Forklift Danceworks

Score Reading with Peter and Graham

2012-01-18T12:30:00.000-06:00

In December, Peter, Graham and I sat down for nearly 3 hours to look at and listen to some of Peter's favorite scores, from a conducting standpoint. I asked Peter to come up with a list of "Top 10 Scores"- which immediately he said would be impossible to do. But in a effort to start somewhere, he came up with these 12.

BACH (arr. Stokowski) Sheep May Safely Graze
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 - any movement
BERNSTEIN On the Waterfront - last 3 or 4 minutes
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 - 3rd movement
COPLAND Symphony No. 3 - 2nd or 3rd movement
DVORAK Symphony No. 7 - 4th movement
LUTOSLAWSKI Concerto for Orchestra - 1st movement
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 - 3rd movement
MOZART Symphony No. 41 - any movement
RAVEL Le Tombeau de Couperin - 3rd movement
STRAVINSKY Le Sacre du Printemps - Danse Sacrale (last section of the ballet)
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Serenade to Music

Of course all of these composers deserve to be on this list, but I was especially drawn to the piece by Lutoslawski. Here is brief bio...

"Although undoubtedly one the of most important composers of the twentieth century, Lutoslawski was relatively unknown outside Poland until the 1960s. His Symphony No 1 was banned during the Stalinist era, the consequence of which was that he developed a fresh, tonal style, such as in the Concerto for Orchestra. From the 1950s, he adopted serialism and aleatoric techniques as the state loosened its grip on artistic creativity. The improvement of East-West relations brought him numerous international commissions and major awards. He never lost his creative genius, completing one of his greatest works, his Symphony No 4, just shortly before he died."
http://www.chesternovello.com/default.aspx?TabId=2431&State_2905=2&composerId_2905=966

The Copeland piece was also one of my favorites. Being a dancer, I have heard his "Appalachian Spring"- the score for the dance by Martha Graham with the same title- over and over again. I really loved hearing his Symphony No. 3.

Finally the Bernstein was of course really wonderful. Peter shared his Bernstein stories- which are really great- and I will transcribe one day. After listening to "On the Waterfront", I committed to watching that movie very soon.

More to come...

My Next Dance!

2011-12-13T08:45:00.000-06:00

I spend years working on my dances.
The best ideas often come to me while I am laying in bed

I have been dreaming about my newest dance for a long time now.

I remember the moment when I realized that I
absolutely
most certainly
definitely
without a doubt
must
make
a dance
with
this
person

I have made dances will all kinds of people
Firefighters
Elvis Impersonators
Venetian Gondoliers
Roller Skaters
Two Steppers
A Traffic Cop
Guide dogs and their owners
Italian Waiters
Pregnant Women
and most recently City of Austin Sanitation Workers

I find inspiration in the everyday movement of people's lives

I am most interested in the people whose work is hidden or takes place behind the scenes.

I am also very drawn to virtuosic, highly skilled movement that comes from years and years of practice.

To make my dances I spend hours watching and listening.

To make a dance with Venetian gondoliers, I spent two summers getting to know the gondoliers—often working on the choreography while they were on the job (so to speak).

To make this newest dance, I have already begun watching this artist at work. Over the next 9 months I will continue watching him, interviewing him, shadowing him, talking to other people about him, learning all I can about him and his job. Basically- stalking him.

Like many of my other choreographic subjects, this person does most of his work behind the scenes- hidden from view.

He performs for thousands of people, but his face is rarely seen.

What do I like so much about this person? I noticed immediately that he is a dancer.

He has perfect timing, a dynamic use of space, and a light and effortless quality of movement.

He is also:
Spirited
Approachable
Completely committed
Intense
Accessible
Dramatic
and
very very very very
NICE!

Historically, people in his position have not always been well-liked, for they have been called:
tyrants
dictators
autocrats
and
superstars

His job is certainly not easy. It requires many many skills. Thousands have tried, perhaps more have failed. There are very few like him, and he carries an immense amount of responsibility.

He must have:
serene wisdom
fabulous memory
a commanding presence
vast experience
a remarkable power of projection
a strong hand
and PERFECT PITCH

He is a complete and total musician who does not make one single sound.

I asked him, "would you...could you...perhaps would you consider..,letting me make a dance on you.'"

He said, without much hesitation… "sure"

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm so very pleased to present to you Forklift's next solo performer, the Conductor of the Austin Symphony, Peter Bay!

newest project...hint hint

2011-10-11T09:52:00.001-05:00

I began dreaming about my newest project 2 years ago. Then last fall I had some initial conversations with the key players and discovered that yes, this project just might really be possible.

I was psyched!

I have been watching this person do his job for many many years. He has always struck me first and foremost as a dancer. I love his light movement quality, the way he attacks the space, and the variety with which he uses space and energy.

He isn't the actual main event at his job, but he is crucial in making it all come together just right. People generally don't go to see him- except I do!

I'm of course not sure how the actual dance I will create with him will come together. I don't have any clue about the choreographic structures yet. But I do know that it will work.

Knowing it will work is really a key ingredient to a successful project. There are so many great ideas for making dances out there. But the trick is picking an idea you know you can make work. Watching this person do his job I know I can make it work. I am not sure how just yet, but I know I can (or he can...actually).

More soon!

And it's over now?

2011-09-08T11:19:00.000-05:00

It's now nearly two weeks after the final performances of The Trash Project and I am just getting to write about the shows. It has taking me a while to really know what to say. I mean I am a dancer- not a writer. I think Martha Graham said if I could write it I wouldn't dance it. Now I understand what she means.

In summary, it was AWESOME!! I was particularly pleased because I got to fix or improve many things choreographically that had been nagging me since the 2009 premier. I was so happy with the tweaks we made with the litter crew quartet (took the blowers out and added Mr. Sam Anderson!) and the sweeper trio (wasn't that just incredible?! I love the weave at the end). I also really liked the bucket truck solo that Gerald Watson performed. Thank you so much to fellow choreographer Krissie Marty for helping me craft that new piece. I couldn't have done that without her.

Stephen Pruitt's lighting was beautiful- did you see the follow spot on the crane?! And I think Graham's music sounded even better. I know- how could it get better. But it did.

My production crew, especially Tamara, Rebekah and Carly, worked so hard. And I was supported really well by my three stage managers- Molly, Leigh and Ashley.

People keep asking me how I did it. My secret is that I hired really great people to help me. The best people really. And everyone at Solid Waste went the extra mile to make it happen.

As Gerald said for his bucket truck solo, "It was a total team effort." It really really was.

My front porch is still covered with boxes I need to unpack and I am way behind on emails. I also do miss hanging with the employees. I have promised I will be up at the service center soon to bug them. I think my body is still coming out of working in the heat all summer, too.

For now, I am trying to savor what an amazing weekend it was. So grateful I got to do it all one more time!

attached are some photos from Board Member Nancy Mims. Enjoy!

Recent Rehearsal Photos by Forklift

2011-07-22T15:41:00.000-05:00

Forklift Board Member took these great photos at a recent rehearsal with the garbage collection crew. I especially like the one of my choreography notes!

The Tarmac at 102 degrees. Look hot?

2011-07-15T15:57:00.000-05:00

Trash Project rolling towards August

2011-07-15T15:52:00.000-05:00

Rehearsals have begun in full force for The Trash Project encore performances. Here are some highlights from my last two weeks of rehearsals.

- I have more employees interested in participating then I have spots available. I have a wait list of interested folks. How cool is that.

-The cast this year is really top notch. Everyone on board is very enthusiastic and excited. We are geared up to make the show even better than last time.

-I had a choreographic epiphamy the other day and think I solved one of the lingering trouble spots for me in the show. Here's hoping- but the cast doing this new section is really eager to try this new approach, which is inspired by cane steppin' routines I'll say.

-it's hot. no new news there. but it's hot.

-it feels like Christmas is coming. I am looking forward to the show knowing how magical it will be, but I am already feeling sad that this will be over. I am loving working with the employees again, but I hate knowing that this won't last forever.

-Reservation system. Can I say pain the butt!? I think I have figured it out- but all you waiting to get your reservations-SORRY- you are waiting on me and then approval from all the powers that be. Its a slow process when I am your IT Person!

-Fundraising. It's a lifestyle I have decided. We are STILL at it!

-Backgammon pieces have become very useful lately in rehearsals. We figured out some additional material the other day in the A/C with some backgammon pieces. Photo below

-I smelled the trash smell for the 1st time in a long time when we did our first rehearsal a few weeks ago. I have to say I felt nostalgic smelling trash....

More soon. Trying to do weekly posts now that we are about 6 weeks ago, so stay tuned!

Lead Dancer Ray Showles

2011-07-13T13:00:00.003-05:00

Ray Schowles made the collection section sing last time for The Trash Project. Here he is again at our 1st rehearsal.

4 Days Left!

2011-03-29T16:44:00.001-05:00

4 Days left: Back the Trash Project now!

We have 4 days left for this Kickstarter campaign. We have reached our initial goal of $10,000, but I am continuing to ask folks to contribute as we have a total of nearly $50,000 to raise for these two final performances of The Trash Project.

$50,000!! Really?! Yes, that is exactly what I said when I created the budget. It took me weeks to get over that number.

But apparently doing a free show for 4,000 people costs money. Once you add up bleachers, security, porto potties, lights, power, artist and crew fees, publicity, barricades, police presence...the list goes on and on...you get to that much $.

The Trash Project is truly a ONE OF A KIND performance. Its worth all the planning, time, hard work, sweat (it is happening in August in Texas!), and money. I know that is true.

So, for that reason, I keep asking you good and generous people to help me to bring it to life one more time.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. I am feeling that right now as friends and family keep coming in the door to help me with my newborn and 5 year-old. I am so very grateful.

And you all are part of the village making The Trash Project happen again. Thank you to each of you who have already joined the effort. If you haven't yet- there is still time! Join us today on Kickstarter. Back the Trash Project!

Much love,
Allison

Joseph John has landed!

2011-03-15T13:49:00.000-05:00

Born Sunday, March 6th, Joseph John Trabulsi-Orr made his entrance to the world at approximately 5:35pm. Weighing 8lbs 12oz, all of us are reveling in our first week together. Big sister Genevieve is really enjoying spring break and this morning we all gratefully slept until 11am. I am going to work hard to keep that schedule going as long as I can (if you don't know, Orrs are big sleepers).

The Forklift world is chugging along well as I am here at home being mama 24/7. The board had a great meeting last week and my amazing admin assistant Carly Blair is holding the office together very well.

Here are a few baby pics! See more via facebook

Recent writing from a Body Shift Participant

2011-03-01T09:00:00.000-06:00

Rita Mathis, a student of mine and a Body Shift participant, wrote this essay regarding her work in mixed-ability dance. I just love how she writes and what she says.

One of my favorite insights: "The mixed abilities dance workshops serve to show people that they are complete by virtue of being themselves."

Enjoy!

"Que sera, sera" is an expression that ought to garner more thought than it generally does. A person may gesture a nod of approval for the phrase "whatever will be, will be", yet overlook important principles implied within this sentiment. While the expression has been fostered by our society, its fundamental ideals of acceptance still remain on the outskirts of social norms. The value of embracing the way things are, is captured in the mixed-abilities dance movement right here in Austin. The mixed-abilities dance workshops bring together people of all ages and various abilities to share in the experience and the phenomenon of body movement. The workshops manifest acceptance by promoting awareness of valid limitations while removing perceived limitations and exemplifying the self as complete.

Resigning oneself to realistic limitations is an important aspect during the mixed-abilities dance workshops. Often the instructor leading the group will remind everyone to do what makes sense to their body. It is important to be aware of what one's body can and cannot achieve due not only to safety concerns, but as importantly for self-esteem. When a person is engaged in a group activity, they may feel pressured to perform up to the perceived standards of everyone else. During the workshops, the compulsion to be like the rest of the group is not present and everyone is alert as to what actions they can perform in harmony with their body. Participants find themselves entering a state of self-awareness, completely at ease with their own unique movements. All people can be thought of suffering from some type of disability; this can range from a person who has difficulty containing their anger to someone who may not be able to walk. Recognizing these limitations and openly sharing them with others, helps a person to wholly accept themselves, limits and all.

