This is sarAika
Spoke the Hub presents Director’s Choice ’23
This is saraika 2023
An evening of everything about sarAika, where the audience can become choreographers.
An evening where the audience becomes choreographers, creating contemporary dance pieces presented live by professional dancers. This unique event showcases everything from original works to U.S. premieres, hair art, and paintings by sarAika movement collective.
Thanks to awarding “Director Choice” by Spoke The Hub, which allows the awarded artist to create and produce their own show at Spoke The Hub, sarAika movement collective(sarAika) is holding their evening length show titled ”This is sarAika” on Saturday November 4th from 7:30 at Spoke The Hub.
In this show, the audience will be not only experience the premiere of original works created by the directors and company members, but audience for this night can become choreographers of a live creation that will be created and presented at the end of the show by utilizing artworks that our resident artist Carol Prud’homme Davis made for sarAika, giving dancers improvisational qualities and arranging compositions. Directors of sarAika will facilitate this process so that the audience can experience the dynamics and the most fun part of choreographing. This show also consists of film works and U.S premiere of a group repertoire, and dance movies, followed by solo or duo works by each sarAika company member (Haley Morgan Miller, Mayu Nakaya, Faustine Lavie and Maitlin Jordan) introducing the diverse and unique specialities that make sarAika’s work special. Prior to the show, a donation based free mini dance class will be offered from 6:00 to 7:00pm by the directors of sarAika, Sara Pizzi and Aika Takeshima. In the gallery space, hairart works and the costumes of one of our repertoires “DOUBLE BIND” will be displayed and audience can get a close look at the details made by the hair artist Takeo Suzuki and costumer Federica Borlenghi.
Program
Pre show - Free improvisation class
Taught by the exective co-directors/choreographers, Sara Pizzi and Aika Takeshima.
01 take of the veil
Choreography and performance: Haley Morgan Miller
Description: Take off the veil is an attempt at being one with heart and mind, echoing the constant state of evolution and emotional labor that queer love exists within – from identities to relationship(s), and more. It exhibits both losing and regaining a sense of self while fluctuating between grappling and indulging in this journey.
“take off the veil
forget your desires
your path is not the same as you thought
the beauty is better than you could’ve known
it’s the truth that
stings the cut
on the inside of your lip
a sharp reminder
of the weight you carry around
it’s the mountain of
reeking garbage
you clean with a pair of tweezers
just to find your way back to yourself
if you find me before I do
let me know when I return
the crumbs are no greater than
the dirt under my nails
an incongruent deception of history
take off the veil
and hold your breath
until you find some bliss again”
02 Misalignment
Choreographed by: Mayu Nakaya
Performed by: Mayu Nakaya and Sara Pizzi
Description: Life is a condition which sees a subsequent folding and unfolding of situations, people relationships and daily events. Life unfolds from a crossover of two or more.
Time never stops and even when there are sometimes discrepancies between mind and reality, we naturally move on. When there is a discrepancy in interpretation between others, sometimes we learn from each other in communication, and sometimes things are established with the discrepancy. I was inspired by the disjointed life choices and interractions of human beings.
03 Enough time in a day
Choreographed and danced by: Maitlin Jordan
Original music composed by: Roger Mas Babià
Description: A work exploring the relationship and feelings towards time. It may be easier to succumb to the truth of time. You can’t control it, there is no use feeling like you can’t keep up because you won’t; you were never supposed to. It is a rigged game, if you let it be. Time has no feeling and no judgment, it will just be and so should we.
04 Memoirs From Another Life
Choreographed and performed by: Faustine Lavie
Description: Memoirs From Another Life is an abstract work representing Faustine’s different feelings about her incapacity to go back home for over 4 years. It explores different phases she has been through during these years but also how it changed her perspective on where she is from and the beauty of the world around her.
05 When is enough?
Choreographed and performed by: Sara Pizzi and Aika Takeshima
Description: “When is enough?” is a contemporary/conceptual dance piece created and performed by sarAika movement collective, Aika Takeshima and Sara Pizzi. Connecting with the sensations of trying so hard and keep being refused, not accepted or included. Struggling between being truthful of your personal being and trying to blend-in for approval. Attempting to fit to be recognized and to feel part of something.. Those are common sensations which both Sara and Aika have been navigating recently, creating this piece in the hope to achieve some recognition, approval and a moment to be heard; dealing with personal conflits and achieving the final solution that we are not alone in this sensation and together we can find support and validation.
