within the iconic Beacon Arts Building, the venture offers innovative art programming to enrich the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. Its primary directive is to provide and maintain the integrity of an exhibition space for contemporary art by Southern California artists working in all media, including painting, sculpture, installation, video, and performance art. Works by both emerging and established artists will be presented in an effort to provide a variety of ideas in different forms that both challenge and inspire. As a catalyst and advocate for new ideas, the endeavor enriches public understanding and appreciation of contemporary fine art by creating conversations through special events, lectures, symposia, and panel discussions with intellectual commentary on exhibitions. Exhibiting artists are encouraged to forge new relationships and learn from arts professionals through programming such as the gallery’s inaugural Critics-as-Curators series – consecutive shows conceived and curated by art writers and critics. This series will continue through the first year for the space, October 2010 – October 2011.

Beacon Arts Building –
The 32,400-square-foot Beacon Arts Building is an iconic four-story, solid reinforced concrete structure located in the heart of the burgeoning Inglewood Arts District. Having stored inanimate items for close to sixty years, originally as the legendary Bekins Moving and Storage Company, this dramatic, 1951 edifice is now transforming into a springboard for artistic expression.  In addition to ground floor gallery and retail spaces, the building offers a gorgeous New York warehouse-style environment for professional artists, with spaces in various sizes up to 8,000 square feet with 11’6” ceilings.  It has a high rear loading facility, large freight elevator, WiFi availability, and sprinkler system throughout. Beacon Arts Building sits prominently on La Brea Avenue, located just 11 minutes south of the 10 Freeway (I-10). On-site parking is available or found on the adjacent streets. For further information about availabilities in the Beacon Arts Building, please contact Scott Lane at 310-576-3543 or scottlaneco@yahoo.com.

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For more information, images, and interviews please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

For Immediate Release:  August 30, 2010

ARC Pasadena Hosts
Colin Connor: Draftwork
New Choreographic Explorations
Sunday, September 12, 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA – ARC Pasadena hosts Colin Connor: Draftwork, new choreographic explorations created by award-winning choreographer Colin Connor on Sunday, September 12, 2010. Connor’s work, which he has presented across the Americas and Europe, is acclaimed for its rich musicality and physical excitement.  This is a unique Los Angeles area opportunity to see the beginnings of new work by Connor in collaboration with four glorious dancers: Katie Diamond, Robin Wilson, Cameron Evans, and Andrew Wojtal. The showing is the culmination of a two-week intensive experimental creative period in the studio, generously provided by ARC Pasadena. The single performance will be held Sunday evening from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. in ARC’s gorgeous new dance space.  The performance is free.  Space is limited – guests are encouraged to arrive early to secure a seat.  Light refreshments will follow the showing.  ARC Pasadena is located at 1158 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106.  For more information on the artist please visit http://colinconnor.com.

Colin Connor: Draftwork finds the choreographer working in collaboration with dancers Katie Diamond, Robin Wilson, Cameron Evans, and Andrew Wojtal:

• Katie Diamond has been a soloist for four years with the Limón Dance Company.  She has also  performed with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Group, Contra Costa Ballet, Pam Tanowitz Dance, Cornfield Dance, the Albany Berkshire Ballet, Daniel Charon, and Jessica Gaynor Dance.  She teaches at the Limón Institute and will be a guest teacher at CalArts this Fall 2010.

• Robin Wilson, a member of Helios, was a member of the Limón Dance Company and Los Angeles Movement Arts.  She also dances with Randé Dorn Dance Company.

• Cameron Evans, a student at CalArts, has performed David Gordon’s work at Dance Theater Workshop in New York.

• Andrew Wojtal is a recipient of a 2010 Princess Grace Dance Award. Also a CalArts student, he has choreographed and performed at REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) in Walt Disney Concert Hall Complex, and the Bates Dance Festival. This summer, he danced with Island Moving Company at the Great Friends Dance Festival.

Colin Connor is a Los Angeles-based choreographer whose over fifty commissions span the worlds of contemporary, ballet, and flamenco.  His work draws from a large range of influences – musical, literary, social and scientific – all used to bring attention back to the communicative power of the human body.  Connor’s work has been presented at numerous venues across the Americas and Europe, including the Joyce Theater in New York, the Moment’Homme Festival in Montreal, The Holland Festival in Den Hague, and the Festival Internacional de Danza Contemporánea in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.  “Full Sail (In Praise of Storms)” won Sarasota Ballet’s International Choreography Competition. He was also a winner of the Charleston Ballet Theatre’s Fountainhead Choreography Competition, twice a guest choreographer at both The Yard and The Carlisle Project, and given a creative residency at the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography Commissions.  Creations of his work have been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts among other funding agencies.

Connor danced for eight years as a soloist with the Limón Dance Company. Presently on faculty at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), he has been on the faculties of The Juilliard School, New York University, and has been a guest teacher at many of the finest training centers in the world including The Place in London, the Rotterdamse Dansacademie, Jacob’s Pillow, Dresden’s Palucca Schule, the Joffrey Summer Workshop, The Dance Studio in Novosibirsk, Russia, and the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem.

From Colin Connor’s Artist Statement:
“My work is rooted in the mystery of how we live in our physical beings. It is an ongoing investigation of perception, both of dancers and audience, and based on how, in the end, all human experience is felt through the senses. With our lives increasingly mediated by various technologies, I believe that art which focuses attention back to the completeness of how we live in our bodies becomes ever more essential.”

As a choreographer, Connor inspires performances described as, “Earthy, a little rough and daring, sexy and totally spellbinding,” by Dance Magazine after 2010 performances at the Joyce Theater in New York.  Connor’s dance work has been called “a metaphor for human resilience,” by The Village Voice, and his choreography drew this response from Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times: “a relief these days to see movement treated as a sufficiently expressive medium.”

