A prolific member of the Dance New Amsterdam (DNA)/New York creative community, Nicole Wolcott, has invited Fischerspooner's Vanessa Walters and Wooster Group's Omar Zubair, to collaborate on her first evening-length world premiere, 100 Beginnings. Wolcott and Walters, along with five dancers, will take to the stage in DNA's state-of-the-art 130-seat theater December 9 - 12, 2010. Audiences are encouraged to become voyeurs of an extraordinary journey through an ever-changing landscape of elusive characters and moving walls.
"I am interested in variations of textures in movement, sound, light, space, feeling and emotion. Virtuosity in movement is just one texture to be drawn from and placed against the rough edge of screaming sound; - hope can be closed into a tight space. In creating this work I challenged myself to play with textures like moving walls, to re-configure the space constantly, forming different scenes as if flipping through channels," says Nicole Wolcott. "The experience of creating 100 Beginnings feels like making a mixed tape for my best friend's road trip. Here, though, we are mixing scenes to reveal a world of awkward moments exposed, tender collisions, attempted fame, and survival in high heels. Our artistic residency at DNA has afforded us the opportunity to realize the episodic adventure that is 100 Beginnings."
Employing two 8' x 6' moving walls designed by architect Spilios Gianakopoulos, Wolcott marries her fascination with cinematography to her penchant for creating episodic pieces. The walls act as a shutter and lens for the audience's eye. This structural component in motion reveals her attraction to fast cutting, intermittent work with sharp cuts between scenes, plays in perspective, sliding back and forth between scenes as they evolve, in and out of the imagination. The piece reflects her daily experience of life in the city: a steady hum of countless quick cuts panning in and out of focus.
DNA's Artist in Residence (AIR) programs provide artists the resources that support their process to create new works by offering 75 - 100 plus hours of rehearsal space over three-month and longer periods and culminate in a full production of the commissioned works in DNA's theater space. Wolcott's AIR provided her with development sessions, open rehearsal and preview opportunities, a performance stipend and remuneration for the payment of an artistic advisor of her choosing. This AIR installment was supported by funds from the National Endowment of the Arts and other funders and in addition to Nicole Wolcott, the program included Katie Workum.
"DNA is an organization that supports the artist's process from studio to stage and our AIR programs exemplify this concept. As part of the DNA community, Nicole studied dance and taught in the DNA studios; she has performed on DNA's stage in Gene Pool and OB.ject.ob.JECT; we have supported her growth, and now, audiences will be able to watch Wolcott stretch her wings and let her choreographic invention explode onto the DNA stage with the premiere of her first evening-length piece," says Catherine Peila, Executive Director. "Nicole's athleticism, wit and tenacity paired with her cadre of creative collaborators makes for a thrilling evening."
As a choreographer, Nicole Wolcott's work has been performed in New York City at
Symphony Space, Dance New Amsterdam, Dance Theater Workshop, PS122, Joyce SoHo, Joe's Pub at
The Public Theater, CBGB's, the Frying Pan, Galapagos, Monkeytown, the Duo Theater and around the country at Summerdance Santa Barbara, Bates Dance Festival, Provincetown Dance Festival, Florida Dance Festival and the American Dance Festival. In 2003 Nicole co-founded KEIGWIN + COMPANY with
Larry Keigwin and was the Associate Artistic Director until 2010. She co-directed MUX (muxlove.com) from 2003-2006, a multi-disciplinary performance art collective that interweaves video, live music and movement. Nicole has performed at the Metropolitan Opera House under the direction of
Mark Dendy, worked with site-specific choreographer Noemie Lafrance; was a featured dancer in Doug Elkin's original "Fraulein Maria;" danced with
Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and The
James Kelly Choreography Project in Chicago; appeared in music videos and concerts with FischerSpooner; and is a featured dancer in "Across the Universe," an Oscar nominated film by director
Julie Taymor. She was adjunct faculty at the University of Montana, is presently an adjunct professor Hunter College and Hofstra University. She continues to teach at DNA and in private studios in New York City as well as travel the country as a guest artist.
Since 1999 Vanessa Walters has been working with Fischerspooner, a performance group known for combining pop entertainment with a high art sensibility, and currently serves as lead choreographer. The group has toured extensively through the US, Europe, South America, and Australia. Vanessa has choreographed music videos for artists such as the Blank Dogs, Department of Eagles,
Cyndi Lauper, and Kings of Leon to name a few, and live events for House of Diehl, JVA, Daisy Spurs, Chaos & Candy, Narcissister, and her own projects - "Bathory" and "The Man Piece" Originally from Baltimore, Walters came to the big city to attend NYU's Tisch School of Arts.
Omar Zubair recently created an evening-length score for the newest theatrical piece by the
Wooster Group, Vieux Carre, which premiered at the Centre Georges Pompidou National Art Museum in Paris. He designed the sound for
Lady Gaga's music video Alejandro with nearly 100+ million views on youtube as well as a soon-to-be-released
Jeff Koons documentary. Zubair has been developing performative and interactive non-screen-based cinema that co-habitates and activates the present lived-space rather than invites the viewer to look into a window to another world. A recent permutation of this creative process was presented at the Oakland Underground Film Festival. He developed a new perceptual-development-based, as opposed to knowledge-acquisition-based, education method that lead to an experimental course at the University of California, Berkeley. The endeavor was co-sponsored by the new media and art practice departments and will soon lead to a book further exploring the possibilities.
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