On Generosity

Where would we be without the generosity of our extended community? I often ask myself how have we existied....nay...thrived for almost 40 years now. There are so many people and organizations to thank. I'm going to focus on our recent month of concerts and SummerDance! programs. Tuesday evening we performed at the uniquely fabulous Mohonk Mountain House. The Smiley family, who have owned Mohonk for 142 years, has been so generous to the Company over the decades. Not only are we invited to perform annually in their wonderful Summer Festival of the Arts, produced by Pat Guralnik, but they have been so forthcoming by providing space and time for Bill and myself to write our book about the Arts Education work we do in the schools.

Just taking a moment here to reflect the beautiful three weeks of our 20th annual SummerDance! program at Stone Mountain Farm. If you haven't been to this magical land owned by Robin and Stephen Larsen, where we dance from 9:30-3:30 daily for 3 weeks, please do visit and come to the activities offered by the Center for Symbolic Studies symbolicstudies.org. Our excellent SummerDance! faculty hails from all over the world. Nina Jirka (originally from the Kremlin Ballet) offers envigorating and challenging ballet classes, Toby Stover who has been with The Vanaver Caravan for 34 years, creates new Senegalese/West African choreography. Joel Hanna (1/2 Irish, 1/2 Philippino, from Vancouver, BC, spends his summers with us and offers flashy percussive footwork classes and amazing performances, Kantham Chatlapalli (from India, living in Wappingers Falls) & her daughter Harika teach kuchipudi and Bollywood . Mirah Moriarty of DANCE MONKS (who has relocated from San Francisco and teach in our Fall and SpringDance Institute as well), created a site-specific piece for Stone Mountain Farm. Talli Jackson who grew up dancing with The Vanaver Caravan and is now a member of Bill T. Jones' Dance Company and Gustavo Caldas, our resident capoeirista from Brazil, created pieces for the SummerDancers as well. Many of these dances will be performed on the Walkway-Over-the- Hudson Bridge on Friday evening, August 12th from 5:30-7 PM. All of these teachers and artists share their hearts and souls with the dancers and make an indellible impression for life.

In the midst of all this, the Company travelled to Ithaca two weeks ago to perform EarthBeat! at Cornell University. Harry Aceto, who has played bass with us in the past, put the word out that we were looking for housing for nine members of the Caravan. As a result, we received an e-mail from Scott Wiggins at LaTourelle Resort and Spa www.latourelle.com, inviting the entire Vanaver Caravan to be their guests while we were in Ithaca! The generosity of spirit was such a welcoming energy for us weary travelers! The accomodations were more than sensational. Scott put the guys in a beautiful historic converted carriage barn that was complete with jacuzzi (for Joel's room) and dining/living room where we all ordered Thai take-out for dinner. Eating together, laughing and relaxing, we were able to joyfully plan our rehearsal schedule and talk through the program which was brand new for some members. Sara Milonovich and Moustapha Diedhiou hadn't performed with us for many years. Hannah Tobias had her debut with TVC and everyone was thrilled to welcome her into the fold. What the audience sees onstage is not only dancing and music, it is the culmination of much time together and the ongoing development of relationships. What people also see, perhaps unbeknownst to themselves, is the result of the extention of this generosity of Scott Wiggins who "set the stage" for a beautiful concert evening by offering La Tourelle and making us feel so welcome. Before we go on stage, we always circle up and build that energetic focus and foundation for the performance. We remind each other to be generous with our dancing and that performing is a gift we give to the audience and is then received. How profound is that idea of generosity. There's something about being open and receptive. After the gift of a fabulous night's sleep, great food and a reception from Scott, the Company was then in an even better place to offer themselves and the EarthBeat! concert.

This spirit of generosity was experienced again last week at PS 21 (www.ps21chatham.org) where the Company entered Judy Grunberg's vision of creating a dance and theatre space in the middle of an orchard/farm in Chatham NY. Judy housed the Company for a week in a farmhouse on the property. Nathan and Emily taught Swing dance and Bill composed music for his upcoming symphony. Thank you Judy for your vision and your incredible generosity. Please take the opportunity to visit Public Space for the 21st Century and become a part of their community as well. Generosity begets generosity. We all have so much to share.

Summer events begin!!!

