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21012-2019
ARTBARK INTERNATIONAL's FINAL PROJECT WAS FALL OF 2019
Cosmic Class Creatives Excelling at Bee-ing the Change:.
We tend the planet as we grow our souls through Epic Art-venturing.
ArtBark International: Where art intersects with social innovation and visionaries shift paradigms; valuing sustainability, cultural shamanism, inter-beingness, and creative excellence.
A little levity to brighten your day
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Fresh Press
2018
Preview Article: Stephen Kelly collaborates with Cecily Stewart for Modern Masters.
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Of Stephen Kelly's Look to the Sky "Luscious"
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Sibling makers Misa and Michelle present visual art installation and performance installation for Triskelion Arts Collaborations in Dance Festival.
Podcast with David Ellenberger
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Misa Kelly dances in Brooklyn choreographer Trina Mannino's Ghost Women for Triskelion Arts Collaborations in Dance Festival.
Interview with Emmaly Weiderholt of Stance on Dance
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All Arts Preview of Ghost Women
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All Arts Preview of the Collaborations in Dance Festival
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2017 Alma.Sama.
Review
SEE Dance
https://seedance.com/news/artbark-international-returns-to-los-angeles-with-alma-sama/
“Misa Mandigo Kelly, Marijan Pušavec and Stephen Kelly have created an inspiring work that traces Ms. Karlin’s travels around the world, exposes her hopes and fears, and celebrates her talents. It is a wonderful tribute to an amazing person.”
“The choreography by Stephen Kelly, Misa Kelly and Trina Mannino is beautifully structured”
“Mojca Majcen is a beautiful dancer and excels during her solo..”
“Mannino works with ArtBark International while based in Brooklyn, NY. Her performance throughout Alma.Sama. is steady, direct and stunning.”
“Kelly is an experienced performance artist and a seasoned performer who brings life to Karlin through her acting and being comfortable working with props. She is Alma Karlin in one scene and then beautifully performs musically on brass bowls, a gourd, rocks in a jar and with her own vocals as Trina Mannino dances.
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“Stephen Kelly’s original sound score greatly contributes to the where and when of Karlin’s life and Paul Tran did a wonderful job of creating the various atmospheres and environments. I am sure that Alma Karlin would have enjoyed and honored by this production.”
Preview Articles
Santa Barbara Independent
http://www.independent.com/news/2017/apr/26/artbark-international-presents-almasama/
The Dance Enthusiast
Santa Barbara Family Life
http://www.santabarbarafamilylife.com/tag/alma-sama/
Select Press Quotes
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"Forward thinking artists…"
- Santa Barbara Independent
"Perfect dance poetics"
-Parada Plesa
“The common denominator in a long lineup of young, interdisciplinary artists (from Slovenia, New York and California) seems to be a connection to ArtBark International, the loosely knit collective that’s spearheading the festival. It sounds like a potentially sprawling but fun free-for-all.”
- Siobhan Burke, The New York Times
"[Misa] Kelly, a woman slight in stature, proved an overwhelming and formidable presence on stage in her work which used her own vocalizations in a psychological journey.”
- Steven Woodruff, Dance Plug
“Majcen’s the kind of dancer you can’t stop watching: Her exquisite technique is matched by a spellbinding presence. Whether she’s slapping the floor or firing off an above-the-head jeté, she’s in complete command. It’s only when other dancers join her onstage that you realize she’s hardly more than five feet tall."
- Elizabeth Schwyzer, Santa Barbara Independent
“Superb on-stage performance by Stephen Kelly…”
- Los Angeles Times
“The performance of the contemporary American works was a revelation.”
- Pierrette Germain, delegated producer, Radio-France
"Misa Kelly and Joanna Nobbe’s vulnerable and riotously funny “Unzipped,"
- Elizabeth Schwyzer, The Independent
“The ending [ of The Presence of Absence], in which the two slowly entwine in a reclined embrace, wraps up the dada-like piece with a string that can't be explained in words and can only be felt in the gut."
- Beth Megill, Musings by a Dancing Poetess
“[Misa] Kelly’s pieces – especially Nadar Sabe Mi Llama el Agua Fria – explored the coexistence of athletic genius and disability in the same body, while maintaining an insistence on aesthetic appeal.”
