In a few short weeks, Shadowbox Live and BalletMet Columbus will unveil the very first collaboration between these two heavy hitting arts organizations, 7 Deadly Sins, performing at Capitol Theatre April 29th - May 7th.
"I can't adequately express how thrilled we are to have this opportunity," says Shadowbox Live Executive Producer and CEO Stev Guyer. "The world of collaboration is something we've only begun to explore, and working with a long standing, highly respected organization l
Ike BalletMet is exciting beyond measure."
The performance will feature the renowned dancers of BalletMet, with music written and performed by musicians from Shadowbox Live, all revolving around the theme of the Seven Deadly Sins.
"When discussions first began about the possibility of a collaboration, a lot of focus was given to what the topic might be," says Guyer. "When you're attempting to blend the audiences of two companies with completely different performance styles, there's an awful lot to consider. We didn't want to alienate BalletMet's patrons with a topic that was too radical, yet needed to meet the expectations of the Shadowbox Live audience with something cutting edge."
"The Seven Deadly Sins seemed to be a perfect solution," concludes Guyer. "We felt it would be arresting, suitable, and appealing to both audiences."
Each of the seven sins will be a separate piece of dance and music. To engage the audience more fully, spoken word, ambient music, and a few rock 'n' roll songs will be added throughout to create a seamless performance.
The rock 'n' roll ensemble providing the music for 7 Deadly Sins will be comprised of performers from the Shadowbox Live house bands from both the Greater Columbus and Greater Cincinnati locations, featuring Jennifer Hahn on keyboards, Matthew Hahn on lead guitar, Bran
Don Smith on drums, and former Shadowbox Live musician Gabe Guyer on bass. Vocalists for the evening will include Stacie Boord,
Julie Klein, and Stev Guyer. In a recent interview, Guyer described the collaboration with each choreographer from the perspective of the Shadowbox Live musicians.
"What we have here is an opportunity not only to fuse two seemingly unrelated performance styles, but expose both audiences to a side of the arts they may never have experienced otherwise," says Guyer. "Greater Columbus is establishing itself as a trailblazer in the arts and collaborations like this are only the beginning."
7 Deadly Sins will run Thursday at 7:30 PM, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM, and Sundays at 2:00 PM from April 29 - May 7, 2011 at the Capitol Theatre. For more information, visit
www.shadowboxlive.org.
Shadowbox Live is sponsored by Costume Specialists, Courtyard Marriott Columbus Airport location, Crawford Communities, Cup O Joe, Dr.
Robert Lowe, Family Physicians of Gahanna, Genesis Audio, Outlook, Professional Eye Care Associates, WCBE.
"Commit the oldest of sins in the newest kind of ways,"
William ShakespeareThat's exactly what Shadowbox Live and BalletMet are doing this Spring as they join forces for their world premiere production 7 Deadly Sins.
World-renowned choreographers and the BalletMet company dancers invite you to indulge in the ultimate rock 'n' roll ballet with new compositions and arrangements of music performed live by Shadowbox Live musicians.
Expect the unexpected when Heaven and Hell go head-to-head in this sinuous, dark, sinfully delicious show.
Shadowbox Live is the largest resident theater company in America, producing over 400 shows per year.
A non-profit 501c3 performance troupe, Shadowbox Live employs 60+ full time ensemble members immersed in the Shadowbox Live philosophy of "everyone does everything," including arts administration.
These Shadowbox Live metaperformers self-produce a wide range of shows, as well as run the company on a day-to-day basis.
For over 20 years this creative team has produced world-class performances, spanning the artistic spectrum with sketch comedy, rock 'n 'roll, original rock operas, traditional musicals, drama, dance theater and new media; always putting emphasis on the unparalleled live experience.
Shadowbox Live is a healthy, vibrant, self-sustaining arts organization that generates the majority of its funding from its patron base, and leads the way as an artistic tour de force in Midwest.
Excerpts from 7 Deadly Sins interview with Stev Guyer, March 10, 2011
Envy, choreographed by Amy Seiwert - "Originally, the rock 'n' roll concept for this piece dealt with groups of people and a 'grass is greener' approach, but it has developed into a look at the envy experienced by a middle class American family. After meeting with Amy Seiwert, we agreed to throw out the first piece of music we wrote, and will now be playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, with a Pink Floyd style guitar lead over the well-known melody."
Pride, choreographed by Ma Cong - "This is another piece that has taken a completely different turn from our original concept. Ma Cong's take on pride has more to do with a national or patriotic pride, as opposed to the more 'sinful' side. So again, we tossed the music we originally wrote. At first, we were leaning towards eastern gypsy folk music, but found we didn't have the instruments necessary to duplicate it accurately. We decided on a medley of songs by Santana, which does justice to both our rock 'n' roll style, and the ethnic feel the choreographer was looking for."
Lust, choreographed by Gina Patterson - "Of all the sins, lust received the biggest makeover from start to finish, and definitely took the most negotiation. We considered this to be one of the most straight forward concepts, and when we initially composed the music, we took the most common definition as the inspiration. Gina Patterson had a completely different view on lust. She sees it as a sin expressed through religious guilt. We started again from scratch, and now have a BillWho? original piece we feel encompasses this very unique angle."
Wrath, choreographed by
Darrell Grand Moultrie, "The music for Wrath is very rock 'n' roll with a metal edge. It's basically unchanged from our original concept. It has a very 'in your face' quality, and Darrell really took the concept and ran with it. Of all the choreographers, Darrell was the most interested in embracing the rock 'n' roll and choreographing a dance completely out of his comfort zone. Wrath is more than just anger, it's a surrendering to the anger, blocking out all else, and the movement and music for this piece truly express exactly that."
Greed, choreographed by Jimmy Orrante, "Greed can be examined on a multitude of levels, from the individual all the way up to society as a whole. Our take on Greed is more of the latter, a look at how Greed has evolved in our country over the last century. The music is a bit like
Trent Reznor meets Gregorian Chant, and the lyrics are a direct condemnation of very public, negative events in our society."
Sloth, choreographed by James Kudelka, "This piece went through a great deal of bizarre morphs before the final version. After hearing our first attempt, the choreographer mentioned he'd like to use The Beatles For No One. So we created a new version of the song, but we had completely misunderstood. What James was looking for was the theme and feeling of The Beatles tune, not the song itself. The finished piece is very much a dirge with influences of
Johnny Cash and Tom Waitts."
Gluttony, choreographed by James Kudelka, "While the most common explanation of Gluttony is over eating, it is in fact an over indulgence in almost anything. Therefore, the room for interpretation on this one is just immense. Our first attempt had a very circus-like sound, but like many of the other sins, we ended up switching gears. James wanted something slightly more classical, so we're performing a deconstructed version of Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens."
