September 28, 2007
N. Bethesda, MD—On October 27 & 28, CityDance
Ensemble presents the first performance of this season’s In
the Studio series with a concert titled Eclipse.
The concert draws its name from Doug Varone's daring,
poignant trio by the same name, but reaches beyond the dance
to explore the idea of bringing art between dancer and audience
in a way that alters one’s expected perspective. Such
is the goal of this concert and all of CityDance's In the
Studio concerts—a pursuit made most appropriately
in the intimate, face-to-face setting of the Music Center at
Strathmore's Room 405.
The concert takes place Saturday, October
27 at 8pm and Sunday, October 28, 2007 at
7pm in Room 405 at the Music
Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North
Bethesda, MD. Tickets are priced at $15 and are available
in person at the Strathmore Ticket Office (5301 Tuckerman
Lane, North Bethesda, MD), online at www.strathmore.org, or
by phone at 301.581.5100. Seating is general
admission. A post-performance discussion with the dancers
and selected choreographers will follow the Saturday evening
performance.
CityDance Ensemble’s In the Studio concerts
present dance at an uncommon level of intensity and closeness,
enveloping the audience in an experience where every seat feels
like the front row. By adding risers, wings, and lighting,
CityDance transforms the spacious and elegant studio into an
accessible and inviting blackbox theatre.
“By limiting seating capacity to just 150, our in-studio
concerts offer a rare occasion to experience dance in a truly
transparent setting,” comments Alexe Nowakowski, CityDance
Executive Director. “There’s nothing that can be
hidden or exaggerated with these shows, and that’s part
of their beauty. They’re honest, absorbing, and undisguised,
just as dance should be.”
Mr. Varone’s Eclipse is an ideal piece to present
in the in-studio setting, with its repetition of pushes and
pulls set to the recurring sound of sirens collected into a
haunting composition by Michael Gordon. With
its stirring choreography and arresting visual and auditory
effects, Eclipse demands attention as it debates interdependency,
vulnerability, and relationships.
“Eclipse is an important element of CityDance’s
repertory,” observes Paul Gordon Emerson, CityDance
Artistic Director. “It’s not necessarily easy to
digest, but that’s part of the point—to put forth
challenging material that makes artist and audience alike stop
and pay attention. It’s a piece that has both integrity
and complexity, but doesn’t shy away from using harshness
in sound and movement to get to the conflict at its center.”
The concert also includes Be Still…Listen, a
powerful and intriguing women’s quartet choreographed
by New York’s Roger C. Jeffrey. Mr.
Jeffrey is the Artistic Director of Subtle Changes, Inc., and
has worked with companies such as White Oak Dance Project,
Philadanco, and Lar Lubovitch Dance Company.
Making its world premiere during this concert is a men’s
trio titled Unusable Signal choreographed by CityDance
Rehearsal Director Christopher K. Morgan. The
piece explores the modern world’s tendency to use electronic
devices as a way to tune out unwanted stimuli. Mr. Morgan comes
to CityDance this season from New York City where he was artistic
director of the pick-up company Muse. He is a seasoned dancer,
choreographer, and teacher and has worked with David Gordon,
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Washington National Opera, and New
York City Opera, among others.
Additional highlights of the program are the revival of two
celebrated works of contemporary dance. Jane Dudley’s Harmonica
Breakdown (1938) is a concise, blues-inspired solo that
conveys both the destitution and bravery that characterized
so many lives during the Depression. Eric Hampton’s charming
quartet UnRavel (1995) provides a distinct contrast
with its wit and humor staged to the classical music of Maurice
Ravel.
The program is completed by Harumi Terayama’s Contained
Infinity, an indelible work that takes a fresh look
at contemporary dance through the use of intricate lighting
and video projection against a larger-than-life screen, and Kyra
Jean Green’s Right…Now, an
emotional, edgy duet pulsing with female sensibility and
stirring depth.
About CityDance Ensemble, Inc.
CityDance Ensemble, Inc. is the parent organization to CityDance
Ensemble, an award-winning contemporary repertory
dance company; Early Arts, an arts outreach
program for youth serving more than 25,000 students each year; CityDance
Education Centers, facilities committed to excellence
in dance training for youth and adults; and FilmWORKS, a
creator and presenter of dance-on-camera. The mission of CityDance
Ensemble, Inc. is to advance the appreciation for and participation
in the art of dance through excellence in performance, education,
film, and artistic innovation.
