Acclaimed world dance ensemble Ballet Afsaneh unites leading Bay Area artists in
an evening of exhilarating and innovative new dance works. A stellar cast of
musicians and dancers explore cultural confluence and exchange inspired by the
historic Silk Road.
Saturday, November 20, 8:00pm
Sunday, November 21, 3:00pm
Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco CA 94109 Directions/Parking/Transportation
Tickets: $22 adult $18 senior/student, @ door- $25 adult $21 senior/student
Afsaneh Art & Culture Society is thrilled to present Encounters:
New Moon on the Silk Road, a visual feast of emotionally stirring
contemporary performance drawn from a rich tradition of cross-cultural
exchange. Ballet
Afsaneh is a critically acclaimed
performance ensemble presenting the dance, music and poetry of the historic Silk
Road networks of Eurasia. In an unprecedented collaboration of 20 highly
regarded Bay Area dancers and musicians from the Central and South Asian
diaspora, Encounters: New Moon on
the Silk Roadshares the fruits of a year-long artistic dialogue. Just as
the Silk Road historically sparked innovation among many cultures from Europe to
Asia and all points between, this radiant multidisciplinary performance is a
vibrant co-mingling of art and ideas.
Through a deeply experimental and communicative approach, 12
musicians and 9 dance artists at the top of their respective crafts, meet each
other with curiosity and playfulness in wholly new work that is vibrant,
seamless and refined. The evening will feature an interlacing of elements from
the dance and music heritages of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India,
Indonesia, the Balkans, Israel, Morocco, and Hungary. In a work created by
Antonia Minnecola, the percussive footwork, expressive gestures and precise
spins of kathak are intermingled with a voluminous modern score by Moses Sedler.
In another section of the program dancers shrouded or revealed through wind
blown silk create a twisted desert landscape, inspired by a score incorporating
Persian contemporary poetry through spoken word and song.
Artists
Behind the project are several visionary Bay Area artists that have
distinguished themselves through years of dedication to their art forms. Antonia
Minnecola is one of few American artists recognized as a serious exponent of
kathak dance, the rhythmic and expressive style of North India. She is the
disciple of Sitara Devi, widely considered the greatest female Kathak dancer of
our time. In her original choreography, she employs the kathak style to present
contemporary dance works, often collaborating with dancers and musicians from
different traditions.
Sharlyn Sawyer, director of Ballet Afsaneh is a prolific
artist, expanding traditional Central Asian art forms for contemporary
theatrical presentation and choreographing dozens of new works. In addition to
her vast base of traditional movement vocabulary, her experience in modern
choreographic and production techniques create a transcendent synthesis of human
expression. Her work ranges from classical, culturally specific repertoire to
cutting edge, incisive contemporary work.
Moses Sedler is well-known in the Bay Area as a composer of
music for concert stage, modern dance, and film. A concert cellist, recording
artist, and teacher, his background is rooted in classical music, the
improvisatory music of many cultures, with influences of Indian classical music,
and eastern European folk music.
The
stellar, multi-ethnic cast of artists who contribute their talents and expertise
to the project are: Neema Hekmat, Persian santur; Pourya Khademi, Persian
violin; Salar Nader, Afghan tabla; Pedram Heydari, Persian kamanche; Kaveh
Hedayati, Persian setar; Sonja Drakulich, Hungarian vocals, (lead singer of
Stellamara); Bon Singer, Balkan/Judaic vocals, (director of Ya Elah); Jeannette
Ferber, vocals; Paul Ohanesian, Armenian oud. The phenomenal cast of dance
artists and choreographers include: Antonia Minnecola, Wan-Chao
Chang, Mariam Gaibova, Tara Pandeya, Ghopi Batra, Hannah Romanowsky, Kristen
Sague, Emelie Karen Coleman, Miriam
Peretz, and Sharlyn Sawyer. Behind the scenes, two-time Izzy Award-winning
lighting designer Patty-Ann Farrell unveils the evening's performance with her
signature, evocative and lustrous lighting environments.
Encounters: New Moon on the Silk Road is part of the In Performance Series
at the Fort Mason Center, which is supported by San Francisco Grants
for the Arts/Hotel Tax Fund, and the William & Flora Hewlett
Foundation. This premiere performance was also made possible by grants
from the Creative Work Fund of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, and
support from The Christensen Fund.
Encounters: New Moon on
the Silk Road on
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