Humans Collective, brought to you by Lauren Cox, presents ALONE-ology, a one hour study of being alone, featuring a select community of performance artists including Sheila Barker, Joanna Numata, Carlos Neto and more! Details:
May 28th, 2015 @ 7:30 PM
The Nuyorican Poets Cafe 236 E 3rd st. New York, New York
Five dollars of each ticket sold will be donated to support Natasha's education, an orphan at the Rock Orphanage in Hyderabad, India.
Lauren Cox is traveling to Hyderabad, India from January 28th to March 6th, 2014. In this month she plans to:
Human Lauren's Campaign / Fundraiser
The plane ticket has been donated by Steps Dance Studio. The workshop and show is still being conceptualized and the total amount needed to make this happen is $2,000 USD. Your donations will be used to:
Dance is a pure expression of the soul, no matter what the background. This is my gift and I would like to share it with as many people as possible. I hope that in opening my gift I can inspire those that surround me to open theirs. Art and happiness is real when shared.
I recently traveled to Hong Kong to perform at the Hong Kong Coliseum with the beautiful Joey Yung and to teach a few classes at Ones To Watch Dance Studios. There is a demand for versatility in the industry and the dance community worldwide. The more diverse you are in your art the more unique, inspiring and valuable you become. This is my attempt to not only share this philosophy with others but to keep growing myself. I cannot wait to share the result of this trip with you!
-Lauren Cox
You can make your donations here: Indiegogo.com/projects/humanlauren-in-india
While in Edmonton, Canada for The International Fringe Festival the cast of The Man Who Wasn't There took time to Busk on The Fringe Grounds. This not only gave us more opportunities to perform but was a fulfilling way to connect with people and invite them to our show!
I've cut together a few great moments. Check it out:
Edmonton FRINGE – Part 1 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 2 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 3 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 4 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 5 Edmonton FRINGE - Part 6
Our tech rehearsal is finally here which means we get see the performance space for the first time. The Fringe festival only allows 3 hours in the space to take care of all technical issues such as; lighting, sound, spacing, etc. We managed to cover all our bases and more. By more I mean we managed to sneak in a little photo shoot.
Our venue is on the King Edward School campus, only two blocks from the FRINGE sight. The school is absolutely breathtaking!
The King Edward School first opened its doors to students March 9th, 1914, the Edmonton Bulletin newspaper was moved to note that its new shower baths "will be a novelty to many of the children, who never before saw hot water come down like rain." The new school also featured 17 classrooms, an automatic heat regulator (also notable for its day), separate playrooms for boys and girls and dedicated manual training and domestic science rooms.
Named for the eldest son of Queen Victoria, King Edward was the first school in Edmonton constructed with reinforced concrete. The Bulletin reported it took a million pounds of cement and one long train load of gravel, millions of brick (sic), miles of pipe, carloads of glass and in all about five train loads of material. But there is very little lumber or wood in the building, for it is built to be fireproof. (source)
We are honored to be performing in such a historic building in their community.
After tech rehearsal Lauren Cox and I, James Koroni, invited everyone over to our hosts home to eat dinner, prepared by us. 
Our hosts have an organic garden that provides half of their produce and the other half comes in every Tuesday from a farming co-op, which is evenly split amongst local families. You basically receive whatever can be grown with current weather conditions in consideration. With our host family out of town there were so many veggies to eat. The trick is, you must use what is available which was mostly onions, potatoes, cucumbers, parsley and peas. We got creative with some tempeh and here's the result:
Marinated Tempeh with green pearl onions and string beans Green onion, red quinoa Garlicky baked potato wedges with parsley Oven roasted sweet onions Cucumber salad with cherry tomatoes
We're excited to see how local produce can inspire every meal for the rest of our stay here in Edmonton.
