Elisa Monte Dance To Offer Interactive and Immersive Dance Premieres

Elisa Monte Dance, an emotionally charged and highly acclaimed Dance Company that champions individuality, has moved into a creative realm of audience interaction and immersion with their latest works. Through two world premieres, The Best Self Project, to debut at Triskelion Arts on March 9 and 10, and Elisa Monte Dance After Dark Featuring Twelve45, at Joe's Pub, May 26 and 27, the new artistic director is experimenting with movement and interaction in unlikely ways, fusing concert contemporary movement together with examinations of the ways in which their spectators work together with their surroundings.

"In assuming directorship of this well-oiled dance machine, this transition year has simply been the year of YES!," accounts newly appointed Artistic Director, Tiffany Rea-Fisher. "This YES has led me into projects that don't always happen on a traditional stage, and challenged me to dive into the concepts of audience engagement. I love showing up in places that people aren't used to seeing the company-it keeps the cycle of new movement alive and well!"

A 45-minute full length work, The Best Self Project, centers on the theme of civil society and how one actualizes their best self through their work, deeds and actions. With an atypical approach, led by emcee Darren Biggart, this is a social gathering of audience members, interrupted by dance. An experience guided by movement, music, live vocals, and Comedy Club-like improv vignettes, the evening focuses on issues of equality, race, politics, and identity; concepts that have been at the forefront of Rea-Fisher's industry discussions over the last several months. With a solo dancer opening the work en pointe, contemporary modern vocabulary will define this new work, with a hint of 90's hip-hop influence as well.

Later this spring, Elisa Monte Dance will return to Joe's Pub with DJ Twelve45, weaving a completely unknown story of movement for both the audience and the dancers. While each song that she mixes will have a specific dance associated with it, the order and the context will be left up to her, creating a social club scene for both the dancers and audience to experience together.

REPERTORY DETAILS

The Best Self Project (World Premiere)

Choreography: Tiffany Rea-Fisher
Original Music Composed by: Anthony & The Johnsons, Chromeo & GIRLI

Writer: Anthony Vaughn Merchant

Writer and Emcee: Darren Biggart

Length: 45 min.

The Best Self Project centers on the theme of civil society and how one actualizes their best self through their work, deeds and actions. Mixing music, dance, live vocals and audience engagement this piece is like nothing the company has presented before.

Elisa Monte Dance After Dark Featuring Twelve45 (World Premiere)

Choreography: Tiffany Rea-Fisher
Music credit: Twelve45

Length: 55 min.

Twelev45 will be mixing live as the EMD dancers weave their way out of multiple storylines. The choreographer and DJ have agreed on where the journey will begin and end, but how we get there will be completely up Twelve45.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE and TICKET INFORMATION

The Best Self Project will premiere on March 9-10 at 8:00 p.m. at Triskelion Arts in the Muriel Schulman Theater, located at 106 Calyer Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Tickets are $16 in advance, $20 at the door, and can be purchased online athttp://bit.ly/2lA1stb. The venue is accessible by the G train to Greenpoint Avenue, or the L to Bedford.

Elisa Monte Dance After Dark Featuring Twelve45 will premiere on May 26 and 27 at Joe's Pub at 7:30 p.m. Joe's Pub is located at 425 Lafayette Street, between E 4th Street and Astor Place. Ticket information will be available shortly.

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 in collaboration with Steps on Broadway. For more information visitwww.elisamontedance.org.

(Photo Credit: Rachel Neville)