Thodos Dance Chicago & Fulcrum Point New Music Project to Present NEW MUSIC AND DANCE, 9/20

By: Aug. 25, 2013
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Longtime dance and music collaborators Thodos Dance Chicago, led by Artistic Director Melissa Thodos, and Fulcrum Point New Music Project, led by Artistic Director Stephen Burns, team up once again to present a retrospective evening titled New Music and Dance, presenting four works the ensembles have created collaboratively over the past decade, plus a world premiere.

This one-night-only performance takes place at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago, 915 E. 60th Street, Friday, September 20 at 7:30 pm.

Tickets are $25 general admission, $15 for students and seniors. Purchase tickets online at fulcrumpoint.org or ticketsweb.uchicago.edu, or call the Logan Center Box Office at 773.702.2787.

The New Music and Dance concert features the critically acclaimed Aries, choreographed by Thodos for twelve dancers, a piece about the Zodiac set to music by Karlheinz Stockhausen for trumpet, performed by Burns. Also featured is the trio Eastwind, choreographed by Thodos, set to Israeli-American, Pulitzer Prize-winner Shulamit Ran's composition of the same title performed by flutist Mary Stopler.

Thodos and Fulcrum Point reprise In a Vacuum, a special archival solo work choreographed by Sybil Shearer, an early 20th century pioneer in modern dance and also a longtime Chicagoan. Toby Nicholson, who was a dancer with Shearer, assisted Melissa Thodos in the re-creation of this piece. Shearer's solo is set to Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky's "Goldenberg and Schmuyle" from Pictures at an Exhibition arranged for trumpet and piano performed by Burns and Fulcrum Point pianist Kuang-Hao Huang.

The relatively new work Sentient, choreographed by Thodos and premiered this past February at the Auditorium Theatre, rounds out the retrospective side of the program. This work for six dancers is set to Fritz Kreisler'svirtuosic violin work Praeludium and Allegro performed by Sphinx artist Hannah White.

The highlight of the diverse New Music and Dance program is a world premiere work choreographed by Thodosand set to Nagoya Marimbas by Steve Reich, performed by marimba virtuosi Doug Perkins and Greg Beyer. This new work celebrates the complexity of Reich through intricate kinetic dynamics and layers of crafted choreographic phrasing, culminating in a fluidly intense experience.

Thodos Dance Chicago (TDC), founded in 1992 by Artistic Director Melissa Thodos, is an ensemble of twelve versatile dance artists with a captivating style that uses a variety of dance forms. The company's unique mission of inspiring expression through dance education, dance creation and dance performance has established Thodos Dance Chicago as an innovative presence in American contemporary dance. Thodos Dance Chicago features the American voice in contemporary dance and has created two critically acclaimed story ballets. In addition to performing works by Melissa Thodos and resident artists, TDC performs a diverse array of works created by other reputable choreographers: Bob Fosse, Ann Reinking, Lar Lubovitch, Shapiro & Smith, Lucas Crandall, Jon Lehrer, Michael Anderson, Zachary Whittenburg, Amy Ernst, Ron De Jesús and Gustavo Ramírez Sansano. TDC ensemble members themselves also create highly-charged, illuminating world premieres every year in the Company's acclaimed New Dances choreography series. For more information about programs and upcoming performances of Thodos Dance Chicago, please visit thodosdancechicago.org.



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