Program Booklet
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Amy Seiwert’s Imagery Presents: SKETCH 3: Expectations world premiere ballets by Marc Brew Val Caniparoli Amy Seiwert July 25–28, 2013 ODC Theater 3153 17th Street San Francisco, CA 94110 All logo and bubble photography by David DeSilva in collaboration with Bubble Master Sterling Johnson Dear Patron: Thank you so much for choosing to come to Amy Seiwert’s Imagery’s SKETCH 3. By doing so, you have supported Live Arts which, in and of itself, is important. But more than that, you have chosen to participate in a unique program. Each year, Amy identi"es a theme and invites stunning choreographers that she thinks have a pertinent message to create dances for Bay Area audiences — dances and choreographers that we wouldn’t, otherwise, be exposed to. Last year, she brought in female choreographers to present their individual message, commenting on the lack of female choreographers in the ballet "eld. This year, she has chosen to focus on process, shifting the focus from who makes the ballets, to how ballets are being made, as a theme. To accomplish this she invited a marvelous local choreographer familiar to Bay Area audiences through San Francisco Ballet, Val Caniparoli, as well as a renowned Australian choreographer, Marc Brew. And, we can thrill to a new o#ering by Amy herself. Michael Smuin once introduced Amy’s choreography by saying: “Amy has more originality in 25 seconds of work than most choreographers have in their entire work.” The SKETCH series is becoming a staple of mid-summer dance in San Francisco... but it won’t be able to continue without your generous support. We thank those of you who were able to support, in any way, SKETCH 3 and ask for your help in beginning to plan SKETCH 4. If you are pleased tonight, tell your friends. To give a donation, visit our website www.ASImagery.org, or talk to a company member. Thank you for your attention. On behalf of the entire Board, I hope you enjoy this o#ering as much as we have enjoyed presenting it to you. Niko Mayer, Chairman of the Board Amy Seiwert’s Imagery A CONTEMPORARY BALLET COMPANY “The vocabulary of ballet never changes, it is only the usage that becomes outmoded.” —WILLIAM FORSYTHE Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, a San Francisco-based contemporary ballet company, believes that ballet is an expressive and vital voice relevant to our times. ASI’s artists share the belief that through collaboration and experimentation, vibrant and courageous ideas are expressed. Habitual reactions are discouraged. ASI’s mission is to expand the de"nition of ballet by exploding preconceptions of what ballet is and can be. Focused on the intersection of genres, its aesthetic de"es classi"cation and re$ects a commitment to create and present work of excellence and in$uence. Our work touches the lives of the contemporary artists whose careers are enhanced through this artistic process, and our dance audiences who have come to expect surprising, meticulous and memorable work. Imagery Board of Directors Imagery Sta" Niko Kozak Mayer — President Amy Seiwert — Artistic Director Lori Laqua — Treasurer Jane Elin — Project Manager Amy Seiwert — Secretary Joseph Copley — Administrative Coordinator KT Graham Joan Lazarus Company Class Teachers Fred W. Terman Andrea Basile, Laura Rae Bernasconi, Len Weiss Sandra Chinn, Kristine Elliot, James Graham, Amy London, Amy Seiwert, Erik Wagner Amy Seiwert’s Imagery is a 501(C)3 non-pro"t corporation. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. SKETCH 3: Expectations Triptych Choreography: Val Caniparoli Music: John Tavener, Alexander Balanescu Lighting: Jim French Costumes: Christine Darch Dancers: Full Company Photographer Lalage Snow created a powerful series of Triptychs titled We Are The Not Dead depicting the faces of British servicemen before, during and after their deployment to Afghanistan. The images highlight not only the physical trans- formations but the emotional ones as well. INTERMISSION Awkward Beauty Choreography: Marc Brew Music: Dan Wool Lighting: Jim French Costumes: Christine Darch Dancers: Full Company Explores the tenuous foundations we lay to build and construct our lives in an ever changing land- scape. INTERMISSION The Devil Ties My Tongue Choreography: Amy Seiwert Music: Ólafur Arnalds Lighting: Jim French Costumes: Christine Darch Dancers: Full Company The choreographers gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the dancers in the creation of these new works. Our Risks Since Amy invited me to work with the company about a year ago, I have been looking forward to this opportunity of working with Imagery and the talented, intelligent and committed dancers for a long time. One of the prerequisites Amy clearly stated to me before beginning the process is that she didn’t want me to do what I normally do, or fall into the trap of using the tasks/formulas of choreographing that I am familiar with that I know works. This was an opportunity for me as a choreographer to be supported in taking risks and with an o#er like that, how could I say no? My identi"ed risks would be: 1. Trying new tasks and choreographic material I have not previously tried and tested. 