Zephyr's SITE/LESS Opens 4/26

To invite the public to discover its new space SITE/less, Zephyr Dance premieres Artistic Director Michelle Kranicke's evening-length work Shadows Across Our Eyes April 26-May 5. Located at 1250 W. August Blvd., on the western border of Chicago's North Branch Corridor between the West Town and Noble Square neighborhoods, SITE/less aims to be an experimental gallery/performance space/work place/community gathering space that explores the intersection of architecture and choreography.

"SITE/less as a performance space offers a new geographical layout to chart, different from the traditional floor plan of a Chicago storefront," said Kranicke. The dance not only will emphasize the topographical aspect of the space, but also will navigate additional architectural elements designed by David Sundry, Kranicke's husband.

Kranicke's new work Shadows Across Our Eyes, which she performs with Zephyr member Molly Fe Strom, is highly abstract, yet open to myriad images and ideas. While continuing her aesthetic investigations of the interaction between dance and architecture, Kranicke creates an atmosphere of tension as she and Strom move through the piece balancing their task of executing movement while encumbered and restrained, hands bound and wearing heels. Enhancing Kranicke's choreography and Sundry's architecture are lighting by Richard Norwood and costumes and wearable sculpture by Amanda Lee Franck.

SITE/less will not exist in a traditional "finished" state, but rather continue to evolve and grow with time, functioning as an incubator, a laboratory, a physical structure, a dance, and a place where distinct art forms can speak directly to each other. In addition, SITE/less aims to facilitate connection with the public and promote social interaction by creating an atypical arena to host non-art events such as community meetings and pop-up dinners. The center will work to establish an open gathering zone not unlike a reading room, Internet hotspot location, long-term art installation, or other types of public space located within a private building. Read the initial SITE/less announcement here.

Zephyr debuts its new space SITE/less, 1250 W. Augusta Blvd., Chicago
with the premiere of Shadows Across Our Eyes
April 26-May 5, Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $15 and available at zephyrdance.com.
All programming is subject to change.

Zephyr is an experimental dance company with a strong artistic presence in Chicago for more than 20 years. Zephyr pushes to the edge of the discipline to question current trends in dance making and the reduction of the art form to its most quantifiable, easily recognized patterns. Zephyr works to critically investigate the overreliance on virtuosity, popular definitions and/or understandings of dance and the tendency to lean on narrative to inform the abstract nature of movement without confronting the history/meaning of that movement. Zephyr considers the interaction between performer and viewer and the movement possibilities that arise through that interaction. The company stages its performances in various spaces, from the proscenium stage to large auditorium spaces to galleries, to allow viewers choices in how they encounter, and engage with, movement. The results are works that transform the atmosphere of a space with rich images, sensual movements and unexpected occurrences. For a history of Zephyr, visit zephyrdance.com/about/history/

David Sundry
David Sundry is a design/build architect who has been constructing single-family homes, small offices and mixed-use spaces in Chicago since 1989. He is the founder and president of Triple O Construction, a small design/build construction company, and O Group, Inc., its partnering architecture studio in association with Lyle Haag Engineering. Sundry's architectural/environmental designs for Zephyr include Valise 13, The Balance in Between, Out and Back in Again, Allowances and Occurrences and Broken Time. He has been collaborating with Zephyr Artistic Director Michelle Kranicke, serving as dramaturg and advising on the architectural and painterly aspects of movement, since 2000. His buildings have been featured in Chicago magazine, Chicago Social and Better Homes and Gardens. He received a BFA in fine arts from the University of Notre Dame and an MFA in painting from Pratt Institute in New York.

Funding
Zephyr Dance is supported, in part, by the Alphawood Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Illinois Arts Council and numerous individuals.

For more information, visit zephyrdance.com.

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