L'ATELIER
ROBERT COANE
- MY
TOP MODELS -
An
ode to the muse,
to those truly unique individuals who have inspired
and driven me,
without whose quiet presence nothing would be achieved.
In
deepest appreciation, THANK
YOU!
t was in the model that I discovered all the strength
and splendor of muscular beauty, the equilibrium and simplcity that
make the great gesture."
~
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Click
on artwork for enlargement
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ANNE
MARIE ALMIROL
Anne
Marie Almirol
graduated Magna Cum Laude from SUNY at Buffalo with a B.S. in Physical
Therapy. She presently does evaluations and assessments and implements
treatment plans at a sports medicine clinic in New York City. Anne
Marie is a gifted dancer and specializes in dance injuries as well
as acute and chronic pain.
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VALENTINE
MARTIN
Valentine
Martin Amartey, a New York resident for nine years, hails
from London, England. He is performer, choreographer, writer, designer
and director all in one. Valentine is an alumnus of the now defunct
P-cult, a small group of underground performers which included fire
eaters and acrobats, where he cut his teeth for four years performing
spontaneous, spectacular shows with his troupe, and also honed his
skills as a first rate couture, costume designer.
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ARTHUR
AVILÉS
Arthur
Avilés is a Newyorican dancer / choreographer raised
in the Bronx. He studied theater with Peter Vercillo and Edward M.
Fourrey. His infamous athgleticism in dance comes from his sports
training in swimming, diving, wrestling and gymnastics. He received
a Bachelor of Arts from Bard College where he studied dance under
lenore Latomer, Jean Churchill, Albert Reid and Aileen Passlov. In
1987he became a member of the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company
with whom he toured internationally for eight years. He has
been honored wiith a New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Award
fdor outstanding creative achievement during the Jones / Zane '88
and '89 seasons and in 1995 he received an Arts and Letters Award
form his alma matter. Since founding his company, Arthur Avilés
Typical Theater, He has received numerous awards from the
Bronx Council on the Arts. He founded the Bronx Academy of
Arts and Dance (BAAD!) in 1998.
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DAVID
BLOOM
Student,
Xavier High School, NYC
c. 1987
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"He
looked at me as if he were not seeing me, but someone else, or something else,
as if he were looking at a painting." -
Tracy Chevalier in The Girl With the Pearl Earring
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JENNIFER
CHIN
Jennifer Chin is
a native New Yorker who has danced
for and been inspired by many choreographers including Arthur Aviles,
Yin Mei, Michael Mao, Kristin Jackson, and Alan Danielson. Her first
evening of work, Echoing women and other tales, was presented at Joyce
Soho in December 2001. Her choreography has also been performed in
Joyce SoHo presents, Danspace Project's FOOD FOR THOUGHT series, Goose
Route Arts Festival in West Virginia, and the dance series SWEAT at
DeBaun Auditorium. She received her BA from Queens College and her
MFA from New York University's Tisch School for the Arts.
Jennifer has been on the faculty at the University of Quebec in Montreal,
Dance Space Center, Peridance Center, and the Jose Limon Institute.
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BALTHASAR
D'APOCALYPSO
Balthasar
was born in Le Mans, France. He attended medical school in Paris where
he published a book on anatomy before he finally crashed on stage
reciting Moliere to Paris crowds and all over the country.
He accepted a 2-year full scholarship
to Martha Graham and later switched to Merce Cunningham. Lincoln Center
was a must when they asked him to design costumes for their indoors
and outdoors Summer Festival.
Frustrated in acting by an indomitably strong French accent, he picked
up brushes and a circular canvas to paint his first impression
of New York, a clown face that he later framed with fabric, the beginning
of yet another stage in this multi-faceted artist..
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HSIN-HSIN
(PEGGY) CHENG
Peggy
(Hsin-Hsin) Cheng is a founding member of In
Mixed Company and has been working with Maura since
1993. She is a Vassar College alum and has also worked with Douglas
Dunn, Rachel Lampert, Omega Dance Company, Mabel Dai Chee Chang, Noel
Salzman, Shigeko Suga and Carl Paris.
Her own work includes the collaboration with musician/composers Brian
Nishii and Jeff Federman, "The Liminal Circle", which was
created with the support of a 1997 Van Lier Fellowship, Mabou Mines'
Resident Artists Program. Peggy received an MA in Dance Education
from NYU, writes for DanceInsider.com and is on staff at Danspace
Project in NYC.
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JOHN
HARBSTER
1922
- 2008
Senior
Statesman of Modeldom
Born in Reading, PA, John Harbster first
came to New York in 1950 to to attend Parsons School of Art and Design
to study fashion design and illustration on the GI bill after 3 years
in the army during WW2 serving overseas in Germany, France and Belgium.
