New act/re/act podcast has been released!

Hey all - my new podcast, appropriately called "act/re/act", has been released. The first episode is a wonderful interview with Stephen Nachmanovitch, who is an improvisational-based musician and author of the book, Free Play (see below for full bio) . We get into some of his thoughts on the improvisation process, as well as how he connects improvisation to daily life. It's good stuff - listen to it here or subscribe in iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher, or our podcast host Podbean.



Stepnen Nachmanovitch performs and teaches internationally as an improvisational violinist, and at the intersections of music, dance, theater, and multimedia arts. He is the author of Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art. Born in 1950, he graduated in 1971 from Harvard and in 1975 from the University of California, where he earned a Ph.D. in the History of Consciousness for an exploration of William Blake. His mentor was the anthropologist and philosopher Gregory Bateson. He has taught and lectured widely in the United States and abroad on creativity and the spiritual underpinnings of art. In the 1970s he was a pioneer in free improvisation on violin, viola and electric violin. He has presented master classes and workshops at many conservatories and universities, and has had numerous appearances on radio, television, and at music and theater festivals. He has collaborated with other artists in media including music, dance, theater, and film, and has developed programs melding art, music, literature, and computer technology. He has published articles in a variety of vields since 1966, and has created computer software including The World Music Menu and Visual Music Tone Painter. He lives with his family in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is currently performing, recording, teaching, writing, and has completed a new book, Five Minutes Old. 

find more about Stephen Nachmanovitch at http://freeplay.com

Watch This Space

It has been a long time since I've been active on this blog, but that will soon change - to a degree. 

I have a new project coming this fall (2017) which re-ignite "act/re/act". 

I'm not quite ready to announce it, but soon.... 

River Meditations by Brian Harris

Here is a second video Brian Harris created as part of our Scenic Route performance along the Potomac. It is basically me rolling around on a large rock. But, it's really cool. Mostly because of Brian.



Scenic Route: River Meditation from Brian Harris on Vimeo.

Scenic Route by Brian Harris

The company has created and performed versions of Scenic Route a number of times - twice on the Billy Goat train along the Potomac River in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. This video - by the amazing Brian Harris - was the second time we led a hike/performance along the Potomac. It was a beautiful day with a lovely group, and the event lasted almost 3 hours.

Here's Brian's remix of the event:



Scenic Route from Brian Harris on Vimeo.

with myself + Kathryn Harris Banks, Stephanie Yezek, and singer Allison Hughes.

Ad Libitum - Brian's Video

As an artist who has collaborated with numerous other artists I have many relationships which I cherish for their depth, longevity, and frankly, success. One of my favorite collaborators over the last number of years has been with Brian Harris - a video artist, composer, photographer and web designer. Brian and I have known each other for over 20 years, but we began collaborating artistically a little over three years ago. He came to my performance of "Ad Libitum" at Joe's Movement Emporium and recorded the show. He then went home, edited the video, composed original music, and created something unique out of our performance. On one hand it documented the performance, but in another way, and more pronounced, the video is itself a work of art which stands on its own. Brian has gone on to record and remix (as it were) a number of other performances, as well as creating one video which we spent a day and a half recording on site. Over the next couple weeks I'm going to be posting Brian's videos on this blog to showcase his wonderful work, as well as remember some of the work the company has done over the last couple of years. Enjoy!

This video is from the first work Brian remixed for us - Ad Libitum, an evening of structured improvisation developed from various meditation and mindfulness practices.



Ad Libitum from Brian Harris on Vimeo.

with Kathryn Harris Banks, Keira Hart Mendoza, Carrie Monger, Stephanie Yezek

a long and winding road

Last weekend The PlayGround presented Acts of Arriving across metro DC - starting in Mount Rainer traveling to Brookland, then onto Meridian Hill / Malcolm X Park, and finishing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. We performed in each location, then walked to the next location. It took the whole day, with over 7 miles of walking and 3 hours of dancing. It was a long and winding journey through the city.

