Dance Theater Workshop will open its doors for its 2004/05 season
on September 8 with the first of its fall line-up, the New York
premiere of “Our Little Sunbeam” by 33 Fainting Spells.
The performances by the Seattle-based dance theater company (through
September 11) will be followed by premieres of two other mixed media/dance
theater works: Gabri Christa DanzAisa’s “Dominata”
(September 15–18) and Big Dance Theater’s “Plan
B” (September 23–October 9).
33 Fainting Spells, which has attracted
great attention for its seamless and witty mix of theater and movement,
has once again drawn inspiration from Chekhov, this time from the
internal despair of “Ivanov,” one of the writer’s
earliest plays. (The company’s name is derived from Meyerhold’s
adaptation of three Chekhov plays, during which fainting actually
occurs or is mentioned 33 times.)
“Our Little Sunbeam”
magically splices samplings from the rarely produced Chekhov play
with selections from the wonder-filled diaries of American astronauts.
The hour-long work integrates the experiences of perceiving the
world through internal feelings with seeing it from an external
point of view. Ivanov’s guilt-ridden depression, arising from
his betrayal of his wife, and the spiritual awe of the astronauts
who discover the world anew from above, play and inform each other
to create a vivid and compelling portrait of the human condition.
The conflicts between the sublime and banal are made visible through
the breath-taking fusion of movement, language, video and music
(Led Zeppelin, Waylon Jennings, Lou Reed) that characterizes the
work of 33 Fainting Spells. In addition to the company’s artistic
directors, Dayna Hanson and Gaelen Hanson, the cast includes New
York City performance artist Linas Phillips.
No set is really needed for Gabri
Christa’s “Dominata.” A couple of men playing
dominoes situate the work: in the Caribbean or a street in New York
City, where Caribbean immigrants pass summer days or nights playing
the game. This symbol of Christa’s native Curaçao inspired
her world premiere, which features a game of dominoes played by
four men (including Christa’s own father who is coming from
the Netherlands to perform), while a group of younger male dancers
enact the songs of love and immigration sung by Latasha N. Nevada
Diggs of Burnt Sugar Arkestra. A video by Obie Award-winning artist
Marilys Ernst provides the background for Christa’s work,
performed by her company, DanzAisa.
In “Plan B,” a New York
premiere, Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar explore the cross currents
of corruption and innocence, nature and civilization through the
imaginative use of quotes from the Bible, fragments of the Nixon
Watergate tapes and notations from the adult diaries of Kaspar Hauser,
who, abandoned in the woods at age four, lived there alone until
he was discovered at 16. Caution: neither Nixon nor Hauser appear
as characters, but rather their powerful spirits are channeled through
the performers. Which invites greater play of the audience’s
creativity. Such inventive strategies typify Big Dance Theater’s
work. Expressed through song, movement created by choreographer
Annie-B Parson and music by Gary Lucas, the 90 riveting minutes
explore a world that is not clearly identifiable, yet universal
in its emotional and intellectual resonance.
ABOUT THE COMPANIES
33 Fainting Spells:
Co-founded by Artistic Directors Gaelen Hanson and Dayna Hanson
(no relation) in 1994, the company has performed in venues including
Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center, Germany’s Kunstlerhaus
Mousonturn, Jacob’s Pillow Festival, The Joyce Theater and
Dance Theater Workshop. In addition to its theater work, the company
has created two 16mm films. “Entry,” its second short
film, received the Best Experimental Short Film Award at the 2003
Seattle International Film Festival. 33 Fainting Spells co-presents
a festival of dance film and video, “New Dance Cinema,”
with Northwest Film Forum.
Dayna Hanson: Prior
to choreographing, Dayna Hanson studied literature, translation
and fiction writing at the University of Washington. She was a founding
member of Run/Remain, an interdisciplinary performance group, and
has appeared in works by former collaborators The Black Cat Orchestra
and filmmaker Gregg Lachow. Her own dance and theater work has been
presented at venues throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Gaelen Hanson: After receiving a B.A. from Oberlin
College in 1990 with a double major in dance and theater, Gaelen
Hanson completed an Advanced Diploma in dance/performance in 1992
at the European Dance Development Center in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
She has danced with the companies of Mary Overlie, Randy Warshaw
and Stephanie Skura, and performed her own solo work at venues in
the Netherlands, Germany, Seattle and New York.