The mixed-abilities dance workshops also help remove other kinds of limitations that are imposed by social paradigms. Unfortunately, some people feel restricted in the activities in which they can participate. This can happen either because the activity may seem inappropriate considering ones abilities or because particular activities are considered only appropriate for certain body or personality types. Constrictions like these are often unintentional, but nonetheless keep the ideal of an inclusive society compartmentalized to mostly governmental programs. One way that the mixed-abilities dance workshops deal with the problem of imposed limitations is with semantics. The workshops accomplish the difficult task of taking an ancient form of expression, usually comprised of people with gymnast like bodies, and redefine the very nature of dance so that anyone may rightfully claim the title "dancer." The workshops show that the most effective step in eliminating perceived limitations is to alter the ideas and practices of inhibitory constructs.

The mixed abilities dance workshops serve to show people that they are complete by virtue of being themselves. Allison Orr, an Austin Community College dance instructor and a facilitator of the workshops, illuminated this point by saying that each person is "exactly how [they] are supposed to be." The practice of bringing such an array of people together and highlighting their uniqueness helps set the stage of self-discovery. If a person can see the diversity of the world in a single room, then they can more easily find out that they are a complete element in this world. The dance workshops most vital lesson is that it is preferable that people are exactly the way are.

In life, clearing every hurdle is impossible, but it is possible to alter our resolve to limitations as well as to create viable alternatives to others. These workshops take dance, which was once rigid in form, and expose it to a set of people who would perhaps never dance with others in absence of this opportunity. The mixed-abilities dance movement manifest "Que sera, sera" by encouraging the acceptance of the self and setting a supreme example for the way a community should be.

Spike Speaks: Allison Orr's Trash Project's Triumphant Return! P...

2011-02-26T12:45:00.001-06:00

Spike Speaks: Allison Orr's Trash Project's Triumphant Return! P...: "Y'all, Please, please listen up. In 2009, Allison Orr-- the genius behind Forklift Dancworks-- presented the Trash Project out at the old a..."

2011-02-22T09:25:00.000-06:00

Did you miss our announcement that the Trash Project will return for two final performances in August? Here is the video of Thursday's City Hall press conference!

Letter to the World, Feb 2011

2011-02-07T18:39:00.001-06:00

Martha Graham choreographed a dance about Emily Dickinson and called it "Letter to the World." Martha always came up with the best titles. So I stole one of them.

So what have I been doing since we last talked? Since maybe that has been years for some of you (or never!) or just a few days, I'll start with the beginning. At least with the end of 2010.

I've been working really hard on expanding our outreach programs. I've been grant writing (with my grant writer extraordinaire, Andrew Dolan), working with interns, training teaching artists, writing a teacher's guide, teaching classes, and strategizing about how to build the creative movement program we have at Allison Elementary and Mainspring School. So far- success! For years (and I mean 10 years!), I have been the exclusive teacher of these programs. With baby #2, that scenario needed to change. Nothing like a new human life form to get your butt in gear! So, in an effort to be able to offer more classes, I have brought some folks on board to help. And they are doing well! Leigh Gaymon-Jones is teaching the Friday creative movement classes at Mainspring and I have two interns from Texas State, Samantha Derossi and Tracy Boothby who are now teaching at Allison Elementary. I am so pleased that these classes are thriving and flourishing.

Body Shift was a big part of the end of 2010. Forklift with VSA Texas led an entire weekend intensive in mixed-ability dance. We had a great outpouring of interest and support. Our classes were full to capacity. I, with help from weekend coordinator, Julie Nathanielsz, hired 45 local teachers to help craft the weekend's offerings. Celia Hughes and her staff from VSA Texas provided essential admin support- and we got help from Ballet Austin, Galaxy Dance Studio, I Live Here I Give Here/KUT Radio, and The Austin Chronicle. Now, we are moving on with Saturday monthly classes, which are really a dream come true for me. Hey- an ongoing way to practice. What a great thing! I see this work really expanding in Austin, and I think the benefits to the contemporary dance community will be HUGE.

Speaking of HUGE. I am HUGE. If you have seen me since August, you would agree. Baby #2 is due March 4th. I am on a mad dash to FINISH IT ALL before the baby comes. We will see if that happens. But, I am really not that much HUGER than I was a few months ago (yes, that is the 2nd child thing). So feeling HUGE, but been feeling HUGE. So nothing too new there.

What else? Secret meetings! Lots of them! Secret for now. But next week we are making the big announcement. I can't say much else right now, but I will say a heck of a lot of meetings. Planning, strategizing, scheming, brainstorming, meeting, talking, thinking, and meeting again. Good stuff- but exhausting. They say it is all about planning- and man oh man have I been planning.

The Forklift board has been hard at work on our upcoming annual retreat- strategizing about how they are going to meet- not exceed!- our fundraising goals for this year. There is LOTS of good work happening on the board, along with two new board members. Fresh blood- yeah! The board is reviewing our strategic plan- yes we have a strategic plan- and brainstorming about how to expand our reach into the community. What a gift to have these 7 folks totally committed to Forklift and me and my dreams for the world!

I have also been doing a little art making. Having meetings with potential upcoming collaborators, which I call job reconnaissance. All of that is going very well. I've already got artistic projects lined up for 2012 and 2013. Of course, they are top secret. But when I can tell you I will. These projects are inspiring- and keep me wanting to keep up the good fight. That makes me very very happy.

Eating. I knew there was something I had forgotten! I have been eating- a lot. Now back to the every 2-3 hours eating schedule I was on at the beginning of the pregnancy. It's a full-time job just having enough food around to feed me.

Off to eat. Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment. I would love to hear from you.

Best,
Allison

Leaps and Bounds

2011-01-10T17:09:00.009-06:00

In December I lead a creative dance showing for 12 2nd and 3rd grade girls and their families at Allison Elementary. These showings always remind me about the good that this program does. Parents smile, kids love it, teachers get to see their students shining. It is such a positive experience for all involved.

I work hard to set it up so that every child is successful. No one has to remember too much material or wear an uncomfortable costume. I am right there with the kids the whole time. There is no stage with fancy lights. We just do what we have been doing in class- with a little added pizazz! Scarves can add a lot of pizazz you know.

I do remember the recitals I did as a young dancer- man did those stress me out. My neck was forever turned to the right as I watched my teacher doing the dance routine behind the curtain (so the adults couldn't see her). We were all looking over to the right- I don't think the parents were fooled that we knew what were doing.

I have to say I like my model of recitals much better...

Nancy Mims, my board member who takes the most beautiful photos, took these.

Enjoy.

Body Shift

2010-11-01T16:55:00.009-05:00

Body Shift finally happened. After years of working towards it, we pulled off an entire weekend of mixed-ability dance. Over 50 dancers participated- about half identified as having a disability and half did not. It was an amazing gathering. Thoughtful teachers- all with diverse teaching styles- and a very enthusiastic group of dancers.

Here are some photos taken by my board member, Nancy Mims (beautiful, no). You can see the full set on our Facebook page.

Now everyone keeps asking- what is next?!!!!

Trash Dance in the blog-o-sphere

2010-09-02T14:44:00.004-05:00

A really sweet blog entry posted by Kickstarter yesterday about Trash Dance- the upcoming documentary film about The Trash Project. Back the project and see the trailer at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/189615064/trash-dance-the-movie?pos=6&ref=spotlight

The Art of “Trash Dance”
POSTED BY YANCEY
Trash Dance tells the story behind a piece by Austin dance instructor Allison Orr in collaboration with the city’s trash collectors — an enormous ballet that sets garbage trucks and other heavy machines into elegant motion. (The Austin American-Statesman named it Austin’s “best art event” of last year.) In the documentary’s project video, we see Orr’s struggles in convincing the city’s sanitation workers to participate — they are dubious, and understandably so.

Over the trailer’s ten minutes (too long under normal circumstances, but here essential viewing), Orr’s plan comes together. Along the way we meet Don Anderson, supervisor of Austin’s Anti-Litter department and maybe our favorite person that we’ve come across in a Kickstarter video.

We first encounter Don at the 5:30 mark. “The idea of dancing with trucks… It just didn’t sink in right away,” he says. A minute later we see him again: “Let it be known, let everyone see, that we’re not just these dirty people that pick up garbage,” he says with conviction. “There’s some grace to what we do.”

He proves it. “It’s this soft, subtle thing, kind of romantic,” he says about the piece’s delicate score. “And I’m thinking to myself, how can I make a big ol’ hunk of machine be romantic?” And then we see him softly swinging the arm of a crane, the movement graceful and evocative. An “aha” moment as beautiful as can be.

Trash Dance (directed by Andrew Garrison) demonstrates how the everyday can be made artistic, that anyone can create. It’s a belief we hold dear at Kickstarter, and this film illustrates it stunningly.

Forklift Danceworks: Exhibit about DANCE at Houston's Contemporary Arts Museum

2010-08-02T14:15:00.000-05:00

Forklift Danceworks: Exhibit about DANCE at Houston's Contemporary Arts Museum

Exhibit about DANCE at Houston's Contemporary Arts Museum

2010-08-02T14:08:00.008-05:00

I find that dance is rarely included in Contemporary Art Museums- I am thrilled to see a whole exhibit happening in Houston!

My board member Nancy Mims forwarded this to me and I like how this writer (not sure who it is) talks about dance...

"While dance is often classified as an art form, rarely is it given the kind of attention its high art counterparts enjoy—and no, Dancing With the Stars does not count as sophisticated entertainment. But the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania has created an exhibition titled Dance with Camera, which explores the work of artists and dancers who choreograph specifically for film. The show and screening program, which moves to Houston’s Contemporary Arts Museum this week, includes film, video, and still images that display dance as a visual art of body movement. The still photography allows audiences to see close-ups of the performers, while the films, ranging from Busby Berkeley’s Hollywood musicals to Maya Deren’s avant-garde movies, show other angles of movement. Spanning 70 years of dance history and featuring more than 30 artists and filmmakers,Dance with Camera shows there’s more to busting a move than Miley Cyrus would have us believe. "

Read more about the exhibit here:
Dance with Camera
learn more: http://www.camh.org/exhib_future_exhib.html

Opening reception: Friday, August 6, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Artists/Scholars Talk: Saturday, August 7, 2:00 p.m.
On view: August 7 – October 17, 2010

Dance with Camera is an exhibition and a screening program that explores the work of a group of artists and dancers who make choreography for the camera. The exhibition features film, video, and still photography that exemplify the ways dance has compelled visual artists to record bodies moving in time and space. The art works in Dance with Camera use the lens as not merely a recording device, but stage and audience simultaneously. The camera creates a unique space for dance; it allows close-ups that bring us near the performer and can move with its subjects, putting the viewer in the heart of the action. The screening program elaborates the show’s theme with iconic dance films, ranging from Busby Berkeley’s Hollywood musicals to Maya Deren’s avant-garde films. Dance with Camera spans seventy years of art and film, and features over thirty artists and filmmakers.

Dance with Camera is originated by the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania and is curated by Jenelle Porter, ICA curator. A 176-page, fully illustrated catalogue published by Institute of Contemporary Art accompanies the exhibition.

ICA is grateful for primary funding from an Anonymous donor. We acknowledge additional support from Jody and John Arnhold & Babette and Harvey Snyder, and The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through Dance Advance. Further funding has been provided by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; The Dietrich Foundation, Inc.; the Overseers Board for the Institute of Contemporary Art; friends and members of ICA; and the University of Pennsylvania.

Teaching in Inclusive Settings- recent writing

2010-07-13T15:52:00.001-05:00

I recently wrote up some thoughts for a friend who is working on a book about teaching arts in inclusive settings. Enjoy!

Teaching students with disabilities—what I have learned and what I have gained as an artist and choreographer.
By Allison Orr, Artistic Director of Forklift Danceworks

I have been choreographing professionally and working as a teaching artist for about fifteen years. Teaching has always been part of my practice as a choreographer. Seven years ago I began choreographing for and teaching people with disabilities. Over that time, I have learned a number of important lessons that have improved my skills as a teacher and choreographer. Before I discuss those, I will give a little background on myself as an artist.

As a choreographer I make dances with all kinds of people—using the movement from daily life as choreographic material for my dances. My work often features people not typically thought of as dancers. Past dances of mine have included sanitation workers, waiters, firefighters, roller skaters, and Venetian gondoliers.

In 2003, I decided I wanted to make a dance for people and their guide dogs. I convinced two men who were visually impaired to work with me, and together, with another sighted dancer, we created Sextet—a dance for two trained dancers, two men who were visually impaired, and two guide dogs. To create this dance, I shadowed the two participating men and their guide dogs for a few months. I was immediately drawn to the gestures that they used to communicate with their dogs—stop, forward, right turn, etc. I used these gestures as basic movement material for the dance.

