Professor Graves: A Mind-Body Pedagogy at Bennington College
Off-Site Location:
Lula Washington Dance Theatre
3773 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016
In conjunction with Milford Graves: Fundamental Frequency at ICA LA, enjoy an opportunity to re-explore Professor Milford Graves’s unique teachings and transmissions that intersect music, movement, and holistic energy.
Milford Graves taught in the Black Music Division at Bennington College for nearly 40 years, from 1973 to 2012. This 2-part program will be led by former students of the Professor and special guests who have been greatly influenced by his mind-body pedagogy: musicians Anthony Wilson, Bill Dobrow, and Zoh Amba; and dancer Hope Clark. The workshop and performance will both take place at Lula Washington Dance Theatre.
Learn from listening. Interconnect. Use music and movement to find expression and heal.
Part 1: Mind-Body Movement Workshop
Ages 11 and up
5pm–6:30pm
This workshop will incorporate meditation, movement, observation, and an exploration of improvisation in order to move deeply with the energy of live music. A screening of excerpts from the film Milford Graves: Full Mantis will be part of the workshop.
Intermission: 6:30–7pm
Part 2: Mind-Body Performance
All ages
7–8pm
Enjoy a performance of live music with an invitation for audience members to experience the “here, now, and the unknown” of improvisational music and movement central to the experience of studying with Professor Graves and the synergy between the Black Music Division and Dance Divisions of Bennington College.
Led by Hope Clark with music by Anthony Wilson (guitar), Bill Dobrow (drums), and Zoh Amba (saxophone).
Hope Clark grew up in Washington DC, studying ballet, gymnastics, and modern dance and majored in Dance Performance and Choreography at Bennington College. In NYC, she worked as the Associate Artistic Director of STREB and founded the Kid Action program to created original dances with students in the communities where the company performed. She received a Master’s in Intercultural Service Leadership and Management from the School for International Training, (SIT) Graduate Institute with a focus on Social Justice and Conflict Transformation. To create social change and economic opportunities through the arts, she founded Wheelbarrow Productions, (WHEE) to partner with communities as a non-profit organization. WHEE produced a circus show in Lalibela Ethiopia, created short plays about corruption, security, family dynamics, and freedom, with women in Sefrou, Morocco, and produced numerous projects about our changing climate and addiction in Kent County where Hope lives. Her recent work as the Maryland Organizer for Climate XChange, coordinated the Rebuild Maryland Coalition to pass equitable and effective climate legislation in the State. Hope is now the Executive Director of the United Way of Kent County to create a positive impact on human services through Health, Education and Financial stability for all.
Anthony Wilson is a guitarist and composer known for a wide-ranging body of work that moves effortlessly across genres. With thirteen albums to his credit, Wilson’s first recording garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Large Ensemble Jazz Recording, and was followed by the critically acclaimed “Goat Hill Junket” and “Adult Themes.” His album “Power of Nine” was included in The New Yorker’s roundup of that year’s top-ten jazz albums. The celebrated “Seasons: Live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art” documents, in music and video, the story of Wilson’s collaboration with master luthier John Monteleone on a suite of music written specifically for Monteleone’s masterpiece “Four Seasons” quartet of guitars. Recent albums “Frogtown,” “Songs and Photographs,” and “The Plan of Paris” combine his deep jazz roots with a growing dedication to the art of songcraft. The guitarist of choice for singer/pianist Diana Krall for the past two decades, Wilson has also performed live, arranged for, and recorded with a diverse roster of artists that includes Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Barbra Streisand, Melody Gardot, Leon Russell, and Aaron Neville, as well as with jazz greats Charles Lloyd, Ron Carter, Bobby Hutcherson, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, and his father, the legendary trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Gerald Wilson.
Zoh Amba is a composer, saxophonist, and flutist from Tennessee. Her music blends avant-garde, noise, and devotional hymns. Before studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory Of Music, New England Conservatory and studying with David Murray in New York, she spent most of her time writing and practicing saxophone in the forest near her home. Today, her powerfully unique avant-garde music is full of folk melodies, mesmerizing refrains, and repeated incantations. Amba released two records in 2022, her debut record O, Sun which was produced by John Zorn and released on the prestigious label Tzadik. Zoh Amba’s second record, Bhakti features Micah Thomas, Tyshawn Sorey, and Matt Hollenberg. She has collaborated with a variety of high profile musicians such as Tyshawn Sorey, Jim White (Dirty Three), Steve Gunn, Vijay Iyer, legendary bassist William Parker, Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), etc. Amba has also performed at well respected venues and festivals Roulette (NY), Ars Nova Workshop (Philadelphia), Vision Festival (NY), and Angel City Jazz Festival (LA) along with 2023 Big Ears Festivals.
Bill Dobrow is a drummer and percussionist living in New York City. He has many years of experience touring with and recording with a diverse range of artists, including The Black Crowes, Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono, Martha Wainwright, Anthony Wilson, Vinicius Cantuaria, Chris Stills, Lisa Loeb, Jesse Harris, and Joseph Arthur & The New Professionals, featuring Mike Mills of R.E.M. Television appearances include The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Conan O'Brien Show. He is a frequent performer in the New York downtown music scene, with his own groups as well as appearing with other artists, including Patti Smith, David Johansen, Rhymefest, and Norah Jones. In Brazil, Bill can be heard on chart topping records by Maria Gadú, Tiago Iorc and others. He co-produced the album “Sub Rosa” in Rio for Grammy Award winning songwriter, Jesse Harris, featuring luminaries such as Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), Bill Frisell, Melody Gardot, and others. Bill has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and Literature from Bennington College. He studied Black Music and Improvisation with Milford Graves and Bill Dixon.
