Maureen Fleming's B. MADONNA Begins at La MaMa Tonight

La MaMa presents Maureen Fleming in the New York premiere of B. MADONNA. Created, choreographed, and performed by Fleming, it features text by Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang, music by Philip Glass performed live by pianist Bruce Brubaker, original accordion by Guy Klucevsek, Taiko drumming by Kaoru Watanabe and three-dimensional video projections by longtime collaborator Christopher Odo. Performances begin tonight, October 17 at The Ellen Stewart Theater at La MaMa. Please note: This performance contains nudity.

Inspired in part by La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart, B. MADONNA is a contemporary unveiling of the myth of Persephone. It is a meditation on the possibility of 'miracles'.

Born in Japan to American parents, Maureen Fleming brings the discipline of a classicist and the imagination of an iconoclast to her unique interpretation of butoh. Fleming is inspired by butoh conventions, but she is concerned with eros, alchemy and spirituality rather than social dissolution. Her choreography emphasizes aligning the body's spiritual center, and also uses the female body as a symbol for the earth's cycles of regeneration. Fleming studied extensively in Japan with Kazuo Ohno, the co-founder of this minimalist art form. She went on to perform with his son, Yoshito Ohno, and to tour internationally with performance artist and choreographer Min Tanaka. Fleming continued her training in the United States as a scholarship student under the Cecchetti master Margaret Craske. Since 1994, she has conducted workshops at N.Y.U.'s Tisch School of the Arts and was recently a guest artist at The Juilliard School. She has gained international recognition on five continents for her singular form of multimedia performance at such venues as Italy's Spoleto Festival, Japan's Butoh Festival, Mexico's Jose Limon Dance Festival, Iceland's Reykjavik Arts Festival, Colombia's International Danza Contemporanea, France's International Mime Festival and Korea's Seoul Performing Arts Festival, among others. For more information visit www.MaureenFleming.com.

B. MADONNA runs October 17 - November 3, Thursday - Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2:30 PM. The Ellen Stewart Theater at La MaMa is located at 66 East 4th Street, 2nd floor (between 2nd & 3rd Aves -- accessible from the F train at 2nd Ave). Tickets are $25 / $20 for students/seniors, available at 212-475-7710 or www.lamama.org.