7 Days in dance

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Alpha Damsel Danspace Project presents a shared evening of work by Adriane Fang, a long-time member of Doug Varone and Dancers, and Colleen Thomas, who has performed in the companies of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and with Bill Young & Dancers. The duo will present three works each in a program entitled “Alpha Damsel.” Carol Mullins designs the lighting. Fang brings a solo set to music by MC Honkey, a duet with Clare Byrne, and a trio based on a light exploration of social dance for couples modified for three. Varone’s John Beasant III and Natalie Desch and Meredith McCanse from Full Fat Dance Company perform, with. special appearances by Stephanie Liapis and Jennifer Felton. Thomas’s new work “Taken” features performers Rosalynde LeBlanc, Fang, Anthony Phillips, and Darrin Wright, costume design by Wendy Winters, and original music composed and performed live by Chris Lancaster. “Underneath” is a duet set on Isadora Wolfe and Jennifer Felton, and “Damsel” is a solo for Keith Johnson, accompanied by an original score by Mio Morales. Through Dec. 11, Thu.-Sat. 8:30 p.m., Sun. 7:30 p.m. $15 at 212-674-8194 or danspaceproject.org.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Upcoming:

CADEN MANSON/BIG ART GROUP What happens when cheesy theater tries to break into television? It might look something like Big Art Group’s “House of No More,” the third and final installment of Caden Manson and Jemma Nelson’s trilogy of “real-time film,” a technique Manson said he created in 2000. Combining live video layering, green screen technology, choreography, and sound design with live performers, the duo’s ensemble of 40 downtown denizens produces an on-screen story as the audience watches—in real time. Well, not exactly. And it’s not film—it’s video. The play on words is the thing, intimated Manson; therein lies the rub. He distinguished what he is doing from, for example, from The Wooster Group, which he says, “comes from a place of deconstruction of norms and givens. The pomo concept that everything is empty of meaning. “We’re about reconstruction,” said Manson. “Our characters are monsters. They defy pigeonholes. They are black white, gay straight, man, woman—all at the same time.” Dance Theater Workshop, 219 W, 19th St. Dec. 14-22, Tue.,Wed.,Thu. 7:30 p.m.; Sat. 7:30 p.m. & 10 p.m. $25, $15 students & seniors at 212-924-0077 or dtw,org.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

WALLY CARDONA QUARTET Wally Cardona’s dances shape the rhythms and structures of contemporary life into alluring works that transport performers and viewers alike to alternate universes. These can be strange, alien environments, familiar in part but not as a whole, while others are stark, bare, profoundly human. Math and science fiction always seem somehow to underpin his works. A former member of the Ralph Lemon Company, noted for his panther-like prowess as a dancer, Cardona and his Quartet make their BAM debut with “Everywhere” set to a new sound score by Phil Kline. The music will be played on boom boxes placed throughout the theater, as well as performed live by the Ethel string quartet. Cardona’s more recent works have been marked by the demarcation of distinct physical spaces in which the performance takes place. For “Everywhere,” the dancers are placed among 300 unsteadily balanced posts around which they must navigate. BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton St. Dec 13, 15—17 7:30 p.m. $20-$45 at 718-636-4100 or bam.org.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

COMPAGNIE MARIE CHOUINARD Montreal choreographer Marie Chouinard draws on her years as a world-traveling soloist to create innovative works that evoke the fragility of the human species, even as they celebrate the unalloyed joy of being alive. “Étude no.1,” a hypnotic and virtuosic solo for a dancer with steel-tipped shoes, is the result of the encounter between the choreographer, electro-acoustic composer Louis Dufort, and dancer Lucie Mongrain. “Chorale,” a work for ten dancers with vocals by Chouinard, creates a festive universe around the notion of sexuality and divinity. The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. $40 at 212-242-0800 or joyce.org. Dec. 13-18, Tue.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m.

Services

gaycitynews.com