Striding Lion Presents Multi-Media Dance Theater Show DADA GERT, Now thru 5/31
By: BWW News Desk May. 23, 2013
Striding Lion Performance Group presents "Dada Gert," a multi-media dance theater performance inspired by the life and work of Valeska Gert, a renegade dance-theater-film-cabaret artist whose punk-like "dance satires" alternately challenged and thrilled audiences in Weimar-era Berlin, conceived and choreographed by Annie Arnoult Beserra. The show runs one hour with no intermission.
"Dada Gert" surrounds the audience with rhythm, athleticism, and the intently focused theatricality of Striding Lion's multi-talented performers as they embody the raucous performance world of Valeska Gert. As audiences walk through the Dada-inspired set installation by Jeff Hancock, featuring projections designed by Christopher Ash, sound by Nick Keenan and lighting design by Jacob Snodgrass, Striding Lion dancers entice and scold through renditions of the latest dance-hall fascination, irreverent jerks and twists, and contorted faces and mimetic gestures. The piece pits Gert's excessive self-importance against the irreverent playfulness of her Dada counterparts, a conflict of aesthetics which literally comes to blows in a stagEd Battle between the two.
"Dada Gert" draws inspiration and expertise from the Chicago community. In addition to incorporating the collaborative input of the project's design team and performance ensemble, the production's development phase has included opportunities for the public to engage through open rehearsals and works-in-progress showings at Links Hall in spring 2012; the DanceBridge residency at the Chicago Cultural Center during September - November 2012; and a preview at the German Cultural Center Dankhaus as a part of Links Hall's THAW benefit in March 2013.
"Dada Gert" is the third in Striding Lion's series of dance installations exploring geographically and historically-inspired subjects, and continues Beserra's pursuit to transform socially, politically, and historically significant source material into deeply embodied performance pieces that question the "truths" of their subjects from diverse perspectives.
The show runs Thursdays and Fridays, tonight, May 23-24, and May 30-31, 2013, 7:30 p.m. Four shows only (no previews) at Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N. Hoyne, Chicago, IL (Roscoe Village). CTA: Damen #50 Bus to Barry Ave., or Belmont #77 to Damen Ave. Belmont Red/Brown/Purple EL stops.
STAFF: Annie Arnoult Beserra (Choreographer), Jeff Hancock (Installation and Costume Design), Jacob Snodgrass (Lighting Design and Production Stage Management), Christopher Ash (Projection Design), and Nick Keenan (Sound Design).
DANCERS: Annie Arnoult Beserra, Britt Banaszynski, Dana Dardai, Michaela Federspiel, Calyn Guberman, Jeff Hancock and Ericka Vaughn Lashley.
In 2006, Annie Beserra was introduced to Valeska Gert, and was intrigued by the ferocious blend of body, voice and popular/political conceit. Beserra been a guest artist/teacher at the Now and Next Dance Mentoring Project at Appalachian State University, Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, The University of Alaska at Anchorage, Alaska Dance Theatre, University of Houston, and the National High School Institute. Beserra has a dance MFA from The Ohio State University, and a BA in Dance and Comparative Literary Studies from Northwestern University, where she is a lecturer in the Dance Program teaching modern, ballet, history and theory. Under Beserra's direction, Striding Lion has received grants from The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Greater Houston Community Foundation, the Arts & Business Council, the Arts Work Fund, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and The Illinois Arts Council.
For more information, visit www.StridingLion.org, find them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/stridinglion, or follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/stridinglion.
Pictured: Annie Arnoult Beserra brings an archival image of Valeska Gert's solo performance to life. Photo by Matthew Gregory Hollis.
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