Chicago Danztheatre & RE|dance Group Join Forces for ETHEREAL ABANDONMENT

Ethereal Abandonment is the newest dance theatre project by EllyzaBeth Adler and Lucy Vurusic Riner.

After 18 years as professional colleagues and friends, Adler and Riner joined executive director forces to collaborate on an evening length dance theatre work combining members from both Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble and RE|dance group. Ethereal Abandonment runs Friday and Saturdays, May 12-20, 8pm at Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble's Auditorium (1650 W. Foster Ave).

Set in a theater that once was an epicenter of life, art and community, Ethereal Abandonment with a blended cast of 12 actors and dancers explores the historical connections between the ethereal world that once was and the reality of what it has become. Through storytelling and physical memories, the people and stories of the theater in the ethereal world make themselves known to modern day explore's who sense their hidden vignette stories. The dance theatre work toggles between soft, melancholic moments between two best friends and a mother and daughter to more joyful episodes featuring chorus girls and a traveling salesman turned tap dancer. The modern explore's bear witness to the heart breaking loss of the spaces and the experiences contained within the theaters that line our streets. Ethereal Abandonment reflects the current decay and reality of reclamation of the culture changing and the world moving on.

Adler and Riner are teaming up with Bread and Roses Productions for Lighting Design and Jacob Fisher on Sound Design to create a set, lighting plot and sound score to trigger audience members senses and draw them into an ethereal experience. With original music written by Isaura Flores, inspired by the photography, The Music Remains, is a testament to the theater building and the art that it once held.

Ethereal Abandonment was first inspired by photographs published in a picture book by Candace Casey with stories by EllyzaBeth Adler. Casey states, "I see each piece as a story or part of a larger story. There are layers here that need to be uncovered." Side by side, we see the past grandeur, the present decay and something in between. Another world, an unearthly beauty that shines through. Ethereal Abandonment is a step back in time and, yet, also reveals an aspect not seen before.

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble's Auditorium will be transformed each night into the abandoned theater with a lively preshow gallery of Candace Casey's Photography and Visual Art. The special $25 ticket for the reception includes food, drinks and art work from Ethereal Abandonment on display starting at 7p.m. $25 | Food & Drink Pre-show Art Gallery, $15 | General Advance, $20 | General Door, $10 | College Students and Seniors (with ID), $15 | College Students and Seniors (with ID) Door, FREE to high school students. Tickets are available at www.danztheatre.org or (773) 486-8261.

Ethereal Abandonment premieres at Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble on Friday and Saturday, May 12-20, 2017 at 8:00 pm. Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble (part of the Ebenezer Lutheran Church Complex) is located at 1650 W. Foster, Chicago, IL 60640.

PERFOMERS: EllyzaBeth Adler, Ellen Aldridge, Daiva Bhandari, Ansley Davis, William Delforge, Stacy DeMorrow, Isaura Flores, Sarah Franzel, Ariana Silvan-Grau, Nelia Miller, Lucy Riner, & Tony Springs

Key Collaborators & STAFF: Lucy Riner (Executive Director: RE|dance group and Producer), EllyzaBeth Adler (Executive Director: Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble), Sara Maslanka (Artistic Director and Producer), Lucy Riner and EllyzaBeth Adler (Choreography & Text with ensemble), EllyzaBeth Adler (Projection), Paul Grajnert (Videography), Jacob Fisher (Sound Design), Candace Casey (Photography)

Follow the behind the scenes blog at www.danztheatre.org/-blog, and check out a teaser below!