BETWEEN THE SEAS FESTIVAL Opens Today at The Wild Project

With highlights including the world premiere of Greek playwright Yiannis Mavritsakis' "Redshift," the multimedia/ music production "Suite Camus" collaborated on by artists from France, Germany and Algeria, the North American premiere of "Eyes" by Israeli based The Arab-Hebrew Theater Center, Portuguese choreographer's Pedro Goucha Gomes' "Amongst Millions" - a new dance that tackles the current European crisis and many more - the BETWEEN THE SEAS FESTIVAL, an annual celebration of contemporary performing arts from the Mediterranean, opens today, July 22nd, and runs through July 28th at The Wild Project (195 East 3rd Street, New York, NY.) This year marks the third year for the BETWEEN THE SEAS FESTIVAL.

This year's BETWEEN THE SEAS FESTIVAL features a week filled with theatre, dance and music by some of the Mediterranean's current most exciting artists. The line-up for the festival is:

THEATER:

World premiere of

"Redshift"

by Yiannis Mavritsakis (Greece)

The Wild Project

Wednesday, July 24 at 8pm and Friday July 26 at 7pm

Between the Seas presents the world-premiere of "Redshift" by one of Greece and Europe's most distinctive playwrights, Yiannis Mavritsakis. "Redshift" tells the story of a parasitosis in all its stages from the infection and the incubation to the hatching and the parasite's final emergence. Yiannis Mavritsakis studied acting in the Drama School of the National Theater in Athens. He is a recipient of the Karolos Koun Prize for best play (2008) and of the Hortatsis and Palmares awards for best play (2010). His previous play, "Vitriol," has been staged in Theatre de la Ville (Paris) and National Theater of Athens directed by Olivier Py.

North American premiere of

"City-State"

from the Kanigunda Theater Company (Greece)

The Wild Project

Thursday, July 25 at 7pm and Saturday, July 27 at 6pm

A play inspired by that ancient Greek city-state of Athens - song and dance, comedy and drama, historical narrations, politicians and citizens all went in toshaping this ancient, yet modern autonomous entity. Beginning with freedom, independence, self-sufficiency, then quickly turning to the blood, the city planning, the people, the building materials, the conquerors. The characters in City-State are users and readers of Athens. They speak the language inscribed on them by the city itself. The production takes a snapshot of their Athens and invents its (hi)story... Kanigunda Theater Company was founded in 2005. Kanigunda is not a theatre group in the conventional meaning; it is rather an open convention of collaborating whenever the need and the possibility of staging a performance occurs. The Company's work focuses on the comprehension of texts, speech articulation and the quest for communicationalconventions between the actors during the rehearsals' period and the performances. www.kanigunda.gr

North American premiere

"Eyes"

from The Arab-Hebrew Theater Center (Israel)

The Wild Project

Saturday, July 27 at 2pm and Sunday, July 28 at 8:30pm

Directed by Norman Issa, "Eyes" is a surreal expedition following the poems of the poet Mahmoud Darwish, traveling between his childhood in the Galilee to exile in Lebanon. In this trip the actors meet the poet and themselves through the encounter with the mother of the poet, with the revered teacher Shoshana, and through the reunion with Rita - his Jewish lover. The Journey is performed in two languages, Hebrew and Arabic, by Arab and Jewish actors, accompanied by Mira Awad's music and performance. In ancient Jaffa, in a multi-arched building overlooking the sea, The Arab-Hebrew Theater creates a unique theatrical language using the building's challenging structure and Jaffa's rich fabric of life.

DANCE:

US premiere of

"Amongst Millions"

by Pedro Goucha Gomes (Portugal)

The Wild Project

Tuesday, July 23 at 7pm and Thursday, July 25 at 9:30pm

With the current European crisis in mind, Portuguese choreographer Pedro Goucha Gomes has created a 30 minute dance that focuses on the feelings of frustration, alienation and fear observed in the artist's native country of Portugal stemming from the recent and current economic crisis. As a dancer Mr. Gomes has performed with Stuttgart Baller, Compania Nacional de Danza (under Nacho Duato), Netherlands Dance Theater (with Jiri Kylian). Since 2006 he has been choreographing for Scapino Ballet (Rotterdam), The Portuguese Contemporary Dance Company, the Szeged Contemporary Dance Company, Korzo Theater, Kannon Dance.

