STREB Extreme Action in SEA Set for The Kennedy Center, 11/4-5

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents STREB Extreme Action in their Kennedy Center debut with SEA (Singular Extreme Actions) in the Eisenhower Theater for three performances, November 4-5, 2016.

SEA, the latest show from Artistic Director and 1997 MacArthur "Genius" grant recipient Elizabeth Streb tests the boundaries of the human body as performers navigate through, around, and above original hardware invented specifically for the show. In the unique style of choreography dubbed PopAction by Streb, elements of dance, athletics, boxing, rodeo, the circus, and Hollywood stunt work are intertwined. The result is a bristling, machine-like dance theater, which combines daring with technical precision to tell the story of action. With the musical artistry of some of today's best beat producers, the SEA experience includes an interactive soundtrack where Audience members will have the opportunity to contribute to the resident DJ/Producer's playlist to make each show audibly unique. Editor's Note: SEA replaces the previously announced work, FORCES for STREB Extreme Action's appearance in the Fall.

STREB Extreme Action combines virtuosity and technical skill with open-hearted popular appeal. Founded in New York City more than 30 years ago by Elizabeth Streb, the company has traveled, artistically as well as geographically, from the soaring heights of experimental dance to the cutting-edge of popular entertainment. In 2012, STREB was invited to participate in a festival as part of the London Olympics, performing unique events incorporating major London landmarks, all culminating with a high-flying performance on The London Eye.

About Elizabeth Streb

Elizabeth Streb has dived through glass, walked down (the outside of) London's City Hall, allowed a ton of dirt to fall on her head, and set herself on fire, among many other feats of extreme action. She founded the STREB Extreme Action Company in 1985 and established SLAM (STREB Lab for Action Mechanics) in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 2003. Her goal has been to create a new language of motion that all humans recognize. She calls it PopAction and it exists as a fusion of dance, hardware invention, sports, gymnastics, and the American circus. Her work speaks of and to intrinsic human potential and reinvents the radical art of culture.

Streb holds a master's in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University, a bachelor's in Modern Dance from SUNY Brockport, and two honorary doctorates. She has received numerous awards and fellowships including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award in 1997, the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1987, and a Doris Duke Artist Award in 2013. She is a member of the board of the Jerome and Camargo Foundations. Major commissions for choreography include: Lincoln Center Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, MOCA LA Temporary Contemporary, the Whitney Museum of Art, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, the Park Avenue Armory, and London 2012, the Cultural Olympiad for the Summer Games. Streb has been a featured speaker at such places as TEDxMET, the Institute for Technology and Education (ISTE), POPTECH, the Institute of Contemporary Art, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Rochester Institute of Technology, the National Performing Arts Convention, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), the Penny Stamps Speaker Series, Chorus America, the University of Utah, as a Caroline Werner Gannett Project speaker in Rochester N.Y., and on NPR's Science Friday.

In 2010, Feminist Press published her book, STREB: How to Become an Extreme Action Hero. She is the subject of two recent documentaries. Born to Fly, directed by Catherine Gund (Aubin Pictures) and premiered in 2014, is currently available on Netflix and iTunes. OXD, directed by Craig Lowy, follows STREB at the 2012 London Olympics and premiered in 2016. In the spring of 2015, Streb was the subject of Alec Wilkinson's profile in The New Yorker, "Rough and Tumble."

Tickets start at $25. Single tickets go on sale for Kennedy Center members on July 25, 2016 and for the public on August 1, 2016. Tickets can be purchased at the Kennedy Center box office or by calling Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600. Patrons living outside the Washington metropolitan area may dial toll-free at (800) 444-1324.

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