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Dance New Amsterdam
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Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) Announces: DNA Presents: Summer 2009 Season (June 4-28, New York, NY)

by Sarah Hart
June 4, 2009
Dance New Amsterdam
280 Broadway, 2nd floor
(Entrance on Chambers Street)
New York, NY 10007
(212) 625-8369
Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) is pleased to announce the Summer 2009 Season of DNA PRESENTS, the signature presenting series of Lower Manhattan's premiere center for experimental dance. Celebrating our 25th anniversary year, the Summer 2009 Season kicks off with DNA's longest running series packed with fiery world premieres by five male choreographers; In the Company of Men. The season continues with innovative choreographers in solo and multi-artist showcases, including a one of a kind performance/installation by Nancy Bannon, a visual art-infused world premiere by Artist in Residence Adele Myers and closing with Gene Pool, DNA's performance series dedicated to the artists and faculty engineering Lower Manhattan's leading dance experience.


Through a unique blend of multidisciplinary programming comprised of explosive and emotive dance performances, multi-gallery exhibits, on-line historic & live webcasts and moderated discussions, DNA PRESENTS makes culture accessible to audiences from New York and its surrounding communities. The acclaimed performance series is part of an expansive approach to DNA's mission of "making dance real" by offering programming in education, exploration and creation, and performance. DNA provides opportunities for cultural enthusiasts to experience dance from initial introduction to professional-level training and performance. The season features artists who are deeply involved with DNA's performance and education dialogue and who demonstrate a passionate commitment to fostering a vibrant dance community in Lower Manhattan. All performances take place in the theatre @ DNA at 280 Broadway (Entrance on Chambers St.) 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10007. Tickets for all performances are available through Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, at www.ticketcentral.com or at the door.


The Summer 2009 Season is:


June 4-7 In the Company of Men (ICOM)

June 6 LateNite@DNA

June 10-14 Nancy Bannon │The Pod Project

June 18-21 Artist in Residence: Adele Myers

June 25-28 Gene Pool


DNA's 2009 Season is made possible with DNA's program revenue along with the generous support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), a state agency; and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), a city agency.



***

In the Company of Men (ICOM)

Five World Premieres

June 4-7

Performance Times: Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday matinee at 3:00pm

Ticket Prices: $20, ($15 members, $17 students)



Begun in 1994, In the Company of Men (ICOM) was initially launched in part as a response to the decimation of the dance community by HIV/AIDS. In the Company of Men has expanded its focus to celebrate a full range of male choreographic voices and styles. Additionally, ICOM fosters an environment where choreographers of varying backgrounds can come together to share their experiences in the field. This season's ICOM features five diverse works:


GPS by Jonah Bokaer collapses the joints of a dancing figure - both real, and animated - to new extremes of mobility, expression, and distortion. The solo is inspired by the Global Positioning System (GPS); a global navigation satellite system developed by the U.S. Department of Defense and officially named NAVSTAR GPS. Although NAVSTAR is not an acronym, a few backronyms have been created for it: thus, Bokaer has created a playful new acronym for GPS: Ground Positioning System, and systematizes the positions of his body solely on the ground.


3 pieced swan, op.1 by Idan Cohen wanders in and out of identity questions aroused by the monumental music and synopsis of Swan Lake. "Whether I've committed a crime against my gender, my kibbutz background, my national identity or against anything else, when I understand WHAT is unacceptable, I can leave the question of WHY it is unacceptable behind and become what might be seen as a hybridization of a man, and a creature called swan." –Idan Cohen


Fight or Flight by Courtney Ffrench/ Vissi Dance Theater is a violently beautiful exorcism of superficial conformity. A trio of dancers returns the masks they inherited at birth and reconstruct the pieces of their most inner truth.


Remember the light… by Erick Montes is a work based on variations of movement phrases, built for a chorus of five male dancers.


Privy by Paul Singh / Singh & Dance is an act of shedding. An act of diverting. Two men trying to leave behind parts of themselves they don't want. It happens through a constantly shifting, changing, whirling movement scheme.


*There will be a free preview of this performance Wednesday, May 27 at 12:15pm in DNA's 2nd Floor Gallery. A brief Q&A session will follow.


In the Company of Men was made possible, in part, by a generous grant from the Jerome Foundation



***

LateNite@DNA


When the business day comes to a close, and the television lineup just isn't cutting it, there is a new home to go to for your after hours delights: DNA. Relax, have a drink and enjoy as this later-than-average series furnishes some wilder-than-average experiences, LateNite@DNA.


