Asian Improv aRts, Lenora Lee Dance, and API Cultural Center are pleased to present:

Vijay Iyer (piano) with Hafez Modirzadeh (saxophone)

Thursday, January 23, 2020
7:30 pm – 8:45 pm
At 945 ArtSpace

945 Clay St., San Francisco, CA 94108
Tickets: https://vijay-iyer-with-hafez-modirzadeh.eventbrite.com

$25 adv./ $35 at the door

Doors open at 7pm. VERY LIMITED SEATING

If driving, the Portsmouth Square Parking Garage is recommended, with entrance on Kearny at Clay http://www.sfpsg.com/index.html
Contact: Lenora@asianimprov.org

This is the INAUGURAL CONCERT for 945 ArtSpace, a project of Asian Improv aRts, Lenora Lee Dance, API Cultural Center, and the Chinatown Community Development Center. The purpose of 945 ArtSpace is to provide a dedicated venue for artists and cultural activists to work in the intimate setting of a community-based storefront.

Composer-pianist VIJAY IYER has carved out a unique path as an influential, prolific, shape-shifting presence in modern music. He was described by the New York Times as a “social conscience, multi-media collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinking, and multicultural gateway.” A winner of multiple awards including a 2012 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and a 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, he holds a lifetime appointment as the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University. Visit: https://vijay-iyer.com/about/

Composer-saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh is active in the realms of performing, teaching, recording, publishing, and presenting cross-cultural perspectives regarding musical culture, tradition, and innovation. He has been instrumental in the ImprovisAsians annual festival held at San Francisco State University for the past 15 years. He is a Professor of Music and advisor for Jazz and Creative/World Music Studies at San Francisco State University. visit: https://music.sfsu.edu/ethnomusicology

Both Vijay and Hafez are valued contributors to Asian Improv’s work and legacy over the decades. 945 ArtSpace is extremely proud to present these extraordinary artists and community members as part of our first season here at 945 ArtSpace.

Top photo: Vijay Iyer, by Monica Jane Frisell

Bottom photo: Hafez Modirzadeh

“Through Fire & Water” is a series of performance events featuring 24 artists and arts groups on 6/13 at Joe Goode Anex. This series of events is in dedication to Jory Horn (April 21, 1991 – November 19, 2019), a profound dance artist and choreographer. Jory combined Cambodian culture and dance with contemporary dance as a means of advocacy to address challenges and celebrations of the Cambodian-American community. His guidance and mentorship of the Cambodian art form is a true testament of the strength and resilience of his people and survived through living dance masters Chayra Burt, Chey Chankethya, and Prumsodun Ok.

Lenora Lee Dance (LLD) is seeking participants of all artistic disciplines to submit proposals for 5-8 minute performance works, writings, or visual / media art dedicated to Jory Horn. 24 artists and arts groups will be split up into 2 programs set to take place 6/13, at the Joe Goode Anex. There may be an artist fee / honorarium available for participation, however we cannot guarantee it at this time.

Please email the following by Monday, 1/20/20 to LenoraLeeDance2@gmail.com and LenoraLeeDanceManager@gmail.com

• your name / group name
• your phone number
• city you / your group are based in
• name and description of the piece
• genre (dance, music, poetry, visual or media art, etc)
• length of piece (between 5-8 minutes)
• your availability for 6/13
• a short biography
• 2-3 performance photos, with photo credits (doesn’t have to be related to the proposed piece)
• sample videos of your artistic works, (proposed work preferred, but not required)
• your website

“Forgiveness stems from something greater and is related to a greater ancestral memory and feeling. Before we are ever born, it is in us. A destiny and a pattern, but there are lots of things that fall under our own immediate control, the fact that I have freedom and the choices to be able to just choose is a privilege.” – Jory Horn

There is a need for people to act in the face of loss, and celebrate the meaning of the work. For LLD, the loss of Jory brings more meaning to our work in general, with the bonds we share in solidarity and collective community, with heightened awareness we can hold to care for one another.

Photo Credits:
Photo 2 Jory Horn by Robbie Sweeny
Photo 3 Jory Horn by Tony Nguyen

LENORA LEE DANCE
JOB: PROJECT CONSULTANT

Reports to: Artistic Director
Location: San Francisco/Bay Area
Position type: Independent Contractor
Compensation: $22-24/hr depending on experience
Start Date: Immediately

ABOUT LENORA LEE DANCE (LLD)

For the last 12 years Lenora Lee Dance has been pushing the envelope of intimate and large-scale multimedia dance performance that connects various styles of movement/dance, film, text, research and music to culture, history, and human rights issues. At times crafted for the proscenium, or underwater, or in the air, and at times the pieces are site-responsive immersive and interactive. Our work has grown to encompass the creation, presentation, and screening of films, museum and gallery installations, civic engagement and educational programming.

POSITION SUMMARY

Entering its 13th anniversary season, LLD, an award winning company, is looking for a part-time administrative staff person to join its team, as LLD is gaining regional and national attention for its cutting edge, socially conscious immersive performance making. Hours needed fluctuate depending on the production schedule. Flexibility and communication are key components to keeping all staff, collaborators, vendors, and performers on the same page and moving forward.