The Clearwater Festival kicked off the summer for the Caravan last Sunday! TVC has been part of the The Great Hudson Clearwater Revival since it’s inception. (I remember sitting at a meeting in the old Towne Crier in Beekman when I actually first suggested the festival’s name!) Then… just a week from today we open Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out stage! I remember our first year at the Pillow in 1981, when the original Inside/Out stage was built. Terry Creach, Sharon Leahy, Terry Fister, Jim Lepore, Rachel List and Toni Smith were all part of our troupe at the time. All of us scrambled onto the newly built platform stage in a beautiful clearing on the west side of the Pillow property, and gleefully clogged and improvised among the surrounding trees and sky. I must say that we were probably one of the rowdiest bunches to hit the ground dancing at the Pillow. That summer we presented a reconstruction of Ted Shawn’s “Boston Fancy:1854” staged by former Denishawn Dancer, Jane Sherman (who would have celebrated her 103^rd birthday two days ago!). We also performed, “Appalachian & Southern Medley” for which the barn doors of the Ted Shawn Theater parted and at first the outdoors and then the actual wooden barn wall became our very memorable entrance and backdrop. That was a thrill! For those of you who joined us last August when we premiered, “EarthBeat! A Journey” you know what an amazing place the Pillow has become. Just a few months ago, President Obama declared Jacob’s Pillow a National Landmark. For us dancers, it is living history. I feel so honored that Ella Baff invited us to return this year to open the new Henry J. Leir Inside/Out Stage and be part of the celebration. I’m so very grateful to the Laskin Family for their generous and enthusiastic support making next week’s performance possible! Hope YOU will join us too. Stay tuned and stay with us as we navigate these challenging times in light of the many incredible new events happening for The Vanaver Caravan this year.

WELCOME

Welcome to the new Vanaver Caravan Website and to our blog. We have some joyful Arts Education news to report. Last week was the culmination of our 22nd Annual Calico Ball with every third grader in the Beacon City School District. Over 275 dancers were joined by Vanaver Caravan musicians and dancers and our very special guest Pete Seeger (who made this year's festival possible!). The Calico Ball has been a template for our World Dance & Music festivals in schools.

Sixteen years ago Vassar Road Elementary School began a biannual residency with TVC, spearheaded by music teacher extraordinaire, Karen MacLeod. Karen and the entire faculty at VRS really took the ball and ran with it, creating a deep learning experience where the entire school came alive with the arts. We culminated the second and third graders in a Festival of Sharing and here are Karen's remarks to the community that day:

Last week a reporter asked me what the Vanaver Dance Residency is all about. I thought about it this past weekend and I think I finally have an answer. The Vanaver Dance Residency here at Vassar Road is like a beautiful garden. To make a beautiful garden you need many things. First, someone needs to buy seeds and tools. The PTA and NYSCA generously gave money. There teachers selected the first seeds - the countries. Next they started preparing the soil, by planning interesting activities to help you learn. Just about 1 month ago we started planting seeds. Mrs. Coyne began projects in Library and you first met Gaby and Livia. Each day the seeds were watered as you practiced your dance. More seeds were planted in music, art and gym classes learning songs in different languages, listening to instruments, playing games and studying artists and art from different countries. Even more seeds were planted as you worked with your partner classes in kindergarten and first grade.

Soon plants were sprouting up all over the school. I could hardly keep track of all the wonderful things going on. There was more practicing and studying and learning. So the plants kept growing. Before long, flowers began blooming all over the school. Colorful maps and projects were hung on the walls. First graders told me about working with you and watching you dance. They could hardly wait to see all of the dances today.

In every garden there are rocks and weeds that must be removed. The weeds in our garden were our doubts – we didn’t think we could ever earn those challenging parts. But then along came Livia with words of encouragement, always believing in us and telling us we could do it. Gaby was there to help us and show us exactly how to do the steps. So we kept on practicing and things got better. Lots of parents came to help in the garden too. They helped you practice. Some sewed costumes. Others counted, washed and fitted your costumes, making sure that we had everything we needed. Some days the ice and snow kept us indoors at home and we couldn’t even get to the garden! Along the way there was lots of hard work and even sweat. It was fun working together. But sometimes you might have wondered if all that hard work was worth it. I know sometimes I wondered myself.

But now we know it was all worth it. Today you gathered some of the flowers from our Vanaver garden. You gave a big, beautiful bouquet to your parents and to everyone here at Vassar. We are all so very proud of you.