Gabri Christa DanzAisa:
In 2000, choreographer Gabri Christa created her own dance/film
company, DanzAisa (“danza” means “dance”
in Spanish, and “Aisa” is Surinamese for “she
who unites through music and dance”), which in addition to
presenting new work, collaborates with the communities in which
it performs both on grass roots and educational levels.
Gabri Christa: Gabri Christa graduated from the
College for the Arts, School for New Dance Development, in Amsterdam
in 1986, and received an M.F.A. from the University of Washington
in 1989. She has danced with Danza Contemporanea de Cuba and co-founded
DanzAbierta, also based in Cuba. In the U.S., she was a member of
the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. The recipient of a John
Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in choreography, Christa has made several
full-evening works and her short narrative dance films have been
seen nationally and internationally. “High School,”
a 10-minute video digitally shot by Evann Siebens and directed and
choreographed by Christa, received a creative excellence award from
ABC Television.
Big Dance Theater:
Big Dance Theater was created in 1991 by its present Artistic Directors
Paul Lazar and Annie-B Parson. In America, the dance theater company
has been seen at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Walker
Art Center, The American Dance Festival and Dance Theater Workshop.
The company has also performed in Italy, France, Georgia, Germany,
Holland and Belgium. In May 2000, Big Dance Theater was awarded
an Obie for artistic achievement; its artistic directors received
a Bessie Award in 2002.
Annie-B Parson: Annie-B Parson graduated from Connecticut
College with a B.A. in dance and received an M.A. in dance education
at Columbia University Teachers College. From 1984–1993, she
danced with Sincha Hong Laughing Stone, performing both in the U.S.
and abroad. Parson has choreographed and co-directed many works
for Big Dance Theater, as well as for New York University, the Denver
Center and for the Seven Deadly Sins project at Jacob’s Pillow.
An instructor in NYU’s Experimental Theater Wing since 1993,
Parson has also taught for Julliard’s Master’s Directing
Program and the Bessie Schönberg Master Choreographer’s
Workshop, among others. In addition, Parson served as resident choreographer
at both Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and The Yard.
Paul Lazar: In addition to directing numerous Big
Dance Theater works, Paul Lazar, a graduate of Bennington College,
has directed and acted in productions at Soho Rep, the Signature
Theater and New York University. Lazar studied acting with Michael
Howard, Wynn Handman and Bill Esper, and was an associate member
of The Wooster Group. Also a film and television actor, Lazar has
taught at Barnard, Rutgers University, NYU and the William Esper
Studio. He was nominated for the Cal/Arts Alpert Award for his work
with Big Dance Theater.
PLEASE NOTE:
The evening curtains at DTW are at 7:30pm. 33 Fainting Spells and
Gabri Christa DanzAisa run Wednesday–Saturday and are $20.
Big Dance Theater performances are on September 23–25, September
29–October 2 and October 6–9; tickets cost $25. By purchasing
four tickets at once, those and all other tickets for the rest of
the season are available at 40 percent off full price, as part of
DTW’s 4 for 40% Club. All tickets may be purchased at the
box office, by calling 212-924-0077 or online at www.dtw.org. Dance
Theater Workshop is located at 219 West 19th Street, between 7th
and 8th Avenues.
###
“Our Little Sunshine” was commissioned and supported
by Dance Theater Workshop, Walker Art Center, On the Boards, the
National Performance Network and the National Dance Project of the
New England Foundation for the Arts. Additional funding provided
by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Doris Duke Charitable
Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
and Altria Group, Inc. “Our Little Sunshine” is also
made possible through the support of Rockefeller Multi-Arts Production
Fund, Cultural Development Authority of King County, Bossak/Heilbron
Foundation, Horizons Foundation, Minneapolis Foundation, Nesholm
Family Foundation, SAFECO, The Mayor's Office of Artistic and Cultural
Affairs, Seattle Theatre Group and Seattle Repertory Theatre.
“Dominata” was commissioned by the Bessie Schönberg/
First Light commissioning program and the Creative Residency program
of Dance Theater Workshop with support from the Jerome Foundation
and the Ford Foundation. Additional funding was provided by the
New York State Council on the arts, a State agency (NYSCA composer
commission), and a New York University space grant.
“Plan B” was co-commissioned by the Walker Art Center
and the Bessie Schönberg/ First Light commissioning program
and the Creative Residency program of Dance Theater Workshop with
support from the Jerome Foundation and the Ford Foundation. It was
developed through a residency at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival,
and has been made possible by through the support of The Starry
Night Fund, Altria Group, Inc. and through public funds from the
New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
082004
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