Diversity, thy name is Dance Theater Workshop, a point that will
be underscored again over the next four weeks with performances
by Risa Jaroslow & Dancers (November 10–13); Ellis Wood
Dance (November 17–20); and a double feature of dances by
Sam Kim and Luciana Achugar (December 1–4). All three shows
feature live music. Also, look out for the ever-adventurous Fresh
Tracks, which takes place November 26 and 27.
Risa Jaroslow & Dancers will
present the world premiere of “Whole Sky,” a multimedia
work reflecting Jaroslow’s ongoing concern with social issues,
the workings of society and the place of the individual within it.
Two years in the making, the work integrates Jaroslow’s own
performers with non-dancers from New York community centers where
the choreographer worked. “Whole Sky” has an original
score played live by composer Steve Elson, and video projections
by Barbara Bickart. The first version of the work was performed
in St. Petersburg, Russia in July as part of the Open Look Festival.
Ellis Woods’s work often explores
issues that confront contemporary women. In “Timeless Red”
(1998), she presents a trio of women trying to mediate between control
and passivity, while “Hurricane Flora,” a world premiere,
dramatically explores the duality of nature—its ability to
simultaneously create and destroy, which Wood uses as a symbol of
our potential to survive life-threatening adversity. “Hurricane,”
set to an original score by Daniel Bernard Roumain, will be accompanied
live by Roumain on electric violin. The program also includes “Stella,”
a new solo set to the music of Rufus Wainwright. A note: Ed Rawlings
not only designed the new Dance Theater Workshop facility, but his
work will be seen once again on DTW’s stage, as set designer
for both “Timeless Red” and “Hurricane Flora.”
Sam Kim and Luciana Achugar, who
had previously worked together, will share a program of world premieres.
Kim’s dark humor cuts through “Nobody Understands Me,”
which takes an unsentimental look at her experience as a “misunderstood”
adolescent in the suburbs, who discovered alternative music as a
way out. The music for “Nobody Understands Me” is by
Yaz, Depeche Mode and Erasure. (Please note that Kim has changed
the title from “Vince and Alison.”) Luciana Achugar,
the daughter of exiled Uruguayan parents, will present “A
Super Natural Return to Love,” which was inspired by her parents’
political activities. Evolved from a solo she had created on herself,
the dance explores issues of power and powerlessness of women. The
music, an original score by Gary Greenblatt and Pierre de Gaillande,
will be played live.
This year’s Fresh Tracks stars–each
of whom will present a new dance–features Allen Body Group
(“Antigen”); Felicia Ballos (“Fragile Lodging”);
Jonah Bokaer (“RSVP”); Jeremy Laverdure (“Esperanto”);
Daniel Linehan (“Digested Noise”); and Yoko Sugimoto
and Yuka Kikuchi (“Shaa Kha”).
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Risa Jaroslow &
Dancers: Risa Jaroslow & Dancers has long integrated
members of the community with the company’s professional dancers,
utilizing their unique backgrounds. Committed to using live music,
Jaroslow has worked with composers Peter Zummo, Steve Elson and
most recently, Obie Award-winner Deidre Murray. Their collaboration,
“Strings Attached,” was performed at The Duke as part
of the 92nd Street Y’s Harkness Dance Festival and at Central
Park Summerstage last July. Over the years, Risa Jaroslow &
Dancers has performed in New York City at The Joyce Theater, as
part of Lincoln Center Out- of-Doors and at Dance Theater Workshop.
The company has also been seen in Cincinnati, Chicago, London, Paris,
Utrecht, Holland and Munich. Risa Jaroslow & Dancers completed
a twelve-year residency at University Settlement on the Lower East
Side where Jaroslow founded Arts at University Settlement, a neighborhood
arts program.
Risa Jaroslow: Risa Jaroslow graduated from Bennington
College with a major in dance and came to New York in 1971. Her
dance studies included work with Dan Wagoner and Viola Farber. Jaroslow
has taught at various colleges and universities including Adelphi
University, American University and Trinity College. In addition
to creating her own choreography, Jaroslow has collaborated on work
with Wendy Perron.
