Two Interactive Artist/Audience Exchanges with Peter DiMuro

An Interview with Peter DiMuro

Jacqueline Lawton: What type of artist are you?
Peter DiMuro: I’m the type of artist that has been doing it so long- I don’t remember what I do...really. Started out in theatre, moved to dance, back to dances with text, and now I move a little and make some dances, direct some theatre, and get people talking about their art, and try to get them curious...

JL: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
PD: At this moment, with the snow, maybe Paris. Maybe Venice. If I could change years, it would be 1984 New York.

JL: What is your personal theme song?
PD: The theme from the old “Mary Tyler Moore Show” (Who Can Turn the world on with a smile....you’re gonna make it after all!)

JL: Why did you want to be a part of intersections?
PD: I know that the most interesting things happen when the mix of interest, of people, and backgrounds come together- this has been true in all the work I have made-especially in the thousands of people I came into contact with making art with Liz Lerman Dance Exchnage...when we become too much the same, there is nothing new created.

JL: How do you feel your performance fits into the festival?
PD: Well, since my purpose in being involved is to instigate some dialogue about what happens, I hope that I am really listening well and connecting some dots for audiences and performer/creators.

JL: Finish this sentence: I am an intersection of...
PD: A Danish machine-shop working Mother, an Italian small town chief of police Father, a Mayberry like upbringing in northern Illinois fastforwarded through decades of wonder and curiosity, function and dysfunction, detached observation and full participation.
~~

Two Interactive Artist/Audience Exchanges
led by Peter DiMuro of Dance/Metro DC
Part 1: “Point Me Toward the Crossroads, But, Please, Somebody, Give Me A Map!”
This experiential dialogue among festival artists and audiences will prime our active curiosities to be a tool for making the experience of a performance (both on the stage and in the audience) an integral step in meaningfully intersecting our lives and art. The session will feature the artists who have collaborated to create “Origins”, a melding of artistic styles, cultures and aesthetics from three movement-based companies, along with other festival artists.
February 21 at 6:00 PM
Lab 1
Free

Part 2: “After the Intersection, Where Do I Go?”:
INTERSECTIONS invites festival artists and audiences (both new-to-the-arts and avid fans) to gather on the festival closing day. Now that we’ve connected, crossed, collided and collaborated, how do we extend the experience of the festival – helping us to see down the road through an “intersections” lens? We’ll delve into some of the best interactions that occurred in creating and experiencing the Intersections Festival, as well as learn from some of our best mistakes. Join us as the journey continues.
Mar 7 at 4:00 PM
Sprenger Theatre
Free

http://www.dancemetrodc.org/

Project Dance

An Interview with Angella Foster and Richelle Dickerson

Jacqueline Lawton: What type of artist are you?
Angella Foster: Dancer, choreographer & costume designer.
Richelle Dickerson: Liturgical Dancer and Choreographer.

JL: Where were you born? How did you end up where you are now?
AF: I am was born in Lexington, Ky. Now, I live in Greenbelt, MD. My husband and I came here for a new job and grad school respectively, and we've decided to make it home.
RD: How did you end up where you are now? Hard work and Faith in God.

JL: Who are your heroes?
AF: My mother who taught me to live creatively in midst of hardship.
RD: Mom and Alvin Ailey.

JL: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
AF: Afghanistan. My husband is there right now.

JL: What is your favorite quote?
AF: You haven't got something to dance about until you're over 35 anyway. -Bert Balladine
RD: “Beloved I wish above all things that you should prosper and be in good health along with your soul’s growth” I John 1:2 Bible

JL: What do you think will be cool about the festival?
AF: I love the idea of so much great art happening in such a short time. It is really exciting...and something that can't happen enough!

JL: How do you feel your performance fits into the festival?
AF: We're like a grace note. We're performing a series of short site-specific pieces in the Lobby, so we're hoping to be a pleasant surprise for people who might have come to see a show in one of the traditional venues.
~~

Project Dance
Artists from four liturgical dance companies bring the hope and joy of the universal language of dance to surprising spaces within the Arlene and Robert Kogod Lobby.
Sunday, Feb 21 from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Sunday, Mar 7 from 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Kogod Lobby
Free

Enjoy an inspiring prelude to your Sunday matinee with a unique performance from dancers from Project Dance/DC Team. Project Dance was founded by Cheryl Cutlip in New York City after 9/11 with a mission to bring a message of hope and healing to the city through the universal language of dance. The vision has grown, and Project Dance now serves dancers worldwide through classes, performances and events, including a major 2011 Washington, DC event. This unique Café Concert includes dancers Clarissa Stroud, Masters Movement Dance Company; Richelle Dickerson, Worship Explosion Dance Company; Ronya-Lee Anderson, Dancing by the Power Ministries and Angella Foster, alight dance theater.

http://www.projectdance.com/

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
A Raisin in the Sun: A Community Read
Sign up at the door to read a part in Lorraine Hansberry’s classic drama and the inspiration for Woolly’s upcoming production – Clybourne Park.
Saturday, Mar 6 at 4:30 PM
Lab II
Free
For Audiences ages 13 and up.

