Can't Sleep, Inc., and Philip Sandstrom present Christopher Caines Dance in the Premiere of listen out loud / move to keep things whole

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Can't Sleep, Inc., and Philip Sandstrom present CHRISTOPHER CAINES DANCE in the premiere of listen out loud / move to keep things whole, a new one-act ballet set to live music by Pauline Oliveros, Paul Kerekes, and Alison Taylor Cheeseman, and featuring advanced student dancers from New York Theatre Ballet School: together with a guest appearance by members of The Bang Group in works by choreographers David Parker and Amber Sloan and a solo by James Waring. Three performances, Saturday May 18 at 8 PM, Thursday May 23 at 8 PM, and Saturday June 1 at 8 PM at the JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue (at 76th Street).

Christopher Caines, called "one of the most musically erudite and articulate dance-makers around" in The New Yorker, will premiere listen out loud / move to keep things whole, which he describes as "a dance about women. In this fraught moment between the sexes in our society, I feel drawn to re-examine conceptions of women as dancers--femininity, the iconic image of the ballerina, the musical and symbolic meaning of pointe work." Adds the choreographer: "I seek to highlight the dancers' power, their brave vulnerability, their everyday heroism--how, in words by the poet Mark Strand that inspired one of the ballet's musical scores, dancers always 'move to keep things whole'."

The ballet is set to music by three composers: two scores by Pauline Oliveros, a gentle matriarch of American experimental music: one of her Sonic Meditations (performed by the dancers), and her Tuning Meditation (sung by the audience), in which the composer urges us to "listen out loud." A commissioned score, Four Sonnets by singer Alison Taylor Cheeseman, sets poems from across five centuries by and about women; while three chamber works by composer Paul Kerekes showcase his signature juxtaposition of fiercely syncopated rhythms with pools of suspended tranquility.

Dancers in listen out loud / move to keep things whole are Elisa Toro Franky, Silken Kelly, Mayu Oguri, Jacob Taylor, Amanda Treiber, and Michelle Vargo, joined by students from the New York Theatre Ballet School. Musicians are Alison Taylor Cheesman, mezzo-soprano; Kelley Barnett, flutes; Eric Umble (May 18) and Vicente Alexim (May 23, June 1), clarinets; and Marja Ilic, piano. Lighting design is by Philip Sandstrom; costume design by two-time Tony Award nominee Gregory Gale.

Appearing as guests are The Bang Group in a New York premiere by David Parker, a recent revival by Parker of a work by James Waring, and a new duet by Amber Sloan. Says Caines: "While looking forward to my company's twentieth anniversary next year, I've been looking back too. David Parker and I got our start as choreographers on DTW's Fresh Tracks series in 1992 and have been friends ever since. I'm delighted to share the stage with him again. It's wonderful too that Phil Sandstrom, who designed lighting for us back in '92, joins us for this project."

At the May 18th performance, TBG will present two works: one by James Waring and one by David Parker. By James Waring is his 12 Objects from Tender Buttons, text by Gertrude Stein read by David Parker, danced by Amber Sloan. By Parker is his group dance Running with Scissors, music by Stravinsky, played by Marija Ilic Caine's, musical director since 2000.

At the performances of May 23 and June 1, TBG will repeat James Waring's 12 Objects from Tender Buttons and will premiere David Parker's Assembly Required, a tap-dance realization of Steve Reich's Clapping Music for two men who play the score with their feet while their upper bodies suggest a wary relationship with intermittent glints of romance. Dancers are Jeffrey Kazin and Dylan Baker. On all performances will be the duet Taking Space, a new duet by Amber Sloan, longtime principal dancer with TBG. For this duet, danced by the choreographer and Joshua Tuason, Sloan has limited herself to twenty layered movements, performed in a variety of contexts to create intimacy, conflict, curiosity.

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Can't Sleep, Inc., and Philip Sandstrom present Christopher Caines Dance in the Premiere of listen out loud / move to keep things whole

]]>

Can't Sleep, Inc., and Philip Sandstrom present CHRISTOPHER CAINES DANCE in the premiere of listen out loud / move to keep things whole, a new one-act ballet set to live music by Pauline Oliveros, Paul Kerekes, and Alison Taylor Cheeseman, and featuring advanced student dancers from New York Theatre Ballet School: together with a guest appearance by members of The Bang Group in works by choreographers David Parker and Amber Sloan and a solo by James Waring. Three performances, Saturday May 18 at 8 PM, Thursday May 23 at 8 PM, and Saturday June 1 at 8 PM at the JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Avenue (at 76th Street).

