Four Choreographers to Share Five Performances at New York Live Arts Beginning Today
By: BWW News Desk Jun. 14, 2016
Monte/Molissa/Margo/Muller - LIVE! is a unique opportunity to experience Elisa Monte Dance, Molissa Fenley and Company, Margo Sappington and Jennifer Muller/The Works together on one stage for an eclectic evening of dance. "The Four M's" are all at the height of their careers, each offering a powerful and original voice. The Live Arts program provides an opportunity for each choreographer to share their unique point of view, while sharing a sensibility that combines virtuosic movement with an expressive edge. The twenty-five participating dancers stand out as individuals, yet come together with cohesive vigor and dynamism.
Each night, Monte/Molissa/Margo/Muller - LIVE! at New York Live Arts will present:
- Elisa Monte Dance - DEXTRA DEI (Premiere) "Dextra Dei was started in 1989 as a response to what was then the AIDS assault on my community of friends. It was a men's quartet which premiered in Palais des festivals et des Congres, Cannes, France. I decided to bring the work back into my repertoire as well as premiere a new section of the work. " - Elisa Monte. Music by Tibor Szemzo.
- Molissa Fenley and Company - THE THIRD COAST (Premiere) and MALI (NY Premiere) - The Third Coast (parts 1 and 2) and Mali (part 8) of Water Table (2015-2016). The dances of Water Table present the qualities of water, the abundance or lack of pure water in a geographical area or the conditions and patterns of large bodies of water. The Third Coast, music by Ryuichi Sakamoto; Mali, music by Laetitia Sonami.
- Margo Sappington - ENTWINED (to wind or twist together) - A sensual exploration involving not just the body but also the spirit in a dance at once extremely physical and exquisitely delicate. The mood is set by the serenity of Eric Satie's solo piano compositions, the Gnossiennes. Music by Erik Satie.
- Jennifer Muller/The Works - WORKING TITLE (Premiere) "I have been thinking about the difficulty of defining relationships in today's world. Types of partnership have changed and can range from cursory to deeply involved. Any significant relationship requires constant work to avoid conflict and misunderstanding but often we don't have or are not willing to put it in the time. To further complicate matters, once we give in to intense emotion, it can thwart communication, confound hope and affect intimacy." - Jennifer Muller. With origins as a subway performer, Yut and the Hot Four's passionate music, played live on stage, heightens the intensity of the piece.
IF YOU GO:
Monte/Molissa/Margo/Muller - LIVE!
Elisa Monte, Molissa Fenley, Margo Sappington and Jennifer Muller
Tuesday, June 14 through Saturday, June 18
All Performances at 7:30pm
Tickets ($40, limited seats at $20) are available online at www.newyorklivearts.org/calendar/calendar.php?date=2016-06-14, by phone at 212-924-0077 and in person at the box office.
New York Live Arts is located at 219 W 19th Street, New York, NY 10011.
Elisa Monte Dance (EMD) founded in 1981, bridges cultural barriers through the universal language of dance. The work of Elisa Monte, a former principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company, Lar Lubovitch, and Pilobolus, is widely recognized for its highly athletic and sensual style, as well as its technical and physical acuity, exploring a multitude of topics and themes. The company has performed in over 40 countries on 5 continents. Elisa Monte Dance has also appeared in several major dance festivals among them, the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival, Jacob's Pillow, The Spoleto Festival both in the US and Umbria, Italy, Lincoln Center's Out of Doors to Steps '98 Switzerland, and participated in Weimar, Germany's 1999 Cultural Capital activities. Elisa Monte Dance has been featured on television networks through Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean, and the company was highlighted on Metro Arts on PBS Channel 13 as part of the station's Dance Month celebrating accomplished New York City-based choreographers.
Molissa Fenley and Company - founded in 1977, Molissa Fenley and Company has performed throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Molissa's work has been commissioned by the American Dance Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Dia Art Foundation, Jacob's Pillow, the Joyce Theater, the Kitchen, Lincoln Center, the New National Theater of Tokyo and DTW/New York Live Arts. Molissa is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, the Guggenheim, the Bogliasco Foundation, Yaddo, Djerassi, the Atlantic Center of the Arts and the Asian Cultural Council. Rhythm Field: The Dance of Molissa Fenley published by Seagull Press in 2015. Christiana Axelsen, (MF and Company 2013) assists Molissa in reconstructing major repertory works and has served as a rehearsal director for Molissa's work on Oakland Ballet, Repertory Dance Theater and Barnard/Columbia. Rebecca Chaleff (MF and Company 2012) is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Theater and Performance Studies at Stanford University.
Margo Sappington is an international choreographer/director, born in Texas, who began her professional career dancing with the Joffrey Ballet in New York at the age of 17, her choreographic career at age 21 with "Oh! Calcutta!" in which she also performed in New York, Los Angeles, London and on film. She has created works for ballet, opera and theater companies throughout the USA and Canada, South America, Europe, China and Kazakhstan.
Jennifer Muller/The Works (JMTW) celebrates 41 years of presenting her visionary approach to dance theater, incorporating the spoken word, live and commissioned music, media and unusual production elements to create multi-discipline productions that illuminate the human spirit. JMTW has electrified world audiences in 39 countries on four continents, circumnavigating the globe from Buenos Aires to Toronto, Hong Kong to Moscow with recent appearances in Brazil, Beijing, Bangkok and Bolivia. Performances in 30 states and at 26 NYC Seasons include venues such as Lincoln and Kennedy Centers, The Joyce, City Center and David H. Koch Theaters; Bryant, Battery and Central Park Festivals and the United Nations, among others. Muller has created over 115 pieces, working with 30 international dance, theater and opera companies. Her prolific career has led to honors: Forteleza's Trophy of Cultural Responsibility, an American Masterpieces: Artistic Genius Grant and the publications: Tanz-Plan Berlin's Tanztechcik 2010 and Transformation & Continuance: Jennifer Muller and the Reshaping of American Modern Dance, 1959 to Present.
Find out more: Elisa Monte Dance, Molissa Fenley and Company, Margo Sappington, Jennifer Muller/The Works!.
Monte/Molissa/Margo/Muller - LIVE! performances are part of New York Live Arts' Community Rental program, which is designed for dance and theater companies, as well as producing and non-profit organizations. For more information, visit www.newyorklivearts.org.
Pictured: Margo Sappington, Dancers: Jennie Somoygi and Charles Askegard?, Photo by Gene Schiavone.
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