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MICHAEL J. LOVE

INTERDISCIPLINARY TAP DANCE ARTIST

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Livestream No. 006 Library/ 

Welcome to the Livestream No. 006 Library! This is the online home for the LIVE From The BEATBOX - Livestream No. 006 Process Draft and Livestream recording. Remember that all funds raised through the sale of Livestream tickets and Livestream Library passes go directly to the artist(s). Please kindly refrain from sharing any video or page links. Be sure to save this page/ URL to your favorites to be able to visit as you wish.

About Livestream No. 006

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LIVE From The BEATBOX—Livestream No. 006 was presented on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 4pm Central Standard Time. It featured Guest Artists/ Collaborators Benae Beamon and Adriana J. Ray who also took part in a post-performance discussion. Portions of Livestream No. 006 utilize pieces of media not original to the presenting artist(s). These items have been curated and are presented in the type of "found footage"/ "found audio" format typical of mixtapes. Each piece of media is attributed to its creator in the list of citations below.

“I was recently chatting with dear friend, writer, and performer Taji Senior about some of the themes I’ve been exploring with my ‘LIVE From The BEATBOX’ series when she perfectly articulated the method I’ve been conjuring to do this embodied, tap-based work of mining the Black past to dream and build a dynamic Black future. ‘Excavation, Retrieval, Return,’ she offered. A three step process that repeats. So concise and elegant. But, profound. Because, it’s absolutely a short summarization of how Black folk have been laboring to free ourselves, and then returning to reach a hand back and free someone else—our kin, those we love, our dear friends, other Black folks looking/ dreaming towards liberation. 

No story of a futuristic Black ‘elsewhere’ can be complete without an epilogue that illustrates a ‘return’ and the ‘retrieval’ of others. This is the primary focus of Livestream No. 006. What does such a ‘return,’ or ‘round(/ retrieval) trip’ from (and back to) a Black, queer ‘elsewhere’ beyond feel like? What might a ‘return’ announcement sound like? What might the ‘retrieval’ of others look like? How might those ‘returning’ to ‘retrieve’ prep their loved ones for arrival to their own ‘elsewhere?’ Livestream No. 006 explores a process of ‘returning’ and ‘retrieving’ as old and true as the Underground Railroad, as visceral as teachings on divine redemption...

...and as enduring as the most cited bits of Black tradition, oral history, and culture that we continue to remix and rework in order to sustain ourselves as we wait to (perhaps) (one day?) be ‘retrieved.’”

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LIVE From The BEATBOX is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department and is fiscally sponsored by ARCOS Foundation for the Arts.

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Livestream No. 006 Guest Artists and Collaborators

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Benae Beamon, Ph.D., is a scholar and artist. Her academic interests in performativity, gestures, and artistic expression are informed by her work as a performance artist, wherein tap dance is her primary medium. Both her artistic work and scholarship examine the extraordinary and spectacular in the everyday, focusing on the way that the mundane can be sacred ritual. She has performed at Joe’s Pub in New York City and the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston as part of Subject:Matter, a Boston-based tap dance company. Independently, she was a 2019 finalist for the Hudgen's Prize and has premiered work at VCU Institute for Contemporary Art. Beamon earned her doctorate in Religion from Boston University and holds a M.A.R. from Yale Divinity and a B.A. in Religion from Colgate University. www.benaebeamon.com

Adriana J. Ray is a passionate arts administrator, fundraiser, and tap dancer and tap dance advocate. She currently serves as Development Director for The International Association of Blacks in Dance, where she plays an integral role in designing and implementing the organization’s fundraising strategy. Adriana takes great pride in amplifying the rich artistry present throughout dance of the African Diaspora to IABD’s funders and stakeholders, and works diligently to secure institutional and government funding, corporate support, and individual giving from values-aligned partners across the country. Prior to joining the IABD team, she served as Programs and Development Manager at Dance/USA and Dance Liaison for the Boston College Arts Council. Adriana holds an M.S. in Arts Administration from Boston University, a B.A. in African and African Diaspora Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and is an alumna of the Tap Program at the School at Jacob’s Pillow. She is a member of Women of Color in Philanthropy and Fundraising, Women of Color in the Arts, and the Texas Association Teachers of Dancing.

