Open Training begins Tuesday plus 'The Lab' at Grace & St. Paul's this Saturday

It's a big week for The Ume Group! We're kicking off our Open Training Series this Tuesday at 7p with a Butoh lesson with Yokko. Participants are then invited to stay and rehearse with The Ume Group as we begin to devise materials for our newest piece. This event is open to the community and by-donation/ pay-what-you-can. 

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I'm also looking forward to moderating the talk-back immediately following The Ume Group's Lab @ Grace & St. Paul's Church- a forum for early stage performance experiments. We'll be hosting the following artists as they share their early explorations of these pieces:

-Ren Gyo Soh- Solo Dances (dance)

-Dara Malina- Adaptation of Minna Needs Rehearsal Space (other)

-Tom Nieboer- REINHARDT - The Unsavory Rise and Putrid Fall of An Uncommonly Filthy and Disreputable Youth (literature)

-Camilla Dely- of soft fissures and jagged spine (dance)

This event is free to the public and a reception will follow. Join us! 

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Images from The Ume Group's Summer Physical Theatre and Devising Intensive at T Schreiber Studio

Images from the final offering of The Ume Group's Summer Physical Theatre and Devising Intensive at the T Schreiber Studio, co-taught by Keelie and Yokko. Photos by Jorge Luna. 

Dream Dances Closes.

The Ume Group's Dream Dances began development in October. Through five months of training (butoh, gymnastics, yoga nidra, physical theatre), dream journaling and sketching, the ensemble- Kate Douglas, Fabio Motta, Mike McNulty, Byron Hagan and myself- led by director Jordan Rosin (assisted by Yokko and Christian Leadley) devised what has been one of the greatest sources of pride and growth in my career thusfar. Resisting the urge to be easily classified or marketed as 'all this' or 'all that,' we were led through a process that challenged our limits as performers, building new skills and developing new senses for intimate, authentic and resonant storytelling. I have nothing but gratitude for Jordan, the team and the wildly supportive and enthusiastic audiences that shared this journey with us. On to the next. 

St. Padraig's Day Times Sq. Subway Ceili

I grew up in an Irish dancing family, which meant St. Padraig's day was huge in my house. My sisters and I were excused from school each year to tour New York's Capital Region with our dance school, The Wild Irish Acres School of Irish Dance, performing at assemblies, in pubs, in parks and of course at the local Ancient Order of Hibernians. We'd stop between gigs for ice cream from Stewarts (free cones if you wore green!) and corned beef & cabbage and stay out way too late for school aged kids, generally having an absolute blast. My favorite part of every performance was the ceili- a social dance where everyone's a participant. 

It's been years since I've been able to celebrate with my first dance school, but the joy of ceili has stayed very present in my mind and in my creative practice. I'm currently directing The Ceili Ensemble with The Ume Group- we're working on contemporizing the form while revering the tradition and embracing it's interactive, participatory roots- and we had a rehearsal scheduled for the 17th! It, of course, made perfect sense to bring our work to the people of NYC spending the night out celebrating Irish culture!

A simple sign explained our antics and we paused frequently to welcome onlookers and newcomers. Some stood and watched. Some filmed. Some danced. What an honor. 

It was, to be brief, a smashing success. Like magic, friends and strangers emerged from the crowd and jumped in to share the Bonfire Dance, the Bridge of Athlone and the Siege of Ennis. It was a privilege and an honor to witness the beauty of strangers coming together to enjoy music, movement and each other's presence. 

Save the date- on Friday, April 10th at 8p, The Ceili Ensemble will host a ceili at 123 W 71st St. Free to all!

And a very special thanks to Jorge Luna for the photos and video.

A Mass for Isis- Butoh Performance

I'll be appearing as a guest artist in this upcoming performance!

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The Ume Group presents
A MASS FOR ISIS

A site-specific dance ritual, drawing on butoh, yoga, gymnastics and healing movements to celebrate the animating power of the Egyptian mother goddess, Isis.

SCHEDULE
6:45pm A Moving Meditation led by Marie Putko
7:30pm Tea Reception
8:00pm Mass for Isis
featuring performances by The Ume Group Ensemble and special guests!

TICKETS
$25 - $30 at http://massforisis.bpt.me/
Get $15 & $20 tix with Discount Code: "ISIS15"

CREDITS
Choreography by Jordan Rosin
The Ume Group Ensemble: Yokko, Dave Herigstad, Marie Putko, Jordan Rosin
Also featuring Rachel Kodweis, Ilanna Saltzman, Leslie Erin Roth and Keelie A. Sheridan

LOCATION
Grace & St. Paul's Church
123 West 71st Street, New York, NY 10023
(72nd Street on the 1, 2, 3, C, & B trains)

ABOUT THE UME GROUP
Since 2011, The Ume Group has been producing live events, marked by "commanding, physically impressive performances" (The Village Voice) and a "risky physical vulnerability" (nytheatre.com). They have been seen at The New York International Fringe Festival, The Hollywood Fringe Festival, The CoolNY Dance Festival, and The Irondale Center (NY). Their major works include BUTOH ELECTRA, FACET, THE ISIS VARIATIONS along with countless short dance works and theatrical collaborations. The Group's core members come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but are all highly trained teachers and physical theatre artists, with years of experience in disciplines as far ranging as butoh and gymnastics to yoga and martial arts. 

For more information, visit: http://www.theumegroup.org/