Modern Dance Troupe Explores Fantasy as Movement
(Posted September 17, 2013)
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HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Sexual fantasy becomes a metaphor for creative expression onstage through dance in the world premiere of Kate Weare's "Dark Lark," presented at Juniata College at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 20, in Rosenberger Auditorium in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts.
For tickets and information about the Juniata College Presents series, please call (814) 641-JTIX (5849). General admission tickets for single performances are $20, except where otherwise noted. Single-show tickets for seniors over age 65 and children age 18 and under are $12. Juniata College students are admitted free with a student ID.
"Dark Lark" is presented by the Kate Weare Company, a contemporary dance company with a working method in the studio that, according to Weare's website, involves the body's ability to reveal the "need for safety, our longing to connect, our desire to be seen, and our irrepressible intelligence about who we are as individuals."
The company will be in residence at Juniata College for a week while putting the final touches on "Dark Lark." Weare also will be spending time in classrooms on and off campus, and the company itself will be hosting a master class at the Huntingdon Dance Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
"Dark Lark" explores the idea of using erotic fantasy as a means of constructing identity by utilizing distinct imagery of both power and fantasy. "Dark Lark" portrays such fantasies as a metaphor for creativity by acknowledging that such thoughts can lead the audience to vulnerability and feeling.
Kate Weare Company's working method in the studio involves the body's ability to reveal the "need for safety, our longing to connect, our desire to be seen, and our irrepressible intelligence about who we are as individuals."
The various trio, duet, and solo dances throughout "Dark Lark" explore ideas such as exposure, self-censorship, and vulnerability, illustrating how bodies can reveal secrets of their inner life.
Claudia La Rocco of the New York Times writes in a review that Kate Weare "creates terrifically satisfying dance phrases" and that her dancers bring their steps to "full, luscious life."
The score for "Dark Lark" is composed by electro-acoustic cellist Christopher Lancaster, and is performed live during the show. The show's visuals are the work of visual artist Kurt Perschke and lighting designer Brian Jones, as well as costumes designed by Sarah Cubbage.
The Kate Weare Company is based in New York and was founded in 2005 by Kate Weare. Weare, who also serves as artistic director, is known for her dances that explore contemporary views of intimacy as well as the seductive chemistry of the dancers onstage. The company's recent productions include "Lean-to," "Bright Land" and "Garden."
Weare earned bachelor's degree from the California Institute of the Arts and has performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Belgrade, and Montreal. She has collaborated with The Joyce Theater Foundation, Joyce SoHo, Dance Theater Workshop, and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, among many others.
The "Dark Lark" production was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and additional funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Dark Lark by the Kate Weare Company is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund Project co-commissioned by Bates Dance Festival in partnership with Brooklyn Academy of Music, Florida Dance Association, Juniata College and NPN. The Creation Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information: www.npnweb.org.
Written by John Dubensky
Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.