A gallery from today for your viewing pleasure: [flagallery gid=8 name="Gallery"]
Edmonton FRINGE – Part 1 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 2 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 3 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 4 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 5 Edmonton FRINGE - Part 6
And... it begins. Tuesday night after rehearsal was the official Edmonton FRINGE Festival kick-off. Before heading over to the event the whole The Man Who Wasn't There family ate dinner at Chianti, an Italian cafe and restaurant in Old Strathcona.
We reminisced about our journey here over a bottle of wine and merrily ate pasta at an affordable $8.99 a plate. Through our process, I can say that we've all seen tremendous growth and this was certainly something to celebrate.
After dinner we migrated to a cocktail hour at a local bar called The Pint. A private back room with a square bar at it's center was surrounded by members of every show in the FRINGE this year. Accompanying each cast were hosts from Edmonton who had graciously taken each cast in for the two weeks.
The rest of the night is simple: socializing, drinks, laughs, ketchup flavored potato chips, Oreo cookies and then Zzz's.
Here are some photos from today:
[flagallery gid=7 name="Gallery"]
Edmonton FRINGE – Part 1 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 2 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 3 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 4 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 5 Edmonton FRINGE - Part 6
After our first relaxing day in Edmonton we all went our separate ways because five different homes were taking us in for the next two week. For the first night Lauren Cox, Maya Oliva and I, James Koroni, went to a home just four blocks from The FRINGE sight. Our generous hosts have a two story home with a basement, a beautiful tree with two swings in it, three bright children and two handsome guinea pigs. In their backyard there's a raspberry bush, two kinds of apple trees and every Tuesday a fresh shipment of organic produce is dropped off. Wow! Too much excitement for one day. We called it an early night.
A bright and sunny morning brought us into our second day in Edmonton. We knew there was a lot on our schedule so we had a slow morning to get ourselves grounded before embarking on today's journey.
Our new hosts provided us with fresh strawberries from the farmers market, organic flax seed granola and freshly cut mango slices. I just mixed all three together! The sweet fruit with crunchy granola made the perfect breakfast with French press coffee.
We met at the FRINGE offices where we were each given an artist tag and transit pass to cover our travel expenses for the rest of our stay. We then took a car across the river to Mile Zero Dance where we will be rehearsing for the next few days.
Rehearsal went swimmingly. Maya Oliva, a Canadian born, Italian artist who now lives in New York City only joined our The Man Who Wasn't There family a week ago. Today was officially her first day to run the entire piece. She not only came ready to execute what she had been given but also incorporated her own experiences and artistic voice. We're excited to see her redefine the mother character in The Man Who Wasn't There!
Here are a few moments from today's journey:
[flagallery gid=6 name="Gallery"]
Edmonton FRINGE – Part 1 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 2 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 3 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 4 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 5 Edmonton FRINGE - Part 6
After three months of rehearsal and performing in various New York City venues we, the cast of The Man Who Wasn't There, were ready to depart for The FRINGE Festival in Edmonton, Canada. We excitedly and sleepily arrived at LaGuardia Airport on August 12th at 3:30 AM with hopes to get through airport check-in and security with ease. This wasn't the case. Our check-in alone, with our group of nine people, took over an hour and a half to complete. We then arrived at Airport Security around 5:15 AM.
With a boarding time of 5:45 AM and our flight at 6:15 AM we thought we were set but that was before we noticed the line was longer than that of Splash Mountain at Disneyland. This is when we started to sweat. Fortunately with our New Yorker sense of urgency and a lot of sarcasm we managed to get on our flight right on time.
We finally arrived at 1:00 PM with a warm greeting from our hosts, Heidi and Gordon. Our hosts took us to their home in the south end of Edmonton. 
Our hosts live in is a cozy home with family portraits lining the stairwells, an organic garden with tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, apple trees etc. and a scent of fresh baked bread that filled every room. Heidi even crocheted a scarf for everyone in the cast and production crew!
We spent most of the rest of the day lounging, drinking virgin daiquiri's and eating veggie burgers. Our jet-lag soon wore off and we were basking in the sunshine of the most ideal day to arrive in such a charming city!
I've captured a number of moments for you to get a glimpse of our experiences here thus far. Enjoy!
