Ate9 Announces New Season

Ate9 Artistic Director Danielle Agami today announced that the company is set to tour the United States with an exciting repertoire for the 2018/19 Season that features two new full-length works.

Continuing with her trend of powerful collaborations with artists at the top of their artistic fields, Agami will premiere 'FISHING,' a collaboration with Agami, Emmy award-winning actor Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Grammy award-winning percussionist Glenn Kotche (Wilco), Israeli author Etgar Keret (Suddenly, A Knock on the Door), and Israeli set designer Amir Raveh. An initial 'work-in-progress' showing will occur at MASS MoCA on Dec. 8 at the conclusion of a two-week creative residency.

In addition, the World Premiere of 'a blind LAdy' featuring the full cast of Ate9 will take place at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 15-16, 2019. This is the company's debut performance at the world-class venue in Los Angeles.

"As part of our commitment to developing lasting relationships with artists and companies, local and abroad, we will continue to produce new works as well as present world renowned companies and performances," says The Wallis' Artistic Director Paul Crewes. "Our 2018/2019 Season not only brings back collaborations with old friends - we're equally excited to be working with new partners, among them Los Angeles' own Ate9."

Ate9 will also present Agami's new solo work 'Framed,' which was created during a Virginia B. Toulmin Fellowship at the Center for Ballet and the Arts, NYU and has already premiered in NYC, Portland and Israel. Dynamic works from past seasons will also return including the critically acclaimed "calling glenn" featuring the extraordinary live percussion work of Glenn Kotche, which was presented by UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP) last November and created as part of its Artists-in-Residence program, and "Sally Meets Stu," the company's first Los Angeles performance back in 2012.

Kristy Edmunds, executive and artistic director, CAP UCLA, said: "'calling glenn' is an exceptionally seasoned perspective through which Agami has been able to deploy her formidable artistry. The piece is a towering manifestation of creative labor that is both haunting and ebullient. More than a discreet choreographic project - it is a work of art collaboratively achieved."

For ticket information, please visit ate9dancecompany.com or email Ate9.Information@gmail.com

Ate9's performances are as follows:

Oct. 20-22, 2018 at 8 p.m. (Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.)

Framed (LA premier) and Sally Meets Stu

Temple Israel of Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA.

Nov. 10, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.

calling glenn

Schimmel Center at PACE University, New York City, NY

Nov. 16, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.

calling glenn

Auditorium Theater, Chicago, IL.

Dec. 8, 2018 at 8 p.m.

FISHING (First showing as a Work in Progress)

Sundance Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA.

Feb. 7, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.

calling glenn

Northrup Auditorium, Minneapolis, IL.

Feb. 15-16, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.

a blind LAdy (World Premiere) and calling glenn

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Los Angeles, CA

Mar. 8-9, 2019 at 8 p.m.

calling glenn

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA.

"With Ate9's Season 7 comes an abundance of change and strong energy for a fulfilling year. We are excited to introduce new art and artists to our audiences here in Los Angeles and across the country," Agami said.

About ATE9 New Productions (in order of performance for 2018/19)

Framed (2018)

Length: 45 min

Dancers: 1

Created with the support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Fellowship at NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts, 'Framed' is an intimate look into womanhood as experienced and understood by the ever-sensitive and insightful choreographer Danielle Agami. In this solo performance, she unravels her experience as a woman as she hosts groups of curious, expecting audience members. She wonders about the mission of hosting an audience, asking herself "What is expected for me to provide? Will dance be enough? Am I enough?". The personal nature of the work invites the audience to experience Danielle and her work like never before. 'Framed' was created through the support of a Virginia B. Toulmin Fellowship at NYC Center for Ballet and the Arts.

FISHING (2019)

Length: TBD

Performers: 3

Director and Choreographer Danielle Agami touches on the beautiful, simple absurdity of desire in this bold meeting of five different disciplines in 'FISHING' - each collaborator a master of his/her craft. The innovative production features the work of some of the world's most renowned artists, including Emmy award winning actor, director and producer Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Grammy award winning percussionist and composer Glenn Kotche (Wilco), acclaimed Israeli writer Etgar Keret and world renowned set designer Amir Raveh.

