Seattle's ACT to Present New Work by Maureen Whiting March 13-15

The world premiere of Maureen Whiting Company's Myth of Me and You heralds a new era of contemporary dance presentations at ACT. Created during a year-long residency supported and presented by ACT's innovative Central Heating Lab, this highly conceptual new work shines an intense light on our own personal mythologies. Myth of Me and You premieres in ACT's Allen Theatre March 13-15, 2009. Tickets are $25 and available at the ACT Ticket Office, 700 Union Street, Downtown Seattle, (206) 292-7676 or online at www.acttheatre.org.

Through a subterranean lair created by long-time collaborator and award-winning designer Etta Lilienthal, Myth of Me and You immerses the audience in a universe rich in symbolic meaning and surrealistic imagery. Affixed with antlers, coated in honey and caught in the wild geometry of Whiting's choreography, the four dancers of Myth of Me and You use darkly playful movement to ask the viewer what role we play in creating-and acting out-our own personal mythologies.

As ACT's first ever dance artist-in-residence, choreographer Maureen Whiting has spent the past year focusing on the challenge of creating dance in-the-round for ACT's Allen Theatre. Audiences have glimpsed and informed the creation of the piece through a series of interactive work-in-progress showings (October-November '08 and January ‘09) that have become a signature of Maureen Whiting Company.

Typically artist residency programs have operated in a university setting, but ACT's Central Heating Lab affords artists like Whiting the opportunity to develop a new project in the actual performance space over an extended period of time. With support from ACT's house and technical staff, the company has installed itself in the Allen Theatre, building design elements and choreography around the unique features of this treasured stage. Whiting and her four dancers moved from ACT's rehearsal rooms to rehearse full time in the Allen Theatre in early January 2009. Slowly, they are transforming the space and examining the story that is emerging; they have all learned to project in multiple directions while inviting the audience into the mythical world they have created. Understanding the verticality of the space, treating it as a separate environment, and learning to take advantage of the existing sets and structures have all been crucial to development of this new work.

Myth of Me and You includes featured dancers: Ezra Dickinson, Marissa Niederhauser, Cassie Wulff, and Belle Wolf and is set to an original music score by internationally acclaimed Seattle luminary Eyvind Kang, with additional music by Dave Abramson and Evan Schiller. The piece features costume design by Seattle's helga hizer with Lucy Brennan, and light design by Chris Reay.

 

Maureen Whiting is a Seattle-based choreographer, dancer, and mathematician. Whiting graduated cum laude in 1989 with a degree in Mathematics from Smith College, where she studied math, visual art, and continued to dance. Since founding Maureen Whiting Company in 1997, Whiting's work has been commissioned by On the Boards, Seattle University, New City Theatre, Annex Theatre, Cornish College of the Arts, Velocity Dance Center, and ACT in Seattle. She has choreographed for artists and companies in New York, Philadelphia, Alaska, Amsterdam, and Sweden and has performed her solo work in Seattle and in New York City. Whiting's dance films have screened at New Dance Cinema, Dance on Camera in New York and Northwest Film Forum and Velocity's Next Fest.

Marissa Rae Niederhauser holds a BFA in dance from Cornish College of the Arts. She has performed in works created by Dayna Hanson, Jessica Jobaris and Degenerate Art Ensemble among others. Her own choreography has been performed at On the Boards, ArtsLaunch, Ladyfest, and Urban Artworks. She is also a filmmaker. Her first film Holding This For You was completed in October 2008 and has been screened in Local Sightings at Northwest Film Forum and Sao Carlos Videodance Festival in Brazil. Her second film Tracings is currently in post-production. Niederhauser is a 2008 4Culture grant recipient and was awarded a smART ventures grant from The Mayor's Office of Art and Cultural affairs for her film work. Read Niederhauser's blog at: http://marissaniederhauser.blogspot.com

Cassie Wulff recieved a B.F.A. in dance at Cornish College of the Arts in 2006. She joined Maureen Whiting Company in the fall of 2006, danced for Serendipity Dance Brigade in Spring of 2008, and is currently co-creating a feature length film. Wulff believes in the power of dance to transform experience by creating a direct link to the subconscious.

Belle Wolf joins Maureen Whiting Company as The Myth Series evolves. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Cornish College of the Arts in 2008 with a BFA in Dance. While at Cornish, she performed works by Martha Graham, Bebe Miller, Bill Evans, Mary Sheldon Scott, Deborah Wolf, Wade Madsen, Daniel Cruz, Melissa Rolnick, and Michael Rioux. She has performed professionally in Seattle with various artists including Savion Glover, Sonia Dawkins, Amy O'Neal, Scott/Powell Performance, Northwest Dance Syndrome, Dance Contemporary, Tilla Kuenzli, and Kimberly Almquist.

Ezra Dickinson began dancing in Bellingham at the age of four. He received training on full scholarship from Pacific Northwest Ballet for 12 years. Dickinson earned his BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts with an emphasis in choreography. His work in choreography and movement installations have been on display in 12 Minutes Max, NW New Works Festival, Gallery 1412, Chop Suey, ACT, Gallery 154, Move, The Anne Bonny, Seattle Channel's Arts Zone, and Next Fest NW. Apart from creating new works for the collaborative process of The Offshore Project, Dickinson also dances at the Can Can, and is in his fourth year of dancing for Maureen Whiting Company.

About Maureen Whiting Company

Maureen Whiting Company creates multi-media and site-specific dance work driven by intellectual research, movement invention, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Inspired by life's raw beauty, Maureen Whiting Company seeks to deepen audience experience of performing arts and aims to enrich the field of 21st century dance and performance. Maureen Whiting Company dancers are a stylistically diverse corps of highly technical young dancers from backgrounds of ballet, contemporary dance, film/video, and visual art. The Maureen Whiting Company receives support from 4 Culture, Mayors Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Paul Allen Family Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, as well as generous private donations. The Company has been featured on KCTS Channel 9, The Seattle Times, The Seattle P.I., The Stranger, Seattle Weekly, and Seattle Magazine. Artistic director Maureen Whiting actively pursues collaborations with visual artists, composers, and performers to explore the creative structures between artistic mediums and expand the boundaries of live dance performance.

About ACT

For the past 44 seasons, ACT's mission has been to inspire our diverse community through theatre that advances our understanding of human life. To dare, excite, and enrich artists and audiences. To steward our many resources. Through The Central Heating Lab, ACT seeks to heat things up and create a conversation with its season that reaches for an even deeper impact.