With Sextet, I wanted to highlight the unique movement relationship that existed between the men who were visually impaired and their guide dogs. I also wanted to explore what might happen if I cast two blind men as performers in a dance—people who are unlikely to be thought of as dancers. Live audio description also accompanied the piece and was incorporated into the sound score; typically audio description, which describes in real time the action that is happening on stage, is only heard by audience members who are visually impaired. Because I wanted Sextet to be accessible to both seeing and visually impaired audience members, I incorporated audio description into the performance of the dance, which served as a running narrative spoken over the music. The integration of audio description allowed both seeing and visually impaired audience members to experience it as part of the dance.

My strategy choreographically has always been to “meet people where they are,” using what movement vocabulary occurs naturally in their lives as material for a dance. How I worked with the cast of Sextet—shadowing them and getting to know them for a number of months—followed the same strategy I continue to use with other groups of people I work with.

Since premiering Sextet, I have taught a wide and diverse range of people with disabilities. I have taught inclusive workshops through my company, Forklift Danceworks, and I have begun teaching inclusive dance classes at Austin Community College, where I am a dance faculty member. I have taught and/or choreographed for people who are deaf, use wheelchairs, have Cerebal Palsy, have head injuries, or have developmental issues.

When I began teaching people with disabilities, I did not have a manual or a teacher’s guide. I figured out a lot just by teaching. I had already done a good deal of teaching with many different types of beginning dancers—children, teens, and older adults. I was surprised to find that many of the exercises that I knew well and used with beginning dancers worked just fine with people with disabilities, who were also beginning dancers.

That is not to say I didn’t have challenges. I learned a lot and made some mistakes. Teaching a class of deaf, visually impaired, and hearing and seeing students, I soon learned that I needed to deliver information in different ways depending upon the student. I had to use both auditory and hand signal cues at exactly the same time if I wanted the whole class to move together across the floor together. That kind of information I got simply by making mistakes and figuring out on the spot how to correct them. Luckily, my students were pretty forgiving.

My years of teaching have lead me to some important guidelines that I follow when I am teaching a class that includes students with disabilities. Here are four key points.

1. Ask Questions
Teachers should not feel shy about asking a student with a disability a question about his/her needs in a class. It is much better to ask questions than to make assumptions about a student and what he or she can do or is capable of. When I am not sure how an exercise might work for a particular student, I have learned to just ask that student what kind of modification might be made. Students frequently come up with the most elegant solutions!

2. Be Prepared
Have a plan! This is good teaching regardless of whether you are working with students with disabilities or not. I always make an outline of my basic exercises for the day. This is especially important on the first day of class. The first day needs to go well and be fun for all of the students. I always teach what I know will work in the first few days of class, and let my plans be more experimental and loose later in the class timeline. I do let my class plan be fluid and change as I see how the students respond, but I always work from a basic plan.

3. Get there early
Getting to class early gives me the opportunity to greet my students and check in. On the first day, I make sure to shake everyone’s hand, learn names and make good eye contact with each person in the class before I even start teaching. By connecting with my students before class, I also get information about people’s bodies and what they feel comfortable doing. This really helps me on the first day. Even later in the semester or course, I like to arrive early so I can talk with students one-on-one and gauge how they are doing in the class. Having time to get connected with my students before class officially starts really makes teaching go much better for me.

4. Pay attention to your students
My last lesson came from one of my teaching mentors, Liz Lerman. I assisted her with a class she taught for people aged 50 and over. I asked one day after class, “Liz, how do you know what to teach?” She replied, “Just look at your students. They will tell you what to do.” This simple but profound advice is really true! Watching and paying attention to my students, especially my students with disabilities, has shown me more what they need and want to learn than anything else. Every person is an individual. Two people don’t walk, talk, or move in a wheelchair the exact same way. Knowing that if I just relax and pay attention to what my students are showing me has really helped me see each class as a new teaching opportunity. I do have my standard exercises that I have been able to use class after class, but I also make time every class to just stand back, watch, and listen. This for me is so much more important than relying on commonly held ideas about what a person with a disability can or cannot do. I see each of my students as individuals, and in that way they guide my teaching of the class.

I have really enjoyed the past seven years of teaching dance with people who have disabilities. Essentially, doing this work has made me a better teacher for all kinds of dancers. It has also brought richness to my work as an artist and teacher that was not there when I was working in exclusively able-bodied settings. I highly recommend that teaching artists seek out opportunities where they can teach in settings that include people with disabilities. I believe one will be a better teacher and artist for it!

Danny and Marilee doing the hustle

2010-05-16T19:45:00.001-05:00

DSC_0136
Originally uploaded by gr8wendini

with a great lift at Studio 54klift. Thanks for the great hustle-ing, Danny and Marilee!

Two-stepping blog on Fusebox Site!

2010-04-18T22:31:00.004-05:00

Check out my recent blog posting for the Fusebox festival.

FUSEBOX 20/20- FOCUS ON ALLISON ORR/FORKLIFT DANCEWORKS

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 at 11:36 am

5 Questions for Allison Orr of Forklift Danceworks
1. What is your name?
Allison Orr
Artistic Director, Forklift Danceworks

2. How many of you are there?
1

3. What are you wrestling with?
lots of very experienced and savvy country-western dancers! how to make art out of people’s everyday experience without making it seem too foreign or unnatural.

4. What ingredients go into your art?
watching, observing, building relationships, figuring out how to showcase people doing what they already do well, playing with space and time in ways that are interesting but manageable. making people who don’t think of themselves as performers comfortable in a performance setting

5. What’s the signature you want to leave on this year’s Fusebox Festival?

that we pulled it off- two hundred two-steppers on the steps of the texas capitol- that is!

From Venetian gondoliers to firefighters, trained dancers to Elvis Impersonators, maintenance men to women over 65, Allison Orr creates award-winning choreography with all kinds of performers. Defying easy description, Orr’s work challenges audiences to expand notions of dance and performer while posing the question: who and what can be presented on stage?

And then you can’t miss T is For: Two Hundred Two-Steppers On The Steps Of The Texas Capitol
April 21st- the very grand opening!

Looking for Austin's best two-steppers for massive two-step on the capitol steps!

2010-03-08T16:03:00.004-06:00

T is for...looking for Austin's Best Two-Steppers!

Wed., April 21st 6:30pm
The South Steps of the Texas Capitol

Do strangers come over and tell you how much fun it is to watch you dance? Are you the guy/girl everyone wants as a partner? Can you do the two-step to almost any kind of music without a second thought, and bring your own unique style to it (but still obviously be doing the two-step)? Then you're who we're looking for!

Entitled T is for...Two Hundred Two-Steppers on the Steps of the Texas Capitol, this free 30-minute performance will celebrate the two-step's rich cultural history while showcasing local dancers who love and live for the two-step.

Serving as the kick-off event for the 2010 Fusebox Festival, T is for... will be directed by celebrated local choreographer Allison Orr in partnership with award-winning Austin-based composer Graham Reynolds, who will be leading a 15-piece Texas swing orchestra. The show will run from 6:30-7pm and Stubb's is providing free BBQ!

We are looking for 40 or so of Austin's best two-steppers to serve as the core performers for this event. Everyone can participate in the grand finale, and more intermediate dancers can show up the day of the show and be placed in the opening and closing dances (see more info below).

To participate in the core dancing group, we need your commitment to 2 of the 5 general rehearsals, the 1 all-group rehearsal, and the day of show rehearsal/performance. Know that the more you come, the more you can dance in the show. If you agree to this commitment below, email us at twostep@fuseboxfestival.com. Include which general rehearsal dates you plan to attend and we will put you on our confirmed list.

Here is the required commitment:
Attend at least 2 of the 5 rehearsals below (so we can place you in dances and decide who is doing what when)

Wed., March 24th 6:30-8pm The Broken Spoke

Sat., March 27th 5-7pm Dallas Nightclub

Wed., March 31st 6:30-8pm The Broken Spoke

Sat., April 3rd 5-7pm Dallas Nightclub

Wed., April 14th 6:30-8pm The Broken Spoke

Attend the All-group rehearsal (so we can run through the show as an entire group)

Sun., April 18th 5-7pm Location still being determined

Attend the day of show rehearsal and performance (practice with the band on the capitol grounds)

Wed., April 21st arrive by 3pm on the South Capitol Steps

3:15-5:30pm: rehearse and run-through show with musicians

5:30pm: dinner break (Stubb's providing BBQ)

6:30-7pm: SHOW

For folks who can't make this commitment, you can still participate. Here are those options:

Show up the day of the show! Show up and dance in the grand finale. Just arrive by 6:30pm and be in the end. Dance your heart out for the grand all-step!

Show up earlier the day of the show! Show up by 4pm on the South Steps of the Capitol and dance in the opening and ending sections. RSVP to twostep@fuseboxfestival.com so we can save you a spot. No partner required.

The performance will include two-step, western swing, conjunto, spaghetti western-style, and country disco music. We need all kinds of dancers. We hope YOU will be a part!

ABOUT ALLISON ORR: Artistic Director of Forklift Danceworks, Allison Orr has made award-winning dances with all kinds of people- including Venetian gondoliers, City of Austin firefighters, Elvis Impersonators, and most recently employees from Austin's Solid Waste Services Department. Learn more at www.forkliftdanceworks.org

ABOUT GRAHAM REYNOLDS: Composer-bandleader Graham Reynolds works in theater, dance, film, concert halls, and nightclubs. His eclectic instincts have lead to films with Richard Linklater and Robert Downey Jr., to shows with Merle Haggard, guitarist Redd Volkeart and mix-master DJ Spooky, to performing with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Learn more at www.grahamreynolds.com

ABOUT FUSEBOX: Fusebox is an annual contemporary art and performance festival that champions innovative artists from around the world. The festival will take place from April 21-May 1 at various venues across Austin. www.fuseboxfestival.com

Rhinestone Cowboy

2010-03-06T23:01:00.003-06:00

I have been two-stepping my boots off lately- the Spoke, Dallas Nightclub, tomorrow night The Continental. And I have to say...I love it!

I can see why people dance like this 2-3x a week. Once it gets in you- you just kinda have to keep dancing. I love it. And I am a trained dancer and I love it. More than modern dance class I'll tell you. But that is a different thing.

I am really impressed with our local two-stepping scene. So many great dancers- all kinds of dancers as well.

And who am I really diggin' listening to these days? Why Glen Campbell. My childhood country GOD! Check him out

Traffic Cop- in action!

2010-01-14T00:34:00.001-06:00

Melissa190
Originally uploaded by Seamonkey78704

Melissa McGrath, a local Austin police officer, has bravely agreed to work with me on a new solo! Here is a photo of her in action. More to come!

one more video!

2009-11-10T23:59:00.002-06:00

Just found this one of another traffic cop in action. I love his understated style...

Dances with Traffic Cops

2009-11-10T23:32:00.002-06:00

I have just started work on a new dance. Yes- I have started work on a new dance!! Very exciting.

So the main character of this dance, the only character, is a local police office- still to remain nameless- who directs traffic. I am calling it now the traffic cop dance. And she is a she! Very exciting. A solo with a woman traffic cop.

Last Thursday I went to watch her direct traffic. I sat in my car so she couldn't see me. She knows we are working together- she has agreed to work with me rather. But I figured it would easier on her if at first she didn't see me watching her. I might be able to catch her in her environment more naturally.

It was BEAUTIFUL. This dance is going to be really really wonderful. I know- I say that about a lot of the dances I make. But I can tell from just watching her that it is going to be really really REALLY good.

Now she doesn't have the style of the man in the video above. I love the way he turns from side to side- well- full turns actually. What a wonderful way to solve that movement problem...how do I turn around and direct traffic going in opposite directions at the same time? I loved how he solved that.

No, my traffic cop (I know- weird that I am saying My traffic cop) has a different style. Maybe a little more subtle, and a little lighter on the gestures. But, nonetheless, elegant and refined and so freakin' efficient in her movements. I just love watching.

More to come!

The Trash Project

2009-10-05T16:23:00.004-05:00

It happened...it all happened exactly as it should have happened.

Nearly 2000 people turned out on Sat., September 12th- in the rain- to see what I am still feeling was a historical and magical event. After a Friday night dress rehearsal (which was our 1st rehearsal with all the trucks and employees together) and a Saturday afternoon run-through, the oh so talented group of employees from Austin's Solid Waste Services Department got in their trucks and just made it all happen. And it happened better than I imagined it ever would.

