This has been a great year for Day Eight.

In January of 2012, the dance company premiered our new evening length work – Quis Custodiet. Quis (as I call it) explores the issue of security, and the work is ongoing. I’m humbled and grateful for everyone’s faith in the work, and by the effort of the dancers, media team (Pasternak Media), and our administrative volunteers, including our interns.

Now, at the end of 2012, we are about to celebrate the publication of the Bourgeon book. The Bourgeon book includes fifty essays by fifty different artists and for those of us who believe in the arts, and study the arts, and appreciate the arts, the book is a thought-provoking and enjoyable window into the field, and the design, by Innosanto Nagaro and Design Action, is lovely.

I think of producing art, and making art, as a trust. Holding that trust is a commitment that I make to something beyond myself, but I can’t do it alone. We need your support to keep our programming going. Please join me in making an end of year donation to Day Eight. Any amount will help, and your contributions are tax deductible.

You can donate with your credit card right here, or mail a check to Day Eight at 1366 Sheridan Street NW, Washington DC 20011.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and all of the folks involved in our projects, thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Robert Bettmann

P.s. – If you donate $100 dollars or more I’ll send you an autographed copy of the new book as a personalized thank you. It makes a great conversation piece, or gift for the artists in your life.

At Woolly Mammoth Theatre on Friday, Robert Bettmann, artistic director of Bettmann Dances, presents a powerful performance he choreographed and calls “Quis Custodiet,” which refers to the Latin phrase “Quis Custodiet Ipsus Custodet,” meaning “Who Shall Watch the Watchers Themselves?” Bettmann hopes to create a conversation about “what security means to us and how we pursue it.”

The dance, in three sections, starts with a retelling of the Adam and Eve story, comparing Eve to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and examining the question of too much information made public can be dangerous.

At a rehearsal in Takoma Park, Bettmann watched as dancers practiced — soaring, twirling and trying to translate into dance the fragile concept of security.

“I want the audience to leave feeling empowered,” Bettman says. “I am not trying to moralize one way or the other. I don’t understand how terrible things happen. As an artist, it’s easy to describe a problem. It is harder to suggest a solution.”

To read the entire story, click here.

Image in the article of the company and in this post by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post.

For Immediate Release – March 22, 2011

February 22, 2011 – Journalists and the public are invited to celebrate the awarding of the inaugural winner of the DC Student Arts Journalism Challenge March 22nd, 2011 at Yola in Dupont Circle. Open to undergraduates in all DC area colleges and universities, Bourgeon’s DC Student Arts Journalism Competition was created to identify and encourage talented young arts journalists.

Washington Post visual arts critic Michael O’Sullivan states, “At a time when the future of arts journalism—indeed, the future of journalism itself—is at stake, Bourgeon’s Student Arts Journalism Challenge offers encouragement to the next generation of arts journalists, along with a reminder that the arts, and those who write about them, still matter.”  The Bourgeon editorial Board has selected the five finalists from over twenty entries, and a jury of professional critics including Post critics Michael O’Sullivan and Anne Midgette will select the winner. The first year of the contest, which closed on Feburary 15th, 2011, will culminate in the awards ceremony. All five finalists will be at the event, and the winner will be notified live during the presentation of the award.

The awards ceremony is being hosted by Yola, a fresh (not frozen) yogurt parfait and espresso bar located in the heart of Dupont Circle. Yola is run by father/daughter team David and Laura Smith. Laura, who is herself a Bourgeon contributor stated, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to host the awards ceremony at Yola. I had always envisioned Yola as a gathering place for the arts, and I can’t think of anything better to gather around than celebrating young talent in arts journalism…. In the modern publishing environment quality journalism and arts writing can often be obscured by flashy headlines, and there is no better time than now to celebrate young talent.”

Founded in 2005, Bourgeon’s mission, through an online publication and community initiatives, is twofold: to increase participation in the arts and to improve access to the arts. Bourgeon is a project of the non-profit Day Eight. To see more about Day Eight please visit www.dayeight.org. Visit the Bourgeon magazine site at www.bourgeononline.com.

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To download a pdf of this release, click here.