Page 40 - the NOISE October 2015

GLOBAL STILT CONGRESS
Participants from the 2014 Global Stilt Congress STORY BY ANGIE JOHNSON-SCHMIT perform at Arcosanti. PHOTO BY KAREL MOON
Astilt walker/dancer inspires wonder in an audience, although it’s hard to explain exactly why. Perhaps it is simply the larger than life quality of stilt walkers that is so fascinating. Or maybe it is the combination of grace, athleticism and not-quite-natural movement that creates
an almost automatic sense of amazement.
It’s nearly impossible for anyone other than a professional stilt artist to fully understand the
actual skills and techniques that go into creating a stilt performance. While stilt walkers are often associated with circus arts, there are dedicated stilt performers around the world who mix the spectacle of stilt performances with more heady themes. The Global Stilt Congress (GSC) hosted at Arcosanti this October is designed specifically with these professionals in mind.
As part of the core mission to encourage skill and technique sharing, GSC is bringing in master teachers. Arts Lab participants from across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Colombia will participate as both teachers and students. Each person brings a different style and skill set, creating a great opportunity for networking and on-going education. This year’s lineup is a veritable who’s who in stilt work and represents an interesting cross-section of stilt styles.
Najja Codrington, co-founder of the Brooklyn Jumbies, will be teaching from the Afro- Caribbean stilt walking tradition. The Brooklyn Jumbies use stilts, fire breathing and African drums in their performances. Ms. Codrington’s workshop is guaranteed to be high energy.
Alessandra Ogren, co-founder Wise Fool New Mexico, will be teaching aerial stilts. This is a wonderful opportunity for stilt performers to learn how to incorporate stilts and aerial apparatus into their work. Ms. Ogren has performed with several groups over the course of her career and has used aerial stilt work as a core part of her repertoire for several years.
San Francisco based stilt performers Dan Bear Davis and Kristen Greco will be teaching the Axis Syllabus. The Axis Syllabus website describes the highly philosophical approach as a “system for cross-correlating movement principles, bringing pertinent information about training the body and movement practice into an accessible format, a user’s manual for dancers, athletes and physiotherapists.”
Fresh off a recent tour in Colombia, several members of The Carpetbag Brigade will be on hand. Helen Goodrum, Alicia Gerstein, Christopher Mankowski and Jay Ruby will be teaching acrobatic stilts, butoh stilts and contact improvisation.
The Carpetbag Brigade co-founder and director Jay Ruby is the mastermind behind GSC. Mr. Ruby has performed with the group in Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Italy, and Denmark. He forged connections with stilt artists around the world while honing his performance and teaching skills.
Mr. Ruby has been a professional performer for much of his adult life. From 1994-1997, he studied at Odin Theater in Denmark, frequently moving back and forth between Berlin and Denmark. It was during this time that he began to understand how to integrate ensemble theater and community, which has become a driving force in his work.
In 1997, Mr. Ruby moved to Prescott, AZ and co-founded The Carpetbag Brigade as a physical theater group. Although he did some stilt work during his time in Berlin, he wasn’t particularly sold on using stilts. At the time, he thought, “real actors don’t need stilts.” In the summer of 2001, legendary Australian stilt performer David Clarkson changed his mind.
Mr. Ruby saw Mr. Clarkson perform at the Aerial Dance Festival in Boulder, CO and was blown away. Mr. Ruby’s attitude towards stilts has changed pretty dramatically. He now sees stilts as “a useful tool ... for expanding an actor’s sense of his or her body.” He can also appreciate the value of the spectacle aspect of stilts. “They are kind of like a Trojan horse to reach spectators
because of their slightly bigger than life quality,” he said.
He credits Clarkson’s performance with opening up new perspectives for his work as well as
marking the genesis for a new phase in his creative career. The focus for The Carpetbag Brigade promptly shifted to incorporating stilts and acrobatics into their open-air theater performances. The Carpetbag Brigade remained in Prescott, developing their style and “voice” as a group for
several years. During this time, Mr. Ruby also founded Tsunami on the Square, a performing arts festival. He served as director for the event, with his group performing every year until they made the move to San Francisco in 2003.
