Thanks for allowing me to learn and grow with you.

xo, Meredith

http://www.youtube.com/user/UrbanityDance?feature=mhee#p/u/6/sZt1gBPXrfM

When audience members come to see an Urbanity production, dancing is not the only art form they experience.  For “Between the Lines,” our fantastic fall revue, Urbanity collaborated with with one videographer, two set designers, two journalists, one lighting designer, one mask-maker, and two fashion designers to enhance the audience’s experience.

“Between the Lines” was Urbanity’s first show which incorporated journalism into its performance.  In the “Time Vacuum” room, which explored human perceptions of time, dancers portraying grandmas wore costumes printed excerpts from memoirs recorded by journalists JD Ho and Kristen Rucki. Including these memoirs on the leotards added a completely new dimension to the dancers’ characters.  The memoirs were printed onto the leotards by company member and visual artist Kristina Wright.

“Even a few words can convey how someone speaks, and having text on the costumes will combine body with voice in a way that simply reading the words, or even hearing them, can’t do,” commented Ho prior to the performances.

Check out one of the memoirs we used in the performance below!

The Machine

I was born in this house, and I was raised here. I know everybody. I see them come and go. They call me the Mayor. The Mayor of Medford.  I’m 91 years old! My sister lives upstairs. She’s one hundred and two! You can hear her — she’s the loud one.

Do you see this machine? It measures my blood pressure and my heart rate. It keeps a record! And whenever there’s something strange, it tells the hospital, and then the nurses, they come to the house. I have to take twenty pills a day, big ones. The machine tells me what pills to take, and when to take them. Can you imagine that? It speaks English and Spanish. It has a battery in case the power goes out, like during that hurricane.

I’ve got lymphoma. They can’t operate because I’m too old! I had a triple bypass, too. And I had hernia surgery — I used to work in the shipyards. Now I go to chemo. It makes me tired. I get tired just talking. I get tired of being in the house, too. I go a little crazy. And these humid days are hard. It’s hard to breathe. And it makes my arthritis act up. 

In the old days, when you were sick, the doctor used to come with his black bag. He came to the house! It didn’t matter if it was raining, snowing. He came. Middle of the night! He came. When I was a kid, I was sick with I don’t know what. Fever. My bedroom was here on the first floor — it’s still my bedroom. Same room! It was cold. My ma piled blankets on me. I felt like a loaf of bread, she had me all wrapped up. The blankets were heavy, and I couldn’t move. Just my head. I could move my head. I could look out the window, and it was snowing. It was snowing hard, big flakes of snow that hit the window — thwap! thwap! It was night-time, and I was alone in the room. I remember that. The things you remember.

And then the doctor came. He had a stethoscope, and he listened to my heart. He took my temperature. He called me ‘young man’. He went out in the hall to talk to my ma. I thought I was going to die! I thought the snow was angels from heaven. 

But in the morning, I woke up, and the sun was shining. This machine, it’s got a good battery. It keeps on ticking.  People come and go.  It keeps on ticking.

~written by JD Ho

Shop happy, joyous & free with the gift of dance or fitness classes for your loved ones!

“The best gift I ever received”

• increased well-being and happiness

• improves overall health, inside-out approach to weight management and anti-aging

• connect in a meaningful way to community

• experience the empowering effects of dance as art and creation

• put your hard-earned money back into the community. Urbanity Dance is a Boston-based nonprofit which exists to enact lively streets of strong character and empower communities through dance.

There are several options for the movers on your list.

OPTION 1: BALLROOM

A 5wk Ballroom Pass! For the person who secretly wants to be discovered on Dancing With the Stars! Learn Ballroom (class offers a range of ballroom styles, from foxtrot, to salsa, to tango, to waltz, to swing). Beginners-Intermediate are welcome. Instructor Theo Martinez is excellent at addressing a range of levels.

Mondays 6:30-7:30pm for a five week session.

Step 1:

Register for your session of choice online here.

Choose from one of four sessions:

• Winter session I (Jan 3 – Feb 2 , 2 classes a week)

• Winter session II (Feb 6 – March 12, 2 classes a week)

• Spring session I (March 27 – May 3, 2 classes a week

• Spring session II (May 8 – June 7, 2 classes a week)

Step 2:

Once you register, we will contact you to arrange payment by credit card or check, whichever you prefer.

Step 3:

Wait for your special gift card in the mail from Urbanity, arrives in 5-7 business days!!! Give away and enjoy!

