Day 1 – Thursday, January 7th
A day as big as this one required an early start – 7am, to be exact. At this time, we met at the Church Street Center to begin our adventure in the Big Apple. In just about 3 hours, we had arrived at the Newton Hotel, on W95th and Broadway in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
After dropping our bags off, we ventured forth to The Public Theatre, home of the Under the Radar Festival. UTR was a theatre festival that hosted various performances, from dance-theatre, to one-man monologues, to full-blown productions. A few examples of what we had seen were a piece by the Martha Graham Company called “American Document,” where the dance had asked the question, “What is an American?” Another, a one-man performance called “Space Panorama,” in which a man tells the story of the first moon landing in 1969 using only his hands to narrate. Most memorable, however, had to have been “Chautauqua!” a performance that told the story of the New York Chautauquans hundreds of years ago through various random, and choppy, skits. Everyone seemed to have left confused and shocked at the inconsistent, messy, and comedic nature of this performance.
By the end of the day, I was beginning to familiarize myself with the city. Racing taxis, thrill-seeking cross walkers, fast-talking foreigners, and mouthwatering aromas permeating the air from street vendors are just a few of the elements that contribute to NYC’s charm. And, like any true tourist, I compared the Subway to a rollercoaster at Six Flags.
For dinner, we were able to experience authentic Southern cuisine at a restaurant called “Acme.” There, I ordered the “chicken supper,” which consisted of a large, flame-broiled grilled chicken, Cajun corn on the cob that put any bottle of hot sauce to shame, and french fries. I was excited to see what the next few days would bring.
Day 2 – Friday, January 8th
While most people were at home enjoying their first cup of coffee, I was admiring the actual painting of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” at the Museum of Modern Art. This, of course, was in addition to pieces by Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dali, Picasso, and the Tim Burton Exhibit. I had never been to the MoMA, so I was truly thankful to have been able to go.
Afterwards, we had lunch at a local place called the “West 53rd St. Deli.” Though a little pricey, the food was fresh and healthy, and in NYC, that’s worth the few extra dollars. Following that, we made our way to the Hilton Hotel to officially register for the APAP conference and attend the opening gathering with speaker Rocco Landesman, chairman of the NEA. The room we were in was very large, and had probably around a thousand people in it – all representing different forms of the performing arts. Four enormous, beautiful chandeliers hung above us as we all sat and looked forward to the stage Landesman stood from with the curtain behind him that projected, “APAP Conference NYC.”
Later on, we experienced some cultural immersion, by having dinner at Turkuaz, a Turkish restaurant, and then travelling to the Japan Society to watch Asian dance performances. Turkuaz primarily consisted of kababs, lamb dishes, hummus arrangements, calamari, eggplant, and a really dim-lighted atmosphere. At the Japan Society, we met with Yoko-Shioya, the society’s Artistic Director. She told us of what she does for her job, how she got that position, and a few other personal facts about herself. Lastly, we topped the night off by going to The After Party with Brandon Cutrell, which was a late night cabaret event on 42nd street.
Day 3 – Saturday, January 9th
We began each day by meeting in the lobby of the Hotel Newton, where we were staying, every morning to discuss the day’s plans. Today we were supposed to choose our own “Professional Development Seminars,” at the Hilton as part of the APAP trip, but a speedy change in plans brought us to a dance performance that portrayed African-American traditions and rituals. This piece may have been the most emotionally charged of all of them – since at one point the dancers all came out wearing aprons with blood stains that suggested that they were part of a tribe that had just murdered people.
This trip was followed by lunch, where I had purchased an authentic “dirty water” hot dog from a street vendor. We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the Hilton Hotel, where we had heard a speech given by Majora Carter, who founded the organization called “Sustainable South Bronx,” aimed to create a cleaner and more efficient living environment in inner cities. One way she proposed to do that was to establish “green rooftops.” The rooftops would be cleaned up and there people could plant gardens, flowers, vegetables – anything! This would allow for cleaner air within the city as well as enable people to become more self-sufficient.
Following that was the APAP Annual Members Board Meeting, which, as unexciting as it sounds (and was) it was still interesting to be able to sit-in and observe. When that had finished, we got our first introduction to the “Expo Hall,” where there were 3 floors of thousands of agencies and presenters, handing out information and making business deals.
