Brooklyn 30 Lafayette Avenue Academy Brooklyn NY 11217 - 1486 of Telephone: 718.636.4129 Music Fax: 718.857.2021 PressDepartment For Further Press Information William Murray or Heidi Feldman 718.636.4 129 Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) 1996 Next Wave Festival as part of BAM's 135th Anniversary Year (1861-1996) The American Premiere of Furioso Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre Choreographed by Meryl Tankard Music by Henryk Gorecki, Arvo Part and Elliot Sharp October 23-26 BAM Opera House The 1996 Next Wave Festival will feature the BAM debut of the Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre , Australia 's oldest modern dance company, under the direction of Australia's leading contemporary choreographer, Meryl Tankard. Furioso, a trilogy , is a passionate , sensual work which explores the tangled emotions between men and women - rage , passion, yearning, attraction, repulsion . During this whirlwind battle of the sexes Tankard's ten dancers , men and women , alternately fly through the air (suspended by ropes) and slap their entire bodies against the ground . The intense physicality of the piece is underscored by the haunting music of Henryk Gorecki, Arvo Part and Elliot Sharp (recorded by the Kronos Quartet) . Furioso, will be presented on October 23 at 7pm and October 24-26 at 8pm at the BAM Opera House, located at 30 Lafayette Avenue , Brooklyn , NY. Meryl Tankard has enjoyed an unprecedented career , her visionary style of dance theatre has placed her at the forefront of dance in Australia and has resulted in accolades around the world. Beginning her career as a member of the Australian Ballet, Tankard later moved to Europe where she performed for six years as principal soloist with the acclaimed German choreographer Pina Bausch and her Tanztheater Wupperthal, creating roles in Cafe Muller, Kontakthof, Arien, Keuscheitslegende, 1980, Walzer and Bandoneon . Tankard performed with the Tanztheater Wupperthal as a guest artist for the next four years. She returned to Australia in 1984 and worked creatively in a variety of areas including film and television before becoming Artistic Director of her own company, The Meryl Tankard Company , based in Canberra in 1989. BAM 135th Anniversary Season is sponsored by Philip MorrisCompanies Inc. 2 In 1993 Tankard was appointed Artistic Director of the Australian Dance Theatre, Australia's oldest modern dance company. Established in 1965, the company has since changed its name to Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre in recognition of Tankard's tremendous artistic achievements. Meryl Tankard's appointment has marked the beginning of a new era for the company , who has received outstanding national and international success. Tankard has formed a strong, dynamic ensemble of performers from across Australia who , with design collaborator and Associate Artistic Director Regis Lansac , have worked with Tankard to develop her unique dance theater style. To standing ovations, the company has recently performed at the prestigious German dance festival, Nodrhein-Westfalen lnternationales Tanzfestival and their performances have been described as "perfect dance theatre, dangerously performed to perfection", (Bonner Rundschau) . Since 1984, Tankard has created over 14 works - Echo Point, Travelling Light, VX/8504, Banshee , Nuti, Kikimora, Court of Flora , Two Feet, Chants de Mariage 1 & 2, Songs with Mara, Furioso, Aurora and O Let Me Weep. Tankard has collaborated with the Australian Opera and most recently choreographed the AO's acclaimed production of Orphee et Eurydice. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, from Canberran of the Year in 1992 to winner of the 1993 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award. Furioso, a production of the Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre, will be performed October 23 at 7pm, October 24 -26 at 8pm at the BAM Opera House , 30 Lafayette Avenue , Brooklyn , NY. Ticket prices are:$50 , $35 and $15. Single tickets for the 1996 Next Wave Festival may be purchased after Saturday , September 7 in person at the BAM Box office at 30 Lafayette Avenue or over the phone by calling Ticketmaster at 212. 307- 4 100. For information concerning BAM Subscriptions , the 1996 Next Wave Festival performances or reservations on the BAMBus, sponsored by Brooklyn Union, call 718. 636-4100. BAM Prefers VISA. Special support for Furioso provided by The Harkness Foundations for Dance and the Australian Consulate General. Major sponsor for Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre: Southcorp Holdings Limited. Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the South Australian Department for the Arts and Cultural Development and the Major Organ isations Fund of the Australia Council, the Federal Government 's Arts Funding and Advisory Board and Foundation South Australia . Opening night reception sponsored by Interview Magazine and The Donna Karan Co mpany . BAM 135th Anniversary Season and the 1996 Next Wave Festival are sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc. 3 The Brooklyn Academy of Music gratefully acknowledges generous support for the Next Wave Festival from donors of the following special funds, which have been established for The Campaign for BAM: NEXTWAVE Forward Fund Philip Morris/Founding Sponsor -- "Supporting the Spirit of Innovation" The Bohen Foundation Michael Bancroft Goth Endowed Annual Performance Fund The Charles and Valerie Diker Dance Endowment Fund The Marion Petschek Smith Fund for Choreographers 1996 Next Wave Festival Supporters: The Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council: Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden: New York City Department of Cultural Affairs: National Endowment for the Arts: New York State Council on the Arts, Hermes: The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust: Visa U.S.A. Inc. : The Pew Charitable Trusts; The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Association Franc;:aise d'Action Artistique and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York: The Robert W. Wilson Foundation Inc.; The Harkness Foundations for Dance; The Henry Luce Foundation; Inc., Air France; The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Dow Jones & Company, Inc.; The Wall Street Journal, Barron's Magazine , Dow Jones Financial News Services, Dow Jones Telerate; The Rockefeller Foundation; Jonathan F.P. and Diana Rose; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York; The New Yorker Magazine; May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc. ; The New York Information Technology Center; New York Mercantile Exchange; Independence Savings Bank; The Ford Foundation; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; The Dime Savings Bank of New York, FSB; Starrett at Spring Creek . managed by Grenadier Realty Corp.; New York Magazine ; British Airways; Bowne of New York; Pace Editions; Interview Magazine; The Donna Karan Company; Absolut Vodka; Con Edison; The Greenwall Foundation ; Union Europeenne de CIC; Dover Fund; France Telecom North America; Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation; Australian Consulate General; Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation; Harper & Case. Ltd.; Consulate General of Japan ; Nonesuch Records; Stolichnaya Russian Vodka; Time Warner . Inc.; The Arch W. Shaw Foundation; Canadian Consulate General; Quebec Government House in New York; Capezio-Ballet Makers; Dance Foundation Inc.; The Cowles Charitable Trust; Meet The Composer ; Club France; Italian Cultural Institute; Dance Ink; BAM 135th Anniversary Committee; BAM Chairman's Circle ; BAM Producers Council ; BAM Associates; Friends of BAM American companies participating in the Next Wave are sponsored by AT&T. Exclusive sponsor of BAMRadio: Metropolitan Life Foundation Lighting design for the BAM Lobby and Lepercq space renovations have been underwritten by a grant from Samuel H. Scripps. The BAM facility is owned by the City of New York and its operation is made possible, in part, with public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs with support from the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council and Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden. 9/24 /96 tankard.DOC .