It has been almost 3 weeks from the show and being the blogger that I am, I am finally getting a moment to write about that night. It all went by way too fast. I remember thinking during the sweeper section (which is about 3/4 of the way through), wait-- we can't be almost finished!

I sat right next to Graham Reynolds, the composer, and together he and I ran the transitions—he cueing his musicians, me cueing the performers via handheld radio (even though I came to learn that they were talking to themselves over the truck radios all through the show). The rain from Saturday morning (and afternoon's) downpour made the tarmac glisten and the trucks shine, and the employees' high-viz shirts seemed to glow even more brightly in the wet, humid air.

I will write more about the show as I can. I am still re-playing it all in my mind. I love that Don Anderson, the crane operator, who I think should win best performance by a male dancer for 2009-10, is still having strangers walk up to him in the grocery store asking if he was the man in that show with the trash trucks that danced with the crane in such a beautiful way. Just last week I heard from a good friend that every time she wheels her trash cart out, she now thinks of the people who are coming to collect her trash. She thinks of these folks, their stories, and their performance that night. She reminded me, "I am changed forever now."

Well, me too...

Still begging, almost there!

2009-08-31T13:19:00.003-05:00

Believe it or not we are still fundraising for The Trash Project. I have come to learn that fundraising is like washing dishes- it really never ends. BUT...for The Trash Project, there is an end in site. We only need to raise $3000 more. We have already raised $32,000 so far! Can you believe that? I really can't!

See me beg for your money one more time, and help out as you can. Any amount- really any amount- will help!

2 weeks out

2009-08-28T22:14:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow marks only two weeks to the performance of The Trash Project. Overwhelm has definitely set in and I
catch myself thinking, "What in the world was I thinking?!"

Fortunately I am working with a very supportive group of employees and a number of them keep telling me all
is going to be just fine. Just one day and one breath at a time.

More soon!

Think I figured it out

2009-07-22T00:07:00.001-05:00

I just wrote up the entire scenario for The Trash Project performance. It has been coming in bits and pieces, but tonight it finally came together in my mind. I am breathing a big sigh of relief. I am sure I will feel panicked again about figuring it all out, but for now I am pleased. Something about being up late when nothing else is happening allows me to get to that quiet place where I can think. I so love these moments.

Just listen to the sound

2009-07-14T00:38:00.002-05:00

blog up

2009-07-13T23:51:00.005-05:00

It has been nearly two months since I have gotten to this blog. I can't say nothing has happened. I just haven't seemed to be able to get myself to write all about.

Here is the beginnings of an update- I will try to be brief.

1. I have a sketch!
It is a rough, very rough, sketch- but at least it is something to erase. I have one or two really great ideas for choreography, but mostly beginning thoughts. Making progress...slow progress.

2. I have a few dancers!
I have received confirmation from a few Solid Waste Employees that they want to participate in the Sept 12th performance. It always starts with just one person saying yes.

3. Collecting sounds!
I have been riding out with my mini-disc recorder so I can do interviews and record sounds. I am really enjoying interviewing folks now. It is such a great way to get to know someone. And the sounds the trucks make are awesome. I got this beautiful clicking sounds of the sweeper lights on Thursday. Angelic!

4. Fundraising = hard.
No way around it. It is much harder than making the art. I know I could think of it as making the art...

5. Stephen and Graham = gift to me and the project.
I haven't had the luxury of working with two other artists so closely before on an all community-based project like this. I am really enjoying all of their ideas and input. Stephen pretty much figured out a whole section of choreography on his own last week when we were up at the yard early. And we are working hard to figure out how to use the trucks and their lights as lighting equipment and set.

Graham has made some beautiful music with samplings of the machine sounds. And you know he is going to be playing live with a trio of him on piano plus musicians on violin and cello. All accompanying 15/16 large sanitation vehicle plus 20-25 employees. Doesn't that just make you smile? It is going to be magical.

6. Solid Waste Service, my home sweet home.
I am so grateful for all of the great support I have been getting from Solid Waste. When I do these community-based projects I always end up with a "support group" of folks around me- Mike Sullivan, Laura Stephenson and Palmer Buck from the AFD; Franco and Davide, gondoliers from Venice; Mr. Rollerskate and my lovely dancer cast from SKATE! Solid Waste has a number of amazing folks on staff. This makes everything go so much better for me.

7. Andy is back!
After a few weeks teaching in Portugal filmmaker Andy Garrison is back in town. We will be working together again starting Wed. when we interview the women operators at Solid Waste- the 10 or so there are! Even though I didn't necessarily miss having a camera in my face while he was gone, I did miss the thoughtful and insightful thinking he brings to all of this. I am so grateful for him and his work on this project.

8. Reading and more reading
I continue to inundate myself with information about trash, recycling, composting, zero waste, front-loaders, rear-loaders, side-loaders, single-stream, optical scanning, #1-#7 plastics, landfilling...it goes on and on. This stuff is immense. I can barely wrap my brain around it all and I have been reading this stuff for a year now. It goes on and on and on and on....

Arts Education Program Showing this week

2009-05-26T10:32:00.003-05:00

The end of the semester means shows and more shows for many of us in the dance field. This week the company's outreach program of creative movement classes at Allison Elementary School in Montopolis concludes with a performance by a group of 3rd graders. I have all girls this spring, and they are a very active group so preparing for the show has required a lot of focus and concentration on their part. They are getting really excited about the performance, but are still nervous and a little scared about performing for an audience.

What is so wonderful about these performances is how they bring out the best in the kids, and I think that has a lot to do with how they have the complete and undivided attention of the adults (teachers, parents, extended family) in the room. I know as a parent how hard it is to just sit down for more than a few minutes and really pay attention to my daughter. There is always so much to do and not enough time to get it all done.

These performances allow the parents, grandparents, friends and teachers to really appreciate what is so wonderful about each of the children. Creative movement is a great form because it highlights each child's unique skills and creativity. By the end of show, the children are beaming with pride in all they have accomplished. That is when I feel blessed to just get to be part of the process.

Attached is a photo from last year's showing!

Making Lists, seeing lots of art

2009-04-30T08:03:00.004-05:00

This week I have been lucky enough to see now 5 Fusebox Performances. I don't get to see live performance a whole lot- and what a gift to be seeing so much. I believe making good work means you have to see good work, and a lot of it. I also re-connect with the power of that single creative thought when I see other artists get behind their ideas and go for it. And I am scheduled to see at least 3 more shows this weekend. This is heaven for me!

And, I am beginning to choreograph for the Trash Project. I have a beginning, I think. I am not going to write it all down here, but I will list some of the basic ideas I am considering. I wrote down about 30 ideas on individual note cards that I am tomorrow going to discuss with one of my SWS contacts- Jesse Muñoz. His job is to tell me what will work and what won't. And he has some ideas of his own!

Note card list so far...(in no particular order)
opening sound collage
radio dispatch
dead animal pick-up (tie to Greek myth of river Styx)
bucket truck
street sweepers
blower solo (skates?)
crane solo
quintet for fully-automated trash trucks
recycle trucks tipping section
history/MLK/dangers of job
projections onto trucks- words
doing the job- what's great, what's not so good
employee playing harmonica
passing balls from truck to truck

more to come!

recent photos from the Trash Project

2009-04-20T23:58:00.001-05:00

Beautiful photos taken by lighting designer Stephen Pruitt during our visit last Monday am to the SWS service center.

Flickr

2009-04-20T23:55:00.001-05:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

getting my blog back on

2009-04-08T10:35:00.004-05:00

It is so time for me to get my blog back on. I think trying to get back to blogging is like turning in that late library book. You feel so bad that the book is late that you just can't turn it in. I have been feeling like there is just SO MUCH to say that I don't know where to start. Maybe a short list of my top 10 thoughts will get me started.

1. Reading all about trash in a Solid Waste Services manual. Fascinating.
2. SKATE! rolled in and rolled out in March. Sold-out shows and very enthusiastic audiences. I miss skating all ready.
3. Working on little details for the trash show- like reserving the Burger Center Parking lot. Bigger deal than it might seem...
4. Fundraising like a mad woman
5. Grant writing like a made woman with amazing helper Nicole Gurgel- thank you, Nicole!
6. Talking trash with the Mayor. I cornered him last night at the Texas Medal of Arts- he couldn't say no.
7. Planning for 80s Prom 09. It is almost here! Save the date coming soon.
8. Summer is around the corner- yes. Looking forward to more time with Genevieve- swimming lessons and story time.
9. Starting to plan choreography and will meet with composer Graham Reynolds and designer Stephen Pruitt Monday at 5:30am at the Service Center. I am actually liking getting up early.
10. Love this short video by doc filmmaker Andrew Garrison. Beautiful footage I think...

landfill visit, #1

2009-01-08T18:21:00.005-06:00

Today was a big day. Not even just because it is Elvis' b-day- but also because I made a momentous visit. My 1st visit to the TDS landfill- the final resting place of all (and all other Austinites) trash.

It was actually pretty beautiful, at least the ride up there. It smelled- that ammonia-like trash smell that I keep smelling on my ride out's. But, the landscape was pretty awe-inspiring in a weird way. (see photos and video!)

It was huge...that was my first impression. And hiding so much underneath its hugeness.

This morning began early- 6am (up at 5am). I rode out with two long-time SWS employees, Charles and Will, who very graciously welcomed me to work along with them. We had an easy route- mostly condos in northwest hills. Not a lot of trash to pick up. We were done by 10am. So we headed up to the landfill. Since their truck was only a 2-seater, I followed along with filmmaker Andy Garrison and his son, Sam, who was our driver.

Once we got to the landfill, I got in their truck with them and rode up to the face where they were to dump their load. Once we got up to the top, we got out and I watched Charles tip our load. We were directed by a man who works up on the active face directing traffic. Landfills can be very dangerous places. A SWS was actually killed at the landfill not that long ago when he was hit by a vehicle.

And then we tipped our load, weighed out on the exit scale, and were done. That easy. No big ceremony. No big sadness about burying all of this waste (much of I noticed while we were collecting it that could be recycled!) into precious earth. Just that.

I asked Charles today if it ever depressed him- all the trash people make that he collects. "yes and no", he said. He needs the job, and he wouldn't have it without all the trash. But there could be less going there, for sure.

Check out the attached photos and video- the video shows Andy the filmmaker shooting Charles tipping the truck.

Too bad you can't get the smell from the video and photos. That is a big piece missing!

happy elvis' b-day to you...

2009-01-08T18:10:00.003-06:00

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
And put on a shirt his mother made and went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
And he shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby
Like you never seen

Gillian Welch, Elvis Presley Blues

Elvis Aaron Presley was born 74 years ago today. Can you believe that if he were still alive he would have been only 74 today? Crazy...

As many of you who read this blog know, I have spent a good portion of my recent artistic life thinking about Elvis. I found him such a compelling subject to explore- as an artist. Someone so big, so over-the-top famous, who lost his way so tragically. Could I feel any connection to him?

I heard this Gillian Welch song today and it reminded me of why I love Elvis and all that is Elvis so much. There is just real feeling there. He certainly was an emotional person- and brings out so much emotion in so many people. I think that is really why he has such a cult following- because it, in many circles, is ok to really feel something for the man. Most of time it isn't cool to feel much- except maybe a little happieness- right? But with Elvis, you can really let those feelings go!

Here's Gillian Welch singing her tribute to Elvis. I think she is spot on.

heading out- 2am

2009-01-01T01:56:00.003-06:00

i am heading out and it is 2am the morning of jan 1, 2009. i am will be working with the crew who is going to clean up downtown after all the new year's partying tonight. i am ready- have my coffee, water, snacks, camera, notebook, gloves, personal protective equipment (PPE), and mini disc recorder. andy is coming to and we are ready to pull this all-nighter...something that has felt very daunting to me even as i realize that the crew i will be working with does this 4 times a week.

i am told it is going to be insane- the trash- the drunk people- the mess. we will see. a few employees asked me on last time out on route- "why do you come out new year's eve? It will be insane." "exactly", i said, "that is what i want to come out...to see how it really is"

i'll let you know

onward...

Donate to Forklift Danceworks

2008-12-27T21:25:00.011-06:00

via Google checkout- make a tax-deductible donation to Forklift Danceworks. And, until 2009 Google charges no fees to Forklift for your donation- so we keep all the money. Whoopee!

Fun Financial Facts about Forklift

2008-12-18T13:27:00.000-06:00

It's nearing the end of the year, and that means it's annual giving time! Our mailboxes are bombarded with well-meaning requests for money. How does one decide who to give to and how much?