In conjunction with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park (March 15–April 11), the theatre has created a variety of opportunities to explore the play’s sources of inspiration, investigate the social and political issues it tackles, and wrestle with the implications to the changing urban landscape in DC. Woolly is delighted to partner with Intersections in offering one of these events – A Raisin in the Sun: A Community Read. This event puts a book-club spin on the staged-reading format: everyone who attends the Community Read is encouraged to bring a copy of Lorraine Hansberry’s play with them and whoever wishes to read aloud signs up at the door for a character and scene. Attendees can participate by reading aloud, reading along, or sitting back and listening. The reading will be followed by a facilitated dialogue exploring reactions to the play, and its relevance to our changing city.

A Raisin in the Sun was an initial point of inspiration for playwright Bruce Norris in writing Clybourne Park. The play explores how racism and gentrification have evolved over the past half-century in America by imagining the conflicts surrounding the purchase of a house in a white neighborhood in the 1950s by an African American family, and then the re-design of that house in “post-racial” 2010. The setting of Clybourne Park, and the house the action revolves around, is the one purchased by Mama for the Younger Family in A Raisin in the Sun; one of the characters from the Raisin features prominently in the first act of Clybourne.

As part of its 30^th Anniversary Woolly Mammoth is exploring the way it intersects with the city and its citizens, and working to create increasingly more connections between the theatre and civic dialogue. A Raisin in the Sun: A Community Read is just one of many different programs the theatre is offering. For more information on what Woolly Mammoth is up to, or for details on Clybourne Park, visit woollymammoth.net, or contact Rachel Grossman, Connectivity Director, via rachel-at-woollymammoth.net or 202-289-2443, ext 284.

A Raisin in the Sun: A Community Read is a free and open event.

GALA Hispanic Theatre presents Paso Nuevo Youth Performance Program

GALA Hispanic Theatre presents Paso Nuevo Youth Performance Program

The Legend of Izquic (2006), a compelling documentary-fiction tracing the lives of teenagers from a theatre collective in Columbia Heights DC who tell true stories of their coming to America mixed with their visions for the future, all through the unfolding of an ancient Mayan legend.
Saturday, Feb 27 at 5pm
Lang Theatre
Tickets: $5
For audiences ages 12 and up.

Get inside the hearts and minds of the youth who comprised a 2006 at-risk theatre collective – Paso Nuevo – at DC’s GALA Hispanic Theatre in Columbia Heights. Filmed on location in July 2006 and directed by Mattias Kraemer and Italian filmmakers GG Roccatti and Giandomenico Muso, this new-form film is both documentary and fiction. The students share the true and often violent stories of their legal and illegal migration to the US set in a magical unfolding of an ancient Mayan legend which helps give voice to their visions for the future. Mattias Kraemer will introduce the film and Quique Aviles, director of GALA’s Paso Nuevo, will lead a post-screening exchange on the film, as well as on issues of immigration especially affecting young people and families and Paso Nuevo’s ongoing vision.

www.galatheatre.org

Cultural Tourism DC

Tell Your H Street NE Stories
Come record your stories of H Street NE and help shape the Neighborhood Heritage Trail of one of DC’s greatest cultural intersections.
Saturday, Mar 6 from 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Kogod Lobby
Free

Cultural Tourism DC invites you to contribute your personal historic tales of Washington life to upcoming DC Neighborhood Heritage Trails on H Street NE and around the city. Stop by and tell your story, or share your ideas for others whose stories should be told. Neighborhood Heritage Trails are produced in collaboration with community groups and the District Department of Transportation. Cultural Tourism DC is an independent nonprofit organization that invites Washington area residents and visitors to experience and celebrate DC’s authentic culture and heritage. We are best known for our website promoting Washington culture and for our Neighborhood Heritage Trails, now in ten historic DC neighborhoods.

http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/

The Extension Agents

The Extension Agents

Jacqueline Lawton: What type of artist are you?
Extension Agents: We are a bluegrass band from DC.

JL: Where were you born? How did you end up where you are now?
EA: We were born in the living room of Amanda's urban farmstead in southeast DC a year and a half ago. We grew up playing at farmer's markets, coffee shops, bars, and hootinannies.

JL: List five words that describe your personality.
EA: Banjo, fiddle, mandolin, bass, guitar.

JL: What's the Best Advice you have to give?
EA: If your sheep has got the foot rot, and your corn won't fill the back plot... ask Asel!

JL: What do you think will be cool about the festival?
EA: The diversity of performers is very exciting. We look forward to hearing some new sounds.

JL: How do you feel your performance fits into the festival?
EA: We are hoping to have some listeners who haven't heard bluegrass before and wouldn't imagine people play it in DC.

