A must for your October dance calendar is the Apollo Theater’s “James Brown: Get on the Good Foot, a Celebration in Dance” (Oct. 22–26), when an exciting mix of dance artists come together to pay homage to Brown’s music through dance.
Conceived by choreographer and artistic director Otis Sallid, the program will present PHILADANCO, the Philadelphia Dance Company, and will feature new works by Camille Brown (United States), Ronald K. Brown (United States), Souleymane Badolo (Burkina Faso), Thang Dao (Vietnam), Aakash Odedra (United Kingdom) and Abdel Salaam (United States), among others.
In addition to original choreography to the Apollo Legend’s own music, the performance will feature new compositions inspired by Brown as well as extensive cultural participation activities, including Live Wire discussions, School Day and Family Showtime performances intended to examine Brown’s work. Additionally, there will be a post-show dance party featuring Burnt Sugar Arkestra. For more information, visit www.apollotheater.org.
Also this month:
Oct. 3-5: As part of BAM’s Next Wave Festival, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company & SITI Company will present “A Rite,” a collaborative work conceived, directed and choreographed by Anne Bogart (artistic director, SITI Company), Jones (artistic director, co-founder, choreographer) and Janet Wong (associate artistic director, Jones/Zane Company). For more information, visit www.bam.org.
Oct. 5: Award-winning New York-Zimbabwe dancer and choreographer Nora Chipaumire presents the world premiere of “rite riot,” a two-part work (Oct. 3-5) as part of the French Institute: Alliance Française’s Crossing the Line Festival at FIAF’s Le Skyroom, 22 E. 60th St. (between Park and Madison avenues). For more information, visit www.fiaf.org/crossingtheline/2013/2013-nor-chipaumire.shtml.
Oct. 5: Dancing in the Streets presents “The Bronx Revolution and the Birth of Hip Hop,” curated by Joanna Haigood in collaboration with GrandWizzard Theodore, Joe Conzo Jr., 3_Search and the cast, GrandMaster Caz, Mister Wiggles, Rokafella and BG183 plus guests DJ Jazzy Jay, Angel, Beasty, Kwikstep, Nyce and Zone. For more information, visit www.dancinginthestreets.org.
Oct. 7: The annual celebration of dance, the New York Dance and Performance Awards, aka the Bessies, arrives at the Apollo Theater. Martine Van Hamel and Gus Solomons Jr. host this year’s event and will be the featured performers in Paul Taylor’s “Duet” (the first time the groundbreaking piece has been performed since 1957).
Oct. 10-12: Taisha Paggett shares a program with Rebecca Davis at Dancespace Project and will premiere the story of a right-angled object who lost her faith in being upright, “centered around a trans-historical figure named Fila Buster, [and where] Paggett draws upon her research into GIFs, the cyclical fragmented image, text clips popularized in social media, Zumba, aerobics, cheerleading, color guard, 19th century Shaker dances and contradance.” For more information, visit http://danspaceproject.org.
Oct. 9-12: DANCENOW Joe’s Pub Festival (the Public Theater) will feature performances by forty choreographers over four evenings, with an encore performance Oct. 19. Performers include binbinFactory; Satoshi Haga & Rie Fukuzawa; Jamal Jackson Dance Company; Harlem Dance Club; Maura Nguyen Donohue; inmixedcompany and so many others. For more information, visit http://dancenownyc.org/joespub.
Oct. 12: Join Jawole Zollar, Liz Lerman and dancers from Urban Bush Women in “Blood, Muscle, Bone: The Anatomy of Wealth and Poverty” at Aaron Davis Hall (across the street from the Harlem Stage Gatehouse), “as they shed light on their latest collaboration in a reflection and conversation to move us forward in how we create, present and produce the art of our time.” For more information, visit harlemstage.org.
Oct. 16: Miguel Gutierrez in a special re-mount of the 2006 work “myendlesslove.” Guitierrez describes “myendlesslove” as “not quite a solo performance about sex, desire and objectification that incorporates movement, video and music … [but] … about love, sex and desire coming and going, going, gone.” For more information, visit www.abronsartscenter.org/performances/miguel-gutierrez.html.
To be listed, send press release to amnewsdancecalendar@comcast.net.