And the garden keeps growing. Some plants have begun to drop their seeds which will start new plants as you taught your dance to others. The first graders are already gathering seeds to plant in the garden in two years.

Many years ago, even before you were born, two very special people dreamed of this beautiful garden – Livia Vanaver and her husband, Bill. Livia and Bill, thank you for making that dream come true. We will always remember this wonderful Vanaver garden, because as the garden grew, each of us also grew. Livia, Gaby and Bill, in addition to and, I believe, even more important and lasting than the beautiful flowers we see today, are the seeds that have been planted in our hearts –

Seeds of friendship with buddy classes,

Seeds of cooperation and teamwork as we help each other to do our best

Seeds of discipline, perseverance, and practice.

Seeds of pride and accomplishment in our work.

Boys and girls, these are the seeds you need to water and care for so these seeds grow inside of you. These seeds will grow and blossom for the rest of your lives.

Livia, Gaby and Bill, the children have written notes to thank you for helping us to grow and work together to create this beautiful garden. Here are just a few of their words:

GRADE 3: read Beck & Wexler & Edwards

I never knew how to dance, but you guys changed that fact. You are great dancers.

I feel like I know the dance so well, like I’m a person from the Netherlands.

When we played it felt like we were really in South Africa.

The Gumboot dance is my favorite because you have to use teamwork.

I know two dances now because my brother knows the dance from Italy!

It is going to be the best day ever.

And yes, boys and girls this surely was the best day ever!

GRADE 2 – read Zmud & a few Moy

Thank you Gaby for helping us exaggerate our movements.

The dance has awesome motions and I love the dance.

It was amazing how you fixed my mistakes.

I felt so nervous at first. Then I felt impressed with myself. Just when I started dancing I thought it was so cool. When I danced I felt so free. It has been so fun.

This is just the beginning of a regular blog on our new website. We'll have entries by myself as well as Company members and guests.

May Peace Prevail on Earth,

Livia

Help Elementary Student build community through Swing Dance

We are raising votes to win a corporate grant which will bring more swing dance to the students of Glenmont Elementary School.

Please vote right now, and every day of February by clicking right here

TVC dancers Mike Jagger & Evita Arce jump for joy at your vote!

With this grant, Kinder - 5th grade students can learn about Frankie Manning, Lindy Hop, and what it means to dance with a partner with TVC dancers Michael Jagger and Evita Arce.

Overview

Building Community Through Dance brings together elementary students, their parents, siblings, grandparents, teen dancers, college students, and other senior adults in our community. Our mission is to use swing dance to build meaningful relationships within our community and to pass on the tradition of this American art form.

•Students will learn the Big Apple, the Shim Sham, and Lindy Hop moves from Vanaver Caravan dancers, Evita Arce and Michael Jagger.

•Older students will be dance partners with our younger students while they learn new steps. •Students will practice their dancing with college students from RPI's Swing Club.

•Parents will receive swing dance lessons from Isabelle's School of Dance high school dance team. •Each classroom of students will "adopt" a senior adult from an assisted living facility to share histories and to dance with.

•A Community Dance in June with live swing music will help everyone celebrate all of the social and communication skills we have learned.

Goals

• To teach children communication and social skills
• To build meaningful relationships in our school community
• To ensure, swing dance, an original American art form continues
• To learn swing dancing as a social activity

About Glenmont Elementary School

The Glenmont Elementary School in upstate New York has 400 students; 4.4% free lunch, 1.3% reduced lunch. Recently it has become more ethnically diverse. 19% of our students receive Special Education services, creating a greater need to build community.

How will the 25K be Used?
$ 5000	Alan Thomson Little Big Band
$ 6000	2 dance instructors - 1 week in April
$ 8000	Peter Davis & Lindy Hop Heaven - 1 week
$ 6000	2 dance instructors - 1 week in June

Sinterklaas

Blog December 7, 2008

Entry by TVC Director and Founder Livia Vanaver

I woke up this morning and my eyes greeted the Jackson Pollock-like patterns of tossled branches of vines and trees against the grey sky. A dusting of snow covered the woods and that chilly knowing revealed winter and darker times are truly here. In contrast, I had this tremendous warmth of feeling that resides in me often for a week, after a meaningful and satisfying performance.