ARC (A Room to Create) Pasadena is a striking new venue located in one of Southern California’s most vibrant cultural centers. The mission of ARC Pasadena is to support and nurture an appreciation of dance by providing a state of the art facility for dancers, choreographers, teachers, lecturers, and dance enthusiasts. ARC Pasadena also serves as the headquarters for the Pennington Dance Group, a nonprofit organization that promotes dance through performances, education and outreach programs.  Entrance to ARC Pasadena is behind the facility as is  free parking.  Additional parking can be found on the adjacent streets.  The closest cross street is Michigan Avenue.  ARC Pasadena is a six-block walk from the Metro Gold Line-Lake Avenue stop.  For more information please visit www.arcpasadena.org and also http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pasadena-CA/ARC-Pasadena/135542179794545?ref=t.

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For more information, images, or to request interviews, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

Nonlife Zoo Photo Courtesy Royal/T

Angelenos are invited to dress like their favorite zoo animals and explore their wild sides at Royal/T‘s A Night in the Jungle on Friday, August 6, 2010 from 8:00pm to 1:00am in celebration of The Nonlife Zoo‘s pop-up space residency – an imaginary visual of animal existence on earth. A Night in the Jungle will feature international music maestro DJ Daedelus spinning in the back space as partygoers dance the night away and enjoy Royal/T’s signature soju cocktails, beer, wine, and new vegetarian tapas. If any guest needs a break from dancing, owner Susan Hancock will provide animal card energy readings and rides throughout the space will be available courtesy of artist Kenny Scharf‘s Cartz Royale. The Nonlife Zoo residency, presented by Royal/T in conjunction with MollaSpace, raises awareness and funds for animal preservation.

The Nonlife Zoo (photo courtesy of Royal/T)

For Immediate Release
August 2, 2010

Royal/T and MollaSpace Present
A Night in the Jungle
Featuring DJ Daedelus
Celebrating The Nonlife Zoo’s Pop-Up Space Residency
At Royal/T in Culver City, CA

~ Raising Awareness & Funds for Animal Preservation ~

A Night in the Jungle Party – Friday, August 6, 2010
The Nonlife Zoo Pop-Up Store – Runs Through August 23, 2010

CULVER CITY, CA  Angelenos are invited to dress like their favorite zoo animals and explore their wild sides at Royal/T‘s A Night in the Jungle on Friday, August 6, 2010 from 8:00pm to 1:00am in celebration of The Nonlife Zoo’s pop-up space residency – an imaginary visual of animal existence on earth. A Night in the Jungle will feature international music maestro DJ Daedelus spinning in the back space as partygoers dance the night away and enjoy Royal/T’s signature soju cocktails, beer, wine, and new vegetarian tapas. If any guest needs a break from dancing, owner Susan Hancock will provide animal card energy readings and rides throughout the space will be available courtesy of artist Kenny Scharf’s Cartz Royale. The Nonlife Zoo residency, presented by Royal/T in conjunction with MollaSpace, raises awareness and funds for animal preservation. Tickets are available online for $10 at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/122038 and at the door for $15 (space permitting). A portion of store proceeds go to charity. No one under 21 years old will be admitted. Royal/T (www.royal-t.org, 310.559.6300) is at 8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232.

Daedelus (photo credit: Laura Darling)

Menu:
To further celebrate The Nonlife Zoo’s residency, Royal/T has created a special menu of animal-friendly vegetarian tapas ($5-7), available through August 23, including:

Beet & Spinach Salad ($5)
Vegetable Gyoza ($6)
Basil-Infused Vegetable Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce ($6)
Cold Soba Sesame Salad ($6)
Portobello Sliders with Roasted Bell Pepper and Shiso Pesto Aioli ($7)

In addition to the vegetarian specials, adults can also enjoy a selection of beer and wine alongside a “Pink Iguana” cocktail—a specialty martini made with fresh watermelon juice, cilantro, lime juice, and soju ($7).

About The Nonlife Zoo:
The Nonlife Zoo is an imaginary visual of our planet created to raise awareness of animal preservation in hopes of improving our social responsibility to the environment. The Nonlife Zoo series was inspired to reflect on our behavior and the impact on the intricate balance between nature and life on earth. All animals are designed with human-like standing forms and unified expressions to remind us of their coexistence on this planet. They all have cuddly and colorful appearances, yet with conflicting emotionless expressions, as if they are silently expressing their call for help. A portion of all the proceeds from The Nonlife Zoo pop-up store purchases at Royal/T will go to help save threatened species. The Nonlife Zoo exhibit is designed by 28 biaugust and is presented in conjunction with MollaSpace, whose mission is to advocate, advance, and create the art of living in its own way as a platform for designers worldwide to showcase their talent and provide designer products to consumers. Celebrating its 3-year anniversary in 2010, MollaSpace’s expanding range of products includes lighting, home, office, and personal accessories, electric home appliances, decorative art, and furniture. For more information about MollaSpace, please visit www.mollaspace.com.

About DJ Daedelus:
Alfred Darlington is your musical maestro hailing from the City of Angels. With an eye for early Victorian Dandyism, an ear towards handmade / played electronic music, his is a very individual ‘bespoke’ outlook. Having numerous international releases and tours to his credit he has shared the stage and albums with a diverse list of luminaries from Madlib to Daniel Johnston, from MF DOOM to Jean Jacques Perrey, from Diplo to … well this listing game could go on for quite a while. Daedelus has releases with labels Ninja Tune, Warp, Brainfeeder, Stones Throw, and many more.  www.myspace.com/daedelusdarling

About Royal/T:
Located in Culver City, Royal/T is a playful blending of café, concept shop, and art exhibition space. The 10,000-square-foot space reflects the interior realm of fantasy that strongly influences the artists included in owner Susan Hancock’s art collection. Royal/T’s café is inspired by the meido kissa (maid café) phenomena of Akihabara, Tokyo’s electronic district. Re-contextualizing the underground culture of Japan that celebrates “cosplay” (costume play), waitresses dress in maid uniforms with a Lolita-esque touch, while serving an amalgam of French and Japanese cuisine with local California style. The art space showcases curated exhibitions with a focus on Japanese contemporary art and an inventive concept store that emulates the collection’s sophistication, a seamless merging of Japanese pop culture and high-end design. Royal/T café is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily from 10:00am to 5:00pm. The concept store and space are open from 10:00am – 6:00pm daily as well as in the evening during A Night in the Jungle on August 6.