In January 2012 we started rehearsing for this day. In that time we have rehearsed in numerous studios, on-site many times, toured locations in the freezing cold and the heat of summer. We have researched our personal genealogy, histories of neighborhoods, stories of people who migrate, and the meaning of home and community. The company has created movement, spoken word texts, videos, while David has composed some amazing music. As individuals we have gotten married, had a baby, changed jobs ( a couple of times), and I even moved to Milwaukee (!). We have gotten to know one another in new ways, were introduced to locations in the city some of us were unfamiliar with, and each of us grew, in many ways, as an artist. The journey has been full, if somewhat long and winding.

We arrive at the end of this journey excited and grateful about what we offered. In many ways it is a culmination of many works and performances the company has created over the last number of years, and at the same time, it is unlike anything else we've created. It is playful but complex, multifaceted yet direct, formal and informal, highly structured with room for spontaneity, and approachable while being challenging. As with most of my work I hope it is welcoming without being simplistic, and visceral with a touch of poetry.

As with the end of any long and winding journey there is deep satisfaction, with a little sadness and great gratitude.

If you weren’t able to join us (or even if you were) here is a video montage of our Mount Rainier performance by Brian Harris - with dancers Kathryn Harris Banks, Anthony Barbir, Valerie Branch, Daniel Tehmann Tejos, Abigail Wallace, trumpeter Joseph Teachey, with music by David Schulman. I’m around as well:

Acts of Arriving from Brian Harris on Vimeo.

The Places They've Lived

Throughout the process of creating Acts of Arriving we offered creative workshops at locations across Metro DC. One of the activities we asked people to participate in was in listing all of the places they lived, starting with where they were born until present day. This video is excerpts of people's responses.

Acts of Arriving: Places The've Lived from Daniel Burkholder/The PlayGround on Vimeo.

The photo at the beginning is of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 

and the map at the end is one we used for our creative workshop at Monroe St Market in Brookland. 

for those of you unfamiliar with Acts of Arriving:
Acts of Arriving is a multi-year project in which we engage question about place, community, and the creative act of making a home. We offered four workshops in Mount Rainier, MD, Brookland, DC, Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park, and at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. We will be performing at all four locations on Saturday, October 18, 2014. 
More details at: www.danielburkholdertheplayground.org. 

Katie @ The Kennedy Center

A couple weeks ago The PlayGround rehearsed Acts of Arriving at The Kennedy Center for our upcoming performance (info here). At the beginning of the performance each performer does a solo for a different part of the audience, so there are 6 simultaneous solos happening. The following is an excerpt of Katie's solo - I like how, at only moments, she exites the shadow into the light, with a little on her face here and there.



Acts of Arriving Katie at The Kennedy Center from Daniel Burkholder/The PlayGround on Vimeo.

Learn more about Acts of Arriving - with performances on October 18, 2014 across Metro DC: http://www.danielburkholdertheplayground.org/when.html

Being In Space

This last weekend, The PlayGround had an on-site performance at The Kennedy Center for our upcoming performance of Acts of Arriving. We will be performing on the North Plaza, just adjacent to the Watergate Hotel. It is a large space, with lots of straight lines, next to two large buildings, and very open to the big sky above. When we arrived and began to discuss how to situate ourselves in this space, it was somewhat overwhelming. Often, as dancers, we wish we had more space (in the studio we're rehearsing, or the stage we're performing on), but, as they say, too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing.

The challenge with any site-specific, or site-semi-specific performance, is that the site can so easily dominate the performance. You have two choices (at minimum two) - either try to contrast the site to stand out against it, or blend into the site to a certain degree to integrate with it. You can do both in a single performance, of course, or ride the continuum from one end of this spectrum to the other. Some sites are more appropriate to integrate with, and others are more inviting to contrast.

The North Plaza at The Kennedy Center, with its white stone floor and straight lined walls, highly manicured bushes opening to the sky, and its large gold-ish pillars, seems to invite contrast. There are not many details in this place, just a vista with a view. So, we choose to place Acts of Arriving along one of the walls, just over from the Potomac River, with the sky overhead. For the majority of the dance the site will frame our work, without direct interaction or comment.

About two thirds of the way through the performance there is a section in which the dancers spread out to interact with the space more directly. This section is more specifically site-specific. The other Acts of Arriving sites (Mount Rainier/Joe's Movement Emporium, Brookland/Dance Place, and Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park) are rich in details with many areas to explore. The Kennedy Center has space. Plenty of it. But, not many nooks and cranies to explore. Thankfully, we were able to find three serparate spaces for the dancers to create something specific, and unique.

Here is a short video of Daniela and Anthony exploring thier spaces:

Sherry's Neighborhood

As part of our ongoing research for Acts of Arriving, we are holding creative workshops at four DC area sites in partnership with other organizations: Mount Rainier/Joe's Movement Emporium, Brookland/Dance Place, Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park/Washington Parks and People, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In these drop-in workshops we are offering visual art, writing and mapping, and movement sessions, along with mini-performances of dance and music. On September 13th we offered one of our creative workshops at Monroe St Market in Brookland during their farmers' market. Unfortunately it was raining, so there was a light turn-out, but we had a number of people pop into Dance Place's Studio 21 to partake in our offerings.

Here is Sherry showing her drawing of a neighborhood she grew up in and some of the things that made it a home for her:

Find out more about Acts of Arriving workshops and performances HERE. 

The Smell of a Place

A little over three weeks ago my family and I left DC with a loaded down car and moved north to Milwaukee. We had lived in the same house for over 10 years (packing was a trial), and I had (mostly) lived in the DC area for the last twenty years. My wife and daughter have lived their whole lives in Maryland. It is a time of big change and transition.

We knew where we were going - we had already found a place to live. When we arrived I was struck by the smell of the place. It wasn't bad nor good, it just didn't smell like home.

Smells are, as we all know, powerful indicators of place, or memories, they are vital to our sensation of taste. Holding our nose as we take a bite of something drastically changes its taste. A smell of a certain perfume can remind one of someone you haven't thought of in years. For myself, I know there is a certain cleaning product my mother always used and whenever I smell it, as it is fairly common, I am instantly reminded of the house I grew up in. 

We also connect certain smells to different cultures or places. I know the smell of my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, or think of Bali with a certain flowery smell I remember. Smell is a primal sense that ties deeply into our subconscious. It is direct communication.

So, since we arrived, and since our stuff has arrive, we have been busy unpacking, arranging, and cleaning. Every once in a while I have paused and noticed this house's smell. It hasn't changed, is more familiar, but still not my smell.

Yesterday I was out in the garage working on boxes as my daughter rode her bike up and down the street. I had to run back inside for something, and for the first time since we moved into this house my wife was cooking to make dinner. The aroma of the cooking hit me, directly. And in that moment, as clear as the sky, I thought, "This is what home smells like".

Meet Anthony!

Meet Anthony - not only does he create and perform with The PlayGround, but he works for the Turnaround Arts program for the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, which uses the arts to help narrow the achievement gap, increase student engagement, and improve the culture and climate in the country's highest poverty schools. He also teaches color guard clinics across the country (you'll see him do some color guard work in Acts of Arriving!), is a counselor for Tau Beta Sigma (a national honorary band sorority), and is a little bit of a Star Wars fanatic (just a little...).

Acts of Arriving - Anthony's Solo from Daniel Burkholder/The PlayGround on Vimeo.

Meditating on Creative Placemaking

When I envisioned Acts of Arriving as a multi-site, site-specific workshop and performance event across the Metro DC region I had not heard of 'creative placemaking'. But, when I read about the concept I knew immediately that that is what I was moving towards with this project - thinking about how can we facilitate a discussion about community, home, and their implications in an evolving and changing city.

On the website www.83degreesmedia.com author Sheena Lyonnais writes "placemaking is often at its best when it connects people and places" - which is exactly the core of what we aim to accomplish with Acts of Arriving.

In creative placemaking artists are the catalysts to engage communities through artistic endeavors from painting a mural, to creating a performance work, to establishing a community gallery, to offering creative workshops for residents and constituents. 