It’s not that our show yesterday at the Church of the Messiah in Rhinebeck,NY as a part of the Sinterklaas winter festival, was flawless....but something else took place. I expect a lot of our dancers and musicians...but I got more than I bargained for. We already knew that going into this space to recreate excerpts from Into the Light, was going to be challenging. The collaboration with Arm of the Sea giant puppet theaterr for our holiday show this year (which will be held at Quimby Theatre in Stone Ridge on December 19-21) would require far more rehearsal in this unusual space than 3 hours alotted on the morning of the performance. This is a challenge that comes up in the lives of dance companies that tour or perform in spaces that demand the creation of an instantaneous site specific piece. Patrick Wadden, co-director of Arm of the Sea Theater and I had visited the sanctuary of the amazingly beautiful church last month, along with Jeanne Fleming, who I have dubbed Festival Coordinator Extraordinaire and planned out the sections we could conceivably recreate and the puppets we could actually use in this particular space. We discussed not only logistics but the effect of the various sections of our show that would lend themselves best to this situation.

Yesterday morning we loaded in and everyone now got an eyeful of what I had described in rehearsals in the previous weeks. I told them of the absolute necessity more than ever, to work together like an amoeba (a term the Company has fondly coined when we are on tour as a group of 16 + and tooling around a town to find a restaurant.....or navigating through a crowded festiival going quickly from one gig to the next.). Now we had our multi-generational version, 30 member cast of The Vanaver Caravan from age 9-65, finding our way “ into the light “ and actually seeing what worked, and what didn’t work and how we could create this as a site specific piece in this jewel of a space.

We rehearsed up until a half hour before show time, bending and restructuring choreography, entrances and exits and hoped for the best. Of course, when the audience arrived happily taking shelter from the cold and anticipating this heart opening holiday show that we offer, we all slipped into “amoeba mode” which I find for myself, strenghtening to the core. Pulling this show together with so many unknowns and with each person weaving his or her own part of the production led us into 60 minutes of exquisite focus. The musicians (who as many of you know, are always onstage with us) played from the balcony overlooking the sanctuary with no sound system. The dancers and giant puppets moved deftly through in an 8 foot deep runway across the front of the 25 foot wide sanctuary and through the audience down the center isle (the 2 side isles which we had staged much of the action during our rehearsal were now stuffed with more people who could not be turned away after the pews were fillled).

Good work is when everyone involved offers their very best from the deepest part of themself to each other and to the common goal. Into the Light was received by our eager audience members....who I am fondly reminded are half of the show....with the intention for which was offered. I so look forward to filling the houses in our 4 performances of this light filled production 2 weeks from now in Stone Ridge. Hope you can be there!!

Just about to go out on my daily walk on Mountain Road, down to the ever-changing waterfall to see the new ice formations and have a moment of gratitude in this profound natural setting. I do feel grateful for all the people in my life who bring their inner light to join with my own inner light in often the darkest of times. Namaste

Philadephia Folk Festival 2008

Square dancers join us for our dance workshop.

Livia Vanaver performing "Union Maid" on the Camp Stage.

Amy Fradon, Bill Vanaver, and Jim Barbero performing on the Camp Stage

Scene from "Vigilante Man", TVC dancers

All photographs by Eric Sagotsky

Moments in Dance History

by Livia Vanaver
July 15th, 1:45 AM

Just returned home from an historic day in the life of The Vanaver Caravan. Yesterday we celebrated Jane Sherman’s 100th Birthday  at the Actor’s Fund Residence in Englewood, NJ.  To tell you the truth, I was apprehensive about the whole event.    I knew that Jane was literally “ living for  this day”  and was excited to have people with whom she is very close joining her at this milestone in her life.  But most of  our Company was out of town for this particular weekend.   Even Toby, who has missed only one or two shows in the past 30 years and has never missed a performance for Jane at the Actor’s Home over the past 15 years, was in Utah.   Nevertheless,  there were 6 Caravan Kids ages 11-14 (most of whom have been with us since age 4 :  Anna Rose, Emma Baker,  Rachel Campbell, Rebe Underhill-Hval, Ginger Clickner and Juliet ten Broeke).   They worked diligently to prepare 3 of our favorite suites of ethnic dances,  some fancy footwork/odd rhythm percussive dances, and they learned  the Denishawn Floor Plastique  as recreated by the Denishawn Repertory Dancers with Jane years ago, especially for this occasion.  Jan Campbell,  one of our rock steady Caravan Moms, would drive there and would be ready as dresser and go-for.   Of the Company members,  Fode Sissoko, Ramona Staffeld, Amber Wirthmann, Bill and myself would be perform.  I would be the congenial M.C. as usual and try to weave the program together.  The program would also feature Lyudmilla Melerud,  a fabulous pianist who toured with us in France, during the  1990 Bienale as accompanist for the DRD.   Would this be enough?  We always have our own  fiddler and pianist and a larger Company.  I wanted ideally to perform several pieces from our repertoire of 10 Denishawn dances that Jane has recreated for us over the past 28 years,  but as I mentioned most of the Company happened to be out of town.   I wanted it to be special for Jane and wanted it to meet her expectations.   I needed to get out of my own way and remember what was important.  Jane had for the past 3 montths been living the Nursing Home section of the Actor’s Fund Residence and no longer in her well loved room with her writing desk, copy machine and a flurry of papers indicating many active projects,  in the Assisted Living section.  In the Nursing Home section, she could receive more attention  after several falls.   Jane had not been back to the upstairs Assisted Living section that she’s known home for the past 15 years since her transfer.  This event would ultimately be wonderful for her as is.

