Radical Impact (working title) October 2017 Premiere Summary:

In 2017, AXIS Dance Company celebrates 30 years and in respect of its past the company will be moving onwards and upwards premiering a new work by newly appointed AXIS Artistic Director Marc Brew. In his first work as AXIS Artistic Director, Brew will collaborate with Oakland based Hip-Hop orchestra Ensemble MIK Nawooj to create an original work by their lead composer JooWan Kim.

The work is exploring:

Identity Politics - How do people Identify? How you identify or are identified can be dangerous…. I’m only human.

What does it mean to be human? Collaborators

Marc Brew - http://www.marcbrew.com

Acclaimed International choreographer Marc Brew trained as a professional dancer at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and The Australian School. He has been working in the UK and Internationally for the past 19 years as a director, choreographer, dancer, teacher and speaker; with the Australian , State Theatre Ballet Company of South Africa, Infinity Dance Theatre, CandoCo Dance Company and as Associate Director with Scottish Dance Theatre and Guest Artistic Director with AXIS Dance Company. Since 2008 Marc has been dedicating time to his own choreography with Marc Brew Company and is currently Associate Artistic Director with in Wales and was Associate Artist in 2015 at Tramway Theatre in , Scotland where he is now based. Recent choreographic commissions include , Ballet Cymru, AXIS Dance Company (USA), Candoco Dance Company (UK), Touch Compass (NZ), Amy Seiwert’s Imagery (USA), GDance, Scottish Dance Theatre, Greewnwich & Docklands International Festival and City of London Festival (UK). Marc was featured by Time Out Magazine as the best of the new breed of London’s Rising Dance Talent and was presented with a Centenary Medal for Outstanding Contribution as a dancer and choreographer. His work Remember When was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Best Performance (individual) and his recent solo work For Now, I am… was listed in the Guardians Top 10 Dance Shows for 2016.

ENSEMBLE MIK NAWOOJ - http://www.ensemblemiknawooj.com

Led by composer/pianist, JooWan Kim, Hip Hop Orchestra Ensemble Mik Nawooj creates new American Art Music based on the musical materials of Hip- Hop and by sampling compatible classical compositional techniques. Executed with MCs/lyricists Do D.A.T. and Sandman, a lyric soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, drums and bass, the music is rigorous, nuanced, accessible, and free from the dogmas of Western European concert music aesthetic. The result, makes the Kronos Quartet or the Roots feel like they’re afraid of their own voice (Pitchfork) and is considered the cutting edge of Hip-Hop (Huffington Post).

After a successful performance of a novelty piece which featured an MC and chamber ensemble while the artistic director was completing his master’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the MC at the time suggested they make an album together. Six months later and writing about an hour of music, the artistic director had a profound shift in the direction of his writing. He felt that he found a way out of the stifling contemporary concert music aesthetic in this new way of composition.

In 2010, JooWan recruited his best friend from college, Christopher Nicholas to push the project forward in a serious way. Following six years, Ensemble Mik Nawooj attracted some of the most excellent classical musicians and MCs in the SF Bay Area while gaining national attention from outlets such as ESPN, Wall

AXIS Dance Company - http://www.axisdance.org

AXIS Dance Company exists to change the face of dance and disability through Artistry, Engagement and Advocacy. Founded in 1987, AXIS is the nation’s most acclaimed ensembles of performers with and without disabilities. Based in Oakland, CA and in its 30th year AXIS’ list of collaborators includes Bill T. Jones, Stephen Petronio, Yvonne Rainer, Ann Carlson, David Dorfman, Marc Brew, Meredith Monk, Joan Jeanrenaud and Fred Frith. AXIS has toured to over 100 cities in US, Europe and Russia. The Company has received seven Isadora Duncan Dance Awards and has appeared twice on FOX TV's So You Think You Can Dance, exposing their important and relevant work of physically integrated dance to millions. Through education and outreach programs thousands of children and adults of all ages and abilities are inspired to dance each year.