The company will present a summer preview of their latest work created during studio closures to tell a story of heartbreak, forgiveness, loss, and resilience.
Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre, a modern dance company celebrated for its original and dynamic dance theatre that magnifies humanity through movement, returns to East Hampton for Green Afternoon VIII-an outdoor and in-person performance of movement installations and a first look at work in progress Threads on Saturday, July 31. A promenading experience throughout the lush greens accompanied by light fare and closing with a seated performance on the great lawn, the company will present a summer preview of their latest work created during studio closures to tell a story of heartbreak, forgiveness, loss, connections, resilience and new beginnings.
Incorporating site-specific and architectural movement vignettes throughout the picturesque property of Marcia Previti and Peter Gumpel, the company returns for their eighth Hamptons season following a year shuttered out of studios and stages. While Selwyn had begun the motifs and concepts of Threads before the pandemic, the past year of isolation has worked to bring into focus the value of human connection, and the ability for the threads that connect communities to re-imagined and mended.
Through showcasing these site-specific concepts that emphasize proximity, pattern, energy, and physicalized emotion, the work will weave audiences into the fabric of the performance experience and harness the vulnerability, rawness and emotional depth of experiencing live art again.
Eager to return to live performance in the 21st season of Selwyn's company, she shares, "With each new work, I insist on harvesting a surfeit of raw material. I strive to engage my audience from start to finish and to raise questions and magnify humanity through dance. Threads build bridges, celebrate differences, and connect us," she continues. "We are only as alone as the next knot -- accidental or purposeful. We are meant to be tangled in this dance of our lives, and this new work is a tribute to the grit and resilience of this moment -- a willingness to do the work and to inquire, to sit in uncertainty and ponder what is on the other side."
Green Afternoon VIII will be presented to a live audience on Saturday, July 31 at 5:00PM.
Tickets start at $150, which includes the performance, wine, hors d'oeuvres, and access to the interactive garden installation. A patron ticket of $250 includes a $100 tax-deductible contribution. Tickets are available at:
https://amandaselwyndance.networkforgood.com/events/29877-green-afternoon-viii
Green Afternoon VIII will take place at the home of architects Marcia Previti and Peter Gumpel, located at 230 Old Stone Highway, East Hampton, New York.
Threads | A Season Preview
Choreographed by Amanda Selwyn and dancers
Music credit: Rapossa, The Album Leaf, Jacob Gurevitsch, Olafur Arnalds, Christian Loffler, Nu, Santi & Tugce, JP
Scenic and Costume Design: Anna-Alisa Belous
Sound Design: Joel Wilhelmi
Stage Management: Jaimie Van Dyke and Gina Solebello
We are just a moment away from change. Threads will explore what holds us together in isolation and the practice of letting go. This pandemic has brought into focus where priorities are, the value of our human connections, the very fleeting nature of it all, the ties that hold us together and their fragility to pull us apart. Threads is a tribute to the grit and resilience of this moment -- a willingness to do the work and to inquire, to sit in uncertainty and ponder what is on the other side.
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