Also Coming Soon to Royal/T:
On Saturday, August 7, from noon to 4:00pm, families can enjoy A Day at the Zoo, with kid-centric activities, such as face painting, vegetarian small plates, and a refreshing watermelon drink. Children can also sample cupcakes from the Animal Cupcake Corner, including giraffe, zebra, and tiger-themed varieties ($3), in addition to a costumed tiger character who will give young guests rides in the Cartz Royale. Families are invited to enjoy The Nonlife Zoo and reflect on the coexistence of humans and animals in nature.  Event is free and open to the public.

An evening of live experimental electronic music featuring Vibration Institute Orchestra and Evidence is set for Wednesday, August 25, 2010 from 8:00pm to 11:00pm at Royal/T. Evidence (www.ecnedive.com) is a collaboration between sound artists Stephan Moore and Scott Smallwood, who have developed a distinctive language of deeply layered sound, using field recordings of natural and industrial sounds as a primary source of inspiration and sonic material. Vibration Institute Orchestra (http://vibrationinstitutemusic.com/music), with Matt Piper and Laura Escudé, is an ambient improvisation group led by bassist/dj/composer John von Seggern. General admission is $10, $5 for students, at the door.

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For more information, photos, or to arrange an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at 213.840.1201 and lynn@greengalactic.com.

Royal/T (photo courtesy of Royal/T)

A Night in the Jungle
Celebrating The Nonlife Zoo’s Pop-Up Space Residency
Featuring DJ Daedelus

WHEN: Friday, August 6, 2010 | 8:00pm to 1:00am

WHERE: Royal/T 8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
310.559.6300, www.royal-t.org

COST: Tickets available for $10 at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/122038
and at the door for $15 (space permitting)

WHY: To have fun while raising awareness for endangered species.
As of January 1, 2010, 8,811 species were categorized as threatened.

Please join us to party for a cause.

"War Machine" photo credit: Michael Tullberg

After seven years in development, non-profit organization Overtone Industries is set to launch their site-specific theatricale, Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands, with three weekends of performances opening Thursday, July 8, 2010.  Billed as a contemporary opera, the large-scale, genre-bending production integrates an astounding array of innovative art installation, dance, voice, live and recorded music, projected video, costuming, community participation, and theater. Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands was developed and cultivated by Director O-Lan Jones in an extensive guided collaboration that involves twenty one librettists, eleven composers, Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, Musical Director David O, Instrument Inventor Bart Hopkin, Choreographer Nina Winthrop, twenty performers, a nine-piece live orchestra, dozens of crew members, scores of community volunteers, and many others.

For Immediate Release:   June 25, 2010 (Updated July 15)

Overtone Industries Presents
An Art-Full New Contemporary Opera
Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands
With Performances in a 25,000-Square-Foot Vacant Culver City Car Dealership
Thursday, July 8 – Sunday, July 25, 2010
With Preview Performances Thursday, July 1 – Sunday, July 4, 2010

LOS ANGELES, CA – After seven years in development, non-profit organization Overtone Industries is set to launch their site-specific theatricale, Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands, with three weekends of performances opening Thursday, July 8, 2010.  Billed as a contemporary opera, the large-scale, genre-bending production integrates an astounding array of innovative art installation, dance, voice, live and recorded music, projected video, costuming, community participation, and theater. Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands was developed and cultivated by Director O-Lan Jones in an extensive guided collaboration that involves twenty one librettists, eleven composers, Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, Musical Director David O, Instrument Inventor Bart Hopkin, Choreographer Nina Winthrop, twenty performers, a nine-piece live orchestra, dozens of crew members, scores of community volunteers, and many others. The interdisciplinary production will run from Thursday, July 8 to Sunday, July 25, 2010 with five weekly performances (Thursdays through Sundays, 8:00 p.m. nightly with 2:00 p.m. matinees on Sundays).  Additional preview performances will run the week prior, from Thursday, July 1 to Sunday, July 4, 2010 (matinee only on July 4).   Ticket prices range from $15 – $50 and can be purchased via Overtone’s site at www.overtoneindustries.org/sdtickets.php.  Performances are suitable for mature teen and adult audiences.  Shows will be held in a vacant 25,000-square foot car dealership that is being temporarily transformed into a performance space at 8810 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232.  Parking lot on site.

The Story of Songs & Dances-
Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands is a contemporary opera that follows Tom and Sue, a couple from different class backgrounds, who have lost their identities.  The couple reclaims their stories by visiting imaginary lands that embody the pivotal experiences of their lives.  They discover themselves anew through the songs, dances, pledges of allegiance, and rituals indigenous to those turning points. The fast-paced kaleidoscope of events range in tone from comic to deeply sorrowful.  Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands is an allegory where the various elements — the sets, costumes, characters, music, audience participation, and modes of collaboration across the production — create the world of challenges and gifts presented by life, love, and relationships.

The Art of Songs & Dances-
Under the direction of Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, the Company has transformed a vacant Culver City car dealership into a surreal performance space featuring a staggering number of colorful, site-specific art installations of the production’s titular imaginary lands, each dramatically different from one another.  An extensive community arts project brought together local artists and volunteers to create textures, props, and various aspects of the sets and costumes for the production.  These eclectic sets and costumes were created primarily from reclaimed and recycled materials that were donated and transformed through community participation.   The design team, with the aid of a small army of volunteers, spindled newspaper and knitted plastic bags into art — essentially turning trash into gold.

“There is something about using simple materials that allows the artistic idea to shine through even more,” says Director O-Lan Jones.

Inventor Gregg Emmel was commissioned to create special “audience transportation” in the form of trains.  Each scene of the production takes place on a separate stage in the performance space requiring the audience to shuffle from set to set to see the action. Some audience members will have to drag their chairs around, while others will be transported in style via train (either luxury or standard) — the different modes of transportation are assigned according to the price of their ticket (a class hierarchy system!).  Some audience members will be upgraded each night based on a lottery system.