- Rebecca Joley , L.A. Yoga Magazine
“[Misa Kelly] astonishingly gifted”
– Santa Barbara News Press
"the audience adored you. ..you present excellent modern dance and people can't get enough. You make the modern dance world so much stronger."
-Beth Megill, The Dancing Poetess Blog
“Stephen Kelly's piece, "Atesh, Bayan, Ghuzal Adam," featured his incredibly imaginative and well-formed original music score, and demonstrated his understanding of the connective nuances ofbody movement to sound.”
- Dan Kepl, Santa Barbara News Press
“a brilliant trio.”
- Charles Donelan, Santa Barbara Independent
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2015
USA
Onstage: Dance Scene Buzz
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=SCENE&ID=567083890313920574&Archive=true
The Hive Premieres 12 New Dance Works
http://www.independent.com/news/2014/oct/30/hive-premieres-12-new-dance-works/
La Dance Review
http://ladancereview.com/2014/09/03/8th-annual-mixmatch-dance-festival-saturday-aug-30-2014/
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Alma.Sama. Project
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USA
7.2.2015
Santa Barbara Independent
ArtBarkers
http://www.independent.com/news/2015/jul/02/artbarkers/
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7.22.2015
Dance Enthusiast
A post card from ArtBark on their Slovenian Residency
https://www.thedanceenthusiast.org/features/view/1086/
SLOVENIA
22.06.2015
Delo Newspaper: Cultural Section
DELO is the largest Slovenian Newspaper
http://www.delo.si/kultura/oder/najmanj-stiri-alme-na-odru.html
04.07.2015
Parada Plesa
Parada Plesa is Slovenia's "Dance Magazine"
http://www.paradaplesa.si/?Id=na_spici&View=novica&novicaID=3629#.VjOrMSvm5A8
18.06.2015
Slovenian National Television
http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/prispevki-in-izjave-kultura/174342311
17.06.2015
Mladina
http://www.mladina.si/167298/plesno-gledaliski-projekt-o-almi-karlin/
18.06.2015
RVTSLO
http://www.rtvslo.si/kultura/oder/gajstna-gospodicna-kot-hudic/367801
16.06.2015
Planet SIO
16.06.2015
MISLI
http://ms.sta.si/2015/06/v-cd-plesno-gledaliska-predstava-o-zivljenju-alme-m-karlin/
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2014
Newspapers
Europe
ArtBarker Mojca Majcen discusses the La Combadura Residency and the Alma Karlin Project
East Coast
New York Times Listing - BAAD Boogie Down Dance Series
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/02/arts/dance/dance-listings-for-may-2-8.html?_r=1
New York Times Preview - in the context of BAAD
West Coast
Review: Kinesis at Center Stage Theater
S.B.’s Annual Contemporary Dance Showcase Took Place Friday, February 21
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
by ELIZABETH SCHWYZER
http://www.independent.com/news/2014/feb/26/review-kinesis-center-stage-theater/
Preview: Kinesis Sets Out to Stimulate
Contemporary Dance Show at Center Stage
Thursday, February 20, 2014
by ELIZABETH SCHWYZER
http://www.independent.com/news/2014/feb/20/kinesis-sets-out-stimulate/
NECTAR and the Art of Healing
Quarterly Arts Salon Gives Back
Thursday, March 6, 2014
by ELIZABETH SCHWYZER
http://www.independent.com/news/2014/mar/06/nectar-and-art-healing/
2013
Newspapers
East Coast
Dance Listings for May 24-30
Published: May 23, 2013
New York Times Listing
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/arts/dance/dance-listings-for-may-24-30.html?_r=0
The Brooklyn Paper
Published: May 24th, 2013
Titanic Steps
By SAMANTHA LIM
Print Publication
A preview for the opening event of the ADaPT Festival 2013
West Coast
Santa Barbara Independent
Art Bark International Presents Minty
Fresh Dance and Physical Theater Come to Yoga Soup
Published: Thursday October 31, 2013
by ELIZABETH SCHWYZER
http://www.independent.com/news/2013/oct/31/art-bark-international-presents-emmintyem/
A Review of ADaPT Fest 2013
Dance and Physical Theater Festival at Center Stage
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
by ELIZABETH SCHWYZER
http://www.independent.com/news/2013/jul/31/review-adapt-fest-2013/