US premiere of

"Pieles"

by Paula Quintana (Spain)

The Wild Project

Monday, July 22 at 7pm and Tuesday, July 23 at 9pm

Pieles (Spanish for Skin) is an emotional journey combining theater, contemporary dance and flamenco, in which the dancers reconcile themselves with the humanity of their passions and instincts, letting the skin smell, sweat, bleed, change and feel. Born in Tenerife, Spain - Paula Quintana trained in classical, contemporary and flamenco dance from an early age. After gaining her degree in Dramatic Arts she moved to Madrid where she continues to train and perform in dance and theater with numerous choreographers and companies touring across Europe.

Mari Meade Dance Collective

"d r t"

Choreographed by Korhan Basaran (Turkey)

The Wild Project

Tuesday, July 23 at 7pm and Thursday, July 25 at 9:30pm

With d r t, Turkish choreographer Korhan Basaran (a guest artist in BTS 2012) creates a piece for 4 same gender dancers, continuing his quest into the unknown, approaching it "with a genuine and honest idea, like holding your heart in your hands and sharing it with the others." Korhan Basaran is a Turkish-born, NY-based dancer & choreographer, creator of the interdisciplinary company "Korhan Basaran and Artists." His previous works have been performed at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Cunningham Studio, The Beacon Theater, and Baruch Performing Arts Center among others. Mari Meade Dance Collective (MMDC) wast founded in 2009 by Mari Meade after receiving the Kenan Fellowship at Lincoln Center Institute.

"The Bridge"

Vanessa Tamburi/FLUSSO Dance (Italy/USA)

The Wild Project

Tuesday, July 23 at 9pm and Thursday, July 25 at 9:30pm

Italian born choreographer Vanessa Tamburi explores "The Bridge" as a metaphor: a reflection on identities, borders, on welcome, on exclusion; a reflection on difference as a source of conflict and inspiration. Vanessa Tamburi began her career at the National Dance Academy of Rome and went on to study atMudra, the school directed by M. Bejart, in Brussels. She has worked as a solo dancer for key European theatres, including the Ballet of Montercarlo, the Hamburg Ballet, and the Vienna Opera Ballet. Her choreographies have been performed in Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and in collaboration with numerous theatres they were staged at international festivals in Vienna, Linz, Venice (Biennale Danza), Spoleto (Festival Dei Due Mondi), Prague, Rome (Rome Philharmonic and Auditorium, Park of Music), Tagliacozzo (Middle Summer Festival), and Dar es Salaam.

MUSIC/MULTIMEDIA:

"Suite Camus"

by Andreas Arnold (Germany/France/Algeria)

The Wild Project

Saturday, July 27 at 9:30pm and Sunday, July 28 at 6pm

Suite Camus is an interdisciplinary work, an osmosis of music, text and images that leads into the heart of Camusian ideas and aesthetics. Initiated by the Goethe Institut in Paris at the occasion of the French Nobel Prize winning author, journalist and philosopher Albert Camus' centenary, the project is a meeting of outstanding young artists from Algeria, France and Germany. "Suite Camus" is based on a structure that stems from an entry in Camus' diary from 1945. Here he lists his "dix mots preferes", the ten words most important to him and his work: "world, pain, earth, mother, man, desert, honor, misery, summer, sea". Musician and Brooklyn resident, Andreas Arnold has composed pieces for each of these key word, fusing elements of jazz, flamenco andelectronica to a unique synthesis. Andreas Arnold is a guitarist and composer based in Brooklyn, NY with five critically acclaimed albums to his credit. Living and studying both in NYC and Spain his unique guitar style displays the rhythmic drive of flamenco music, the sophistication of classical harmony and the free spiritedness of jazz.

