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UTICA
When we got into Utica, NY from Syracuse we performed at "Utica Monday Nite." Utica Monday Nite is an annul summer long celebration which generally consists of local bands and high school performances. Our performance at Utica Monday Nite was especially interesting because the act before us was a high school show choir in bright sequence dresses. Since we performed directly after the show choir, our audience consisted of families and those of the post sixty demographic. We kind of caught this crowd off guard when we began to perform a contemporary dance piece before their eyes. I don't know if people were really feelin' our performance, but that is one of the goals of this tour, to make contemporary and modern dance more accessible to all audiences. It was a funny experience.
While in Utica we met two excellent humans, Nate and Sean. Nate is a farmer and told us we could call him Farmer Nate, and Sean is a chef who works at Hamilton College. We met them after our performance and I think they were the only people who enjoyed what they saw. Alexis and Layla instantly bonded with Nate because he too is an Alfred Alum. It was very exciting to meet them. We hung out with Nate and Sean later that night and convinced them to come on tour with us. They agreed to it and we had a blast with them. Farmer Nate even gave Layla a delicious haircut! It looks so fresh. It was nice having Nate and Sean ride with us because they are great navigators! Sean was with us longer and it was really fun because he took us to a good stealth camping spot, and an awesome italian restaurant while en route to Albany. Speaking of Albany, we actually did not make it there. Originally we were supposed to bike from Utica to Albany, however, we did not make it because we got stuck in cold rain. We biked for thirty miles in the freezing cold rain and it was one of the single most hellacious experiences ever because we were not well equipped for this weather. We attempted to hitch-hike to get to Albany because we were so freezing that we could not possibly continue to bike. No one picked us up though (I suppose our bright red ponchos, gold pussy packs and silver helmets did not contribute). Since no one picked us up, we were forced to bike another ten miles to get to civilization since we were in the middle of nowhere. This was the longest ten miles of my life. It was so painful and I'm almost certain I got frost bite in my left foot. When we made it to a gas station I could barely walk and I thawed my feet out in the gas station sink for twenty minutes trying to regain feeling in my feet. We were stranded at a Mobil gas station in the middle of nowhere in upstate NY and we could not continue on our bikes because the cold rain refused to cease. Luckily for us though, Alexis' boyfriend, Jesse, lives and works about an hour and a half away from where we were stranded at a place called Salem Art Works (SAW for short). Thus, we skipped our Albany leg of the trip and we had Jesse save us from the gas station. We headed to Salem which was our destination after Albany anyway.
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SALEM
In Salem we stayed at SAW (Salem Art Works). Alexis used to be the associate director at SAW so we did a bit of a work exchange in order to stay there. SAW in an old dairy farm that's been converted into a sculpture park and artist community (http://www.salemartworks.com/about). SAW was started by, and is currently directed by, the ever so witty Anthony Cafritz. Staying there was AWESOME. While at SAW we hung out with the interns and staff a lot. It was great. What was even greater was that all of the staff and interns at SAW supported us in letting us stay there, and they all came to our in-studio performance at Hubbard Hall. The head of the interns, Patrick, even performed with us! He was so, so great and he has an excellent personality. He too went to Alfred with Alexis and Layla. In addition to coming to our show and letting us stay there, a handful of them participated in a movement workshop that Layla held for the SAW staff and interns. It went really, really well. Max, Patrick, Sarah, Alexis and I all participated in the workshop Layla led. We did lots of flocking and stretching and Max (one of the very talented interns who studies sculpture at Rhode Island School of Design) might even collaborate with Layla in the future! Other adventures at SAW included a fat kid field trip to Stewarts (the gas station/convenient store of upstate NY) to get the famous PB Pandemonium ice cream, dance pool in the billiard room (the best and most amusing thing EVER) and learning how to use a heat gun and scrape a rusty bridge! Staying at SAW has been one of my favorite parts of our adventure and the people are definitely what made it for me. We are hoping to meet up with some of our new SAW friends later on in our adventure.
