Unraveling Rhythms
Interweaving Cultures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 6/20/2005 Viewed 197 times
O´brien Publicity Issue
College News
CLINARD DANCE THEATRE AND LAS GUITARRAS de ESPANA,
JOINED BY GUEST ARTISTS FROM INDIA, SPAIN AND THE
AMERICAS, PRESENT CONCERT SERIES "UNRAVELING
RHYTHMS"
A New Work Which Includes and Transcends the Traditions
of Flamenco and Indian Music and Dance, and Incorporates
Moving Visual Art
CHICAGO, IL (May 28, 2005)--- Take one part Flamenco,
add Classical Indian dance, with music by a famous
Flamenco music ensemble, combine with unique visual
art, and what do you get? Years of work, study, travel,
collaboration, observation, and expression which culminate
in the premiere of this groundbreaking hybrid of personal
cultures, entitled UNRAVELING RHYTHMS.
In 2004, just days after the tragic Tsunami, the
innovators of this piece were invited to India to
perform a segment of it to audiences in the cities
of Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam; the latter city which
had suffered significant damage inspired the last
portion of the completed UNRAVELING RHYTHMS, which
Chicago area audiences will be able to enjoy at various
venues this Fall. The ensemble is also proud to announce
that they have been invited to perform this work in
Tokyo, Japan in March, 2006 at the prestigious Aoyama
Theater.
In a presentation that transcends what audiences
have come to expect from traditional dance, Wendy
Clinard* partners with Siri Sonty** to present UNRAVELING
RHYTHMS, an innovative and creative look at the dance
forms, cultures, and distinct personal heritages of
these two female Chicago artists.
This unusual collaboration began in 2000, when Sonty
decided to investigate the Chicago flamenco dance
scene after recognizing a strong familiarity of sounds,
movement, music and emotion between Flamenco and Indian
dance on a trip to Seville, Spain. After finding the
Clinard Dance Theater (www.clinarddance.org), Sonty
began to experiment with Clinard, putting their forms
of dance together, allowing them to contrast and complement
each other. Says Clinard, " We interwove the
movements of our dance forms, and working within these
forms found different turns, jumps, falls, and walks
that responded to each other, and gave them a context
in the piece. We never actually learned each other´s
movements, which is why UNRAVELING RHYTHMS is a hybrid
of sorts, not a typical fusion piece." Adds Sonty,
"I see this work as a dance-visual conversation
that exemplifies the universality of the language
of movement and the bringing together of cultures."
In 2003, while Clinard and Sonty were busy developing
their unusual form of artistic expression, Guitarist
Carlo Basile of Las Guitarras de Espana/The Guitars
of Spain ***(www.theguitarsofspain.com, a seven piece
ensemble which performs Spanish guitar influenced
by Latin American and Middle Eastern styles as well
as American Jazz, backed by Afro-Cuban percussion
forms), which regularly collaborates with Clinard,
was commissioned by her to travel to India to study
its musical traditions, a trip which resulted in Basile
creating a large piece specifically for UNRAVELING
RHYTHMS. The ensemble´s new CD, Un Respiro por
El Mundo (A Breath By The World) /Sweet Pickle Music,
has been called "....innovative and delicious"
by WBEZ-FM, Chicago Public Radio, and music and dance
from this CD will be featured throughout UNRAVELING
RHYTHMS.
Drawing on Clinard´s background as a visual
artist (BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago), and
Sonty´s affinity for Indian sculpture, a Chicago
video artist, Teresa Parkes, has documented a series
of line-ink paintings by artist Jeff Abbey Maldonado
of UNRAVELING RHYTHMS; the video of these artworks
serve as transitions between sections of the work.
UNRAVELING RHYTHMS culminates in 300,000 (the estimated
number of lives lost in the 2004 Tsunami according
to a report by the United Nations) ink dots amassing,
which shatter off of a projected screen onto the dancers,
leaving nothing but whiteness behind ---signifying
the enormity of the Tsunami losses and the burden
carried on by the living.
"With guest artists from Spain, India, and the
Americas joining us throughout the concert series,
the program will be evolving as we go along, and no
two audiences will see quite the same performance,"
says Basile.
UNRAVELING RHYTHMS: Unraveling boundaries and interweaving
traditional, personal, and artistic cultures. A performance
for all ages, 90 minutes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCERT SERIES:
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 4, 8PM EST/ ACORN
THEATER, 3 OAKS, MICHIGAN,
www.acorntheater.com; For tickets, call: 269.756.3879
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 8PM/ OLD TOWN SCHOOL OF FOLK
MUSIC, 4544 N. LINCOLN, CHICAGO, www.oldtownschool.org,;773.728.6000****
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, / WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL AT
CHICAGO CULTURAL CEN(Claudia Cassidy Theater) ADDRESS,
FREE PREVIEW: "OPEN HOUSE" PEFORMANCE, For
time of performance, please log on to:,www.cityofchicago.org
/World Music, and www.877chicago.com;
FRIDAY (8PM), SATURDAY (8PM), SUNDAY (3PM), SEPTEMBER
23, 24, 25,/ MUSIC INSTITUTE OF EVANSTON, Nichols
Concert Hall, 1490 CHICAGO AVENUE, EVANSTON, www.musicinst.org,
847.905.1500****For ticket info, see below
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 9PM/ HOTHOUSE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL
PERFORMING ARTS, 31 E. BALBO, CHICAGO, For tickets:
www.hothouse.net
FRIDAY, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 8, 9, Each
performance at 8PM/ LINKS HALL, 3435 N. SHEFFIELD,
CHICAGO, www.linkshall.org, 773.281.0824; ****For
ticket info, see below
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28: PRAIRIE ARTS CENTER, 8PM/, 201
SCHAUMBURG COURT, SCHAUMBURG, wwww.prairiecenter.org,
847.895.3600; ****For ticket info, see below
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 7PM/ MORGAN PARK ACADEMY, 2153
W. 111th STREET, CHICAGO, www.worldfolkmusiccompany.com,
773.779.7059; ****For ticket info, see below
****Ticket Prices: $20-$30; tickets at starred venues
will be available online at www.ticketweb.com or call
1.866.468.3401 beginning June 1, 2005. For tickets
to all other venues, please call the number listed
for that venue or log onto their web site as directed..
.
ALL VENUES, TIMES, AND TICKET INFO ALSO AVAILABLE
AT www.guitarsofspain.com
BIOS/PHOTOS/VIDEO/CDs/INTERVIEWS /AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST:
please contact Judy O´Brien at 847.328.5880
or at obrienpub@aol.com
B/W Photo credit: John Onate