The night came to an end like any good cultural experience should – with dinner at Awash, an Ethiopian restaurant! In Ethiopia, people eat communally, using a chilled, spongy, vinegary bread to scoop the main dishes (there were no utensils.) The dishes are served in seemingly small portions, but having to eat it with bread for every bite made you fill up quick. After dinner, we chose our own showcases to go to, and off we went! I decided to see a jazz-inspired acoustic guitarist and a little bit of a latin performance. Maybe most exciting, however, was having the opportunity to “hail” my first taxi.
Day 4 – Sunday, January 10th
Today was conference day, in a manner of speaking. We all traveled a little earlier this morning to attend a meeting about careers in the field of arts management, how to make the most of it, and what managers are looking for when they hire. As an arts management major, I really appreciated everything that had to be shared – like the information I was receiving would put me slightly ahead of the game. One speaker said, “The best way to be creative is to consume,” and that the best way to network is to join in and DO things, not just watch. That conference was followed by a leadership conference. This taught me some ways to strengthen my leadership skills, though I feel this conference may have been targeted toward already-established arts managers.
For lunch, we went to the “HERE’S Hybrid Brunch Performance,” which consisted of four very modern, perhaps futuristic, dance-theatre performances that used several different types of media, props, lighting, and sound. I can’t say that I loved, or even understood, what was being portrayed to me, but I could appreciate it nonetheless, and found it to be a sort of breath of fresh air to the traditional dance-theatre norms. Afterwards, we travelled back to the Hilton to work on our project in the Expo Halls.
GLOBALFEST! Tonight was the major world music event that featured dozens of artists from dozens of countries, hosted at the Webster Hall. Such countries include Japan, France, West Africa, Ireland, Columbia, and many others. The band Caravan Palace, a jazzy, funky, techno French band, was what many in the group were excited to see. I was looking forward to hearing Namgar, a Siberian Shaman rock group. This event was an incredibly eye-opening experience into the realm of world music.
Day 5 – Monday, January 11th
The majority of today was spent in the Expo Halls, speaking with agents and presenters and trying to get prices and availability of certain artists that peaked our interests for the project. In the afternoon, we were fortunate enough to be able to sit and meet with a few professionals in the field of arts presenting. Tony Miccoci, author of “Booking Performance Tours,” and founder of Miccoci Productions, shared with us his trajectory into the field and some advice for those looking to pursue dance performance. Following him was Erica Laird, who is the Managing Director of The Builders Association, which is an agency for dance-theatre performances. She, also, shared her trajectory and some advice to us.
After meeting with a few people, we went back to the Expo Halls for a little while, then went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. Tonight was Mexican food night at Gabriela’s with some MCLA alumni! Dinner was really nice and social, where we exchanged career plans, questions, and ideas with the alum. The chicken enchiladas were really good as well.
Dinner was followed by another showcase of my choosing – the “Northern Realms Showcase!” This event held musical performances at The Scandinavian House with artists from Denmark, Sweden, Scotland, and Norway. Since my mother was born in Bergen, Norway, I was personally vested in attending this event, but regardless, this had been the best showcase that I had seen thus far.
Day 6 – Tuesday, January 12th
This morning, we went to a beautiful closing breakfast ceremony with keynote speaker Wynton Marsalis, a composer and trumpeter known and loved by all who adore jazz. The amazing breakfast was followed by an enormous lunch at Carmines, a family-style Italian restaurant with huge portions of delectable Italian cuisine. Perhaps the most memorable part of the meal was the dessert – a $24 dish called the “Titanic,” which featured ice cream, brownie, fudge, and whipped cream all in a humongous shape of the Titanic! We all left with full bellies and ready to nap. After lunch was done, we went back to the Hotel Newton to grab our luggage, pack up the van, and head back to North Adams, MA. The ride back consisted of some quiet chatter and songs from Caravan Palace, but mostly proved to be a relaxed drive home.
Posted by JessC on 01/27 at 01:00 PM
Slavic Soul Party gets the festival started on Thursday night with fiery Balkan brass, hip-grinding American grooves, and ecstatic anthems both new and old. Brash and strong as slivovitz, these nine musicians have forged virtuosic new brass band music in the heart of New York City--melding Gypsy, East European, Mexican and Asian immigrant backgrounds with American jazz and soul. 