We are looking for support with:

– Project coordination of home season performances, presentations featuring local and guest artists, touring
– Coordinate weekly administrative meetings which includes producing an agenda, taking notes, and inviting the necessary participants
– Coordinate and organize cloud-based files and databases
– Maintain internal calendar by setting up reminders and invites to events including grant deadlines, production schedule, weekly meetings, and touring
– Communicate through email and phone with performers, technical crew, and the public
– Recruit, communicate, and coordinate volunteers for performances and events
– Assist with organizing and running fundraising and community events
– Coordinate and follow up with communication between the company and its vendors, presenters, and venues
– Assist in long term planning for future projects related to LLD and its community partners
– Be able to work remotely through video and telephone conferencing

The following skills are a plus but not required:

– Grant writing and fundraising experience
– Organizing documents, photos and videos for archival purposes

We typically work remotely with one weekly in-person work session in San Francisco.

Please email a resume and cover letter explaining your interest in the position and LLD, including names and contact information for two or more references (name, phone number, email, name of the organization) to LenoraLeeDance@gmail.com, subject line: Project Consultant.

For more info or questions, call (415) 570-8615.

www.LenoraLeeDance.com

Megan Lowe & Johnny Nguyen, photo by Robbie Sweeny

CALL FOR DANCERS!

Lenora Lee Dance (LLD) is seeking female and male dancers of African and of European ancestry for “And the Community Will Rise” a series of 12 site-specific, immersive, multimedia performances in San Francisco at the Ping Yuen Housing Complex, September 10 – 27, or September 18 – October 4, 2020. LLD is open to dancers of various movement backgrounds. Training in modern / contemporary dance, experience in choreography, improvisation, and collaboration are a plus. Rehearsals will be twice a week starting in March, with dress rehearsals in August. All rehearsals and performances are paid.

Those interested can email LenoraLeeDance@gmail.com to sign up for a January 12, 2020 audition rehearsal. Please also email a resume and video links of dance pieces you have choreographed or are featured dancing in. Call (‪415) 570-8615‬ for more information. Other appointments can be arranged. www.LenoraLeeDance.com

Background

“And the Community Will Rise” includes a series of 12 site-specific, multimedia, immersive performances, transforming selected common spaces, courtyards and apartments in Ping Yuen into performance sites with live contemporary dance, media design, recorded original music, and voiceover from interviews with former and current residents, advocates and historians.

In collaboration with the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC), this work would explore residents’ struggle for affordable housing and rights as tenants and recent immigrants, as well as the complexities of Ping Yuen tenants’ diverse cultural backgrounds including Chinese, Russians, and African Americans.

Timing is crucial as San Francisco is witnessing growing displacement of its low-income residents, and neighborhoods inhabited for decades by generations of communities of color are facing gentrification. Drawing from residents’ family history and lived experiences, the performances will explore the lasting impact of local Chinese Americans and their coalitions with other marginalized communities on both the community and the nation. These rituals of remembrance in historical spaces are critical to our communities in providing a sense of place in American society especially in the face of mass displacement.

Co-presented by CCDC, Asian Improv aRts, API Cultural Center

Supported in part by Creative Work Fund, California Arts Council, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and Generous Individuals

Photos by Robbie Sweeny

Lenora Lee Dance (LLD) is seeking former and current residents of San Francisco’s Ping Yuen Housing Complex, to share stories and experiences of living in the Ping Yuen, reflecting on the shared resiliency and collective community advocacy and accomplishments of residents for over 67 years.

Your participation will aid in the research for LLD’s newest project “And the Community Will Rise” a series of 12 site-specific, immersive, multimedia performances in the Ping Yuen Housing Complex, September 10 – 27, or September 18 – October 4, 2020, with an accompanying video installation on view March – May 2021.

Those interested can email LenoraLeeDance@gmail.com or call (415) 570-8615 for more information by January 30, 2020.

www.LenoraLeeDance.com

Background

Premiering in September 10 – 27, 2020, “And the Community Will Rise” includes a series of 12 site-specific, multimedia, immersive performances, transforming selected common spaces, courtyards and apartments in Ping Yuen into performance sites with live contemporary dance, media design, recorded original music, and voiceover from interviews with former and current residents, advocates and historians.

In collaboration with the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC), this work would explore residents’ struggle for affordable housing and rights as tenants and recent immigrants, as well as the complexities of Ping Yuen tenants’ diverse cultural backgrounds, including Chinese, Russians and African Americans.

Timing is crucial as San Francisco is witnessing growing displacement of its low-income residents, as neighborhoods inhabited for decades by generations of communities of color are facing gentrification. Drawn from residents’ family history and lived experiences, the performances will explore the lasting impact of local Chinese Americans and their coalitions with other marginalized communities on both the community and the nation. These rituals of remembrance in historical spaces are critical to our communities in providing a sense of place in American society especially in the face of mass displacement.

Co-presented by CCDC, Asian Improv aRts, API Cultural Center

Supported in part by Creative Work Fund, California Arts Council, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and Generous Individuals

Johnny Nguyen, Megan Lowe, Lynn Huang, photo by Robbie Sweeny