 Here,
there, seemingly everywhere, the choreographic credit on theater
and opera house marquees goes to Seán Curran, a master at
mixing folk, postmodern and Irish step dancing with an imaginative
dose of theatrical soul.
And from June 7–12, the Curran
name will also light up The Joyce Theater when Seán Curran
Company presents the much-anticipated New York premiere of “Art/Song/Dance,”
choreographed to music by Ricky Ian Gordon, who along with four
vocalists, perform live. The show will also feature “Sonata,”
“Companion Dances” and the world premiere of “St.
Petersburg Waltz.”
Radiant with Curran’s bright
heart, musicality and joyous sense of theater, “Art/Song/Dance,”
a suite of dances, resonates with romantic and bittersweet feelings
about love and life. Gordon’s freshly original score creates
the setting for poems by Langston Hughes, W.S. Merwin, Dorothy Parker
and Edna St. Vincent Millay, among others, the lyrics of which are
sung live by Broadway veterans Rosena M. Hill, Scott Murphree, Diane
Sutherland and Michael Arden.
Curran’s dramatic sense of character
and nimble musicality infuses “St. Petersburg Waltz,”
set to Meredith Monk’s score of the same name. In this deeply
touching solo that pays tribute to Monk’s Russian grandfather,
Curran moves skillfully through a range of feelings expressed through
his circling body, sharply shifting footwork and folk dance gestures.
The dance has been re-worked since its first performance at the
40th anniversary tribute to Monk last November.
Presenting a portrait of a long and
profound artistic friendship, “Companion Dances” is
aptly co-choreographed and performed by Heather Waldon-Arnold and
Curran. The duet is set to music by Jesse Manno and Solex.
Considered one of Curran’s major
works, “Sonata: We Are What We Were” premiered in 2001.
The circle of small, white chairs on stage echoes the circular patterns
of much of the dancing. In the way that Curran’s choreography
suggests both tradition and freedom, its communal spirit is, at
times, interrupted by bursts of individuality. The music to this
folkloric/postmodern dance is by Leos Janacek.
Curran’s choreographic dexterity
is making him busier and busier––literally working day
and night. He and his company are performing nights at The Joyce
this June, and during the day he will be choreographing Mark Lamos’s
production of “As You Like It” for Shakespeare in the
Park opening June 25. Fans elsewhere in the country can also get
their Curran fix: his choreography for “Falsettos” is
seen in Boston; while “Nixon in China” plays at the
Minneapolis Opera Theater and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
is at the Shakespeare Theater in Washington, DC.
Come fall, he’ll choreograph “Capriccio,” “Acis
and Galetea” and “Turandot” for the New York City
Opera. On top of it all, he makes his Metropolitan Opera debut with
the choreography for Guy Joosten’s production of “Romeo
and Juliet.”
Curran’s dance training began
as a child in Boston, where he studied traditional Irish step dancing
and as a teenager won many competitions. After studying modern dance
at New York University, he became a member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie
Zane Dance Company in 1984, where he received a New York Dance and
Performance Award (Bessie) for his performance in Jones and Zane’s
“Secret Pastures.” After leaving the Jones/Zane Company
in 1994, he became an original member of the New York City cast
of the Off-Broadway production “Stomp,” and performed
in the show for four years.
His recent projects include choreography
for Lincoln Center Theater’s Broadway revival of “The
Rivals,” City Opera’s productions of “L’Etoile,”
“Haroun and the Sea of Stories” and the Playwright’s
Horizon’s production of “My Life with Albertine”
(directed
by Richard Nelson). Curran also choreographed the Broadway production
of James Joyce’s “The Dead” for Playwright’s
Horizon and a third new work for Trinity Irish Dance Company. A
guest faculty member of New York University’s Tisch School
of the Arts, he has also created works for Denmark’s Upper
Cut Company, Sweden’s Skänes Dance Theater, Irish Modern
Dance Theatre, Utah’s Ririe-Woodbury Dance Theater and Pittsburgh’s
Dance Alloy.
In 1997, Curran founded Seán
Curran Company, which has since been presented by Symphony Space,
92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Project, The Joyce Theater, Central
Park Summerstage, Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project and Celebrate
Brooklyn. The Company, which received the 1999 National Dance Project
commission from the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, has also
been seen throughout the U.S., as well as in Germany and France.
In addition to Curran himself, the Company’s dancers are Annie
Boyer, Nora Brickman, Amy Brous, Marisa Demos, Tony Guglietti, Matthew
Henley, Kevin Scarpin, Heather Waldon-Arnold and Seth Williams.
The evening curtain for Sean Curran
Company’s Joyce Theater season, Tuesday through Saturday,
is at 8pm; on Sunday evening, the show is at 7:30pm. There will
also be 2pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $40. All
tickets are available at The Joyce Theater box office, by calling
JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org. The Joyce
Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.
###
“Art/Song/Dance,” with live music by Ricky Ian Gordon,
is commissioned by the American Music Center, Live Music for Dance
Program.
This season is made possible with support from The National Endowment
for the Arts and New York State Council for the Arts.
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