The Dance Complex Presents Works By Influential Modern Dance Figures Molissa Fenley & Pat Catterson

Pat Catterson and Molissa Fenley, two of the seminal figures in modern dance, will present a collaborative program titled Taking the Long View at The Dance Complex on Saturday and Sunday April 15-16.

Molissa Fenley and Pat Catterson have had long careers as dancers and dance makers. They both have chosen to live life as artists for the long haul; that is, they have taken the long view. As much as their work is different, they share a belief in the meaningfulness of dancing itself and the power of designed movement to change one's perceptions.

Peter DiMuro, Executive Artistic Director of The Dance Complex, said "We are blessed with such an opportunity at The Dance Complex with the performances of Molissa Fenley and Pat Catterson. Their unique and distinctive careers have created a legacy of dances sewn in the tapestry of the modern dance world. In an era where the experiments of the 1960's Judson Church allowed dance-makers following to break and create new rules of their own, Molissa and Pat paved their own iconic ways. At once saturated with legacy and the immediacy of the present moment, these concerts are bound to move us as an audience as well."

Molissa Fenley, born in Nevada, grew up in Nigeria (1961-71), moved to New York in 1975 and founded Molissa Fenley and Company in 1977 creating 90 dances for the company since then. The Company has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

At The Dance Complex Fenley will present three works: Cosmati Variations, Variation 5, music by John Cage (Third Construction); Lava Field, music by John Bischoff, (Piano 7hz); and Current Piece, music by Vijay Iyer, (Crown Thy Good). These will be danced by Christiana Axelsen, Molissa Fenley, and Timothy Ward.

Pat Catterson, whose parents were a ballroom dancing team and her paternal grandfather a tap dancer in Vaudeville, is a NYC and Boston based artist choreographer who has created 115 works. She has been on the faculties at Sarah Lawrence College, UCLA, the Juilliard School, Marymount Manhattan College, and the Merce Cunningham Studio, danced and assisted Yvonne Rainer for many years, and is currently a Resident Artist at the renowned La Mama Experimental Theatre Club in New York City

As part of Take the Long View, Catterson will premiere her 116th work, Tremor, danced by Alexandra Berger, Louisa Pancoast, Maia Ramnath, Sarah Sliver Swift, Joshua Tuason and Timothy Ward, with sound score composed by Quentin Chiappetta.

Matthew Brenton designed lights for Taking the Long View.

The Dance Complex is supported by Mass Cultural Council, Barr Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, The Boston Foundation, The Klarman Family Foundation, Cambridge Community Foundation, Cambridge Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, and others.

Among the upcoming performances at The Dance Complex are: Deepa Srinath Bungale presenting Varna Shades of Love March 25; Jean Appolon Expressions presenting Tyaka April 1-2; and Four Dimension Tap Company presenting Duration April 22-23.

Tickets, further information, and event updates are available at dancecomplex.org/events. The Dance Complex is at 536 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA.

To post a comment, you must register and login.