The 15 People to Know for Spring Arts
Let us introduce you to the artists making headlines—and entertaining audiences—in the new season.
By Steve WieckingWith contribution from Sarah Anderson, Wilson Diehl, and Michaelangelo Matos
Dance Captain
Kara O’Toole, Executive Director,Velocity Dance Center
You should know her because By throwing open the doors to her studio for movement classes, touring companies, and local choreographers, she’s making all the right moves for contemporary dance to thrive in town.
What she’s up to now In October, Velocity worried it might close after its Oddfellows Hall home was sold and rent went up. Negotiations with the new owner to keep it open through 2008 have gone nowhere. O’Toole has already relinquished the fourth floor’s second stage to focus finances on new digs elsewhere (the old On the Boards at 14th and Fir is a possibility). “Dance artists need space—uninterrupted space—to explore what they do,” she says. The mix of talents that have established the venue’s reputation haven’t all come from here. Scuba, a touring alliance among dance centers in Seattle, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia, has an upcoming stopover. The program includes Seattle’s poetic Scott/Powell Performance and Philadelphia’s Kate Watson-Wallace, whose choreographic experiments (in houses, cars, churches) demand risks Velocity audiences like to take. “It’s not just a center because it’s convenient,” O’Toole declares. “It’s a center because we do something particular for people who live all over the city.”
See for yourself www.velocitydancecenter.org
Three’s Company
Byron Schenkman, Pianist
You should know him because He’s a cofounder of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra and a nationally acclaimed solo musician whose relentless investigations into the music of the past are imbued with contemporary panache.
What he’s up to now “I’ve always believed in the importance of artists growing and exploring,” Schenkman says. The pianist will debut his Mira Trio, which includes violinist Gabriela Diaz and cellist Alexei Yupanqui Gonzales, at Seattle’s Town Hall. “It’s been a vision of mine for years,” explains Schenkman. “I love the dynamics of working in a group of three people. There’s a lot of intimacy and a lot of room for individuality.” The concert begins with Beethoven’s Piano Trio op. 1, no. 1 before moving on to Haydn and Schubert. But why not premiere in New York, where Schenkman relocated last fall? “Town Hall has been such a champion for doing new things,” he answers, remembering his first piano recital there, in 2001, after years as a harpsichordist. “It just seemed like the appropriate place.”
See for yourself www.townhallseattle.org
Down with Love
Stephin Merritt,Singer/Songwriter
You should know him because With the 1999 release of the Magnetic Fields triple CD 69 Love Songs, far more than 69 pop-music followers felt the invisible draw of Merritt’s bravura.
What he’s up to now Merritt has several recording aliases—the Gothic Archies, the 6ths, Future Bible Heroes—and a variety of projects, including a collaboration with Chinese musical-theater and opera director Chen Shi-Zheng. He even had the opportunity in 2000 to be one of 14 celebrities to name a new Pantone color (Carolyn Eve Green, if you’re wondering). Now he’s touring with the Magnetic Fields for the first time since 2004. On Distortion, the band’s newest album, he makes yet another departure. Whereas previous Merritt-helmed efforts are brazen in their nonrock sound, this one lives up to its title with plenty of fuzzy feedback drenching the songs. But those songs are as wryly ironic as the famous 69: “California Girls” twists its Beach Boys title and melody with the refrain, “I hate California girls.”
See for yourself Magnetic Fields, March 6 & 7, Town Hall, 206-628-0888; www.townhallseattle.org
Published: February 2008
