Hope Mohr Dance Announces World Premiere of EXTREME LYRIC I

Hope Mohr Dance is proud to announce the world premiere of extreme lyric I featuring Anne Carson's translations of Sappho. Co-presented by ODC Theater, extreme lyric I runs October 4 to 6 with two shows nightly at 7 and 9 p.m. Tickets are $20 to $45 and may be purchased online at odc.dance/tickets or by phone at 415-863-9834.

With an ensemble of six performers, extreme lyric I is an intimate work presented in the round for small audiences. The audience will, in effect, share the stage with the dancers. Members of the ensemble include Rose Huey, Tara McArthur, KarlaQuintero, Suzette Sagisi and Jane Selna.

Joining the ensemble is Maxe Crandall, commissioned to respond to Sappho with an original text tying the dance to questions about gender identity and narrative. Artistic Director Hope Mohr will weave Crandall's text and Sappho's poetry into the performance through spoken word and Super 8 film projection. Crandall, who identifies as trans, is a poet, playwright and scholar whose work engages experimental forms in political contexts.

To create extreme lyric I, Mohr will distill choreographic forms as vehicles for dancers to explore ecstatic states, moments in which the self dissolves. "Sappho's verse was ahead of its time in giving voice to individual desire," said Mohr. "But, as Anne Carson has argued, ecstasy was for Sappho merely a means to an end. In ancient Greek, the condition of ecstasy means literally 'to stand outside oneself.' For my own purposes, I'm interested in creating a collective experience that gives audience members the opportunity to belong to something bigger than themselves."

Extreme lyric I marks Mohr's second time working with Carson's translations. In 2015, together with Mark Jackson, she co-directed Antigonick for Shotgun Players in Berkeley. She describes her company's practice as "feminist dance theater," performance marked by attention to the "co-presence" of language and movement as equal players, as well as attention to gender as a lens for exploring the self.

In addition to the performers, collaborators on extreme lyric I include costume designerTiffany Amundson, sound designer Theodore Hulsker, lighting designer TonyShayne and projection designer Ian Winters.

PHOTO: Jane Selna and Karla Quintero photographed by Margo Moritz with concept and design by Aza Raskin.

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