Four Choreographers Share a Week at The Joyce Theater - 8/9-14

Camille A. Brown and Andrea Miller and Kate Weare and Monica Bill Barnes present two programs from August 9-14, 2010 at The Joyce Theater. 175 Eighth Avenue, NYC. Ms. Brown's new ensemble and Ms. Miller's company Gallim Dance share the first program. The second program features the Kate Weare Company and Monica Bill Barnes & Company. On Saturday, August 14 at 2pm, all four choreographers will present a family-friendly program featuring excerpts of works in the regular programs. Tickets start at $10 and are available at 212-242-0800 or www.joyce.org.

Camille A. Brown will present five pieces. The World Premiere of City of Rain features music by Jonathan Melville Pratt. Good and Grown is a solo piece to music by Saycon Sengbloh (recently seen in Fela! on Broadway) and Wes Montgomery, featuring the visual art of Justin Morris. Ms. Brown also performs the New York Premiere of Been There, Done That, a duet with Juel D. Lane (formerly of Ronald K. Brown/Evidence). Inspired by the events of Hurricane Katrina, New Second Line (2006), a group work, is a celebration of the spirit and culture of the people of New Orleans. Dancers representing the spirits of ancestors who have passed on, in celebration of the strength of their descendants, follow the traditional brass band parades for weddings, social events, and funerals, called Second Line. The piece will feature the work of spiritual realism visual artist Moses Ball. The New York Premiere of Girlz Verse 1, a piece danced by all women, is set to the music of Wunmi Olaiya and M.I.A. with costumes by Olaiya. Lighting design by Burke Wilmore and Phillip Trevino. Costume design by Carolyn Meckha Cherry.

Gallim Dance will present the World Premiere of Wonderland. Wonderland investigates pack mentality and the inherent danger embedded in this human instinct. The work is deeply inspired by Chinese-born artist Cai Guo-Qiang's sculpture installation Head On, made for Berlin, which depicts 99 wolves charging into a glass wall of equivalent height and depth as the Berlin Wall. Although moving as a pack is a natural and ongoing strategy in the animal kingdom, among humans it can indicate a desensitized brutality and disregard for humanity - a concept that is at the core of Wonderland. A sound score ranging from heavenly to primitive, and old-fashioned to electronic, along with an original lighting design by Vincent Vigilante are featured in the piece.

Kate Weare Company marks its debut season at The Joyce Theater with the World Premiere of Bright Land, a series of dances set to a score of old time music played live by The Crooked Jades, described as the finest string band in America by The Boston Herald. Featuring a quartet of remarkable dancers and a quintet of extraordinary musicians, Bright Land explores the cyclical nature of human experiences - kinship, belief, suffering and transcendence - through piercing, powerful choreography and fiery, soulful live music. Weare chose to work with old time music because of its inherent power to pull audience into an intimate and shared live experience, speaking directly to the issues facing Americans throughout history and today. Lighting design by KWCo's Principal Designer Brian Jones. Costume design by Sarah Cubbage.

Monica Bill Barnes will present a newly reworked version of Another Parade, a celebration of the singular and exhilarating experience of being on stage. Four ungainly and winning performers (Anna Bass, Charlotte Bydwell, Celia Rowlson-Hall and Monica Bill Barnes), dressed in wool skirts and dowdy turtlenecks adorned with rhinestone brooches, do not shy away from facial expression and awkward encounters. Known for their surprising wit, this company mixes intricate and intimate gesture with space devouring choreography. Another Parade uses these elements of humor and gesture along with repeated movement motifs to explore the charged relationship between performer and audience. By creating familiar situations onstage, Barnes highlights our shared humanity and invites the audience to empathize and laugh. As the piece goes on, the dance veers unexpectedly from heartbreak to comedy. Another Parade showcases the highs and lows of putting yourself out there, and ultimately argues that it is all worthwhile. The dance is set to a wide-ranging score from Bach to James Brown. Lighting design by Jane Cox. Costume and set design by Kelly Hanson.

Camille A. Brown and Andrea Miller
Monday, August 9 at 7:30pm; Wednesday, August 11 at 8pm; Friday, August 13 at 8pm

Kate Weare and Monica Bill Barnes
Tuesday, August 10 at 7:30pm; Thursday, August 12 at 8pm; Saturday, August 14 at 8pm

