"Do you suppose they do that for a living?" A man with an Appalachian-inspired dance Sunday at the New York Dance Festival in Central Park. It did look like too much fun to be real work. (...)

The program started off with Livia Vanaver's "Appalachian Medley," a suite of traditional American music and inspired by Appalachian clog-dancing but looking like some low-slung form of tap.

Source: New York Times

For the past 47 years, Livia has been traveling throughout the U.S., and abroad with her musician/composer husband Bill Vanaver, and company of extraordinary dancers and musicians, collecting and performing traditional dance and music from many cultures.  They are acclaimed for utilizing traditional sources in the creation of original works and presenting them for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Her commitment to creating community through the vehicle of dance has lead her to work with Friendship Ambassadors Foundation in their Balkan Peace and Reconciliation project in Eastern Europe and their program working with families of the victims of 9/11.

Ms. Vanaver holds a BFA in Dance from NYU School of the Arts (Tisch). For the past 40 years she has been on the cutting edge of Arts Education programs throughout New York State. A leading authority on dance education, she has pioneered the teaching of world dance styles and Global Citizenry in schools.  She was on the faculty of the Academy for the Love of Learning, working closely with Aaron Stern in the initial Teacher Renewal Project. Livia taught dance at Columbia University in the Graduate Theater Program and currently teaches World Dance at Hofstra University. Ms. Vanaver was also one of the founders of Mountain Laurel Waldorf School in New Paltz, NY.Livia a voyagé partout aux États-Unis et à l’étranger avec son mari musicien/compositeur, Bill Vanaver, et sa compagnie de danseurs et musiciens extraordinaires, collectionnant et interprétant de la danse et de la musique traditionnelles de nombreuses cultures. Ils sont tout deux reconnus pour avoir utilisé des sources traditionnelles dans la création d’œuvres originales et les avoir présentées à un public de tous âges et de tous horizons. Son engagement à créer une communauté autour de la danse l'a amenée à travailler avec la Fondation des ambassadeurs de l'amitié dans le cadre de son projet de paix et de réconciliation dans les Balkans en Europe de l'Est et de son programme de travail auprès des familles des victimes du 11/9.
 

Mme Vanaver est titulaire d'un BFA en danse de la NYU School of the Arts (Tisch). Elle est aujourd'hui à la pointe des programmes d’éducation artistique dans l’État de New York. En tant que chef de file en matière d'enseignement de la danse, elle a été pionnière dans l'enseignement des styles de danse du monde et du "Global Citizenry" dans les écoles. Livia a enseigné la danse à la Columbia University dans le cadre du programme Graduate Theatre et enseigne actuellement la World Dance à la Hofstra University. Mme Vanaver était également l'un des fondateurs de la Mountain Laurel Waldorf School à New Paltz, NY.

Source: The Vanaver Caravan

More information: https://vanavercaravan.org/

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.

His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).

Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon

Situated in the Hudson Valley of New York, The Vanaver Caravan is an  internationally acclaimed nonprofit dance and music troupe with a vast  repertoire of world and American folk dance styles and a long history of  professional touring, humanitarian work, peace advocacy, and widely  celebrated arts-education programs.

Source: The Vanaver Caravan

More information: vanavercaravan.org/