OPTION 2: BEGINNER CONTEMPORARY DANCE

A 5wk Beginner Contemporary Session! For the person who secretly wants to be discovered on So You Think You Can Dance! This class is for adult beginners or for those who have not danced in years but would love to rediscover dance and movement.  Students build upon a solid foundation of contemporary dance, a blend of ballet, jazz, modern and hip-hop. Learn the creative and eclectic styles of contemporary dance in an engaging atmosphere that will encourage you to move, take risks and be expressive.  Co-taught by instructors Carrie Kerstein and Betsi Graves.

When? Two times a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays 6-7:30pm for a five week session.

Step 1:

Register for your session of choice online here.

Choose from one of four sessions

• Winter session I (Jan 3 – Feb 2 , 2 classes a week)
• Winter session II (Feb 6 – March 12, 2 classes a week)
• Spring session I (March 27 – May 3, 2 classes a week
• Spring session II (May 8 – June 7, 2 classes a week):

Step 2:

Once you register, we will contact you to arrange payment by credit card or check, whichever you prefer.

Step 3:

Wait for your special gift card in the mail from Urbanity, arrives in 5-7 business days!!! Give away and enjoy!

OPTION 3: DROP IN CLASSES!

Great deal for the person on your list that loves dance and/or fitness. Recipient can drop into any 10-classes of his/her choosing.  Perfect for the busy bee who has trouble committing to a weekly class!

View our complete schedule online here.  Card is valid for 1 year from date of purchase. Classes are designed for Adults. Instructors teach to a range of fitness and experience levels.

It’s easy!

Email us at ask@urbanitydance.org. Tell us you’d like to purchase a 10-class card and indicate which pass you choose (below).

There are two options, both are 10% savings!

$90 for ten 1 hr classes (Zumba, Pilates, Stretch & Sculpt, Hip-Hop, Salsa)

$135 for ten 1.5 hr class pass (Inter/Adv Contemporary, Contempo Jazz, Contempo Ballet, Modern)

Once you email us, we will contact you to arrange payment by credit card or check, whichever you prefer. The lucky recipient can drop-into 10-classes of his/her choosing – no pre-registration required!

Thank you for your support

and dancing is one of them.”

- Vicki Baum

Urbanity has a new home…what is next?

To have classes where the people of Boston and surrounding areas can let loose and feel the rhythm of life. It was a busy October but we want to continue to encourage people to bring themselves to Urbanity to join in on classes: dance, fitness, children classes, and so much more!

It is never too late to join Urbanity Dance! Just check out the fun you’re missing with tidbit of classes that were taught in Texas by Urbanity just this last month!

We yearn for a place to go where we will be loved, accepted for who we are, and challenged to be our best even when we have fallen flat on our faces. And believe us…we have.

It took three years but it happened. Urbanity Dance has settled on a beautiful place in the South End. Where not only the company but also the community is welcomed with open arms and hearts. There have been trials and tribulations along the way, as cliché as it might sound, but talk to anyone connected with Urbanity and there will be no shortage of “horror stories” and “this one’s for the books.” Such stories include: navigating busy Boston streets in a hail filled thunderstorm, choreographing in studio apartments, and getting kicked out of three studios while in the midst of dance rehearsals in one hour. However, that all seems to be a distant memory now, there is a place in the South End that literally has Urbanity Dance’s name on the front door.

“Urbanity Dance offers well-developed classes that allow students of all levels the opportunity to dance in an inspiring and creative space. You can’t find an opportunity for contemporary dance anywhere else in Boston…” –Carolyn Breton, company dance member

At the studio, people are able to join in on the dream by taking classes that encompass the health of not only the body but mind as well. Yoga, stretch & sculpt, hip-hop, contemporary dance (for beginners as well as advanced), ballroom, and so much more is offered to the community as a means to bring us all closer together, to create a healthier life-style, and more than likely have some fun along the way.

Laughter rings out through the space and the warmth felt is generated not only by the intensity and passion from the dancers but also from smiles and encouraging words that can be seen and heard any given moment. 280 Shawmut, the Dance Laboratory, is becoming a place that Urbanity Dance can call home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QZDKDGsMkE

Ever wonder what it’s like to dance in a renown contemporary dance company? Here’s your chance! By becoming Urbanity’s Apprentice, you’ll not only enrich your repertoire but also build your dance resume for college or professional dance. For past Urbanity Apprentices, the Apprentice Program has given them beneficial experience that has put them a step above others in the cut-throat competition of the dance world. The Apprentice Program has also helped them to go on to dance professionally or attend prestigious collegiate programs.

This August, Urbanity Dance is in search for a new Apprentice for the 2011-2012 school year and it could be YOU! If you LOVE contemporary dance and are a student between the ages of 16-21 in the Boston area, we want you! Auditions are on Sunday, August 7th, 2011 from 12-2pm at Boston Ballet.