June 6

Doors Open: 10:30pm

Ticket Prices: $10 admission (+ one free drink ticket) or $5 with ICOM ticket

*Tickets available at the door.


The series kicks off with Male Room hosted by Ambrose Martos. After witnessing the male virtuosity of In the Company of Men (ICOM), stick around for burlesque meets drag meets…DNA. It's a man's man's man's world, in heels.



***

Nancy Bannon

The Pod Project

June 10-14

Performance Times: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:00pm, 8:30pm & 10:00pm, Sunday at 1:30pm & 3:00pm

*Note: this production opens on a Wednesday evening.

Ticket Prices: $30, ($25 members)

*There are only 13 seats available per performance.

Performed by A. Apostol, Jennifer Gillespie, Robyn Hunt, Keith Johnson, Marc Kenison, Stephanie Liapis, Rick Meese, Bob Moss, Tricia Nelson, Risa Steinberg, Netta Yerushalmy…and more.

Sound design by Darron L. West, associate designer Matt Hubbs

Costume design by Ilona Somogyi, Associate Designer Sarah Laux

Production design by Brian MacDevitt

Set Design by Jessica Malone-Atkinson & Brian Howard


The Pod Project is a performance/installation consisting of 13 private, one-on-one performances housed within 13 sculpted spaces. The viewer actually enters each performance environment and experiences a one-on-one exchange in unconventional proximity. The interiors of the cylindrical sculptures/ pods are personalized. Crossing the threshold, we pop into: a dentist's office, a mountaintop ski-lift, a cocoon, a snowglobe, a shower, etc. The scene content, ranging from highly interactive to resolvedly voyeuristic, is original and diverse. Opening the door to a chamber you may find: a man with his back to you listing what he doesn't want you to know; a sleeping man, a tiny door in the wall and through the tiny door, a hillside of glistening white sheep; a waitress playing "Die Valkyrie" on water glasses; a man in a ski-lift hovering silently off the ground; a woman behind a table of wigs asking you which one you'd like to see her wear first; or a bespectacled man in a melting caterpillar suit talking about how he needs something to look forward to. The lights fade and each viewer is guided to his next destination. It is an exciting evening of suspense and unusual encounters.

Nancy Bannon, after performing for many years with Doug Varone, Tere O'Connor and Lar Lubavitch, is now creating her own interdisciplinary theater. Her most recent work is "Puncture" an evening- length piece presented by The Chocolate Factory, and The Pod Project, an installation of private, one-on-one performances at 20 Greene Gallery. Nancy is the recipient of three Princess Grace Awards and a 2001 New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Award. She has served on the faculties of SUNY Purchase and Rutgers University and has taught independently throughout the U.S.. Nancy is a graduate of The Juilliard School. This March, Nancy was invited to participate in a Philip Johnson Glass House Conversation along with filmmaker Darron Aronofsky, poet Erin Belieu, graphic designer Paula Scher and others. In July, Nancy will begin a new work, creating a cornfield, at a month long residency at The Baryshnikov Arts Center. As a collaborative team, these designers and Nancy have been creating together since 2007.


*There will be a free preview of this performance Tuesday, June 2 at 12:15pm in DNA's 2nd Floor Gallery. A brief Q&A session will follow.


***

Artist in Residence: Adele Myers

June 18-21

Performance Times: Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday matinee at 3:00pm

Ticket Prices: $20, ($15 members, $17 students)


what we have is half of what we wish for

Performed by Diana Deaver, Rebecca Woods, Philip Montana, Tara Burns, Kellie Lynch

Original score by Kyle Olson with selections by Miu Miu/Bounce and Steve Roden/In Between Noise

Costumes by Diana Deaver and Philip Montana

Lighting design by Jim French

Media design by Tara Burns


what we have is half of what we wish for is a multi-media collaboration exploring how advancements in technological modes of communication have reshaped personal interactions throughout recent history.


This project was made possible in part by a grant from the LEF Foundation


8 Views

Performed by Diana Deaver, Rebecca Woods, Philip Montana, Tara Burns, Kellie Lynch

Original score by Ben Wolfe

Lighting design by Jim French


8 Views is a collaboration with composer Ben Wolfe, formerly a bassist with Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr. The source of inspiration for the project is the idea of bringing to life through movement, music and lighting design, the colorful formalist abstract paintings of artist, Karen Dow.


