Helen Simoneau Danse Returns To The American Dance Festival

Helen Simoneau Danse announces summer performances in St. Louis, MO; Durham, NC; and Miami, FL. Featuring the world premiere of Delicate Power at the American Dance Festival on June 23, 2022, Helen Simoneau Danse will then perform two engagements at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center: first as part of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami on July 16 & 17, 2022, and later at the Center's Lab Theater on August 5-7, 2022.

In addition, Helen Simoneau Danse will premiere a new duet at Dance St. Louis on May 27, 2022, and Simoneau is also being commissioned by both Charlotte Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre for their upcoming 22/23 seasons. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit helensimoneau.org/en/events. Simoneau is also being commissioned by both Charlotte Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre for their upcoming 22/23 seasons.

American Dance Festival

June 23, 2022 at 7:30pm

Durham, NC

Helen Simoneau Danse returns to the American Dance Festival with the world premiere of Delicate Power, after sharing a work-in-progress version of the piece in September 2021. Delicate Power examines the different ways we yield, share or exert power. The shared evening will also feature a new duet choreographed and performed by Stephen Petronio and Johnnie Cruise Mercer.

Delicate Power examines the different ways we yield, share or exert power as individuals and within communities. The work subverts expectations of power by asking: What does power look like without the need for dominance? How is power revealed or embodied when innate and not hard-fought? What is power rooted in respect? Power without ego? Movement and intricate structures of design convey the strength within softness, the potency of empathetic exchange, resilience forged in reflection, and propulsion stemming from confidence and trust. Delicate Power is an investigation of command without force. This dance features an original score by Pulitzer prize-winning composer and musician Caroline Shaw, with dramaturgy by Melanie George and costume design by Quinn Czejkowski.

DARLING explores vulnerability and intimacy through the presence and absence of touch. More than romance-how does touch inform relationship? This work suggests and supports alternative views on gender and sexuality. It exposes the viewers' own biases towards the perceived power and strength of the people onstage. Rooted in form, the movement is created in reverence to its lineage yet subverts traditional ways of being within dance partnering by proposing new ones. This dance features an original score by composer Mary Kouyoumdjian, with dramaturgy by Melanie George and costume design by Quinn Czejkowski.

Untitled Duet features celebrated dancers Connie Shiau and Jesse Obremski with music by Sarah Kirkland Snider and costume design by Victoria Bek.

Helen Simoneau is a choreographer, teacher and Guggenheim Fellow (2021). Described as "a Choreographer-on-the-rise" with a style that is both "athletic and smooth" - Dance Magazine. Simoneau has been commissioned by the Ailey School, BalletX, The Juilliard School, Oregon Ballet Theatre, the American Dance Festival, and colleges, dance companies and festivals throughout the US and Canada. She was a resident artist at Baryshnikov Arts Center, NYU/Tisch, Bates Dance Festival, The University of Buffalo, and a fellow of The NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts, Ailey's New Directions Choreography Lab, and the Bogliasco Foundation. She was awarded first place for Choreography at the 13th Internationales Solo-Tanz-Theatre Festival in Stuttgart, Germany, and is currently the Choreography Fellow at New York City Center. Simoneau is originally from Luceville, a small village in Eastern Québec. For more information, visit helensimoneau.org.

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