Project Description
The Cleveland premiere of House of Sparows, choreographed by Executive Artistic Director David Shimotakahara
This is an exciting collaboration between the Aeolus Quartet, GroundWorks DanceTheater and composer Steven Snowden. New music by Snowden and choreography by GroundWorks’ artistic director David Shimotakahara will explore themes of the Civil War to commemorate its sesquicentennial in 2014 and 2015. The piece will be set in scenes inspired by letters and photographs illustrating the upheaval of domestic life during the Civil War. The artistic concept will avoid traditional tropes depicting epic battle and glory, choosing rather to focus on individual experience and stories, although a linear narrative is not the goal of this piece. The display of these individual portraits will leave the interpretation to the audience and encourage audiences to re-examine the far-reaching impact of the Civil War on our present day society. The historical concept will be to deepen understanding of the Civil War by focusing on the experiences of the people in it and the nature of their choices, ideally giving a vehicle for modern-day audiences to relate to them on a personal level. The Civil War, although terrible in its unprecedented destruction of lives and material, was also a catalyst for enormous social change and progress that propelled Americans into a new century.
Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the project, we expect an exciting cross-pollination of audiences for Dance, Chamber Music, and New Music. Aeolus will be fully integrated into the staging, re-contextualizing interplay between music and dance. The audience’s attention will be drawn to the similarities between dancer interaction and musician interaction, and further, how the two groups interact with each other as one integrated ensemble. The visual impact of the piece will highlight the expressiveness of the physical gestures of the musicians while highlighting the musicality of the dancers, showing a graphic illustration of the way the movement of change over time is analogous to change in sound over time. The home base of this project will be Cleveland, Ohio where GroundWorks is based. The premiere will take place at the Inaugural Series at E.J. Thomas Hall.
All three collaborators have extensive past experience with interdisciplinary works. Fulbright scholar Steve Snowden fully embraces the entire gamut of opportunities available to the modern composer, having written for ensembles as traditional as the string quartet to the less often heard amplified cactus and electronics. Aeolus has worked with dancers, opera companies, and even silent film scoring across the United States. GroundWorks’ central artistic vision is around creating new work in dance and has sought to work in interdisciplinary models throughout its 15-year existence. Multiple US performances are expected and a number of venues have already been approached and have given a positive response to the project. Aeolus is represented by Cadenza Artists Agency who is committed to facilitate the promotional and booking aspects of the project. Each collaborator has access to a diverse network of presenters and promoters who are interested in facilitating unique experiences for audiences.
The Cleveland premiere of The Rub, choreographed by Artist-‐in-‐Residence Robert Moses
Since founding Robert Moses’ Kin in 1995 in San Francisco, choreographer Robert Moses has created numerous works of varying styles & genres for his highly praised dance company. His work explores topics ranging from oral traditions in African American culture (Word of Mouth, 2002), the life, times, & work of author James Baldwin (Biography of Baldwin, 2003), & the dark side of contemporary urban culture (Cause, 2004), to the nuanced complexities of parentage & identity (The Cinderella Principle, 2010), & the simple joys of the expressive power of pure movement (Toward September, 2009).
In addition to his work with Robert Moses’ Kin, Moses has choreographed for San Francisco Opera (La Forza del Destino, 2005), Philadanco, Cincinnati Ballet, Eco Arts, Transitions Dance Company of the Laban Center in London, African Cultural Exchange (UK), Bare Bones (UK), Oakland Ballet, Moving People Dance, & Robert Henry Johnson Dance Company, among others. He has choreographed for film, theater & opera, with major productions for the Lorraine Hansberry Theater, New Conservatory Theater, Los Angeles Prime Moves Festival (L.A.C.E.), & Olympic Arts Festival.
A reprise of Current Frame, choreographed by Artistic Associate Amy Miller (in collaboration with Kathryn Wells Taylor, Gary Lenington, Felise Bagley & Damien Highfield)
This work – a duet performed with live solo violin, played by Nicholas Tavani of Aeolus Quartet – explores the dramatic interplay between the formal structures of Baroque composer Biber’s Passacaglia violin solo & the emotional undercurrent found in response to the music’s themes & cadences. Current Frame premiered in August 2012 at the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival in Akron, Ohio.
Amy Miller has a long-standing relationship with the City of Akron. She received her training at the Dance Institute of the University of Akron & at the Joffrey Ballet School. Miller performed with the dance project New Steps from 1991-1997 & was a member of Ohio Ballet from 1991-2001. A founding member of GroundWorks DanceTheater, she has created eleven works for the company including eleveneleven (2006) composed by New York composer/musician Ryan Lott (aka Son Lux), & Allow (2008) composed by Oberlin College graduate Alex Christie. Valence (2009) was created in collaboration with Oberlin College professor Peter Swendsen from the renowned TIMARA School (Technology in Music & the Related Arts.) Since 2008, she has been commissioned to create works for Cleveland’s Dance/Theater Collective, as well as the dance programs of Bowling Green State University & the University of Akron. She holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Akron & was voted 2009 Outstanding Artist in Dance by the Akron Area Arts Alliance. Miller’s choreography earned a 2010 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award.
Since relocating to New York City in 2010, she has performed with David Parker & The Bang Group, jill sigman/thinkdance, Gibney Dance & in the work of Lynne Taylor-Corbett, & appeared in the Metropolitan Opera’s upcoming production of Don Giovanni. Amy now holds the position of Associate Artistic Director at Gibney Dance.