and curious of why choices
were
made.
I
specifically
remember, as a dancer, you’re
very
consumed
with
your
individual
performance
or
role. I wanted to expand
my mindset but stay in the
same art form. Directing is
something I’ve always wanted
to do; as a child, I was putting
on shows in my garage and
selling tickets for a quarter.
Putting on a performance is
something I’ve always done.
TMD:
One
of
the
choreographers you highlight
in this fall program is Ohad
Naharin,
an
artist
you’ve
worked with frequently. What
has it been like working with
him all these years?
GE: I’ve known Ohad for
30 years and it gives me great
satisfaction to have my dancers
take part in such significant
work. ‘Decadence Chicago,’
the
piece
choreographed
especially for our company,
is a wonderful journey from
beginning to end.
TMD: Do you think it has
become easier for your dancers
to work with Naharin’s style
over the years?
GE:
Absolutely.
We’ve
performed so many of his
works, between ‘Minus 16’ in
2000 and ‘Decadence Chicago’
in 2018. In those 18 years, we’ve
had a new work from Ohad
every two or three years. That
development and investment is
wonderful to see.
TMD:
Your
second
performance includes Emma
Portner; what has it been
like working with such an
emerging artist?
GE:
She’s
incredibly
imaginative.
She’s
recently
got into a whole concept
of
environmental
issues,
so her participation in this
evening includes her feelings
towards the Earth, how to
make it sustainable and how
we treat each other through
our
connection
with
the
Earth. I love finding new
choreographers that are just
at the brink of starting their
career. Emma is now booming
and is being sought after all
over; she (has) dabbled in so
many
different
areas already at
such a young age.
TMD:
Movement
Art Is is also
focused on our
relationship with
the environment.
Would you say
the combination
of Emma Portner
and
Movement
Art Is has made
Saturday’s
performance
take
on
an
environmental
theme?
GE: Yes, it has.
Movement
Art
Is
participated
in the Standing
Rock Pipeline Protest, and
they’re depicting the narrative
they learned from an Indian
tribe in North Dakota through
their dance. It’s unusual to
see these hip-hop artists (Jon
Boogz and Lil Buck), known
for their style of juking and
popping and locking, to go into
a creative narrative piece.
TMD: Do you think Third
Coast Percussion has fit well
with your company’s style?
GE: I’ve wanted to work with
them for many years. We’re of
like mind: We’re both open-
minded
and
collaborative.
We’re flexible and can go with
ideas that have been thrown
out and enhance them instead.
TMD:
As
an
artistic
director,
where
does
your
inspiration come from?
GE: It comes from all over.
It can be from a conversation,
something I’ve read, a video,
a movie. My intent artistically
is
to
keep
the
company
relevant. ‘What’s going on
in the moment?’ is always
something
I
ask
myself.
We’re forever evolving and
changing — sometimes you hit
the mark and sometimes you
don’t. We’re an experimental
company and we’re always
going to be exploring what’s
next.
TMD:
What
are
you
expecting from this Ann Arbor
crowd?
GE:
I’d
like
the
public
to
walk away and
still be thinking
about the piece.
I want them to
feel
something
beyond just that
moment. I don’t
want
them
to
leave and hear
someone
saying
to their friend,
‘What
do
you
want to eat for
dinner?’
They
should
still
resonate with the
work days after
the performance.
***
“Two
Different
Programs”
will
run at the Power Center this
Friday and Saturday at 8:00
p.m. A free Q&A will follow
both performances (you must
have a ticket to the show to
attend).
Art is a valuable source of
individual expression, but it’s
an equally important force
for social change. Towering
murals
on
the
streets
of
Detroit, songs sung by political
dissonants and defiant protest
art
painted
onto
cracked
cardboard for the March for
Our Lives are testaments to
this. Hubbard Street Dance
Chicago, in collaboration with
the University Musical Society
(UMS), returns to the Power
Center this fall with “Two
Different Programs,” to use
contemporary dance as their
personal appeal for action.
Hubbard
Street
Dance
Chicago was founded in 1977
and is in its 9th season under
the artistic direction of Glenn
Edgerton. The modern dance
company molds their dance
around changing social issues
and is known for providing
collaborative
opportunities
with up-and-coming artists.
“Two Different Programs” is
no exception.
Oct.
19
presents
“Decadance/Chicago,”
a
collaboration
with
iconic
Israel-based
choreographer
Ohad Naharin, known for his
distinct gaga style of dance
and his famous piece “Minus
16.” Oct. 20 brings 23-year-
old viral choreographer Emma
Portner and Movement Art
Is, an organization that aims
to use movement as a form of
social education. Live music
from Grammy-winning group
Third Coast Percussion and a
composition by Devonté Hynes
adds an innovative touch to
Saturday’s performance.
In a phone interview with
The Daily, Glenn Edgerton
further
illuminated
on
Hubbard
Street
Dance
Chicago’s fall program and his
time as an artistic director.
***
The Michigan Daily: What
makes Hubbard Street Dance
Chicago unlike other dance
companies?
GE:
The
dancers
are
incredible.
They
bring
a
beautiful sense of movement
quality and technical ability,
mixed with great imagination
and
thought-provoking
intention.
We
also
give
opportunities
to
emerging
choreographers,
and
this,
mixed
with
our
dancers,
gives a great opportunity for
choreographers
to
improve
their imagination. But we’re
not just a dance company:
We have a huge education
program. We also teach to
autistic children and people
with
Parkinson’s.
