FirstWorks And PPAC Present Gravity-Defying Daredevils Of America's Got Talent Fame

FirstWorks, a Rhode Island non-profit dedicated to building community through world-class arts, and the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) are partnering to present gravity-defying movement artists DIAVOLO: Architecture in Motion, to PPAC on Friday, April 24, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

Seen by over 95 million people as a top 10 finalist on NBC's America's Got Talent, DIAVOLO soars beyond the grasp of gravity. Drawing from dance, acrobatics, martial arts, and gymnastics, DIAVOLO climbs, careens, and catapults from massive mobile structures onstage, plying the relationship between the human body and its surrounding architectural environment for feats of physicality. Led by the inventive genius of Founder and Artistic Director Jacques Heim and his fearless, athletic daredevils, the Los Angeles-based company continues to push a new edge of performance art.

"FirstWorks is thrilled to welcome DIAVOLO's breath-taking stunts to the PPAC stage," said FirstWorks Executive Artistic Director Kathleen Pletcher. "Their maneuvering of monumental sets tests the limits of human athleticism and probe our relationships with the architecture that surrounds us."

DIAVOLO's April program in Providence - the only public New England appearance on the tour - showcases the troupe's groundbreaking use of built structures to explore the upper limits of human movement. Their newest work inspired by travels in space, "Voyage," pays homage to the 50th Anniversary of the first moon landing and features audio recordings from Apollo 11 and a massive rolling dome reminiscent of the moon. Next, "Trajectoire" takes the audience on a visceral and emotional journey through the ebb and flow of the human experience as performers leap from a 3,000 pound boat made of aluminum and steel. Both adventurous works are set to original compositions by Nathan Wang.

DIAVOLO Founder and Artistic Director Jacques Heim will also offer a Creative Conversation at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) on April 23, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. at the RISD Center for Integrative Technologies. Presented by FirstWorks in collaboration with RISD Interior Architecture, Heim's talk will address DIAVOLO's unique performance style and the role of built structure in their work. Audience questions will be moderated by Liliane Wong, Professor and Head of the Department of Interior Architecture at RISD.

As part of FirstWorks Arts Learning, DIAVOLO will perform a student matinee at PPAC on Friday, April 24th at 10 a.m. for more than two thousand youth in grades 1-12 from across the state. The following day, Saturday, April 25th, members of the company will conduct a sensory-friendly workshop through PPAC's Education Program at 10 a.m.

Tickets are available online at first-works.org and ppacri.org or at 401-421-ARTS (2787), or at the PPAC Box Office at 220 Weybosset Street, Providence. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $69.50 (includes a $3 facility restoration fee).

To post a comment, you must register and login.