The dANCEpROjECt dance company will present its fall/winter concert of new and repertory works on Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 23-25, at 8 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.
dANCEpROjECt will share the stage with guest artists Hiroko Maeda and dancers from Osaka, Japan for three nights of performance in a program featuring four new works.
The program includes two premieres from choreographer/dancer Hiroko Maeda: "The Color of Harmony," a group work of technique and imagery that evokes a simple and harmonious time and place, and "Madredeus," an earthy, dynamic quartet that flows with energy.
Another of the new works, "The Hiding Place," by former dANCEpROjECt company member and guest choreographer Matthew Farmer, presents the company in a tone poem of contrasting moods and textures supported by the music of Chopin and Satie.
The company will also present four scenes from a work-in-process by artistic director Steven Iannacone based on his "Edge of a New Order," produced in Belgium in 1993. Re-worked with a soundscore by Glenn Branca, the piece pushes and drives the dancers to test their physical capacities and social interactions.
Also, Iannacone's "Bolero" returns to the stage featuring mixed casts from both companies performing together in alternating and shifting roles over the three nights. Hiroko Maeda will again premiere as the first woman to take on the lead male solo, giving the part a new and unexpected interpretation as she did last season in "Unwritten Letter."
dANCEpROjECt, previously known as Aerial Dance Theater, is a diverse movement experience under the guidance of Iannacone as artistic director. The company is dedicated to creating and presenting stimulating sophisticated works that entertain Holland-area audiences and audiences beyond the local community; developing serious movement and dance artists who are able to establish themselves in the professional dance community; and providing opportunities for both emerging and established choreographers to create and present their work.
This season's collaboration with Hiroko Maeda and dancers is co-produced with support from the Hope College Patrons for the Arts, the Hope College Cultural Affairs Committee and the Hope College Department of Dance. The dancers from Japan are Hiroko Maeda, artistic director; and Megumi Matsumoto, Eriko Watanabe, Hiromi Hata, Miki Hirooka, and Syuta Okuhira.
Tickets are $7 for regular admission, $5 for senior citizens and students, and free for children under 12, and may be obtained in advance at the ticket office in the college's DeVos Fieldhouse. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at (616) 395-7890. Tickets will also be sold on performance nights at the door, which opens at 7:30 p.m.
The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets. The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 E. Eighth St.