Feature: Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre Takes MARIE to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Sacramento’s renowned choreographer Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya is taking his talent across the pond with Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre’s (SCDT) original take on the life of Marie Antoinette. SCDT will be performing in Scotland at Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe from August 15-19. The Festival Fringe bills itself as “one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture on the planet,” and we will be here cheering Jacob and Company on as they take the international arts community by storm.

Gutierrez-Montoya’s Marie takes a look at the royal from a different perspective – her own. Through beautiful artistry, unique staging, and dramatic choreography, Gutierrez-Montoya guides us through a journey of excess that Marie Antoinette’s life celebrated. Opulent costumes and ornate projections complement dazzling movement created in the spirit of Marie, who lived “lavishly, with love and passion,” while offering no apologies for her extravagance or indifference to her subjects’ suffering. In numbers accompanied by aptly chosen songs such as “Material Girl,” we’re treated to a resplendent feast for the senses. When Marie says we will eat cake, we know we will like it.

Gutierrez-Montoya’s creativity and vision combine to produce a work worthy of international acclaim. Why Marie Antoinette? He says, “My fascination with history combined with my desire to tell stories in novel ways led to the creation of Marie. I find Marie Antoinette’s history to be extravagant and fascinating. I was driven to highlight the adverse circumstances that the young monarch had to deal with in order to give the audience a more sympathetic understanding of her experience.”

Gutierrez-Montoya’s unparalleled physical storytelling, in the groundbreaking and emotive Marie, will be performed in Sacramento next year during Spring at the Sofia. Details will be announced at a later date and for more information visit SCDTheatre.org. For information on the Festival Fringe, visit EdFringe.com. 

Photo credit: CMYK

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