Trying to find a vocation that "turned out to be getting naked
in front of strangers," art modeling, which he did for extra
income. Realizing that perhaps he didn't have the required abilities
and "not willing to sleep around as required" by the fashion
trade, he dropped out, returning to school somtime later and becoming
a Medical Technician specializing in blood chemistries. After early
retirement, he went back to art modeling where he has been active
for the past 50 years. Known to every figurative artist, atelier and
art school in New York, John keeps active and in shape by swimming.
Competitively, he has participated in the Gay Games and has won "a
medal or two".
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"...the
relationship between the painter and his model. No doubt an artist can achieve
a greater degree
of detachment than the profane might supose."
- Kenneth
Clark
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YU-LING
KOH HSU
Yuling
Koh Hsu, a nice young lady from a small town in Ohio who
came to romp in the great city of New York in 1998.... She likes surfing,
dancing, music, art and new experiences. This Taiwanese gem graduated
from New York University with a degree in Journalism and minors in
French and Animation. She worked various jobs where she could frolick
with photographers, artistes, trannies and rich old men and, though
she has joined the journalism world as a headline writer, she still
has the heart of a mime and yearns for more frolicking.
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WAKAKO
ISHIDA
Wakako Ishida is from Aizuwakamatsu City, Japan,
where she danced with Star Dancers Ballet and Aizu Contemporary Dance
Company, and studied English Theater and music at Aoyama Gakuin University
in Tokyo.
Since moving to New York City, Wakako has worked with Pat Cremins
/ Wyoming, SITU/Elaine Shipman, and with Lynn Shapiro as a contemporary
dancer. During this time she performed in various theaters and sites
in Rome, Florens, Corsica, Mexico, Canada and
the United States. As
a ballet dancer she performed with Lavransdatter Ballet, Lumiere Ballet
and the Ilya Gaft Dance theater.
Wakako has presented her own choreography in New York and Japan.
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HENG-LIN
(COLLEEN) KONG
Heng-Lin
Kong, born in 1973 in Hawaii, grew up in Malaysia. She earned
a BA in Visual Art at Smith College and an MFA in Fiction Writing
at Columbia University.
Her
work, both literary and visual, has been seen in exhibitions and in
literary journals such as Calyx, Possibilitiis, and Grecourt Review.
Since 2001. She has been a muralist for nonprofit organization New
York Cares and colaborated with choreographer Jennifer Chin in a dance
adaptation of her own Echoing Women narrative and in The
Simple Story.
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LUN-SHAN
LIAO
LunShan
Liao was born in Taichung, Taiwan. After graduating with
a BA in dance and psychology from Hamilton College, she trained on
full scholarship with Dance Theatre of Harlem and began dancing professionally
with DTH's ensemble. She has also performed with the Metropolitan
Opera Ballet, Michael Mao Dance, MorganScott Ballet, and in musicals
including Liat in South Pacific at the Westchester Broadway Theatre.
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"Oil
paint was made for depicting flesh." -
Willem de Kooning
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KUN-YANG
LIN
A
native of Taiwan, Kun-Yang Lin’s choreographic
works offer audiences a uncommon look into the collective qualities
of eastern and western dance. His use of space, energy and fine hand
and footwork creates a unique fusion of modern dance, Asian movement
traditions and popular culture. From his signature piece Moon Dance,
to the Tibetan inspired From the Land of Lost Content, Kun-Yang’s
work is flowing in creativity. His latest work, the Tango-inspired
Shall We..? shows us that this outstanding choreographer has no cultural
boundaries.
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LING
YAH-WEN
Originally
from Ohio,Yah-Wen Ling received
her BA in English Literature and a minor in Dance from Barnard College
in 1999. Since then, she has worked with several dance companies and
choerographers including Buglisi/Foreman Dance, Palindrome in
Germany, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Neta Pulvermacher, Kara McMahon
Cross and the Mark Morris Dance Group. Her own choreography has been
presented in New York at Miller Theater, Theater Et Al, the Williamsburg
Art Nexxus, and the D.U.M.B.O Dance Festival.
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from
LOS MUCHACHOS
Manuel
Graña and
Alberto Quintairos
Acrobats
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AYA
OGAWA
Aya
Ogawa is a performer, writer, director, translator and producer
of theatre. Born in Tokyo, Aya grew up in Georgia, Texas, and various
towns in Northern California. Until November 2003 she served as the
Associate Artistic Director of the International WOW Company under
which she was involved in the creation and performances of such productions
as THE BOMB, HYPERREAL AMERICA, ALICE'S EVIDENCE and A GIRL OF SIXTEEN.
She has also worked internationally in Japan and Thailand. In February
2004 she played Noam Chomsky in THE LONELINESSD OF NOAM CHOMSKY at
TIXE on 42nd Street and will be creating and heading her own theatre
company. In June 2004 she was named
playwriting fellow at
New York Theatre Workshop.
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"...the
models he* always has at his studio
and whom he often allow to move freely, though 'he' watches them out of the
corner of an eye
in order to learn the originality which is in nature."
