Galapagos Art Space Presents The Lara Wilson Dance Project 11/8

The innovative styles of lara wilson dance project will come to Galapagos Art Space on November 8, 2011, in a new evening-length work entitled For Bidden We Come. The collaborative work, which boasts input from a talented crew of 25-and-under dancers, choreographer, lighting designer, prop designer, graphic designer, costume designer, sound designer, and videographer, will depict the evolution of shame in the feminine psyche.

Surreal and darkly whimsical, For Bidden We Come investigates the solo and shared experiences of its five performers in four distinct, nonlinear sections. They variously describe loneliness, regret, ritual, and the seemingly heroic task of trying to get to know oneself.

This work is young choreographer Lara Wilson's first evening-length piece, but she founded her company just over a year ago, debuting at Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out Stage with a nod from distinguished modern dance personage Milton Myers: "I do believe she will become one of those voices of the next generation," he said as part of the Pillow's campaign to Save the Stage. Since then, the company has performed new works at The Rover Soho, Dance New Amsterdam's APAP, and Symphony Space's Young Choreographer's Festival.

They've also churned out a short film which is in the final stages of editing, and hosted three inaugural Beta Sessions, or opportunities for dancers and choreographers (and non-dancers) to have time and space to explore movement possibilities through guided improvisation exercises. "I'm extremely open-minded at this point," Wilson says of her collective. "The idea for this particular project was to produce a collaborative, but focused, evening-length work. I think we're definitely achieving that." And getting paid for it--the group successfully reached their fundraising goal of $3,500 through kickstarter.com on Saturday, which means the collaborators will receive stipends for their work and production costs will be met.

Wilson and most of the performers are graduates of the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. program, with one hailing from the West Coast's Lines Ballet/Dominican University program and two dancers currently and formerly members of Ailey II. Wilson, who minored in Women's Studies at Fordham, continually uses dance to explore gender, citing the human body as the most relevant medium in doing so. The costume designer for the project, Wilson's sibling Kegan Refalo, is a transgendered Fashion Institute of Technology grad. "I immediately knew ze (a gender-neutral pronoun) was the right person for the project. We talked for hours about all kinds of personal and cultural experiences women--and feminine or female-bodied men--have with shame," said Wilson, who drew inspiration for this piece from the emptiness of a balloon, Ovid's Medusa, and past break-ups, to name a few.

Tickets, which are $18 for general admission and $12 for students, seniors, and artists, can be purchased at www.galapagosartspace.com between now and the performance. Galapagos Art Space is located at 16 Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn.