Philly Live Arts Brewery selects luciana achugar as a 2012 Artist in Residence
achugar will participate in the Live Arts Brewery (LAB) program through the Philly Fringe and Live Arts Festival in Philadelphia, PA, as she develops her new work FEEL...FORM premiering in NYC in May 2012. A laboratory for research and development, the Live Arts Brewery (LAB) supports artistic research, experimentation, and exploration of contemporary theater, dance, and cross-genre live performance work. The LAB provides artists with a state-of-the-art theater facility at the Live Arts Studio, a 2,400-square-foot space housed in a former brewery. As part of the residency achugar will be teaching two classes and be presenting an excerpt of work for the monthly Scratch Night 2nd Thursdays performance series. For more information, click here.
achugar recipient of New York Foundation for the Arts BUILD 2011
luciana achugar is a second-time recipient of the NYFA Building Up Infrastructure Levels for Dance (BUILD) grant (2008, 2011). BUILD aims to assist the development of the organizational environment so that time and resources are available to create, conceive and advance dance companies' artistic missions. Click here for more information.
luciana achugar in Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch"
Dance Magazine, January, 2011
(Chosen by choreographer Noémie Lafrance, a 2004 “25 to Watch”)
"Luciana is doing something that has an edge, but it’s also very clean, concise, together. I feel like her work, while experimental, is also accessible. You could see it if you hadn't been exposed to dance and still be moved. It has a touch of being universal.
She’s also very strong as a performer. She’s powerful without being arrogant; her power is very pure. She’s a very down-to-earth human being—generous and natural.
Her last show, PURO DESEO, really brings you on a journey. It takes a little while to evolve. You hear this humming, this singing, and she's going into this very repetitive back-and-forth. But you feel as though the room is starting to get haunted. There's some kind of shamanic quality; the air is getting a little bit thicker. When artists are able to do that, they transcend the space with what they are doing.
I'm curious to see what she does next. I don't know what else she's reserving, but she definitely has more intriguing work up her sleeve."
PURO DESEO one of the best of 2010 in Dance by TimeOut New York
News http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/dance/657063/the-best-and-worst-of-2010
PURO DESEO receives a 2010 NY BESSIE Award !!!
"For casting a spell on the audience and taking them into the dark, dark mysteries of the body and all its desires at The Kitchen, a 2010 New York Dance and Performance Award goes to luciana achugar’s “PURO DESEO”."
Jerome Foundation supports achugar's work
luciana achugar is a recipient of a 2010 Grant from The Jerome Foundation. The Jerome Foundation, created by artist and philanthropist Jerome Hill (1905-1972), makes grants to support the creation and production of new artistic works by emerging artists living in Minnesota and New York City. For more information, visit: www.jeromefdn.org.
achugar recipient of the 2010 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award
The program selects a group of distinguished artists in various fields each year by nomination, to receive a generous unrestricted Award. Since 1963, The Foundation for Contemporary Arts has provided grants to artists in the areas of dance, music/sound, performance art/theater, poetry, and the visual arts. For more information visit www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org.
MAP FUND to support achugar's upcoming work PURO DESEO
PURO DESEO premiering at The Kitchen in the Spring of 2010, will be supported through a generous grant from the MAP FUND. For more information about 2009 MAP FUND grantees, click here.
BAX names luciana achugar a 2009/10 Artist in Residence
achugar will participate in the 2009/10 Artist in Residence Program at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange as she develops her new work PURO DESEO, premiering in the Spring of 2010. As part of the residency achugar will receive administrative and artistic support throughout the work's development, and have the opportunity to take part in public work-in-progress showings. For more information about BAX and the AIR Program, click here.
A Super Natural Return to Love Presented at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis
achugar's 2004 work, A Super Natural Return to Love enjoyed a successful Minneapolis premiere as part of New World Dance: New York. The work completed an evening featuring work Nora Chipaumire, Nami Yamamoto and achugar. “In an evening defined by strong female artistic perspectives,” said Caroline Palmer of the Star Tribune, “achugar's 'uncivilized women' provoke the most extreme reaction.” For more information on the Minneapolis premiere at Walker Art Center click here. The tour was supported in part with funding from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
LMCC honors luciana with the 2009 Prestigious President's Award
The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, honored luciana achugar at The Downtown Dinner 2009 Gala on April 20, 2009. Maggie Boepple, President of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, presented achugar with The Liberty, LMCC's 2009 prestigious President's Award: The Liberty. To see event images, click here.
Praise for The Sublime is Us
"Changes to the way we see dance, to the way we think about it, come in small increments. The Sublime is Us is one," said Roslyn Sulcas of The New York Times.
"…[A] Busby Berkeley dream in the flesh…" hailed Elizabeth Zimmer of METRO New York, "We watch ourselves watching them, a very disconcerting sensation…"
"…The Sublime Is Us challenges us with a sometimes primal physicality, while containing it in a carefully organized structure… As the piece ends, a woman in the audience checks the mirror and fixes her hair. What could be more natural, given the smoke-and-mirrors atmosphere of today's political atmosphere?" observes Deborah Jowitt for The Village Voice.
BAX10 Passing It On Award
This year, luciana achugar was honored to receive the BAX Passing It On award from Tere O'Connor. Each year, BAX10 award winners are given the opportunity to nominate an up-and-coming individual in their field to receive the award. On November 13th, Tere O'Connor honored luciana at the BAX10 Award Ceremony. He had this to say:
"luciana is asking questions of dance. She is attempting to live in the middle of divides between behavior and style; presentation and action; theater and public space. I find her artistic journey incredibly compelling. Through her investigations, she creates works that have an uncommon, but inevitable form. They convince through their otherness, like an odd looking person who you fall in love with after your first meeting. luciana's immersion into questions of the body, of woman-ness and of hierarchical organizational systems is truthful and enlightening. Her works are shaped by internal content that manifests itself on the surface of her art. This places her far from the choreographic default settings employed by many, where visible design is mistaken for choreography. She offers us a different value system by posing art as heightened existence rather than spectacle."
-Tere O'Connor, BAX10 Award Recipient
NYFA 2008 Fellowship for Choreography
luciana was also honored to receive a NYFA 2008 Fellowship for Choreography earlier this year. The Fellowship, along with the private supporters of the company, allowed for the development of The Sublime is Us. For more information about NYFA programs and award winners visit www.nyfa.org.