Armitage / Buglisi / Monte / Muller – LIVE!

Armitage Gone! Dance, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Elisa Monte Dance, and Jennifer Muller/The Works join forces to present a series of five Shared Program Performances featuring 6 Pieces – 3 Premieres – and 35 Dancers.

Four distinguished and innovative choreographers, at the height of their careers, each with a powerful original voice, present a vibrant evening of dance with an expressive edge that moves minds and hearts with a shared humanity. The 35 extraordinary performers stand out as individuals, yet work in cohesive ensembles.

A B M M LIVE offers an amazing opportunity to experience four acclaimed choreographers and their exceptional dancers together on one stage!

The Program includes… (in order of appearance)

MOSS…AWAKENING OUR HUMANITY… Buglisi Dance Theatre (premiere)
Choreographer: Jacqulyn Buglisi / Composer: Paula Jeanine Bennett
(supported by the O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation (live music grant)

Moss…Awakening our Humanity…is a flight deeper into the mysteries and science of sacred landscapes and how they relate to the evolving human condition today. A poetic metaphor, this microscopic form of life moving so slowly as to appear imperceptible to the human eye (yet as powerful as stone) is contrasted with the sustainability of human existence which is fragile and fleeting.

WALLS (excerpt) Armitage Gone! Dance (preview)
Choreographer: Karole Armitage /Composer: David Lang

The excerpt of Walls is the first of two sections commissioned by the Ravello Festival, Italy premiering on July 2, 2017. The Festival’s theme for the year, Walls refers to the political arena today. Lang’s music of yearning, lament, harsh shocking accents, vulnerability and exquisite beauty provide the basis for the dance. Continuity and community are realized in the second section danced to ancient Greek music with choreography root in folk traditions.

DAY’S RESIDUE Elisa Monte Dance
Choreographer: Elisa Monte / Composer: Vladimir Godar

Monte’s powerful Day’s Residue, with music by Slovakian composer Vladimir Godar, is a piece that refers to insignificant and familiar daily occurrences that are used in working through personal archetypical issues in our dreams.

INTERMISSSION

THE SPOTTED OWL (excerpt) Jennifer Muller/The Works
Choreographer: Jennifer Muller / Composer: Marty Beller

The Spotted Owl, an example of Muller’s synthesis of dance and theatrical form has an emphasis on the spoken word, fusing music with taped and live dialogue. This faceted, non-linear piece addresses the issue of endangered species, suggesting that endangerment is not limited to the animal kingdom and questions the validity of current American values.

1:3:4:1 Elisa Monte Dance (US premiere)
Choreographer: Tiffany Rea-Fisher / Composer: Paul Ukena
1:3:4:1 was supported in part by the Socrates Space Grant Program.

Created on a large outdoor stage this piece celebrates the beauty and freedom of the outdoors while exploring the power and grace of the male dancer.

EXCERPT FROM LIGETI ESSAYS Armitage Gone! Dance
Choreographer: Karole Armitage /Composer: György Ligeti

Ligeti Essays is a series of short haiku like dances accompanying songs by composer György Ligeti to reveal different states of mind – from the sarcastic and humorous to the trivial or languorous. The dancers capture thought through movement based on a curvilinear, calligraphic dance vocabulary punctuated by rough, raw accents.