Though 2013 has been around for a few weeks, this weekend hosts the first major dance performances in Seattle of the year. The Emerald City’s dance scene kicks things back in gear with multiple performances, as well as auditions and workshops (check our Call Board).
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| Catherine Cabeen Photo by Tim Summers |
Fire! by Catherine Cabeen and Company
January 17–20, 8:00 PM, On the Boards Mainstage
Catherine Cabeen and Company presents their world premiere, Fire!, a performance centering on the career of visual artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002). This leading French artist of the New Realist movement was known for works that were troubled, joyful, and peppered with depictions of child’s play, violence, and femininity. The seed of Fire! was initially seen in the 2012 NW New Works performance of Ready, Aim… in which Cabeen explored the potential for violence in an audience’s gaze. These early investigations form the base of this evening-length performance that focuses on Saint Phalle’s ability to simultaneously play into, and break free from, gendered expectations. Fire! features an immersive stage environment inspired by Saint Phalle’s mosaic installations, six female dancers (including Cabeen and Into the Void’s Karena Birk and Sarah Lustbader), sound design by Kane Mathis and Julian Martlew, lighting by Connie Yun, and video by Susie J Lee. Tickets are available here.
Borrowed Prey by Carrie Ahern
January 17–27 (Thursday through Sundays), 8:00 PM, Rainshadow Meats
Following a sold-out run in New York, Carrie Ahern returns to Seattle with Borrowed Prey, a work investigating our relationship to the animals we consume. Integrating research on hunting, butchering, and slaughtering, as well as the work of Dr. Temple Grandin, the autistic animal behavior scientist, it gives new perspective on the “farm to table” process. Performances are for only 20 people at a time and begin at 8:00 PM sharp. Latecomers will not be seated. For tickets, click here.
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| Andrew Bartee in Olivier Wevers’ MorePhoto by Molly Magee/Bamberg Fine Art |
Crave More by Whim W’Him
January 18–20, 8:00 PM, Seattle Center Playhouse
Whim W’Him opens its fourth season with three Seattle premieres. Two works by guest choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa include the brand new CRAVE inspired by Scottish youth clubbing and Before/After, a work new to Seattle audiences. Director Olivier Wevers also presents The Sofa, which premiered at Patricia Barker’s Grand Rapids Ballet in 2012, and More, first seen this fall at the Men in Dance Festival. Whim W’Him welcomes several new dancers to their roster as well as the return of former PNB principal (and audience favorite) Lucien Postelwaite who currently performs with Ballets de Monte Carlo. Tickets are available here.
UW Faculty Dance Concert
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| An intergenerational cast in Jürg Koch’s The Rite of Spring Photo by Steve Korn |
January 18–19, 7:30 PM, Meany Hall UW Campus
The UW Dance Program, School of Music, and School of Drama join their multi-talented forces to present an exciting program of three works. To celebrate the centennial of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Jürg Koch has developed a fresh look on the 1913 masterpiece. For this interpretation, Koch worked with an intergenerational cast of advanced undergraduates, guest artists, and community dancers from the Seattle area. The piece reflects in a contemporary way the large topics that The Rite of Spring explores: the individual and society, regeneration, sexuality, nature, and culture. (Koch’s work is one of several events planned across campus to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this seminal work. A complete listing of campus events can be seen here: http://www.artsci.washington.edu/artsuw/riteofspring100th/.) Also on the program is Dances for Isadora, José Limón’s homage to the woman he regarded as his dance “mother.” Advanced undergraduate dancers worked with original cast member, Jennifer Scanlon on the staging and interpretation of the work, offering a direct connection to this important lineage in modern dance history. The program also features the premiere of Jennifer Salk’s work A Small Piece of the Story, in which she re-creates a place where concerts held in a family living room produce a community of intimate relationships between participants. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