The drive down was uneventful.   Another particularly hot and humid day and by the time we got down to New Jersey from New Paltz, we were all schvitzing.   We set up  and Amber began rehearsing the Caravan Kids in the high celilinged lounge.  I went down  to check on Jane.  She was just getting up from a rest and a bit apprehensive about seeing  everyone and having to greet  so many people individually when she couldn’t necessarily even see or hear them well.  Then I heard my inner voice say, “Get out of the way, Livia, and just offer this loving gesture and enjoy every moment “.  2 PM arrived and so did Jane,  wearing for the first time the white tiger patterned flowing floor length vest that I gave to her,  which had been given to me in Oklahoma spontaneously by an audience member in the lobby of one of our shows this past winter.  The program began with Lydumilla playing 2 pieces including,  “Soaring”.   I watched from the lobby and wept with the Caravan Kids and some of  the  beloved  Actors Fund staff members as Jane literally danced in her chair.  I could see her being transported back to the 20’s when that piece was actually set on her.   She moved to every nuance of Lyudmilla’s forceful and fabulous rendition of Schumann’s masterpiece.  Then the Caravan Kids took their places for Floor Plastique.  Lyudmilla accompanied them (without even a rehearsal).  This was our surprise gift to Jane and it was performed with great love and reverence, flawlessly.  Amber danced,  "The Legend of the Peacock”,  the final piece that Jane recreated for TVC.  It seemed as though Miss Ruth herself was coming to pay homage to Jane on this auspicious day.     Fode Sissoko played the ngoni (a West African harp that he made on his last trip to Senegal and which never leaves his side these days) and the djembe  (a West African drum which he plays like nobody’s business!  No one even comes close to his stroke of genious touch and spiritual connection on these instruments).   Fode sings while he plays the ngoni, often improvising in Mandinko about whatever or whomever  is on his mind.    Today, he sang to Jane.  He stood right up in front of her.   You could hear the unrecognizable words interspersed with the gently sung English sounds of, “happy birthday, Jane.”    I moved the microphone close to her so that the audience could hear her comments.  She brightened noticieably as the concert continued.    Ramona danced a Charleston.   The audience could really relate to this!   They  just loved it.    Ramona’s gracious and ebulent style was a perfect offering in this spirit of generosity.  Michelle Mathesius, Director of the Dance Department at NYC’s  High School of Performig Arts.    (She and I have the good fortune and karma to be Jane’s “Dancing Daughters”),  Greg Cary and Bentley Roton from Kaatsbaan and several of Jane’s dearest friends were also present.  We all agreed what a gift it was it was for us all to be together to celebrate Jane during while she was still alive.  There were beautiful flowers from Margaret Myers  (daughter of Clifford Vaughn who wrote many of the Denishawn accompaniments and also toured in the Orient with Jane in the 1920’s).  Howard Gardner, who maintains a  long time correspondence with Jane, sent his regards  which was read during the performance and really said it all:

"To live a full century is a remarkable achievement for anyone.  To have lived life to the fullest, to have given so much to so many, and to remain actively and optimistically engaged with the world, despite all its wrinkles and mis-steps, is a singular accomplishment. I join your multitude of friends and admirers in saluting you on this historic day."

It was indeed an historic day for all of us!   Livia