THE CAROL KAYE PROJECT To Be Presented By Boston Dance Theater at the Strand Theatre

Boston Dance Theater (BDT) will perform their work The Carol Kaye Project on Saturday, May 23 at 7:30pm at the Strand Theatre. The Carol Kaye Project is a collection of fun, short dance works that celebrate seminal bass guitarist Carol Kaye.

Boston Dance Theater's (BDT) Carol Kaye Project celebrates seminal bassist Carol Kaye's life and breadth of work, consisting of dance works by a variety of American, women choreographers. Kaye played on an estimated 10,000 recording sessions, with everyone from the Beach Boys to Marvin Gaye, yet remains relatively unknown. Dance Magazine acknowledged the innovation of the project, adding BDT to its “Top 25 to Watch in 2021” list. Chief editor Jennifer Stahl writes, “By consistently making these kinds of savvy curatorial choices—and pulling them off with finesse—BDT's quickly grown into a company with appeal far beyond Boston's city limits.”

Opening the program is a work by ‘punk ballerina', Karole Armitage. “‘Carol/Karole' addresses the cultural context of the worlds of motown, pop, tv series and movies while exploring a new dance vocabulary and diving deeply into the way dance relates to music. It is set in motion by a situation - a performance art like collage of amps, chairs, instruments, and bits of costume”- Karole Armitage.

Following this work is For The Record by African-American Rena Butler, choreographed in 2020. For the Record examines the discography of bass musician Carol Kaye, and the scale of her contributions and influence from the past until now. The work references repeated patterns and the various ways a patriarchal society often overlooks substantial voices by othering them.

Next, is Cuban-American Rosie Herrera's Ofrenda. Ofrenda was the second work commissioned for BDT's Carol Kaye Project. While Cuban American choreographer Rosie Herrera has intentionally left her work with no official description, hallmarks of her playful yet spiritually resonant choreographic practice seep through via images of motherhood, desire, sacrifice, and ‘just getting on with it'.

Closing the evening is the final work to The Carol Kaye Project, “Legacy” by BDT's own Co-Founder/Artistic Director, Jessie Jeanne Stinnett. Featuring six dancers, this work, heavily inspired by the utilization of musical technique translated into movement, is a celebration of Jessie's connection to Carol Kaye and the influence her music has over so many.

Under the co-artistic direction of Jessie Jeanne Stinnett and award winning, Dutch-Israeli, choreographer Itzik Galili, Boston Dance Theater is Boston's first contemporary dance repertory company with international ties at the leadership level. BDT's mission is to build and sustain a professional contemporary dance company dedicated to providing high quality dance performances, dance education and community outreach. Over the last few years, BDT has appeared in performances at:

• Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out
• Florence Dance Festival (Italy)
• Spruce Peak Arts
• 3S Artspace
• The Crane Estate
• Smith Opera House
• Museum of Fine Arts Boston
• Ailey Citigroup Theater in NYC
• NY City Center
• ICA Boston
• The Strand Theatre
• and more.

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