Shell-Shocked Nut Project
East Village Dance Project/GOH Productions
Returning to La MaMa for its third year, The Shell-Shocked Nut Project upends the classic structure of E.T. Hoffman’s Nutcracker, relocates it in the East Village, and uses a cast of lively characters to explore themes of loss and recovery. A war veteran and a wandering child take us on a journey through the iconic and the everyday of the East Village – stopping at Tompkins Square Park, Economy Candy Store, the aisles of a corner bodega, the interior of a East Village home, and much more. Performed by an inter-generational cast of professional artists and students from East Village Dance Project, under the Artistic Direction of Martha Tornay.
Click for words and photos by EVG contributor Stacie Joy
“The story features local spots like Tompkins Square Park, community gardens, and Economy Candy, and has bad guys like an unnamed real-estate developer.”
EAST VILLAGE DANCE PROJECT (EVDP), based in New York City, was founded in 1997 as a dance development program for youth age 4-adult, under the artistic direction of Martha Tornay. EVDP offers classes in ballet, pointe, modern, improvisation and beginning choreography. EVDP performs annually in New York and has been at La MaMa Moves! for three seasons. The program has been recognized for its innovative approach to dance and education, and for offering pre-professional classes to all, regardless of social or economic situation. EVDP Students have also performed at Pace University, NYU Skirball Center, Abrons Arts Center, Vanaver Caravan Dance Festival, with Keigwin + Company, and at Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors. Past guest choreographers have included Dante Brown, Amanda Loulaki, Nicole Wolcott, Ellen Cornfield and Molly Lieber. In January 2011, EVDP and GOH Productions opened Avenue C Studio as a permanent home.
GOH Productions’ mission is embodied in our logo, GOH, the Japanese character meaning “working together under one roof.” That definition informs all the work we do — collaborative and expansive, stretching the sky to its fullest capacity. We began in 1979, during a time of fiscal cutbacks and political turmoil. We continue to face, head-on, the challenges of nurturing artworks and artistic collaboration, testing the boundaries and borders of all categories. Our primary goal is working with experimental and interdisciplinary artists to clarify their artistic vision and to make possible the production of new works in a variety of genres and in a variety of global landscapes. In the mid-1970s we were founded as 7 Loaves, Inc. a non-profit arts producing and presenting organization in the Lower East Side/East Village of New York City. In 1988 the organization’s name was changed to GOH Productions (GOH), and Bonnie Sue Stein became its Artistic and Executive Director, a position she still holds. Stein works with directly with a number of performing artists on the creation and development of collaborative projects in the U.S. and with international partners.