arts adventure winter 2008

Igor Stravinsky's music has inspired many of the most innovative choreographers of the 20th Century. Following the success of "Viva Stravinsky" in 1989, the University Dance Company creates another vivacious concert paying homage to the composer. Jessica Fogel creates a choreographic mosaic of her works set to an original score by Stephen Rush based on a musical fragment from Stravinsky's "Symphony of Psalms." Amy Chavasse premieres a work set to Stravinsky waltzes, polkas and tangos. The dance will combine movement, video, and text to relate historical events of the 1920s and 40s. "Village," by guest Daniel Gwirtzman, is set to seven brief movements from four Stravinsky compositions. Inspired by the folkloric traditions of Eastern European cultures, "Village" honors the unions of new lovers, the rituals of a cohesive community, and the presence of tragedy among life's joys. Guest Ginger Thatcher explores the idea of light, shadows, the cut-out motifs of Matisse, and the realms in between, in her work "Shadow Dances," set to Stravinsky's "Ebony Concerto." Highlighting the concert is a brand new work by hip-hop dance choreographer Rennie Harris, Artistic Director of Puremovement, based in Philadelphia. Known for his ground-breaking all-male "Rome & Jewels," an adaptation of Shakespeare's classic story, Mr. Harris will take a new look at Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring." The Philadelphia Inquirer declared "Harris has built a wedge that will open the doors of Americas art centers, displaying hip-hop as clear cultural expression, compelling to all races and generations."