Christopher Caines, called "one of the most musically erudite and articulate dance-makers around" in The New Yorker, will premiere listen out loud / move to keep things whole, which he describes as "a dance about women. In this fraught moment between the sexes in our society, I feel drawn to re-examine conceptions of women as dancers--femininity, the iconic image of the ballerina, the musical and symbolic meaning of pointe work." Adds the choreographer: "I seek to highlight the dancers' power, their brave vulnerability, their everyday heroism--how, in words by the poet Mark Strand that inspired one of the ballet's musical scores, dancers always 'move to keep things whole'."

The ballet is set to music by three composers: two scores by Pauline Oliveros, a gentle matriarch of American experimental music: one of her Sonic Meditations (performed by the dancers), and her Tuning Meditation (sung by the audience), in which the composer urges us to "listen out loud." A commissioned score, Four Sonnets by singer Alison Taylor Cheeseman, sets poems from across five centuries by and about women; while three chamber works by composer Paul Kerekes showcase his signature juxtaposition of fiercely syncopated rhythms with pools of suspended tranquility.

Dancers in listen out loud / move to keep things whole are Elisa Toro Franky, Silken Kelly, Mayu Oguri, Jacob Taylor, Amanda Treiber, and Michelle Vargo, joined by students from the New York Theatre Ballet School. Musicians are Alison Taylor Cheesman, mezzo-soprano; Kelley Barnett, flutes; Eric Umble (May 18) and Vicente Alexim (May 23, June 1), clarinets; and Marja Ilic, piano. Lighting design is by Philip Sandstrom; costume design by two-time Tony Award nominee Gregory Gale.

Appearing as guests are The Bang Group in a New York premiere by David Parker, a recent revival by Parker of a work by James Waring, and a new duet by Amber Sloan. Says Caines: "While looking forward to my company's twentieth anniversary next year, I've been looking back too. David Parker and I got our start as choreographers on DTW's Fresh Tracks series in 1992 and have been friends ever since. I'm delighted to share the stage with him again. It's wonderful too that Phil Sandstrom, who designed lighting for us back in '92, joins us for this project."

At the May 18th performance, TBG will present two works: one by James Waring and one by David Parker. By James Waring is his 12 Objects from Tender Buttons, text by Gertrude Stein read by David Parker, danced by Amber Sloan. By Parker is his group dance Running with Scissors, music by Stravinsky, played by Marija Ilic Caine's, musical director since 2000.

At the performances of May 23 and June 1, TBG will repeat James Waring's 12 Objects from Tender Buttons and will premiere David Parker's Assembly Required, a tap-dance realization of Steve Reich's Clapping Music for two men who play the score with their feet while their upper bodies suggest a wary relationship with intermittent glints of romance. Dancers are Jeffrey Kazin and Dylan Baker. On all performances will be the duet Taking Space, a new duet by Amber Sloan, longtime principal dancer with TBG. For this duet, danced by the choreographer and Joshua Tuason, Sloan has limited herself to twenty layered movements, performed in a variety of contexts to create intimacy, conflict, curiosity.

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Newington man rejects plea offer for double fatal crash in Farmington; claims Ambien caused him to ’sleep drive’

A Newington man who faces manslaughter and assault charges for a 2017 crash on Route 6 in Farmington that killed two and injured two rejected a plea offer Tuesday that would have sent him to prison for 12 years.

Instead, Edward Brozynski, 55, opted to take his chances with a jury. His lawyer, Wesley Spears of Hartford, wants to use a rare defense that claims Brozynski was "sleep driving" when the crash occurred as a result of using the sleep medication Ambien.

Zolpidem, the generic name for Ambien, is classified as a sedative-hypnotic and has been associated with incidents of sleep driving, according to a 2011 article in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

"We believe that ... he was basically unconscious," Spears said Tuesday. "When he left the house our argument is he was not walking in a conscious mind."

Brozynski has been jailed since his arrest in February 2018 and does not have the money needed to hire a toxicologist to evaluate his case and determine whether such a defense could be employed, Spears said. He has asked Hartford Superior Court Judge Laura F. Baldini to order the state to pay for a consultant.

Such an expert "could confirm defendant's assertion that he was unconscious prior to entering the vehicle and during the subject incident," Spears wrote in his formal request to the judge.

Ambien was not the only drug in Brozynski's system prior to the Sept. 14, 2017 crash, according to the warrant for his arrest.

He had a blood alcohol content of 0.17 percent and had an anti-anxiety drug called meprobamate and oxycodone in his system, according to the warrant.

