March 10, 2008
Enjoy the Slideshow!*
*And if you see anything you like, get it from TSL photog Andy Berry's on-line gallery )Download the Podcast (or subcribe using iTunes)
View Sven Hagolani's images from recent performances by Jess Curtis:
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| Jess Curtis: The Symmetry Project and other performanc |
Check for current gigs for these guests
It was another night of wonderful surprises. As one of audience member said, "who knew wallpaper could be so interesting?" When it's being discussed by artist Sondra Alexander, it's astonshingly interesting -- especially viewed in the context of the environmental and architectural influences that make their way into her unique, handpainted work. Equally fascinating was dancer/choreographer Jess Curtis' startling photos and descriptions of his groundbreaking pieces, including his new show The Symmetry Project, which has been performed -- completely naked! -- by himself and his partner in both mainstream and eccentric venues around the world. And it's quite impossible to describe the impact of even five short minutes of Dan Hoyle's solo show, Tings Dey Happen. We got both performance and backstory from one of the Bay Area's fastest rising performance artists. Plus, Jules Broussard absolutely wailing on the sax with our boys in Cafe Americain.
About our featured guests
SONDRA ALEXANDER
Artist and artisan Sondra Alexander is an internationally acclaimed designer of wall coverings, creating handcrafted works of art in paper and fabric that bridge fashion with interior design. Alexander started as a fashion designer in Florida in the 1960s, creating and selling hand-painted clothing under the Immagini line. By the late 1980s, however, she had established her wall covering design studio, Yangki Studio, in San Francisco. Sondra's interest in this unique form is both historical and artistic: with her work, she authentically revives the centuries-old art form of handcrafted wallpaper. Her original and distinctive designs, which can be found in trade showrooms throughout the country, grace the walls of such prestigious establishments as Tiffany, Saks Fifth Avenue, and the Presidential Suite at the Hilton Waikoloa, as well as having "supporting roles" in numerous Hollywood films. JESS CURTIS
Dancer/choreographer/contact-improv master Jess Curtis has created a body of work ranging from the underground extremes of Mission District Warehouses with Contraband (1985-1994) to the formal refinement of European State Theaters with Jess Curtis/Gravity (2000-present). Along the way he has amassed a long list of groundbreaking collaborations and commissions with companies throughout the U.S. and Europe, culminating in his "very live performance" work with Jess Curtis/Gravity. Curtis has been recognized with innumerable awards and grants, including a Wattis Fellowship (Yerba Buena Center), Fringe First Award (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Isadora Duncan Dance award for Best Company Performance, California Dancemakers Fellowship, and Dance: Creation to Performance Award (2005). In 2005 he was the recipient of a prestigious CHIME (Choreographers In Mentorship Exchange) Fellowship with José Navarrete, and was one of 20 American choreographers nominated for the extremely competitive Alpert Awards in the Arts Fellowship. He teaches and performs internationally, including at SF's CounterPULSE.
DAN HOYLE
Actor and writer Dan Hoyle is a San Francisco native whose most recent solo play, Tings Dey Happen, (directed by Charlie Varon) premiered at the Marsh in 2007, went on to an extended run -- and rave reviews -- at the Culture Project in New York City, and most recently won the prestigious Glickman Award (for best Bay Area world premiere). Tings Dey Happen, which tells the story of Dan’s experiences in Nigeria as a Fulbright Scholar studying that country's complicated — and dangerous — oil industry and its political fallout, is Dan’s third solo show (previous shows include Circumnavigator and The Big Bummer). In addition to performing throughout the US and Nigeria, Dan has served as an artist-in- residence for San Francisco’s School of the Arts High School, and has been commissioned by the San Francisco Mime Troupe and the Aurora Theatre Company. Dan’s essays have been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, SportsIllustrated.com and Alternet.org (including a series of columns in 2004 about being a Giants ballpark vendor). In 2003 he graduated from Northwestern University , where he studied with director Mary Zimmerman, with a double degree in Performance Studies and History. He has also been seen performing around town with his father, actor and comedian Geoff Hoyle.JULES BROUSSARD
Born in Louisiana, master saxophonist and jazz legend Jules Broussard began his career when he was only twelve years old, organizing bands and playing lead saxophone for audiences in and around his home town. After a stint in the US Air Force and then traveling throughout the US, Europe and Asia, Jules settled in San Francisco and has been a Bay Area favorite for over thirty years. His career spans over three decades of shared studio and stage with such luminaries as Ray Charles, Boz Scaggs, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana, Earl Grant, Elvin Bishop, Art Garfunkel and Doctor Hook. Jules especially enjoys performing live and his varied styles, techniques and ability to play to almost any audience can be heard in many venues around the Bay Area.