This project was made possible in part by a grant from THE CONNECTICUT COMMISSION ON CULTURE AND TOURISM


*Additional events in conjunction with this production include:


Free Preview:

There will be a preview of this performance Wednesday, June 10 at 2:15pm in DNA's 2nd Floor Gallery. A brief Q&A session will follow.


Visual art exhibit in DNA's 2nd floor gallery space:

Karen Dow

Dow's paintings served as the central collaborative inspiration for Myers' premiere work, 8 Views.

June 18 – July 15, 2009

*This Exhibit has been funded in part by a grant from New York State Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick through the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.


DNA's Artist in Residence (AIR) program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA); National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts


Adele Myers

Founded in 2000, Adele Myers and Dancers is a five-member contemporary dance company combining robust athleticism, theatricality, and social commentary. In 2007 the company premiered Is That All There Is, an autobiographical work employing popular culture and humor to comment on the underbelly of modern motherhood. The most recent project, what we have is half of what we wish for, is a multi-media collaboration exploring how advancements in technology have reshaped personal interaction throughout recent history. Myers' choreography has been presented nationally including Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out, Tanglewood Music Center; 12-Minutes Max/On The Boards and the Velocity Dance Center in Seattle; New Haven International Festival of Arts and Ideas; and DanceNow, Dance New Amsterdam and Joyce SoHo in New York City. The repertoire has been performed in a variety of venues ranging from intimate art gallery spaces and black box theaters to larger outdoor venues and proscenium stages. Adele Myers and Dancers has received support from the City of New Haven, the State of Connecticut, the LEF Foundation, NEFA's RDDI series, and the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC). The company was selected as a 2009 Artist-In-Residence at the Dance New Amsterdam Theater; and invited for a three-week choreographic residency at the 2009 Bates Dance Festival.


In addition to being Artistic Director of Adele Myers and Dancers, Myers is a Professor of Dance at Connecticut College. As a performer, she was a member of Joy Kellman/Co. in NYC for six years and a guest artist with other companies including Momix. Myers was also a choreographic assistant on several projects for Jawole Zollar, Artistic Director of the Urban Bush Women (UBW). Commercial credits include choreographing a record release event for Aerosmith and industrials for TVGuide among others. Myers earned a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, an MFA at Florida State University, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Performance Studies at New York University.



***

Gene Pool

June 25-28

Performance Times: Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday matinee at 3:00pm

*Note this production will have two alternating programs, schedule to come.

Ticket Prices: $20, ($15 members, $17 students)


Gene Pool, an annual showcase of the diverse performance genres practiced, utilized and morphed within DNA. Offering a sample of new and re-staged works, Gene Pool features choreography from artists and teachers with longstanding relationships to DNA. Choreographers this season are Julie Bour, Marijke Eliasberg, Anabella Lenzu, Deborah Lohse, Nia Love, Paul Matteson, Heather McArdle and Belinda McGuire.



Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) is Lower Manhattan's newest home for "downtown" dance – dance that challenges, expects attention and gives each viewer permission to experience art as a response to our daily existence. DNA is proud to present and promote artistic excellence in dance performance, education and the creation process. An incomparable resource, DNA's 25,000 square foot facility is a pioneer infrastructure for the performing arts by housing both a professional theater and education center – nurturing dance in all its forms and guiding dancers through the various stages of their career. In DNA's studios each week, 160 classes are taught, rehearsals are run, workshops are conducted and choreography is created. DNA is a valuable resource for the aspiring, emerging and established artist, who benefit from artistic residencies, studio and administrative office subsidies, commissions and two performance seasons that offer presentations of new dance works, many of them world premieres. Founded in 1984 in NoHo and originally known as Dance Space Center, DNA changed its name when it moved to 280 Broadway in February 2006. The state-of-the-art facilities include a professional 130-seat theater, six studios, a wellness program, two galleries and a reception space. DNA was the first not-for-profit arts organization to move to Lower Manhattan after 9/11 and plays a critical role as a resource for the dance community, as well as a renewing force in downtown Manhattan's cultural landscape.


DNA's 2009 Season is made possible with DNA program revenue along with generous support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), a state agency; and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), a city agency.



Photos available upon request.
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