Past Forward
Works by Laura Dean, Rudy Perez and Helen Tamiris
Monday–Wednesday
July 16–July 18 at 8 pm
Reynolds Industries Theater
The modern dance repertory is a treasure house of classics, two of which, Helen Tamiris’s How Long Brethren? and Laura Dean’s Sky Light, have been recreated for performances by a select group of ADF dancers. Choreographer Dianne McIntyre is responsible for the recreation of How Long Brethren? Performed to a series of protest songs, the dance tells of poverty, injustice, starvation and death, concluding with a plea for change. Brethren was an instant hit when it premiered on May 6, 1937 at Broadway’s Nora Bayes Theatre, where it played to standing-room only houses for 42 performances. Sky Light, choreographed 25 years ago and recreated for performances at ADF by Rodger Belman, is signature Dean: a swirling kaleidoscope of movement danced to Dean’s own original score. The music will be played live by ADF musicians Jason Cirker and Matt Spataro. The dance premiered at the Spoleto Festival USA on May 29, 1982.
The playful title of Rudy Perez’s world premiere, I Like A View But I Like To Sit With My Back To It was inspired by Gertrude Stein. Performed by 21 ADF dancers, I Like A View is choreographed to music composed and arranged by Carl Orff and ADF musician Michael Wall. In his program note explaining the work, Perez quotes Isadora Duncan: “If I knew what it was about, I wouldn’t be doing it.”