Armitage, Buglisi, Monte, and Muller Join Forces for Shared Program Performances

Armitage Gone! Dance, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Elisa Monte Dance, and Jennifer Muller/The Works join forces to present a series of five Shared Program Performances featuring 6 Pieces - 3 Premieres - and 35 Dancers.

Four distinguished and innovative choreographers, at the height of their careers, each with a powerful original voice, present a vibrant evening of dance with an expressive edge that moves minds and hearts with a shared humanity. The 35 extraordinary performers stand out as individuals, yet work in cohesive ensembles.

A B M M LIVE offers a rare opportunity to experience four formidable female choreographers and their exceptional dancers together on one stage!

The Program includes... ( in order of appearance)

MOSS 1

Buglisi Dance Theatre (premiere)

Choreographer: Jacqulyn Buglisi / Composer: Paula Jeanine Bennett

(supported by the O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation commissioning grant)

Moss 1, inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer's "Gathering Moss," is a flight deeper into the mysteries and science of sacred landscapes and how they relate to the evolving human condition today. A poetic metaphor, this microscopic form of life moving so slowly as to appear imperceptible to the human eye (yet as powerful as stone) is contrasted with the sustainability of human existence which is fragile and fleeting.

WALLS (excerpt) Armitage Gone! Dance (preview)

Choreographer: Karole Armitage /Composer: David Lang

The excerpt of Walls is the first of two sections commissioned by the Ravello Festival, Italy premiering on July 2, 2017. The Festival's theme for the year, Walls refers to the political arena today. Lang's music of yearning, lament, harsh shocking accents, vulnerability and exquisite beauty provide the basis for the dance. Continuity and community are realized in the second section danced to ancient Greek music with choreography rooted in folk traditions.

DAY'S RESIDUE Elisa Monte Dance

Choreographer: Elisa Monte / Composer: Vladimir Godar

Monte's powerful Day's Residue, with music by Slovakian composer Vladimir Godar, is a piece that refers to insignificant and familiar daily occurrences that are used in working through personal archetypical issues in our dreams.

THE SPOTTED OWL (excerpt) Jennifer Muller/The Works

Choreographer: Jennifer Muller / Composer: Marty Beller

The Spotted Owl, an example of Muller's synthesis of dance and theatrical form has an emphasis on the spoken word, fusing music with taped and live dialogue. This faceted, non-linear piece addresses the issue of endangered species, suggesting that endangerment is not limited to the animal kingdom and questions the validity of current American values.

1:3:4:1 Elisa Monte Dance (US premiere)

Choreographer: Tiffany Rea-Fisher / Composer: Paul Ukena

1:3:4:1 was supported in part by the Socrates Space Grant Program. Created on a large outdoor stage this piece celebrates the beauty and freedom of the outdoors while exploring the power and grace of the male dancer.

EXCERPT FROM LIGETI ESSAYS Armitage Gone! Dance

Choreographer: Karole Armitage /Composer: György Ligeti

Ligeti Essays is a series of short haiku like dances accompanying songs by composer György Ligeti to reveal different states of mind - from the sarcastic and humorous to the trivial or languorous. The dancers capture thought through movement based on a curvilinear, calligraphic dance vocabulary punctuated by rough, raw accents.

Biographies:

ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE (AG!D) Over the past 30 years, Karole Armitage and her dancers have shaped the evolution of contemporary dance through the creation and performance of new works. The most recent incarnation of the company, Armitage Gone! Dance, was launched in 2004 when Karole Armitage returned to the U.S. after 15 years of working abroad. The company is renowned for creating contemporary works that blend dance, music, science and art to engage in philosophical questions about the search for meaning. Having worked as a choreographer for Cirque du Soleil, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and on Broadway, Armitage's interests are wide ranging, mixing the popular with the esoteric. Known for their free spirited panache, the six company members of Armitage Gone! bring unique flavors and strong personality to the stage. AG!D has created works on a wide range of subjects from African aesthetics to commedia dell'arte, and a series 'dreamscapes' taking the viewer on a poetic journey to evoke mysterious landscapes of reverie, dream and altered consciousness.
www.armitagegonedance.org

BUGLISI DANCE THEATRE (BDT)

The award-winning Buglisi Dance Theatre is renowned for theatrical, multi-disciplinary dances that promote awareness of social issues and embolden audiences to recognize within themselves their own humanity. Founded in 1993 by Artistic Director Jacqulyn Buglisi, Capucilli, Dakin and Foreman, who performed as Principal Dancers of Martha Graham Dance Co., BDT is known to NYC audiences for its seasons at The Joyce Theater, New York Live Arts, Ailey Citigroup Theater; NYC public school residencies; on tour at Kennedy Center, Jacob's Pillow, Vail International Dance Festival, Melbourne State Theater, and Prague International Dance Festival. Its repertoire of over 100 works is archived in the Jerome Robbins Dance Division/NYPL, and is seen on the companies of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Richmond Ballet, NCDT, ITNY. Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio awarded BDT Proclamations for uniting the community through the Table of Silence Project 9/11, a ritual for peace with 150+ dancers at Lincoln Center viewed globally by 60,000 via livestream.

www.buglisidance.org

ELISA MONTE DANCE (EMD)

Now in its 36th year, EMD is hailed around the world for its visceral and sensual style of movement that embraces diverse cultural influences. The organization was founded in 1981, by former Martha Graham dancer Elisa Monte to showcase Monte's work and bridge cultural barriers through dance. In 2016 Ms. Monte retired and Tiffany Rea-Fisher was appointed the company's new Artistic Director. Since its founding, EMD has toured to over 40 nations and appeared in such festivals as Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival, Spoleto Festival (US & Italy), Jacobs Pillow & Lincoln Center's Out of Doors. The dancers are versatile dancers who rise to the creative challenge set by the highly athletic work. They approach the work with an ecstatic display of physical prowess that gives life to an intense array of emotions.
www.elisamontedance.org

JENNIFER MULLER/THE WORKS (JMTW)

JMTW celebrates 42 years of presenting Muller's visionary approach to dance theater, incorporating the spoken word, live and commissioned music, media and unusual production elements to create multi-discipline productions that illuminate the human spirit. JMTW has electrified world audiences with her passionate work and superb dancers in 39 countries on four continents, circumnavigating the globe from Buenos Aires to Toronto, Hong Kong to Moscow with 2017 appearances in Harbin, Tianjin, and Beijing. JMTW has toured 30 states, produced 26 NYC Seasons and performed in venues such as Lincoln and Kennedy Centers, The Joyce, City Center and David H. Koch Theaters; Bryant, Battery and Central Park Festivals and the United Nations. Muller has created over 116 pieces and worked with 30 international dance, theater and opera companies. Her prolific career has led Forteleza's Trophy of Cultural Responsibility, and the publications: Tanz-Plan Berlin's Tanztechcik 2010 andTransformation & Continuance: Jennifer Muller and the Reshaping of American Modern Dance, 1959 to Present.
www.jmtw.org

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