Santa Barbara Independent
Dance, Physical Theater, and More
ADaPT Fest Back
Published: Wednesday, July 24, 2013
by ELIZABETH SCHWYZER
http://www.independent.com/news/2013/jul/24/dance-physical-theater-and-more/
Blogs & Online Publications
East Coast
The Dance Enthusiast
A Postcard from ArtBark International and Friends
http://www.dance-enthusiast.com/features/view/493
West Coast
Dancing Poetess: Blog
Review: ADaPT Festival 2013, Program Jules
Published: July 28, 2013
By BETH MEGILL
http://dancingpoetess.blogspot.com/2013/07/review-adapt-festival-2013-program-jules.html
Dancing Poetess: Blog
Review: ADaPT Festival 2013, Program Arthur
Published: July 28, 2013
By BETH MEGILL
http://dancingpoetess.blogspot.com/2013/07/blog-post.html
L.A. Weekly
Five Dance Shows to See in L.A. This Week
Published: Thu., Jul. 25 2013
By ANN HASKINS
Categories: Dance, Dance Shows to See
http://blogs.laweekly.com/arts/2013/07/national_dance_day.php
Dancing Poetess: Blog
Review: 7th Annual MixMatch Festival rundown
Published: August 25th, 2013
By BETH MEGILL
http://dancingpoetess.blogspot.com/2013/08/7th-annual-mixmatch-dance-festival.html
2012
INTERNATIONAL
GIFT Magazine, Austrian Theater Magazine
Austria meets California at Raw Matters Adapt Special - pages 34-35
Article pertaining to the second in the ADaPT Fest series which sprouted in Vienna, Austria. We are presented as a part of the "alternative scene" next to an article about ImPulsTantz
NATIONAL
Cal Arts Alumni Magazine Artist Profile of Misa Kelly By Freddie Sharmini
AFFINITY PROJECT - AFFINITY FEST
Santa Barbara Independent
Dance Festival of the Week: Affinity III
Annual Event Promotes Artistic Collaboration
preview by Elizabeth Schwyzer
Santa Barbara Independent
Affinity III, at Various Locations
Mini Dance Festival Brought Artists Together from Across U.S.
Review by Elizabeth Schwyzer
NOOZHAWK
Review: NECTAR Collaboration Exhibits ‘Affinity’ for Dance
Review by Justine Sutton
Santa Barbara News Press
ON STAGE: The Lab of Collaboration - Art Bark's Affinity Fest Is the Soul of Artistic Sharing
Preview by Ted Mills
Link to pay per view article
AFFINITY PROJECT - AFFINITY I
Santa Barbara News Press
Affinity: SB-ADaPT Fest Sprouts
ONSTAGE: Sayonara SonneBlauma, Hello ArtBark - Co-Artistic Directors Misa and Stephen Kelly are mellowing a little, but don't expect them to retire from a life in the arts anytime soon
By Dan Kepl
Link to pay per view article
"Last year, SonneBlauma Danscz Theatre co-founders Misa and Stephen Kelly, had an idea: send an email to the world, inviting dance and physical theater artists to come to Santa Barbara — at their own expense — for what was dubbed A Dance and Physical Theatre (ADaPT) Festival. Never underestimate the power of the internet, or the nearly indefatigable energy of the Kellys, nor the impression our little paradise on the Pacific has on the outside world. Last year's ADaPT Fest was huge, drawing artists from throughout the U.S. and Europe to Santa Barbara for several shows at various venues around town"
Santa Barbara Independent
A Review of SonneBlauma’s Final Show
Review by Elizabeth Schwyzer
Santa Barbara Independent
Affinity: SB-ADaPT Fest Sprouts
Preview by Elizabeth Schwyzer
2011
INAUGURAL SB-ADAPT FEST
Santa Barbara Independent
SB-ADaPT Festival at Center Stage Theater
Dance Meets Physical Theater from All Over on Sunday, June 19
Review by Charles Donelon
"The inaugural SB-ADaPT Festival took over Center Stage Theater last weekend with two full programs—Alpha and Omega—that brought together dance and physical theater companies from as far away as Istanbul and as close by as Long Beach to create a magical atmosphere of excitement and aesthetic adventure. Organized in a thoroughly grassroots manner by dancer/choreographer Misa Kelly, SB-ADaPT contributed not only a beautifully executed set of programs to the community but also an example of how much can be accomplished on a small budget by like-minded artists willing to take chances and engage in genuine international exchange."
