Floanne Ankah
Encyclopedia
Floanne Ankah is an actress and filmmaker also known as a singer under the mononym Floanne. She was born and raised in France, and has lived in New York City
since 2000. Ankah is the founder of SiMPLE production, an organization committed to the development of new interdisciplinary works that integrate the talent of innovative and "sparkling" artists from various cultures.
), on television (One Life to Live
), in the theater (The Hunchback of Notre Dame
, Julius Caesar
) including at The Public Theater, and has read alongside theater personalities such as Israel Horowitz. Floanne has worked as a voice artist for major feature films (The Limits of Controls, What Just Happened) and voice-overs for national television commercials. The webisode
Life with Flow features her work in several collaborative short films. She performs with Cherub Improv
, a volunteer comedy group and is involved at the Magnet Theater
and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
.
, Americain classics and her own songs. She has been performing a solo cabaret show, Floin' to America, under the mentorship of fellow performers Jean Brassard and Isengart at venues such as The Metropolitan Room, The Triad Theater, Don't Tell Mama
and monthy residencies at Flûte Gramercy and Brasserie Julien
. Her interpretation of Michelle from The Beatles
is the 75th release of the Beatles Complete on Yukulele.. She collaborates with numerous NYC musicians her original songs and has a free bi-weekly video podcast
on iTunes
that features new music video
s, live concerts and making-of
s segments. Her opera
repertory
as a soprano
includes Mozart arias such as Barbarina, Susanna and Zerlina and the coloratura role of Olympia.
s. She has been shown at Movement Research at the Judson Church, the Merce Cunningham Studio, Abrons Arts Center, Dance New Amsterdam and HERE Arts Center
, and has performed for artists such as Mina Nishimura, Nina Morrison, Meredith Monk
(at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
), John Duncan
, Michou Szabo and Noémie Lafrance
(at the McCarren Park Pool).
and film, creating experimental films. ONE WAY, awarded Best Experimental Film at the 5th Big Apple Film Festival at the Tribeca Cinemas in New York City in 2008, and Waterfront Access?, awarded the 2010 Golden Reel Award for Best Dance Film at the Tiburon International Film Festival, were the result of a collaboration with artist Joe Zolkowski. She is currently developing a feature documentary in French, Le Maréchal et l'Astragale about her father's farm in South-East France, sharing the flavor of a lifestyle that may soon vanish.
, France, Ankah comes from a farm and has two siblings. She graduated from the Merce Cunningham
Dance Studio and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater for improvisation comedy. She also trained in acting at the HB Studio
and the School for Film and Television
, at the Alvin Ailey
school for dance, yin yoga
and in opera
as a soprano
. Upon arrival in New York City, she worked as an assitsant to photographer-filmmaker Jerry Schatzberg
, singer/songwriter Frank Simms
, sculptor Strong-Cuevas, and author Frances Kazan, to organize the archive of late husband Elia Kazan
.
Experimental film
Choreography work
Photographic exhibition
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
since 2000. Ankah is the founder of SiMPLE production, an organization committed to the development of new interdisciplinary works that integrate the talent of innovative and "sparkling" artists from various cultures.
Actor
Floanne Ankah has appeared in film (Then She Found MeThen She Found Me
Then She Found Me is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Helen Hunt. The screenplay by Hunt, Alice Arlen, and Victor Levin is based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Elinor Lipman...
), on television (One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
), in the theater (The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a novel by Victor Hugo published in 1831. The French title refers to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, on which the story is centered.-Background:...
, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
) including at The Public Theater, and has read alongside theater personalities such as Israel Horowitz. Floanne has worked as a voice artist for major feature films (The Limits of Controls, What Just Happened) and voice-overs for national television commercials. The webisode
Webisode
A webisode is a short episode which airs initially as Internet television, either download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television. The format can be used as a preview, a promotion, as part of a collection of shorts, or a commercial.A webisode can be an episode...
Life with Flow features her work in several collaborative short films. She performs with Cherub Improv
Cherub Improv
Cherub Improv is a non-profit organization founded in 2007 which performs and teaches improv comedy for free for various community groups and institutions in New York City . . The group is directed by Jonathan Evan Goldberg and was co-founded by Jonathan, Steve Van Ooteghem and Joy Copeland, who...
, a volunteer comedy group and is involved at the Magnet Theater
Magnet Theater
The Magnet Theater is an improvisational comedy theater and improv school in New York City. It has shows seven nights a week, many of which are consistently selected as editor's pick of the week in Time Out New York and The Onion....
and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre or UCB Theatre is an improvisational theatre and associated UCB Training Center with locations in Chelsea, New York, the EEast Village, New York and Hollywood, California.....
.
Singer
Floanne is a French chanteuse and songstress. Her repertoire includes French chansonChanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
, Americain classics and her own songs. She has been performing a solo cabaret show, Floin' to America, under the mentorship of fellow performers Jean Brassard and Isengart at venues such as The Metropolitan Room, The Triad Theater, Don't Tell Mama
Don't tell mama
Don't Tell Mama is a piano bar and cabaret located at 343 West 46th Street in New York City, USA, known in part for being featured on the TV show Friends....
and monthy residencies at Flûte Gramercy and Brasserie Julien
Brasserie Julien
Brasserie Julien is a French restaurant and Jazz club located at 1422 3rd Avenue .-French Restaurant:...