Nervous to audition? Don’t be! Here’s a peek of last year’s Apprentice auditions…we had quite an intriguing group of prospects!  

Words for Inspiration:

GIVE YOURSELF THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED, FOR DANCE IS NOT JUST WHAT WE DO BUT LOVE.

In dance always,

Lana Herzig

Summer 2011 Administrator

Urbanity Dance

July 3, 2011 – Boston, MA – Betsi Graves

As I reflect back over the last three years of Urbanity Dance, my mind becomes a human video reel, filled with flickering images of dances, smiling angels, family and friends that have offered a smile, a hope for the future.  My mind becomes scrambled with Ugly Babies, Electrosonic Bats and even Joey McIntyre.  I’ll let you in for a hot second…

As I reflect over the last three years that is Urbanity Dance, an image appears in my mind… I’m in the hospital giving birth to this baby… it’s a big baby and I feel far too petite to birth this thing.  Plus it’s a bit ugly and part of me wants to shove it back in utero.  Once it’s almost out and wailing, I’m frantically scanning the room for someone to adopt this bad-boy. Just when I thought I couldn’t push any further, everyone around me keeps cheering “Push, push, push.” My dance mentors are holding my hand, saying, “just a little further.” And my family is gasping, “you can do it.” But the truth is, I can’t do it… I couldn’t have done it. We can. It hasn’t been me – it’s been this divine force of community… dancers, artists, supporters, mentors… feeling alive by what Urbanity is offering and ravenously hungry for more.  From Om Asatoma (June, 2008) to Jacob’s Pillow (August, 2011), it took a village…

I stand in shock when I embrace this strange creation- my mouth hits the floor as I wonder whether the seed was somehow genetically modified. It’s been one of the hardest but most beautiful moments in my life, starting this company.  I truly had no idea when I planted the seed that this would catapult into an emerging contempo dance company, having been hired three years later by 15 producers and now opening our fourth season on tour at Jacob’s Pillow, Sam Houston University & the Ailey Citigroup in NYC.  But we still have a long way to go.  I believe that it’s not always the best companies that get to move on to the next level, it’s often the ones that can stick it out the longest, the ones that keep pushing.

Plan as I might, I realize now that Urbanity could not be birthed by a step-by-step Lamaze class, unless it’s “improvisation” Lamaze, ha!  We made mistakes; we learned from them.  We accomplished something tangible; we built on that.  We kept trucking forward in the night, like electrosonic bats that couldn’t see their food but could hear it. The promise of the future of a successful new dance company in Boston kept our ears open and our tongues darting in the night.

Lately I’ve been reflecting about fear in the Boston dance community. In my experience, it seems as though many dancers form cliques, teams of inclusion vs exclusion… this may be human nature or perhaps it’s all in my head. But it makes me happy for the future of dance when I hear about organizations like Boston Dance Alliance or the new Dance Gallery who attempt to “de-clique” the Boston dance scene. Sure, this may be a “cut-throat” business but one woman’s success isn’t another man’s failure. Call me naive (and I’ve been called that a lot these last three years), but I believe the better Boston Dance gets, the better for everyone in the business… kind of like how a cluster of deliciously popular restaurants increased traffic ten-fold in Boston’s South End… why can’t the dance community break down the barriers and start being genuinely happy for each other?  I say, bring on the blueberry cobbler!

It’s a rush of adrenaline, this thing we call dance. I am grateful to mentors in Boston and beyond who have reached out to us as the “new kid on the block” with genuine support and unadulterated compassion. It’s programs like Karen Krolak’s Connect 2 Choreography on SCATV or Jose Mateo’s Dance for World Community Festival that inspire me… dance leaders in Boston allowing us to see beyond the bitter fear of starting a new company and instead, joining hands with us to celebrate the gift of dance. I humbly bow to the dance gods and goddesses in Boston who have paved the way for Urbanity. I hope to take this gift and be able to support new companies in their quest for both monetary and emotional success. When I put everything into perspective and release the anxiety of “making it,” I feel waves of gratitude rush down my back. I feel as though Ruth St. Denis, Virgina E Williams and I are having lemonade on the beach, with our feet moving in and out of the rising tide. My motto as of late: “Every day is a good day when we are lucky enough to dance.” So freakin heck, go dance baby… Beat it up!

Would love to hear comments…

Ciao Bellas,

Betsita

PS: Thanks to all who celebrated our 3-yr birthday party! See some pics here!

PPS: I decided to bust out a little dramatic trailer documenting our last three years:

Did you always know you wanted to dance?

Claire severely sprained her foot right before the PULSE show but was determined to dance and somehow did! Maybe the adrenaline kicked in!