Santa Barbara Independent
Experimental Artists Converge on Santa Barbara
Preview by Elizabeth Schwyzer!
Santa Barbara News Press
DANCE REVIEW: Making art, making community at the ADaPT festival : Upstart festival's showcase event featured daring emerging genres Saturday at Center Stage Theater
Review by Daniel Kepl
pay per view article
Santa Barbara News-Press
Cover of Scene Magazine
ART and its ADaPTations
Preview BY DANIEL KEPL, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
pay per view article
Santa Barbara News-Press
ONSTAGE: The Surfacing of the S.B. Artistic Underground - The first bi-annual festival of dance and physical theater has found a soul mate in the Fishbon Artists Collaborative
Preview by Daniel Kepl
pay per view article
Santa Barbara News Press
ONSTAGE : Meeting at the Center - SB-ADaPT Festival celebrates movement and emerging genres in its second weekend and emerging genres in its second weekend
Preview by Daniel Kepl
pay per view article
3 Cities: 3 Choreographers Project
Three California Choreographers Collaborate, Strength in Numbers - by Elizabeth Schwyzer (Independent)
Getting three for one: Delightful selection of choreographer's recent works
TED MILLS, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
"The evening was like a good mixed tape made by a friend who wants to turn you on to the newest in new. Consider that mission accomplished."
3 Cities: 3 Choreographers - by Rebecca Joley (LA Yoga)
"Kelly’s pieces – especially Nadar Sabe Mi Llama el Agua Fria – explored the coexistence of athletic genius and disability in the same body, while maintaining an insistence on aesthetic appeal."
FEATURE ARTICLES
Up Close With Misa Kelly: A Choreographer with a Mission - by Elizabeth Schwyzer (Independent)
Art Unframed - by Felicia Tomasko (Independent)
ADDITIONAL PREVIEWS AND REVIEWS
Audience Participation Encouraged - by Elizabeth Schwyzer (Independent)
New Works in Dance at Center Stage - by Charles Donelan (Independent)
Kinesis at Center Stage - by Elizabeth Schwyzer (Santa Barbara Independent)
"Beneath the hot stage lights, 11 dancers march in unison. They wear knee pads and bike shorts. One girl sports a short kilt. A boy wears a white dress shirt unbuttoned; a skinny red tie hangs from his bare neck. Bright paint streaks their faces, and as they march, they confront the audience, chanting: “Taka taka taka taka!”
A slender young man breaks away from the group. In a lacy blouse and white gloves, he’s gorgeous and ghostly, his poses suggesting feminine seduction. A moment later, he’s whisked back into the tribe.
The dance is “Flint,” created by Misa Kelly for a group of Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) dance students, and it represents a shift for the Dance Alliance’s annual showcase. In its new incarnation asKinesis, the showcase formerly known as New Works aims to include a broader swath of the community’s dancers and choreographers. This year marks the first time SBCC students have been able to take part, as well as the first time Kelly has set work on them, and the result was electric."
The Fourth Annual Mix-Match Festival - by Steven Woodruff (Dance Plug)
"Here are some of the (festival) highlights...Kelly, a woman slight in stature, proved an overwhelming and formidable presence on stage in her work which used her own vocalizations in a psychological journey. In the end she retreats into blackness with a series of looming balances. It was slightly terrifying."
Dancing Out Loud - by Justine Sutton (Noozhawk)
"Misa Kelly choreographed and performed “Ranunculus,” a solo set to a mix of eclectic music and vocalizations.
Kelly is clearly a highly-trained and accomplished dancer, and yet unlike many, she is also capable of projecting great expression. Between frenzied moments of leaping and tossing her body about wildly while making guttural sounds in her throat, she would pause and give the audience such an arch look over her shoulder that the texture of the piece immediately deepened. Some dance tells a story, some is abstract. This piece seems to present an abstract story, dreamlike — but one of those odd dreams where lots of strange, disjointed things happen and you’re afraid if you tell anyone about it, you might sound kind of crazy. Perhaps it is an embodiment of the subconscious mind, with all its twists and turns. At once tragic and heroic, innocent and all-knowing, the persona Kelly presented here was as fascinating as the piece was gorgeously multilayered."
www.socal.com
MixMatch Festiva1 2011
Under No Certain Circumstances
"An Audience Favorite"
Barbara Ransom