The Music of Songs & Dances-
Twenty one librettists and eleven composers have contributed original words and music specifically written for Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands that collectively create an odyssey.  The compositions span a range of musical styles from avant-garde classical to Eastern Bloc men’s choir, from island to rock.  Each captures the character of the imaginary land, or life moment, that it represents.

Twenty eight songs are included in the production, incorporating electronic, traditional acoustic, and invented instruments in the unhomogenized array of recorded and live music performed by an orchestra under the direction of award-winning composer David O.  The live nine-piece orchestra features keyboards, violin, cello, upright and electric bass, electric and acoustic guitar, drums, percussion, clarinet, baritone sax, and instruments made by Bart Hopkin from found materials (slide whistle, lyre, hurdy gurdy, metal signaler, k-scraper, stone pour, +).  To get a taste of this eclectic musical feast, please sample the following Mp3 excerpts from the production recorded during a recent rehearsal:

“Land Before Language” [0:43] – Music by David O
www.overtoneindustries.org/files/EXCERPT-The-Land-Before-Language-SD2010.mp3

“Tassos” [0:44] – Music by Eric Culver, Words by Ruth Margraff
www.overtoneindustries.org/files/EXCERPT-Tassos-Part-1-SD2010.mp3

“Stones Dance” [0:34] – Music by  Bart Hopkin, Words by Leon Martel
www.overtoneindustries.org/files/EXCERPT-Stones-Dance-SD2010.mp3

“Land of People Humbler Than Thou” [0:56] – Music and Words by O-Lan Jones
www.overtoneindustries.org/files/EXCERPT-The-Land-Of-People-Humbler-Than-Thou-SD2010.mp3

Additional details on these music selections, including names of the singers on each track, can be found in the Songs & Dances online media kit at www.overtoneindustries.org/sdmediakit.php.

Overtone Industries has received support from The Ahmanson Foundation, The Annenberg Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and The National Endowment for the Arts.  Additionally, real estate developer Joseph Miller, owner and president of The Runyon Group, donated the use of the vacant Culver City car dealership for the production. Miller provided the space to Overtone Industries so that it could be used creatively, in a way that would benefit the community, instead of standing vacant before he renovates it for commercial use.

Says Director O-Lan Jones, “The extensive collaboration on the project is a metaphor for the existential point of the opera — in other words, we all make the world that we live in together.”

O-Lan Jones, Director and Choreographer of the “Indigenous” Dances-
O-Lan Jones is an award-winning actress, composer, sound designer, and writer. Her work as an actress, originating female roles in plays by Sam Shepard, Beth Henley, Murray Mednick, and John Steppling, among others, has made her something of a cultural icon. Named for the character in Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth, Jones was raised by a free-spirited mother in various ghettos across America (Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, New York) with stops in London and the jungles of the Yucatan where they lived in a hut in a village of 80 Mayan Indians. She began her professional acting career at 16 in New York’s off-off Broadway scene in the late ’60s and early ’70s. In 1969, Jones married playwright Sam Shepard with whom she has a son. Shepard and Jones divorced in 1983.

Of the more than 80 plays she has acted in, only two have been performed prior to her involvement in them — part of her lot in life is as accomplice to new/experimental projects. Since moving to Los Angeles in 1990, she has had a broad range of roles in film and television. In features, she has worked with directors Tim Burton, Jonathan Demme, Ivan Reitman, Paul Schrader, John Schlesinger, Oliver Stone, Peter Weir, and Paul Bartel who directed Shelf Life, a movie she wrote and starred in. She is perhaps best known for playing Esmeralda, the reclusive Christian organist in Edward Scissorhands, and numerous waitress roles (Seinfeld, Shoot the Moon, Miracle Mile, Natural Born Killers, and The Truman Show). A repeat member of Burton’s ensemble casts, she also played hick trailer-dwelling mama Sue Ann Norris in Mars Attacks! Television credits also include Lonesome Dove and The X-Files; and she was a series regular on CBS’s Harts of the West.

She has composed three short operas; five musicals; created original music, songs, and sound designs for more than 30 theatrical productions; and has scored two short films. She was also the musical director and arranger of Joel Lipman’s rock-’n'-roll extravaganza Celebration of the Lizard, which features 49 Doors songs. Jones is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Overtone Industries, which the Los Angeles Times called “… audaciously experimental entertainment.”

Snezana Petrovic, Costume and Scenic Designer-
A freelance designer for 230 theatrical productions, 22 television series, and eight feature films, Snezana Petrovic is a pioneer in set design using computer-aided technology and she was the first art director to design sets on the FLAIR computer in her native Yugoslavia. In the US, she was the first graduate student in theater design to earn an interactive MFA (from UC Irvine), submitting her thesis on CD-ROM. She has served as resident designer at the Redlands Theater Festival for 15 seasons, and taught theater design and visual arts at the university level for 14 years. She was the recipient of the award in production design at the International Film Festival in Pula as well as six national awards for theater set and costume design in Yugoslavia. Petrovic’s paintings, video, and installation works have been exhibited both nationally and internationally in museums and galleries in Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Belgrade, and Prague. She has exhibited in 34 group exhibitions and had eight solo exhibitions. Currently she is serving as the Fine Arts Department Chair and Professor of Arts at Crafton Hills College.

David O, Musical Director-
David O is an award-winning composer, performer, and musical director.  His work has been featured at Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Mark Taper Forum, and the Hollywood Bowl, as well as other venues in Los Angeles and around the world.  His choral composition, A Map of Los Angeles, was commissioned by the LA Master Chorale with performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2008 and 2009.  Thousands of Los Angeles children and their parents know David as “The Professor” for his six years of performances with Summersounds at the Hollywood Bowl, produced by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  His original musicals include The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip and The Legend of Alex, both commissioned by Center Theatre Group’s P.L.A.Y. Program, and Imagine, commissioned by South Coast Repertory Theater. The Very Persistent Gappers of  Frip was performed as part of the inaugural season of the Kirk Douglas Theater.

