Closing out the evening was Jesse Factor’s Marthagany: The Spectre-Acle which left me speechless in the way it not only subverted my expectations but then subverted the expectations set by the initial subversion. It rode the line between tribute for and a parody of the late Martha Graham, beginning as a nearly identical recreation of her Lamentation before morphing into a bombastic lip sync performance, and again into a striptease. However, through all the insanity, Factor’s physique and technique shone through making it not only an effective piece of theatrical comedy but also a kinesthetically enrapturing work of dance. It left the audience in an uproar and was the perfect finale to the evening.
Copyright - The Dance Journal: An Eclectic Array of Works at KYLD’s InHale Performance Series https://philadelphiadance.org/dancejournal/2019/03/03/an-eclectic-array-of-works-at-kylds-inhale-performance-series/
SPRING 2019 /
MAY 2019
“Marthagany” Headlines Fierce Queer Arts Festival in Columbus, OH
APRIL 2019
“Celebration” Joyce Theatre, Martha Graham University Partners Showcase
“Mommie Queerest” 2.0 at Kaleidscope Arts Festival, Slippery Rock, PA
MARCH 2019
“RELIC” 3.0 Premiere at Midwest RADFEST
Guest Artist, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA
Guest Artist, Western Michigan University, Kalamazzo MI
“Marthagany” at InHale Performance Series Philadelphia, PA
FEBRUARY 2019
“Celebration” (Martha Graham, Regissuer) at Slippery Rock University Dance Theater Winter Concert
JANUARY 2019
Winter Intensive: Technique and Repertory, Martha Graham School
FALL 2018 /
DECEMBER 2018
Winter Intensive: Technique and Repertory, Martha Graham School
NOVEMBER 2018
Restaging: Martha Graham’s “Celebration” at Slippery Rock University
OCTOBER 2018
Dancing Through College and Beyond-Hunter College
RELIC 2.0 premiere at the Slippery Rock University Faculty/Guest Artist Concert
MOMMIE QUEEREST ACCOLADES /
MOMMIE QUEEREST was honored by the ACDA NORTH-CENTRAL CONFERENCE as 1st Alternate for the 2018 Kennedy Center Concert. Adjudicators Melonie Buchanan Murray, Gus Solomons, Jr., and Tanya Calamoneri remarked on the unique strangeness of the the piece, choreographic skill, and exceptional performance. Solomons commented that the piece "maintains dramatic tension without histrionics" and praised the performance as "amazing."
For the Gala selection, the adjudicators described the piece as such:
Stunning, gender-bending performance that embodies iconic modern dance and film personas with an acid tongue in cheek (to humorously profound effect).
SUMMER 2018 /
JUNE/JULY 2018
Martha Graham School: Teaching Composition and Technique
ELEGIES with Lauren Newman and Xiao Chuan Xie at St. Marks Church in the Bowery Sunday Special Series
MARTHAGANY at Blunderland Variety Show/House of Yes
MAY/JUNE 2018
CAMELOT (Choreographer) at New London Barn Playhouse
SPRING 2018 /
MAY 2018
MARTHAGANY at Fierce Queer Burlesque, Toronto, CA
APRIL 2018
MARTHAGANY: ALL YOU CAN EAT at Flyover Festival
MARCH 2018
MOMMIE QUEEREST at ACDA North Central (Gala Selection) UW-Madison, WI
REVENANT MFA THESIS, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
FEBRUARY 2018
MARTHAGANY: THE SPECTRE-ACLE, OUTsider Festival, Austin TX
JANUARY 2018
Teaching Repertory, Martha Graham School
MAKE WAY FOR MARTHAGANY! OUTSIDERFEST OFFICIAL SELECTION, FEB 14-18, AUSTIN TEXAS /
Photo: Jennifer Leilani Thomas
Read MoreFALL/WINTER 2017 /
DECEMBER 2017
Teaching Beginning Technique and Repertory, Martha Graham School, NYC
Marthagany 2.0 Work-In-Progress Showing, Iowa City
NOVEMBER 2017
Guest Teacher, The University of Iowa Youth Ballet
Dance Studies Association Conference, University of Ohio, Columbus, OH
OCTOBER 2017
Guest Choreographer, Maidenhead, Harvard Ballet Company, Cambridge, MA
SEPTEMBER 2017
Kween Kong at Harvest Contemporary Dance Festival, Ruth Page Center, Chicago, IL
AUGUST 2017
Marthagany at the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, Boston MA
Teaching Beginning Technique at the Martha Graham School, NYC
FORGE SUMMER DANCE INTENSIVE AT SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY /
Delighted to be invited to teach at the FORGE Summer Dance Intensive by Lindsay Fisher Viatori. Held at Slippery Rock University, I introduced undergraduate and pre-college dancers to the Graham technique, restaged selections from CATS, and collaborated on a new group piece, Tracing 1.0.