At www.artplaceamerica.org, a leading funder of creative placemaking, they describe creative placemaking as, among other things, contributing "to a mix of... people that makes places more diverse, more interesting and more active, thus making spontaneous interaction more likely". When people come together, to share an experience, it fosters a closer sense of community and belonging. 

contributes to a mix of uses and people that makes places more diverse, more interesting and more active, thus making spontaneous interaction more likely. Intensifying and mixing activities creates the promise that visitors can stumble onto the fun, mingle with other people, or happen upon opportunity. - See more at: http://www.artplaceamerica.org/articles/principles-of-creative-placemaking/#sthash.ah5xPcmb.dpuf

…contributes to a mix of uses and people that makes places more diverse, more interesting and more active, thus making spontaneous interaction more likely. Intensifying and mixing activities creates the promise that visitors can stumble onto the fun, mingle with other people, or happen upon opportunity. - See more at: http://www.artplaceamerica.org/articles/principles-of-creative-placemaking/#sthash.ah5xPcmb.dpuf

…contributes to a mix of uses and people that makes places more diverse, more interesting and more active, thus making spontaneous interaction more likely. Intensifying and mixing activities creates the promise that visitors can stumble onto the fun, mingle with other people, or happen upon opportunity. - See more at: http://www.artplaceamerica.org/articles/principles-of-creative-placemaking/#sthash.ah5xPcmb.dpuf

So, I've been thinking a lot about place, home, leaving, arriving, becoming apart of a community, and how to make a big mix of things to offer to the communities in which will be participating.

Some questions include:

What are the histories of specific performance sites?

Who lives there now? Who lived there previously? One generation ago? Two? Three?

What is the landscape?

Is the community stable or changing?

Do people live there, work there, both?

And, what about the personal histories of the performers - how do they get intermingled into the work with the communities?

There are many threads, many possible avenues for research, discussion and creation. We are sorting through the threads as we continue to create Acts of Arriving, discovering what creative placemaking means for us, and how we can connect and celebrate the communities in which we will offer our workshops and performances.

Until July 10th we are raising funds to support Acts of Arriving - we need to raise $4500. Please check out our campaign site and consider supporting this endeavor. Thanks!

*Photos of two sites which Acts of Arriving will engage communities: Top is of Meridian Hill Park, bottom of Mount Rainier, MD and one of our supporters - Art Lives Here.

"insert [ ] here sound experiments"

This weekend I am performing as a guest artist as part of Sharon Mansur and Nick Bryson's insert [ ] here at the newly renovated Dance Place. For my part, I will be performing a solo which begins in the new dressing room and then moves to the office, surrounded by the new colored glass corner. The work, among other things, explores our visceral response to space. And, Dance Place is a lovely new and familiar space to respond to. 

One of the other elements I will be exploring in this performance is having a direct, manipulative relationship to the sound and music. I asked composer/DJ/multi-media artist Alvin Hill to collaborate on creating a sound instillation I could adjust within the performative context. We asked: how can I, as the performer, respond to the sound, but also change it? Manipulate it? Filter it? 

I think we came up with a unique solution combining current technology with a little retro, leaving me room to both manipulate and respond to it. Alvin created 5 different sound tracks, from an effected variation of my voice to a sparse piano solo to a sound-scape reminiscent of trains, tones and subtlety - all so beautiful. We put each track on its own MP3 player connected to an FM transmitter (like you might use to listen to your iPod in the car) and set them to different frequencies. (see photo below for equipment) I then swooped down on local second hand shops and bought all the clock radios I could find (7). In performance I will be changing frequencies on the clock radios throughout the performance to layer the sounds in different ways - sometimes playing one track, some times many tracks at the same time.

This set up is an interesting contrast between these unfamiliar tracks Alvin created, things you wouldn't hear on the radio, and hearing them with the crackles and static listening to a radio entails. Seeing me, and hearing, the changing of radio stations. Seeing me shift my movement qualities in regards to the changing sound. This all becomes a world of sound and movement familiar in some concrete ways, but unfamiliar in many ways. A juxtaposition between the everyday and a performance. Much like the the overall performance you'll see from Sharon, Nick, and guest artists - a mix of the mundane and the extra-ordinary. 

Visit us June 21 & 22, 2014 at Dance Place. More info here: http://www.danceplace.org/dance-performances/nick-bryson-sharon-mansur/

Open Art Policy

As I was on break from rehearsals this summer I thought about art, dance, the nature of performance, and the company's relationship to our audience. How do we want to relate to them? How do we want to construct or facilitate that relationship? What is the exchange in which we are engaging? How can we make this exchange more fluid, easier, and direct. I've come to realize one barrier in this relationship is the need to attach a fixed monetary value to the experience of attending a performance. What makes one of our performances worth $20 or $30, especially when compared to ticket prices at The Kennedy Center or even a place like Woolly Mammoth Theater. The performances we offer are on par with what is offered at those institutions, but I would feel uncomfortable asking for $50, $75, or more per ticket.

