Mark Dendy's WHISTLEBLOWER Makes World Premiere at Dixon Place Tonight

Dixon Place's dance commission, Mark Dendy Project's WHISTLEBLOWER, written, choreographed and directed by Bessie and Obie award winner Mark Dendy, will have its world premiere tonight, September 11th at 7:30 PM. With his company of dancers and original music by Heather Christian, Dendy, explores the actions and sexual orientation of renowned dissident Bradley/Chelsea Manning.

WHISTLEBLOWER will play six performances only -- September 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th, 25th, and 26th at 7:30PM, at Dixon Place (161A Chrystie Street). Tickets are $16 in advance, $20 at the door, and $12 for seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.dixonplace.org or by calling 866-811-4111.

WHISTLEBLOWER takes place in the mind of Chelsea Manning at the moment of her sentencing in a controversial trial for leaking proof of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and for divulging State Department Secrets. Layered with transcripts from Manning's actual trial, this provocative piece delves into transgender identity and explores the mystery of the media and government propaganda instigated by sexual orientation.

WHISTLEBLOWER features Christopher Bell, Liv Bruce, Leslie Cuyjet, Mark Dendy, Stephen Donovan, Rebecca Lubart and Mei Yamanaka. Set, Costume and Video Design is by Stephen Donovan. The production is choreographed by Mr. Dendy in collaboration with the company. Special guest performers will make video cameo appearances.

MARK DENDY PROJECTS was formed in 2008, with longtime collaborator Stephen Donovan, to create socially conscious dance-theater work. Works include Golden Belt, set in an abandoned tobacco-processing factory in North Carolina, at the American Dance Festival (premiere 2009) Ritual Cyclical, an epic site-specific work for 80 dancers, at Lincoln Center Out of Doors (premiere 2013); Dystopian Distractions! at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara (premiere 2014); Labyrinth at Abrons Arts Center (premiere 2014) and NEWYORKnewyork @Astor Place at Joe's Pub.

MARK DENDY has worked in a variety of dance genres ranging from experimental dance, and edgy East Village drag to high-end Broadway productions, prominent ballet companies and opera to large-scale site-specific works. Mark Dendy Dance & Theatre was presented at PS 122, the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater, Jacob's Pillow, Lincoln Center, Central Park SummerStage, and Dance Theater Workshop, as well as numerous national and international venues. Dendy has been commissioned by both modern and ballet companies worldwide, most notably Pacific Northwest Ballet. He has collaborated with directors Julie Taymor, Tina Landau, Gabriel Barre, Ellen Hemphill, Rebecca Taichman, and Timothy Sheader; writers Neil Simon and Charles Busch; and composers Boy George, Heather Christian, Don Byron, Andrew Lippa, Jim Steinman, and Stephen Schwartz. His commercial theater credits include choreography for Taboo and The Pirate Queen (Broadway); The Wild Party, The Miracle Brothers and Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well... (Off-Broadway); Pippin, Camille Claudel and Hair (regional and national tours); The Magic Flute (Metropolitan Opera); Orpheus (NYC Opera); and Rappaccini's Daughter (Gotham Chamber Opera). He has received several awards and honors, most notably a 1997 Bessie Award, a 2000 Obie Award, the National Society of Arts and Letters Sustained Achievement Award (1990), the Herb Alpert Award and the Joe A. Calloway Award (both in 2000), as well as numerous grants.

The Dixon Place Lounge is open before and after the show. Proceeds directly support Dixon Place's artists and mission. Dixon Place is located at 161A Chrystie Street (between Rivington and Delancey), in Manhattan's Lower East Side (By subway: F to 2nd Ave, J/Z to Bowery, 6 to Spring St, M to Essex St).

Dixon Place, an incubator for performing and literary artists since 1986, is a non-profit organization committed to supporting the creative process by presenting original works of dance, theater, music, circus arts, puppetry, literature, performance and visual art at all stages of development. Presenting over 1,000 artists each year, this local haven inspires and encourages diverse artists of all stripes and callings to take risks and push personal and professional limits. DP's foremost priorities are to serve as a safety net for artists, and to provide vivid experiences for audiences. Many artists, such as Blue Man Group, John Leguizamo, Lisa Kron, David Cale, Penny Arcade, Deb Margolin and Reno began their careers at Dixon Place. In addition to emerging artists, DP has been privileged to present new work by more established artists, such as -- Justin Vivian Bond, Taylor Mac, Lily Tomlin, Wallace Shawn, Craig Lucas, BD Wong, John Fleck, Kate Bornstein, Ethyl Eichelberger, Holly Hughes, Karen Finley, Kate Clinton, Peggy Shaw, Big Art Group; A.M. Homes, Rick Moody, Tom Spanbauer and Oscar Huelos; Mark Dendy, Jane Comfort, Douglas Dunn, Sarah Michelson and Yoshiko Chuma; Vernon Reid, Rodney Crowell, Diamanda Galas, Martha Wainwright, Loudon Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Suzzy and Maggie Roche, Rodney Crowell and They Might Be Giants.

Ellie Covan, founding director, was a recipient of a Bessie, a New York Dance and Performance Award and a Bax10 Award for her service to the community. Dixon Place received two Village Voice Obie Awards, and an Edwin Booth Award for Excellence in Theater.

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