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SEATTLE DANCE PROJECT LAUNCHES “PROJECT 5”
Features new musical collaboration with The Inverse Opera, featuring Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes
SEATTLE, WA (January 4, 2011) – The critically acclaimed Seattle Dance Project launches its fifth season with “Project 5”, a collection of new works and returning favorites, performed at ACT – A Contemporary Theatre’s Falls Theater from January 19 – 29, 2012. Seattle Dance Project was recently named resident dance company at ACT after performing there annually since its first season. Tickets are on sale now, with prices ranging from $20-$25 and included in the ACTPass monthly membership.
Staged in partnership with ACT’s Central Heating Lab, Project 5 will be headlined by Brahms Afoot, a new, multidisciplinary collaboration with The Inverse Opera, a group that explores the unique storytelling aspects of the classically trained voice.
Brahms Afoot seamlessly weaves together musicians, voices and bodies to create a breathtaking production. It is choreographed by Penny Hutchinson, a founding member of Mark Morris Dance Company, and set to the timeless music of Brahms’ “Liebeslieder Waltzes,” (or “Love Song Waltzes”). The virtuoso vocalists and pianists of The Inverse Opera will present a uniquely contemporary interpretation of this exquisite masterpiece of chamber music, providing a rich backdrop for the dancers’ performance.
Project 5 also will feature a world premiere by choreographer and former Hubbard Street Dance Chicago member Jason Ohlberg. The piece is a mixture of music, movement and spoken word, incorporating audio from dancer interviews into the score.
To round out the program, Seattle Dance Project will bring back a number of audience favorites from past seasons, including “Planes in Air,” by Molissa Fenley, which debuted in SDP’s 2010-11 season, and Edwaard Liang’s “To Converse Too” and Kent Stowell’s “B6,” both from SDP’s 2009-10 season.
Project 5 will run on two consecutive weekends in January. Performances include:
· January 19 at 8 p.m. (pay-what-you-will dress rehearsal)
· January 20 at 8 p.m. (opening night)
· January 21 at 8 p.m.
· January 22 at 2:00 p.m.
· January 27 at 8:00 p.m.
· January 28 at 8:00 p.m.
· January 29 at 2 p.m.
On January 26 and 27 at noon, the company will offer two student matinees for school children. Tickets for this special matinee are $12 per student and can be purchased through the ACT box office. Contact info@seattledanceproject.org for more information.
Other special features of “Project 5” include a pre-show talk by members of The Inverse Opera, 45 minutes prior to each performance. They will talk about the love story that is the Liebeslieder Waltzes. A passionate Romantic, Johannes Brahms wrote the set of waltzes for four singers and four-hand piano while enamored with Julie Schumann, daughter of composers and musicians Robert and Clara Schumann. The work has been popular since its publication in 1869. The pre-performance talk will significantly enhance the audience’s experience with the music and dance of Brahms Afoot before they see it on stage.
Both the dancers and musicians will also offer a post-performance Q & A with audiences after each show, with the exception of January 29.
Following the January 29 performance, Seattle Dance Project invites audience members to join the dancers and musicians for an after-party to celebrate the company’s fifth season.
For tickets and more information about “Project 5”, visit the Seattle Dance Project website at www.seattledanceproject.org, The Inverse Opera’s website at www.theinverseopera.com or the ACT Theatre website at www.acttheatre.org. Tickets are $25 (adults), $20 (students/seniors/25 and younger) or included in the ACTPass. ACT is located at 7th and Union in downtown Seattle.
About Seattle Dance Project
Seattle Dance Project (www.seattledanceproject.org) was founded in 2007 and is currently led by artistic director Timothy Lynch. The company seeks to use the technical prowess and professional maturity of its dancers to continually push the limits of contemporary dance. Lynch formerly danced with the Pacific Northwest Ballet and is a current faculty member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. In addition to Lynch, company performers include: David Alewine, Betsy Cooper, Michele Curtis, Ezra Dickinson, Alexandra Dickson, Oleg Gorboulev, Iyun Harrison, Gavin Larsen and Lara Seefeldt. Reflecting Seattle Dance Project’s commitment to high quality performing arts, all company members are active teachers in the Seattle dance community. The company was also recently named resident dance company for A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle.
About The Inverse Opera
Created by Seattle-based actor/singers Jadd Davis and Lauren Marie Smith with Jared Michael Brown, The Inverse Opera strives to fill the niche between opera and musical theater, using the voice to its fullest extent, and disregarding preconceived limitations. Since officially forming in January of 2011, The Inverse Opera has provided myriad opportunities for singers and audiences to enjoy unique programs in intimate monthly cabarets throughout King County. Through collaboration with top-tier artists and adventuresome venues, Inverse has been able to fill a truly special niche in the fabric of the region’s performing arts.
About ACT: A Theatre of New Ideas - Raising Consciousness Through Theatre
Located in the heart of downtown Seattle and serving a population of curious, open-minded, and brave audiences, ACT - A Contemporary Theatre is the only theatre in Seattle dedicated to producing contemporary work with promising playwrights and local performing artists since 1965. A theatre of new ideas, ACT serves as a cultural engine that makes plays, dance, music, and film that touch us through its annual Mainstage play series and new works generated from the Young Playwrights Program, The Hansberry Project, the Central Heating Lab, and New Works for the American Stage commissioning program. Because contemporary life demands examination, ACT is driven to inspire and strengthen our diverse community through works that advance our understanding of human life. With more than 100,000 people who attend shows annually, ACT is an interactive community where artists and the public witness, contemplate, and engage in dialogue on today’s thought-provoking issues, ideas and art, presented with intelligence, insight, and humor.
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