And, with the economy, well, tanking, who doesn't want to be sure their hard-earned dollars are well-spent.

To help with the decision-making process, I have compiled a list of
FUN FINANCIAL FACTS about FORKLIFT.

- Forklift demonstrates a history of financial stability and sound financial practices by operating entirely debt-free since its inception in 2001.

- in 2008, Forklift paid over 30 hardworking local artists for their work as performers, designers, tech crew or teachers.

- In 2008, Austin's Cultural Arts program approved a 44% increase in Forklift's annual core funding, giving a strong vote of confidence to Forklift's programs and continued growth.

- Forklift operates with very low overhead. 88% of the company's budget goes directly to paying for programs and services.

- Forklift's annual income consists, on average, of: 33% ticket sales and program fees, 32% governmental grants, and 36% corporate and private donors.

- Dollars with Forklift go a long way! In 2008, over 450 people attended our performances. In addition, Forklift taught 75 children creative movement classes, reached an additional 200 children, parents and teachers through project culminations and trainings, and served 25 local adults with disabilities through accessible dance classes.

Since its beginnings, Forklift has depended greatly on the generosity of individual donors. With your donation, you can make a meaningful impact upon your community by helping to create new artistic work and by bringing dance and performance to all kinds of people. Thank you so much for your support!

To make a donation, visit our website !

first route morning!

2008-12-18T12:59:00.003-06:00

I am back after my very first morning out on route- it was awesome! I had an easy day- a very easy day. I was assigned to a bulky crew and went out to a neighborhood near the Arboretum to pick up large brush. I rode with the crane operator, DJ, who was very easy to talk to and has been driving trucks for a long time. I also road with another driver named Michael out to Hornsby Bend to drop his load of brush. Hornsby Bend is the waste water treatment facility where local dillo dirt is made out of brush and, eh... poop.

I have blogged about Hornsby Bend before, and I will say that today I remembered that strong smell that I hadn't smelled since my last visit out there. The smell is still on me- a lingering, pungent, earthy, and I know it is poop and so it is pretty gross, smell. Michael told me the landfill is much worse- much much worse.

So trash is a dirty job. I was reminded of that today. Even on a pretty easy route day, and picking up brush is pretty clean work comparatively, I was reminded that trash is extraordinarily dirty business.

I asked Michael what would be the one thing he would want Austin citizens to know about working at Solid Waste. He clearly stated- whoever your trash guy is, he IS NOT getting paid enough.

Good to know.

Michael told me an awful story of how he once was sprayed by exploding urine-filled catheter bags that were hidden in a trash can. Awful- really awful. He also mentioned picking up trash bags and stray needles coming out of the bags, and picking up in neighborhoods where folks don't use trash bags, so the trash is oozing and leaking everywhere.

I had a thought when I started reading for this project that not using plastic bags might make it easier for trash to actually decompose some in landfills. Now I now that not using bags at all makes it pretty gross for the trash collectors.

What else? DJ is a mean crane operator and that crane is so freaking powerful. That machine's teeth can puncture a street and break a water line- just like that. But seeing it pick up a large load of brush- its mouth full of limbs- made me think of many performance ideas. And watching the movement of the arm as it swung out over the tractor trailer was thrilling as well. I wonder if DJ feels like a little kid up there- playing. Maybe not when he might take down a power line if he isn't careful, but it sure looked like fun.

Everybody makes trash, and human beings have been making trash since the beginning of our existence. Making trash is inevitable, and not inherently bad- it just is. Of course, it is what we DO with our trash that is the challenge. Seeing the bulky pickup today of large brush was pretty straightforward- and none of this goes into the landfill. It is actually useful and necessary material that is combined with yard trimmings (and poop) to be sold as dillo dirt.

Landfill trash is a different thing, and I left today knowing that I hadn't really gotten to the really dirty stuff yet. Maybe bulky brush pick-up is the Cadillac route of Solid Waste. I am thinking so...

update and list of questions

2008-12-05T23:36:00.002-06:00

So an update. I met with Val from SWS (Solid Waste Services) Thursday. She has the list - which is pretty long!- of folks who have volunteered to have me ride out with them on route. She is going to talk to the superintendents/supervisors and then we will make a schedule for ride-outs- yeah! I am excited to get out in the field.

here are a few questions I want to ask-
what is really great about this job?
do you tell other people you are a "trash man"?
What is the worst thing about this job?
What is it like to do to the landfill everyday?
Do you think we have a waste problem in Austin? Do we make too much trash?
If you could tell the Austin public one thing as a Solid Waste Services employee, what would it be?

More soon!

Donate via Paypal

2008-11-30T14:16:00.000-06:00

making the invisible visible

2008-11-27T00:15:00.003-06:00

Much of this trash project is about making what is often invisible visible- the workers themselves, the amount of trash that I make personally and that is collected by Solid Waste on a daily basis, the nature of the job itself and all of its complexities...

Do I notice the people who pick up my trash? I started noticing a few years ago when I began to think about doing this project. I began to notice the faces of the trash and recycling collectors to see if the same men were coming back every Tuesday to pick up my trash (and they have always been men on my block- even though I now know women are also employed as "operators" for solid waste). I also started to watch for the way they picked up my trash and recycling- and I did see patterns and habits. Now when I watch them come down my street I often go out and say hi, hoping they will recognize me (from being at the service center in the early morning). If I am in my bath robe when they come by- which does happen- I hide so they don't see me!

One other thing I am noticing- I am having a really hard time using throw-away items these days. I have started carrying around plastic forks (used previously by me but clean!) in my car so I don't have to use plastic utensils when I get my lunch to go. Today when I was at the grocery store, the man who bagged my groceries offered to recycle my extra bags for me. I practically tore them out of his hand. I don't want to recycle these- I want to re-use them!

Honoring Studz Turkel

2008-11-17T17:17:00.004-06:00

Astonish Me

Vaslav Nijinksy, the Russian dancer and choreographer reportedly cried out to the never satisfied Serge Diaghilev, "What do you want of me?"

Diaghilev replied: "Ettone-moi." Astonish me.

This is a striking bit of history not only to me because I am a dancer and choreographer, but because I read this fact just a few minutes ago in a memoir by the renowned interviewer, Studz Turkel.

Turkel (see attached photo) died recently and his name has been much in the news. I listened to a remarkable bit about him on This American Life last Sunday, and then a friend mentioned that I might research him this week, for she saw connections between his work and mine. I bought his memoir, Touch and Go, and started reading it tonight. And I am, in brief, elated.

I think I have found a person who exemplifies what I want to do through dance and performance- even I can do that really really well. Turkel is famous for celebrating the uncelebrated, giving voice to the face in the crowd. He quotes Bertolt Brecht:

Who built the Seven Gates of Thebes...?
When the Chinese Wall was built, where did the masons go for lunch?
When Ceasar conquered Gaul, was there not even a cook in the army?
When the Armada sank, we read that King Philip wept.
Were there no other tears?

I will admit I feel bad that I don't really love dancing- or choreographing- completely. I don't ache to get into the studio everyday. In graduate school, I hated going to the studio and being there all day- alone- working on compositional assignments. Sometimes an idea does come into my mind about something personal I want to express, but more often I am inspired to tell the stories I hear from other people. That is what makes me want to get up in the morning (and lately sometimes at 4:30 in the morning) - hearing other people's stories.

Turkel talked to all kinds of people during his long career, but he mostly talked to poor and working class people whose voices were infrequently heard. How in the world did I go this long without hearing about him? Unbelievable.

So I am in very eager anticipation as I head into his memoir and learn more about this man, and the many he talked with. And I am feeling a little more clear about why I do what I do. For me, it really isn't about the dance. Dance is the vehicle, but talking to people and figuring out some way to tell their stories- is what I think I am really all about.

Recycling trucks tip out

2008-10-29T15:59:00.003-05:00

Watch some great truck movement here- and you can see why it is good I am not working the camera too much here. I am working on getting better on documenting- I promise!

Choreographic Inspiration!

2008-10-29T12:09:00.007-05:00

Ok so I nearly cried out in awe when I saw this guy driving this bulldozer at the MRF. What skill and finesse! His name is on my potential cast list now!

MRF photos

2008-10-10T11:56:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos I took at the MRF before it shut down a few weeks ago (now all our recycling is being shipped to Dallas to be sorted if you didn't know). You can see one of Quincy and me, my fellow classmate from New Employee Orientation (he was our class clown!). I have also included a few "trash art" photos. It is easy for me to see sculpture in all of this waste- what do you think?

Trash has officially begun

2008-10-03T23:18:00.009-05:00

I have officially begun my project with Austin's Solid Waste Services. I have completed my week of new employee orientation and am now able to begin riding out with certain employees on route and in the field. I am elated, overwhelmed, and exhausted. I feel like I am on the cusp of something so very excited. I feel so lucky to get to do this.

Here is a sum up week #1- which I fill in more I am sure.

Day #1- Tuesday. Arrive at the service center nearly late at 5:50am. Run into the building to find the class just about to start. I give a short talk about why in the world I am going this training. People seem pretty ok with my being there and class begins.

Learn a lot about safety procedures this 1st day. I know now a good deal about hydraulic fluid, spills, stretch and go, SWS alcohol and drug policy, and the true burning temp of paper (thanks to Safety guy David Morriss for that one). Also take lots of notes, and start to get to know the 6 men in my training class. We take an hour for lunch and leave at 4pm.

Day #2- Wed. I arrive earlier this time- 5:30am- and enjoy two tacos from the taco truck. I learn that the man serving me tacos gets up at 2am- my 4:30am alarm doesn't seem as bad now. We cover more safety information, and get to work on an actual truck this day. I work the tipper on a garbage truck and get to ride on the back of a truck (see photos!). I volunteer to climb into the hopper- after my trainer takes the truck's keys out of the ignition- to save a gecko. My fellow classmates laugh at my enthusiastic love for animals. My class is warming up to me and each other, and we lots of time laughing today- and not just at me. Leave about 2:30 today- which I appreciate.

Day #3- Thurs. By now getting up at 4:30am is getting a little easier and I arrive on-time about 5:40am. I mingle with the operators outside and watch folks pre-trip their trucks- which we all learned how to do yesterday. Today we take a field trip to a neighborhood where we study how one goes about setting up a route (there is a whole art to it as I see now). We also get to visit the MRF- my favorite part of the day. See attached videos and photos. By now we are spending a good deal of the class laughing and listening to Quincy's (fellow classmate) random stories about this or that. He seems to always have the perfect story to elucidate the point being made by our fearless trainer, Jesse. We finish by about 2:30pm

Day #4- Friday. Last day of my training week.
I arrive at about 5:45am with Krispy Kreme donuts in tow as a way of thanking my fellow classmates for putting up with me and Andy (the local filmmaker who is making a documentary of this project- more about him and his amazing work soon!). I meet Earl Campbell's brother who is an operator (forgetting his 1st name!), we do stretch and go with one of the crews, and we study routes and radio procedure. Over lunch Andy and I talk about the progress of the project in this 1st week, and in the afternoon I stay only until about 1:30pm. I have 10 pages of thick notes from the 4-days of training. I can see so many possibilities- it is overwhelming and all very very exciting.

Video!

2008-08-06T10:58:00.003-05:00

Missed the show or just want to watch it one more time? See this 3 min edit of the show created by videographer Lee Webster

Also, see a beautiful excerpt from the show taken by Austin filmmaker, Dutch Rall

iNCONTEXT.TV compression test from dutch rall on Vimeo.

SKATE! rolls out of the rink to rave reviews

2008-08-02T16:49:00.003-05:00

SKATE! closed last Sunday night after and all-too-short two-night run. If I had know back in January that we were going to sell 200 tickets per night, I would have booked another couple performances- at least! But hindsight is 20/20 and now there is even more reason to do a second run.

Sunday's show went great. The cast seemed more relaxed after getting through opening night. Monday's cast party was even crazier, and now I know how much rollerskaters like to have a good time.

Read rave reviews from local press below.

Review from The Austin Chronicle
Review from The Austin American Statesman
Review from The Austinist

What a rocking Skate show!

2008-07-24T23:59:00.003-05:00

What an amazing show the Skate cast put on tonight. Everyone was awesome, and the crowd couldn't stop telling us how much they loved it. What a sweet feelin'

And...I will have to say that one of my favorite moment was after the show during the grand all-skate. I was skatin' with my one of my best buddies, Gretchen, and I looked over my shoulder to see Michael ("Mr. Rollerskate") skating with a girl- beginner lookin' girl), around the rink. He had that look in his eye, that intensity he gets when he is explaining all the do's and don'ts to someone- often a girl- for the 1st time. And there he was sailing around the rink. It made me smile real big, and then wish I could skate with him next...