Several witnesses also told police Brozynski was driving excessively fast, passing them, crossing into the oncoming lane and driving dangerously prior to the crash. Two drivers witnessed the crash and rushed to aid the victims in the Mazda, according to police.

The offer Brozynski rejected Tuesday would have required him to plead guilty to two counts of manslaughter with a motor vehicle and two counts of second-degree assault with a motor vehicle. He will now proceed to trial on two counts of first-degree manslaughter, a single count of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, two counts of second-degree assault with a motor vehicle and a single count of driving without insurance.

Brozynski's unregistered and uninsured Honda Accord crashed head-on into a Mazda 3 carrying four people who were en route from Quebec to Bristol to attend a funeral, police said. Benoit Boislard and Rejean St. Pierre, both 66, were fatally injured in the crash and died at local hospitals. The driver and front passenger in the Mazda, Lisette Prince, 60, and the driver, Angelique Michaud, 46, were injured.

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Dad nestles his newborn daughter on top of his guitar to lull her to sleep

Dad nestles his newborn daughter on top of his guitar to lull her to sleep originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com

Talk about a sweet lullaby.

A first-time dad in Missouri put his 3-week-old daughter to sleep by nestling her on top of his guitar as he sang.

Cody Comer, 21, of Carthage, Missouri, was playing his guitar in his living room when his wife asked him to put their newborn, Carrigan, down for her nap.

Instead of just singing her to sleep, Comer nestled his daughter on top of his guitar as he played the Merle Haggard classic "Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Star."

PHOTO: Cody Comer, 21, used his guitar to lull his daughter, Carrigan, to sleep. (Chandra Comer)

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"It couldn't have been 10 seconds after I started playing that she fell asleep," Comer, an aspiring musician, told "Good Morning America." "She was kind of fussy so I had her in my arm and I had the guitar in my lap. I just kind of slid her up on her belly on the guitar really easy."

(MORE: These photos of Prince Harry as a child are so cute, we can't handle it)

Comer's wife, Chandra, walked in the family's living room to see Carrigan fast asleep on top of the guitar.

PHOTO: Cody 1: Cody and Chandra Comer pose with their daughter, Carrigan. (Courtesy Cody and Chandra Comer)

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"To me, it was adorable and something I had never seen before," said Chandra Comer. "At first kind of scared though because I was like, 'What if she falls,' but she was so content and just knocked out asleep that all I wanted to do was capture it"

Chandra Comer captured it on video and the couple posted it to Facebook, where it has been viewed more than 400,000 times.

Carrigan slept on the guitar for probably five to 10 minutes, her parents estimated, before she continued her nap on solid ground.

(MORE: 15-pound newborn baby girl a 'double miracle')

The newborn was a fan of her dad's musical talents before she was even born, according to Chandra.

PHOTO: Cody Comer holds his newborn daughter, Carrigan. (Chandra Comer)

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"When she was inside of my stomach even -- because [Cody] plays all the time -- the reaction was she'd just kick all the time. I wouldn't do anything and I'd sit down by him and she'd kick a lot," she said. "As soon as we got home from the hospital, he started playing again and it seems like it soothes her every time."

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How to use Android and iOS apps for a better night’s sleep

Everyone needs a good night's sleep to recharge the "batteries," but not everyone can get their heads on their pillows and fall asleep easily. Sleep disorders such as insomnia are even very common, especially in today's digital age. Even so, have you ever considered using mobile apps to help you sleep better?

If you are tired of counting sheep, drinking tea, or meditating, technology may be able to help. Some apps for smartphones are literally making people sleepy, but in a good way – they create a perfect environment for you to sleep well. Here are five examples.

Nature Sounds Relax and Sleep

How about resting to the sound of nature? This is what the Nature Sounds Relax and Sleep app for Android offers, which promises not only to stimulate sleep but also relax the user throughout the day through sounds of the sea, forest, snow, birds, waterfalls, and crickets, among others.

Relax Melodies

Interestingly, music helps with productivity as well as relaxation. With the Relax Melodies app for iOS and Android, there are 50 options of ambient sounds, with sounds of sea, rain, trains and still some binary beats (varied sonorous frequencies reproduced in each one of the ears) that promise to send the user into a complete state of relaxation and optimal sleep health, sending insomnia away for good.

The app even allows the user to mix sounds and also offers a kind of timer to program the period in which the program will be active.

