Andrew Jannetti & Jessica Lewis to Premiere Work at University Settlement, 6/17-19

Andrew Jannetti and his young protégé Jessica Lewis have joined forces to create a weekend of dance at University Settlement, June 17-19, presenting two world premieres and a work by guest choreographer Kriota Willberg. June 17-19 at University Settlement, 184 Eldridge Street.

Guest choreographer Kriota Willberg will present her Sweet Jane, a gestural, moody dance about loss and remembrance, set to the Velvet Underground's song of the same name.

Jessica Lewis first performed with Andrew Jannetti & Dancers at the age of twelve. Now a full-fledged choreographer in her own right, she is continuing in the spirit of Andrew Jannetti & Dancers to create her own unique approach to movement and choreography through dance dramas that depict as well as shed light on interpersonal relationships. Her premiere, Kitchen, is set to an original composition by Adam Caine, which will be performed live by Caine and ensemble (guitar, bass, drums). Kitchen has been designed as a suite of dances taking place in a kitchen and centering around the theme of relationships of families, friends, lovers.

Andrew Jannetti returns to self-producing after 12 years of appearances in festivals and venues that commissioned his work. For his premiere, Jannetti has commissioned his longtime collaborator, composer Marty Beller, to create a score for a new piece that brings into play both Latin and Folk dance rhythms. The three other Jannetti works on the program also are set to scores by Mr. Beller, each with its own unique blend of vocal and instrumental arrangements.

Dancing With My Father is Jannetti's critically acclaimed solo that presents a striking and unconventional image of a son's relationship with his father as seen through the son's eyes. Using images from home movies as a starting point, the choreographer unearths a sensitive and intensely personal mythology of the unbroken bond between father and son.

...on a darkling plain is a pure movement piece that follows three women as they explore, search, confront, and come to terms with the idea of destiny - what is, what was, what will be - while a fourth figure of a young girl, perhaps just starting the journey, perhaps foreseeing the future, keeps edging into the action.

Mother, May I is a solo for Lauren Naslund, Jannetti's longtime company member and muse. From Venus to Medea, from Shiva to the Virgin Mary, Jannetti freely uses imagery from mythologies the world over to create a complex image of "mother" that is a conglomeration of tenderness, anger, volatility, sensuality, and conflict.

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