Ballet At Tandem

[caption id="attachment_145" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Photograph by Karli Cadel"][/caption]

By RUTH READER JUNE 15TH, 2011

“You’re late!” A thin muscular man calls out, his chin pointed high in the air with dissatisfaction.

A young lady joins a string of other young women lined up at Tandem’s wooden bar. Each is dressed in some variation of stretch pants and a tee-shirt; some are barefoot, some in socks. The man lowers his chin and takes a tall stance, “Okay, let’s start with pliés.” This weekend as part of Bushwick Open Studios, men and women found themselves clamoring for a spot at Tandem’s bar, or should we say barre, for a ballet class hosted by Movement Research. Taught by long time dancer and choreographer Greg Zuccolo, the class was a surprisingly vigorous two hour full of tondués, rond de jambs, and pirouettes.

Eric Trosko, Ducks, Synthesizers, and Abstract Art

By RUTH READER JUNE 7TH, 2011

What initially led BushwickBK to Eric Trosko’s studio this past Saturday was the promise of trapeze artists and acrobats. While that part of the show was cancelled, our dashed hopes were assuaged by Trosko’s musical act at Factory Fresh and studio exhibition.

What Is Performance? Figure It Out.

By RUTH READER JUNE 2ND, 2011

Last August, choreographer and performance artist Jill Sigman poured dirt onto the floor of her studio and erected an elaborate hut comprised of trash found in Bushwick for Talking Trash in a Hut, 2010. She lured passersby into her apartment with a scavenger hunt she set up around the neighborhood. She placed hand-written notes in trees that led participants to her studio for tea and conversation.

As the project evolved, so did Sigman’s apartment. She discovered plant growth and bugs in the dirt surrounding the hut after she spent just a few days away.  “It was like an entire ecosystem had sprung up in my apartment!” she marveled.