Long Deep Breathing

It's not just ambient music and sounds that can help with nighttime relaxation. The proposal of Long Deep Breathing (iOS) consists of small breathing exercises that aid in relaxation, relieving any accumulated stress from the day.

The application can be used in other situations as well, as it is based on yoga exercises, being a great option to accompany exercises.

Relax & Sleep Well Hypnosis

If the stress of work and day-to-day activities makes your mind restless, this app (available for Android and iOS) promises to help calm you down. It aims to relax through a self-hypnosis method, which consists of a text (audio in English of approximately 27 minutes) read by the app's designer, the British hypnotherapist Glenn Harrold.

Sleepmaker Rain

Few things are more pleasant than sleeping under the rain, right? This is what Sleepmaker Rain for iOS offers. By means of 20 tracks simulating the sound of the rain, in different intensities (weak, medium and strong), the Sleepmaker Rains will serve as a real sleep aid.

If you have trouble sleeping, you will probably find some application on this list that will help you to fall asleep, monitor your rest or wake you up subtly. Do you know of any other Apps we've missed from this list? Leave your comment below.

What do you think? Do you use any apps to help you sleep? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors' Recommendations:

24 y/o, born and living in Portugal. Majored in Biology, but tech and computers were always a passion. Wrote for sites like Windows.Appstorm and MakeTechEasier.

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It's Time To Put These Sleep Myths To Bed

GREENSBORO, N.C. — There's just something great about being cozy in your bed. Over the years, we've heard plenty of remedies and reasons for better sleep. But don't believe everything you hear. A lot of those supposed "facts" are actually myths. 

The first myth is that most adults only need 5 hours or less of sleep. The CDC says Adults 18 - 60 should sleep at least 7 hours a night. 

Too little sleep has been linked to diabetes, depression, and hypertension. 

It's also a myth that a nightcap can help you sleep better. 

While you might fall asleep faster, research shows drinking alcohol before bed can cause disturbances during deep REM sleep. 

Finally, if you're having trouble falling asleep, it's a myth you should just stay in bed and keep trying. 

It's counterintuitive, but if you can't get to sleep, experts suggest getting up and waiting to return until you're tired. 

Try reading a book, listening to music or meditating.

And did you know catching up on sleep over the weekend is also a myth? Check out our article that explains why.

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A concert to send you to sleep? Max Richter epic gets Irish premiere

Sleep, Max Richter's eight-hour musical epic, is to get its Irish live premiere at this year's Carlow Arts Festival, where the slumbering audience will listen to it in bed under what the organisers hope will be a canopy of stars.

Tickets go on sale on Friday morning for each of 100 prepitched two-person tents that will allow the audience to hear the piece, which Richter designed to be as long as a full night's rest, as its creator intended.

The German-born British composer calls Sleep "an eight-hour lullaby", structured as a large set of variations, "to be listened to at night". The 31 parts of this "manifesto for a slower pace of existence", which last from just under three minutes to almost 35 minutes, combine piano, cello, viola, violin, organ and soprano voice with synthesisers and other electronically created sounds.

It will be performed in the grounds of Carlow College on Friday, June 7th, by the Max Richter Ensemble and the soprano Grace Davidson, on the first date of their European tour. The dozen or so previous performances have been in London, Berlin, Sydney, Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo, among other cities.

The director of Carlow Arts Festival, Jo Mangan, says: "I had the extraordinary privilege to witness this work at SXSW in Austin, Texas, last year. It was one of the most incredible artistic experiences of my life. The work is cleverly written to coincide with the lowest of heart beats when we are in deep sleep. I thought I would be able to stay awake and listen to the live orchestra throughout the night, but that was clearly not the case when the first swell of cello roused me from my slumber – and was so powerfully beautiful that I found myself weeping. This cycle of sleeping, waking and weeping happened on multiple occasions throughout the night. It brings me great joy to be able to share it with an Irish audience."

Max Richter's Sleep: the Los Angeles performance. Photograph: Mike Terry

Richter, who consulted the American neuroscientist David Eagleman to learn about the way the brain functions as we sleep, is well known for combining neoclassical with postmodern and minimalist music. His collaborated with the actor Tilda Swinton on his second album, The Blue Notebooks, from 2004, and used an original voice recording of the novelist Virginia Woolf for his 2017 album, Three Worlds: Music From Woolf Works, taken from the score he composed in collaboration with Wayne McGregor, resident choreographer at the Royal Ballet in London.

Each two-person tent costs €110 plus booking fee; tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday, March 29th, from carlowartsfestival.com. The full festival programme, marking the event's 40th anniversary, will be launched on April 17th.

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