JL: Finish this sentence: I am an intersection of...
EA: strings and fingers.
~~

Extension Agents
Get your feet tapping to Bluegrass tunes both classic and eclectic with this popular Atlas District Band who’ll be warming up our Café before Tom Chapin.
Sunday, Mar 7 from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Kogod Lobby
Free

Enjoy some down-home picking with The Extension Agents, DC’s own bluegrass band. With fiddle, banjo, bass, mandolin, and guitar they are sure to get you tapping your feet to tunes both classic and eclectic. Sit a spell in our Café and take in these Atlas District regulars who host a hoe-down every other Thursday at Sova Espresso and Wine bar.

http://www.myspace.com/extensionagents

A String Ensemble from "The President's Own" US Marine Chamber Orchestra

A String Ensemble from "The President's Own" US Marine Chamber Orchestra
This small ensemble featuring the virtuoso musicians of “The President’s Own” will offer a sampling of composers and styles, with something sure to entice every music aficionado.
Sunday, Mar 7 from 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Kogod Lobby
Free

Founded in 1798 by an Act of Congress, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization. Today, “The President’s Own” is celebrated for its role at the White House and its dynamic public performances. “The President’s Own” encompasses the United States Marine Band, Marine Chamber Orchestra, and Marine Chamber Ensembles, and performs regularly at the White House and for more than 500 public performances across the nation each year.

Levine School of Music

Levine School of Music
Enjoy a Café Concert intersection of classical to contemporary sounds from outstanding students of guitar.
Sunday, Feb. 28 from 3:30 – 5:00 PM
Kogod Lobby
Free
For all ages

Levine School of Music, based in Washington, DC, is one of the nation's leading nonprofit community music schools, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, certified as exemplary by the National Guild, and is the largest "All-Steinway" community music school in this country. Founded in 1976, Levine serves more than 3,500 students on campuses in Northwest and Southeast DC, Maryland and Virginia, with 900 of these students receiving subsidized music instruction through Levine's scholarship and outreach programs. Levine offers individual and ensemble instruction in more than 20 instruments and voice taught by an international roster of more than 150 faculty-artists.

http://www.levineschool.org

John Hurd

John Hurd
The keyboard is a busy intersection of Gershwin, Cole Porter and gospel sounds when this versatile DC piano-man takes the Café Concert stage.
Saturday, Mar 6 from 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Kogod Lobby
Free

This versatile DC piano-man can take a tune down many a road with a style that embraces the best of old jazz standards, the show tunes of Gershwin and Cole Porter and rousing gospel sounds. Come hear your favorites before your afternoon show with the talented John Hurd at the keyboard.

National Children’s Museum

National Children’s Museum
Celebrating Our Global Neighborhood, an interactive art activity designed especially for our Festival Family Day.
Saturday, Feb 20 from 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Kogod Lobby
Free

Scheduled to open in 2013, the National Children’s Museum (NCM) will be a world-class cultural and educational center dedicated to engaging children and empowering them to make a difference. The mission of NCM is to inspire children to care about and improve the world. Through its interactive exhibits, online community, and unique national programs and partnerships, NCM is transforming the concept of a traditional museum by becoming a catalyst and forum for a national movement to inspire and empower kids to speak up, take action, and get engaged in their communities.

www.ncm.museum

Artists from the In Series

Artists from the In Series

Two Café Concerts of simmering Ameircana soul spiced with DC Latin flavoring, serving up traditional and contemporary grooves.
Sunday, Feb 21 from 6:00 – 7:30PM Saturday, Mar 6 from 6:00 – 8:00PM
Kogod Lobby
Free

Slip into the sounds of artists who will offer a simmering of Americana soul spiced with DC Latin flavoring and mantra percussion. Imagine traditional and contemporary grooves with varied instrumentations. Experience artists from The In Series, an Atlas partner that specializes in presenting DC artists in an inspiring and eclectic blend of opera, cabaret, theater, dance, chamber music, poetry, and Latino heritage productions.

Click HERE for more info.

Northwest Convergence

Northwest Convergence
An exhibition of drawings, paintings and mixed media works by teens from Cardozo High School and Sidwell Friends School illustrating “intersections” in their lives.
Feb 19 – March 7
Fridays: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Saturdays: Noon – 8:00 PM
Sundays: Noon – 7:30 PM

Reception
Friday, Mar 5 from 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
The Loft
Free

High school students from Cardozo High School and Sidwell Friends School come together in Northwest Convergence, an exhibition of drawings, paintings and mixed media works. The students reflected on the themes of INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival, learned about artists and art movements that dealt with similar issues, and created an artwork that illustrated intersections in their own lives. Works by the respective teachers, Kimberly King and Anna Tsouhlarakis, will also be on display.

The Paintings of José Allen

The Paintings of José Allen
An exhibition introducing the work of artist José Allen, a painter in the naïve style with an intersection of Latin and Caribbean inspirations.
Feb 19 – March 7
Fridays: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Saturdays: Noon – 8:00 PM
Sundays: Noon – 7:30 PM

Reception
Saturday, Feb 27 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Bernstein Gallery
Free