The move to San Francisco was challenging, but necessary. As much as Mr. Ruby liked Prescott, he realized it was time to move The Carpetbag Brigade onto a larger metaphorical
40 • october 2015 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us
stage. “There was a ceiling to our work in Prescott and we needed to move to get more exposure. Simply put, people take you a little more seriously if you’re from San Francisco than if you’re from Prescott, AZ,” he said.
While San Francisco has proved to be an excellent springboard for The Carpetbag Brigade, Mr. Ruby notes that the group has been touring almost non-stop for the past two years. “None of us has a home to go home to ... there’s no point in paying rent on an apartment when you’re gone all the time,” he said.
Mr. Ruby may have lived a near nomadic life for the past several years, but he is ready to have a place he can use as a sort of home base. After the years he spent in Prescott and the connections he’s made with the local performing arts scene, he is hoping to use Arcosanti not only as a venue for GSC, but as his metaphorical home base. “I have history here ... and deep connections to the (Prescott) community,” he said.
Current plans are for the GSC to occur annually or biannually at Arcosanti. The “City of the Future” is quite a supportive and inspiring location and Mr. Ruby would like to expand GSC to include artist in residencies. The idea is for performers to use Arcosanti as a creative incubator and perhaps for them to perform pieces from their repertoires.
While skills and community building are the primary purpose of the gathering, GSC has expanded to encompass workshops and live performances open to the general public. Mr. Ruby has dubbed the public side of GSC, ArcoŸTsunami, noting that he intends to take the original spirit of Tsunami and put it in the creative container of Arcosanti.
First up is the Symposium of Spectacle-based Drama. This one-day event is slated for October 10, from 9AM to 5PM. Designed for students interested in doing performance work, the symposium will feature lectures, demonstrations and an introduction to stilt walking workshop.
Anthropologist and visual artist Laura Anderson Barbata will deliver the keynote address. She has worked with indigenous communities in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Papua New Guinea. The keynote address will focus on trans-communality, or how the principles of community can be transferred through artistic expression. Tickets for the Symposium are $85.
After the Symposium, two of the participating professional stilt groups will perform their current work. The Carpetbag Brigade will perform “Callings,” followed by Wise Fool New Mexico’s “Flexion,” which coincidentally was choreographed by the same David Clarkson that inspired Mr. Ruby. This is a rare opportunity to see two established shows by professional acrobatic stilt groups with two different performance styles. The first show starts at 7PM and the second show is at 9PM. Tickets for the shows only are $35.
Another event that should be quite amazing is the Legislation performance on October 17 at 5PM. The Legislation is a site-specific, site-inspired performance that will be created over the course of the GSC. Logan “Dirtyverbs” Phillips will be performing spoken word as
part of the Legislation and local musicians Inesis Vitoles, Meg Bohrman, Will Duncan and Mercedes Bahleda will also perform. That many professional performers from such a variety of backgrounds can only make for a beautiful show.
Legislation attendees are invited to stick around for the after party. DJ Dirtyverbs will be spinning music and there’s plenty of room to dance under the vaults. Also, there will be an outdoor barbeque set up for folks looking for a late night dinner. Tickets to the Legislation are $25, barbeque not included.
If you weren’t able to make it to any of the Arcosanti GSC events, don’t panic. Mr. Ruby and other members of The Carpetbag Brigade are staying in the area for the entire month. Mr. Ruby and Mr. Mankowski are leading a workshop, The Voice in Action, The Body in Revolt at Flying Nest studio in Prescott on October 25. Workshop participants will be moving, singing and speaking, so plan accordingly.
If what you’re really looking for is more theater, you’ll be glad to know Mr. Ruby is presenting his new solo performance, Fayettenam, at the Flying Nest studio October 30 and 31. This will be a spoken word/butoh/physical theater performance piece. He’ll also perform the piece on November 1 at Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff. carpetbagbrigade.com
| Angie Johnson-Schmit is dusting off her stilts. slackerwriter@gmail.com thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • OCTOBER 2015 • 23