Prometheus Dance Presents DESIDERARE, 5/13

Prometheus Dance presents Desiderare, choreographed by Diane Arvanites and Tommy Neblett.  Sunday, May 13 at 8:00 pm (doors open at 7:00 pm). Tickets: $30 general admission, $25 students, seniors, BDA members; with cash bar. Oberon is the Second Stage of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), a destination for theater and nightlife on the fringe of Harvard Square. 2 Arrow Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge.  Wheelchair accessible and conveniently located near the Harvard T Station on the Red Line. 

For advance tickets call: 866-811-4111. For more information call: 617-496-8004 or http://www.cluboberon.com/events/desidirare.

Desiderare is the Italian phrase for desire in all of its many forms. Desiderare, examines the lives of seven young women and their existence together. It is an exploration of the inner landscapes of turn of the century sex workers. The piece invokes images of females who are tough, resilient, independent, competitive, and sexually transparent. The men take their place (take whose place? replace the women or become watchers? This expression is unclear to me) as voyeurs and the audience is in danger of the same. Although Desiderare references 19th century brothel workers, it can be placed in any time historically because of its content. Desiderare is the fourth evening-length work created jointly by co-artistic directors Diane Arvanites & Tommy Neblett for Prometheus Dance.  The evening will feature dancers Naoko Brown, Elena Greenspan, Callie Chapman Korn, Kate Neal, Nikki Sell, Lonnie Stanton, Jessie Stinnett, Joe Gonzales, and Henoch Spinola with poet/madam Karen Klein and cellist/wife Ashima Scripp. We invite you to enter “the house of a left-handed god.” 

Prometheus Dance is an ensemble of nine dancers performing contemporary dance/ theatre created by co-Artistic Directors Diane Arvanites and Tommy Neblett.  The mission of the company is to create original high quality choreography and dance performance in collaboration with composers and designers; to promote a love for dance throughout the community with dedication and commitment; to continue to create works which inspire audiences and raise human issues vital to the community as they serve as a social awakening mechanism.

Prometheus Dance was founded by Ms. Arvanites and is one of Massachusetts’ most outstanding and established modern dance companies, contributing quality dance performance, arts education and cultural service to the community since 1987.  Named “One of the Year’s Ten Best in Dance“ four times by prominent Boston news organizations, the company performs extensively both nationally and internationally. Developed through an image charged, visceral language, the dances of Prometheus are intimate, articulate and provocative.  The company creates art that engages the audience on multiple levels often with a platform of social statement and psychological intricacy.  The repertory of Prometheus Dance is long lived and has reached diverse audiences in New England, Europe and South America. The company is known for its performances of evening length work:Desiderare, an exploration of brothels during the nineteenth century; Apokalypsis, concerning the world-wide refugee crisis; Dreams, based on Jungian ideas of collective conscience; Impromptus & Intrigues, a modern setting of a Schubertiade; and Anadimioupyia, exploring the physical beauty of Tourettes Syndrome; as well as in Opera Boston’s Nixon In China and The Pearl Fishers; repertory pieces performed to commissioned music of distinct genres; and outreach performances in public schools, alternative venues, shelters and senior homes. 

Prometheus Dance has been produced in New York City by the Joyce SoHo Theatre, New York University, Downtown Baca, La Mama, at Lincoln Center’s Out-of-Doors Festival and in Avery Fisher Hall with the Brooklyn Philharmonic; in Boston by the Celebrity Series, Opera Boston, Dance Umbrella, Crash Arts, First Night, the Boston Center for the Arts, Emerson Stage, The Boston Conservatory, and The Yard; and in Connecticut by the New England Artists’ Trust Congress and the International Festival of Arts And Ideas.  The company regularly performs internationally, including Marseille, France; Santiago, Spain; Valencia, Venezuela; and Quito, Ecuador.

In addition to its evening concert series, Prometheus Dance presents performances and workshops designed specifically for members of the dance community and for outreach audiences. The Artistic Directors believe that creating a dialogue about process and choreographies that address critical issues is both essential and educational.  Exploring the human condition and illuminating individual strife, creates respect, tolerance and value for every life in the community.  The company has performed at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Framingham (maximum security women’s prison), Rosie’s Place (battered women’s shelter), the Jane Doe Walk for Women’s Safety, the Boston Alzheimer’s Center, World AIDS Day Observances, concert fund raisers for Katrina and local benefits.  Prometheus Dance presents Opposites, its acclaimed K-5 in-school performance throughout the public education systems of Metro-Boston and is currently working on a new in school residency called Developing a Creative and Ethical Mind which is linked to a recent work for children created in collaboration with composer John Kusiak entitled The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship.

Diane Arvanites & Tommy Neblett have received numerous awards for their work, including a Creativity Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowships for Choreography from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.  They are on the dance faculties of the Walnut Hill School, The Dance Complex, and The Boston Conservatory.

Prometheus Dance is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The New England Foundation for the Arts, The Cambridge Arts Council, The Dance Alliance, The Rantoul Foundation, Lucy S Thorndike, The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund has also received invaluable in-kind support donated from The Boston Conservatory, Walnut Hill School, the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston, The Dance Complex, and the many individuals, private donors, and dancers.

For further information on Prometheus Dance: 617-576-5336, info@prometheusdance.org,www.prometheusdance.org

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