'Receiver' Premieres Works By Three Chicago Dance Artists in March
By: Kelsey Denette Jan. 19, 2012
Three distinct artistic voices-staples in Chicago's independent dance scene and emerging as leaders in the larger dance community-team up for Receiver, a shared program exploring the varying degrees of theatricality in contemporary dance. The Space/Movement Project, Rachel Damon/Synapse Arts and Erica Mott each premiere a work for the program, which takes place March 8–10, 2012 at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Avenue. Receiver is made possible by a grant from the MetLife New Stages in Dance Initiative.
The Program
The evening will unfold in a continuous exploration of theatrical forms, providing the audience with an opportunity to absorb different approaches to the art of contemporary dance.
The Space/Movement Project performs the premiere of Kiss Kiss Missiles, a work choreographed by all seven members of the collaborative-Larisa Eastman, Allyson Esposito, Anne Kasdorf, Chloe Nisbett, Leah Raffanti, Megan Schneeberger and Stacy Wolfson-combining misunderstandings of present-day interaction with social dance tradition. Extensive research into Balkan folk circle dances, 19th century English contra dance, American-born swing and several Latin dance traditions have led to the discovery of alternative rhythmical structures and intense communication necessary between partners. In a series of makeshift line dances, the dynamic work assembles surging directional changes, fleeting partnerships and mismatched patterning. Quickly shifting spatial configurations reveal synchronicities that twinkle and dissolve as the performers aim to maintain individuality. Chicago designer Britton Esposito creates the costumes.
Synapse Artistic Director Rachel Damon's premiere Without Pause travels a changing landscape of live sound, water and motion to evoke the kaleidoscopic selves and keen instincts present in us all. Throughout this vigorous dance-theatre work, the performers transform from a playful, amorphous group to four unique individuals who eventually abandon pretense and give in to their natural fierceness. Equally cerebral and visceral, this driving force of a work relies upon renowned percussionist Frank Rosaly to provide sonic narration. The piece leaves behind soaking wreckage and a teetering balance between structure and savagery.
Five Gaits, Four Walls, Fourteen Knots, Erica Mott's premiere for five men, explores masculinity and territoriality in the Western U.S. and Iceland, using the mythical motif of the outlaw hero, whether Viking or Cowboy, and its impact on our understanding of our own culture, personal identity and other cultures. The performance investigates the connection between the male body, the wilderness and the acquisition of land as well as the imagination's attachment to the romanticized and mythical outlaw hero. In collaboration with Mott, Ryan Ingebritsen is devising a multi-layered sound score encompassing environmental field recordings from the Icelandic and New Mexican wilderness, records of old country classics and contemporary Viking metal music on gramophones manipulated by the dancers, and live singing and harmonica. Lighting divides the space into "territories," as does video reflecting the powerful wilderness surrounding them.
Audience Engagement Activities
Rachel Damon, Erica Mott and artists from The Space/Movement Project will participate in a Dance Center panel, "Woman-made Performance: Differing experiences on art-making from the female perspective," Saturday, February 11, 4–6 p.m. at The Dance Center. Joining them on the panel are San Francisco Bay-area choreographer Margaret Jenkins and multimedia artist Naomie Kremer, who is collaborating with Jenkins.
There will be a post-performance conversation with the artists following the Thursday, March 8 performance, free and open to ticket holders.
The artists also will participate in The Dance Center's FamilyDance Matinee Series, a special 45-minute family-oriented performance preceded by a free workshop that encourages parents and children to move with the artists, Saturday March 10 at The Dance Center.
The Artists
The Space/Movement Project, now in its sixth season, is a movement-based collaborative of seven women who create work through a highly collaborative process, shifting among the roles of director, follower, participant and observer. By providing a forum for ongoing dialogue, and by sharing financial and creative resources, the company empowers artists to create increasingly meaningful work and pursue individual artistic objectives.
Synapse Arts is a performance group, founded in 2004, that develops new works and new artists through a laboratory process involving improvisation, feedback and multimedia collaboration. Its mission is to generate opportunities for artists to integrate their skills and work collaboratively on performance-based projects encompassing movement experimentation, theatre, voice, photography, music, visual art, video, creative writing and stage design.
Erica Mott is a performer, director and deviser whose work is particularly inspired by observation of her immediate environment. Through mask, clown, Butoh-inspired movement and site-specific performance, she attempts to capture and heighten the magic, mystery and tragedy in everyday activities and interactions, sharing their universality across social, economic and cultural boundaries.
Funding
Receiver is made possible by a grant from the MetLife New Stages in Dance Initiative. The Space/Movement Project, Rachel Damon/Synapse Arts and Erica Mott's performances at The Dance Center are funded, in part, by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Sara Lee Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council.
Ticket Information
Receiver, featuring The Space/Movement Project, Rachel Damon/Synapse Arts and Erica Mott, takes place Thursday–Saturday, March 8–10 at 8 p.m. at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Avenue. Tickets are $26–30. The FamilyDance Matinee Saturday, March 10 at 3 p.m. at The Dance Center, preceded by the workshop at 2:15 p.m., is free for children younger than 12, $15 for adults. All programming is subject to change. The theatre is accessible to people with disabilities. For tickets or information, call 312-369-8330or visit colum.edu/dancecenter.
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