David is the musical director, arranger, and co-composer for Disney Creative Entertainment’s new production, Toy Story: The Musical, which will open at Disney California Adventure in 2011.  Some of David’s most unique work includes non-traditional theater pieces for which he served as both musical director and composer.  Most notably, he created an entirely a capella score for Hippolytos, a new translation of Euripides’ tragedy commissioned to inaugurate the Fleischman Theater at the newly-refurbished Getty Villa in Malibu.  In addition, David was the composer, musical director, and on-stage pianist/percussionist for A Noise Within’s production of Ubu Roi, for which he received the 2006 Ovation Award for Sound Design in a Large Theater.

David has musically directed countless musical theater productions in the Los Angeles area, including the world premiere of 13, the new musical by Jason Robert Brown.  He has also served as musical director for the West Coast premieres of Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party and Little Fish.  Other notable productions as Musical Director include The Last 5 Years (Pasadena Playhouse), The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World (Inside the Ford), and Divorce: the Musical (Hudson Mainstage).

Gregg Emmel, Transportation Designer-
For 25 years, Gregg Emmel has been a material guy — a product designer, engineer, artist, entrepreneur, and performer.  Emmel holds over 45 patents in diverse fields, while garnering attention from Interiors Magazine, Home and Gardens, and the Discovery Channel. He is the founder and principal inventor for Cryoport Inc.  In 1987, he also founded Egg, an industrial design incubator facilitating entrepreneurial projects and intellectual property.  In addition to his technical and commercial work, Emmel’s art, sculptures and performances have been featured at Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, the Austin International Poetry Festival, Coachella Arts Festival, and Burning Man.  As the Founder and Director of the Solids Gallery, a sculpture collective, he has shown throughout the Los Angeles area. Emmel’s latest endeavor is The Guilds Studios, a professional collective of artists and creators.

Nina Winthrop, Choreographer of the Traveling Lands-
Nina Winthrop formed her company, Nina Winthrop and Dancers, in 1991 and her work has been presented at numerous venues including Brooklyn Academy of Music, Danspace Project, Joyce SoHo, The Flea Theater and Movement Research at The Judson Church. She was awarded a Bessie Schönberg Choreographers’ Residency at The Yard in 2004, a Dancenow/NYC’s Silo Artist Residency in 2005, and participated in the Schönberg Choreographers Lab at DTW in 2005. Winthrop is the curator of the monthly performance and discussion series Dance Conversations @ The Flea and is on the board of Danspace Project and New Dance Alliance. She has danced with Wendy Perron, Susan Rethorst, Yoshiko Chuma, Sally Silvers, and Kei Takei. She studied with Erick Hawkins, Merce Cunningham, and Deborah Hay.

Librettists-
Sissy Boyd, Joe Chaikin, Chiwan Choi, Kathleen Cramer, Erik Ehn, Gilbert Girion, Deb Gwinn, Julie Hébert, O-Lan Jones, Merle Kessler, Quincy Long, Lynn Manning, Ruth Margraff, Leon Martell, Marlane Meyer, Ken Roht, Octavio Solis, John Steppling, Caridad Svich, Sharon Yablon, and Guy Zimmerman.

Composers-
John Ballinger, J. Raoul Brody, Eric Culver, Beth Custer, Jeff Fairbanks, Bart Hopkin, O-Lan Jones, Penka Kouneva, Richard Mariott, David O, and George Sarah.

Overtone Industries-
Emmy and Dramalogue award-winning Overtone Industries cultivates new talent for music theater by providing opportunities for composers, writers, and performers to collaborate in the creation of new musical works. By drawing on artists that spring from the diverse community, Overtone productions speak to and attract a wide-ranging spectrum of people. Overtone believes that culture is enriched and revitalized not only by the differences and variety of expression, but also by the underlying experiences that connect us all. The organization strives to create myths and fables that will illuminate the eternal forces that reverberate in our contemporary lives. By exploring new relationships among words, acting, movement, and music, the nonprofit seeks to make the invisible visible and bring audiences, casts, production crews, and ourselves closer to understanding some of life’s mysteries. Overtone Industries’ work has been performed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and in New York at the Kurt Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall.

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For more information, photos, or to arrange an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at 213.840.1201 and lynn@greengalactic.com

image from "North Horizon" by Thomas Freundlich and Valterri Raekallio

Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its month-long presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces the programming for its ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout Southern California in June 2010.  Dance on screen, or “screendance,” is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography.  The festival includes this as well as all forms of dance media.  “The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematic styles, exhibition formats, and subject matters traversing global perspectives,” says Dance Camera West founder and director, Lynette Kessler… For Immediate Release:  April 26, 2010 [revised 05/26/10]

Dance Camera West
Announces Program Schedule For
Ninth Annual Dance Media Film Festival
Throughout Los Angeles – June 2010
–
REDCAT, Downtown Art Walk, Hammer Museum, Screen Actors Guild,
Cheviot Hills Recreation Center, Timothy Yarger Fine Art, Grand Performances

LOS ANGELES, CA – Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its month-long presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces the programming for its ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout Southern California in June 2010.  Dance on screen, or “screendance,” is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography.  The festival includes this as well as all forms of dance media.  “The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematic styles, exhibition formats, and subject matters traversing global perspectives,” says Dance Camera West founder and director, Lynette Kessler, “The festival includes everything from experimental shorts to documentaries – ranging from surreal visual abstractions to strict narratives.”  Once again DCW partners with the city’s most prominent venues in offering a host of screenings, installations, and panel discussions with visiting international artists. Please visit DCW’s website for continuous updates at www.dancecamerawest.org.

Dance Camera West’s ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival opens at REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) in downtown LA, with its celebrated opening night party on Friday, June 4, 2010.  The opening weekend, entitled “Dance Media Screen Innovations,” will captivate audiences on Friday and Saturday night with three separate programs of screendance short films from around the world.  On Thursday, June 10th look for a DCW media installation as part of the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.  The following weekend DCW will present two days of programming at the Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theatre – “Weekend at the Hammer” – which will feature iconic Pina Bausch films on Saturday, June 12^th (three West Coast films premieres in two programs: Pina Bausch [2006], and A Breath with Pina Bausch [2004] at 4:30pm and then at 7:00pm Dancing Dreams [2010]), and on Sunday, June 13th experience “SurREEL Moves: Weird & Wonderful Experimental Dance Shorts.”  Join industry insiders at the 4th installment of the Choreography Media Honors on Wednesday June 16th at the Screen Actors Guild for “Choreographers In Media: A Panel Discussion.”  On the evening of June 19th, DCW showcases work from Los Angeles-based creators in its “Local Makers” program with an entertaining outdoor, community event at the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center.  The final weekend wraps up with “Movement Media Installations” on Saturday June 26th, a closing reception in Beverly Hills at Timothy Yarger Fine Arts.  Then on Sunday evening DCW presents Dzi Croquettes, a lively Brazilian documentary at Grand Performances.