Additionally, Between the Seas Festival will partner with Drom (85 Avenue A, btw 5th and 6th Streets) for three special events

"Flamenco and the Spanish Vanguard"

by Anna Tonna

Drom (85 Avenue A, btw 5th and 6th Streets)

Wednesday, July 24 at 7pm

The spectacle "Flamenco and the Spanish Vanguard" is a multi-disciplinary show that illuminates - via dance, song and visual projections - the early 20th century Flamenco culture and the European Vanguard that were drawn to them. Twentieth century Spanish music specialist mezzo soprano Anna Tonna, Flamenco dancer Rebecca Tomas, Spanish pianist Maria de los Ángeles Rubio as well as traditional flamenco musicians join forces to create an evening of music by Falla, Lorca, Pittaluga among others that will be superimposed with images by Picasso, Dali, Picabia, Man Ray and Romero de Torres as well as film clips that will bring to life these artists of the Spanish Silver age and the advent of the European Avant-garde.

In partnership with the Greek Film Festival

"Greek Shorts"

at Drom (85 Avenue A, btw 5th and 6th Streets)

Tuesday, July 23 at 7pm

This event is free and open to the public. Some of the young and emerging Greek and Greek American film makers at "Greek Shorts" curated by the Greek Film Festival Director J. DeMetro.

"Aghera" (Sardinia)

at Drom (85 Avenue A, btw 5th and 6th Streets)

Wednesday, July 24 at 8pm

One of the most fascinating music talents to emerge from the jazz scene of the island of Sardinia, "Aghera" (the Sardinian word for "air") is an ensemble that includes Emanuele Contis playing sax, Andrea Granitzio at piano, Sandro Fontoni at double-bass and Daniele Russo at drums.

Founded in 2010 by theatre artist and scholar Aktina Stathaki, BETWEEN THE SEAS FESTIVAL is the first and only festival in North America focusing on contemporary Mediterranean performing artists. The annual festival that runs for one week each summer in New York City, has quickly grown into a unique platform of high quality work, presenting some of the most exciting and thought provoking artists working in the Mediterranean region. With an eclectic programming of performances that so far have included Egypt, Israel, Greece, Lebanon, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Canada, Morocco and the US, the festival's past two editions have offered NYC audiences works by: Balletto Teatro di Sardegna, Lina Abiad, Mancopy Dansekompagni, Elias Aguirre, Rachel Erdos, Ido Tadmor, Korhan Basaran, Malika Zarra, to name a few.

The schedule for BETWEEN THE SEAS FESTIVAL is:

Monday, July 22 at 7:00pm - "Pieles"

Tuesday, July 23 at 7:00pm - "d r t" and "Amongst Millions"

Tuesday, July 23 at 7:00pm - "Greek Shorts" (at Drom)

Tuesday, July 23 at 9:00pm - "The Bridge" and "Pieles"

Wednesday, July 24 at 7:00pm - "Flamenco and the Spanish Vanguard" (at Drom)

Wednesday, July 24 at 8:00pm - "Redshift"

Wednesday, July 24 at 8:00pm - "Aghera" (at Drom)

Thursday, July 25 at 7:00pm - "City-State"

Thursday, July 25 at 9:30pm - "d r t," "The Bridge," and "Amongst Millions"

Friday, July 26 at 7:00pm - "Redshift"

Friday, July 26 at 9:30pm - Rebeca Tomas/A Palo Seco Flamenco

Saturday, July 27 at 2:00pm - "Eyes"

Saturday, July 27 at 6:00pm - "City-State"

Saturday, July 27 at 9:30pm - "Suite Camus"

Sunday, July 28 at 6:00pm - "Suite Camus"

Sunday, July 28 at 8:30pm - "Eyes"

Tickets are $20 (general admission) and $15 (students and seniors), for events at The Wild Project (195 East 3rd Street) tickets can be purchased at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/621 or by phone at 212-352-3101 and for events at Drom (85 Avenue A, btw 5th and 6th Streets), tickets can be purchased online at http://www.ticketfly.com/venue/1767-drom/.

For more information on BETWEEN THE SEAS FESTIVAL, visit www.BetweenTheSeas.org or email BetweenTheSeasFestival@gmail.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.