Today Google pays tribute with a “Google Doodle” animation to the great Martha Graham (1894 – 1991), one of the most important choreographers of the 20^th century.

Dedicated to the Arts, she danced and choreographed for over seventy years while receiving several high honors like the Presidential Medal of Freedom throughout her career.

See it today at Google and find out more about the amazing Martha Graham.

THE choreographer Chris Elam makes strange, contorted dances in which people knot themselves into compact sculptural forms, tangling their limbs with another’s in what can look like a fervent attempt at human connection. His company, Misnomer, tends to perform in downtown sites with few frills, and his apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn, is also his office headquarters.

These details would suggest that Mr. Elam is yet another talent pursuing his personal vision on the fringes of the contemporary dance scene. That definition would be far too limiting for Mr. Elam.

Over the last few years, in addition to garnering critical kudos for his choreography, Mr. Elam has become a pioneer in a challenging endeavor for an art form reliant on live performance: enabling dance to use the Internet as effectively as music and film have.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

Back in January, The Sundance Channel featured Misnomer during our residency at the Baryshnikov Arts Center. Earlier this month, The Sundance Channel tapped Chris Elam once again to weigh in on the presidential election as part of their Voices on the Election Back Talk Blog. Chris was asked ten questions on subjects ranging from his favorite political movie to the role of art in politics. Read the full interview.

This article includes a comprehensive review of online initiatives in dance, including the great work of Kristin Sloan and Doug Fox.

You can read the full article as a PDF.

If you have thoughts about the ways that we are using the web, feedback about your experiences with Misnomer online or in the theater, or suggestions for how we can further improve the ways we share our work with you online, please let us know with a comment.

Chris Elam’s Misnomer is a big proponent of transparency. His company videotapes rehearsals and even office meetings for posting on its video blog, which allows audiences to get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run a dance company. “Dance audiences traditionally interact with a dance company for only two hours a year and maybe get a couple of postcards,” Mr. Elam said. “But so much happens outside the performance, and we are trying to find ways of making the whole function of the company more open-source.”

Her article included a photo of Misnomer’s office in the Times:

Using her article as inspiration, we decided to give everyone a tour of Misnomer’ home office with a video we edited which the Times linked on their blog:

From their site:

The Yard is known as a beacon of support for the art of choreography. In its 34 years of existence, more than 650 choreographers, dancers, composers, and designers have collaborated on more than 200 original works at The Yard.

Keep checking back on the blog – we’ll be posting pictures, videos, and words throughout the Summer!

Misnomer is in residence at Summer Stages Dance as the first time winner of the Summer Stages Dance/Baryshnikov Arts Center Artist Residency Project.

As part of the residency, we will be teaching workshops, performing, rehearsing and developing our presenter partnership. You can see us perform live on July 12 or catch some of the show here, online.

In July and August, we will be in Concord, MA (as well as Martha’s Vineyard at The Yard) developing new work. As the second part of the Summer Stages residency, we will be working at the Baryshnikov Arts Center this Fall. We can’t wait to meet so many new people and share our work with you!

Check out the full details of our Concord, MA appearances here:

Elam’s company, Misnomer Dance Theater, never ceases to impress with their connectivity and subtle-to-intense emotional interactions. It’s the abruptness of the movements—a dancer will stand completely still for moments, then all of the sudden throw herself onto the back of another dancer—that make Elam’s choreography so intense. It’s strangely comfortable to watch, as if you are having a pleasant, but non-linear, bizarre dream.

Check out the full review here

Seeing Elam’s work and Keigwin’s in one night certainly emphasizes the contrasts between them…Elam is a true original, and his vision of humans as awkward, naïve, and eager is both comical and curiously touching.

I also really enjoyed what she wrote about Keigwin:

Larry Keigwin may not need Broadway, but Broadway could certainly use him.

Be it film, motion capture, or video games, it is interesting to think that while either choreographer could work on Broadway, they could very easily work in many other venues outside the traditional performance space. To me, that is a very exciting idea.