Known as one of the world’s premiere presenters of dance media, Dance Camera West aspires to awaken and infuse the public mainstream with critical creative programming.  DCW has expanded the audience for dance in Southern California with the presentation of more than 1,000 dance films from 45 countries since its inception in 2002.  The West African country Burkina Faso was added this year.

“Dance media is pushing art in a new direction as choreographers and directors continue to fuel innovation and impact the way we perceive art and life,” says Kessler.

Dance Camera West founder and executive/artistic director Lynette Kessler is an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and media artist with an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and a BFA in Dance from York University in Toronto.  Known for her innovative collaborations and dance work for the screen that have been shown in film festivals worldwide, Kessler has received numerous awards including a Lester Horton Dance Award, Alden B. Dow Creativity Fellowship, and an artist residency at Headlands Center for the Arts. She is a founding member of Media & Dance Network (MAD), has served on dance film review committees for EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center) Commission, American Choreography Awards, Dance on Camera Festival in New York, Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film in Toronto, and is a guest lecturer at UCLA, UC Irvine, and Cal Arts.  Kessler sits on the board of directors for the following organizations: Buckminster Fuller Institute, Dance Channel TV, and the California Ear Unit.  She is an active member of the advocacy groups: Arts for LA, California Arts Advocates, and Americans for the Arts. And she’s also on the Media Arts Advisory Committee to guide the new Media Arts initiative creating a fifth arts discipline for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Dance Camera West is a nonprofit organization committed to fostering and promoting the vibrant art of dance media from around the world.  DCW aims to bridge the unique mix of film and dance communities in Los Angeles through the exploration of this hybrid genre.  DCW also strives to create a broader and more engaged audience for dance and dance media by merging both performance and cinematic aesthetics.  DCW is one of only a handful of organizations in the world that present dance media and the only one of its kind on the West Coast.  The 2008 and 2009 festivals were featured in FOX News segments, Los Angeles Magazine selected Dance Camera West as its “Pick of the Month” for the June 2008 issue, the Los Angeles Times selected the Dance Camera West Media Film Festival as one of the “Ten Best” dance events in Los Angeles for 2006 and 2007, and DCW was voted one of the “Top 25 Dance Organizations to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2005 and 2006.

In addition to the planning of the upcoming June 2010 festival, Dance Camera West is also preparing a special 10-year anniversary event for 2011.  In celebration of this milestone, the organization will host an international Dance Media Symposium in downtown Los Angeles next year, bringing together artists, dancers, educators, and film/television industry professionals.  With a working title of Dance Media: The Active Spectrum, 2011 conference participants from the dance and media worlds will come together for a conversation on the exciting opportunities for expansive growth, creative expression, and innovation offered by new media. In addition to a full program of evening screenings, the 2011 anniversary event will also include a unique series of daytime panel presentations, guest speakers, and networking opportunities. A steering committee for the conference is being formed with notable artists and leaders from the international dance media community.

This year’s 2010 Dance Camera West festival is supported in part by Mortimer Levitt Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, Chora, a project of the Metabolic Studio, a direct charitable activity of the Annenberg Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

See below for DCW’s June 2010 Festival Schedule:

➢    Fri. June 4 [8:00pm] and Sat. June 5 [6:00pm & 8:00pm] at REDCAT [downtown LA]
“Dance Media Screen Innovations” (contains adult content)

Opening night screening and party on Friday followed by two different screening programs on Saturday. In three unique experimental shorts screening programs, held during the first two days of the festival, this collection of innovative dance films represents a survey of what’s happening in the current state of screen dance from around the world, which explores the intersection between movement and cinema.  The “Dance Media Screen Innovations” program includes 24 films – three of which are world premieres, the other 21 are all West Coast premieres and most are U.S. premieres – from 14 different countries including France, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, China, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Belgium, USA, Canada, Ireland and Brazil.  Audiences should be warned that some films contain adult content.
- Fri. June 4 – 8:00pm – Screening followed by Opening Night Reception
- Sat. June 5 – 6:00pm – Screening
- Sat. June 5 – 8:00pm – Screening (all three screenings different)

REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) in Walt Disney Concert Hall complex
631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213 237-2800; www.redcat.org)
- Tickets $15 opening night, $10 for other screenings
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➢    Thu. June 10 [5:00 – 9:00pm] [downtown LA]
DCW Installation at Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk

DCW will take part in the increasingly popular Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk. DCW presents the media installation “Body/Traces,” a commission from EMPAC (Jaffe Foundation Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center), in the basement of the Los Angeles Theater Center (LATC).  The LATC is an historical building, formerly Security National Bank dating from 1916, whose marble walls enclose the Center’s Grand Lobby.  The installation will be in the former vault!

“Body/Traces” by Lisa Parra and Sophie Kahn
“Body/Traces” is a fascinating media installation that examines the body by reducing it to lines through the interaction of three-dimensional media, movement, sound and the environment.  The tranquil piece about perception presents an interesting juxtaposition as it exerts itself within the context of the legendary art walk masses.

The Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk is a free, self-guided tour of the many art exhibition venues in Downtown LA.  It takes place on the 2nd Thursday of every month.  It began in September 2004 and has grown enormously since, with many thousands of people attending every month (50,000 in March 2010).  More than 40 galleries and museums participate throughout the central downtown area, within the walkable districts between the Grand Avenue/Disney Hall/MOCA area, Little Tokyo, and the Financial District, centered around Gallery Row on Main and Spring Streets in the Historic Core.

Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk – www.downtownartwalk.org
Los Angeles Theatre Center
514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 (213-489-0994; http://thelatc.org)
- FREE admission, no reservations required

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➢    Sat. June 12 [7:00pm] and Sun. June 13 [2:00pm & 6:00pm] at the Hammer Museum [Westwood]
“Weekend at the Hammer” – three programs over two days at the Hammer

- Saturday – “Pina Bausch Celebration”
Pina Bausch, a master of transformative theater, surreal stagings and an incomparable brand of neo-expressionist dance, was one of the greatest dance artists of the last 40 years. Join us for a celebration with three West Coast film premieres taking an in-depth look at the work and life of Pina Bausch.  Co-presented by the Goethe Institute.
- Sunday – “SurREEL Moves: Weird & Wonderful Experimental Dance Shorts”

Saturday – 4:30pm -
Pina Bausch (Germany, 2006, 45 min.)
From confused and irritated audiences to standing ovations worldwide, Pina Bausch shares stories of her journey in this documentary starting with forming her company Tanztheather Wuppertal in the early 1970’s to creating over 30 astonishing works. Directed by Anne Linsel.  Co-presented by the Goethe Institute.

A Breath with Pina Bausch (Turkey, 2004, 45 min.)
Award-winning director Huseyin Karabey‘s high-caliber documentary provides unprecedented access into the creative process of one of modern dance’s most compelling minds. A Breath with Pina Bausch was inspired by the city of Istanbul, the cosmopolitan center that the Byzantine, Roman and the Ottoman Empires all called home.

Saturday – 7:00pm -
Dancing Dreams (Germany, 2010, 89 min.)
The documentary centers around a group of high school students rehearsing for a performance of one of Pina Bausch’s signature pieces, “Kontakthof” (Comfort Zone), a stylized presentation of the entanglements of the sexes. Directed by Anne Linsel.  Co-presented by the Goethe Institute.

Sunday – 7:00pm -
“SurREEL Moves: Weird & Wonderful Experimental Dance Shorts” (85 min.)
From poetic to peculiar, this collection of recent award-winning international dance shorts presents both kinetic and immobile bodies in space, defying traditional notions of dance. Sushi, reindeer, and a bright pink wig triumph in this program of smart, cool and LOL dance media.

Hammer Museum – Billy Wilder Theater
10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310-443-7000; www.hammer.ucla.edu)
- FREE admission, no reservations required; seating is first come first served
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➢    Wed. June 16 [7:00pm - 9:00pm] at Screen Actors Guild [Mid-Wilshire]
Choreographers In Media: A Panel Discussion
Presented by Dance Camera West and held in association with Screen Actors Guild and Career Transitions for Dancers

This years Choreography Media Honors will be presented as a panel discussion featuring today’s working choreographers. Dance makers continue to create iconic moments that shape film history for audiences all over the world.  The panel will discuss how they create work for the camera and the role they play at the intersection of dance on screen.

Panelist’s include:
Chuck Maldonado is an award-winning choreographer and performer whose credits include Stomp The Yard (1 & 2), You Got Served, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew, an Apple iPod commercial, and the 1996 Olympic Opening Ceremonies.   He has worked with many top artists including P. Diddy, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Fergie, Missy Elliott, Kanye West, Usher, and Pink.

Kim Blank appeared in seminal ’80s music videos such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” Lionel Richie’s “Dancin On The Ceiling,” and Steve Winwood’s “Roll With It.” As a choreographer, she earned an Emmy nomination for her work on Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, starring Halle Berry, and she created dances for Madonna, Keri Russell, Walter Matthau, and Raven Simone.  Credits include Frankie & Alice, Ray, Evita, The Mambo Kings, and That’s So Raven.

Award-winning choreographer Lula Washington is the founder and artistic director of the Lula Washington Dance Theater, a modern dance company founded in 1980 in South Central Los Angeles. Her work on the 2009 blockbuster Avatar with filmmaker James Cameron brought acrobatic life to the avatars on screen.  She also coined the wildly popular Avator line: “eye see you.”  Washington’s dancers have performed at both the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers and she has received the prestigious Minerva Award for Women’s Achievement in California.

This is the fourth installment of the Choreography Media Honors.  All are welcome – dancers, choreographers, industry leaders, and dance aficionados – to celebrate and strengthen LA’s dance community.
-  Moderated by Larry Billman
-  The panel will be followed by a reception.

Screen Actors Guild – James Cagney Room
5757 Wilshire Blvd., 7th Fl, Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323-954-1600, www.sag.org)
- FREE admission, no reservations required
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➢    Sat. June 19 [8:00 – 10:00pm] at Cheviot Hills Recreation Center [West LA]
“Local Makers – LA Choreographers and Directors” – Outdoor Screening

DCW will host over 25 local makers of media and dance in an outdoor screening event in the park behind the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center.  The landscape will be transformed into a cinematic cross-cultural display with five different screening areas.  Each screening area will run the gamut of local talent from established artists such as Mitchell Rose, Morleigh Steinberg, Roberta Shaw, and Cari Ann ShimSham to emerging artists and students from LAUSD middle and high schools.  For this family-friendly evening please bring a flashlight and a blanket, and join in the fun under the stars.

Cheviot Hills Recreation Center
2551 Motor Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90064 (310-837-4233)
- FREE admission, no reservations required
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➢    Sat. June 26 [7:30pm-9:00pm] at Timothy Yarger Fine Art [Beverly Hills]
Movement Media Installations

Timothy Yarger Fine Art of Beverly Hills will host DCW’s closing weekend reception. Join DCW for a collection of select media installations with an emphasis of body and movement.

An internationally recognized art gallery exhibiting modern and contemporary art, Timothy Yarger Fine Art is grounded in the historic artwork of the Modern Masters and pop icons of the 20th Century, alongside established contemporary painters, printmakers, photographers, and new-media artists.