06 Continuum
Choreographed by: Sara Pizzi and Aika Takeshima
Performed by: Sara Pizzi, Aika Takeshima, Haley Morgan Miller, Mayu Nakaya, Maitlin Jordan and Faustine Lavie
Description: “Continuum” a 5 min contemporary/conceptual dance piece, is a U.S premier that was performed as a work-in-progress on July 9th, 2023 at Styggbo choreographic residency workshop in Sweden curated by Julia Ehrstrand. “Continuum” rotates around the exploration of the three conceptual notions of:
-Push, pull and release
-The tension created before an action and the eco of it and the end of the action
-SATORI expression for deep comprehension of life/enlightment
07 Live creation and improvisation with audience
Choreographed by: Audience, Aika Takeshima, Sara Pizzi, Haley Morgan Miller, Mayu Nakaya, Maitlin Jordan and Faustine Lavie
Performed by: Faustine Lavie, Maitlin Jordan, Mayu Nakaya and Haley Morgan Miller
Description: You can participate of a live creation and structure improvisation utilizing artworks that our resident artist Carol Prud'homme Davis made for sarAika, giving dancers improvisational qualities and arranging compositions. Directors of sarAika will facilitate this process so that the audience can experience the dynamics and the most fun part of choreographing.
Exhibition November 2-14, 2023
Exhibition "This is sarAika" by resident artist Carol Prud'homme Davis
Collaboration exhibition between the dance company sarAika movement collective and the visual artist Carol Prud'homme Davis. Result of two years of artist residency, through this exhibition you can experience the collaboration and interaction between movement through drawings and drawings through movements.
Cast & Crew
Sara Pizzi
Choreographer & Dancer
Aika Takeshima
Choreographer & Dancer
Faustine Lavie
Dancer & collaboration in choreography
Mayu Nakaya
Dancer & collaboration in choreography
Maitlin Jordan
Dancer & collaboration in choreography
Haley Morgan Miller
Dancer & collaboration in choreography
Takeo Suzuki
Hair Designer
He started his career in Japan. He has worked for many high-profile salons in Tokyo, London, and NY. 2007 saw him move to London to pursue session styling for photo shoots and runway shows. Two years later he said farewell to the British capital to make the move across the ocean to New York, where in 2015 founded ROOM SALON NY.
On his portfolio you’ll find hairstyling for many celebrities, ELLE, VOGUE, W and other global magazines, UNIQLO, SONY, TOYOTA and international brands.
Takeo is interested in hair as a medium of energy and started a technique of combining haircuts with REIKI and adjusting the energy as he goes. You will feel great mentally and physically after the haircut.
@takeohair
Federica Borlenghi
Costume Designer
Clara Wiest
Associate Costume Designer
Carol Prud’homme Davis
Resident Artist
Carol Prud’homme Davis, a native Texan moved to NYC to dance. She has served as visual artist in residence at both Peridance Capezio Center and the Sandra Cameron Ballroom Studio and has drawn over 100 companies and dance artists. She is once again resident visual artist at Peridance as well as The Anna Sokolow Dance Ensemble and sarAika. Carol’s work has been shown in the first American Contemporary Dance Museum exhibition (where her work is in the permanent collection), The East Texas Fair, Peridance, 288 Tom & Jerry’s, The Cooper Union windows, the Anna Sokolow Theater Dance Ensemble website (“Rooms” gallery), Francesca Todesco’s website, Kathryn Atler of the Limon Company’s website and The Infinity Dance Theatre website. She is now illustrating books on Lynn Simonsonand Kimberley Monroe’s “Helmet” which will be presented as a children’s puppet performance and book.
She looks forward to having her art image on the Anna Sokolow “Slaughter of the Innocents” album cover which will be performed live at the Smithsonian along with her artwork inspired by rare photos of Anna Sokolow performing “Slaughter of the Innocents. Carol’s image “Reflection and Reaction” was featured in the awarding winning video, “Pause”. Carol’s artwork is the book cover on “A Dancer Writes Haiku” by Marie Paquet.Nesson. In December 2021 her work was featured at the 6th Street/Avenue B projection ”Bowery Resident and Homeless Street Artists Exhibition” funded by LMCC and directed by Ms. Davis. Carol is the founder and owner of “Inside Change from Within” and “Inside Change, Inc.” both focus on social justice, food equity and arts exhibition, education and performance for all.