The Kennedy Center Presents Andersson Dance And Scottish Ensemble This Month

Stockholm-based Andersson Dance and Glasgow-based Scottish Ensemble make their Kennedy Center debuts with Goldberg Variations - ternary patterns for insomnia (2015), set to the music of one of Johann Sebastian Bach's masterpieces, April 26-28 in the Eisenhower Theater. In their own unique spin with their respective companies, 11 musicians and five dancers share the stage as equal partners, seamlessly intertwining music and dance.

Believed to have been composed for a patron suffering from sleepless nights, the Goldberg Variations is one of J.S. Bach's most interpreted and well-known works. Originally a study for the harpsichord, the composition consists of an aria and a set of 30 variations. It was first published in 1741 and is considered to be one of the most important examples of the variation form.

Collaborating for the first time together in creating this new 21st-century interpretation, the companies based the piece on Dmitry Sitkovetsky's notable transcription for strings. Örjan Andersson's choreography uses the dancers and musicians to generate a playful, engaging, and contemporary take on the classical masterpiece. Within the collaboration, dancers weave in and out, around, and with the musicians, as they create physical movement out of the score's complexity, rhythms, and sequences. With musical direction by Scottish Ensemble's Artistic Director Jonathan Morton, the musicians not only play off of the dancers but their bodies become fluid extensions of their instruments.

About Andersson Dance

Andersson Dance, based in Stockholm, Sweden, is led by choreographer Örjan Andersson. Since 1996, Andersson has created numerous works for various contexts, from the intimate to the larger format. Andersson Dance continuously invites artists-from dancers and composers to lighting, costume or video designers-to collaborate with them in various ways. Andersson also creates a range of commissions for other companies, theaters, and opera houses. Due to the success of their first collaboration, a second project with Scottish Ensemble is in the works and will premiere in the UK in November 2018. Andersson Dance is supported by the Swedish Arts Council and the City of Stockholm.

About Scottish Ensemble

Scottish Ensemble is a string orchestra built around a core group of performers who are led from the violin by Artistic Director Jonathan Morton. Their programming approach spans music from the Baroque period to contemporary work, and they perform in venues as diverse as Europe's leading concert halls to derelict urban spaces. Due to the success of their first collaboration, a second project with Andersson Dance is in the works and will premiere in the UK in November 2018. Scottish Ensemble is based in Glasgow, UK. Scottish Ensemble is funded by Creative Scotland.

For more information about the Kennedy Center visit www.kennedy-center.org.