Can't wait for Sunday to do it all one more time.

see local press on SKATE!

2008-07-22T03:09:00.005-05:00

Lots of Austin press coming out about SKATE!

Read an article in the Austin Chronicle
in the Austin American Statesman
and in the Daily Texan
and listen to a feature on KUT Radio's Arts Eclectic!

Skating everywhere...must be time for a show!

looks like we are going to have a show!

2008-07-22T02:50:00.003-05:00

Two days out from the show and we had our 2nd rehearsal with the whole cast at Playland tonight. In a little under two hours (since we had to move about 20 tables and a 100 or so chairs before we started our rehearsal) we managed to run the entire piece once from start to finish. Much of it was pretty messy- but we did it, and nobody fell down or skated into a light- yeah!

Doing performances like this with a large cast and a short time-line require a whole different set of skills from both the performers and myself as the director than theater-based shows with a cast that has been working together for months. It is really quite amazing to be part of the process of something like this- that is very much unknown or unseen- until it is done in performance. In someways I think it is more magical than watching a group of "professional" performers put on a show. There is a certain freshness and present-ness in the performance that I find really invigorating- but man oh man is it crazy up to that point!

That said, don't miss this show. it won't ever happen again in this way with this group ever- ever!

One more thing- when I woke up this morning at 3am and couldn't sleep I was reminded of the project I did with the gondoliers in Venice, Italy. That still remains the hardest thing I have ever done- apart from birthing my daughter without any drugs! I remember the day before the show sitting in a restaurant while two of the performing gondoliers had it out in a huge yelling match. And I remember contacting the owners of the boats in the performance space (climbing on their boats and leaving a note and hoping they would call me back) to ask them to please move their boats for the performance. There was also getting the electric company to install a temporary power box since you can't just plug into a 500 year-old building wall. And there was finding the right police office (not easy in Venice since it is a city with no street signs) and filing a request that they close off the canal we used during our show (kind of like closing off Airport blvd for 40 minutes!). And all of that in Italian no less.

So I think of that project this morning and how beautiful it all ended up being and I feel so lucky that I did all of that. Getting to make art like this out in the world with all kinds of people- and with people that love and are really good at what they do- is such a gift. It's madness, but it is amazing as well.

With that said I know this show will be magical as well. It will all come together by 8:05pm on Thursday night- as it always does.

Come see this show- you will be so glad you did!

show coming up quick!

2008-07-16T08:58:00.002-05:00

The cast (of now 30!) skaters is working hard making final preparations. We still have a lot to do as often is the case a week out from a show, but I am seeing already how great the show is going to be. Here is a little more video from recent rehearsals.
Enjoy!

Jam skaters jam on it

2008-07-02T01:20:00.004-05:00

And here are the featured jam skaters working on the beginnings of a jam skate routine. Pretty sweet, huh?

rehearsal, rehearsal, and more rehearsal

2008-06-30T22:29:00.007-05:00

Here is video of a recent rehearsal of Forklift dancers working on a few of our skate moves. I'd say come July 24th we are going to have these moves down real good. Olivia Newton John (alla Zanadu) would be proud. Now how many times did my sister and I skate to Zanadu growing up I really couldn't say- but it was a lot!

skating a little better every day

2008-06-18T14:03:00.002-05:00

I'm getting better- the dancers are getting better- I am seeing improvement! Skating might eventually get easy-ish for me.

So there is hope, even for me.

We are working hard on choreography now- creating a couple skate section, mapping out the jam skate section, and starting on a duet to Journey (and that is all I am going to say about it!)

The show is going to be great- I can see that now.

Here are some photos to give a little preview of what we've been doing at the rink!

working hard to make a show

2008-05-27T21:55:00.004-05:00

So I am at that point in the creative process now with this new Skate piece that I am feeling overwhelmed and freaked out- the thought keeps running through my mind, "what was I thinking...can I really pull this off? I can't even skate that well!"

This happens with every dance I work on every time. I just forget that it happens. I get to a place where I begin to think there is no way I can pull off this new insane idea that I have somehow come up with. Then my husband or good friend tells me, "well...that is what you said about that other dance you did, and it worked out pretty well." Hmmm...ok

So the particular challenge of this piece- SKATE- is that it is a combination of the site-based community pieces I have done and my more theatrical dancer-based pieces. My original inspiration is the rink itself and the people who skate there- night after night. But I want to be in the dance, too, and I want it to have more going on than just people skating in a circle around a rink to pop music. There are no deep messages going on, at least that I can tell right now (like in The King & I for example), but I think there will be some themes I am playing with- I just don't quite know what they are.

And then there is the choreography problem. I can't skate that great, but I need to direct and come up with movement ideas. And I can't skate in the studio, so I need to get to the rink ahead of rehearsal so I have a little time to play around so I can at least have a direction for rehearsal. I feel a little out of my league...but for some reason I seem to keep doing that to myself- setting up things that seem like a stretch in a totally new way once I really get working on them.

To top it all off I keep telling myself I need to hurry and figure stuff out now- time is passing! It is hard to listen to the creative idea when I am freaking out about the clock ticking next to me. I do need to move along- there isn't that much time (2 months!). But there is still time to figure a lot out. Help!

But I am tired and I need to go to bed. Baby and husband are sleeping and I need to join them. So for now I will go listen to my i-pod and lay in bed imagining the dance. Before I go to sleep at night is the time when I do my best choreography. We'll see what my brain turns up tonight- I am crossing my fingers!

time to get me some steel toe work boots!

2008-05-20T22:45:00.004-05:00

I met yesterday with a group of personal from the city's Solid Waste services dept- the trash project has officially begun!

The meeting was great and I am really excited about getting started on the project. And getting started I now have learned means getting up early- real early- and getting some steel toe work boots.

Solid Waste Services front-line workers (trash truck drivers, collectors) arrive on the job around 5:30am to be ready to drive out on routes by 6am. Meetings are often at 6:15am in the morning- 9am is a late meeting. And the really early mornings are when the teams clean 6th street at 3am- which is a site I was told I must see.

So I will be getting up early to ride out on the trash trucks and begin my field work this fall. And I will have to wear all of the appropriate safety gear- which means safety goggles, gloves and steel toe work boots.

The last time I wore heavy boots was when I was working in Paraguay doing public health work- walking from village tovillage checking in on volunteers who were building latrines. And I have to say I liked it. Wearing big old boots kind of makes you feel like you can do just about anything- or at least step in anything. So I am looking forward to getting back to that. Now 5:30am will be a little harder to get excited about...but at least I won't be driving a truck!

skatin' is life, life is love

2008-05-13T23:24:00.005-05:00

It's late and I just got back from the rink. I should be going to bed since I will be waking up early (living with a 2 year-old means that), but I felt I had to write a little about the rink.

People so love skating. They love their life at the rink, they love watching other skaters, they love who they are when they are skating, they love what they can become while skating. It's like all is well and right with the world at the rink. All the problems of the world seem to go away for those hours while skating with others around the rink.

Now I know that sounds a little too simple, but that is the energy and feeling I get when I watch people at Playland. And watching for me is what it is most about since I don't feel real at home on my skates. I don't feel the ease and joy I see people show when those that are really comfortable on their skates go around the rink. But I see it on people, and is is just so inspiring. So inspiring that I decided to make a dance about it- which is what is coming up July 24th and 27th!

So tonight at the rink I re-connected with the what for and why of this dance, which is good to do while I am deep in the middle of making it. I am very thankful for that.

And, I am thankful for my collaborators Ann Berman and Terry Hardy. Here they are at the rink in one of the photos included. Making art with them is such a joy and a gift. And their skatin' isn't too bad, either!

Forklift Prom- 80s-style

2008-04-14T23:10:00.005-05:00

I got to relive my 80s Prom last night- and it was so much better than my real one. I swear.

Our turnout was great for our spring fundraiser- an 80s Prom Nite- and people were so psyched to get to celebrate the 80s. People dressed up (there were like 4 madonna look-alikes), brought cabbage patch dolls, and danced hard- really hard.

There is something really nostalgic about hearing music I last really heard in high school. The weird thing is that I actually kind a like that music now. It is so bad it is good- you know.

So here are a few pics from the Prom. If you missed it, you missed the time of your life. We'll do it again next year, and I'll be listening to a little more 80s music in the meantime!

I Love Journey

2008-02-22T23:14:00.006-06:00

I love Journey. I am saying it proud and I am saying it loud- give me more Journey!

I love Journey so much that I have finally found a way to choreograph to their music. I am gonna do it on rollerskates!

This summer we will premier our first-ever evening-length work all on skates- at Austin's Playland Skate Center. I am a pretty crappy skater, so I am not going to be able to be the lead skater (unless that role involves falling down and holding the wall a lot). I am hoping to use a lot of the regular skaters who go every week to skate at Playland. These people have got the moves- and they make it look so easy.

I have hired a good friend and a great composer to create the musical score for the dance. His name is Bob Boster and we both went to Mills for graduate school- he in music and me in dance (go figure!). He asked me to come up with a list of my favorite skate songs and it has just been so darn inspiring to listen to all of this music. I am particularly moved by the late 70's/80's power ballads where the singer is just really letting it go- singing his or her heart out for all that it is worth. Skating to songs like that is heaven- there is just no better feeling.

So to get you inspired, I will leave you with a link to one of my favorite Steve Perry videos. He is my hero!

Recycling Center- 101

2008-01-30T12:58:00.000-06:00

Fellow dancer and collaborator Ann Berman accompanied me last week on a very informative tour of BFI's recycling center in North Austin off of Metric. Attached are photos, and my overwhelming sense after seeing this center was how much stuff we discard- even if it is to be recycled. The work that goes into sorting and managing the paper, plastic, and cans (which is mostly what they can sort and send off to be recycled at this location) is immense- and this isn't an incredibly large center. Matt Meyers, our very informative and enthusiastic tour guide, said that if even one of the bailers used to compress the paper/plastic/cans quits working (which happens), stuff can pile up in as little as a day. That would really stress me out!

So essentially what happens at this site is that different outfits bring in their recyclables (from local businesses and some residential sites in Cedar Park), and these are then sorted and bailed up to be sent to the paper mill or plastic plant or wherever they are eventually recycled. Much of the paper goes to Mexico, where it is recycled into tissue and toiler paper (I love it—Mexicans wiping their butts with American office correspondence!).

The plant employs about 25 employees, and some employees do sort through the materials by hand, putting the card board in a particular bin, etc. Much of that work is initially done by machine, but people still have to go through and do fine detail work.

My thanks go out to these people- who work in the fumes everyday inside the warehouse (trucks have to drive inside the warehouse- so the exhaust makes it pretty stinky) doing exhausting work so that I can send my trash not to the landfill.

Anything involved with trash means dirty work- and I am beginning to understand this better. And the people who do it know that better than anyone else.

More soon!

Trash Diary #4 - obsession is setting in

2007-12-10T12:43:00.000-06:00

So I am becoming obsessed with trash- my trash in specific. Last night my husband went to the grocery store, and instead of celebrating that it wasn't me who had to brave the crowd for a Sunday night mad trip to the store, I lamented the fact that he didn't take my reusable plastic bags and containers with him. He brought home broccoli in a brand-new plastic bag- how could he be so brazen! And then the pancake mix in a non-recyclable container (that he say he figured we could re-use somehow)- that just really sent me over the edge.

Later Blake asked me if - for the life of this project or for the rest of my life- I am going to be THIS OBSESSED with the trash we produce in our household. I thought about it, and am afraid that my answer just might have to be YES. I just think about it all of the time. I was upset with myself when I didn't take my reusable cup to Jo's for my decaf soy mocha the other day, and then I forgot my cloth bag when I went into Goodwill to pick up some baskets (2nd hand one's!) for my daughter's toys. How could I be so careless??!!

But this is where I am now. I might start to relax more as I get more into this project- or maybe I will become ever more obsessed. I certainly don't want to alienate my friends and families (and have to go the grocery store myself every Sunday night). But I do want to make less waste.

So for now, I think I will just have to be where I am. I will try to be gentle with folks, and let people know that I am just beginning to learn about trash in all of its elements. Obsession is never easy, is it?

Trash Diary #3

2007-11-27T21:44:00.000-06:00

Much has been happening in the trash world lately for me. Many exciting things, actually! Photos attached are of the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Plant and you can read more about that below.

