Memento Mori @ Mobius

Just a little over a week ago, Luminarium was preparing to present selected works at Mobius in Memento Mori, an exhibit and series of performance nights dedicated to the concept of remembering one's own mortality. Both LDC Directors were thrilled when not one, not two, but three of their works were selected for the show.

During Gallery Hours, Merli's film What seems so is transition played on loop along side Jimena Bermejo-Black's Tears, running from October 20th through October 24th. On Thursday evening, members of Luminarium attended the Gallery's opening, viewing work from the various sculptures, painters, and video artists in the space they would perform in the following evening.

Louise and Merli pose by What seems so is transition,
created by Merli in 2009 and performed by Louise.

The following evening, Luminarium presented Merli's Casting Shadows, Tearing Holes, which proved to be quite a challenge! Especially considering the large paper screen the dancers tear their way through literally took up the back wall of the space. With roughly 13 feet by 18 feet of danceable space, the performance proved to be extremely visceral for its audience, who not only heard the tearing of the paper up close, but felt the air rushing past them as the dancers swept past the front row, dodging those on the floor. 

By 8pm it was clear that the performance artist for 8:30 was a no show. Luminarium was asked to perform again. Unfortunately, the set up for Casting Shadows, Tearing Holes is extensive, and the company found itself out of paper and out of time. Looking around the room, it was Dahne who suggested performing a different work from our repertoire: Kim's Within from the Upon | Within Project, which will be performed one last time at Green Street Studios this coming Friday and Saturday in Y.E.S.

The company quickly sprang to action, with three of the piece's four performers, and Merli jumping in with the little bits she knew of the fourth dancer's role. Of course, this is what Mark chose to film as he, and others, stood outside the Gallery, peering in through the window...

Within

The evening concluded with a beautiful performance art piece by Mobius' Sandy Huckleberry, and Kim's Agonía. Everyone who viewed Luminarium's work was wonderfully supportive, and many were taken by Kim's two pieces, which worked well in the small, intimate space. It was a challenging, but wonderful experience for Luminarium; an experience that has us all excited by the thought of working with Mobius some time in the near future...perhaps in 2012.

Happy First Birthday... and more!

Blowing out the candles to one year of dance!

With the arrival of Luminarium's very first anniversary, we decided to throw the Sponsor Benefit Gala - an event that would serve as a birthday party, a fundraiser, and to say thanks to our sponsors. Generously hosted by AKA Bistro (owner Christian Touche) in Lincoln, MA, the celebration was well attended and very well received. Our guests enjoyed passed hors d'oeuvres and live jazz (many thanks to Jenn Allen, Alex Baboian, and Aaron Liao from Berklee College of Music), chocolate covered strawberries, and birthday cake!  A very successful silent auction featured items such as a gift basket of gourmet chocolates, a professional photoshoot/graphic design work, a pet portrait sitting, a gift certificate to Madison Floral of Somerville MA, handcrafted jewelry, and more! We cannot wait to have another anniversary extravaganza in 2012, mark your calendars!

On a more personal note, both Merli and myself are beyond words with celebrating our first year. We have had 2 of our own fully-produced concerts, shown work in performances at the Boston Center for the Arts, Mount Holyoke College, the Williston School in Easthampton, MA (with Nataraj Dancers), and at the Dance for World Community Festival in Harvard Square. We completed a successful community outreach project with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, took part in a nationally-acclaimed artistic photoshoot, and so much more. All while becoming a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization, holding two auditions, fundraising and (oh yeah!) forming an entire dance company from scratch! While we take what we have done and where we are at for granted, upon inspection this is truly quite amazing. What I believe has propelled us so far and so fast is having our company carried on a solid partnership. It is wonderful to be half of a team that is equally motivated and thorough (and of course it helps having similar lofty goals and dreams). What is a bit scary is the thought and task of keeping our momentum strong over the next year, and beyond of course. We accomplished so much in so little time, the thought of where a continued pace could lead is both nerve-wrecking and fantastic. For now, we are looking forward to the Seacoast Fringe Festival in Portsmouth, NH in October, to our Year End Concert in Cambridge in November, to the official word from the IRS on our nonprofit status, and of course to the creation of innovative new work! Believe it or not, it is already time to start creating material and looking for performance opportunities for next season!

-Kim

Below are photos of the Gala, and parts one and two of the video shown at the event. These videos provide brief clips of all of our performances over the past year!
All photos were taken by the talented Julia Wagner. View her portfolio here: http://wagnerwordsandimages.blogspot.com.

