From July 8 to 10, 2021, Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT), CalArts' center for contemporary arts in downtown Los Angeles, proudly presents the world premiere of Sugar Houses, the new dance theater work by renowned Los Angeles-based choreographer Rosanna Gamson of Rosanna Gamson/World Wide (RGWW).
Originally scheduled for March 2020, the performance will mark the return of live audiences to the REDCAT stage. To accommodate those that can not attend in-person, a
livestreamed version of the production will take place on Sunday, July 11.
Performed by six singer/dancer/actors, Sugar Houses is a one-hour dance theater work that cleverly pulls a deconstructed narrative from "Hansel and Gretel" through the devices and structure of the horror genre, exposing the fairy tale's historical underpinnings, coded antisemitism, and violent imagery.
"Sugar Houses takes on the dark themes of
The Brothers Grimm's 'Hansel and Gretel': guilt, innocence, and blame; scarcity and gluttony, and abandonment, servitude, and incarceration to expose hidden histories," says Gamson. "The house is always haunted; childhood and parenthood are the ultimate horror stories. We replicate our relationships and try to 'solve' them in the stories we tell over and over. Whom we scapegoat is both complicated and personal. In Sugar Houses we find survival and redemption in the bond of sibling love," she adds.
The story of Hansel and Gretel is really the story of the Great Famine of 1315 to 1317 and the brutal behavior, witch-burning, and antisemitism it spawned. Children were abandoned (and possibly eaten) during the Famine, which was precipitated by the Little Ice Age, one of the first climate change disasters reported as it occurred. Therefore, children's disappearances were blamed on witchcraft and devilry.
During Sugar Houses, six dancers transform the REDCAT space as they create and destroy the world of the piece with chalk drawings and erasures. They cast witches' spells penned by horror writer Brian Evenson and sing songs in English, Yiddish, and imaginary languages arranged by Fahad Siadat and Tomasz Krzyżanowski.
The seventh cast member, sonic artist Simon Greenberg, composes live during each performance; his filtered and layered sound score nods to continual rediscovering/disremembering/re-remembering/mis-remembering of collective stories and trauma. The work was one of 20 national works selected for a prestigious New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project production grant.
For over two decades, Los Angeles-based RGWW has created provocative dance theater that reflects the complexity of living together in the world today. Sugar Houses continues Gamson's unique and kinetic investigation of ferocious and virtuosic physicality. Following its premiere performances at REDCAT, the company plans to take Sugar Houses on a North American tour.
Sugar Houses has been created through an in-depth development process in collaboration with its performers: Mallory Fabian, Clementine Gamson Levy, Kearian Giertz, Kayla Johnson, Dion Pratt, and Terry Wayne, Jr.
The presentation of Sugar Houses was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Production residency funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with funding from The
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Tickets can be purchased at:
https://www.redcat.org/event/rosanna-gamsonworld-wide-sugar-houses
Tickets for Sunday's virtual show:
https://www.redcat.org/event/rosanna-gamsonworld-wide-sugar-houses-virtual
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