But first, I had a great conversation with a good friend's dad who worked in hazardous waste for many years. He was an operations manager and his job was to oversee that all went right with disposing of our most hazardous and harmful refuse. He started the conversation by telling me, "Trash is a dirty job." I liked that. He talked a lot about the in's and out's of waste management, explaining to me that trash is a big business, a really big business these days. (just check out the leading company in the industry's website- Waste Management) He also said that the industry has really cleaned up its act since the 1980's, and that landfills are much safer than they used to be. He emphasized that the really hard work is done by the guys who pick up trash, the front-line guys as I have heard them called. Even though more and more of the work is automated, the people who pick up the trash curbside are the ones who still do the heavy lifting. I asked at the end of our conversation what would be one thing he would like to see happen in the trash industry in the next 20's years, and he immediately responded "recycling." We simply have to send less stuff to the landfill. Easier said than done, I know. But this does seem a key ingredient in getting a hold on our ever-expanding production of trash.

On another waste angle, Genevieve and I made a fun and extremely enlightening visit to the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant- or in other words the place the where all of our (City of Austin) poop meets its final resting place- sort of. I am not going to try to explain what exactly happens here, as I imagine I won't even get it right, but I will say it was exciting to see how ahead of the curve our city is in this area. Essentially sludge (which is what cannot be taken out of wastewater and directed back into the river) goes through a series of processes where it becomes a biosolid, which is then mixed with yard waste and composted to eventually be sold as Dillo Dirt. I never knew that I was buying my own poop back in those wonderful bags of garden compost! Hornsby Bend is also a nationally known bird watching site, as birds and other wildlife make their homes on the ponds, fields, and riverside forests on this 1200-acre site. It did smell a little though, but I imagine birders don't mind that too much. As long as you aren't too close to the digester or composting area, you might think you are at a State Park for all of the wildlife. I would go back, for sure.

All of my research these days is leading me to the conclusion that there is literally loads and loads to learn here in the trash world. For starters though, I want to focus on the people who collect trash and the movement around this kind of work. I think that will keep me grounded and headed in a good direction. I am becoming obsessed with the trash in my own kitchen and how to make less. I will write about that more later, but needless to say I already have a growing collection of plastic containers #3-#7's bagged next to my washing machine that I am holding on to until Ecology Action starts recycling them (I was told it would be soon!).

So it's the people who do the work now, and I will get my chance to learn more about them when I meet with the public information officer from the City's Solid Waste Services in December. I know I will have a lot of questions to ask. And I keep playing with the idea that I am going to meet the guys who pick up my trash- take them a cup of coffee and strike up a conversation and say thank you. Little will they know that I have a dance in mind. But I can save that for later...

Trash Diary #2

2007-11-16T00:27:00.000-06:00

So I just learned that today- Nov 15th- is Texas Recycles day. This is a day made for me! As I unloaded 6 bags full of paper to be recycled at Ecology Action today I was participating in a massive statewide event and I didn't even know it. Wow!

Too bad Texas Recycles Day wasn't publicized more widely- or maybe it was and I just missed it. But I did come across a link in TheOtherPaper that completely breaks down the recycling business in Austin. It tells you all you want to know about recycling in Austin and then some- check it out at http://thatotherpaper.com/austin/recycling_in_austin.

But the big news for me today is that Genevieve and I made our first visit to the City's Wastewater Sludge Facility. It was fascinating. I will write more about this tomorrow- so stay tuned to get the "poop" on where all your poop ends up (at least for those Austin folks reading this blog...)

More soon!

why I do what I do

2007-11-05T20:38:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been thinking about why it is that I approach making dances in the way that I do. I have had to articulate this in the past for grant applications and artist statements. But I figured it might be time to do some more informal writing about this idea. Writing some of these thoughts down might help me as I move ahead with a number of new projects.

So here goes.

I make dances about things that I am really curious about. I use the process of making a dance to learn about a group of people, a job, or how something works. I make dances so that I can see something very beautiful and or unique happening right before my eyes. This was certainly the case with The Gondola Project. I just knew that a group of gondoliers rowing their gondolas together in some sort of organized way would be beautiful- and it was.

I make dances so I can have a big life. Making In Case of Fire gave me a good excuse to ride out on fire trucks and hang out with firefighters for nearly a year. How else could I have done that without the cover of being an artist? Or, how else would I have learned about what it is like to live and work with a guide dog if I hadn't made Sextet? I get information about the world and get to know a particular group of people in a way that I wouldn't be able to without the process of choreography. I get to put my head into something for a while and really learn.

I make dances so I can be a part of a community that I wouldn't otherwise have easy access to. Take Elvis impersonators for instance. Working on The King & I gave me the chance to really learn about what it is like to be an impersonator. And I got the inside scoop on that community- the competition, the camaraderie, the jumpsuits.

And I know that I make dances to make art that is exciting and satisfying to me personally. I want what I make to be of high quality, to be well crafted and thoughtful. I want to be enlivened when I perform the dance or watch it be performed. I want to see something that makes me smile real big.

I also make dances to bring new people to modern (or is it post-modern??) art. I have long thought that if both my grandfather and a teenager like my dances, then I making my work the right way. I want people to feel like they "got it" when one of my dances is over. I don't want my work to see snobby or only for the artistic elite. But I wouldn't mind if the artistic elite liked it as well.

Finally, I make dances to show our connections to each other. This has always happened- almost magically so- in my larger site-based works that feature "non-dancers"- In Case of Fire and The Gondola Project for example. The people who perform the dance are different when the dance is over. They are amazed that they haven't died of humiliation, but more so they are transformed by having been active participants in the creative process. That may sound kind of hokey but it is true. People come out seeing their connections to each other more clearly when they have performed together in this way. And we as audience members notice that and feel our connection to the performers as well.

Trash Diary #1

2007-10-24T12:06:00.000-05:00

I have begun work on a new project- and for now I am calling it Trash.

I have thought for years it would be interesting to work with people who collect trash. This is a job that has been in existence for our entire history as humans, and in the last 100 years the nature of this work, especially in the USA, has changed tremendously.

So I have started- at last!

Today I went to Ecology-Action to take my paper and plastic recycling that the city won't take. They take any kind of paper that tears at Ecology-Action. The city doesn't. Curbside recycling only takes office paper, envelopes, sticky notes, magazines and newspaper. No paper packaging, paper egg cartons, or paper towel rolls. I actually never knew this until a month or so ago when I decided to investigate (spurned on by my Trash project). For years I have been giving the city paper that just goes straight to the landfill- I cringe at the thought of that! And Ecology-Action takes more plastic, too, #1 and #2. Soon they are going to take #3-#7. Hooray!

But, as the employee I met at Ecology-Action said to me today, recycling isn't the answer. We have to reduce our waste. Sure, recycling is better than sending stuff to the landfill, but there is still an enormous amount of energy expended to recycle, say, a plastic bag that you use once and then get rid of. I think recycling makes us feel better, and it should. But it isn't the solution to our huge waste issues in this country.

But isn't my project about Trash? I need to talk to Trash folks! So I am working hard to find the right people to talk to at Solid Waste Services in Austin so I can start hanging out with the front-line workers. Will they let me ride around in a trash truck? We will see. But that is where I am going to start.

Starting- finally!

Joy is the measure of all success

2007-08-31T22:22:00.000-05:00

Before I sat down to blog tonight, I brewed a cup of tea and was struck by the wisdom of a few words printed on the end of the tea bag- "joy is the measure of all success." In writing about the amazing run Forklift had of The King & I, I see these words as a perfect guide for me tonight.

The King & I '07 closed on an extraordinary high note- Elvis would be so proud! We sold out our final three shows, we dancers gave very solid performances, and we featured three Austin celebrities- singer/songwriter Michael Fracasso, Statesman columnist John Kelso, and Austin Mayor Will Wynn- making their 1st-ever Elvis appearances. Photos are attached of these special guests, and more photos are available on our Flickr site. You can also see video of some of these performances on our Youtube site. Both sites can be accessed from this blog via the links on the right side of this page.

But with all that went so well, what am I most proud of after such a successful run? It is hard to say, but I think what I keep coming back to is how this dance touches so many different kinds of people in such a strong way. One of my old friends (who happens to be a veteran Forklift dancer for he is a firefighter with the City of Austin and appeared in In Case of Fire) said it very eloquently. After seeing the dance a 2nd time, he exclaimed "It's like MTV and the History Channel mixed together. I had to see it again!"

My sweetest moment during the run came with the ending number on our Aug 16th tribute performance. As Terry, Ann and I began to sing "I Can't Help Falling in Love" a cappella, a few audience members, tentatively at first, began to sing with us. By the end of the song, the entire audience had joined in, with some folks in the audience even doing the hand gestures with us. I felt as if we were singing the song to ourselves, each other, and to Elvis, knowing that in the end loving as big as we can is what it is really all about.

So Elvis has left the building for me for now. I will begin tour planning soon, but for at least a week or so I am trying to rest and recuperate, enjoying what my tea bag said this evening- joy is the measure of all success.

A hunka hunka burning Mayor!

2007-08-15T10:55:00.001-05:00

Elvis feevah just keeps going! Now even Austin Mayor Will Wynn has joined in as he is hard at work preparing for his first-ever Elvis debut, set for tomorrow, Thursday, Aug 16th. Attached is a photo of the Mayor working in his office while breaking in the Aloha jumpsuit that he will wear for the performance (and he looks mighty good in the jumpsuit, if I do say so myself- Elvis would be pleased!). Anticipation is building for tomorrow night's show and I am eager to hear Mayor Wynn belt out the first lines of "I can't stop loving you," the song he will sing as a duet with our favorite Elvis Tribute Artist, Donnie Roberts. To get psyched for the show, check out Elvis singing this very song on Youtube. Its Elvis feevah- and we are gettin' all shook up!

thank you Trish Murphy- thank you very much!

2007-08-13T23:25:00.000-05:00

Trish Murphy was our first female Elvis impersonator for our Thurs., Aug 9th show and she was awesome! It was like she was born singing Elvis. And, she looked so good in her jumpsuit, too! Thank you Trish for being such a great performer and unleashing your inner Elvis. "E" would have been so proud!
Above is a photo of Trish, myself and our amazing ETA, Donnie Roberts.

A Chronicle and XL Cover- I feel my 15 minutes ticking by

2007-08-07T10:35:00.000-05:00

I have been extraordinarily blessed by the press gods and goddesses for this run of The King & I, for we have appeared not in one cover story- but two! So far no one off the street has come up to me saying, "Hey, wasn't that YOU on saw on the cover of XL and The Chronicle." Oh well... I did stand at Whole Foods in front of The Chronicle display last week, hoping that someone would notice me on the cover. A very gracious woman standing near the display took my photo for me (see attached picture), but that still didn't seem to get anyone to stop shopping and come ask me all about it.

Nevertheless, all of us from the company were very excited to be featured in this way. Now we all have something we can frame (twice!) and hang on the wall. And as Terry (one of the dancers) said, we can say that we have really made it now!

Links to the two covers stories:
The Austin Chronicle
XL from The Austin American Statesman

Read a review from The Austin American Statesman of The King & I and another review from The Austin Chronicle

Was that Kathy Westmoreland and Elvis feevah is just too much

2007-08-05T00:31:00.000-05:00

Hold the phones- word has it that Kathy Westmoreland almost came to our show this weekend! I am not sure if I have the story straight, but what I think is that a friend of her's came and that she almost came with. Can you believe that? Our little Elvis show with THE Kathy Westmoreland- Elvis' famous "high voice" singer from the 70's-now that would be something!

And...what will they come up with next? A fellow Elvis fan sent me a link today for a new product coming out that is an animatronic Elvis bust with infrared eyes and lips that sync to music- man oh man. There are even four levers dedicated to the upper lip to create Elvis' signature sneer. Read the article for yourself . Personally, I prefer Terry Hardy's sneer as she performs it in The King & I. It just don't get any better than that!

Opening Night!

2007-08-03T15:00:00.001-05:00

Well we made it through opening night! We had a fabulous crowd and after many long hours of preparing were so relieved to get to enjoy ourselves finally. This show is really about having fun- for at least most of it. Jim Swift rocked! I was so impressed with the gusto he displayed in his Elvis performance. I never knew he was such a performer!

And all of the other Elvi, performers and crew were amazing. We were just right on, and now we get to breath a little easier as we head into 8- count them 8!- more shows. Most times we dancers have 2-3 shows max. I am delighted I get to grow in the show even more since we have 8 more times to perform it.