Photos:

"Art"

The company! l. to r. - Chritin Collins, Amyko Ishizaki, Louise Layman, Kimberleigh A. Holman, Meghan Riling,
Merli V. Guerra, Dahne Ledford, Jess Jacob, Mark Kranz and Guest Performer Amy Mastrangelo.
Unable to attend: Guest Performers Lori Celeste, Melenie Diarbekirian, Jarid Polite and Anna Reyes.

Guests were instantly greeted with the sounds of live music...

...the sounds of chatting...

...and laughter!

Guests enjoying the opportunity to mingle with company members.

Rekindling connections from the past-

-and making connections for the future.

Merli discusses the wonderful connections that can be made through the Mount Holyoke College Alumni network with MHC alum (and Luminarium lawyer) Freya Shoffner.

Sponsors, artists and community members of all ages  joined us for a festive night!

Our incredible host, and the owner of AKA Bistro of Lincoln, Christian Touche. Many thanks to everyone at his restaurant for making our evening unforgettable.

Drinks, laughs, and our film on the wall...

Company members Meghan Riling and Amyko Ishizaki (l. to r.) enjoying a drink inside.

Friends and Sponsors 

Family and Artists

l. to r. - Company Members Mark Kranz, Jess Jacob, K. Louise Layman, Christin Collins, and Amyko Ishizaki welcome the Artistic Directors as they enter to thank the crowd.

Kim and Merli thank their company, sponsors, family and friends, and reflect on their first year running the company together with humor and introspection.

The candles are lit!

Kim & Merli blow them out...

...and everyone enjoys cake!

Thus ends Year One. If you haven't yet, please help us improve and enhance Year Two by leaving us a comment below, in the comment box on our website, or by emailing us directly at Luminarium.Dance@gmail.com.

Thank you!

-Merli

LEAP! Photos, Thoughts & Thank You's.

Many thanks to everyone who made LEAP: Leading & Engaging Artistic Pursuits such a success last night. We are so grateful to the dancers of Luminarium Dance Company, for their shared talents and dedication. Thanks to Rob Flax for his beautiful harmonies, and to Meghan Boehmer for her patience with Amyko’s costume and for helping with our tech. Thanks to Erich Hagan, and the Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre. Thank you to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, for allowing us to do this project. A special thanks to the Jordan Boys and Girls Club, especially to Michelle, Gina and Emily who helped facilitate the logistics of this program and concert, enabling things to run smoothly. A final thank you to ALL of the JBGC members who participated in the many aspects of the Performing Arts Project. We have enjoyed watching and working with you in master classes, workshops, art projects and night programs. (Tyra, Deanna, Omarra, Daniela, and Alexis: I have very much enjoyed seeing what you brought to rehearsals and seeing you grow as dancers, nice work! - Kim)

For those of you wishing to see images from the show, both behind the scenes and during, please scroll down to view the beautiful photos taken by Steph Hodge. View her full portfolio at www.stephhodge.com.

Before the show. Scenes from backstage:

Dahne prepares her hair.

Merli laughs as the company discusses the benefits of potassium to calm nerves before a show. Turns out it really works!

Chevaun French braids Amyko's hair for her solo.

Meanwhile, Kim introduces the JBGC members to the company members with whom they are about to perform.

 The show begins. After a brief improv from the audience to the stage, the company is ready to perform:

Stand by me - Choreography by Kimberleigh A. Holman

What we bring... (A sample of our company's varied artistic styles.)

Mark Kranz: Tap and Capoeira

Merli Guerra: Classical Indian Dance (Odissi style)

Lori Celeste: Classical Ballet

Dahne Ledford: Ukrainian Folk Dance

Christin Collins: Hip Hop

...for the stars - Choreography by Merli V. Guerra

*For insights on this piece by the choreographer, visit www.merliguerra.blogspot.com!

Everything But Blue (The Film) - Choreography by Kimberleigh A. Holman, Direction and Editing by Holman and Guerra

you have hands, too? - Co-Choreographed by Merli V. Guerra & Kimberleigh A. Holman

*While difficult to see in these photos, all the dancers but Merli have written on their shirts. When Merli arrives with a blank shirt, there's only one thing for the other eight to do...

Some silliness. The "curmudgeon" section, as it has come to be known in rehearsals.

A moment with the full cast, before bursting into dynamic overlapping solos.

The end!

A final thank you to all those who attended the show, and to those who attended from afar in spirit. We are grateful for your support and are happy to share these moments with you in our blog!

This post brought to you by:

Merli