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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
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Martin LØfsnes/MG360º - Premiere Studio Showing @ Alvin Ailey School

by Hana Ginsburg
November 20, 2006
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
405 West 55th Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 405-9000
Martin LØfsnes/MG360º presented its premiere studio showing November 20th, 2006 at the Alvin Ailey School Fifth Floor Studio. The showing was open to family and friends of the company, as well as to students and faculty of the Ailey School, many of whom were in attendance. The space was provided as a generous gift by Ms. Denise Jefferson, Director of the Ailey School. For more information, please contact Martin LØfsnes at dance@martinlofsnes.com or Hana Ginsburg (General Manager) at hana.ginsburg@gmail.com.

The program featured excerpts from four works, showcasing the diversity of the company's repertory. Phoenix, a new solo choreographed and performed by Artistic Director Martin Løfsnes, opened the evening. With music by Pat Daugherty and Annie Lenox, and text written by Løfsnes himself, the piece deals with issues of death and rebirth, pushing the dancer to his limit, both physically and emotionally. Following Phoenix, Løfsnes and Alessandra Prosperi performed an excerpt from Night Journey, one of Martha Grahams many masterpieces. With music by William Schuman, Night Journey is Graham's retelling of the Greek Tragedy Oedipus Rex. The excerpt shown depicted the charged meeting between Oedipus and Jocasta: King and Queen, Husband and Wife, Mother and Son. As former principal dancers with the Martha Graham Company, Løfsnes and Prosperi executed this work with the technical precision and dramatic intensity that are so integral to the Graham repertory. Third in the program, Erica Dankmeyer, Artistic Director of Dankmeyer Dance, presented two excerpts from a work in progress titled One Two One. A thoughtful solo performed by Dankmeyer herself was immediately followed by an energetic duet for Løfsnes and Prosperi. Dankmeyer's choreography blends gesture and a detailed physical sensitivity with athletic movement that seems to whip through the space. The piece was initiated in collaboration with the Ritz Chamber Players of Jacksonville, FL, where two sections of the original score, composed by Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, were performed with live cello last spring. Finally, choreographer Lauri Stallings conducted an open rehearsal with Løfsnes and Prosperi for her newly commissioned, as yet untitled work. Stallings treated the audience to an inside view of her creative process, illustrating philosophical comments and insightful direction with sudden bursts of improvisation.

MG360º is an independent dance group founded by dancer/choreographer Martin Løfsnes and comprised of former Principal Dancers from the Martha Graham Dance Company, including Elizabeth Auclair, Erica Dankmeyer and Alessandra Prosperi. The company is currently preparing for its first major project, Project Norway, a season in Løfsnes' home country which will include several performances and a major benefit for HIV/AIDS charities in Zambia. The revenue from this benefit is specially earmarked for the purchase of medicines. The project is scheduled for November of 2007, with a preview performance in Norway this month. Additional plans for the year include open classes taught by company members, the development of an outreach program and, ultimately, incorporation as a non-profit. In April, the dancers will work intensively with choreographer Lauri Stallings to complete her new work for the November season, and in September Dankmeyer Dance will present a season at St. Marks Church.

The mission of MG360º is to combine classic and contemporary dance works in order to simultaneously preserve and develop the modern dance lineage. The company hopes to challenge the traditional roots of modern dance while maintaining their artistic vision and dramatic integrity. To this end, it will seek to present classic modern dance works by artists such as Pearl Lang, Yuriko, Robert Cohan, Jane Dudley and Martha Graham, and to commission new works by exciting contemporary artists including Erica Dankmeyer, Errol Grimes and Lauri Stallings.

To join the MG360º mailing list please your mailing address and preferred email account to the contact information provided above.




Also see Roberta Zlokower's article about MG360º and Amarone
MG360° Dance Co., Elizabeth Auclair, Erica Dankmeyer, Alessandra Prosperi, Martin Lofsnes

MG360° Dance Co., Elizabeth Auclair, Erica Dankmeyer, Alessandra Prosperi, Martin Lofsnes

Photo © & courtesy of Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower


Roberta and Guest, Dr. Henri Delbeau, at <a href='http://www.lunapienanyc.com/amarone.htm'>Amarone Ristorante</a>, near the Ailey Dance Center

Roberta and Guest, Dr. Henri Delbeau, at Amarone Ristorante, near the Ailey Dance Center

Photo © & courtesy of Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower


Martin performing his solo 'Phoenix'

Martin performing his solo "Phoenix"

Photo © & courtesy of Rosalie O'Connor


Elizabeth Auclair in Martha Graham's 'Night Journey'

Elizabeth Auclair in Martha Graham's "Night Journey"

Photo © & courtesy of Michele Ballentini

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