October 20, 2014
Under the direction of Charles O. Anderson, Yacov Sharir, and Andrea Beckham, The University of Texas at Austin’s award-winning dance company Dance Repertory Theatre is going “downtown” this season, presenting contemporary works inspired by New York City’s “downtown dance” scene. Fall For Dance, a collection of works by nationally acclaimed choreographers including Christian Von Howard, Charles O. Anderson, Ellen Bartel and Andrea Beckham, runs November 14-16 at the Oscar G. Brockett Theatre.
“Downtown dance historically pushes the boundaries, embraces movement for movement’s sake and is rooted in experimentation and improvisation,” explains Co-Artistic Director Charles O. Anderson. “These characteristics, however, are elusive, which is one reason why geography—the movement was born south of 14th Street in Manhattan—is seen as the most concrete thread uniting the genre’s choreographers. Makers of downtown or experimental dance attempt to create new dances for the new moment.”
Highlights of the dance concert include the premiere of Christian Von Howard’s Two Degrees. The artistic director of the VON HOWARD PROJECT, Christian is an international performer, teacher and choreographer based in New York City. His choreographic work has been produced in various venues across the globe including Germany, Japan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Chile, South Korea and in the states at Dance Theater Workshop (now New York Live Arts), Joyce SoHo, Dixon Place, and the Ailey Citigroup Theater.
Other work includes Andrea Beckham’s re-imagining of the critically acclaimed Through the Mountain/Faith in Unknowing, a work inspired by a profound moment in “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” an poem from Mesopotamia. It is an athletic, modern dance exploration of the journey through utter darkness one experiences when one feels great loss, set to an original score by Billy Wolfe, winner of an Austin Critics’ Table Award for Best Original Composition. Beckham Andrea teaches dance and runs the Pilates-evolved laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin, where she received the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award.
In The World of Things and Stuff, originally a duet created by Ellen Bartel, was recently performed at the 67th International Choreographer's Showcase in Edinburgh, Scotland. Restaged for twelve dancers, Bartel’s work explores how a person can be aware of being in the "now" while also in conversation with much larger issues about the world. An alumna of The University of Texas at Austin, Bartel is the artistic and executive director of Ellen Bartel Dance Collective (formerly known as SpankDance), a project-based contemporary dance performance group.
Choreographer and UT bachelor of fine arts student Tawny Garcia’s new work Gone is created in response to the kidnapped girls of Chibok, and to the thousands of other girls who have been made to feel they are lesser than.
Charles O. Anderson’s work Seethe draws upon a hybrid style of African and African American movement and contemporary dance to explore the kinesthetic state of being on the verge of emotional outburst. Anderson and his company dance theatre X recently performed his work Restless Natives at Fusebox Festival and Texas Performing Arts. He is an associate professor of dance and African and African Diaspora Studies at The University of Texas at Austin.
PROGRAM
Dance Repertory Theatre presents Fall For Dance
Artistic Directors: Charles O. Anderson, Andrea Beckham, Yacov Sharir
Through the Mountain/Faith in Unknowing
By Andrea Beckham
Gone (premiere)
By Tawny Garcia
Seethe
By Charles O. Anderson in collaboration with Johnnie Mercer
In the World of Things and Stuff
By Ellen Bartel in collaboration with Amy Myers
Two Degrees (premiere)
By Christian Von Howard
For more information on Fall For Dance, please visit texasperformingarts.org/event/fall-for-dance-2014-ut-austin-theatre-dance
CALENDAR LISTING:
November 14-16, 2014 – The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents Fall For Dance at the Oscar G. Brockett Theatre (300 E. 23rd Street). A map of the campus: utexas.edu/finearts/tad/season-tickets/map-directions-parking
Performance times are November 14-15 at 7:30 p.m. and November 15-16 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets ($25 adults, $20 UT faculty & staff, $15 student) are now on sale at authorized ticket outlets, which include the Bass Concert Hall Box Office, most H-E-B stores and all Texas Box Office outlets, online, or by calling (512) 477-6060 or (800) 982-BEVO.