Sonata BYOB

So this will fall under the food portion of this on-again-off-again food and dance blog:

We took my mother out for her birthday last night to Sonata, a BYOB on Liberties Walk. This will be a short review, but I need to say, the food was excellent, reasonably priced for the quality of food. The decor was inviting and cozy, and left the real magical work to be done by the food. With 8 people, the table ordered a good selection of the menu (Pork tenderloin, braised short rib, seared salmon, bacon wrapped chicken, lobster "mac and cheese") and all plates were cleared. Speaking for myself, I started with an excellently delicate scallop crudo, my entre was the butter poached Lobster and cheesy pappardelle (the phrase lobster "mac and cheese" really doesn't do the dish justice) which was delicious, the lobster was cooked perfectly, and there was jsut enough of everything. I wasn't left wanting for sauce, lobster, or pasta. I capped my meal off with the whimsical fried apple pies. 3 mini fried pies with ice cream and caramel sauce were the perfect sweet cap off to a great meal.  I highly recommend Sonata. I look forward to eating more of Chef Mark Tropea's creations in the future.

Boom Bap Tourism

Makoto Hirano's Boom Bap Tourism

In the interest of full disclosure, I consider Makoto Hirano a good friend. That said, Boom Bap Tourism was a little piece of brilliance last night at the Painted Bride. An autobiographical journey of self reflection the carried it's way through with a consistent movement vocabulary, funny stories, artful staging, and a creative musical score. All of these elements combined into a compelling story of the man who Makoto sees himself as today. The use of lights and props was inventive and the music or silence stood guard as beat box, free style rhymes, and spoken word took us through the journey of his life. The duality of characters established at the beginning, framed the piece as a kind of "if I could talk to myself when I was that age, maybe I would have been different" story but without any of the usual regret or self pity that comes along with that type show. Maybe the only slip was in the performance was the full embodiment of young Makoto did not remain fully consistent past the opening sequence; however, his gift for story telling carried the spoken word through regardless.
The movement was inspiring. From fighting, to break dancing, to visions of Gene Kelly the dancing and choreography had a consistent beat and style that was characterized by swiftness of foot. Rarely did the movement feel under developed or over extended. The deftness with which Makoto went between break dancing, to modern, to delightful soft shoe shows a depth of dance talent that was as strong and the rhymes and stories they juxtaposed. The stories and imagery were hilarious (and not that bullshit, "look it's someone I know and their doing something I think is out of character "Philadelphia" funny"), genuinely clever and insightful stories that Makoto executed with charm and wit directly to the audience. I hope to see this show again, and look forward to more work from Makoto as his talent will no doubt continue to be showcased in Philadelphia and beyond.

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Come see the show on Sunday @ Mascher @ 2pm

So long & Thanks for all the dances

> I want to thank you all for being a part of my Monday Night Contact
> improv evolving adventure over the past 3ish years.
>
> There is no class tonight and there won't be anymore this summer
> from me. The ever endeavouring Nicole Bindler has put together an
> amazing slate of talented and experienced dance teachers for the new
> CI series starting in August at studio 34. Be sure to check out the
> google group, face book page, as well as I'm sure studio 34's
> website for more details on that.
>
> The parlor has been a great home to contact for the last 6+ years,
> Monday/Tuesday nights have been filled with great movement and
> exploration. So don't hesitate to grab some space there from them
> for whatever rehearsal/class/perormance needs you may have.
>
> I'll be developing my own work and working with some great minds and
> movers in the coming months.
>
> I hope to move with you all very soon. You have made me grow as a
> performer and teacher and I hope to see you all soon, on or/and off
> the dance floor.
>
> Thank you. Paldies.
> Adams

My summer plans

May 29th @ 7:30 & 30th @ 3PM - Human Landscape Dance

Human Landscape Dance is coming to the Painted Bride on Saturday and Sunday May 29th/30th as part of the Philadelphia/Washington DC Dance Exchange. I have had the pleasure of dancing and speaking with Malcom Shute on numerous occasions and have always found him insightful and committed to the art that he and Human Landscape Dance produce. They utilize a lot of Contact Improvisation in the creative process and I encourage you to read his treatise on CI and how they use it here: http://www.hldance.org/node/104 as well as check out their website in general: http://www.hldance.org/


Please come out and support these guys. They’ve come up here for festivals and classes and we can definitely show them some love.

The show is at 7:30PM 29th of May and 3PM on the 30th @ The Painted Bride
They’ll be performing with Anne-Marie Mulgrew and Dancers Co. (http://www.annemariemulgrewdancersco.org/) on a shared bill.

Hope to see you there.

Chris Aiken Tonigh!

A real opportunity to learn from a master of the form…

Chris Aiken, a world renowned teacher and performer (bio included at bottom), will be teaching tonight at The Parlor (1170 S Broad st) rounding out a six week series started by Angie Hauser.

The class is from 7-9 w/ open dancing until 10.
Sliding scale $12-$15 for 3 HOURS of dance, this is an incredible deal for this caliber of teacher, don't miss it!

If you've "been meaning to check out the Monday night contact class," then this is your chance. The class will be taking a hiatus at the end of June. So if you've been meaning to add a little contact improv technique to your bag of tricks and want to do it before everyone jets off for the summer, come on out. 

Upcoming class awesomeness and info includes:

Always be on the look out for Contact Improv Jams curated by Fatima Adamu @ studio 34 (45th and Baltimore ave)

May 31st (memorial day) - No Class @ The Parlor

June 7th - Kira Kirsch from San Francisco (she's also doing a big workshop @ the mascher space that week)

June 14th - Adams Berzins will be teaching Contact Improv as part of the nEW Festival @ UArts (same contact time, different location, details to follow) 

As always follow me on Twitter @adberzins 

Periodic dance and food ramblings @foodanddance.blogspot.com

  
Chris Aiken is a leading international teacher and performer of dance improvisation and contact improvisation.  Over the past two and a half decades his work has evolved through ongoing investigations of performance, composition, movement technique and design.  His work has been significantly influenced through the somatic practice of the Alexander Technique, ideokinesis, yoga and Rolfing.  Chris has performed and collaborated with many renowned dance artists including Steve Paxton, Kirstie Simson, Nancy Stark Smith, Peter Bingham, Andrew Harwood, Patrick Scully and Angie Hauser.  He is a Guggenheim Fellow and an assistant professor at Ursinus College.  Chris is currently touring a new work entitled "Dwell" co-created with Angie Hauser.