2. Not knowing the answers but asking lots of questions and trying to problem solve as we go along. 3. Going back to my roots in classical ballet and working with dancers on pointe and using ballet technique more. 4. Having a very short creative process to create work and have music composed. —Marc Brew TutuSchool® .san francisco.marin.tutuschool.com. s k e e W w e r d n A CELEBRATING OUR 20thXX SEASON XXTREMES - Oct 4 - 12, 2013 Palace of Fine Arts Between loss and desire lives a paradox of emotion. RETURN TO A STRANGE LAND CARMINA BURANA DEAR MISS CLINE BY JI Í KYLIÁN BY MICHAEL SMUIN BY AMY SEIWERT XXMAS - Dec 18 - 28, 2013 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Photo by Patrick Fraser, Dancer: Terez Dean Terez Dancer: Fraser, Patrick by Photo Between traditional and radical blooms a Smuin Dance classic. XXCENTRIC - May 2 - 11, 2014 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Between avant-garde and showbiz comes entertaining eccentricity. WORLD PREMIERE BY AMY SEIWERT DANCIN’ WITH GERSHWIN BY MICHAEL SMUIN smuinballet.org S M U I N 415.912.1899 B A L L E T No matter how much experience I have as a choreographer, I welcome any opportunity to CELEBRATING learn and expand my horizons. So I jumped at the invitation from Amy Seiwert to create a new work for her SKETCH 3: EXPECTATIONS project. Because of the theme of the project she encouraged me to work outside my comfort zone, and that’s how it turned out. I rarely OUR 20th SEASON address politics, war or religion explicitly in my work, and I consciously skirt hotbutton topics. XX But I was very much taken by photographer Lalage Snow’s series of triptychs, “We Are The Not Dead”, presenting the faces of British soldiers before, during, and after their deployment to Afghanistan. To explore this topic with the dancers—which we did by looking at the photos for inspiration, discussing them and then improvising—was eye opening for me. And freeing. In light of the topic, I chose to work o# pointe. It’s something I rarely have the opportunity to do, as I’m almost always expected to create works on pointe in commissions for classical companies. My collaboration with Amy Seiwert’s Imagery was incredibly satisfying from a choreographic perspective, due in large measure to the intense investment of the dancers. —Val Caniparoli My work is usually based on images I see when listening to music I love. These are abstract, and this is how I am most comfortable creating. For “The Devil Ties My Tongue,” my starting point was text, speci"cally Leonard Cohen’s poem S.O.S. Now the images were coming from a literal place. I worked with creating images from the words, writing the words with the body, and matching the rhythmic syllables. This starting point for creation $uctuated between being wonderfully liberating to maddeningly constraining. I also experimented with letting go of my urge to control every moment of creation, instead putting faith in these XXTREMES - Oct 4 - 12, 2013 Palace of Fine Arts beautiful dancers to make choices. Between loss and desire lives a paradox of emotion. —Amy Seiwert RETURN TO A STRANGE LAND CARMINA BURANA DEAR MISS CLINE Take a long time with your anger, Pleased with the better deal? to turn away from alarming you. BY JI Í KYLIÁN BY MICHAEL SMUIN BY AMY SEIWERT sleepy head. You are clamped down. So I must say it quickly. Don’t waste it in riots. You are being bred for pain. Whoever is in your life, XXMAS - Dec 18 - 28, 2013 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Photo by Patrick Fraser, Dancer: Terez Dean Terez Dancer: Fraser, Patrick by Photo Don’t tangle it with ideas. The Devil ties my tongue. those who harm you, Between traditional and radical blooms a Smuin Dance classic. The Devil won’t let me speak, I’m speaking to you, those who help you; will only let me hint ‘friend of my scribbled life’. those whom you know XXCENTRIC - May 2 - 11, 2014 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts that you are a slave, You have been conquered by those and those whom you do not know your misery a deliberate policy who know how to conquer invisibly. let them o" the hook, Between avant-garde and showbiz comes entertaining eccentricity. of those in whose thrall you su"er, The curtains move so beautifully, help them o" the hook.