This got me thinking about prices in general and who determines these prices. Why is it the company or performance venue? What if we just let the audience decide? Maybe some people will pay $5 because that is what they see as its worth, or, of course, what their financial situation allows them to pay. Other people might go ahead and pay $50 or $75 because they value the work, understand the costs of putting on a production, and have the ability to pay that amount. Either way, I want all these people to come. I don't want people to be turned away because of finances or even willingness to pay, and I don't want to limit people's desire, or ability, to support what they value.

So, staring this fall my dance company, The PlayGround, will institute a new policy we're calling the Open Art Policy. From now on all performances and events we organize will be pay-what-can, or pay-what-you-value-it. This is obviously us taking a chance - what if everyone only pays $5? How will we pay the bills? But, I'm actually extremely optimistic. I believe what we offer has value people recognize,and those that can pay more, will pay more. Each time someone chooses a price it will not only be money to see a particular performance, but also a vote (in a way) towards us producing future performances. 

I hope our new Open Art Policy allows more people to see our work, allows people to be generous with their support, and help us to connect deeper and with greater vibrancy with our community.

*also, enjoy the picture of Stefanie Quinones Bass and Melissa Swaringen from when The PlayGround did a residency at James Madison U. and Melissa was a student there.  Photo by R. Finkelstein

All together now, or paying attention while improvising.

Recently I was talking with a friend about the experience of performing improvisatonaly and the attention required. Basically, she was asking what I was paying attention to as I was dancing/performing. As we talked we came up with an impressive list, which partially included: proprioceptive self (where I am in space and where I'm moving), the quality of my movements (strong, light, direct, sudden, etc...), where I am in the room/theater in which I'm moving (in the center, close to an edge or corner), where other people are in the room, how they are moving (what and how), how close we are to be another and how that is changing (proximity), emotions and feelings emerging from myself, other individuals and the groups as a whole, the developing relationships of individuals and the group, emergent forms (compositional tools or structures), tracking how the past interweaves with the present (remembering elements and choosing to repeat or evolve), and a number of other elements. Basically, I'm tracking myself, the other individuals, and all of us as a whole in the present moment with awareness of the past. My friend commented how this seems a lot to track at once. And, of course, it is. But I am not tracking each element individually, but as a whole. Earlier in my experience as an improviser I could only track a few elements at a time, but that was when these elements where only differentiated and not yet integrated. Learning to improvise is much like learning to walk - first you must learn how to use the different parts of your legs and upper body, figure out balance, and experiment how all the parts fit together. It takes awhile to learn how to coordinate it all, but once it is coordinated you don't have to pay attention to every part as it is now integrated into one movement. The same is true with one's ability to attend to all these various elements while improvising. At first you need to figure each of them out and then, and only then, can you integrate them. I do, often, go back to singular elements to strengthen and deepen my awareness and skill with them, but when improvising they merge into a single awareness that is fluid, precise and multi-layered. 

With that said, there are certainly times individual elements come to the forefront during a performance. The emotional tone of the piece might be the main focal point for a while, but then later proximity or movement qualities may be for forefront. Everything isn't always equal in ones attention, but they are always present. The emotional tone must be supported by the proximal relationship between performers as the movement quality is essential to the expressive nature of the moment. While at moments certain elements are more obvupious than others, but at those movements the other elements continue to support the whole.

Again, we first we differentiate the elements of improvisation (or, really any skill, activity, art). Once we begin to differentiate we also begin to integrate until we can hold both the individual elements and the whole of them. When this integration happens we are free to take the present moment together as a whole, or focus on one element or another. When we reach this point we have freedom of choice and freedom of attention and the real, deep practice of improvisation begins. 

*Photo is of me and my company, The PlayGround, performing last December at Georgetown University Hospital, where we are the dance-company-in-residence. 

