RAWdance Unveils New Quartet THE HEALER Online, January 29

RAWdance has announced the premiere of The Healer, a quartet with choreography by Katerina Wong, presented in a livestream screening. With renewed vigor and purpose, The Healer mines the ancient history, systems and beliefs of Traditional Chinese Medicine as a source for physical invention, sensory attunement and solace during precarious times.

Bookending each performance will be a short presentation by a practitioner from one of various healing modalities, and a moderated conversation with the artists. Performances take place January 29 - 30, Friday at 6 p.m. PT, and Saturday at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. PT. Tickets, $15 - $100 per household, will go on sale December 23 at odc.dance/TheHealer. The Healer is a co-presentation of ODC Theater.

"After months of isolation, anxiety, frustration, loss, grief and uncertainty, we are inspired to offer audiences something more than the concert dance that we had planned to present back in March at the beginning of the first shelter-in-place order," said Wong, RAWdance co-artistic director. "With The Healer, we hope to create space for personal reflection, communal breath and universal release. To that end, with each ticket patrons have the option to purchase an add-on mail carrier package containing a variety of objects that will serve to enliven the senses during the performance. Objects might include a tea bag, a paper fan, a scented item and so on."

Originally created in memory of Wong's late aunt - an internationally recognized health and wellness practitioner, who integrated Eastern and Western healing modalities - The Healer features a powerhouse ensemble of four women dancers, each drawing on their own ancestries and visions of female strength. In addition to Wong, the cast includes Michaela Cruze, Juliann Witt and Stacey Yuen.
Joining the team is Bay Area multi-instrumentalist Daniel Berkman, who brings to this project his own experiences of healing through Traditional Chinese Medicine. In addition to a mix of electronic and acoustic parts, his music score for The Healer will feature the voice of Wong's aunt sourced from a recorded lecture she gave on energy healing. The work begins with an invitation to the dancers and viewers alike to participate in a simple breathing exercise rooted in qi gong practices.
Frequent RAWdance collaborator Chad Owens returns as scenic designer. His garden-like set incorporates rows of bamboo and a water feature combining the five elements as codified in Traditional Chinese Medicine: wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

Additional collaborators include lighting designer Del Medoff and costume coordinator Jhia Jackson. Loren Robertson Productions will provide videography services. Together with the opening talk and concluding Q and A, each performance will run about one hour. For more information visit RAWdance.org/TheHealer.