Elisa Monte Dance Comes to Aaron Davis Hall 10/23

Aimed at guiding patrons through themes of discovery, understanding and cultural celebration, City College Center for the Arts (CCCA), home to Aaron Davis Hall, is renewing the artistic expression of the campus's student body in their inaugural 2014-2015 season. NYC's newest center celebrating the diverse artistic voice of its community, CCCA will begin their season with a presentation of, Elisa Monte Dance, on October 23, at Aaron Davis Hall, 7:00 p.m. Monte, an emotionally charged and highly acclaimed dance company that champions individuality, will present Run to the Rock, Treading, Audentity and excerpts from Feu Follet for one night only.

On the heels of their Spring residence at CCCA, as part of the roster of the CUNY Dance Initiative, EMD returns to City College to launch the center's first season of official dance programming. In-line with CCCA's goal to resurrect the presence and impact of dance on campus and within its population of over 90 languages, Elisa Monte selected four works with the thread of diversity and community woven throughout.

In its 34th season, EMD has solidified its continued mission to present and cultivate works that explore the worlds around them with a creative and enriched voice. "This collection of work tells a unified story that identifies with the community minded and focused mission of the new CCCA," explains Tiffany Rea- Fisher, EMD's Associate Artistic Director. "From immigration to emigration to the exploration of identity and community, the varied program will be a great fit for the audiences that visit the Aaron Davis Hall in this exciting re-vitalization."

Set to the music of Nina Simone's Sinnerman, Run to the Rock (originally premiered in 1998 to great audience acclaim) will open the program this fall featuring one of the company's newest dancers, Malik Kitchen. A collaborative work between Elisa Monte and David Brown in tribute to Alvin Ailey, who was a major force in Elisa Monte's development, this work visits the themes of Ailey's most famous and celebrated works, Revelations. Run to the Rock fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul. More than just a popular dance work, it comes with a deep cultural significance that is collective of CCCA's Harlem audience.

Elisa Monte's signature work Treading, created in 1979 will also be included on the program. Martha Graham commissioned this landmark duet, while Monte was still a principal in the Graham Company. Music by Steve Reich, this marks the beginning of Elisa's choreographic career and served as the catalyst for driving Monte to create works that went on to define her as an important innovator and contributor to contemporary dance.

Audentity will round out the program, originally premiered in 1987. Set to the music of Klaus Schulze, Audentity is a composite word describing identity through sound. A unity of body, soul, and mind, Audentity visually interprets the music's rhythm and flow, weaving the unexpected while defining and examining a cross sector of sounds that represent various cultures all over the world.

Lastly, Feu Follet, a work not seen in the U.S. for nearly twenty years, also a collaboration between Monte and Brown, represents the history and culture of the Acadian people in their travels from France to Canada to Louisiana. The title, Feu Follet, means "crazy fire," referring to the strange marsh lights seen on the Louisiana bayous. Set to the music of Richard Peaslee, this is a work that speaks to generations who have left their home to build another-a theme that captures the audiences CCCA hopes to cultivate and attract as its program continues to develop.

General seating is available for $15. A $10 CUNY student ticket is also available. Tickets are available for purchase by phone at 212.650.6900 or at www.citycollegecenterforthearts.org. The performance will take place at the Marian Anderson Theater, located in the Aaron Davis Hall at City College of New York on October 23 at 7:00 p.m.

Aaron Davis Hall is located on the campus of The City College of New York, between West 133rd and 135th Streets on Convent Avenue. Convent Avenue is one block east of Amsterdam Avenue and is the extension of Morningside Avenue beginning at 127th Street. The theater is accessible by the 1, A, D, C and C trains.

In 2014, The Office of Government & Community Affairs announced the launch of The City College Center for the Arts (CCCA). The Center serves as a cultural hub that builds a sense of community both within the school and its surrounding neighborhood, while inspiring creativity and diversity. Home to Aaron Davis Hall, the largest performing arts center in Manhattan north of Lincoln Center, it also provides a premier venue for local and national performers and for art patrons in the tri-state area. The venue showcases art that captures the college's culturally diverse student body, which speaks more than 90 languages, and includes dance, music, theater, literary readings, film, performance art and art exhibitions. For more information visit www.citycollegecenterforthearts.org.

ABOUT ELISA MONTE DANCE

Founded in 1981, Elisa Monte Dance is hailed around the world for its visceral and sensual style and embodiment of diverse cultural influences. Based in New York City, the non-profit dance company actively tours nationally and internationally showcasing its distinctive cross-discipline style and bridging cultural barriers through dance. The company's eight dancers rise to the creative challenge in an ecstatic display of physical prowess that gives life to an intense array of emotions. The company has taken a practical and integral approach to arts education, regularly teaching professional workshops and creative movement for K-12 schools as well as working with at-risk populations. The company recently developed an eight-week creative tools mentorship program. For more information visit www.elisamontedance.org.

ABOUT ELISA MONTE

ELISA MONTE (Artistic Director) made her professional debut dancing with Agnes DeMille. She was featured as a principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company, Lar Lubovitch, and Pilobolus, among others. Monte's first choreographic work, Treading (1979), defined her as an important innovator and contributor to contemporary dance. Her signature style, recognized as daring, intense and passionate, is classical and highly athletic. Rooted in sensuality and sustained energy, Monte's work is notable for its expansive range of movement. Monte has choreographed more than 50 works danced by Elisa Monte Dance and others, including Boston Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, San Francisco Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ballet Gulbenkian of Portugal, Teatro alla Scala Ballet, Philadanco, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, North Carolina Dance Theater, the Batsheva Dance Company of Israel, and the PACT Contemporary Dance Company of South Africa.

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