The Wooden Floor Debuts New Works at 34th Annual Concert

Young dancers will take the stage at Irvine Barclay Theatre for four unique performances June 1-3, in The Wooden Floor's 34th Annual Concert, Connected spaces. The collaboration showcases unconventional, experimental works that masterfully illustrate The Wooden Floor's approach to intensive arts education - a history that has won accolades from National Endowment for the Arts and Association of Performing Arts Presenters for artistic merit.

"Our organization encourages students to think differently about themselves and compels our community to reconsider contemporary dance as a catalyst for change," says Dawn S. Reese, Chief Executive Officer of The Wooden Floor. "In co-creating dances with nationally recognized choreographers, under-served students discover their value and voice. They dig deep within themselves to overcome obstacles that could limit their potential. They emerge stronger, more confident, and ready to lead."

This year's Annual Concert will feature original dance-works by choreographers shaping the genre of contemporary dance: Keely Garfield, John Heginbotham, and Laurel Jenkins.

Meet the Choreographers

Keely Garfield is an acclaimed choreographer with her company Keely Garfield Dance, a dance professor, and cultural curator. Alongside works for her company, she has made dances for modern dance companies, ballet, musical theater, actors, students, children, puppets, film, and MTV. Garfield holds an MFA in choreography and has been on the faculty at many colleges and universities including Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts/The New School, Barnard College, Hunter College and University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

John Heginbotham, originally from Anchorage, Alaska, graduated from The Juilliard School in 1993, and was a member of Mark Morris Dance Group from 1998-2012. In 2011 he founded Dance Heginbotham (DH), which has been presented by institutions including Baryshnikov Arts Center, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, and The Kennedy Center, among others. In 2016, DH toured to Indonesia, Laos, and the Philippines with DanceMotion USA, a cultural diplomacy initiative of the U.S. Department of State, produced by the Brooklyn Academy Of Music. Heginbotham is currently a Fellow at the NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts, and is the recipient of the 2014 Jacob's Pillow Dance Award. He serves as Director for the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College and a Lecturer in Dance at Princeton University.

Laurel Jenkins is a choreographer, dancer, and teacher, who has been presented by the Getty Center, Automata, REDCAT, the Fowler Museum, and Danspace. Her work has also been presented in Berlin, Coventry, and Tokyo. She was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company (2007-2012) and performs in Vicky Shick's dances and in the opera Oedipus Rex/Symphony of Psalms by Peter Sellars. Jenkins is the recipient of an Asian Cultural Council Grant, which allowed her to travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to work with Chey Chankethya and Amrita Performing Arts. She received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, an MFA from UCLA, and is certified in the Skinner Releasing Technique.

Introducing the Dance Works

The Wooden Floor commissions contemporary dances, which value inventiveness and exploration over imitation.

Folk Dance in Gold, Keely Garfield, Choreographer

A modern folk dance of sorts, the ensemble moves together and apart, gathering momentum, moods, and meaning. At first, slowly perambulating the space, the community of dancers probes its boundaries, until each one finds their own place. The dancers pump the energy of the earth into their hearts, by stomping, spinning, sailing through air, and even singing! Firmly established in the conviction of mutual support, the piece culminates in a thunderous and optimistic outpouring. This new work also features original music composed by Cyrus Ra.

Deep Color, John Heginbotham, Choreographer

This new work is a landscape set to piano music by the acclaimed pioneering Californian composer Henry Cowell. The story unfolds in five parts: "Deep Color" describes the gorgeous, crashing beauty of the Pacific Ocean at dawn, "The Fairy Answer" is a supernatural conversation in the woods, "Nine Ings: IX. Swaying" displays the tunneling journeys of multi-legged creatures, a high-octane duet unfolds in "The Irishman Dances", and "High Color" is a big finale celebrating the huge sky. Athletic and musical, often expansive and occasionally intimate, this work features a cast of 64 young dancers and the pianist Danny Pravder.

look down and see the crowd, look up and see the infinite sky, Laurel Jenkins, Choreographer

Relentless choreography is central to this new work, generating images of infinity and themes of connection. Dancers magnetically pull each other on stage from a distance with dynamic unison, delivering spontaneous events on stage. The piece will include a film created by visual artist Jesse Fleming in collaboration with the dancers to generate a rich visual world without limits.

Event Details

The Wooden Floor's 34th Annual Concert: Connected spaces
8:00pm June 1-3, 2017, and 2:30pm June 3, 2017
Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine

$20 General Seating; $50 Benefit Seating, which includes a $30 tax-deductible contribution;

$10 Seating for children 13 and younger and students

949-854-4646 or www.TheWoodenFloor.org

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