Parsons Dance presents Remember Me, a World Premiere collaboration with EVOC - Jan 6-18
PARSONS DANCE
presents
REMEMBER ME
a World Premiere collaboration
with the lead vocalists and music of the
Grammy Award-nominated
EAST VILLAGE OPERA COMPANY
The
Parsons Dance presents the World Premiere of REMEMBER ME, a collaboration with the lead vocalists of East Village Opera Company (EVOC), featuring the music of the acclaimed rock opera band. Program A premieres the new evening-length work with EVOC’Äôs two lead vocalists live onstage with Parsons Dance. Program B will feature Parsons Dance favorites: the jazzy Fill the Woods with Light, Swing Shift, Ebben, My Sweet Lord, Shining Star, and the stroboscopic Caught.
David Parsons, Tyley Ross (lead male vocalist and co-founder of EVOC) and AnnMarie Milazzo (lead female vocalist) have created a storyline that connects EVOC’Äôs signature operatic arias (fifteen songs from the band’Äôs albums) with David Parsons’Äô original choreography. REMEMBER ME is a thoroughly modern re-telling of a classic story of a tragic love triangle. With contemporary dance, aerial dance, live and recorded music, video projections, complex digital lighting and visual effects, REMEMBER ME is the most ambitious production created by Parsons Dance in its 22 year history.
’ÄúNearly two years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting the members of East Village Opera Company. We realized that a great deal of artistic synchronicity existed between our companies, and we began to discuss the possibility of creating a work together. Peter Kiesewalter’Äôs brilliant arrangements have proven to be incredibly inspirational. Now we are about to present this World Premiere in January,’Äù said David Parsons, artistic director of Parsons Dance.
’ÄúDavid Parsons’Äô choreography marries tradition and renewal in a way that physically represents what we try to evoke as a band. It’Äôs exciting to see our music take a three dimensional kinesthetic shape in his hands,’Äù said Tyley Ross. EVOC recently received a 2008 Grammy Award nomination, Best Classical Crossover Album, for their album Olde School (2008, Decca Records).
’ÄúThis piece is a strong departure from David Parsons’Äô signature themes, representing a paradigm shift in the work of a legendary choreographer, showcasing David’Äôs maturation as an artist and expressing the breadth of his enormous creative range,’Äù said David Harrison, executive director of Parsons Dance.
EVOC’Äôs signature works re-imagine opera arias as popular songs, including pieces by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Schubert. These classics collide with electric sounds from the golden era of rock and roll, pop, R&B, and soul, exploding into a mosaic of sound in a triumphant musical celebration. They have received commissions to pen new works from both the New York Public Theatre and New York City Opera, with whom they have also performed at
Parsons Dance creates American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world. It is the goal of Parsons Dance to make contemporary dance accessible to the widest possible audiences. In addition to choreography and performance, Parsons Dance positively impacts children, students, and communities through student performances, lecture-demonstrations, master classes, post-show discussions and more. Parsons Dance has a company of eleven full-time dancers and maintains a repertory of more than 70 works choreographed by David Parsons, twenty of which feature originally commissioned scores by leading composers and musicians, including Dave Matthews, Michael Gordon and Milton Nascimento. Parsons Dance has collaborated with many other leading artists, including Julie Taymor, William Ivey Long, Annie Leibovitz, Donna Karan and Alex Katz (to name a few). The New York Times called David Parsons ’Äúone of the great movers of modern dance.’Äù New York Magazine referred to him as ’Äúone of modern dance’Äôs great living dance-makers.’Äù
Parsons Dance dancers are Julie Blume, Eric Bourne, Sarah Braverman, John Corsa, Kevin Fitzgerald Ferguson, Patty Foster, Zac Hammer, Natalie Lomonte, Miguel Quinones, Abby Silva, Billy Smith, apprentice dancer Steven Vaughn, and understudy Trista Jennings.