So come see the show if you have't. I promise you will be happy that you came. And, you can pick up your own pair of Elvis underwear (not his, of course).

off to nap!

on this day in 1977

2007-06-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

On this day in 1977 I was probably playing outside, swimming in a swimming pool, or doing some other fun summer activity that any 6 year-old would enjoy. Did I have any idea this was the last day Elvis would perform for an audience? Well, of course not. But did Elvis know? Now that is the question!

Since beginning my research on Elvis and his legacy for The King & I, I have spent many hours on the Internet reading bizarre and rambling posts by people from all over. I have read about Elvis citings in supermarkets in Oklahoma to bars in Czechoslovakia. I have read about Priscilla, the Colonel, Joe Esposito and Elvis' parents Vernon and Gladys. I know about Elvis' love for all food southern and his penchant for taking late night plane rides just to eat that special something.

But the most intriguing reading has been that about Elvis' last concert, particularly the idea that Elvis knew it was his last show. Elvis did different things with that concert. He played a longer set than usual, introduced his father to the audience, and lingered on stage at the end as if he didn't want to leave. Now, in hindsight I think it is easy to say that he knew it was his last show. But in some ways I like to think he might have really known this. Maybe he had a moment to reflect and take in what he had done as an artist and musician- to feel good about it all for a second two. Near the end I don't think he felt very good about much of anything, especially with his body falling apart as it did. So for me I like to entertain the idea that maybe he did know- even it was subconscious and in the back of his mind. I like thinking about endings like that.

here is a link to one of my favorite posts about the last concert

And a link to a nice look at his last year of touring

Karate- my man!

2007-06-15T22:51:00.000-05:00

Oh Elvis so loved Karate! I have been researching all about this passion of his as we are adding a new section to "The King & I" inspired by E's love for the martial art form. Elvis actually put together a team to make a documentary featuring many of the leading American Karate teachers of the day, but the project was never finished because they weren't able to get the footage they needed featuring Elvis doing karate. Supposedly he wanted to wait until he lost 10 lbs., felt better, or had a different outfit- who knows. But that is just too darn bad. Can you imagine a karate documentary with Elvis! Not that would be just too kick ass- no pun intended.

Here are a couple photos of us dancers (Terry, Ann and myself) working on our karate moves in the studio. Notice that Genevieve is the main star, actually.

And it all went stroller-ly

2007-05-02T22:32:00.000-05:00

Strollergirls had its performance debut last Sat. and all went very well. There were no meltdowns, poopy accidents, busted stroller wheels, or even a cry of protest from the two Genevieves. An enthusiastic audience braved the early summer heat to watch our short performance, with highlights being at the opening Genevieve Clark giving a flirtatious grin to the audience after a yummy nurse with her mama, and Genevieve Trabulsi-Orr steering her stroller full force across the park at the conclusion of the dance. Hopefully Caroline and I will still remember the dance in a few weeks so we can video tape it since operator error prevented a video from being made (it is always the technology!). Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure. Notice the looks of great enthusiasm on the girls' faces as the mamas get their groove on!

up with the monks

2007-04-28T04:50:00.000-05:00

It is 4:50am and I am up sitting at the computer. I know I should be sleeping, but I am sick and I can't breath through my nose and after a 2nd round of Advil Cold I decided to get up for a bit. They say you shouldn't lie in bed when you can't sleep anwyay, and I was starving- which if you don't know is a constant state for me since Genevieve was born and I started nursing. So here I am up with the monks- the holy hour of 4am.

The world does seem especially quite and peaceful right now. Seems like a good time to write in a journal, no?

G and I had our final rehearsal today for Strollergirls. I have loved working on this dance because the rehearsal process has been exactly what it needs to be for Caroline and me. We show up usually about 15 minutes after we say we are going to meet, because it always takes longer than you think to get out the door with a baby. We then have to organize and get the babies in the strollers, which takes another 10-15 minutes. Once we have all of the right toys, water, snacks, and hats in the strollers we can proceed to an open area on auditorium shores and rehearse for 20 minutes or whatever time we have left before one or both of the Genevieves says "I am out of here!” No angst-ing about the choreographing or thinking deeply about our beginning pose. The dance just is what it is and there we have it.

Very good for me and my deep thinking choreographic brain.

I would say many processes have become like this since becoming a mom. I just don't have the time or energy to make it all perfect anymore, so most stuff just has to be good enough. I have to let go a lot more than I used to. It is hard sometimes, because I don't like putting anything out there that isn't perfect. But these days I don't have the luxury to wonder. I am thinking that in the end this is really a gift, for I am getting to take my place with other people in just being fine with -- baby is crying- so gotta go. End to my 5am peaceful hour!

strolling strolling strolling...

2007-04-18T15:33:00.000-05:00

Caroline, the Genevieve's and myself met today for another rehearsal as we prepare for the premier of Strollergirls. The dance is really beginning to take shape, and my Genevieve (both of our daughters are named Genevieve) got to practice her favorite move- driving the stroller herself. She is getting pretty good at it, even though I have to do a good deal of steering.

Here is a photo of the two Genevieve's- don't they look enthusiastic! (they already have the dancer malaise...).

And we are looking for other babies with strollers and mamas or daddies, other family, or friends to join us in the finale. Read below for more info. Here is your big chance to make that stroller-dancing debut you have been dreaming about!

Strollergirls will be performed Sat., April 28th at 1pm on Auditorium Shores.

-----------------------------------

Calling All Babies and People Who Stroll Them!

Local choreographers Allison Orr and Caroline Sutton Clark will present Strollergirls- a new site-specific dance for children and their loved-ones on Sat., April 28th at 1pm on Auditorium Shores.

Join Caroline and Allison in the grand finale. Any child with a stroller and loved-one is welcome (mama's, daddy's, auntie's, uncle's, grandma's, grandpa's, cousin's, friend's, etc.).

To participate in the finale, be at Auditorium Shores at 11:30am on Sat., April 28th. Learn your part in ONE rehearsal from 11:30am-12:30pm and then perform the dance at 1pm. Participation couldn't be easier! All levels of dance experience warmly welcomed.

To sign up or for more info, email Allison at allison@forkliftdanceworks.org

Strollergirls is presented as part of Fuse Box, Refraction Art's Alternative Arts Festival. See http://refractionarts.org/ for more info about Fuse Box.

High Life finds sumo wrestling at its peak- sort of!

2007-04-02T11:56:00.000-05:00

My personal highlight from The High Life (our fabulous FLDW fundraiser at the home of David Quin on Sat., March 24th) was watching Mark Strama and Eddie Rodriguez go to head to head on the sumo mat. Ben Serrato did an amazing play by play over the microphone as Mark and Eddie tried their darndest to push and shove each other out of the ring. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time (which can be a dangerous thing for a new mother- but I won't go into details there).

The Cake Walk was also a big success, with many walking away with homemade cakes or a donated gourmet cake like the Lemon Marzipan from Sansalone's. And I had one delicious dog from JJ's hot dogs. Who knew hot dogs could taste that good!

Thanks to all who came out and made our first High Life such a success. We had lots of fun and raised good money for the company. I don't know if I will take on my brother at sumo again (see photos), but I sure loved watching! Photos above also feature dancer Ann Berman and husband Shawn Smith getting ready to wrastle!

starting back up with the King

2007-03-05T10:37:00.000-06:00

We have begun rehearsals for our Aug re-mount of "The King & I". I figured if we started now with weekly rehearsals, we would be ready by August! It has been a lot of fun to get back into the studio and re-learn the material, and I am seeing how much easier it is to work on a dance that I have already made. I now understand why ballet companies do The Nutcracker over and over again, because it is a whole different thing putting up a show you already know and have learned before.

But we are going to make some changes to "The King & I"- expand some sections, tighten up others. So it will be an even BETTER show- I promise!

You can check out a 3-minute edit of the '05 version of the show on YouTube Feel free to post your thoughts and comments, too!

And our fundraiser, set for Sat., March 24th from 7-11pm, is fast approaching. Plans are really coming together and I am very excited about the celebrity Sumo showdown that is brewing. More details about all that coming soon!

oh my god i have an office

2007-02-19T11:12:00.000-06:00

After years and years of running this company out of whatever space I could come up with, I now finally have my very own office! This is immensely exciting- I have a desk for my computer, built-in file cabinets, and even a door I can close. I know that having this special place to work is going to bring even more success to the company, for I have always felt that as an artist you first need a good place to work. I have relatively easy access to a dance studio here in town, but have never had a great place to do the other work of the company- writing grants, filing, fundraising, etc. Now I do! Attached is picture of the office--you can imagine me sitting here glowing!

creative dance success- once again!

2007-02-15T11:02:00.000-06:00

Leaps and Bounds, the company's creative movement program at Mainspring School, had another successful culmination this past week with our final class showing on Feb 14th. The preschoolers delighted parents and teachers alike with their enthusiastic and inventive dancing. I love teaching this program and always enjoy our final showing, for it demonstrates very clearly how wonderful dance is for children. We even got some parents moving with us this time!

I have also noticed this year how much more I enjoy teaching these children now that I have my own child. I didn't think it would happen that way and was surprised by these feelings. Now that I have one of my own I feel even more love and attachment to these children - each one being unique and amazing in his and her own way.

Dance Carousel sells out!

2007-02-03T11:11:00.000-06:00

Surprise surpise...Dance Carousel sold out for 3 out of our 4 shows! Great reviews appeared in local press.

Check out the Austin Chronicle Review, a write-up from dance writer Clare Croft, and Jeanne Claire Van Ryzen's blog

Feel free to write your own thoughts about the show here on the FLDW Blog (if you were lucky enought to get a ticket).

And I still love watching Khoi every time he dances (I think I have seen the solos about 30 times now!)

4 new dances I could never do

2007-01-21T21:34:00.000-06:00

When my name was chosen for Dance Carousel (director Ellen Bartel chooses all participants by lottery), I of course wondered what I could make. The assignment seemed pretty easy- make four 1-minute dances to be performed with 36 other 1-minute dances. My requirements were that the choreographic process be pretty simple and that I not perform the dances themselves, for I am parenting an infant and knew performing now would be a stretch. So when an old student, Khoi Le, said to me, "Allison, if there is ever anyway I could work with you, pleaseeee let me know," I decided to jump on it and choreograph on Khoi.

Khoi is certainly a gifted dancer and he can move in ways that would never be possible for me. I decided to take advantage of that and make dances that would be very athletic and physically challenging- even for Khoi. It has been really fun, especially since I have often said something like, "Well, can you do that swirly thing there and then go into a handstand and then do that breakdance windmill thing and then spin around on your back?" I love it! I can't really help Khoi all that much since I can't do much of the choreography, but it is sure fun directing it all and then watching him work so hard to make it happen.

And the other new bit about these pieces is that they are really all about dance- and about very technical dance. I usually don't choreograph this way at all, but instead look for more regular, everyday activities to give me ideas for movement. And on top of all that I am using Vivaldi, which is sooo dancey dancey. But I am a huge Vivaldi fan, and will have to write about that next.

FLDW hits the highway

2006-11-06T13:14:00.000-06:00

Forklift Danceworks hit the highway this past weekend as Blake, Genevieve and I visited Sweetwater, Big Spring, and San Angelo to tour the historic municipal auditoriums in these respective communities. Our plan was to see the venues where Elvis and his band played in 1955 and to talk with local contacts about bringing "The King and I" to these towns. We had a great trip and had lots of fun exploring these small towns. Here are a few pictures documenting our journey.

San Angelo

2006-11-06T12:58:00.000-06:00

Here we are in San Angelo. We didn't get to see the inside of the theater as it was closed, but we did admire the theater from the outside and catch a little bit of a Nutcracker rehearsal by the Civic Ballet in their studios just down the street. We will be back!

Big Spring

2006-11-06T12:44:00.000-06:00

Big Spring has a beautiful, Moroccan-inspired theater which was completed in 1932. Here are photos from the outside, from the wings looking at the stage (gorgeous dancer-friendly wood floor), and from the stage out to the house. Pretty impressive. Wayne Newton performed here, too!

Sweetwater

2006-11-06T12:33:00.000-06:00

Here are some photos from our visit to Sweetwater- a view of the stage (where Elvis and Fred Astaire both performed- not together, though!), a view looking out at the house, and the outside of the theater. Theater was completed in 1927.

a few of the family

2006-11-06T10:02:00.000-06:00

Here are a few of the family from our road trip. Genevieve has proven to be the perfect traveler!