. Her interpretation of Michelle from The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
is the 75th release of the Beatles Complete on Yukulele.. She collaborates with numerous NYC musicians her original songs and has a free bi-weekly video podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
that features new music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, live concerts and making-of
Making-of
In cinema, a making-of, also known as behind-the-scenes, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program...
s segments. Her opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
as a soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
includes Mozart arias such as Barbarina, Susanna and Zerlina and the coloratura role of Olympia.
Dance
Ankah's choreography is drawn from her yoga practice, and integrates movement with the human voice as an instrument. Her creations are collaborative and often include video projections and soundscapeSoundscape
A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology...
s. She has been shown at Movement Research at the Judson Church, the Merce Cunningham Studio, Abrons Arts Center, Dance New Amsterdam and HERE Arts Center
HERE Arts Center
HERE Arts Center is a New York City based off-off broadway presenting house, founded in 1993, with two stages specializing in hybrid performance, dance, theater, multi-media and puppetry. From 1993-2009, HERE supported over 12,000 artists and served approximately 950,000 audience members...
, and has performed for artists such as Mina Nishimura, Nina Morrison, Meredith Monk
Meredith Monk
Meredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
(at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
), John Duncan
John Duncan
John Duncan may refer to:* John Duncan , American artist and musician* John Duncan , Scottish weaver and botanist* John Duncan , MP from British Columbia...
, Michou Szabo and Noémie Lafrance
Noémie Lafrance
Noémie Lafrance is a Canadian-born choreographer living and working in New York since 1994. She is known for making large-scale site-specific dance performances that uses the architecture of the city as settings for her work...
(at the McCarren Park Pool).
Filmmaker
Ankah fuses the mediums of dance/performance artPerformance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
and film, creating experimental films. ONE WAY, awarded Best Experimental Film at the 5th Big Apple Film Festival at the Tribeca Cinemas in New York City in 2008, and Waterfront Access?, awarded the 2010 Golden Reel Award for Best Dance Film at the Tiburon International Film Festival, were the result of a collaboration with artist Joe Zolkowski. She is currently developing a feature documentary in French, Le Maréchal et l'Astragale about her father's farm in South-East France, sharing the flavor of a lifestyle that may soon vanish.
Biographical background
Raised in ChâbonsChâbons
Châbons is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-Geography:The Bourbre forms part of the commune's south-eastern bordern, then flows northward through the eastern part of the commune....
, France, Ankah comes from a farm and has two siblings. She graduated from the Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
Dance Studio and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater for improvisation comedy. She also trained in acting at the HB Studio
HB Studio
Founded in 1945 by Herbert Berghof, the HB Studio is a school that offers professional training in the performing arts. Located in Greenwich Village in New York City, its curriculum includes classes in a variety of areas, including acting, directing, playwrighting, screenwriting, musical theatre,...
and the School for Film and Television
School for Film and Television
The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts , is a professional acting training conservatory in New York City for actors focusing on acting for film and television and the stage, including television dramas, commercials, motion pictures, internet serials, and voice overs...
, at the Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey, Jr. was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. Ailey is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th century concert dance...
school for dance, yin yoga
Yin yoga
Yin yoga is a style of yoga founded by Paulie Zink. It is a synthesis he created by combining Indian Hatha yoga and several disciplines from the Chinese Taoist tradition with yoga postures and variations, movements, vocalizations, visualization techniques, and insights he developed himself...
and in opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
as a soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
. Upon arrival in New York City, she worked as an assitsant to photographer-filmmaker Jerry Schatzberg
Jerry Schatzberg
Jerry Schatzberg is a photographer and film director.-Career:Schatzberg was born to a Jewish family of furriers and grew up in the Bronx. He photographed for magazines such as Vogue, Esquire and McCalls. He made his debut as a feature film director with 1970's Puzzle of a Downfall Child starring...
, singer/songwriter Frank Simms
Frank Simms
Frank Simms is an American singer and voice-over artist known for providing the voices behind such iconic characters as the Kool-Aid Man, the Honeycomb Craver, the bug-eyed, fuzzy mascot of Honeycomb cereal, and the Geico ringtone. He is one of the founding members and songwriters of The Simms...
, sculptor Strong-Cuevas, and author Frances Kazan, to organize the archive of late husband Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
.
Works
One woman show- Floin' to America - (2011) 1.5 hour, cabaret performance of French and American tunes
- Edith Piaf, alive and living in New York - (2011) 1 hour, a musical play: modern twist to vintage tunes.
Experimental film
- Imprints - (2007) 4 minutes
- ONE WAY - (2008) 10 minutes Winner, Best Experimental film - 5th Big Apple Film Festival.
- Kirk Light - (2009) 4 minutes
- Waterfront Access? - (2009) 10 minutes Winner, Golden Reel Award for Best Dance Film - Tiburon International Film Festival.
Choreography work
- Rambling Thoughts - (2004) 5 minutes, video projection with soundscape, spoken word, 1 dancer
- Vibraform - (2005) 10 minutes, soundscape, 5 dancers using voice
- echO - (2006) 15 minutes, video projection, 2 dancers using voice
- Conversation - (2007) 10 minutes, video projection, soundscape, 3 dancers using voice
- WEEP - (2009) 15 minutes, 3 dancers, 1 digeridoo
Photographic exhibition
- Regards Croisés (1998)
- Le Quotidien Des Rails (1999)
- Where Are You Going? (2005)
External links
- SIMPLE production: artistic endeavors
- Floanne Original Music
- French Chanteuse Classic Voice
- Experimental films by Floanne Ankah
- Floanne Free Music - podcast on iTunes
- Life with Flow, webisode with Floanne Ankah
- Floanne's YouTube Channel
- Floanne Music at FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.