The two programs follow:
Program A:
Thu 1/8, Fri 1/9 and Sat 1/10 at 8pm; Sun 1/11 at 2pm and 7:30pm; Wed 1/14 at 7:30pm;
Thu 1/15, Fri 1/16 and Sat 1/17 at 8pm; Sun 1/18 at 7:30pm
World Premiere of REMEMBER ME featuring the music of EVOC: Overture, La Danza, Maria, Mari!, Habanera, Che Gelida Manina, Flower Duet, La Donna E Mobile, Ave Maria, O Mio Babbino Caro, Una Furtiva Lagrima, Un Del Di, Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana, When I Am Laid in Earth, Butterfly Duet
Program B:
Tue 1/6 and Wed 1/7 at 7:30pm; Tue 1/13 at 7:30pm; Sat 1/17 and Sun 1/18 at 2pm
Family Matinee: Sat 1/10 at 2pm
Swing Shift, Ebben (an excerpt from Program A), My Sweet Lord, Fill the Woods with Light, Caught, and Shining Star
Swing Shift, created for four couples and featuring compelling solos for female dancers, explores the human journey toward self-discovery through social interaction, as dancers ’Äúswing’Äù and ’Äúshift’Äù in order to couple, uncouple and couple again with another. Ebben is an excerpt from REMEMBER ME. My Sweet Lord is based on the song of the same title by George Harrison and was originally choreographed for American Ballet Theatre. Fill the Woods with Light was inspired by David Parsons’Äô love of jazz and dramatic lighting effects. This ensemble piece features a commissioned score by Phil Woods, recorded by the Phil Woods Little Big Band. The dancers occupy the nocturnal world of jazz music, lighting each other with a variety of hand-held lighting instruments. Caught is an internationally renowned stroboscopic dance masterpiece that features a solo dancer performing more than 100 leaps in less than six minutes. Each leap is ’Äúcaught’Äù by the flash of a strobe light, to create a breathtaking illusion of flight. Caught has been performed thousands of times, worldwide, for more than 27 years. Shining Star is an upbeat, high-energy romp set to a series of disco-era hits by Earth, Wind & Fire. The choreography blends social dancing with a jazzy, smooth style that celebrates the party scene of the 1970s.
Parsons Dance will perform January 6 ’Äì 18, 2009 at The Joyce Theater, with performances Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday at 7:30pm; Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm; and Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. There is a Family matinee performance on Saturday, January 10 at 2pm. The
Parsons Dance is committed to building new audiences for contemporary dance by creating American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world. The company tours regionally, nationally and internationally. Since 1985, Parsons Dance has toured an average of 32 weeks per year, to a total more than 235 cities, 30 countries, six continents and millions of audience members. Many others have seen Parsons Dance on PBS, Bravo, A&E Network, and the Discovery Channel. Millions watched Parsons Dance perform live in
David Parsons (Artistic Director/Founder) has enjoyed a remarkable career as a performer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer of dance. Mr. Parsons was born in
East Village Opera Company was formed in
Tyley Ross (Male Vocalist / EVOC co-founder) A native of
AnnMarie Milazzo (Female Vocalist) is a singer, arranger, composer and lyricist living in NYC. She has done the vocal arrangements for Spring Awakening, the Broadway musical at the Eugene O’ÄôNeill Theater; Next To Normal, which premiered Off Broadway at Second Stage Theatre; Bright Lights,
The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community and its audiences since 1982. The founders, Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in
The World Premiere production is made possible by lead commissioning support from The Ellsworth Kelly Foundation; and Dr. and Mrs. Edward Prostic, in honor and memory of their daughter Elizabeth Anne Prostic.
For more information, visit parsonsdance.org and eastvillageoperacompany.com.
PARSONS DANCE
The
January 6-18, 2009
Tue, Wed and Sun at 7:30pm; Thu, Fri and Sat at 8pm; and Sat and Sun at 2pm
Family matinee performance on Saturday, January 10 at 2pm.
Tickets: $59, $35, $19 (Joyce Members $44, $26)
JoyceCharge: 212-242-0800
Labels: dance, east village opera company, new york, opera, parsons dance
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