A Blind LAdy (2019)

Length: ~25 min

Dancers: 9

With the intention to open a conversation about the validity of Dance in the American economic market, 'A Blind LAdy' challenges the years of separation between the Arts and the advertising culture. At the heart of the work is the precise, layered movement, original narration and supporting soundtrack that produce a cinematic feel for the viewers. Choreographer Danielle Agami, known for her distinctive movement, surprising sense of humor, and impeccable craft, orchestrates the incredible Ate9 cast members. 'A Blind LAdy' is an experience of love and discomfort that secretly asks the question: Are we missing out when important experiences are not allowed to linger?

Continuing ATE9 Productions for the new season include:

Sally Meets Stu (2012)

Length: 45 min

Dancers: 10

Actors: 1

Ate9's first-ever production will be remounted and retold with the current cast of dancers along with the return of author/performer Nadav Heyman. The curiously funny and heartbreaking work explores the absurdity of contemporary relationships through original text and Ate9's signature movement. Tableaus, gestures, music, partnering, and exceptional sensitivity to what lies at the core of personal relationships makes the work more than simply a work of theater and dance. Agami's exceptional direction crafts an approachable experience of the complexities of new beginnings and difficult endings.

calling glenn (2017)

Length: 55 min

Dancers: 9

Musicians: 1

Ate9's first collaboration with renowned percussionist Glenn Kotche captivates audiences with brilliant strength and nuanced precision, both physical and rhythmic. The work flows seamlessly through rich atmospheres created live on stage by Kotche as the diverse, talented Ate9 cast embodies choreographer Danielle Agami's rare presence and expressive movement. The presence of the dancers and Kotche's live performance fills the auditorium with surprising moments of honesty and humor inspired by exhausting common rituals and desires. 'calling glenn' is a uniquely innovative collaboration that reawakens audiences to the excitement and pleasure of contemporary music and dance.

ABOUT Jon Hamm

Actor, director, and television producer best known for playing advertising executive Don Draper for the AMC television drama series, Mad Men (2007-2015). His performance earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series-Drama during 2008 and 2016 and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2015.

ABOUT GLENN KOTCHE

Glenn Kotche is best known as the percussionist for the beloved rock band, Wilco. In addition to his rock career, Kotche has composed music for contemporary classical ensembles Kronos Quartet, Silk Road Ensemble, Bang on a Can All-Stars, So? Percussion, Eighth Blackbird and many more. ?

ABOUT DANIELLE AGAMI

Israeli born Danielle Agami studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance High School and was a member of the Batsheva Dance Company. Between 2007 and 2009, Agami served as the Artistic Director of Batsheva Dancers Create, and functioned as the company's rehearsal director from 2008-2010. After eight years with Batsheva, Agami moved to New York to serve as the Senior Manager of Gaga U.S.A. Agami then relocated to Seattle, where she founded Ate9-an undertaking that fully realized her artistic voice as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Over the years, she has created Sally Meets Stu, Sheila, TacTics, mouth to mouth, For Now, Exhibit O, Exhibit B, Queen George, Kelev Lavan and calling glenn for Ate9, among others. Her choreographic talent has been sought out over the years and as a result she has been commissioned to create work for companies around the globe including, Shula in Israel, for the Batsheva Ensemble, This Time Tomorrow for NorthWest Dance Project in Portland, Oregon, Loose Gravel for Barak Ballet in L.A, and a unique collaboration with L.A. Dance Project for Invisible Cities by The Industry Opera. In 2015, Agami was commissioned by White Bird, Music Center and The Industry Opera. Danielle was the grand prize winner of the 2013 & 2014 Annual Choreography Festival at the McCallum Theatre and Dance magazine's Top 25 to watch in 2015. She was awarded a Princess Grace Award for Choreography in 2016 for which she created Pick a Chair with Visceral Dance in Chicago. In 2018, she was awarded the Virginia B. Toulmin Fellowship for women choreographers at the Center for Ballet and the Arts, NYU. Agami is a renowned Gaga teacher and for the past few years, has been traveling across the world as an ambassador of Ohad Naharin. In the past few years Agami has staged Naharin's work with Alvin Ailey Company, Ballet Atlanta, Ita Dansa/ Barcelona, The Juilliard School, and more.

ABOUT Ate9

Founded in 2012 by Artistic Director Danielle Agami, Ate9 creates exceptional works that re-inspire the importance of dance in the community while tapping into its power to unite people across diverse social and cultural borders. Ate9 values the vibrancy and diversity of its Los Angeles home base and invests in and cares about the unique qualities and potential each individual brings to the company.

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