Gibney Center Presents Daina Ashbee, January 13-14

Gibney, the New York City-based dance and social justice organization, with Springboard Danse Montréal and EMPAC / Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute present Daina Ashbee's J'ai Pleuré Avec Les Chiens (Time, Creation, Destruction) from January 13-14, 2023.

Ashbee's first group piece stages a human herd of five dancers that oscillates between sharp physicality and touching tenderness. With sober precision, Ashbee reveals her unmistakable trademark: the poetics of explosion and the power of trance. The piece begins with the exploration of solace and companionship. What emerges is a ritual of cohabitation and dissolution of boundaries, both transitory and fugitive, where space and beings can constantly change. Full nudity throughout the performance exposes the tension of muscles with vulnerability, openness and transformation.

J'ai Pleuré Avec Les Chiens (Time, Creation, Destruction) is conceived and choreographed by Ashbee. The work is performed by Irene Martínez, Greys Vecchionacce, Gabriel Nieto, Audrey Sides, Lorena Olguin, and Elise Vanderborght. J'ai Pleuré Avec Les Chiens includes musical compilation by Sean MacPherson, Ashbee, and Gabriel Nieto, lighting design by Vito Walter, audio text by Louise Hay, and French text by Nayla Naoufal.

Masks are required for all audience members attending live performances at Gibney Center. Proof of vaccination is no longer required. Nonetheless, Gibney encourages all who are eligible to maintain up-to-date vaccination status in accordance with CDC Guidelines.

CO-PRODUCTION PARTNERS: KVS Brussels Stadstheater, Festival TransAmériques - FTA, Agora de la danse, Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis (FR), BIT Teatergarasjen (NO), National Arts Centre. RESIDENCY PARTNERS: KVS Brussels Stadstheater, Harbourfront Centre (TO), Montpellier Danse (FR), CCOV - Centre de Creation O Vertigo. FUNDING PARTNERS: Developed with support from the National Art Centre's National Creation Fund, Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des Arts et des Lettres de Québec

Daina Ashbee, an artist, performer and choreographer based in British Columbia, Canada, is known for her radical works at the edge of dance and performance.

In 2015-2016, she was a double prizewinner at the Prix de la danse de Montréal, winning both the Prix du CALQ for Best Choreography, and the Prix Découverte de la danse. Daina was named by the prestigious German TANZ magazine as one of 30 promising artists for the year 2017 and named one of 25 to watch by the American publication DANCE in 2018. In 2019, she won a New York Dance and Performance Award, Bessie, for Outstanding Choreographer. In 2021, she had two separate retrospectives of her performance artworks in Montpellier, France and Montreal, Canada.

Recognized as one of the most prolific choreographers of her generation, since 2015 her work has been presented over one-hundred times in 15 countries and over 35 different cities. Her work has been presented in some of the most prestigious festivals The Venice Biennale, Oktoberdans, the Munich Dance Biennale and Montpellier Danse, among others.

Founded by Gina Gibney in 1991, Gibney is a New York City-based performing arts and social justice organization. Gibney's mission is to tap into the vast potential of movement, creativity, and performance to effect social change and personal transformation.

The mission comes to life through three strategic and interwoven program areas: GIBNEY COMPANY commissions and performs works by renowned choreographers to explore connections between the rigorous physicality of contemporary dance alongside responsive, humanistic storytelling. GIBNEY CENTER, a meeting ground for New York City's artistic community comprising 23 studios and 5 performance spaces that provide critical space for training, rehearsal, professional development, performances, and convenings; GIBNEY COMMUNITY, programs that use movement to help address a range of social issues with a focus on gender-based violence and its prevention.

Springboard Danse Montréal is a not-for-profit contemporary dance organization that facilitates career development and connects professional dancers and emerging choreographers with renowned international contemporary companies. Our organization proudly represents Daina Ashbee as one of two 2022 Springboard Fellows. Springboard's fellowship program is designed to provide support, residency, financial, marketing, and mentoring resources within our global network to emerging choreographers. The program strives to uplift the Fellow's artistic endeavors throughout their Fellowship year and beyond.

This initiative is supported by our partner Gibney which, through Springboard Presents: Springboard Fellows, will graciously extend the gift of their space, production, and collaborative marketing efforts, thus uplifting the creative visions of Springboard artists. Visibility within the artistic landscape of New York City, facilitated by Gibney, will help to propel Springboard's Fellowship program forward.

EMPAC / Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY is dedicated to the commissioning, production, and presentation of ambitious performances and artworks that span the visual and performing arts. The program's polyvocal curatorial approach resonates through each project, generating time-based artworks that are diverse in content, method, technology, and audience experience. EMPAC is committed to the in-depth support of artists over extended periods of time to develop and realize complex projects.

EMPAC Spring 2023 is made possible by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with additional support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and New York State Council for the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Daina Ashbee
J'ai Pleuré Avec Les Chiens (Time, Creation, Destruction)
January 13-14, 2023
8:00 PM

Tickets: General Admission $20-$25 and APAP Presenters $10
The performance contains nudity

Gibney: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center
The Theater (Studio H)
280 Broadway, New York (enter at 53A Chambers Street)

To post a comment, you must register and login.