Contemporary Ballet Unpacks Female Strength And Wit Through The Lens Of Shakespeare's Women

Madison, WI-based choreographer Marlene Skog will present her second evening-length contemporary ballet concert 'Consider It Not So Deeply.' in Chicago, August 31-September 1, 2018 at Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Street.

'Consider It Not So Deeply.' explores the conflicting layers of the female psyche in Shakespeare's women through Skog's powerful, demanding choreography, Shakespeare's theatrical prose, and original sound, designed by Matan Rubinstein and Timothy Russell.

The concert features a lively 60 minutes of evocative contemporary movement accompanied by both original music and that of Vivaldi, as well as spoken word. It includes a cast of 15 dance artists and one actor performing a mix of solo and ensemble works that "unearth the shifting roles and identity of females within Renaissance society, across cultures and throughout history," said Skog, an assistant professor of dance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"My interest here, was to examine the complexity of the female through contemporary movement, spoken monologues and music, and Shakespeare's women provide a tremendous landscape for that," she said. Skog said further that Shakespeare's female characters are shrewd, outspoken, and multidimensional. She intends, with this body of work, to bring their "passion, guilt, tenderness, and courage" to life through dance. '

Performances
Friday, August 31 at 7:30pm
Saturday, September 1 at 2:30pm
Ruth Page Center for the Arts
1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago

Tickets
Tickets are $15, $10 for students/seniors on brownpapertickets.com.

About the Choreographer
Marlene Skog's career as a performer and award-winning choreographer spans over thirty years at home and abroad. She is a passionate educator and advocate for the arts. Her work is known for its emotional range, brilliant technique, and intentional fluidity between classical ballet and contemporary dance styles. It addresses the enduring question of what it means to be human and is purposeful in its strong synthesis of movement, music and message.

A native New Yorker, Skog worked in Sweden for fourteen years, founding the international company, Marlene Skog & Dancers, as well as Uppsala Dansakedemi, an establishment for dance arts. Skog was commissioned to choreograph for multiple cultural events in Sweden, including the International Arts Festival-Norway, Scandinavian Cultural Conference, and the International Women's Convention at Uppsala University. Additionally, she was awarded several unique honors for a foreign national, including the prestigious People's University Cultural Prize, Gotsa Knutsson Cultural Award and NordBanken's Cultural Award.

Skog received her MFA from the University of Arizona, where her tenure was recognized with the Creative Achievement Award as well as the Green Valley Concert Association Fellowship Award in Choreography. Her work has been performed nationally and internationally, including Charlotte, Chicago, New York City, Hawaii, Madison, and across the Midwest, as well as the King's Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland and at the World Dance Alliance in Vancouver B.C. She is currently on faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an Assistant Professor of Dance.

For more information visit marleneskog.com.

Acknowledgements
'Consider It Not So Deeply.' is supported by the Virginia Horne Henry Foundation and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School.