This eclectic evening will feature a mix of dance film screenings and virtual performance showings by select artists in Pentacle's Administrative Support Program (ASP). Featuring a line-up of female-led companies showcasing diversity across genres and themes, this collection of works will provide a thought-evoking digital experience.
produced by PENTACLE
Choreographer and filmmaker Marta Renzi will moderate a discussion with the artists directly after the screenings.
Marta Renzi is a filmmaker and choreographer who has directed over two dozen short films, which have screened all over the world, as well as the feature film Her Magnum Opus, released in 2017. She received a New York Dance and Performance Award (a “Bessie”) in 1992 and the first ever Dancing in the Streets award in 1995. She has received two videodance commissions from PBS, including one for MOUNTAINVIEW (1989), made in collaboration with filmmaker John Sayles. A seven-time recipient of funding from the NEA, Marta was a Bogliasco Fellow at the Liguria Center for Arts & Humanities in 2013 and a RAW Community Supported Artist in 2014. She has made dance films with students at Rhode Island College, Slippery Rock University and Hunter College, and served on the Board of Directors of Dance Films Association from 2008-2018.
ASL interpretation is provided
for the live post-show discussion.
Director Catherine Gallant has been creating work in NYC since 1980 and continues to perform and teach, most recently in Jerome Bel's Isadora Duncan. Catherine Gallant/DANCE brings performance projects out of the theater and into public space developing new audiences through access and equity. Their goal is to support the audience's ability to wonder, finding moments of surprise and unexpected connection between the dancers, the space and the invigorating sense of the unknown. Company members are both artists and educators with a focus on dance as a catalyst for social change.
Cynthia Berkshire is a Manhattan-based choreographer and performer. Her eclectic background includes creating digital films; graphic design for a number of prestigious firms; and serving as a movement coach for theatre productions.
Her choreography and performing experiences includes White Oak Plantation, University Settlement, PS122, Dixon Place, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Washington Theatre Festival, Abrons Arts Center, Walker Art Center.
As a performer, Cynthia has performed with Kei Takei, Sally Silvers, Noemie LaFrance. She developed creative movement workshops to explore her project themes, including Institute of Contemporary Art; CRIPA, India, and holds a Masters in dance and BA in Community Services.
Gabrielle Johnson is a choreographer based in New York. She holds a BFA from Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Dominican University's undergraduate program. Gabrielle has performed works by Harrison McEldowney, Gregory Dawson, Sidra Bell, and Trisha Brown. She received her Masters in Dance from NYU in 2017. She has choreographed and produced work in New York since 2014 collaborating with dancers, artists and composers; including her piece Unsounded which premiered at the first ever Masters Performance Workshop in Fall 2016 at NYU. Gabrielle's work has been presented at Gibney Dance, Peridance, SMUSH Gallery, Triskellion Arts, through the JUNTOS Collective, at Greenpoint Open Studios in Brooklyn, and at APAP at New York's City Center. Gabrielle is also a yoga teacher and has a focus on creating mindfulness and connectedness through the body, for dancers and non dancers alike.
Dancers Unlimited's Artistic Director, Linda Kuo, believes that dance is the backbone of cultural identity and resilience. Her artistry is influenced by the role of Hula and Hip Hop in cultural preservation and community revival. She is an alumnus of Dance Education Laboratory and Urban Bush Women's Summer Leadership Institute. An UBW BOLD community member, Linda is also mentored by House Dance Pioneer, Sekou Heru and Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner 'Auli'i Aweau.
Dancers Unlimited is a bi-coastal company based in NYC and Hawai'i. DU creates authentic MoveMEANT narratives for community advancement through creative collaboration, professional performances and community engagement projects.
Rachel Thorne Germond is a performer, dancer, teacher, choreographer, and visual artist and has been creating dance/performance work since the late 1980's. Based in New York City from 1986-1998, she presented her work at notable venues such as St. Mark's Church Danspace, Dixon Place, and The Joyce Soho, amongst others. In 2000 she achieved an M.F.A. in Choreography from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and afterwards founded her Chicago-based company, RTG Dance. Since returning to New York in 2014, she continues to create and present work via Rachel Thorne Germond Performance Collage. Her multidisciplinary performances incorporate dance, video, and photography.
Charles Woodman - Collaborating Video Artist, San Francisco, CA
Charles Woodman is an electronic artist working in video and expanded media. His recent projects concenterate on the integration of video with live performance, often in collaboration with musicians or dancers.
As Artistic Director of BodyStories, Teresa has shown choreography at Baryshnikov Arts Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, NY City Center, and 92nd St. Y. Teresa has received Choreographic Fellowship from SummerStages Dance Festival/ICA Boston and American Dance Guild Fellowship for Jacob’s Pillow’s Choreographers’ Lab and grants from NEA Window Award, O’Donnell-Green Foundation, LMCC, and Peg Santvoord Foundation. Teresa has been commissioned to set work at UF Gainesville, NYU, Pace, and Sarah Lawrence. She directed the dance department at StudioRepublik conservatory in Dubai. Teresa completed a Dance MFA from Sarah Lawrence, Certificate from Ailey School, and BA in French & English Literature, with a minor in Dance from NYU.
Fall Further is an annual performance produced by Pentacle for select artists in its Administrative Support Program. Normally, Pentacle partners with Dixon Place to bring live audiences an evening of dance-centric performance. Due to complications with Covid-19, Fall Further has shifted from in-person to virtual programming for its ninth season. Now audiences outside of NYC may enjoy works made for the stage and for film.
Audiences will watch the screenings through YouTube Pentacle's website. All work will be pre-recorded. The post show discussion will be live and take place on the same webpage as the screenings, directly after their conclusion. Closed captioning is available for the speaking portions of the performances, and ASL interpretation will be provided during the post-show discussion. If you cannot join us for the actual event, the performance screening will be available through December 7, 2020 upon purchase of a ticket.
Since 1976, Pentacle has been a model in the arts administration field, enabling performing artists to focus on what they do best —create art and engage with audiences. As a not-for-profit management support organization for the performing arts, Pentacle designs and provides unique and robust programs of support for artists at critical stages in their careers.
This digital showcase is a service offered to artists in Pentacle’s Administrative Support Program (ASP). ASP provides direct administrative services for artists looking to build more sustainable organizational operations and marketplace identities. The program helps build infrastructure through a range of hands-on services including mentorships, administrative personnel, internships, performances opportunities, and membership—at no cost—to Pentacle's basic fiscal sponsorship program, Unique projects. Artists select services to best fit their needs and, when bundled together, provide an affordable and efficient way for artists to build capacity and enlarge the scope of their business and artistic activities.
Visit us at www.pentacle.org to view our full range of programming and services.