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NORTH ADAMS
When we arrived in Massachusetts, the first city we stopped at was North Adams. While there we stayed in Ven's apartment/studio. Ven is a friend of Alexis, and he is a very, very talented musician and artist. He lives in an awesome apartment/studio and shares the space with a yoga studio. This was very convenient for us because we got to take a yoga class right when we woke up! Ven played music for us, and we got to see the cool independent movie theatre he works at. Before leaving North Adams to set out for Northampton, we stopped at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art). It was a beautiful museum and while there we coincidentally ran into Anthony and the other SAW interns! It was so funny! At MASS MoCA since there was barely any security at the museum, we decided we would do one of our dances and have Alexis video tape us. It was really cool and passer-bys watched us as we danced in the museum. The space was vast and beautiful and I really liked dancing there. After our MASS MoCA field trip, we headed to Chris Milette's place in Northampton!
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NORTHAMPTON
I must say, the trip from North Adams to Northampton was very hilly. However, after biking in the cold rain for thirty miles, I feel like I can deal with any terrain so long as it's sunny. It's really exciting though to be in a new state! This is my first time in Massachusetts and I daresay the state has treated me well thus far. When we biked into Northampton we received a warm greeting from Alexis and Layla's close friend, Chris. Chris is an artist, gardner and chef at the Haymarket Cafe and Juice Bar in downtown Northampton. Haymarket is where we have eaten the majority of our food while here in Northampton. The food Chris makes at the Haymarket is quite delectable and Chris is a bangin' chef! We're staying at Chris' apartment and it is even more exciting to be staying here because Chris and his girlfriend, Leah, speak fluent Italian, so I get to practice talking to them and Chris corrects me if I mess up. It's great. Chris is super hospitable and has been taking us all over Northampton! A fine tour guide indeed! The other day Chris showed us his garden and introduced to his grandparents. After this Chris took us to a crick behind his grandparents house and we went swimming! I jumped off a rope swing for the first time.
Later that day we had our performance with Mates of State! This was one of my all time favorite performances so far because celebrities allowed us to open for them! Mates of State is an indie pop duo that is totally famous in the indie music world. We were so honored to have the opportunity to perform before their show. Kori and Jason were so supportive of the BAAD Kinetics project and we got to dance with their daughters and enjoy their show after we opened for them. The concert took place at the Iron Horse Music Hall. The Iron Horse Music Hall is a bar and they host many bands that come through Northampton. This was my first time dancing a show in a bar. The space was great though and our performance was well received. It was an awesome experience and my love for Mates of State has totally grown after meeting them. Kori and Jason are very genuine and support local artists and projects which is beyond cool. I will never forget that.
Our second performance took place last night at the Flywheel in East Hampton (which is four miles outside of Northampton). The Flywheel is a sweet venue. It is an old town hall which was converted into a performance space for bands and other art performers. We opened for the Cave Bears, a noise band, and we had another really great performance. Our show was even enhanced if I do say so myself because Alexis and Layla's friend, Jackson, who is a sound artist, played music for us while we danced for our final number. It was so kickin'.
I must say that being on this tour and touring with artists has been so amazing. I have never been exposed to this much art and the artist world in my whole life. Because Layla and Alexis are artists and went to art school, we are staying with most of their friends who are all artists as well. It is so cool to be surrounded by such creative minds and be exposed to excellent art. The only genre of art I am really familiar with is obviously dance, but aside from that I was very unaware of art world before this tour. My appreciation for artists and what people create has increased tremendously. It has been really great exposure and I'm learning a lot. Furthermore, having the opportunity to perform and dance all the time is magnificent. Dance is hands down my passion, and being able to do it is beautiful. Before this tour I was having confidence issues every time I performed or had an audition. Constantly being ready to perform has forced me to get over my fears and just go for it, or as Layla says, "just own it!" I can't wait to get back to school and continue dancing and auditioning now. This tour and Layla's support and encouragement is conditioning me to be more confident and own my movement and love it. I could not ask for anything more.
This is our last day in North Hampton and tonight we are performing at a pot luck. This is the most shows we've had in one city. This will be our third performance while in North Hampton. Next state, Rhode Island! I think we are going to bike to the beach for the weekend then head to our next show in Providence. I am looking forward to the beach and our next performance. So far, so good! Hopefully we will not encounter any more rain!
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