Deja Morgan (Voice Acting) is a theatre-maker, performance artist, and writer who was born and raised in Texas and currently resides in Philadelphia, PA. She is inspired by the legacies and work of figures such as Octavia E. Butler, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Alexis Pauline Gumbs and is focused on creating Afro-futurist worlds that nurture Black ancestral connection and uninhibited dreaming. Deja is also intimately invested in issues surrounding food sovereignty, farming, and cooking, interests which inform much of her artistic work. As Venus is the ruler of Deja's astrological chart (she is a Pisces sun, Cancer moon, and Libra rising, to be exact) dreaming, loving, and connection with others comes naturally—just a few of the many gifts she intends to offer back to the world.

Process Draft 006

"Process drafts" are bits of Love's personal rehearsal footage from his time spent at The BEATBOX preparing for each livestream performance. These clips are untreated—the audio is raw and unmixed and there is minimal "post" work. This footage shows how Love experiments with lighting, a/v setup, and the composition of the space. Love also records himself to take note of choreographic ideas. Ultimately, "process drafts" provide insight into how Love develops his work.

Livestream Recording 006

Livestream No. 006 took place on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 4pm CST. It included one auralvisual "track" designed to continue the narrative of Livestream No. 004  and Livestream No. 005 and illustrate a "return trip" via a commercial airline-like aircraft from a new "elsewhere" capable of fully supporting Black queerness. 

Livestream No. 006 is approximately 50 minutes in length, including a guest performance by Benae Beamon. The post-performance discussion featuring Adriana J. Ray and Benae Beamon immediately follows and is approximately 60 minutes in length.

The copy of the livestream available here in the Livestream No. 006 Library has been edited so that unaltered footage of the performance lives with the video content shared by the artist during the stream.

Citations

All media curated by Michael J. Love

Music (in order of appearance in program)

"LOTUS HD" by J-E-T-S on ZOOSPA (Innovative Leisure, 2019)

"Soon Enough" by Sango and Xavier Omär on Hours Spent Loving You (Sango and Xavier Omär, 2016)

"Can't Hold Me (Machinedrum Remix)" by Emily King on Can't Hold Me (Machinedrum Remix) - Single (ATO Records, LLC, 2019)

"WYWD" by Girl Unit featuring Kelela on Song Feel (Night Slugs, 2019)

"WYWD - Remix" by Girl Unit featuring Kelela on Song Feel (Night Slugs, 2019)

"Beltway" by Solange on When I Get Home (Columbia Records, 2019)

"Exit Scott (Interlude)" by Solange on When I Get Home (Columbia Records, 2019)

"Sound of Rain" by Solange on When I Get Home (Columbia Records, 2019)

"Stopwatch" by Dawn Richard on Stopwatch - Single (IAMSIAM, 2017)

"No One Like You - KAYTRANADA Remix" by Robert Glasper featuring Alex Isley and KAYTRANADA on Robert Glasper x KAYTRANADA: The ArtScience Remixes (Blue Note Records, 2018)

 

Text

"If Traveling To The 'Elsewhere' Was As Easy As Boarding A Plane" as written by Michael J. Love.

Performed and recorded by Deja Morgan (April 2021).

Projections

“Statue of Liberty Nebula.jpg” by Dylan O’Donnell/ deography[.]com, as dedicated to the public domain.

LIVE From The BEATBOX - Livestream No. 006

Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 4pm Central Standard Time

Streamed live from The BEATBOX (Austin, TX)

Sound, Lighting, and Projection Design/ Media Curation/

Choreography and Improvisation by Michael J. Love

Pre-recorded guest performance by Guest Artist/ Collaborator

Benae Beamon, filmed in PA

Post-performance discussion includes

Benae Beamon and Adriana J. Ray

Graphic Design, Promotional Photography, and Marketing/ Public Relations by Michael J. Love

Livestream No. 006 album cover design and photography by Michael J. Love (includes “Statue of Liberty Nebula.jpg”

by Dylan O’Donnell/ deography[.]com, as dedicated to the public domain).

 

Special Thanks:

Sound/ Audio Mixer, courtesy of Ariel René Jackson

Projector, courtesy Eliot Fisher and Erica Gionfriddo

Streamed via Zoom and YouTube Live

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