[flagallery gid=5 name="Gallery"]
Edmonton FRINGE – Part 1 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 2 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 3 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 4 Edmonton FRINGE – Part 5 Edmonton FRINGE - Part 6
Our ensembles' interests and talents are as diverse as the group itself. We come from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Providence, Jamaica, Singapore, Puerto Rico, and beyond. Between us we have worked on performance projects across the globe. We are interested in what we have in common as human beings. We believe that performance is a bridge, that it is deeply imbedded in our nature, and provides a means toward social change and greater understanding of our shared condition.
Help us get to Canada and back us on Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/60934704/the-man-who-wasnt-there
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Three performances will be held in Shapiro Theater: August 3 @ 8:00pm August 4 @ 7:00pm and 10:00pm
The production will then travel to Canada and participate in the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. August 12-26
FT Collab Members - Bryan Quick, A Writer Mei Ann Teo, A Director Adam "Robot" Nash, A Composer/Musician Adrian Silver, A Choreographer/Dramaturg Mariana Ortiz, A Producer Lauren Cox, A Dancer Mary Ellen Beaudreau, A Dancer James Koroni, A Dancer Jessica Myers, A Dancer Kevon Simpson, A Dancer
We ask you to join us on this journey, toward asking the right questions, engaging in a serious investigation, and gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to be human. Click to enlarge images:
In the beginning, all was played in my memory in reverse, starting with death and ending with birth. I don’t fear death. I fear birth. Here is where I seek answers.
-James Koroni
In the beginning, she sat in the middle of the sunny warm patch on the linoleum tile floor. She wore the color blue, pale, worn out. The ocean waves knocked. -Mary Ellen Beaudreau
In the beginning, between the heat and the fireworks I was unable to sleep. -Jessica Myers
In the beginning, there was no enemy. -Lauren Cox
In the beginning there was the end and all were confused about which way to turn next. There were no orbits, and so bodies collided, and as they collided, entire galaxies were birthed from the chaos. This was long before trust would come and ruin everything. In the beginning there was fear. So all was created, to balance, all this stupid shit out. -Kevon Simpson
Click here to read more about TMWWT!
Join the Facebook Group and be a part of the journey!
To support this piece of performance art click here!
Enforced Arch creative directors, Tracey Katof and James Koroni produced and choreographed this music video for Notic Nastic, a recording artist from Berlin.
Music, Notic Nastic
Director, Joshua Katcher
Producers and Directors, James Koroni & Tracey Katof
Dancers, Charles Alexis Desgagnes, Christopher Nolen, James Koroni, Julio Hugo Penagos, Katherine Roarty, Keshia Robinson, Lauren Cox, Tracey Katof
Featured designers & location http://rhls.com/ http://www.bravegentleman.com/ http://www.mooshoes.com/ http://skyhighmurals.com/
Lauren Cox was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and competed nationally as a Rhythmic Gymnast with the aid of ballet, modern & pilates for 11 years. She then trained, choreographed and competed with the Hip Hop Troupe Culture Shock Oakland while studying Afro-Haitian and Sociology at San Francisco State University. Lauren then immersed herself into Samba, culture and language in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil for one year. She moved to NYC in 2010 in order to converge and elevate and has had the pleasure of dancing with James Koroni, Nappy Tabs, Rhapsody James's "Motivating Excellence" and has appeared in the play “Lemon Meringue” and Saturday Night Live. She is excited to be working with up and coming director Mei Ann Teo for the Dance Theater piece "The Man Who Wasn't There" to be performed at various locations in NYC as well as Canada's Fringe Festival. She continues to develop her own vocal, choreographic and teaching skills in order to bring herself to an international platform.