Timothy Yarger Fine Art
354 N Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 (310-278-4400; www.yargerfineart.com)
-  6:00pm – open to VIP and DCW members
-  7:30pm – 9:00pm – open to the public
-  FREE admission, reservations ARE required
-  Please RSVP: 310-278-4400 or info@yargerfineart.com
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➢    Sun. June 27 [8:00pm] at Grand Performances in California Plaza [downtown LA]
Dzi Croquettes (adult content)

Dzi Croquettes is a revealing Brazilian documentary that explores the legacy of the daringly original, all-male dance and theater group by the same name resembling a late-20th-century version of the Ziegfeld Follies.  The cabaret group – Dzi Croquettes – used an empowering sexuality to counter Brazil’s military dictatorship and revolutionize the gay movement worldwide during the 1970’s.  The documentary is Tatiana Issa and Raphael Alvarez‘s pleasure-packed exploration of the group’s impact, using a multitude of talking heads and period footage to chronicle the troupe’s seminal influence on their time and today’s culture.
-  Best Documentary Jury Award and Audience Award Rio de Janeiro Film Festival
-  Portuguese with English subtitles
-  Brazil 2009, 95 minutes
-  Co-director Raphael Alvarez will be in town to introduce the film

Grand Performances at California Plaza
300 – 350 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90013 (213-687-2190; www.grandperformances.org)
- FREE admission, no reservations required
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Please visit DCW’s website for continuous updates regarding Dance Camera West’s ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival – www.dancecamerawest.org.

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For more information, press passes, photos, or to interview DCW’s founder Lynette Kessler, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

Photo by Jesse Freidin

Inspired by Polaroid’s newest spokesperson, Lady Gaga, award-winning Bay Area dog photographer Jesse Freidin – with the help of The Impossible Project (TIP) – created The Doggie Gaga Project, which has become a viral sensation.  Freidin dressed his canine models in five of Lady Gaga’s most celebrated outfits, and photographed them using two packs of Polaroid film from the last remaining supply in the world.  For Immediate Release: March 20, 2010

With Supplies of Polaroid Film Dwindling Worldwide,
The Impossible Project Graciously Provided Two Packs to
Award-Winning Bay Area Dog Photographer Jesse Freidin.
Inspired by Lady Gaga Fashion
“The Doggie Gaga Project” is a Viral Hit

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Inspired by Polaroid’s newest spokesperson, Lady Gaga, award-winning Bay Area dog photographer Jesse Freidin – with the help of The Impossible Project (TIP) – created The Doggie Gaga Project, which has become a viral sensation.  Freidin dressed his canine models in five of Lady Gaga’s most celebrated outfits, and photographed them using two packs of Polaroid film from the last remaining supply in the world.  The resulting photos went online the next morning, and within three days, have been tweeted by Perez Hilton, linked online by Entertainment Weekly, MTV, TMZ, and The Sundance Channel, and on 3/18/10 it was featured on ABC’s Live! with Regis & Kelly.  To view all the images please visit www.jessefreidin.com or http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-CA/Jesse-Freidin-Photographer/97942918610.

Freidin proposed his idea for The Doggie Gaga Project to Netherland-based Impossible Project who has taken on the impossible: to re-invent and re-start production of analog integral film for vintage Polaroid cameras.  They graciously donated two packs of original Polaroid film (20 prints total).  Freidin and his small team went to work creating the custom-made, Gaga-inspired canine fashions for a Boston Terrier, a Mexican Hairless, a Shiba Inu, and two Pit Bulls.  Shooting in his San Francisco studio, Freidin employed a Horseman field camera with a Polaroid back using the increasingly rare T-669.  During the photo shoot, no animals were harmed – or even irritated.

More on Jesse Freidin:
Jesse Freidin, a traditional film photographer who characteristically photographs dog portraits with a Hasselblad, recently won Beast of the Bay’s 2010 award for “Best Dog Photographer.” With years of experience as a fine-art photographer and professional dog-handler, Freidin has a unique approach to animal photography that captures the deeply emotional tie that people have with their pets. As one of the last surviving traditional photographers in the Bay Area, he creates museum-quality black-and-white photographs with unbeatable richness and tone, that are produced, from start to finish, entirely by hand. His true passion for animals and loyalty to analog photography made it only natural that he would create “The Doggie Gaga Project.”

More on The Impossible Project:
By re-inventing a new analog integral film for vintage Polaroid cameras, The Impossible Project is saving analog instant photography.  They plan to release a new instant film for vintage Polaroid cameras in 2010.  The new licensee of the Polaroid® Brand – The Summit Global Group – will re-launch some of the most famous Polaroid Instant Cameras. Further details will be disclosed by TIP on Monday, March 22, 2010 at a press conference in NYC.  Please visithttp://www.the-impossible-project.com for more information.

In December 2008 Polaroid ceased production of its iconic instant film.  In early 2009, Impossible B.V. leased the former Polaroid production plant in Enschede, Netherlands, acquired the machinery, and engaged the most experienced team of Integral Film experts worldwide. The concrete aim is to re-invent and re-produce analog integral film for vintage Polaroid cameras.

The mission is therefore not to re-build Polaroid Integral film but to develop a new product with new characteristics, consisting of new optimized components, produced with a streamlined modern setup for an innovative and fresh analog material, sold under a new brand name that perfectly matches the global re-positioning of Integral Film. Polaroid is fully aware and supportive of this goal.

In the words of Edwin Land, the Inventor of Instant Photography, “Don’t undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible.”

The Impossible Project’s Executive Director of Marketing and Business Development is Florian Kaps, who in 2001 championed the magic of analog photography as the leading manager of the Lomographic Society, developing their worldwide online community and shop platform. Since his childhood, Kaps has been attracted by the exercise of running in the opposite direction: he reacted to the digital revolution by founding a strictly analog company, establishing what is today’s biggest network of everything correlated to instant photography.

Lady Gaga was recently named creative director for a specialty line of Polaroid products.  Asked if he has met Lady Gaga, Freidin replied, “Not yet, but I’d love to. I hope she enjoys the pictures.”

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For more information, photos, or to set up interviews with Jesse Freidin please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Hasty at lynn@greengalactic.com or 213-840-1201.  To learn more about The Impossible Project please contact Marlene Kelnreiter at 212-219-3254 or marlene@the-impossible-project.com.