Dance Critic, Steve Sucato, has published his preview of our Fall Series, debuting Friday. Read the excerpt below, which deals with our Violins of Hope inspired, world-premiere work, Shadowbox:

“Violins of Hope is a project begun by

[Amnon] Weinstein in 1996 in which he has been locating and restoring violins that were played by Jews in the camps and ghettos during WWII so they can be brought to life again on the concert stage. Although most of the musicians who originally played the instruments perished during the Holocaust, their voices and spirits live on through the violins.

Part of the GroundWorks’ 4th annual Fall Concert Series at PlayhouseSquare’s Allen Theatre, Oct 16 and 17, the work, in partnership with the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Jewish Federation of Cleveland and Cleveland Institute of Music, will feature an original score by award-winning Israeli composer Oded Zehavi who is in residence in Cleveland as a Schusterman Visiting Israeli Artist under the auspices of the Israel Institute. It will be played live in-part by violinist Mirabai Weismehl Rosenfeld.

Shimotakahara’s 20-minute Shadowbox draws on the spirit behind Violins of Hope in a less obvious way. Says Zehavi of Shimotakahara’s choreography: “There are issues of the moment when something human becomes very monstrous, when people turn on each other, all that is in the work without forcing any one interpretation.”

Read the full preview article here and don’t forget to secure your tickets for this weekend at the Allen Theater in PlayhouseSquare!