"By simply living as a consciously healthy mind, body and soul. I am a strong believer in leading by example and so by feeding myself knowledge, compassion and acceptance I can offer others the same thing. There are so many issues in today’s world, if we all took full advantage of our time, space and experience our similarities and needs would be more important than our differences. I choose to act through art by telling a story and being honest and committed." -Lauren Cox
James Koroni & Tracey Katof, Creative Directors of Enforced Arch and KaKoNYC, were commissioned by recording artist Notic Nastic, along with video artist Joshua Katcher to create a music video for their latest single, Sunsetboys.
"The video is about a race of super intellegent alien women, who come to earth in hopes of impregnating the earth boys with hope, smarts and higher vision for the future. it's an artsy take on the revolution in action!!" - Notic Nastic
Sunsetboys Official Video HERE
Recording Artist – Notic Nastic Video Director – Joshua Katcher Choreographers & Producers – James Koroni, Tracey Katof Dancers – Charles Alexis Desgagnes, Christopher Nolen, James Koroni, Julio Hugo Penagos, Katherine Roarty, Keshia Robinson, Lauren Cox, Tracey Katof Womens’ apparel – Ruffeo Hearts Lil Snotty Mens’ shoes – Brave GentleMan Womens’ shoes – Cri De Coeur and Novacas, courtesy of Mooshoes
Journeys are seldom undertaken voluntarily. Somehow we look up to find that we've been traveling with no clear direction or destination. We collide with others and imprint their experiences onto our own- we take on each other's mannerisms, thoughts, points of view. Occasionally we are injured, and these experiences can teach us to withdraw, to retreat within ourselves for fear of rejection, inadequacy, sorrow. But if we take care, we can move through the world expanding, our spirits growing at every intersection of two souls, growing to include every joy and every sorrow, preserving through this expansion all that is essential in human experience.-Jessica Myers
FT Collab presents: 'The Man Who Wasn't There' at DIXON Place Thursday, June 21 8PM
Our creative process is a journey of it's own and we invite you to join us! We will be updating our blog throughout our rehearsals and performance season which begins Next week! Here's the link:
Dancers - Alexandra Shieron, Andy Allen, Charles-Alexis Desgagnés, James Koroni, Julio Hugo Penagos, Katherine Roarty, Keshia Robinson, Klara Beyeler, Lauren Cox, Rebecca Lloyd-Jones
Contributing Recording Artist - Amanda Lee, Clara Lofaro
Creative Directors & Choreographers - James Koroni, Tracey Katof
Costume Designer - Lui Konno *Please, Don't Touch - Marlena Pavich
Lighting Designer - Amanda Clegg Lyon
Camera Operators - Joshua Katcher, Melissa Fornabaio
We recently collaborated with Notic Nastic, an extraordinary artist from Berlin to create a music video for their hit single Sunsetboys. At this time we can not unfold the details but here is a sneak peek at the process:
CREDITS Recording Artist - Notic Nastic Video Director - Joshua Katcher Creative Directors - James Koroni, Joshua Katcher, Notic Nastic Choreographers/Producers - James Koroni, Tracey Katof Makeup/Hair - Tracey Katof Dancers - Charles Alexis Desgagnes, Christopher Nolen, James Koroni, Julio Hugo Penagos, Katherine Roarty, Keshia Robinson, Lauren Cox, Tracey Katof Mens' shoes - Brave GentleMan Womens' shoes - Cri De Coeur and Novacas, courtesy of Mooshoes Womens' apparel - Ruffeo Hearts Lil Snotty Men's apparel - n/a (vintage and second hand)
In the spirit of The Beatles, ‘Imagine’ where no religion or war inhibits our ability to find peace, ‘Wrinkled $’ showcases the innocence of childhood as a utopia where no $, politics, or egos reside. Innocence exists here without knowledge or life experience and has no grounds for opinion. A child simply sees beauty in everything. It seems that we cherish these moments in our lives, ones where we are free from daily travails. Then when does the agony begin? Part of growing into our adolescence and even into young adulthood means facing frightening truths. This may be where ignorance is born. Born as a fear, creeping up when that innocence is challenged with information that opposes our current understanding of the world, and if accepted, would require change, which is often difficult. It’s clear why people maintain an iron grip on their traditions and opinions – we can’t expect everyone to be be open to having their beliefs challenged, regardless of the validity of those challenges.
