Morgan Thorson and LOW Collaborate on 'HEAVEN,' 10/25

Acclaimed choreographer Morgan Thorson teams with sublime slow core band LOW (Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker) in pursuit of ecstatic and corporeal perfection in HEAVEN - a real-time performance ritual and new ensemble work which explores emotional and physical manifestations of ecstatic perfection. The performance will run at PS122 October 25 - October 30.

This reverential audio-choreographed spectacle transfers the myth of perfection from the religious to the theatrical world as a roving chorus of performers undertakes angelic choral singing while showcasing Morgan Thorson's uniquely dynamic choreography. Transforming extreme restriction into powerful kinesthetic expression, believers and non-believers, dance-enthusiasts and live music-lovers will experience Heaven's acute force of attraction.

Thorson says, "Heaven seeks to create a performance that is the sum of perfect gestures. It's inspired by the rigor and austerity of religious practices while decrying the barriers and lies that religion creates. We approach our research as a devotional practice allowing this intention to essentialize our process, material and relationships; to show our love for the theater and its parallels to worship."

PS122 Artistic Director Vallejo Gantner states, "Morgan has fast made herself one of the most exciting choreographers outside New York City. Her work jumps headfirst into challenging and tough territory without ever losing its sense of humour or electrically alive performance."

Heaven will be performed by Alan Sparhawk, Mimi Parker, Karen Sherman, Justin Jones, Jessica Cressey, Elliott Lynch, Max Wirsing, Chris Schlichting, Hannah Kramer and Renee Copeland. The artistic team includes lighting designer Lenore Doxsee, visual and costume design by Emmet Ramstad.

Morgan Thorson was named BEST CHOREOGRAPHER 2008 in the Best of the Twin Cities, Minneapolis-St.Paul City Pages, and is also a fellow in choreography at the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography and a 2009 McKnight Foundation fellow in choreography. Dodging a trademark style, her ensemble and solo works address: the state of being (in general and within the context of the performance); her own personal relationship to dance; and the perception and representation of the body.

The Minnesotan trio Low was formed in 1993 and is often credited as pioneers of "slowcore" music. Taking inspiration from melancholy bands such as Joy Division and Galaxie 500, the group developed a powerful yet minimal sound based on spare instrumentation and the vocal harmonies of married couple Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker.

Heaven is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund Project co-commissioned by Diverseworks (Houston) in partnership with Performance Space 122 (New York), The Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), and NPN. Funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding provided by the Ford Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation. This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Performance Space 122 is New York's ultimate destination for cutting-edge theatre, dance, music, live art and multi-media. PS122 is dedicated to supporting and presenting artists who explore innovative form and provocative content and who rigorously challenge the boundaries of contemporary performance; PS122 is committed to a steadfast search for pioneering artists from a diversity of cultures, nations and beliefs.
www.ps122.org.

Heaven premieres Sunday, October 25 and runs through Friday, October 30: Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm; and Sunday at 6pm. A late show will performed October 30 at 10pm. Tickets are $20 and $15 (students/seniors).

 

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