Monica Bill Barnes & Company to Bring HAPPY HOUR to Velocity, 4/16

For one night only -- the hilarious and affecting Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass (NYC) trade their signature sequins and feather headdresses for a pair of everyday men's suits in Happy Hour, the world's first-ever cocktail party dance show on April 16 at 7:30PM at Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave on Capitol Hill. Tickets: $18 / $20 at the doorl; $12 student + senior; $15 MVP. Call 206.325.8773 or visit velocitydancecenter.org.

With nothing up their sleeves and just a few things in their pockets, they dance their way through the guys in ties that we all recognize -- from the Rat Pack to Las Vegas magicians and silent comic tramps to classic business men. Happy Hour mixes dance, theater, karaoke and one card trick all set to a sound score of Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Journey and Nat King Cole. Come after work, first drink's on us. No really, you get a drink but leave the dancing to us.

Velocity Presents Monica Bill Barnes & Company Productions / Choreographed by Monica Bill Barnes / Set and Costume Design by Kelly Hanson / Lighting Design by Jane Cox / Producing Direction by Robert Saenz de Viteri.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

MONICA BILL BARNES is a choreographer, performer and the Artistic Director of Monica Bill Barnes & Company Productions, a New York City based contemporary dance company. Barnes founded MBB&CO in 1997 with the mission to celebrate individuality, humor and the innate theatricality of everyday life. She is joined by a core of long-time collaborators: Associate Artistic Director and performing partner, Anna Bass; Lighting Designer, Jane Cox; and Set and Costume Designer, Kelly Hanson. The company creates full-length shows that tour the country's biggest stages and tiniest rooms, bringing dance where it doesn't belong: making site-specific dances in public places, mounting collaborations with radio hosts and bringing down the house at comedy shows. MBB&CO has performed in more than sixty cities throughout the United States, been commissioned and presented by The American Dance Festival, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, and performed all over New York City in venues ranging from Upright Citizen's Brigade to The BAM Opera House. Barnes has been an invited guest artist at many universities and has choreographed for various theater productions. She began working with radio host Ira Glass in 2012 when she created a solo for David Rakoff for This American Life Live! In 2013 Barnes collaborated with Glass to create, choreograph and direct a new show that combines radio stories and dances: Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host. This show premiered in New York at The Town Hall in September 2014 and will tour to 30 US cities throughout 2015. Upcoming projects include a collaboration with visual artist Maira Kalman creating a guided museum workout, and Happy Hour, the world's first-ever cocktail party dance show featuring Barnes and Bass.

ANNA BASS began working with MBB&CO in 2003 and now serves as Associate Artistic Director. She has performed Barnes' work all over the country, on stages ranging from public fountains and city parks to New York City Center and Carnegie Hall. Anna often assists Monica with commissions, workshops and theater projects. She served as the Assistant Choreographer for productions at The Atlantic Theater, The Public Theater and Yale Repertory Theater. Anna has also performed in radio host Ira Glass's two most recent This American Life Live! events - catching boxes while dancing as a part of TAL's cinema event, and appearing as a roller-skating mouse alongside Mike Birbiglia in The Radio Drama Episode at the BAM opera house. She is currently touring the country with Monica and Ira in their show Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host. Anna grew up in a small town in Virginia where she studied almost every dance style, from classical ballet to country line dancing. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. monicabillbarnes.com

Mayor's Arts Award and Genius Award winning Velocity Dance Center is Seattle's forward-thinking laboratory and essential incubator for dance and emerging ideas. A national nexus for dance, Velocity is recognized as a leader in new dance development in the US. With artist-driven, community-centered artistic and education programs, Velocity is instrumental in making Seattle a destination city with one of the most active dance communities in the nation. With artist-led classes and workshops every day, performances every week, three annual dance festivals, ongoing humanities programs that activate thoughtful conversations, as well as weekly community events from social dances to family-style dinners, Velocity is a portal for those new to dance and an important community resource. Home to hundreds of independent dance artists and renowned for producing innovative, cutting-edge work, Velocity has featured performances and master classes by art stars Tere O'Connor, Pat Graney, Reggie Watts, Miguel Gutierrez, Anouk van Dijk, Deborah Hay, Faye Driscoll, 33 Fainting Spells, KT

Niehoff, Zoe Scofield/Juniper Shuey, Danielle Agami and many more. Velocity is Seattle's only dedicated contemporary dance venue where groundbreaking work and disciplined practice coexist.

Velocity advances contemporary dance and movement-based art by fostering the creative explorations of artists and audiences through an invested commitment to education, creation, performance, inquiry, community participation, and inter/national exchange.

For more about Velocity Dance Center, visit velocitydancecenter.org.

Photo Credit: Christopher Duggan

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