SUMMERSTAGE: Complexions Contemporary Ballet / Carolyn Dorfman Dance
Company:
Complexions Contemporary Ballet / Carolyn Dorfman Dance
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
It is artistic directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson’s lifelong appreciation for the artistic and aesthetic appeal of the multicultural that forms the cornerstone of Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s singular approach to reinventing dance. Founded in 1994, Complexions’ groundbreaking mix of methods, styles, cultures has created an entirely new and exciting vision of human movement over the past 20 years. The company’s foremost innovation is that dance should be about removing boundaries, not reinforcing them. Whether it be the limiting traditions of a single style, period, venue, or culture, Complexions transcends them all, creating an open, continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of our world—and all its constituent cultures—as an interrelated whole. Together, Rhoden and Richardson have created in Complexions an institution that embodies its historical moment, a sanctuary where those passionate about dance can celebrate its past while simultaneously building its future. In the 21 years since its inception, the company has bore witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, more changeable, and more culturally interconnected than ever before—in other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself.
For SummerStage 2016, Complexions Contemporary Ballet will perform several pieces, including “STRUM” – a work paired with music from infamous metal band Metallica. Controversial themes of life, love, death, and evolution move 14 performers rapidly in and out of each other’s arms and through space. “STRUM” empowers the bizarre, unleashes the rebel, and embraces the tender heart.
This performance will feature a solo danced by Desmond Richardson, hailed as “one of the greatest dancers of this generation” (NY Times). The solo, “IMPRINT”, choreographed by Dwight Rhoden, is a tribute to the late Maya Angelou with original music by David Rosenblatt.
Carolyn Dorfman Dance
Carolyn Dorfman Dance connects life and dance in bold, athletic and dramatic works by Carolyn Dorfman and nationally renowned choreographers. The company’s ten multi-ethnic and stunning dancers tap their unique talents to present high-energy and technically demanding dance that unleashes the powerful storytelling and imagery of its visionary creator. This distinctive combination takes audiences on intellectual and emotional journeys that ultimately illuminate and celebrate the human experience. This is contemporary dance that moves you to think, feel, laugh, cry and engage.
For the July 27 SummerStage 2016 performance, Carolyn Dorfman Dance will perform “WAVES.” A sensation-based exploration of music and dance. With commissioned score by virtuosic musicians and dancers who push the boundaries of their art forms: cellist Jessie Reagen Mann, multi-instrumentalist and human beat boxer Pete List and recorder player Daphna Mor – the sky’s the limit. Dorfman uses this eclectic and unusual grouping of artists, their instruments, sounds, and vocals, to create new and visceral movement connections – WAVES – between her dancers, the music and the dance.
Photo by Daniel Hedden.
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