Dance Truck Returns

Atlanta's mobile movement project returns June 28th!

Presenting new work by: 

`` BEATRIX
`` Kala Seidenberg
`` Erik Thurmond

and featuring:

`` tEEth (guest artists from NOLA/PDX) 

With specialty trucks by:

`` ASIFA-Atlanta (animation)
`` Whitespace (gallery)
`` The Good Food Truck (poodles)


Admission is $10 at the door
Venue to be announced-stay tuned!
dancetruck.org

Presented by The Lucky Penny 
theluckypenny.org

See you at WHITESPACE tonight!

Dancetruckers Alisa Mittin and Alex Abarca perform 

tonight at Whitespace Gallery! 

7:30pm and 9:30pm

"other-initiated repairs" is a new work 

created and performed by Alisa Mittin and Alex Abarca

as a special commission by Dance Truck 

and Susan Bridges of Whitespace Gallery. 

Alex Abarca is a native of Houston, Texas.  He is a graduate of the High School for Performing & Visual Arts and the University of Houston; he has danced with various companies and independent artists while in his hometown.  Before leaving Houston, he had the opportunity to perform at the historic Inside/Out stage a Jacob's Pillow with Suchu Dance.  He moved to Atlanta about four years ago as a company member with CORE performance company.  Now as a freelance dance-artist, he dances for Catellier Dance Projects, Ellisorus Rex & the DANCE machine, and The Lucky Penny (Blake Beckham).  He was also a featured dancer for the GA Tech ARTech residency with Sean Curran and Dancers. He is pleased as punch to be part of this work with Alisa Mittin as part of last year's Art Crush and would like to give love to DanceTruck for all their support.

Hailing originally from Buffalo NY, and a proud Atlantan, Alisa Mittin is an alum of the California Institute of the Arts (2008). She has studied under and worked professionally with Colin Conner, Sean Curran, Glen Eddy, Jonathan Fredrickson, Mira Kingsley and Tina Yuan- Lems. Since moving to Atlanta, Alisa has had the pleasure to work with Blake Beckham, Greg Catellier, Corian Ellisor and Helen Hale. She is a former member of CORE Performance Company and currently dances for Catellier Dance Projects and Ellisoraus Rex and The Dance Machine. Alisa is a teacher, performing artist, choreographer, and founding member of Austerland Dance Company.  Her work has been presented in Buffalo, Chicago, NYC, Los Angeles, Houston and with Atlanta's own: The Lucky Penny, and for the forthcoming inaugural season of Skwhirlhaus. She is excited to be dancing with the lovely Alex Abarca and representing her good friends Dance Truck.

Atlanta's Dance Truck in the media!

The October issue of Dance Studio Life Magazine features a hearty write up about Atlanta's special brand of moveable dance! Two of our favorite photographers are also featured:

Photo Credits:

(Left) by Karley Sullivan

Blake Beckham and portland dancers perform an excerpt of 'American Muscle' at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's Time-Based Art Festival 2011.

(Right) by Warren Cameron Photography

Onur Topal-Sümer performs with live music by Zephyr Instrumental at the 'Barefoot in the Park' Festival in Duluth, Georgia, 2012.

AND...

Check out the December issue of The Atlantan | Modern Luxury Magazine. Another Dance Truck photographer is featured!

Photo Credit:

(Top Center) by Jamie Hopper

Blake Beckham, Alisa Mittin, Emily Christianson, (Camille Jackson) perform 'PLOT' at The Goat Farm Arts Center, 2011.

We are so grateful for the photographers that have helped tell our story of Bringing Dance To The People! since 2009. Please check out their work:

www.karleysullivan.com

www.warrencameron.com

www.jamiehopper.com

TEAM CARDBOARD

A shout out to all of the DANCETRUCK fans

who came out in support of our sister organization THE LUCKY PENNY 

and their ambitious summer project, Threshold! 

70 volunteers, 30 artists and crew, 3 dancers, and team of architecture interns came together to create a memorable dance performance in a two story cardboard house!

Dance Truck fans were major players on TEAM CARDBOARD, and to reward them, our friends at  THE ADAIR GROUP, donated t shirts! The Adair Group is a family owned business selling wholesale t shirts in Atlanta and throughout the country for over 50 years. theadairgroup.com

Ashley Hinson from SUGAR COATED RADICAL 

designed a cool logo for the team and for Threshold,

and enlisted help from THE GOOD FOOD TRUCK's George Long 

to screen print over 100 shirts--front AND back! 

Be sure to frequent their food and their art.

THANKS YA'LL!!

Dance Truck Summer Camp

Last summer, Dance Truck brought you an award winning performance by Atlanta choreographer Blake Beckham. PLOT was an unprecedented project for many of our collaborators, and propelled a vision that launched The Lucky Penny.

This summer, Dance Truckers will be helping The Lucky Penny present Threshold, a performance event and architectural installation with choreography by Beckham, design by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects, and a team of cardboard enthusiasts from incredibly diverse backgrounds.

Learn more about the project and consider making a donation to Threshold via Kickstarter!

Dance Truck News

Extended Dates: Dances Made to Order
Now through May 31st, watch the ATLANTA Edition of the popular online dance series, Dances Made to Order. Log In and enter code: TRUCK for a 20% discount on monthly or annual subscriptions. Watch the films online anytime. This inventive platform for presenting contemporary collaborations puts 75% of all proceeds into the hands of Atlanta artists.
www.dancesmadetoorder.com


Our Sister Organization: The Lucky Penny
Dance Truck is officially a project of Atlanta's new presenting organization, The Lucky Penny. Dance Truck's Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Malina Rodriguez and Choreographer Blake Beckham founded The Lucky Penny in 2011 to support the creation and presentation of cutting-edge contemporary art, aiming to advance artistry and cultivate community in Atlanta, GA.


This summer, The Lucky Penny presents Blake Beckham's new work: Threshold at DramaTech Theater August 16-19. Creative Loafing broke the news on 5/21 about our exciting collaboration with Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects in this article. www.theluckypenny.org


Next Stop...Dance Truck: Double Wide
Our next production is BIG. Double Wide is a public performance with two trucks side by side and a band stand in between. 2 choreographers will perform simultaneous new works to an original piece of music by a local music act. We will curate 6 choreographers, 3 composers, 2 lighting designers, and 1 technical director for this ambitious truck adventure.


We are currently seeking a SPONSOR to step up and commission this classic Atlanta performance phenomenon. Contact Malina Rodriguez, Artistic Director, at atldancetruck@gmail.com for sponsorship opportunities.

Barefoot in the Park - May 4th

Dance Truck goes OTP Friday, May 4th
We'll be in Duluth for their Barefoot in the Park Festival GALA


Performances by
Onur Topal-Sümer with Zephyr Instrumental : "Barefoot Dance"
Ursula Kendall Johnson : "BREATHE" 
  with music composed by Quentin "EQ" Johnson


Lighting Design by
Danny Davis

Ursula Kendall Johnson is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating with Magnet honors at Tri-Cities High School, Ursula had the privilage to audition for the Alvin Ailey School. She was awarded a partial scholarship from Denise Jefferson to attend the Ailey School, and today Ursula teaches as a Jazz Instructor for Ailey Camp Atlanta sponsored by the Fox Theater Atlanta. As Ursula furthered her education at Dillard University, she participated in the Dillard Diamonds as a member and choreographer. Ursula has trained under Roscoe Sales, Diane Sales, Patdro Harris, Jimmy Lucas, Nina Gilbreath, Waverly Lucas and Dawn Axam and collaboratively worked with choreographers such as Juel D. Lane, Nakia Henry and Duane Cyrus. Her creative works and collaborations graced many collegiate stages in “Soweto, Soweto, Soweto A Township is Calling”, directed by: David Kote; “For Colored Girls” directed by Barry Franklin; and 106th and Park with the Dillard Diamonds. Ursula returned to Atlanta from hurricane Katrina, where she began to captivate her unique blend of West African, Hip Hop, and Contemporary movements along with her present dynamic energy. She recently completed a residency at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a Master Class at Wake Forest University. Her next adventure, is to produce a project called "SHE, Created IT" as her first solo production premiere in 2013.

Onur Topal-Sümer is originally from Istanbul, Türkiye. Onur has trained in ballet in Vaganova Technique for 12 years and get started working on modern and contemporary dance technique in 1997. She has a B.F.A. in Dance from Istanbul and in 2006 she completed her M.F.A. in Dance with an emphasis in choreography and digital technology from UC, Irvine. Onur has trained, performed and staged her original works across Europe, USA & Asia and had the privilege to work with legendary dance artist Donald McKayle and Pina Bausch Wupertal Dance Company members among many other acclaimed artists around the world. She has been commissioned to create site specific choreography and video installation for FLUX 2010 & 2011 in collaboration with Zoetic Dance Ensemble in Atlanta. Onur is the “Dance Camera Istanbul” Festival director & curator and teaches dance, Pilates, dance for camera and more. She has worked with international dance companies CRR Istanbul Dance Theater, Istanbul State Theater, Loretta Livingston & Dancers (USA), Architexture Dance Company (USA), No Dancers Company (Germany)... and she has been also working with local dance companies; Full Radius Dance, Beacon Dance and with independent choreographers as a dancer/choreographer/filmmaker as well. Onur loves collaborating, creating, sharing and experimenting life through ideas, arts, open mind & heart.  

Founded in 2008, Gwinnett-based Zephyr Instrumental is one member of the family of performing/recording groups and individuals within Zephyr Music, Inc. Zephyr Instrumental is a 16-20 member “21st Century Orchestra”. Together with the compositions of Richard C. Bragg, the ingenuity of producer P. Kerry Fetter, and the abilities of its many members, Zephyr Instrumental offers a unique perspective to the modern classical style of music. With acoustic and electronic instrumentation, along with the use of multimedia visuals and effects; Zephyr Instrumental stands as a leader amongst a new wave of music. Zephyr believes that there is beauty in every form of art and it is the duty of every artist to recognize this beauty and display it for the world to see. Zephyr Instrumental is releasing two new CDs this summer . . . “Elements” and “America”. In the fall they will be recording “Meditations”. All releases will have a DVD and Blu-Ray version with original art, photography and videography. The concert schedule is available on-line at zephyrplanet.com. Listen to Zephyr Instrumental and experience Zephyr Instrumental!