Solid Gold Dance Journal

Luring new eyes to the world of dance is what Patsy Tarr’s interdisciplinary journal 2wice is all about. So called because it is published semiannually, 2wice is an energetic celebration of photography, dance, and visual art – all put together in a beautiful package.Each volume is devoted to a one-word theme chosen by Ms. Tarr and her artistic director, Abbott Miller of the design firm Pentagram. In the current issue (available at bookstores or through 866-882wice), the idea is “Gold”- as in New York City Ballet dancer Tom Gold. Ms. Tarr and Mr. Miller asked four photographers to shoot the dancer in different situations, all of them inspired by the poems of Pulitzer Prize-winner Charles Simic. The results are printed in individual booklets, each one perfectly tucked into a folder on heavy paper stock emblazoned with the word “gold” on the cover in shimmering letters, designed by Elsa Peretti, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.Interdisciplinary, yes, but there’s a larger goal at work, too. The idea, according to Ms. Tarr, who serves as the editor in chief, is “to de-marginalize dance for both performers and writers, to place them in a magazine with great writing and photography about other subjects.”Ms. Tarr, a petite brunette who grew up and still lives in San Remo, is also a consistent patron of the arts. She founded the 2wice Arts Foundation in 1997 with the goal of publishing the magazine, and also making financial grants to dancers. The recipients are then invited to be on the advisory board and to be photographed for 2wice.“I’m funding. I’m publishing. I’m distributing. It just all comes together in a unique way,” she said.Though 2wice has been showered with awards from other design publications, Ms. Tarr seems more bemused than boastful – this is, after all, a labor of love.“We don’t have an office or anywhere that we all meet or sit down,” she said. To illustrate the point, she shows off her “office,” which is a long hallway and corner that leads to the master bathroom.Moreover, Ms. Tarr is not a disaffected publishing type who sought to create her own vanity rag. She attended a small women’s college in Pennsylvania where she studied philosophy. Upon returning home to New York, she took a job in the public relations office of a Wall Street firm that had recently gone public. The firm needed to produce an annual report each year, and it fell to the youngster to put it all together – a project that later came in handy.“When I came to publishing, I at least had some idea of what to do,” she said.The job wasn’t a keeper. But a handsome contract bridge player she met turned out to be very much of one. After marrying her husband Jeff, Ms. Tarr had two children, both of whom now live nearby on the Upper West Side.Along the way, she kept up the interest in dance that she had developed as a child. “I went to New York City Ballet my whole life, and a lot of modern dance concerts at City Center,” she said.She gradually became more involved in the arts world, serving on boards like that of choreographer Trisha Brown. She also got to know dancers and dance writers, many of whom felt increasingly that there was not enough room for dance in mainstream publications.“I knew some dance critics, and all they talked about was that they had no place to have their writing published,” she said.In response, Ms. Tarr created a quarterly magazine called Dance Ink. Advertising, however, proved to be a major challenge: “It was highly regarded, but there was just no income.”The closure of Dance Ink was a dark day, but out of the ashes came the idea for a new kind of magazine. “I figured that instead of publishing quarterly, I could publish semiannually,” she said. “It would still be the same budget, but I thought I could make a go of it if I made the product a little different, with four-color printing and not every story relating to dance.”Indeed, the magazine is guided more by what is beautiful and fits the theme rather than what is newsworthy in dance right now. The previous issue, “Formal,” included photos of dancers in black and white glamour-wear, but also plenty of objets d’art.Like the pages of 2wice, the Tarr family’s park-view apartment is also full of art, some of it dance-related, some of it simply beautiful.Recently, two photographs by Andrew Moore were delivered to the Tarr residence. The images – taken at the Bolshoi Ballet costume shop – are loaded with color, as well as that anticipatory quality that comes with all shots taken backstage.“We put Andrew Moore’s work in 2wice. I just love his work,” she said. “He’s just all about color.”Photography has played an increased role in Ms. Tarr’s world since launching 2wice. Each issue is largely based on photography – whether of dancers or vintage handbags. Which means Ms. Tarr has to do some homework to find her photographers.“I get the New Yorker. I follow the listings, and I run around,” she said, adding that her go-to galleries include Yancey Richardson, Staley-Wise, and Sonnabend.But sometimes photographers find her. Phillip Toledano, whose work appears in the current issue of 2wice, simply began e-mailing Ms. Tarr. It didn’t seem like a natural pairing at first: Mr. Toledano is a still-life photographer. Mr. Tarr, though, was intrigued by the idea and brought him in for the current issue.While Ms. Tarr spends time keeping tabs on the world of photography, she’s also an obsessive dance-watcher. She sees most major modern dance performances, and on any given Tuesday or Thursday, she’s likely to be found in the audience of New York City Ballet: “I have three subscriptions.”And all of those 8 p.m. curtains leave little time for entertaining at home or socializing outside of a theater. Indeed, Ms. Tarr’s time is not devoted to cocktail parties – or picking out what to wear to them. “I’m not much of a shopper. I love Geoffrey Beane,” she said.What pleases Ms. Tarr is working to bring dance to a wider audience and helping to make it as accessible as other art forms. Or, as she puts it, “to show people that dance isn’t separate and it isn’t strange. It’s just like everything else – fabulous.”

Solid Gold Dance Journal

Solid Gold Dance Journal

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