Ellis Wood Dance:
Since its creation in 1998, Ellis Wood Dance has been developing
community projects and presenting works that draw diverse audiences
both in the United States and abroad. In New York City, it has performed
at St. Mark’s Church, Movement Research at the Judson Church,
the Fire Island Festival, at the Fringe Festival in Toronto and
at Dance Acadamien in Upsala, Sweden, among other venues. The all-female,
nine-member company also has had residencies at The Yard, New York
University, Columbia College, University of California at Berkeley
and Rutgers University. Ellis Wood Dance has appeared on the Carpe
Diem Series of the New Jersey Television Art Channel and twice on
the PBS show “City Arts.”
Ellis Wood: Ellis Wood graduated with a degree
in dramatic art/dance from University of California-Berkeley in
1989 where she studied under her parents, former Martha Graham principals,
Marni and David Wood. She also studied gymnastics since childhood.
While at Berkeley, Wood received The Eisner Prize and The Florence
Schwimley Award, both for dance, and the Athlete of the Decade for
her gymnastic talents. Wood performed professionally with the companies
of Stephen Petronio, Dan Wagoner and Bay Area Repertory Dance. She
has also danced in works by Jeanine Durning, Ty Boomershine, Ariel
Hererra and Cheng Chieh-Yu. Wood received a 2002 NYFA Fellowship
in choreography, and was one of ten choreographers nominated for
the “Emerging Choreographer Award” given by the Downtown
Arts Festival and The Colbert Foundation. She presently teaches
at 92nd St. Y, Dance Theater Workshop, Dance Space Center, Movement
Research and has spent two consecutive spring semesters teaching
at SUNY Brockport.
Sam Kim: A
native of Minnesota, Sam Kim graduated summa cum laude from Barnard
College in 1995 with a B.A. in English. As a dancer, Kim performed
most recently with Sara Rudner, DD Dorvillier/Human Future Dance
Corps, Susan Rethorst and Sarah Skaggs Dance. Her choreographic
works, including the evening-long “Placid Baby” and
“Valentine,” have been presented by Danspace Project
at St. Mark’s Church, P.S. 122, The Kitchen, Dixon Place and
Studio 303 in Montreal, among others.
Luciana Achugar: Luciana Achugar has worked with
choreographers Jeremy Nelson, Luis Lara, Wil Swanson, Amanda Loulaki
and Maria Hassabi in New York, and Marcelo Evelin in her native
Uruguay. She has also collaborated with visual artists Marcos Rosales
and Michael Mahalchick. Achugar’s collaborations with Levi
Gonzalez were presented by Dixon Place, Movement Research at Judson
Church, P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Dance-in-Progress at The
Kitchen and Dance Theater Workshop’s Fresh Tracks and Splitstream
series. Her work has appeared at the MELT Summer Dance Festival,
Ensemble Studio Theatre, Danspace Project and the Festival Iberoamericano
de Danza in Montevideo, Uruguay. From 2001–2003, Achugar was
recognized as a Movement Research Artist-in-Residence. She graduated
from California Institute of the Arts in 1995.
The evening curtains at Dance Theater Workshop are at 7:30pm;
tickets to all performances cost $20. Discounts are available through
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.
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“Whole Sky” was
commissioned by the Bessie Schönberg/First Light commissioning
program of Dance Theater Workshop. “Whole Sky” has been
created with support from The Ford Foundation, The Trust for Mutual
Understanding and The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and in partnership
with Project YES, Lower East Side Girls Club, Voices of Women, Project
FIND and the New York Society for the Deaf.
“Hurricane Flora” was commissioned by the Bessie Schönberg/First
Light commissioning program and the Creative Residency program of
Dance Theater Workshop with support from the Ford Foundation. “Hurricane
Flora” has been made possible, in part, by funding received
from The Jerome Foundation, The Leibowitz and Greenway Family Charitable
Foundation and individual donations. “Hurricane Flora”
was developed through the Artist-In-Residence program at Tribeca
Performing Arts Center.
“Nobody Understands Me”
and “A Super Natural Return to Love” were commissioned
by the Bessie Schönberg/First Light commissioning program of
Dance Theater Workshop with funds from the Jerome Foundation. “Nobody
Understands Me” was created in part with a grant from the
Bossak/Heilbron Charitable Foundation with additional support provided
by Movement Research’s Artist in Residence program. “A
Super Natural Return to Love” received additional support
from Meet the Composer to underwrite music by Gary Greenblatt and
Pierre de Gaillande.
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