Ariel Schmidtke Presents A LENGTH OF ROPE at The Muse
By: BWW News Desk Apr. 12, 2017
A Length of Rope Tour is a 501(c)(3) non-profit tour sponsored by Anchorage Community Works. This tour will circle the United States offering donation based performances and workshops across the country.
Schmidtke will be presenting her solo contemporary circus show A Length of Rope at the Muse on May 5th 2017. The show explores the significant choices we come to in life, with a rope and trapeze suspended on opposing sides of each intersection. These two circus apparatuses represent the struggle of choosing between different directions-be it a choice of place, identity, friendship, or love. There is no fourth wall in this show, spectators can see Schmidtke's hands tremble from physical exhaustion and some portions are performed among the audience members. The show's relatability and vulnerability invite spectators to project their own choices on the performance and explore for themselves their lost possibilities. In this way, the work is innovative; it pushes beyond circus, beyond drama, to a place of intimate connection.
Joining Schmidtke on tour will be Bellingham, Washington based performer Strangely. From emceeing to performing his own full-length show, Strangely will be joining the tour as a multifaceted performer. Strangely has thrice circled the globe with his award winning, "rollicking, sing-along, one-man, cabaret riot" (Broadway Baby, Edinburgh) show Roaring Accordion. Never failing to impress, Strangely draws audiences into an epic world where anything can--and often does--happen.
Chriselle Tidrick, the Brooklyn-based founder of Above and Beyond Dance will also be part of this show, presenting her most recent creation, Veiled Unveilings. This solo for aerial fabric incorporates Tidrick's signature blend of aerial artistry and dance theater choreography into an exploration of the internal conflict between concealing and revealing one's vulnerability. Tidrick retreats into the safety of moments hidden behind the fabric panel, wrapped within the fabric, or simply withdrawn into internal focus, communicating her urge to find security in the face of a potentially threatening environment. Yet, these moments are at odds with her desire to engage with the world. Suspended in the aerial fabric, body exposed, she seeks courage to unveil her vulnerability, connect with the audience, and move upward with strength, grace, and self assurance.
Ariel Schmidtke is an interdisciplinary physical performer and multimedia artist. Encouraged at a young age by gymnastics she began training as an aerialist with the Dream Science Circus at the age of eighteen. Ariel spent several years studying dance, theatre, and circus arts in order to diversify her performances. In 2010 she joined the New Old Time Chautauqua Tour, and was inspired by their mission to bring entertainment and education to diverse rural communities with the intention of inspiring creativity and supporting community. After this tour she traveled to Paris, France to explore the origins of Nouveau Cirque and expand her performance skills. In France, she trained intensively at the Académie Fratellini and enriched her approach to circus dramaturgy. She returned to the United States in 2012, and continues to travel and perform her work, hoping to share wonder and excitement with small communities across the country.
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