Join us June 1 & 2 at 8pm for ARTIST and MUSE, Performa/Dance's fourth evening-length production at the AustinVentures StudioTheater. This year, we are proud to feature work by women about the female experience. Camille: A Story of Art and Love by Artistic Director Jennifer Hart, which premiered to rave reviews in 2016, returns to the stage with an expanded cast. Guest choreographer Wynn Fricke will present her work Two Fridas, danced by two guest artists originally from Venezuela. Also on the program are two more pieces by Hart: The Beast and Murmuration.
Camille: A Story of Art and Love, first presented in 2016, is based on the dramatic life of early twentieth-century artist Camille Claudel. Don’t miss one of the last times to see Performa/Dance favorite Oren Porterfield (pictured to the left) on stage, as this second appearance as Camille will be one of her last performances before her upcoming retirement.
Two Fridas is a contemporary work by Wynn Fricke for two women inspired by Frida Kahlo’s painting and spirit. First commissioned in 2000 by Minnesota Dance Theater with original music by Carl Witt, the dance abstractly explores an embattled relationship with pain and with one’s self.
The Beast, choreographed by Jennifer Hart in 2003, is an investigation of the very human response to suffering at the hands of evil. The work was created in the years following 9/11 when we, as a society, were arguing the ethics, effectiveness, and ultimately covert use of torture.
Rounding out the program is Jennifer Hart’s Murmuration. Murmuration arose out of witnessing incredible choreography by a flock of birds (called a murmuration). The movement captures the essence of flight patterns and bird-like movements.
