April 2010

Great news - DANCING EARTH is selected for the 2010 National Museum of American Indian Expressive Arts Award !

Eight Recipients of the Visual

and Expressive Arts Program

Award from the National

Museum of the American Indian

Published: April 28, 2010 10:00 AMThe Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian announces the eight recipients of the 2010 Visual and Expressive Arts Program award. The museum's award program offers support to a wide range of arts activities with the goal of increasing knowledge, understanding and appreciation of contemporary Native American arts.“The National Museum of the American Indian is dedicated to supporting the creative, collaborative and innovative spirit of contemporary Native artists through the Visual and Expressive Arts Program, which has been graciously sponsored by the Ford Foundation,” said Kevin Gover ( Pawnee ), director of the museum."Dancing Earth Creations of Santa Fe, N.M., will develop a site-specific, structured improvisation as the opening ceremony for its large-scale work, Of Bodies Of Elements. “Invokation” will serve to balance professional performance practices with functional ritual that serves as the root of Native dance and lies at the heart of Dancing Earth’s creativity. The collaborative process will involve the choreographer, dancers and a live musical accompanist. Dancer/choreographer Rulan Tangen will work with indigenous collaborators to discover shapes and movement phrases that relate to the performers’ respective tribal heritages while also exploring the interplay between outdoors and indoors."**************************HERE IS WHAT DANCING EARTH IS WORKING ON NOW !What:  Concert & Dance Performance with Robert Mirabal and Dancing Earth (dance troupe)When:   Friday, April 23, 7:30pmWhere:  Macey Center, One Olive Lane, Socorro, NMPrice:  $16/Adult; $14/Senior; $12/Youth, all general admission seatingTickets Available at:  Brownbilt Shoes and Western Wear, Burrito Tyme, Cashier at Fidel Center Student Union Bldg; at the door; OR, call 575-835-5688.Web: www.nmtpas.org; www.starroadrecords.com; www.dancingearth.orgTaos Pueblo Grammy Winner, Robert Mirabal, with Acclaimed Indigenous Dance Troupe, Dancing EarthPerforms in Socorro on Earth Day WeekendSOCORRO – Get close to the Earth for Earth Day. On April 23, Robert Mirabal, acclaimed musician from Taos Pueblo, and the native dance troupe Dancing Earth, perform at Macey Center as part of New Mexico Tech’s Performing Arts Series.  The show is at 7:30pm. Robert Mirabal is a two-time Grammy-Award winner who weaves ancient and contemporary music in a thoroughly original way. Described as a Native American “Renaissance man,” he is a master flute maker composer, painter, craftsman, poet, actor, screenwriter, horseman and farmer. Robert travels extensively and plays his music all over the world. Music from Robert's latest album, "In the Blood," will be featured: songs that blend scenes from the American experience-past, present and future-with themes from contemporary Native life, some sung in English and others in Mirabal's native tongue, Tiwa.  Love songs merge with ghost songs that further roll into Americana ballads and full-on tribal rockers.  Woven together with Robert's music will be original choreography by Dancing Earth. The grant from the National Endowment is to support the Socorro presentation of Dancing Earth with Robert Mirabal and his band, the artistic collaboration between the two companies, outreach activities for the Socorro and Alamo-Navajo Schools, and a performance at the Alamo-Navajo Wellness Center. Dancing Earth dancers will be developing and rehearsing original choreography, in collaboration with Robert Mirabal and his band, produced here in Socorro at Macey Center, for this performance only.Tickets for the Socorro performance are $16 for adults, $14 for senior citizens, and $12 for youth17 and under.  Tickets are available at the door or in advance at NM Tech Cashier’s Office (second floor of Fidel Center), Brownbilt Western Wear, Sofia’s Kitchen, and Video Shack. Admission is free to full-time New Mexico Tech students – those taking at least 6 hours and showing a valid ID. Students should pick up their tickets in advance at the Tech Bookstore. -NMT-**********Congratulations to our illustrious Canadian colleague Santee Smith, and her company of Kaha:wi Dance, being welcomed to New Mexico for the first time in an appearance at VSA North Fourth Art Center in Albququerque, to a full and appreciative audience ! Just back from Japan, en route to Mexico and Australia, Kaha:wi is bringing contemporary Indigenous dance around the globe!********************April brings Rulan Tangen to Stanford University for the semester as visiting artist with the Institute for Diversity in the Arts , to lead their "Race and Environment' initiativeShe is on the lookout for collaborators at Stanford and throughout Bay Area, who would like to express this theme in multi-disciplinary formsTo kick off this project, the IDA has invited DANCING EARTH to present a studio showing of OF BODIES OF ELEMENTS. Click the link below  to download their poster, with amazing photo of Nichole Salazar as costumed by MARAMA of Aotearoa, photographer Alex QuintanaSTANFORD posterThis is free and open to public, please attend and join us for Q+A afterwards!