Zephyr And SITE/less Return To Live Performance This Fall

Zephyr, an experimental dance company that pushes the art form's boundaries, and its space SITE/less, which aims to rethink the connection between movement and architecture and deepen the relationship between the viewer and the venue beyond the typical model, returns to live performance this fall.

SITE/less, 1250 West Augusta Boulevard, Chicago, partnering with NON:op Open Opera Works and co-presenting with New Music Chicago's Ear Taxi Festival, presents On the Cusp September 24 and 25 at 8 p.m. Zephyr performs Recurrences, a revived, reimagined work, October 2 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. at The Martin, 2500 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago.

On the Cusp features three works from the historical avant-garde that lie on the cusp between music and theatre and the premiere of a new work. NON:op director Christophe Pressing and an ensemble of actors and musicians from the new music community consider the questions: Where are the boundaries between sound, speech, act, silence, metaphor and the real? Who determines who is "in," who is "out" and who is "other"? On the Cusp interrogates these and other boundaries. Artists with and without disabilities perform liminal works of the past century-Sam Shepard's Tongues, Samuel Beckett's Cascando and Tristan Tzara's The Gas Heart-and a new work with poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks. Poised between theatre, music and movement; between story, song and act; between mundane, alien and ecstatic-these works open onto worlds of difference and interrogate the boundaries between "outside" and "inside."

Zephyr Director and SITE/less Co-Director Michelle Kranicke directs the movement of The Gas Heart/Gentleman Dancer in Tzara's The Gas Heart, an abstract silent dancer moving about the space, circulating over, under and through the actors and musicians.

Zephyr performs Recurrences, a re-staged, shortened reconstruction of elements from its piece Allowances and Occurrences, which premiered in 2012 at Defibrillator Gallery. Performers include original cast members Michelle Kranicke and Andrea Cerniglia and current Zephyr member Molly Fe Strom.

Allowances and Occurrences was one of choreographer Kranicke's early works investigating proximity, perception and the framing of movement. A progression of unfolding events enveloped the viewer and gave them control over where to look and their relationship to each performer, as well as how long to engage in particular elements of the piece. The work used ever-changing viewpoints of space and movement to unseat performer and audience. David Sundry reconstructs his original architectural installation for The Martin, and Kranicke reconstructs elements of the original work and the landscape that merged seating, viewing and dance sequences. Each of the two performances dissects a different group of elements from the original piece, reconfiguring and adapting the movement for The Martin.

These performances are part of a larger initiative produced by Bridge, a collective of interdisciplinary artists (including Kranicke and Sundry) that publishes the Bridge Journal. Bridge is creating Assembly Zones, spaces for public engagement, wellness interaction and on-the-spot crisis resource information, focusing on communities with minimal access to smartphones, WiFi, or personal computers-dubbed "information deserts" by the collective. Bridge's SOURCE RECURSIONS is an exhibition of work exploring the concepts and historical precedents of the Assembly Zones initiative, taking place at The Martin September 30-October 10. Sundry presents drawings, photos and original set pieces from Zephyr's Allowances and Occurrences, which he is adapting to create the Assembly Zone structures.

Zephyr, SITE/less and The Martin are adhering to all protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as determined by the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois and the CDC. At the time of this announcement, requirements include providing proof of vaccination (or a negative COVID test within 72 hours of the performance date) and masking at all times.

On the Cusp takes place September 24 and 25 at 8 p.m.
at SITE/less, 1250 West Augusta Boulevard, Chicago.
Tickets are $20 in person, $10 via livestream, available at
nonopera.org/WP2/immersive/cusp/ or by calling 773-418-0119.

Zephyr's Recurrences takes place October 2 and 9 at 7:30 p.m.
at The Martin, 2500 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago.
Tickets are $10, available at zephyrdance.com.

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