Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Review of "Just", and venues

Review by Andrew Alexander for Creative Loafing of the past weekend's performance, "Just," presented by Wormhole and Zoetic. I have been curious about the space over at Fabrefaction, but haven't made it over there to check it out myself yet. Sounds like Mr. Alexander was impressed! Glad to have another venue available to dance in (especially if it's a good one!) And speaking of venues, I had a quick conversation with someone from Eyedrum today--the good news is that in looking for a new space they are thinking about having a performance space in the mix, including with an eye toward dance productions. The current gallery has been a great place for folks to present over the years (mostly because of the supportive folks there, and their ability to make the space not prohibitively expensive, which is great for independent artists especially.) As much as the gallery space gives an edgy, out-of-the-proscenium-box feel to a show, I think having an actual dance-friendly stage would be a welcome addition.

3 comments:

  1. And I encourage everyone who is thinking about a new space and/or remodeling to keep accessibility in mind. Fabrefaction had zero options for seating for persons in wheelchairs (and I will be contacting them) and Eyedrum is inaccessible (and I also plan on contacting them). It would be great if I am not the 'only voice in the (dance) wilderness' who seeks accessible audience, stage, tech and backstage spaces.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Douglas for this reminder. My take on venues is largely uneducated in many ways--I tend to go on the size of stage and wings, quality of the stage surface from the perspective of a dancer like myself. I don't know enough about what's required for dancers of differing abilities, nor production requirements or technical attributes, etc. I'm sorry to hear Fabrefaction doesn't have wheelchair seating--since it's a new space you'd hope they'd keep these things in mind. Eyedrum is searching for a new space, so I'm sure it's a good time to remind them also. I don't think the space they're currently in was ideal for many reasons, including accessibility.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good points, both of you. Douglas, you absolutely should contact Fabrefaction. I know they are eager to be accessible and, to Claire's point, not everyone is familiar enough with the totality of the idea to know exactly what that should look like. They put themselves in the hands of their architect who told them all was good. They simply didn't know differently. I am sure they will welcome your input. And knowing what I know now about the theatre, I believe the seating issue is easily dealt with. The door, however, may take some creative thinking.

    This could make for an interesting discussion for a future DanceATL meeting.

    Joe

    ReplyDelete