The Current Sessions Announces World Premiere of THE BIG BALLOON

The CURRENT SESSIONS is pleased to present the world premiere of The Big Balloon by Iranian-Hispanic artist and choreographer Roya Carreras, held Friday to Saturday, April 14 and 15, 2017 at the wild project, an 89-seat, eco-friendly theater located in the East Village.

In The Big Balloon, Roya Carreras reimagines a vanished childhood memory, surfacing a delicate world of fantasy and fragmented identity. Carreras' choreography works within a series of deconstructed interiors, recalling domestic scenes from her childhood home in California. Set against field recordings of daily chores, intimate scenes captured on film register the vernacular of her daily routine. Persian rugs and astroturf line living spaces which-at once-act as stage and sanctuary, where Carreras' distorted balletic gestures are worked into a detailed physical vocabulary. Forgotten vignettes resolve momentarily, before The Big Balloon is finally undone, opening a space to cross unseen cultural boundaries.

A limited-run booklet including translations in Spanish and Farsi, will be published as part of The Big Balloon performances. In the Living Room, a post-performance discussion between Carreras, moderator, and audience link process to upbringings on Friday, April 14; on Saturday, April 15 a Wrap Party will follow. Prior to event, Carreras will lead LAB // SESSIONS, a creative lab and movement workshop series open to movement practitioners and the public, in partnership with Arts on Site.

The Big Balloon is part of the CURRENT SESSIONS' 2017 curatorial focus "Resistance," which looks to further classify movement into a broader spectrum by challenging systems of making and observing dance, and is first of a TCS-presented, solo-artist performance series.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Roya Carreras (Artistic Director / Choreographer) is an Iranian-Hispanic artist, choreographer, and educator who works within commercial, film, and theatrical settings from New York City to Los Angeles. Her work challenges and unravels the depths of the female psyche, creating narratives that intertwine metaphor, magic realism, and memories from her childhood as a first generation American, with balletic tropes, visceral demeanor, and sexuality.

Carreras has created choreography for the Russian feminist protest punk rock group, Pussy Riot, including music videos Straight Out of Vagina and Bad Girls; she has provided talent and movement direction for artists Michael Blume, Jade De LaFleur, and Wolf Colony. On stage, Carreras' work has been presented at the CURRENT SESSIONS, Dixon Place, Baruch Performing Arts Center, and The Green Building in New York City; in California, she has presented at Highways Performance Space, Electric Lodge Theater, Glenn Wallichs Theatre, Diavolo, Brockus Project Space, and BRAVA. She was a resident choreographer for Columbia Ballet Collaborative of Columbia University in 2015, and has taught ballet, contemporary, and improvisation at Peridance Capezio Center, American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Riverside Ballet Arts, Riverside City College, Pasadena Dance Theater, and Brockus Conservatory. As a performer, she has worked closely with Barak Marshall at BodyTraffic, Bryan Arias, Danielle Russo Performance Project, and Lux Boreal Danza Contemporanea in Tijuana, Mexico.

Carreras holds a BFA in Dance with Honors from UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts, with additional training from The Ailey School and Springboard Danse Montreal. royacarreras.com

ABOUT THE COLLABORATORS

Learn more at thecurrentsessions.com/artist-bios-tcs-x-roya-carreras.

Concept, Direction, Choreography: Roya Carreras
Event Concept, Curation: Alexis Convento
Additional Programming: Paulette Lewis
Venue: Wild Project
Technical Direction: Scott Fetterman
Production Design: Oana Botez
Lighting Design: Mike Inwood
Sound Composition: Travone Hill
Film: Derek Anthony Welte
Film + Photography: Jason Knade
Styling: Ross Erin Martineau
Rehearsal Direction: Elise Ritzel
Performance: Caitlin Taylor, Elise Ritzel, Eloise DeLuca, Gregory Dolbashian, Maleek Washington

ABOUT THE CURRENT SESSIONS

The CURRENT SESSIONS (TCS) is a performing arts organization that develops and presents the work of emerging artists. Through the production of curated performances, residencies, artist-led laboratory sessions, and open discussions, TCS acts as a center for creative research on contemporary dance and performance art. TCS' mission is to cultivate high-caliber dance works by early to mid-career choreographers whose practice focuses on critical and aesthetic experimentation while demonstrating bold decision making and a honed sense of creative intuition. TCS aims to provide a place for movement-based practices to thrive in New York City, serving as a space for furthering contemporary choreographic and artistic expression. thecurrentsessions.com

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

TICKETING // Tickets available at this link. Prices: $20 General Admission; $17 Presale until March 31; $15 Student / Senior / Lower East Side and East Village residents*. Group rates available. *With valid ID; residents living within zip codes 10002, 10003, 10009. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to National Iranian American Council.

VENUE // The wild project is at 195 E. 3rd St, New York, NY 10009, between Avenue A and B in the East Village, and is accessible by subway (F Train to 2nd Avenue). The theater is handicap accessible.

EVENT LINK // thecurrentsessions.com/up-next/2017/4/14/tcs-x-roya-carreras