She will be missed tremendously on stage over the next few weeks while her foot heals.

Fun fact: Her gorgeous legs and feet have made many a man (and woman) cry!

http://www.urbanitydance.com

Liza’s connection to Urbanity is that she participates in the NEW Urbanity Dance Community Member program.  The idea to interview Liza came about after the last “Late-Night Urbanity Dance Talk”. The topic of the night was “Surviving as an Artist in Boston.”  The idea of being an artist AND starting your own business is daunting. We are inspired by Liza, and wanted to get inside her head for a few….

What is your background, and why are you interested in dance photography?

By Liza Voll

I have been a dancer for many years, training in classical ballet from age 3-17, dancing in a small rep company at Tufts, and now as a community member with Urbanity Dance. I’ve never been one to hide my emotions and I have a hard time sitting still for long, so dance is the perfect creative, athletic activity. Many of my closest friends are dancers, and I’m so excited to be involved with Urbanity as it’s an awesome group of energetic, friendly people who make me happy. As for photography, I started formally in high school with a class in b/w film, and then progressed quickly to digital in college. My first dance shots were of Sarabande, my college group, during dress rehearsals when I wasn’t on stage. I attended both Tufts University (for public health) and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and continued to shoot dance for my photography classes. Eventually I began networking with local dance schools (such as Boston Ballet School) as well as individual dancers, and shot many performances and dance portraits. I also worked with Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco for a summer and sold my first prints to the summer students of their performance. The experiment was so successful that the idea of photography as a full-time venture actually seemed possible. Two years later Liza Voll Photography was born!
I love photographing dancers because they can express such a range of things with their bodies. Emotion, athleticism, beauty –there can be so much content in a gesture and it’s exciting to try to capture that successfully in a two-dimensional medium.
What risks do you take every day?
Photography is a subjective product, there is no one ‘correct’ image. People purchase my photos to display as art and receive pleasure from viewing them. When I’m on assignment, I’m always running the risk of creating something that I like, but that no one else will, which would not be very profitable.I’m a very optimistic person. It can be difficult to put yourself out there in the public eye, but if you believe in the strength of your product and skill, there’s no reason not to go for it other than a fear of failure.
What resources have you found helpful?
Thanks to many organizations that compile useful information into one location, my experience moving into photography has been easier. The ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers), for example, has a publication, ‘Professional Business Practices in Photography’ that introduced me to many business concepts that were incredibly helpful. Their website provides resources such as legal advice, insurance information, access to a network of other photography professionals, and they frequently host workshops and seminars. Becoming knowledgeable about the details of your specific field is the only way to become competitive. Also, given my lack of formal business education, receiving advice from other small business owners about practical things like taxes, accounting, etc. has been invaluable.

Lines Ballet By Liza Voll

Did you encounter resistance from your friends and family about starting your own creative business?
Quite the opposite! My family and friends have been extremely encouraging from day one. Throughout art school I had never considered photography as a viable career option because I didn’t want to be a ‘starving artist’. Yet each semester my teachers would always comment how I seemed the most passionate about my dance photography over painting or design. This positive reinforcement, plus the ill timing of graduating and job- hunting during a recession, gave me the impetus to, in the genius words of Tim Gunn, ‘make it work.’  The only reason I would end up a starving artist was if I didn’t try hard enough –there are many successful photographers in the world, so why couldn’t I be one too?

Has it been worth it so far?
I receive the most enjoyment in life from accomplishing things. To be able to pay my bills and afford to do fun things as a result of my persistence and creativity with my photography is quite rewarding. Keeping a business viable involves so many different skills that there is a constant need for strategizing, creating, organizing, and then, eventually enjoying the rewards that a completed project brings –both financially and mentally. It’s also incredibly fulfilling to bring joy into someone else’s life through an image. I love looking at photographs and being transported back to a specific time, or remembering someone’s energy by looking at a photo of them enjoying life. I try to capture something fleeting in my images that will spark a simple emotion.

Do you see yourself continuing for now or finding something more “secure”? I am very excited to see where my photography career will go, and I love the flexibility of working for myself. I much prefer to work when I’m feeling motivated, and otherwise take time to go outside or take a quick trip home to Vermont when I need to mentally refresh.
I’ve made so much progress in less than two years, that I’m hoping in a few more I’ll have the luxury of choosing which jobs to take, perhaps traveling to shoot companies I’m in awe of, and working with zesty, creative people every day. I’ve already been published in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Dance Teacher magazine, had a full-page ad in Pointe, and photographed a dancer I love, Drew Jacoby. Here’s to a lot more of that and to moving forward!

Jacoby and Pronk By Liza Voll

Be in touch with Liza Voll Photography: