The following times/studios are available for Rush Space for Saturday, February 4^rd, 2012.  If you wish to book please call (718) 832-0018.

Studio A: N/A

Studio B: 6:30-7pm

Studio C: N/A

Studio D: N/A

Enter our Valentine’s Day Raffle!

Valentine’s Day Raffle

1 Ticket $5.00 USD 3 Tickets $10.00 USD 10 Tickets $25.00 USD 25 Tickets $50.00 USD

Chance to win:

Kindle Fire	Couples Thai Massage with Sara Roer and Diane Tomasi	Pillow Pet Luv Pup

Drawing on Monday, February 13th at 5pm
Just in time to wrap it up and have it ready for that special someone!

Winners will be notified by e-mail immediately after the drawing.
Prizes can be retrieved at the BAX Reception Desk or shipped at the winner’s expense.

Hope I see you soon!

JUMPIN’ JUNIPER FESTIVAL | February 2012
(appropriate for children of all ages)

Experience the exhilarating energy of Jumpin’ Juniper as she hosts an interactive hour of story, song, film, or dance. Immerse yourself in the excitement of high-quality live performances by celebrated guest artists.

This pilot program is an initiative by BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, funded in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, that has been developed to address some of the needs of choreographers who are trying to meet the challenges of being an artist and a parent to newborn through pre-school age (0-4) children.

Artists will be awarded 40 hours of rehearsal space in addition to a $300 childcare stipend.

Click HERE for more information including application details.

PRESIDENT’S WEEK ARTS PROGRAM
Monday February 20 – Friday February 24
9:00am – 3:00pm | drop-off 8:30-9:00 | late pick-up option 3:00-5:00

theater, musical theater, dance, singing, tumbling … and lots of fun!

Register by the day, or for the entire week.

For children currently enrolled in grades K-5. Limited to 30 children per day.

Click HERE for more information.

Financial aid available for all youth classes. Click HERE for more information.

The way artists participate is interesting to me. Last season, Dean Moss curated the performers from his Nameless Forest. This season, Nameless Forest performer Kacie Chang will be teaching INVESTIGATING PERFORMANCE. Dean says about Kacie: “Sometimes there’s a someone who comes into your process who works as a catalyst. Kacie Chang is that for me and my work. She understands my intentions and manifests them in a way that pushes the work forward. For more than 15 years we have worked together to develop the performance tools that form the basis of my recent collaborations. Having helped create them, she knows them inside out. Someone said, ‘Kacie’s your doppelganger on stage.’ I think, frankly, she’s much better than that.”

One relationship begets another. AIR Dan Fishback is curating the students who will apply for Needing It: Performance in the Queer Community Tradition. Former AIRs Victoria Libertore and Faye Driscoll are curating. These are the kinds of relationships that foster a community of artists and audiences. So, “What’s THEIR BAX? ” It’s a home, it’s a venue, it’s a place of investigation and of support. I’m glad we live here together.

This week I got to see brand new dance that Jillian Pena made. I got to hear Matthew Olmos talk about the characters in his new play and Morgan Gould ask us questions about how she’s shaping it as a director. Levi Gonzalez unveiled his experimenting with dancer and director with the stunning Natalie Green. Catharine Dill along with Sharla Meese drew us into a mystery of personal psychology and mystery. Mariangela Lopez and luciana achugar both introduced new work that surprised and intrigued. Audience responses were generous, insightful, questioning and at moments provoking.

This is one of three showings in the AIR year and it is a critical stage of development. What it reveals often influences the development of new work. Do you think this is important?
I’d love to hear from you.

In today’s climate these resources are even scarcer and the inequity even more obvious. Parent groups from some public schools are able to raise large amounts of money that not only support the BAX programs, but science labs, trips, supplies – The larger issue here is what WE ARE spending our money on as a society and what WE ARE NOT. Who’s making money and who is doing without? One of the slogans at recent demonstrations at Wall Street is “we are the 99%”. Even the schools that are able to raise money are part of that 99%. It should not be necessary for parents to raise money for what should be basic. Our children should expect to have dance, theater, art, music and high standards of academic learning, physical education, and enough supplies that parents are not asked to provide toilet paper from home!

This approach to school funding, in which the barest functioning of the school is the parents’ responsibility rather than a right bestowed on all children by the public, is dangerous and will only get more so. BAX’s dance & theater residencies receive state, city, foundation and corporate support – but the schools who have the ability to raise money in large sums have deeper, longer, more developed programs. In one school the entire program was cut due to lack of funds (reinstated this year, at least in part). In lower income schools a successful fundraiser brings in $1,000 as opposed to tens of thousands of dollars raised by PTA’s with wealthier families.

But this fight is not between schools or between families. It is not about which school has enough printer paper or a working copy machine. It is about all families advocating in the loudest and clearest ways to make sure that all children receive the kind of education that we want for them. Class size, academics, arts, physical education, good food, after school – these are not entitlements. These policies will not be changed by listening to legislators rail about teacher accountability and asking us trust the free market to fix these unfair policies. Perhaps these smaller and larger dialogues will move us to a larger and more profound demand for EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS. We are committed to do our part.