Art Bark International Presents Minty
Fresh Dance and Physical Theater Come to Yoga Soup
They’ve brought us the ADaPT Festival and the Affinity Project, drawn artists from around the world to Santa Barbara, and pushed the edge of performing arts in this community. Continuing in the tradition of global and cross-genre artistic collaborations, ArtBark International presents Minty this Sunday, November 3. Here in town, the action takes place at Yoga Soup, where six dance and physical-theater groups will present fresh work. Yet part of the fun of Minty is the fact that the program isn’t limited to Santa Barbara; other companies will be performing on the same day in New York and in Celje, Slovenia.
Not everyone can coordinate a show in three cities across the globe simultaneously, but for organizers Misa and Stephen Kelly, this kind of cross-cultural collaboration has become second nature. The couple specializes in drawing artists from around the world together for informal performances in intimate settings, and Minty is no exception.
Santa Barbara audiences will be treated to a behind-the-scenes look at Southern California-based performing arts companies including BodySensate, Hidden Entropy Movement Project, and Nicole McKenzie Improv Group. Meanwhile, in Slovenia, ArtBark collaborator Mojca Majcen will present work she’s been developing in collaboration with Santa Barbara and New York artists thanks to Skype, YouTube, and email. Participants in New York have employed the same technologies to work with Santa Barbara artists on the material they’ll be showing.
“We are actively building a network that provides artistic stimulation across borders,” Misa Kelly explained. “This cross-pollination induces creative growth, fosters creative excellence, and nurtures respect and tolerance for different perspectives.”
Minty isn’t an endpoint; it’s a chance to witness works in progress. Eventually, many of the pieces shown this weekend will be developed into larger projects in their respective communities; there are plans for an evening-length ArtBark production to premiere in Slovenia in 2015 before touring to the east and west coasts of the United States.
ArtBark presents Minty at Yoga Soup (28 Parker Wy.) on Sunday, November 3, at 2 p.m. Admission is free, with donations accepted. To learn more, visit artbark.org/minty or email weloveartbark@gmail.com.
