Some of these pics from our Bike Day performance do a great job of catching details that you can't see on the teeny little video we posted. Thanks to Graham for his keen camera work!
Despite the early-morning rain, Bike Day ended up having glorious weather and a wonderful crowd. We had a great time performing to the Go-Gos, and thanks to Hans for getting the dance on video!
As usual, there was a lot to do--many of us competed in the Flat Fixing competition, though none of the Brackettes made the final round.
Watching the track-stand competition inspired Chris & Martha to develop a tandem-trackstand technique!
Lots more photos from the event here. Thanks to all the organizers for an excellent day!
We're performing at Eugene Bike Day on Saturday, June 13! This is a milestone for us, since it was on Bike Day 2008 that the idea for the Bottom Brackettes was first dreamed up. We'll be on at 1:00, doing a lively deconstruction of an 80's pop song.
The fun starts at 10 am at the Science Factory, 2300 Leo Harris Pkwy, Eugene, OR 97401. Read the full details about this fun event at the GEARS website.
We also got a shout-out in the Eugene Weekly's cover story this week. Well, maybe it was two shout-outs: both literally, in the last paragraph that mentions the Bike Day festivities, but also conceptually in the front-page illustration that includes a ballerina doing a fancy arabesque on her bike. Man, we are all about doing the arabesque on bikes!
Are you coming to the Spring Roll this Saturday? Not only is it an awesome scavenger hunt on bikes, but you'll be hunting for food that gets donated to the needy via Food For Lane County--an excellent cause! The Bottom Brackettes won't be dancing at this event, but some of our members have been doing some very fancy footwork to help organize the event. We'll see you there! (Lots more logistical details here for those who like to Know The Plan!)
Some of you may be wondering what happened to the previous version of our website. We decided to switch our format to a blog so it was quick and easy for all our members to post updates--seems logical to spend more time rehearsing our dances and less time wandering around in HTML-land, no? The goal is to scoot all that yummy content from the first website over here to the blog, and then add even more announcements of upcoming events, plus photos and videos of all our adventures. Enjoy!
The Bottom Brackettes first came together in the summer of 2008. Our first performance was at the Blackberry Jamboree celebration, at the EWEB plaza in Eugene, OR.
In September of 2008, we joined the rockin’ Brazilian-style marching band, Samba Ja, in the Eugene Celebration Parade.
The Bottom Brackettes performed an elegant “bicycle tango” as part of the annual Pedestrian and Bicycle Summit in January 2009. It was great fun. Congressman Peter DeFazio appeared between our act and the bicycle fashion show, both of which put big grins on his face.
In February '09, we performed the tango again at the Convention and Visitor Association of Lane County’s Tourism Forum, to kick off the new promotional campaign that frames Lane County as a major cycling destination!
There are many groups doing bicycle dance, or bicycle-inspired performance art, and everyone has their own unique approach to this fun and funky art form. As the Bottom Brackettes, we dance on our bikes by riding in synchronized patterns with each other.
We also dance with our bikes, hopping off the saddles and treating the bike itself as a dance partner.
Our bicycles are not just functional tools for getting to work or getting groceries home from the store; they are also vehicles for creative expression and play! Our performance activism shows off the beauty of bikes as well celebrating their role in sustainable, healthy transit.
We are a bicycle-dance collective with an emphasis on the bicycle. We use a mix of full-sized bicycles and quirky folding bikes. We started performing in Eugene, Oregon in the summer of 2008, and look forward to many more adventures!
We bring the sensibilities of our members to our dance style. Our current configuration is jammin’, elegant, and all about the bikes. We think of our performances as dynamic inspirational activism, helping achieve sustainable communities while having a lot of fun.
We want to integrate bicycles into our lives and celebrate them in our culture by incorporating them into social art. We want to romanticize the bicycle; to elicit a Pavlovian response of joy in people every time they see a bike.
You can contact us by email at thebottombrackettes [at] g mail [dot] com. Visit us on Facebook and MySpace as well!