Family-Friendly Program
Saturday, August 14 at 2pm

CAMILLE A. Brown attended LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts, The Ailey School and received her BFA from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She was a member of Ronald K. Brown's Evidence (2001-2007). As a guest artist she has performed with Dianne McIntyre, Rennie Harris, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dallas Black Dance Theater, The Princess Grace Awards Gala, and Broadway Cares with the cast of The Color Purple. Camille has been honored with a 2006 Princess Grace Award in Choreography (the first woman to be given this award), a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Choreography, The Presidential Scholar of the Arts Award in Dance, and The Project Next Generation Award. Camille has received commissions from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Hubbard Street II, Urban Bush Women, Ailey II, Ballet Memphis, Dallas Black Dance Theater and Philadanco. Her work has been showcased at Sadler's Wells, The Apollo, The Joyce Theater, Brooklyn Academy Of Music, Madison Square Garden, Joyce SoHo, Central Park Summerstage, Fall for Dance Festival, and Aaron Davis Hall (which resulted in her being noted in Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch" article). This summer her performance ensemble debuts at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and The Joyce Theater. www.camilleabrown.org

ANDREA MILLER was born in Salt Lake City, where she began her dance training, followed by the Humphrey-Weidman technique in Connecticut, which led to her more formal training at The Juilliard School. Upon receiving her BFA, she joined Ohad Naharin's Ensemble Batsheva in Israel. Andrea has also performed as a guest artist with Cedar Lake Ensemble, Limon Dance Company and Buglisi Dance Theatre. In 2006, Andrea establishEd Gallim Dance, a contemporary dance company that supports the creation and performance of her choreography. She has been awarded the 2009 Princess Grace Choreographic Fellowship Award and has been selected as one of Dance Magazine's 2009 "25 to Watch". Her work has been presented throughout the US, Canada and Israel. In addition, Andrea is the associate choreographer with Nord Nederlands Danse. Recent commissions include Ballet Hispanico, Ballet Bern, Noord Nederlandse Dans, The Juilliard School, NorthWest Dance Project, Zenon Dance Company, and Arts Umbrella. She has choreographed for students at The Juilliard School, Alvin Ailey, Purchase College, Brockport College and Wesleyan University. In addition to choreographing, Andrea teaches dance and movement to dancers and actors. Gallim Dance made its Jacob's Pillow debut in 2009 and presents its first season at The Joyce Theater in 2010. www.gallimdance.com

KATE WEARE earned her BFA in Dance from California Institute of the Arts, and founded her company in 2005 with the mission to create dances exploring contemporary views of intimacy - both stark and tender - through the power and clarity of the moving body. Weare received a Princess Grace Award for Choreography in 2009, was nominated for The Alpert Award in the Arts in 2008, and won NY's The A.W.A.R.D. Show in 2007. Recently, Weare has been awarded choreographic residencies at Joyce SoHo, Jacob's Pillow, Dance New Amsterdam, Bates Dance Festival and Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography. Kate Weare Company has been in demand at venues such as Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Fall for Dance Festival, American Dance Festival, Danspace Project, Dance Theater Workshop, Symphony Space, Spring to Dance St. Louis and Bates Dance Festival. Opportunities such as a 2007 MANCC Fellowship Residency based on improvisation with live musicians, and a 2009 premiere that featured a 6-member chamber ensemble playing live in St. Mark's Church, have intensified Weare's interest in working with composers and live music as part of her development as a choreographer. In 2010, Weare has been commissioned to create works for PARADIGM, Scottish Dance Theatre and Australia's Buzz Dance Theatre. Kate Weare Company marks their Joyce Theater debut in August with the premiere of Bright Land, featuring live music by The Crooked Jades. www.kateweare.com

MONICA Bill Barnes is a NY based choreographer and performer. She founded Monica Bill Barnes & Company as a contemporary dance company with the mission to celebrate individuality, humor and the innate theatricality of everyday life. The company has been presented in over twenty venues in NYC including Danspace Project, Symphony Space, 92nd Street Y, Dancenow/NYC, Fall for Dance, and in thirty cities throughout the US. She has created twelve evening-length dance works, numerous site-specific events and several cabaret numbers for her company. Recent commissions include Another Parade, commissioned by the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival, I feel like commissioned by Dancenow's 10 Year Anniversary Project, and Game Face presented by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's SITELINES Festival. She has been an invited Guest Artist at the North Carolina School of The Arts, Vassar College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Connecticut College, Florida State University, James Madison University, Steps on Broadway and Dance New Amsterdam. In addition, the company creates dances outside of the city through extended artistic residencies, college residencies and site specific performance projects with local community members. This summer the company will perform at Bates Dance Festival, American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, and make their Joyce Theater debut. www.monicabillbarnes.com

These performances are co-produced as part of a collaborative effort by:
Gotham Arts Exchange, Camille A. Brown, Gallim Dance, Kate Weare Company and Monica Bill Barnes & Company.

Gotham Arts Exchange: This week of shared programming at The Joyce Theater is presented by Gotham Arts, and made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and through The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 through funds distributed by the National Endowment of the Arts.

The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th Street), NYC
August 9 - 14, 2010
Monday and Tuesday at 7:30pm; Wednesday - Saturday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm
Tickets start at $10
JoyceCharge: 212-242-0800
www.joyce.org

Photo Credit: Matt Karas