They’re
dancers in their own right.
These
classes
make
our
mission very satisfying; we feel
like we’re making a difference
in the dance world.
TMD:
Given
your
prior
background as a professional
dancer with the Nederlands
Dans Theater, what drew you
to directing?
GE: As a dancer, I was
always aware of my directors
Artistic director Glenn Edgerton
on Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
TRINA PAL
Daily Arts Writer
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
COURTESY OF TOD ROSENBERG
DAILY COMEDY COLUMN
Sense of humor is a funny
thing. What makes me giggle
might not make you giggle,
and vice-versa. But your sense
of humor is more than your
obsession with “The Office” or
your weirdly erotic attraction
to
Conan
O’Brien.
Your
sense of humor comes from a
deeper, more personal place.
It materializes when you first
learn to laugh at yourself. I
like to believe the emergence
of one’s sense of humor as a
parallel journey with puberty.
When you become a man or
woman is when your first sense
of humor develops. But like
your body, your sense of humor
is always changing. What you
found funny in middle school
may or may not be funny to you
anymore, but if booger and fart
jokes still get you going, more
power
to
you.
Experiences
and time change what we find
funny. Maybe your humor has
gotten darker with age or maybe
you find solace from the world
with mindless bathroom humor.
The great thing about a sense
of humor is that it’s yours, and
with the ever-expanding sphere
of
comedic
content,
you’re
bound to find your funny.
My sense of humor surfaced
with my first period. I have
three
older
brothers
and
growing up in a house of boys
was an interesting experience,
to say the least. They once told
me that I was born a boy but the
Rabbi accidentally chopped off
my whole penis during the bris,
so my parents just decided to
tell me I was a girl. So for a very
long time, I thought my genitals
were the result of a botched
circumcision. But they meant
well; they’ve always been super
protective.
They
constantly
offered to beat people up for me.
They never acted on it, but they
always offered. Like if a boy
picked on me: Want me to beat
him up for you? Or some girl
kicked me off the slide: Want me
to beat her up for you? Or I got
a bad grade on a test: Want me
to beat him up for you? I mean
they never could have actually
beat anyone up, they’re three
lanky, beta, Jewish boys whose
athletic ability is limited to ping
pong and “Legend of Zelda,” but
it’s the thought that counts. I
love my brothers. I just wanted
to paint a picture, set the scene
for my first encounter with
womanhood. Anyway, my first
period obviously occurred while
I was sitting on the new, pristine
white living room couch, the
one my mom just bought. I was
watching TV, probably “Drake
& Josh,” with my brother,
and when I got up from that
goddamn living room couch I
was greeted by a massive pool of
blood shaped like a lotus where
my ass had been and I swear I
thought my kidneys fell out. My
brother just gave me this look
of surprised disgust, and all he
said was, “let’s flip the cushion.”
I swear to this day, that was
the nicest thing a man has ever
said to me. At that moment all
we could do was laugh, and
we just looked at each other
and cackled our hearts out.
Well, I was mostly crying, but
then I started to laugh. So, I
think that’s when my sense of
humor developed. To this day,
that cushion has never been
flipped. Just kidding! I told my
mom a few minutes later, and
she sent it to the cleaners, but
there is still an ass-shaped stain
that never fully came out. My
brothers like to remind me of its
presence every Thanksgiving
and Rosh Hashanah. So that is
an integral part of my sense of
humor, the kind of situations
that elicit tearful laughter or
cackled cries.
But my sense of humor is
also the content I have ingested
over years and years of binge-
watching VCRs of Mel Brooks
movies and “Seinfeld.” I was
binge-watching before it was
even a thing. I remember sitting
way too close to the TV, my eyes
probably burning from the rays
of
entertainment,
watching
“Young Frankenstein,” neighing
with the horse every time
someone
uttered
the
name
“Frau Blucher.” In that way,
I guess my sense of humor is
also like that of an old Jewish
man,
one
who
appreciates
clever word play and good
herring. Over fall break I got
to see that formative film,
“Young Frankenstein,” in the
Hollywood Forever Cemetery in
L.A. with Daily alum Emily Bice.
Before the film screened, a video
appeared of dear old Mel in his
office, a plethora of E.G.O.T.s
behind him. He wished he
could be in the cemetery with
us, alive of course. He told
delightful stories of the film’s
Marty Feldman (Igor) and his
excellent
peripheral
vision.
My heart swelled as I saw one
of my comedic icons on the
screen before me, as if he was
talking to me and only me. I was
hysterical, crying as if I’d seen
the ghost of Johnny Ramone
(fun fact: He is buried in the
Hollywood Forever Cemetery,
and his tombstone is very rock
‘n’ roll). I wiped my tears aside
in time to see Gene Wilder
stab his own leg with a scalpel.
Anyway, my point is that your
sense of humor is personal and
unique and pretty damn terrific.
Therefore, dear reader, I wish
you the best of luck in finding
your funny, whether it be in this
column (it better be), on a stand-
up stage or in a network sitcom.
Regardless, your sense of humor
is yours to discover, enjoy the
process and keep laughing.
Finding your funny
BECKY
PORTMAN
Hubbard
Street Dance
Chicago
‘Two Different
Programs’
Fri. Oct. 19 @ 8
pm
Sat. Oct. 20 @
8 pm
Power Center
GA $36-75,
Student $12-20
6A — Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com