Rosy Simas Danse Explores Native American Ancestry at The Dance Center, Now thru 10/18

The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago presents the Chicago debut of Rosy Simas Danse in a mixed-media solo dance work, We Wait In The Darkness. Performances are today, October 16-18, 2014 at The Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.

Simas examines her matrilineal Seneca heritage and the ways ancestry, homeland, culture and history are stored in the body and expressed in movement. In collaboration with French composer Francois Richomme, Simas creates an environment of sound, photography, video imagery and movement. Using personal metaphor and story, this new dance work engages past and future,
DNA memory and invisible presences to create a personal artwork about loss, family, perseverance and home.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune writes, "Simas uses her slowly unraveling movement to reach back into time while still performing in the present... Simas delves into the collective memory of her Seneca kin as well as significant events that transformed their lives, specifically the breaking of a 1794 treaty signed by George Washington that condemned 10,000 acres of the Allegany Reservation in western New York to make way for the Kinzua Dam in Pennsylvania during the 1960s. Ancestral lands were flooded and some 700 Seneca people lost their homes. It is possible to heal the past using movement, Simas says."

A post-performance conversation with the artist takes place Thursday, October 16, free to ticket holders. Simas also will participate in The Dance Center's FREE DanceMakers series, which features contemporary dance artists offering insight into their choreographic process, Monday, October 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the American Rhythm Center, Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave. 3rd floor, Chicago. Preregistration is required.

In conjunction with Rosy Simas Danse's residency, The Dance Center is partnering with the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, one of the few U.S. museums that focuses exclusively on the art, history and culture of American Indian and First Nations peoples from the U.S. and Canada. Located at 3001 Central Street in Evanston, the Mitchell Museum will exhibit Simas' evolving visual collection aligned with her performances of We Wait In The Darkness. The exhibit opens September 27 with a curator tour at 11 a.m. and an artist talk at 2 p.m. Simas also will participate in conversations and interactions with the Chicago Native American community and pioneer Dr. Dorene P. Wiese, president of the American Indian Association of Illinois. More information will follow.

The Dance Center presents Rosy Simas Danse October 16-18, Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. at The Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Single tickets are $30. All programming is subject to change. The theatre is accessible to people with disabilities. For information, call 312-369-8330 or visit colum.edu/dancecenterpresents.

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