First Look- The O'Shaughnessy: Contempo Physical Dance Debuts New Work

The O'Shaughnessy presents the debut of Cool Play, a new work by Senegalese-French choreographer Patrick Acogny performed by the acclaimed Contempo Physical Dance, as part of the company's first international choreography residency and commissioning program. Cool Play will be on The O'Shaughnessy stage at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, February 26-27, along with excerpts from Batuque, choreographed by Artistic Director Marciano Silva dos Santos. The program also features a return to the stage by dos Santos in a rare appearance as a company dancer in both works.

Inspired by the work of his mother, Germaine Acogny - the Artistic Director of the renowned Jant-Bi and L'Ecole des Sables International Center for African Dance - Patrick Acogny explores identity and ideas of place with Contempo Physical Dance's diverse cast of Minnesota-based dancers. Very loosely based on the environment and traditional dance gatherings in Senegal, Cool Play is a conceptual and very contemporary exploration of the individual's behavior in a society where the appearance seems fundamental to the people within it. Patrick Acogny says, "Yet behind this apparent frivolity and often tacky elegance, tragic dramas and issues sometimes hide. This dance is a form of resistance to fate, to personal situation, a cry of rebellion and affirmation in a world where people feel threatened by the madness of political, religious and capitalist ventures."

In Batuque, dos Santos examines the African origins and rise of samba in Brazil. Known for bringing a fever pitch of energy to the stage, the dancers in this energizing work rock in and out of the rhythmic complexities of originally composed percussive music inspired by the many flavors of samba.

Contempo Physical Dance is known for its Afro-Brazilian contemporary dance fusion, highly physical movement, energetic dancing and invigorating theatrical experiences. Through this international choreography residency the company enters into an important dialogue on the creation of new work based in contemporary movement forms of the African Diaspora.

Tickets are $15, $20 and $25 with discounts for students, seniors, military, MPR, TPT and groups. For more information and tickets, contact The O'Shaughnessy Ticket Office at 651-690-6700; open Mon.-Fri. 12-4 p.m. (12-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat., beginning Feb. 1). The ticket office is located on the main campus of St. Catherine University at 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul. Tickets can be purchased online at oshag.stkate.edu.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and grants from the Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

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