PANDA'S HOME Comes to The New Victory Theater
By: Julie Musbach May. 10, 2018
Venture into the depths of China's rich culture! Fusing ancient art forms and contemporary dance, Italy's Compagnia TPO with Teatro Metastasio Di Prato and China's TONG Production invite little ones to follow a panda's footprints in this one-of-a-kind interactive adventure. This summer, The New Victory Theater welcomes Panda's Home to the New 42nd Street Studios from June 7 - 17, 2018.
An interactive dance theater piece for ages two to five, Panda's Home encourages curious kids to join two dancers on a digital surface as they explore the Chinese concept of Wu Xing ("Five Elements") whereby each element-wood, fire, earth, metal and water-relates to and generates the next in a cyclical and harmonious composition of the natural world. With kaleidoscopic imagery and the sounds of traditional Chinese instruments, Panda's Home is anything but black and white.
Compagnia TPO, which previously invited New Victory audiences to explore a glowing garden (Butterfly Garden, 2010) and discover the culture and landscape of aboriginal Australia (Saltbush, 2014), specializes in the creation of "virtual gardens" that respond in real-time to audience members' movement. Each set piece is designed to interface with moving bodies on stage, transforming live gestures and virtual landscapes into a charming, interactive theatrical environment.
In 2016, the company began a significant collaboration with Beijing's TONG Production, a Chinese theater company dedicated to sharing world-class performances with families. Lizhu Ren, the founder of TONG Production, inspired Francesco Gandi, one of the co-artistic directors of Compagnia TPO, to create a show that explores the natural world, ancient cultures, and traditional songs of China. Developed in residence at Teatro Metastasio di Prato, Compagnia TPO and TONG Production's Panda's Home concludes its U.S. tour with The New Victory Theater before traveling to international festivals in France, Germany and Spain.
Panda's Home is based on an idea by Lizhu Ren, who is also the Artistic Consultant, and is led by Compagnia TPO Artistic Directors Francesco Gandi and Davide Venturini. Choreography and Dance is created and performed by Daniele Del Bandecca and Martina Gregori. Elsa Mersi (Visual Design), Spartaco Cortesi (Sound Design), Rossano Monti (Computer Engineering), Livia Cortesi (Prop Design), Chiara Lanzillotta (Costume Design) and Francesco Taddei, Alberto Martion and Francesco Frosini (Audio-Visual Technicians) complete the creative and production team.
Public Performance Schedule:
- Thursday, June 7 at 10am
- Friday, June 8 at 1pm
- Saturday, June 9 at 10am / 1pm / 4pm
- Sunday, June 10 at 10am / 1pm* / 4pm
- Friday, June 15 at 10am
- Saturday, June 16 at 10am / 1pm / 4pm
- Sunday, June 17 at 10am / 1pm / 4pm
*sign-interpreted performance
Panda's Home, performing at the New 42nd Street Studios (229 West 42nd Street), has a running time of 60 minutes with no intermission and is recommended for ages 2 - 5. Learn more about Panda's Home on the New Victory website at NewVictory.org.
Ticket Information
Full-price tickets for Panda's Home are $20. Tickets are available online (http://www.newvictory.org/boxoffice) and by phone (646.223.3010).
To purchase tickets in person, The New Victory Theater box office is located at 209 West 42nd Street (between 7th / 8th Avenue). Box Office hours are Sunday & Monday from 11am-5pm and Tuesday through Saturday from 12pm-7pm.
About Tong Production
TONG, meaning "Children" in Chinese and also "To Our Next Generation," is a professional Production Company founded by parents in the pursuit of sharing the world-class performing arts with young people and their families in China. Collaborating with the most inspiring children's theaters around the globe, their aim is for audiences to experience the wonder and beauty of the world.
About Compagnia TPO
Based in Prato, Italy, Compagnia TPO invites audiences to play and learn with its performers. Space is the protagonist in TPO's shows. Thanks to the use of interactive technologies, every production is transformed into a sensitive environment where art and play converge through imagery, colors, and sounds. Dancers, performers and the audience itself interact with each other, exploring new forms of expression that go beyond language and cultural barriers. TPO shows are renowned for using big visual sets which transform into interactive theatrical spaces thanks to the use of sensors and digital technology. As a result, TPO productions are accessible to a vast international audience.
About The New Victory Theater
The New Victory Theater brings kids to the arts and the arts to kids. Created in 1995 on iconic 42nd Street, this nonprofit theater has become a standard-bearer of quality performing arts for young audiences in the United States. Reflecting and serving the diverse city it calls home, The New Victory is committed to arts access for all students, teachers, kids, families and communities of New York to experience and engage with the exemplary international programming of theater, dance, circus, puppetry and more on its stages. A leader in arts education, youth employment and audience engagement, The New Victory Theater has been honored by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities with the 2014 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, by Americans for the Arts with a National Arts Education Award, and by the Drama Desk for "providing enchanting, sophisticated children's theater that appeals to the child in all of us, and for nurturing a love of theater in young people."
Founded in 1990, The New 42nd Street is an independent nonprofit organization charged with the continuous cultural revival of 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, building on the foundation of seven historic theaters to make extraordinary performing arts and cultural engagement part of everyone's life. The New 42nd Street fulfills this purpose by ensuring the ongoing vibrancy of 42nd Street's historic theaters; supporting performing artists in the creation of their work at the New 42nd Street Studios and The Duke on 42nd Street; creating arts access and education at The New Victory Theater, New York's premier theater for kids and families; and through the New 42nd Street Youth Corps, its model youth development initiative, which pairs life skills workshops and mentorship with paid employment in the arts for NYC youth. Inspired by the city it serves, The New 42nd Street is committed to the transformational power of the arts.
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