Read an article about my involvement here: http://www.sru.edu/news/072517b-x28724
Technique Demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWV_aGn_Drw&feature=youtu.be
CATS restaging: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR3qkxKWNrc&feature=youtu.be
Tracing 1.0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsHaqru2fCI&feature=youtu.be
2017 SUMMER SCHEDULE: TEACHING/CHOREOGRAPHING/PERFORMING /
CHOREOGRAPHING
The Secret Garden at New London Barn Playhouse runs June 28-July 9
TEACHING/CHOREOGRAPHING
FORGE Summer Dance Intensive Slippery Rock University July 9-July 21
TEACHING
Martha Graham School July 31-August 4
PERFORMING
Boston Contemporary Dance Festival August 12
UPCOMING EVENTS: HARVEST CHICAGO CONTEMPORARY DANCE FESTIVAL /
Kween Kong has been selected for presentation at the Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, taking place at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts on the weekend of September 15-16, 2017. More details here: http://www.hccdf.com
UPCOMING EVENTS: BOSTON CONTEMPORARY DANCE FESTIVAL /
Marthagany: The Spectre-Acle has been selected for presentation at the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival on August 12th at 7:30pm. Details here: http://bostoncontemporarydance.org
MARTHAGANY TAKES MANHATTAN /
Marthagany: The Spectre-Acle performed to packed audience at City Center Studios on July 17th as part of the In Remembrance: Dancing for Orlando benefit concert in New York City.
BATTLE AXE PREMIERE @ IOWA DANCE FESTIVAL /
Part Liza, part Merman, part Martha, with a dash of hyperbolic stylization yields BATTLE AXE. This new work continues the Reel to Realness series I've been investigating.
(ACDA) American College Dance Association @ Wichita State University /
Marthagany: The Spectre-Acle garnered a standing ovation at the ACDA informal concert on Friday, March 31st, to my delight. I love continuing to perform this work and learning more about what I made and how viewers experience it.
I also taught a class on Graham's fall on 10 counts, in which I incorporated Ellen Graff's When your Heart Falls: The Drama of Descent in the Martha Graham's technique and theater. A packed class quickly learned the sitting fall, standing fall, and a short phrase from 1936's "Celebration" incorporating elements of this particular fall. The students in the class were so phenomenal, committing fully to big dancing and taking risks. I left inspired and renewed.
(ISTA) International Schools Theatre Association Festival @ Atlanta International School /
I served as a teaching artist for four days of ensemble-based learning around the theme of civil rights for High School students from Atlanta International Schoo (GA)l, Santa Margarita High School (CA), Hillel Academy (Jamaica), and WAM theater (MA). A visit to the stunning civil rights museum helped us hold current events against history, and allowed for profound and moving reflection. I worked with my ensemble on simple mirror and unison techniques, which we developed into more complex variations. I see the value of this work as creating physical learning opportunities for leading and following within the group, as well as maintaining one's agency. We devised two short studies, built from material we created in response to our museum visit. I learned so much from working with my ensemble and the wonderful teachers and guest artists ISTA brings together. The beautiful work generated by the students gives me hope for the future of this planet.
MARTHAGANY: THE SPECTRE-ACLe @ Midwest RADfest 2017 /
Marthagany: The Spectre-Acle was selected to open the Festival evening on Saturday, March 11.
Read MoreUniversity Partners Showcase at the Joyce Theater, NYC /
Regisseur for Martha Graham's Helios: Ritual to the Sun at the University of Iowa. Invited to join the University Parterns Showcase at the Joyce Theater on February 18, 2017.
2016 YEAR IN REVIEW /
2016
Mommie Queerest Creative Research on the Aesthetics of Camp
Re-staging Martha Graham's Ritual to the Sun for the University of Iowa Dance Gala 2017
Duet/Phasing with Lauren Newman and XiaoChuan Xie at Socrates Sculpture Garden
Brigadoon at New London Barn Playhouse (Best Choreography Nomination: New Hampshire Theater Awards)
Ent/Her
International Beauty Secrets with Waedao Sirisook
No/Body Any/Body
Marthagany: The Spectre-Acle
Pret A Acheter
Dance Gala 2016: University of Iowa /
Serving as Regisseur for the Martha Graham Center, I worked with University of Iowa undergraduate and graduate dance students on Helios: Ritual to the Sun from Martha Graham's Acts of Light. This process involved training the dancers in the Graham technique, contextualizing the work within the broader scope of the Graham canon and American modern dance, as well as coaching the dancers on the unique demands required to perform this work. It was an honor to serve both the Graham Center and the University of Iowa and to bring this dance back to life in new bodies!
MORE PHOTOS AND NEWS ON THIS PROJECT HERE:
https://now.uiowa.edu/2016/11/jesse-factor
https://artshare.uiowa.edu/people/ritual-sun-martha-grahams-acts-light