dance
GRITtv: Joy Harjo: Reconnecting to History through Art
Poet, musician, playwright, and artist Joy Harjo is a member of the Muscogee Nation, and her art has always served to reconnect her audiences with Native issues and themes.
Email this pageGRITtv: May 21 2010
Poet, musician, playwright, and artist Joy Harjo is a member of the Muscogee Nation, and her art has always served to reconnect her audiences with Native issues and themes. Though, she notes, the history of her people is disappeared from discussions in the U.S.--or turned into cartoons and easy narratives--Harjo's work serves to highlight the humanity of all people. She joined us in studio to discuss poetry, music, and dance, as well as to discuss the Arizona immigration law--and to perform some of her poems for us. From the soybean plantations of Brazil to the tin mines of Bolivia, Latin America has experienced 500 years of several angles of exploitation and repression. Yet, Latin America is at a turning point where a series of socialist leaders have come to power. Our Got Doc this week, Gonzalo Arijon's "Eyes Wide Open" explores this history and this present, asking the question, "Can these new leaders satisfy the peoples' hunger for change?" We continued our conversation with Ray Laforest concerning global redevelopment projects in Haiti. Despite the pitched beneficiaries of these projects, there are still bedrock problems such as representing the peoples? interests in the Haitian government, and the ever-present threat of sophisticated recolonization efforts. Laforest describes these forces in the wake of the earthquake and surrounding foreign "aid." On Sunday, seven-year old Aiyana Jones was shot and killed during a failed murder investigation. What happens when the police accidently shoot and kill a seven-year old black girl and the media reaction is muted? Somehow, the dangerous guerilla tactics frequently used by police are overlooked. Radio correspondent Farai Chideya reports that in the face of a lacking media, it is necessary to use tools such as Wikipedia to investigate and piece together the facts.
GRITtv: Elizabeth Streb: Extreme Action Hero
Elizabeth Streb has been called "superhuman"--her choreography more extreme sport than dance performance. Pushing boundaries, testing limits, redefining pain and strength; this is what she does every day, and her work has received multiple awards, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award. In her new book from the Feminist Press, Streb explains how she came to dance as a method of expression, and why action matters. She joins Laura in studio for a special interview and discussion of action, dance, art and culture in society, and when it was that she first knew she wanted to fly.
GRITtv: Apr. 16 2010
Elizabeth Streb has been called "superhuman" because her choreography is more extreme sport than dance performance. Pushing boundaries, testing limits, redefining pain and strength--this is what she does every day, and her work has received multiple awards, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award. In her new book from the Feminist Press, Streb explains how she came to dance as a method of expression, and why action matters. She joins Laura in studio for a special interview about action, dance, art and culture in society, and when it was that she first knew she wanted to fly. What kind of a house does a man who has lived in a 6' by 9' box for 30 years dream of? That's the provocative question asked by this week's Got Doc feature, "The House That Herman Built." Herman Wallace, a member of the Black Panther party, has been in solitary confinement for over 38 years in the Louisiana prison system. In 2003, artist Jackie Sumell asked Herman this simple question, and this documentary traces the growth of Herman's house from art project toward reality.
GRITtv: Feb. 16 2010
After our terrifying experience with a manhole explosion and fire at the office last Thursday, the pressing need for infrastructure investment was brought home to us here at GRITtv in a very real way. Years of budget cuts and tax cuts have led to public safety hazards around the country, and the stimulus bill isn't enough to fix all the electrical, structural, and other problems. We talk to Fabiola Carrion and Glenn Von Nostitz about the problems with infrastructure and ask where our priorities should lie: with public safety or green technology. Jay Smooth notes that the issues about race that matter are bigger than John Mayer's big mouth: they're structural, systemic, and institutional. A video from Brave New Films, they take a look at the way Anthem Blue Cross's profits and premiums suspiciously seem to rise in tandem, while people who pay for its health insurance continue to be denied coverage. Kathleen Hanna came into a music scene in the 90s that was angry, violent, and full of men. Recently, she donated her zine archive to NYU's Fales Library as part of its new Riot Grrrl collection. She joins Laura in studio to talk feminism, rock'n'roll, and why she's hopeful for the future. From B'Tselem, we bring you a look inside the tunnels that keep supplies flowing to Gaza through the siege. B'Tselem's program gives video cameras to Gazans to document their own story. In a video from our friends at the Vancouver Media Co-Op, activists from around the world -- including our friend Dave Zirin -- explain why they are organizing against the "Olympics industry." Finally, Laura points out that bankers' bonuses should be examined in light of their business practices.
GRITtv: Kathleen Hanna: Three-Dimensional Role Model
Kathleen Hanna came into a music scene in the 90s that was angry, violent, and full of men. She and her bandmates in Bikini Kill, along with the rest of the riot grrrl movement, pushed back against that culture and helped usher in a new "wave" of feminism. After Bikini Kill, Hanna went on to make feminist dance music with Le Tigre and has kept pushing boundaries ever since. Recently, she donated her zine archive to NYU's Fales Library as part of its new Riot Grrrl collection. She joins Laura in studio to talk feminism, rock'n'roll, and why she's hopeful for the future.
GRITtv: Got Docs: La Danse, The Paris Opera Ballet
"Movies are about movement," says documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, and in his newest film, "La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet," he examines the movement of ballet. The film gets inside the workings of the ballet, from rehearsals to marketing sessions, and follows the company through the production of seven ballets
GRITtv: Nov. 5, 2009
Is the stimulus working; fears of fundamentalism and remembering Maine, hosted by Laura Flanders with all the day's news.
GRITtv: The Great Merce Cunningham: a Tribute
Last week, the world of American dance suffered a true loss with the passing of Merce Cunningham. In honor of his memory, we wanted to share a short clip of noted avant garde choreographer Elizabeth Streb talking about Merce's work from the series Mondays with Merce. Thank you to Nancy Dalva for making this footage available.
SourceCode: First Nation Rights
Most Americans know the story of the Trail of Tears; settlers in the New World felt they had more right to the land than the people who were in fact here first. It seems that this attitude has not quite vanished when it comes to Native American land and resources. SourceCode visits the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation in Utah where nuclear waste dumping has caused one Goshute member to stand up for preservation of their land. Meet a hero for the cause of Indian land rights, Eloise Cobell. She's suing the federal government for billions of dollars on behalf of individual Indians across the country. We'll take you to Northern Ontario were the Grassy Narrows First Nation is waging an international battle to get logging giants Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi off their lands. And come with music group Blackfire on their tour around the world.
