I’m currently developing two new pieces.
1. With the working title “A Tale of Two Weeks” will be a solo concert, hopefully premiering in Houston, TX.
Dates and details soon.
2. A group piece in a concert benefiting Haiti in Austin, TX on the tentative weekend of April 17.
I’m still editing like a mad woman 3 projects that were shot before I moved to TX. One of which is a dance for camera piece featuring the lovely Alyssa Brown.
The second was footage taken from a guerrilla dance performance in Guanajuato Mexico in this installation. http://www.artificiel.org/bulbes
The third is an art instructional video shot for Gingher Leyendecker. View her site here http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/~gingher/home.html She is an amazing individual and inspires me personally and artistically.
Aileen Mapes has led an active role in the arts community for many years and continues to devote her life to proliferating the arts. In 2002, Aileen earned her BA in Sociology and BS in Dance, receiving the Outstanding Dance Major of the Year Award from the National Dance Association. During her four-year development as a performing artist at the Suchu Dance Company under the direction of Jennifer Wood, Aileen performed in over 15 new works and received several awards, including a nomination for Best Local Dancer by the Houston Chronicle and a profile as Featured Artist in Arts Houston Magazine. Aileen received funding for her independent work from the Creative Capital Foundation, the Houston Arts Alliance, the Houston Downtown Alliance, the Houston Dance Source, Spacetaker, the Cultural Arts Council of Houston (CACHH), and Bill White, Mayor of Houston.
Aileen recently completed her MFA in Dance from Arizona State University, where she worked with Simon Dove, Pegge Vissicaro, and Elina Mooney. Aileen performed new works and studied technique with Robert Moses-Kin, Nina Watt, Cynthia Roses-Thema, Shouze Ma, Nora Chipaumire, John Jasperse, Susan Marshall, David Dorfman, Mary Fitzgerald, Stephen Nachmanovitch, Elizabeth Johnson, and Sankai Juku. Aileen was also recognized by the Katherine K. Herberger Special Talent Award.
While in Phoenix, her choreography was performed at the Galvin Theatre, the ASU Art Museum, the Pueblo Grande Art Museum, the Mesa Arts Center, and The Icehouse. Her thesis work, “Guerilla Dance Attack”, featured a six-month series of dance “attacks” around the city of Phoenix, culminating in a final concert at the historic Alwun House. Her thesis work was recognized for Excellence in Community Outreach by the ASU Dance Department.
While at Arizona State, Aileen developed curricula for classes in Ballet Technique, Modern Technique, Dance History, and Rhythmic Analysis, consistently receiving outstanding teaching evaluations. She was also a participant in the widely acclaimed Freedom of Information 24-Hour Project, dancing for 24 hours continuously while blind folded and ear plugged in solidarity with political refugees.
Aileen returns to the professional world of experimental performing arts with zeal. She attended the National Dance USA conference in Houston, TX, Dance for Camera Workshop with Laura Taler, received a choreographic commission in Point Reyes, CA; and instigated a guerrilla dance performance that was filmed in the Festival Internacional Cervantino, Guanajuato, Mexico. She recently moved to Austin, TX where she interns for Cinebarre and continues as an independent choreographer, filmmaker, and experimental artist.
Hello!
I have relocated to Austin, TX!
Things will be shaking and moving very soon. I’ll post class info and such as I get settled.
Hurrah for a New Year, New location, and new beginnings!
This is a random factoid of interesting things in life.
I’ve always been a big fan of Fischerspooner. I first saw them live in Houston, TX at Numbers. The perfect small venue to see a group such as them perform in.
It was a Sunday night and I had to teach early in the morning. But, for these guys, it was worth it. Casey, a performing tease the entire evening left the udience craving and begging for more. We were screaming, sweating, and begging for him to come back on stage for an encore. After all, he hadn’t done ‘Emerge’ yet!
Well, he did in fact come back on stage for Emerge, but only if WE would go nuts, tear our clothes off and become wild. Yes Casey. We will do this for you. Anything.
And we did.
The crowd begged and we obliged one another. Performer to audience sharing the kind of energy together you can only achieve in a live performance.
SOOOOOO……it was with great honor 2 years later he returned to Houston with a new show and I was interviewed to be a dancer for him. *giggle*
And I was.
And it rocked.
And I hung out with him in his trailer after…just him and I. (now-don’t let your minda wander too much-it wasn’t really about that)
He was not who I expeted him to be in person at all. He was vulnerable and uncrtain of the new show, and wanted MY feedback.
So, I was honest.
It wasn’t the same show as before (really? Las Vegas Elvis costumes?!) Come on Casey!!!! You can do better than this!!!!!
I was honest, and honesty does not have to be hurtful when approached with good forethought, and is a constructive dialogue.
It was an amazing evening, and I’m happy to say I was one of his dancers for an evening, despite the change in show format.
If anything I learned, as a director and performer, if you’ve got it down right, you can convince your audience to do ANYTHING.
Including convincing a pair of Elementary school teachers, to shed their clothing and dance at 2am on a (technically) Monday morning.
I have been adding more films to Vimeo lately. You should check them out!
In You, is a dance or camera piece created while I was a graduate student at Arizona State University. The piece was a final project for the Composition and Consciousness course, instructed by Rob Kaplan.
The movement, still images, and overarching investigation of inner creative voice came from 12 weeks of sub-conscious creative investigation.
I am developing an artistic statement. As I enter into a new era post-graduate school, I have a firm and clear vision of who I am and what I am prepared to contribute to the world as a creator, dancer, choreographer, filmmaker, etc…
Look out. I have bold statements to make.
This was a study exercised at the Dance For Camera Workshop in Victoria B.C. of July 2008. I choreographed the movement and my partner Carter filmed and edited it. The two week workshop was such a blast, thank you Ellen Bromberg, Grace Salez, Constance Cooke, fellow dancers, filmmakers, and especially the production crew!
Aileen Mapes has led an active role in the arts community for many years and continues to devote her life to proliferating the arts. In 2002, Aileen earned her BA in Sociology and BS in Dance, receiving the Outstanding Dance Major of the Year Award from the National Dance Association. During her four-year development as a performing artist at the Suchu Dance Company under the direction of Jennifer Wood, Aileen performed in over 15 new works and received several awards, including a nomination for Best Local Dancer by the Houston Chronicle and a profile as Featured Artist in Arts Houston Magazine. Aileen received funding for her independent work from the Creative Capital Foundation, the Houston Arts Alliance, the Houston Downtown Alliance, the Houston Dance Source, Spacetaker, the Cultural Arts Council of Houston (CACHH), and Bill White, Mayor of Houston.
Aileen recently completed her MFA in Dance from Arizona State University, where worked with Simon Dove, Pegge Vissicaro, and Elina Mooney and was recognized by the Katherine K. Herberger Special Talent Award. While in Phoenix, her work was performed at the Galvin Theatre, the ASU Art Museum, the Pueblo Grande Art Museum, the Mesa Arts Center, and The Icehouse. Her thesis work, “Guerilla Dance Attack”, featured a six-month series of dance “attacks” around the city of Phoenix, culminating in a final concert at the historic Alwun House. While at Arizona State, Aileen developed curricula for classes in Ballet Technique, Modern Technique, Dance History, and Rhythmic Analysis, consistently receiving outstanding teaching evaluations. She was also a participant in the widely acclaimed Freedom of Information 24-Hour Project, dancing for 24 hours in solidarity with political refugees.
Aileen attended Dance for Camera workshops with Ellen Bromberg and filmmaker Laura Taler. Dance for Camera is a passion for her, and she continues to challenge the kinesthetic relationship of viewer and lens.
I was one of many artists who participated in the Freedom of Information 24-Hour Project.
