EXCHANGE A dance event presented by the Northampton Arts Council in collaboration with SCDT and A.P.E. When: Sunday September 18, 7:00 PM Showtime, Doors open at 6:30 PM Where: A.P.E.'s Workroom Theater, 33 Hawley Street Northampton, MA 01060 How Much: $10 Tickets: Brown Paper Tickets RSVP: on Facebook Six artists share movement-based performance works engaging questions of "exchange": cultural, environmental, physical, and imaginative. Featuring performances from Lauren Horn (Hartford, CT), Rebecca Pappas (Hartford, CT), Tyler Rai (Northampton), Tori Lawrence (Chesterfield), Ellie Goudie-Averil (Chesterfield), and Sakina Ibrahim (Springfield/LA). The Northampton Arts Council highlights dance in collaboration with SCDT and A.P.E. The Arts Council expands their offerings to the public, tapping into the wealth of contemporary dance in our community. EXCHANGE is a special collaboration that highlights the work of six local and regional dance artists who work with spoken word, videography and community engagement. All profits from EXCHANGE will benefit the Northampton Arts Council's spring ArtsEZ Grant round.   ARTISTS IN EXCHANGE with descriptions of work to be performed: Lauren Horn Brown Stew Fish Story https://www.subiravsmovement.com Inspired by the stories of Kwaku Anansi, Akan God of all stories, "Brown Stew Fish Story" utilizes wit, cunning and creativity to weave an extravagant and fully improvisational story of resistance and survival. Broken into three interweaving stories, told through movement and text, "Brown Stew Fish Story" explores acts of transculturation in America. Ranging from personal experiences to societal experiences, this piece serves as an investigation of how culture is inherited, lost, stolen and reappropriated in modern day America. Focusing specially on Jamaican and African American Culture "Brown Stew Fish Story" serves as both a celebration and a protestation of the ways that Black culture influences mainstream American culture. Tyler Rai Unlocking the Air https://www.tylerrai.com This is an excerpt of an ensemble work that is currently in development with artists Tatyana Tenenbaum, Marion Spencer, José Rivera, and Sophia Dunn-Fox. In this work, we are investigating processes of communion, communication, and procession in collaboration with more-than-human kin. We explore how a dance can be intimately integrated into ecological processes that are already unfolding, that are already here. We ask, how can this dance make invisible processes visible and felt? How can our dancing unlock the air? The title "Unlocking the Air" comes from a short story by Ursula LeGuin of the same name. Choreographed and danced by Tyler Rai Sound made in collaboration with José Rivera Rebecca Pappas My Body as the Topic Coming Around Again//Vol. 1 (Land) https://www.rebeccapappas.com How do we know what we know about our bodies and their right to take up space? How has dance training taught us about beauty, freedom, and the land we occupy? What has been ignored? This duet begins from exactly where we are, gesturing to the impossible task of naming, seeing, and indexing all the overlapping histories of a site. Ellie Goudie-Averill with Jenna Riegel Can Do Girls https://www.stonedepot.org/ellie-goudie-averill https://www.jennariegel.com/ Ellie and Jenna have been working together as dancers in other choreographers' processes for almost 20 years, and this is their first collaborative duet. IN this new project, they work with their bodies as they are right now through improvisational prompts and free writes, as well as through their friendship and movement vocabulary, both shared and disparate. Tori Lawerence- Video Installation "PLOP!" https://www.torilawrence.org/ My new site-specific dance film "PLOP!" explores the relationship of the performer to space. It features a cubed character performed by dancer Ellie Goudie-Averill, who guides the viewer on an unexpected, whimsical adventure in the abandoned deserts of Utah and southern Oregon. It is a story of exploring new terrains, of orienting oneself in a space in which one does not belong. "PLOP!" raises critical questions about a conventional approach to site-specific work, which often alienates the landscape from the performance itself. Sakina Ibrahim "Ode to Nina" This creative work is an ongoing choreographic and improvisational exploration expressing the black woman's journey to discovering her inner and outer beauty. Reflecting on racism, colorism, and patriarchy, how can a black woman feel beautiful, if she is not constantly self- actualizing and awakening through the connection to God? Nina Simone was a radical woman whose voice inspires a generation to be bold in loving themselves and their blackness. PRODUCING ORGANIZATIONS The Northampton Arts Council works to support and nurture the arts in the city of Northampton. The Council awards grants twice each year to artists and arts groups from both state and locally-raised funds, and seeks to improve public awareness of the arts. Its' goals include maintaining and preserving the rich and diverse cultural heritage of Northampton, programming such annual events of interest to the community as First Night Northampton, Northampton Summer Park Series, Performance and Silver Chord Bowl, and advocating on behalf of the arts community. THE SCHOOL FOR CONTEMPORARY DANCE & THOUGHT (SCDT) provides innovative programming for all ages to activate imaginations and facilitate empowerment, transformation, and development through the movement arts. SCDT connects dance practices, performances, and classes with thoughtful public conversation, encouraging and invigorating community engagement. Central to SCDT's purpose is an abiding respect for the tradition and history of dance while continuing to challenge established concert dance ideals and contribute to the evolution of the field. Through artist talks, performances, classes, and workshops, SCDT engages artists and the public in thoughtful movement practices and experiences. SCDT prioritizes and is committed to programs that support the needs of independent artists at every stage in their careers and their creative processes, from research and development to production. The team at SCDT is comprised of working artists who support creators in their art-making, as well as connect the public, university communities, and local and regional organizations. Available Potential Enterprises, Ltd. supports contemporary artists working in all disciplines, by preserving and supporting the spaces in which they create, perform and exhibit their work. A.P.E.'s current programming focuses on expanding access and widening impact for generative artists, curators, and the community. A.P.E. encourages inquiry-based processes and the open exchange of ideas towards the development of new, experimental, and challenging projects and works. A.P.E. also serves as an "umbrella," or fiscal agent, for a number of resident and affiliated artists and art groups. A.P.E. is currently stewarding its gallery space at 126 Main Street and A.P.E.'s Workroom/Theater at The Northampton Community Arts Trust's 33 Hawley Street building. LEARN MORE