Jennifer Muller/The Works presents The Works' 35th Anniversary Season PRE-GALA LAUNCH CELEBRATION at Gallery 151, 350 Bowery, NYC, on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 from 6:30pm-9:00pm. Suggested donation is $20, benefiting The Works' New Choreography Fund. Reservations are requested by phone at 212-691-3803 or by email at jbryant@jmtw.org.
The Pre-Gala Launch Celebration will feature excerpts of
Jennifer Muller's Bench, inspired by Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. A new creation by Artistic Director/Choreographer
Jennifer Muller, Bench will have its World Premiere during The Works' 35th Anniversary Season at
The Joyce Theater from June 9-14, 2009.
Bench is a dance about culpability and grace. In essence, the piece traces the ecological destruction of the earth due to the destructive effect of human behavior. The piece has two simultaneous arcs. Video projections provide images of the earth from its creation to its current state of devastation. Only at the very end of the piece do the video projections imagine a renewal/rebirth of the natural environment. The dance element provides the cause of the destruction by portraying the negative human effect on nature. A piece for twelve dancers, each dancer embodies an individual within a community of people. Caught in a downward spiral of destructive behavior, loosely based on "the seven deadly sins," the relationships between characters disintegrate, torn apart by jealousies, quarrels, power struggles and conflicting desires, all leading to a series of catalytic events that disrupt the status quo and affect change. The bench itself becomes at various times a symbol for greed and power-as in the game "king on the hill"; a symbol for inertia-a place where individuals sit, waiting for life to happen; and eventually, a symbol for a prayer for salvation. Over all, Bench asks for a transformation of disregard into responsibility, apathy into action and conflict into redemption. Bench was specially commissioned by
The Joyce Theater's 25@25 Initiative, in commemoration of The Joyce's 25th Anniversary Season in 2007-08.
"As far back as 1976, I began to create pieces about the environment. Beach (in 3 Acts) was first, followed by Terrain in 1981 and The Spotted Owl in 1995. This has always been a concern of mine and I am pleased to present another piece about this issue," said
Jennifer Muller, Artistic Director of The Works.
The Pre-Gala Launch Celebration is hosted by Chris and Michael Namer, Susan and Izak Namer, and Kate and Gary Spindler and is presented in partnership with The Urban Green Initiative. Event sponsors include 311 E 11: Village Green, and Izze Sparkling Beverages.
The Urban Green Initiative at Gallery 151 is a series of art exhibitions, music concerts and dance performances that focus awareness on climate change and the importance of living in a responsible and sustainable way through the vision and language of the arts. The Urban Green Initiative events are being sponsored by 311 E 11: Village Green, a new luxury condominium targeted to be the first LEED Gold certified residential building in the East Village.
Throughout its history of 35 years, contemporary dance company
Jennifer Muller/The Works has strived to reach ever-broadening audiences with works that celebrate and illuminate the human spirit. Artistic Director
Jennifer Muller creates exhilarating dances that are evocative, passionate and engaging. The Works has appeared in the world's preeminent theaters and festivals in 39 countries on four continents. In December 2008, The Works performed to rave reviews at the Sixth Beijing International Theater & Dance Festival, presented by China's National Center for the Performing Arts. The Works has performed in 30 states in the U.S. and has self-produced 20 New York City Seasons.
Jennifer Muller, an influence in the dance world for over 40 years, is known for her visionary approach and innovations in dance / theater, multi-discipline productions, incorporating the spoken word, live and commissioned music, artist-inspired decor and unusual production elements. She has created over 100 works including 6 full-evening productions. Ms. Muller's choreography has been commissioned by 24 international repertory companies including
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Nederlands Dans Theater, NDT3, Ballet de Nord and Ballet Contemporaneo Argentina. Her work for theater includes such venues as The Public Theater, Second Stage, New York Stage and Film and the Metropolitan Opera. Creating work since she was 7 years old, her work has now been seen in 44 countries.
The Works' New Choreography Fund is supported by the Eric Emanuel New Works Fund, sponsored, in part, by Comodo; Harkness Foundation for Dance; HayesBrunswick; The
Jerome Robbins Foundation; Starkman & Associates; and The Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund of the New York Community Trust.
Jennifer Muller/The Works receives major support from Robert
Sterling Clark Foundation, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYS Senator
Thomas K. Duane, NYS Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Valerie Wilson Travel Inc.
For more information on
Jennifer Muller/The Works, visit www.jmtw.org.
