5 Questions for Evie Ladin: MoToRING ON (February 1 in Berkeley, California)
The other day I got to catch up with Evie Ladin, as she prepares for her latest project taking place on February 1 at Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center in Berkeley. MoToRING ON is a multigenerational and multilayered project centered around Body Music and the rich expression of the human body through both movement and sound. The performances will include MoToR/dance, Corposonic with Veotis, and Westlake Tap Division.
Grab your tickets today! There will be two performances, at 5pm and 8pm. All ages welcome.
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What are 5 words to describe the project?
Visceral. Harmonic. Rhythmic. Community. Soul.
Can you talk us through the set list?
Everything in this show is performed with the sonic and visual excitement that Body Music brings. MoToR/dance is hosting the evening with repertoire along thematic lines — some pieces we’ve never performed, and several restaged and even reimagined for this show. We’ve invited Corposonic Trio (body music, beatboxing, bass vocals), who invited a phenomenal young jazz singer Veotis to take the lead on lyrics. They’ll do some virtuosic pieces together, and then provide the soundtrack for the Westlake Tap Division — a highly skilled group of young people, who have never performed with live music, not to mention only Body Music.
We’ve also extended an invitation to the general public — many of whom who sing, have learned the choral piece “Bring Me Little Water Silvy” — to stand and join us from the audience.
I love crafting sets that take an audience on a journey — from groove, through sadness, humor and soulful reflection to joy.
Is there a particular aspect that you’re really excited about, or looking forward to?
Honestly, any opportunity to rehearse and perform this work with MoToR/dance is a gift. There are never enough opportunities for dance performance, and it’s both thrilling and gratifying — for us and for the audience. I’m also very excited about the performance venue — it’s got a fantastic vibe, and floor for dance, and we’re going to be all over it.
You will be performing at Ashkenaz, an iconic Berkeley arts institution. How many times have you performed there over the years, and what do you love about the space?
Haha — I found Ashkenaz when I first came to the Bay, and it was one of those places that made me feel like I could live here. I taught rowdy clogging classes, spent time making work in the rehearsal studios, called many a square dance, and spent countless nights dancing across that awesome floor. Percussive dancers are especially enamored of a good surface! I’m grateful that they would work with me to arrange the space, do two shows in one day, and be generous with support. We all have the same goals — bringing community together in the most important ways.
The dream of the audience. How do you hope to connect with community members?
Audience will be ¾ around, close like a village square. We’ll be in and out of the aisles, and audience will join us on that piece Silvy. There’s a great variety of styles in this concert — all done with Body Music — and we know, we know from long experience, that it surprises every person how connected they feel to the performance — because we all have a body, and there’s nothing between us and them.
For tickets: https://www.ashkenaz.com/#/events
