BAM presents John Jasperse Company in Misuse liable to prosecution as part of the 25th Next Wave Festival

The New York premiere features a score by Zeena Parkins and costumes, props, and sets—all found, borrowed, or stolen

BAM 25th Next Wave Festival is sponsored by Altria Group, Inc.

Misuse liable to prosecution John Jasperse Company

Choreography by John Jasperse Music by Zeena Parkins Lighting design by John Jasperse and Joseph Levasseur

BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St) Oct 31–Nov 3 at 7:30pm Tickets: $20, 35, 45 718.636.4100 or BAM.org

BAMdialogue with John Jasperse and Zeena Parkins Moderated by dancer, choreographer, teacher, and writer Gus Solomons jr Nov 1, post-show (free for same-day ticket holders)

Brooklyn, NY/September 25, 2007—BAM presents the return of New York choreographer John Jasperse and his company in the 25th Next Wave Festival commission Misuse liable to prosecution, a piece for five dancers with an original score by composer Zeena Parkins. In this New York premiere, all sets, costumes, and props used have been found, borrowed, or stolen by Jasperse and the company. Known for his iconoclastic, inventive choreography, Jasperse has been called “a postmodern wizard” (Time Out New York) and his work has been described as “kinetically brainy” by Dance magazine.

BAM will present four performances of Misuse liable to prosecution at the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton Street) from October 31–November 3 at 7:30pm. Tickets—priced at $20, 30, and 45—may be purchased by calling BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or online at www.BAM.org. About the work

What is it like to exist in a capitalist society with little or no capital? In Misuse liable to prosecution, Jasperse examines the ideas of waste, hoarding, begging, and the costs incurred in getting what one needs. Performing within a set of other people’s junk—water bottles, hangers, brooms, extension cords, and milk crates—the performers navigate these discarded items and embrace both physical and emotional obstacles. With dancers literally bound and bashed about, Jasperse avoids perfection, reveals effort, and takes pleasure in the unexpected. With a DIY spirit, the work re-invents trash and utilitarian objects—poetically finding new meaning and hidden beauty in the waste of society.

Bessie award-winning composer Zeena Parkins’ original score includes a percussive soundscape played on found objects—including aluminum cans, metal hangers, tea kettles, broken typewriters, and ceramic plates—as well as her signature electric harp. The composition includes musical selections performed live along with pre-recorded sections featuring musician/visual artist on turntables—playing both used and found vinyl records—and Jim Pugliese on percussion.

Misuse liable to prosecution marks the John Jasperse Company’s third appearance at BAM, which began with Giant Empty at the 2001 Next Wave Festival and most recently featured CALIFORNIA at the 2004 Next Wave Festival. During BAM’s 2000 Spring Season, Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project performed the U.S. premiere of Jasperse’s See Through Knot.

About the artists

John Jasperse has been living and working in New York City for more than 20 years. He is artistic director/choreographer for John Jasperse Company. Jasperse has received several awards and fellowships including a Guggenheim, Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts award, a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) in for his entire body of work, the Doris Duke Award, three prizes in the Rencontres Chorégraphiques Internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis, France, and the Choreography Prize from the Suzanne Dellal International Dance Competition in Tel Aviv.

Zeena Parkins is a composer, musician, and sound artist who is well known as a pioneer of the electric harp and has also extended the language of the acoustic harp. She has created original scores for film, video, theater, and dance. Particular interests include the exploration of unpredictable orchestrations, live processing of acoustic instruments, and sonic installations using multiple speakers with live performance. Recent projects have included collaborations with musicians , , Fred Firth, Björk, Christian Marclay, , and ; filmmakers Cynthia Madansky, Jennifer Reeves, and Daria Martin; and choreographers DD Dorvillier, Neil Greenberg, Jennifer Lacey, and Emmanuelle Vo-Dinh. Parkins won a 2007 Bessie Award for her body of work.

BAMdialogue with John Jasperse and Zeene Parkins

BAM presents a BAMdialogue with John Jasperse and Zeena Parkins moderated by dancer, choreographer, and writer Gus Solomons jr, Arts Professor at NYU/Tisch School of the Arts on November 1 in the BAM Harvey Theater immediately following that evening’s performance. This event is free for same-day ticket holders.

About the Next Wave Festival

BAM’s Next Wave Festival, which enters its 25th season in 2007, has permanently changed the landscape of culture through breakout performances, landmark productions, daring experiments, and once-in-a-lifetime moments. The Festival originated as a fall series entitled “The Next Wave/New Masters.” In November 1981, Philip Glass’ new opera, Satyagraha, was presented as one of four productions under the Next Wave moniker. A more ambitious series followed in 1982, including a two-evening performance work by Laurie Anderson— United States: Parts I-IV.

From the seeds of these two rich years grew an idea for something bolder and riskier. The Next Wave Festival, dedicated to exciting new works and cross-disciplinary collaborations by promising young artists, was launched in October, 1983. Pieces that previously had been presented in downtown lofts and small “black box” theaters were staged in the exquisite 2,100-seat BAM Opera House (later renamed the Howard Gilman Opera House), a renovated 1,000-seat playhouse (the Helen Carey Playhouse, now home to BAM Rose Cinemas), and a flexible 300-seat performance venue (the Lepercq Space). In 1987, with Peter Brook’s Mahabharata, BAM opened another large stage—the 900-seat Majestic Theater—since renamed the Harvey Theater in honor of Harvey Lichtenstein (former president and executive producer). Since 1999, BAM has been led by President Karen Brooks Hopkins and Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo, who curates the Next Wave Festival and served as the producer of the inaugural festival.

Credits BAM 25th Next Wave Festival is sponsored by Altria Group, Inc. Programming in the BAM Harvey Theater is endowed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Music Programming at BAM is made possible by a generous grant from The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

BAM Dance receives major support from The Harkness Foundation for Dance and The SHS Foundation, with additional support from Mary L. Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation.

BAM thanks its many donors and sponsors, including: New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council; Brooklyn Delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives; Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz; New York State Council on the Arts; New York State Assembly Brooklyn Delegation; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; New York City Council; Estate of Richard B. Fisher; The Ford Foundation; The New York State Music Fund; The Starr Foundation; Visa Signature; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; Time Warner Inc.; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Booth Ferris Foundation; The Skirball Foundation; Cunard Line; The Kovner Foundation; The SHS Foundation; Friends of BAM & BAM Cinema Club. Sovereign Bank is the BAM Marquee sponsor. New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is the official hotel for BAM. Yamaha is the official piano for BAM. R/GA is the BAM.org sponsor.

The creation of Misuse liable to prosecution is funded in part by awards from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts; The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors; and The Multi-Arts Production Fund, a program of Creative Capital, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. The music for Misuse liable to prosecution is commissioned by the American Music Center Live Music for Dance Program, and as part of a national series of works from Meet The Composer’s Commissioning Music/USA program. The performances at BAM are supported by New York State Council on the Arts.

General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafé, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, is open for dining prior to Howard Gilman Opera House performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live nights on Friday and Saturday with a special BAMcafé Live menu available starting at 8pm. Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush Avenue Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.

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