- August Rodin (*Rodin
often wrote about himself in the third person)
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AVIVA
STONE
La
Grande Dame des Ateliers
1948 - 2007
Born in Newark NJ deep in Philip Roth
territory, at the time a veritable hotbed of secular Jewish culture,
Aviva Stone entered the discipline of classical ballet
at the age of six. She later went on to modern and folkloric dance.
At the age of sixteen she went to Israel to embrace the pioneer life
of the kibbutz.Upon
her return to the United States, she was privileged to study acting
with the late, great Bill Hickey.
She
discovered the art of posing "as a venue o expression with the
power of the body and the drama of the individual spirit which has
given this actor work for life."
Ms
Stone passed away in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where she lived with
her dear one.
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GEOK
TIN TAY
Tin
Tay,
born and raised in Singapore, arrived in New York in 1995 to study
dance. She has performed with several choreographers including Joshua
Bisset (Shua Group), Noemi
Lafrance, Jeanette Hempstead, Mariangela López and Edgar Cortés
and is currently working on a solo choreography of her own.
Tin started modeling in 1998 when she was
referred to me by Heng-Lin Kong. She is also a jewelry designer &
sculptor and loves to eat, especially fatty foods.
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FRANCESCA
TODESCO
Francesca
Todesco, of Swiss Italian origin, studied dance in Switzerland,
Germany and the U.S. Since moving to New York, she has studied the
Humphrey-Limón style with Jim May, Betty Jones, among others,
as well as Anna Sokolow technique and repertory. She is currently
a member of Dances by Isadora, studying and performing the Isadora
Duncan technique and repertory with Catherine Gallant and Loretta
Thomas. Francesca has also been studying and practicing Reflexology
and Shiatsu since 1999.
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"Attitude,
presence, movement." -
RC.
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IVÁN
TORRES
Ivan
Torres was a dancer, director, choreographer, costume and
set designer and model for over twenty-five years. He is currently
the Model Coordinator for New School University / Parsons, where he
uses all of his background experience to assemble the finest modeling
staff in New York City.
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YOKO
UMEHARA
Born
and raised in Fukuoka Japan,Yoko Umehara graduated
from Kyushu University with a BA in English literature in 1994.
After a corporate stint with IBM during which she first turned towards
dance, Yoko quit and moved to New York City - ostensibly to further
her dance career.
Trained in Japanese caligraphy at Shuken in Fukuoka when she was younger,
it was perhaps only natural that her attention turned instead to painting
and the visual arts.
During a six-year hiatus in New York, she studied at the Art Students
League and the National Academy of Design and, privately, under painters
Andrew Conklin and Carlos Madrid.
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NATALIA
VIÑAS
Dancer
- Choreographer, Barcelona, Spain
Natalia Viñas Roig received her basic training
at the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona and subsequently studied Modern
Dance (Limón, Horton and Graham) in New York with Risa Steinberg,
Milton Myers, Miguel Valdez-Mor and William Adair. She has been a
member of various contemporary dance companies in Spain such as Dart,
Transit and Metros and has worked as choreographer at the Gran Teatro
de la Zarzuela and for the Dagoll Dagom Theater Company. She has been
a teacher for more than 20 years and is a faculty member of the Institut
del Teatre.
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"Art
is, in short, nothing but a sexual pleasure... when he creates,
the artist outwits his reproductive instinct."-
August Rodin
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ZI-EN
YIP
Friend
and collaborator, Zi-En Ye emigrated to New York
City wIth her family from their native China. She started studying
dance very young and by the age of 15 had joined Elliot Feld's Ballet
Tech. She put dance on hiatus to attend Hunter College and get a degree.
She currently applies her physical
atributes as a personal trainer and hopes to get back to dance.
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SUSAN
ZHENG
a.k.a.
XIAO MAON REN
"Lil'
Dreamer"
The
youngest of three siblings and the youngest of my models at this wrtiting,
Susan Zheng (Xiao Maon Ren) was born in New York
City to immigrant Chinese parents, a Leo, in 1985. And Leo she is,
with a mane of black silk 40 inches long. A Business major at Baruch
College, she is one of the very few L'Atelier models who is not a
performer. She plans to go on to Law school and a carreer in Law.
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~ AT THE
MOVIES ~
"She
was smart enough to leave them all wanting more, behaviour that illuminates
two central tenets of musedom:
sex has relartively little to do with it;
longing, on the other hand, is key."
- Stacy Schiff reviewing
Francine Prose's THE LIVES OF THE MUSES
"The
muse should be as charming as she is unobtainable."
- Stacy
Schiff
reviewing Francine Prose's THE LIVES OF THE MUSES
Bob
Berkowitz interviews Robert Coane
and models
Zi-En Yip
and Balthasar
D'Apocalypso
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COANE © All rights reserved