Smart Night Out @ YBCA

Sat, May 28, 7-11:30 pm, Grand Lobby/Galleries — Sometimes analogies are the best descriptive device. If Big Idea Night is a Camaro, then Smart Night Out is an Aston Martin. At our debut SNO, we'll explore the concept of quiet as it relates to contemporary art and performance. Joanna Haigood, choreographer and Artistic Director of Zaccho Dance Theatre, will create a series of short movement meditations where visitors/participants will follow simple, yet evocative movement scores that interact with the gallery artwork and architecture. Guests can also participate in a silent dance party, enjoy culinary delights (for an additional fee), eardrum preserving ambient sound art, and engage in workshops with artists featured in our Daily Lives exhibit. SNO is a decidedly different affair that retains the same boisterous and aesthetically promiscuous spirit as our Big Idea Nights. So nevermind the weather and come play in the SNO! And, as always, your donations and purchases at our free events help to keep them free!

ACTIVITIES

• Silent Disco | You've seen the pictures. You've read the CNN article. Now experience a headphone dance party yourself! In collaboration with promotional and event sponsor Silent Storm Sound System (www.silentdis.co), YBCA brings you the ultimate quiet dance experience. For $5, you can rent a headset and twist to classic soul spun by the Hard French (www.realnittygritty.wordpress.com) geniuses, or wild out with international bass enthusiast Kid Kameleon (www.kidkameleon.com)! Can't decide what to listen to? Fear not—there are two channels, so switch it up! Limited headset availability—first come, first served! $5 rental fee includes a $1 drink discount! To prevent loss, YBCA will need to hold your ID while you enjoy your Silent Disco headset experience.

• Get High Now with James Nestor | Trippier living without chemistry! Alter your consciousness via hallucinatory breathing and far-out sound frequencies in this workshop led by renowned author and adventurer James Nestor (www.gethighnow.com), who has written about architecture, alternative fuels, popular culture, and more for National Public Radio and The New York Times, and more. His column, Too Much Tech, appears in ReadyMade Magazine. He is currently finishing the book, OUT THERE: A Year in the Weird Science of Enlightenment to be released in late-2011. Space is limited!

• Movement Meditations with Joanna Haigood | Acclaimed choreographer Joanna Haigood (www.zaccho.org) has created a score of DIY movement exercises designed to be performed in unspoken dialogue with the Song Dong exhibition. Participants will select cards illustrating these movements and will be encouraged to perform them alone or together. Space permitting, all are welcome to participate in this unique hybrid of performance and visual art!

• Body Harmonics with Grand Master Greg Yau | A research paper published in the National Academy of Sciences demonstrated that hand gestures, or mudras, stimulate the same regions of the brain as language. Join Greg Yau (www.sfproject.com), founder of the Grand Harmony Wing Chun School, in an interactive workshop where participants can hone their mudra skills and get psychically centered.

• Silent Dance with Antoine Hunter | Oakland-based choreographer/dancer Antoine Hunter (www.antoinehunter.com) is a founder of two celebrated local dance companies and has performed worldwide with several troupes. His Deafness has not stopped him from making his art—it's arguably enhanced the intuitive, sensual nature of his work. This workshop will be free of any auditory stimulation and will focus on the nonverbal power of bodily expression and gesture.

• Incidental Soundscapes: High and Low by Steve Rowell |
Internationally exhibited artist Steve Rowell (www.steverowell.com) assembled field recordings from a recent trip to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. This remote location proved to have a surprising soundtrack both natural and engineered. Kick back in our Screening Room with his audio-visual exploration of these aural landscapes and ponder the meaning of silence. An intermission piece will feature incidental ambience of the supersonic airspace of the Mojave desert. Generously co-presented by Long Now Foundation.

And as always...
• Food! For sale from a delicious and sustainable (and affordable!) local food cart!
• Drink! Creative cocktails, beer and wine for the 21+ crowd!
• Exhibits! Our three Visual Arts exhibits will be open late: Song Dong (http://ybca.org/song-dong), Euan Macdonald (http://ybca.org/content/euan-macdonald), and Daily Lives (http://ybca.org/daily-lives)!
• Special thanks to our silent disco sponsor, Silent Storm Sound System (http://www.silentdis.co/), and our co-presenters, the Long Now Foundation (www.longnow.org).

More @ http://ybca.org/smart-night-out-soar

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Nonprofits & Activism

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