Thu 5/16-Sat 6/15 @ 7:30PM
Cleveland Public Theatre’s DanceWorks, its annual showcase of mostly local contemporary dance companies, returns to present, as usual, some familiar ensembles and some new ones.
Over five weeks, eight dance companies will perform, starting this week, Thu 5/16-Sat 5/18, with Verb Ballets, one of the area’s more established groups. Their “Fresh Inventions” program will feature new works created in house by associate director Richard Dickinson, and company dancers Kate Webb, Daniel Cho, Michael Escovedo and Antonio Morillo. Another veteran ensemble, Inlet Dance Theatre, takes the stage Thu 5/23-Sat 5/25 with “From the heART,” described as a program of “non-narrative explorations, prototypes and repertory, each inspired by works of art from other mediums.”
Week three, Thu 5/30-Sat 6/1, is a double bill, featuring another veteran company MorrisonDance with “Dance Meets Science Quantum Entanglement,” short dances based on scientific theories, and a new two-person project called madcap, with “Transcription Beta,” which draws its movement from voicemails to explore people’s interactions.
On Thu 6/6-Sat 6/8, Travesty Dance Group, which formed at Case Western Reserve in 1997, and Movements in Motion, a new organization which blends Indian classical dance with other art forms, share the stage. Travesty performs “MONSOON,” which juxtaposes a violent storm and human experience. Movements in Motion presents “RASA – aesthetic essence that evokes emotions,” featuring Indian classical dancers, contemporary North American dancers and an actor.
The series closes Thu 6/13-Sat 6/15 will yet another double bill of a new and old company. Shri Kalaa Mandir, founded in 1993, offers “Vivarta – Transformations,” an updating of classical Indian movement to explore the divine. The two-year-old Terra Dance Collective performs “Blood Orange,” which revolves around stripping off masks to reveal a person’s true self.
Tickets are $15-$25. After the Friday performances there’ll be the chance to hang out with the artists and talk about the performance while enjoying free beer.
Cleveland, OH 44102