A reminder from Rumi

Haven't posted any poetry on this blog, but this one feels important for me to remember right now:

Today like any other day
When you awaken empty and frightened
Don't go to the door of the study
and begin to read
Instead, take down the dulcimer
Let the beauty of what you love
be what you do
There are a thousand ways
to kneel and kiss the ground
There are a thousand ways
to go home again.
- Rumi

Why I'm Excited About The Chemistry of Lime Trees

Way back in 2008 I began thinking about and planning The Chemistry of Lime Trees, with the first incarnation appearing as a solo in the summer of 2009. Since then I have worked closely with my collaborators - Susan Oetgen, Kathryn Harris Banks, Stephanie Yezek, Stefanie Quinones Bass, Jonathan Matis, and Tony Melone - to build a work that is layered, visceral and has surprised me in many ways.

I am excited for our upcoming performances March 14 through March 24 at The Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint because we have not had the opportunity to share this work with our community in DC proper - we've performed it in New York City, Milwaukee and out in Reston, but now we'll be right downtown.

I am excited to share The Chemistry of Lime Trees because it is a work unlike any other I've made - being based on factual historical stories involving plot and characters it is much more theatrical than my previous work. It is emotional, intense, and even occasionally funny.

I am excited for these performances because we will be performing 8 times over two weeks - highly unusual for a dance company. This will give us the opportunity to share the work with a broader audience, deepen our performing experience and hopefully give everyone who wants to see the performance an opportunity to see it.

These performances are a culmination and a continuation for the company. It is a culminate of five years of research, rehearsing, creation and performing The Chemistry of Lime Trees. It is the second project of our two year project - The Perimeter Project - which started last fall with our presentation of Scenic Route. Over the next two years we will exploring the role of borders and boundaries, both real and imagined, through numerous projects, performances and events.

Here is a video where I talk alittle bit more about The Chemistry of Lime Trees, as well as our current fundraising campaign to support these performances.



USA Projects 1 Version 2 from Daniel Burkholder/The PlayGround on Vimeo.

Find out more about our USA Project HERE.

A little hospital dance

Over the last weeks I have been finding moments in my work at the hospital where I am between things without something to do. These moments are short - less than 5 minutes. It is usually when I am done on one unit and have a couple of minutes before I am to be at the next unit. Usually I just take my time until I go into the next unit. Recently I have instead found out of the way places, and with my iPod Touch, have captured my self doing short improvisational movement sequences - each shot is only between 30 and 60 seconds. The spaces are mostly hallways and stairwells - I wanted to shoot some in the elevator, but I was never alone long enough. After I had some footage I began editing the material - again, on my iPod using iMovie - while commuting on the Metro and buses around DC. Below is the final video. Enjoy. Hopefully my next hospital video will consist of shots from the elevator....


Hospital 11282013 from Daniel Burkholder/The PlayGround on Vimeo.

In case you didn't know, I am an Artist-in-Residence at Georgetown University Hospital where I work with patients, family members, nurses, doctors, and support and administrative staff.

Turning The PlayGround Green

I love being outdoors. I love to garden (though one might describe it as an "its complicated" relationship). I love hiking. I love dancing outside. Because of all this love, beginning January 2013 The PlayGround will begin transforming our artistic practice into a more sustainable and ecologically responsible process. The environment and climate change has long been an interest of mine and has manifested most prominently in the company's three year project, My ocean is never blue. During those three years the company explored humanity's multi-faceted relationship to water - from our personal relationship to spiritual, societal and political relationships. More recently we have explored the space where dance and nature can meet through our Scenic Route events. (see a wonderful video by Brian Harris from our last event here.) Beginning next year we will begin to incorporate those interests and concerns into our daily practices.

To begin, we are going to purchase carbon off-sets for the company's travel to and from all rehearsals and performances. Through carbonfund.org we will donate money in direct proportion to the miles we travel. This money will be used to develop renewable energy, energy efficiency programs, and reforestation projects. It is a small first step, but one we hope will make a difference.

As we move forward with this initiative - which we are calling The Green PlayGround - we will continue to finds ways to expand our conservation efforts to help make the world a greener place to dance.

Katie and Stephanie on one of our rehearsals for our recent performance of "Scenic Route 2.0".