On the contrary I can see benefits in our innocence and value it. A child is brought into life with an unconditional ability to love. Something to admire, they remind us of what is truly important. How might I wonder do we sustain this ability to give unconditional love. When a child asks a question about the world, we may find it in their best interest to be dishonest with them, to protect them. However, if we provide them with a platform of knowledge that helps them understand the world, they will be prepared for tough transitions. Life has a lot of evolutions to undertake and this is yet another one that we need to identify, where Innocence meets Ignorance. Our fear of evolution is simply something to acknowledge and seek understanding in its wake.
Dancers Alexandra Shieron Charles-Alexis Desgagnés James Koroni Julio Hugo Penagos Katherine Roarty Keshia Robinson Klara Beyeler Lauren Cox Rebecca Lloyd-Jones
Creative Directors - James Koroni & Tracey Katof Costume Designer - Lui Konno Lighting Designer - Amanda Clegg Lyon Camera Operators - Joshua Katcher & Melissa Fornabaio Choreographer - James Koroni Contributing Choreographer - Tracey Katof
ALLIANCE – Wrinkled $ by Clara Lofaro ALLIANCE – Double Shadow ALLIANCE - Funny Little Man
On April 6th and 7th, Enforced Arch is presenting their latest work, ‘ALLIANCE’ Art & Activism, which features past and current pieces by creative directors James Koroni and Tracey Katof. Here's a few moments from behind the scene. Enjoy!
Quick photo after rehearsal. We're ready... are you?
'ALLIANCE' Art & Activism
Meet Lauren Cox, an intelligent, talented and compassionate soul. The loving energy she brings to every rehearsal and performance is electrifying!
On April 6th and 7th, Enforced Arch is presenting their latest work, 'ALLIANCE' Art & Activism, which features past and current pieces by creative directors James Koroni and Tracey Katof. Lauren Cox is a member of this project and we couldn't be more thrilled to have her join us on this unforgettable adventure! After rehearsal this past week we had an opportunity to ask her a few questions...
Enforced Arch: How do you as an individual live the 'ALLIANCE' of Art & Activism?
Lauren Cox: By simply living as a consciously healthy mind, body and soul. I am a strong believer in leading by example and so by feeding myself knowledge, compassion and acceptance I can offer others the same thing. There are so many issues in today's world, if we all took full advantage of our time, space and experience our similarities and needs would be more important than our differences. I choose to act through art by telling a story and being honest and committed.
EA: What part of the rehearsal process or subject material did you find most inspiring?
LC: I am constantly impressed by Tracey and James' abilities to express the emotions of others. The entire process was insightful and causes you to think beyond your own experience and thoughts. It takes you to other space entirely, sending you on a journey that each time digs deeper.
My favorite part of this process is being able to discuss these issues with my fellow dancers so we can collectively use that as a driving force.
EA: What did you learn from your experiences that you would like to share with others?
LC: How deeply rooted animal cruelty is in our society, or even the mistreatment of our Earth. When you think you've edited out your own negative influence on your surroundings there is something more to do. It can be overwhelming but as long as you are making an effort to be aware of all sides you are of good ole' positive change.
For TICKETS to ‘ALLIANCE’ Art & Activism, click here: EnforcedArch.com/tickets/
ALLIANCE: Part 1 – Lauren Cox ALLIANCE: Part 2 – Charles Alexis Desgagnes ALLIANCE: Part 3 – Katherine Roarty ALLIANCE: Part 4 – Alexandra Shieron ALLIANCE: Part 5 – Klara Beyeler ALLIANCE: Part 6 – Clara Lofaro ALLIANCE: Part 7 - Julio Hugo Penagos
Enforced Arch made the FINALS! We need your help. It only takes 10 seconds to vote and it's just ONE CLICK. Visit the link, scroll down, select Enforced Arch and click vote. Thank you!
VOTE HERE!
