Audition for Site Specific in Austin

FUSEBOX FESTIVAL AUDITION NOTICE

What: Auditions for Bodies in Urban Spaces as part of the Fusebox
Festival in April 09
Who: Choreographer Willi Dorner presented by Fusebox and the Austrian
Cultural Trust
When: Auditions will be held from noon till 4pm on Sunday Feb 15th @
the Blue Theater (916 Springdale Rd, Austin TX).

The piece will be performed on
April 25-26th as part of the Fusebox festival

They are looking for about 20 to 25 dancers.  there will be a
simple rehearsal schedule (roughly the week of the performance) and
then a couple of performances that opening weekend of the festival.
Contact: Email ron@fuseboxfestival.com to schedule an audition

MORE INFO ON THE PERFORMANCE:

“bodies in urban spaces” is a moving trail, choreographed for a group
of dancers. The performers lead the audience through selected parts of
public and semi-public spaces. A chain of physical interventions set
up very quickly and only existing temporarily, allows the viewer to
perceive the same space or place in a new and different way – on the
run.

PAST PERFORMANCES:

01.06.2007           Baden (Austria); ‚Viertelfestival NÖ –
Industrieviertel 2007′ (1 perf.)

04.07.2007              Paris, ‚Festival Paris Quartier d’été’ (3
perf.)

28.07.2007           Chamarande (France), Festival ‚Urban
Connections’ (2 perf.)

29.09.2007           Opera Lille, France, “Happy Day” by Christian
Rizzo (3perf.)

11.-13.10.2007       Vienna (3 perf.)

25.07.2008               Regionale, Steiermark, Austria (2 perf.)

08., 9.10.2008,      Helsinki,URB 08, urban festival (2 perf.)

26., 27.08.2008       Stockholm, Dansens Hus (5 perf.)

05., 06.09.2008       Philadelphia, Philadelphia Live Arts Festival (2
perf.)

20.09.2008               Rouen, Les Dessous du Patrimoine (2 perf.)

23.-25.10.2008      Bern, Schweiz, Festival Tanz in.Bern (4 perf.)

REVIEW FROM PHILADELPHIA LIVE ARTS PERFORMANCE

” Bodies in Urban Spaces. Hats off to Live Arts for bringing Willi
Dorner from Austria to stage this spectacle. It was a delight,
inviting us to look closely at our city and at bodies in relation to
architecture. In a herdlike audience of roughly 500, one could
encounter friends by chance or share the playful experience with
strangers.

Starting at JFK Plaza and ending in Rittenhouse Square, the event
wound through walkways and plazas, buildings and alleys, like a live
Where’s Waldo?, always seeking out the next in a series of human
sculptures. Twenty-one dancers in colorful sweats and hoodies formed
and re-formed pileups. These were orderly – two sets of three in fetal
crouches, sneakers protruding – or sardinelike, or more random, draped
close or with angled limbs jutting out. By assisting one another, they
climbed high above doorways or low into tree wells, poured into tight
phone-boothlike enclosures or spread out in lines along the ground.

Bodies in Urban Spaces, besides being a wonder of organization and
stamina, was a model of public art: free, fun, and transformative.” -
Lisa Kraus

ARTIST BIO

Willi Dorner – born 1959 in Baden, Austria – studied dance, dance
pedagogy and dance therapy at the ‘Austrian Society for Dance Therapy’
and is a certified Alexander technique teacher. From 1983 until 1986
he was a student at the Vienna Conservatory for Music and the
Performing Arts. He studied at Erick Hawkins Studio in New York and at
the School for Body-Mind Centering in Developmental Movement. Further
work was with Andrew Harwood, Dani Lepkoff, Irene Hultman and Stephen
Petronio. Dorner was a member of Nina Martin’s company in New York and
I.D.A. – Mark Tompkins Company in Paris.

He started to choreograph his own productions in 1990: Alien (1990),
and now (1992), intertwining (1997), mazy (1999), back to return
(2000), threeseconds (videoroom installation 2001), [...] (2003), the
not at all (2002), Hanging Gardens (interdisciplinary 2004), 404
(2005), Inbetween (2006),dance karaoke (club project 2006-2008),
bodies in urban spaces (2007)

Besides his international touring dance performances Willi Dorner is
keen on creating events that give the audience the opportunity for new
experiences, insights and a different perception of every day’s life.
Cie. Willi Dorner’s stage performances and side specific works are
presented in festivals and venues in Europe, Africa, North and South
America and China. He worked as guest choreographer for the Ballet of
the Vienna State- Opera, the Dance Theatre Ireland in Dublin, the
Transitions Dance Company London and the Scottish Dance Theatre.

Prizes: the Eurodans prize in 1998, the Tendances award in 1999, the
Austrian Dance Production award in 2000, Pearls07 for mazy the films
(best editing)2007.

Returning and Readjusting

Returning

While living in Waco I had little opportunity to perform and spent almost five years teaching dance at private studios, a community college, and other organizations. I am passionate about teaching but I missed the creative and physical challenge of dancing within a company.

We moved back to Houston while I was eight months pregnant. Needless to say, although I was happy to be back in the city and was looking forward to enjoying the dance scene here, my intense focus was on this new addition to our family. My new role is that of a stay-at-home mom and it is a “job” that I love. But, certainly in the beginning, it was a job that required much of my time day and night. Now that my son is over a year old (and I am no longer breastfeeding), responsibilities regarding my son are more equally shared between my husband and I. Therefore, I have taken on the challenge of returning to the performance aspect of my dance career.

Work in Contemporary Dance Art is rarely available as a full-time pursuit unless one is dancing with multiple organizations. At this moment in my life this is actually an advantage as my interest is currently in performing “part-time.” I have returned to dancing with Suchu Dance, a company I have worked with in the past. I enjoy the collaborative process of choreographer, Jennifer Wood, and I like being part of the creation of new, original work. So three evenings a week and on Saturdays I get to take a break from my suburban mommy lifestyle and address that little part of me that has been neglected for the past several years.

Readjusting

The return has not been easy. Teaching is certainly not the same as dancing and I found it difficult to maintain my athleticism while instructing full-time in Waco. Also, pregnancy and the resulting time away from dance certainly took its toll on my core, supporting muscles. I return to dance with a slightly different body – a little older, a bit less malleable, weaker in areas that I used to be very strong. It is an adjustment physically as I work in company class and within the choreography. However, the demands motivate me toward self-improvement. Unfortunately, the biggest hurdle in my return has been my confidence. It is something with which I’ve always struggled but moreso now that my body feels different than my younger, post-baby self. There are body image concerns that weren’t there before and I find I have to deal with these emotional barriers while overcoming new limitations in my movement.

Despite the difficulties and insecurities I am truly enjoying my participation in the creative process once again. Although perhaps not the most physically adept member of the company, I do feel my history and well-seasoned qualities offer something unique in this mix of individuals coming together to construct original movement art. Also, doing something “for myself” is rewarding and improves interaction with my family. I am a better mom for addressing and following my own interests and passions, even if it does take me out of the house for periods of time.

I hope to write more about my experiences, the process of creating dance art, and my roll as a dancing mama in this space. Feel free to comment with your own thoughts or experiences – encouragement is also most welcome!