Lula Washington Dance Theatre
3773 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016
In conjunction with Milford Graves: Fundamental Frequency at ICA LA, enjoy an opportunity to re-explore Professor Milford Graves’s unique teachings and transmissions that intersect music, movement, and holistic energy.
Milford Graves taught in the Black Music Division at Bennington College for nearly 40 years, from 1973 to 2012. This 2-part program will be led by former students of the Professor and special guests who have been greatly influenced by his mind-body pedagogy: musicians Anthony Wilson, Bill Dobrow, and Zoh Amba; and dancer Hope Clark. The workshop and performance will both take place at Lula Washington Dance Theatre.
Learn from listening. Interconnect. Use music and movement to find expression and heal.
Part 1: Mind-Body Movement Workshop
Ages 11 and up
5pm–6:30pm
This workshop will incorporate meditation, movement, observation, and an exploration of improvisation in order to move deeply with the energy of live music. A screening of excerpts from the film Milford Graves: Full Mantis will be part of the workshop.
Intermission: 6:30–7pm
Part 2: Mind-Body Performance
All ages
7–8pm
Enjoy a performance of live music with an invitation for audience members to experience the “here, now, and the unknown” of improvisational music and movement central to the experience of studying with Professor Graves and the synergy between the Black Music Division and Dance Divisions of Bennington College.
Led by Hope Clark with music by Anthony Wilson (guitar), Bill Dobrow (drums), and Zoh Amba (saxophone).
Hope Clark grew up in Washington DC, studying ballet, gymnastics, and modern dance and majored in Dance Performance and Choreography at Bennington College. In NYC, she worked as the Associate Artistic Director of STREB and founded the Kid Action program to created original dances with students in the communities where the company performed. She received a Master’s in Intercultural Service Leadership and Management from the School for International Training, (SIT) Graduate Institute with a focus on Social Justice and Conflict Transformation. To create social change and economic opportunities through the arts, she founded Wheelbarrow Productions, (WHEE) to partner with communities as a non-profit organization. WHEE produced a circus show in Lalibela Ethiopia, created short plays about corruption, security, family dynamics, and freedom, with women in Sefrou, Morocco, and produced numerous projects about our changing climate and addiction in Kent County where Hope lives. Her recent work as the Maryland Organizer for Climate XChange, coordinated the Rebuild Maryland Coalition to pass equitable and effective climate legislation in the State. Hope is now the Executive Director of the United Way of Kent County to create a positive impact on human services through Health, Education and Financial stability for all.
Anthony Wilson is a guitarist and composer known for a wide-ranging body of work that moves effortlessly across genres. With thirteen albums to his credit, Wilson’s first recording garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Large Ensemble Jazz Recording, and was followed by the critically acclaimed “Goat Hill Junket” and “Adult Themes.” His album “Power of Nine” was included in The New Yorker’s roundup of that year’s top-ten jazz albums. The celebrated “Seasons: Live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art” documents, in music and video, the story of Wilson’s collaboration with master luthier John Monteleone on a suite of music written specifically for Monteleone’s masterpiece “Four Seasons” quartet of guitars. Recent albums “Frogtown,” “Songs and Photographs,” and “The Plan of Paris” combine his deep jazz roots with a growing dedication to the art of songcraft. The guitarist of choice for singer/pianist Diana Krall for the past two decades, Wilson has also performed live, arranged for, and recorded with a diverse roster of artists that includes Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Barbra Streisand, Melody Gardot, Leon Russell, and Aaron Neville, as well as with jazz greats Charles Lloyd, Ron Carter, Bobby Hutcherson, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, and his father, the legendary trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Gerald Wilson.
Zoh Amba is a composer, saxophonist, and flutist from Tennessee. Her music blends avant-garde, noise, and devotional hymns. Before studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory Of Music, New England Conservatory and studying with David Murray in New York, she spent most of her time writing and practicing saxophone in the forest near her home. Today, her powerfully unique avant-garde music is full of folk melodies, mesmerizing refrains, and repeated incantations. Amba released two records in 2022, her debut record O, Sun which was produced by John Zorn and released on the prestigious label Tzadik. Zoh Amba’s second record, Bhakti features Micah Thomas, Tyshawn Sorey, and Matt Hollenberg. She has collaborated with a variety of high profile musicians such as Tyshawn Sorey, Jim White (Dirty Three), Steve Gunn, Vijay Iyer, legendary bassist William Parker, Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), etc. Amba has also performed at well respected venues and festivals Roulette (NY), Ars Nova Workshop (Philadelphia), Vision Festival (NY), and Angel City Jazz Festival (LA) along with 2023 Big Ears Festivals.
Bill Dobrow is a drummer and percussionist living in New York City. He has many years of experience touring with and recording with a diverse range of artists, including The Black Crowes, Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono, Martha Wainwright, Anthony Wilson, Vinicius Cantuaria, Chris Stills, Lisa Loeb, Jesse Harris, and Joseph Arthur & The New Professionals, featuring Mike Mills of R.E.M. Television appearances include The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Conan O'Brien Show. He is a frequent performer in the New York downtown music scene, with his own groups as well as appearing with other artists, including Patti Smith, David Johansen, Rhymefest, and Norah Jones. In Brazil, Bill can be heard on chart topping records by Maria Gadú, Tiago Iorc and others. He co-produced the album “Sub Rosa” in Rio for Grammy Award winning songwriter, Jesse Harris, featuring luminaries such as Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), Bill Frisell, Melody Gardot, and others. Bill has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and Literature from Bennington College. He studied Black Music and Improvisation with Milford Graves and Bill Dixon.
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