DNA Presents Winter Season to Feature Monsters, Mayhem and Comedy

Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) presents award-winning choreographers Clarinda Mac Low and Jordana Che Toback in the stirring Winter 2011 Season opener, SPLICE: A dinosaur attacks a lighthouse. Curated by Ishmael Houston-Jones and Dan Safer, the January 27-30 performances blend dance, satire, elaborate costuming and full-out insanity. A post-performance talkback moderated by Dan Safer, Artistic Director of Witness Relocation, will take place on Thursday, January 27 in DNA's 130-seat theater.

In the world premiere collaborative duet, A dinosaur attacks a lighthouse (Scylla and Charybdis), Mac Low and Toback inhabit their worst fears, attacking reality with the glee of marauders until they scare even themselves. Crafted during the November 2010 election period, the work depicts a set of universal themes of fear and desire, ripe for exposure. "The dinosaur of irrationality attacks the lighthouse of reason and we're stuck between a rock and hard place," say Mac Low and Toback. "The old guard is hanging on for all its worth, trying to stifle the beacon of progress and we can't go forward or backward, just stay stuck in a stifling status."

"Early 2010 DNA began a new curatorial process with our SPLICE series. We requested our 2010 SPLICE artists Ishmael Houston-Jones and Dan Safer serve as the curators for the 2011 SPLICE artists, who would then pass the torch by choosing the 2012 SPLICE artists," says Catherine Peila, Executive Director. "It's a bit unorthodox but incredibly fertile and is increasing DNA's spectrum of creative output - evidenced not only by Houston-Jones' and Safer's process, but also their curatorial choice combining Mac Low and Toback. This program engages provocative pairs, together for the first time, and through myriad interactive projects reflects how DNA is fully engaging our artists, both on stage and in the community."

Clarinda Mac Low will present the world premiere of Monster-us, the latest of her Public Blunders, a series of intimate, darkly comic and intelligently raw performances. Mac Low and collaborative partner Michael DiPietro become monsters of exposure, revealing the unwieldy space between intention and action in the de-formed lives of two people. Speaking of the work Clarinda Mac Low says, "I am continually fascinated by the difficulty of representing the experience of deep emotions onstage. The vulnerable moment of making a mistake or an embarrassing faux pas reveals a wealth of raw feeling. The Public Blunders series reaches into that well of emotion to illuminate the beauty of our exposed selves. DNA has given me an opportunity to re-vivify my Public Blunder series after a five-year hiatus, creating the eighth blunder and the first duet of the series."

In the process of creating her fifth evening-length work, Jordana Che Toback will present Crush The Pearl Part 1, an excerpt of the evening-length work-to-be, which explores the cycle of life, death and rebirth: the interminable potential for sand to become a pearl again. Culling material from pieces Toback created as the original choreographer for Fischerspooner and re-fashioning them, now to Radiohead songs, the work also features costumes by 10-year collaborative partner and fashion designer Elisa Jimenez of Project Runway Season 4.

"I wanted to revisit the original rage fueled movement by exploring the monster in me, thus bringing a new level of personal meaning and a different theatrical experience for the audience. I am interested in showcasing emotional integrity, musicality and sensuality in a way we are not used to seeing in dance," says Toback. "DNA and Dan Safer brought me out of self-inflicted retirement from Modern Dance by inviting me to be part of SPLICE. Crush The Pearl Part 1 depicts how we all can crush or destroy a seemingly beautiful treasure by turning it back into sand, the same way I can tear down the walls of who I thought I was, destroy the armor and the defenses, and become completely new again."

Performances take place Thursday - Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday at 3:00pM. Prices range from $12 - $17. DNA is located near all major trains to Chambers Street/City Hall.

About Dance New Amsterdam
Founded in 1984, Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) celebrates 27 years of cultural leadership in contemporary dance. DNA supports the life, career, and longevity of dance artists through ongoing high quality contemporary dance education, opportunities for choreographic exploration and innovative performance, and service to the field and the Lower Manhattan community. DNA fosters the development of new and experimental works through commissions, residencies and subsidized space. We are committed to training healthy dancers, developing new audiences and bridging diverse communities by exploring the role of dance across a spectrum of contemporary dance styles and cultures.