Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Loosely based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, the theater-dance piece, Eurydice Ascending uses the sensual language of tango to tell the story of a woman’s transformation. Through the influence of the gods, Hades and Persephone, Eurydice is taken on a metaphorical journey where she is transformed from a vain and armored Milonguera to a woman who finally finds her emotional center. As a woman untamed and headstrong, Eurydice experiences a myriad of sensations as she goes through the difficult stages leading towards inner balance and peace. With its emotional context and cast of three, Eurydice Ascending contains all the elements found in both Tango music and the drama of classical Greek theatre. Additionally, Eurydice Ascending uses traditional and contemporary tango choreography to create movement that specifically delineates the line between Eurydice’s fragmented life “above ground” and the life she finds “below ground” in the harmonious world of the Gods. Eurydice Ascending features the music of well-known composer Ramiro Gallo.
Eurydice: Kara Wenham
Tango dancer and actress, Kara has worked with various theater companies throughout the United States and is one of the founders of The Concrete Stage Company in Chicago. Residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she is a popular Tango teacher who is invited to many festivals in Europe and the US. She was also a featured dancer in the Buenos Aires Tango show, "Madero Tango."
Persephone: Nina Tatarowicz
Tango dancer and Actress, Nina danced in the Buenos Aires production of "Tango: Love and Sex," choreographed by Doris Pettroni. She has created and danced in her own tango shows in the United States, along with participating in the show "Tango is My Shadow."
Hades: Julio Ernesto Bassan
Tango dancer and actor, Julio was a part of Ballet de Tango at the University of Moron in Argentina and danced in "Anoche, un Baile de Tango" at the Centro Cultural Borges in Buenos Aires. He has various acting credits that range from theater to television.
Writer/Director: Michele Kadison
Michele Kadison , a native New Yorker, began as a Classical Ballet dancer and then a Jazz dancer and actress whose performing career spanned stage, TV, and film throughout the US and Europe. Michele taught Jazz for many years at Steps and Broadway Dance Theatre in NY and has given workshops throughout Europe, Japan, and Latin America. As a choreographer she has created original work for many dance companies along with commercials, music videos, fashion shows, and industrials. Michele worked as resident director for the American Performing Arts Theatre in Manhattan and is now in the process of creating two TV projects that are in pre-production in Los Angeles. Michele has taught movement classes for tango dancers at Tango Brujo and Mariposita and is an invited Master Teacher and judge for various Latin American concursos, including Danzamerica in Carlos Paz. She currently teaches “Jazz for the Stage” at Porton de Sanchez. She has also written various scripts for television and theatre.
Composer: Ramiro Gallo
Ramiro Gallo was the first soloist violin in Juventango Sextet, with whom he performed at Señor Tango, one of the most prestigious tango houses in Buenos Aires. Since 1997, Ramiro has been first violinist and arranger for El Arranque. Together they have recorded five CDs and are about to release two more. The group has toured Europe, Japan, Taiwan and the United States, with outstanding performances at the Lincoln Center of New York along with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Wynton Marsalis. Since 2000, Ramiro has been orchestral soloist with the Orquesta Escuela de Tango, conducted by maestro Emilio Balcarce, performing at such prestigious locations as the Chaillot National Theatre in Paris, France.
In 2000 Ramiro founded his own tango quintet with some of the top tango musicians in the new generation. His first record, Florece (In Bloom), was released in 2002 on Epsa Music and has been recently released in Europe and the United States with Wynton Marsalis as guest musician. In 2003 Gallo won the Clarín “Espectáculos” Award in the category of “Tango Revelation.”
Additionally Ramiro has played with the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra (Germany) and as a soloist with the ensemble Tango Fusión for the Radio Berlin Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber music composer, Ramiro is presently creating the score for his “Nine Miniatures for Chamber Orchestra” in addition to composing symphonic works.
Choreography: Nicolas Cobos and Paola Jean Jean
Nicolas Cobos and Paola Jean Jean have shared the stage as dancers with a host of famous tango performers such as Mora Godoy, Maria Volonte, Fernando Soler, Guillermo Fernandez, Lisandro Adrover and his quintet El Arranque, and others. They have also been company members of “Tal Como Es Tango” (2000-2001), Mora Godoy’s “Tango Emocion,” Carolina Soker’s “Estampas Portenas,” Miriam Larici and Hugo Patyn’s “Tango and Fire,” and Guillermo Merlo and FernandaGhi’s “Tango Dream.” They have toured the world as tango performers and have taught at the Third International Tango Festival in California, the First Tango Festival in Portugal, and others. With the experience they have accumulated as performers and teachers, their choreography reflects their professional and creative abilities as artists.
Costumes: Mona Estecho
Born in Buenos Aires, Estecho studied clothing design at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1994 she won the “Bienal de Arte Joven”, which launched her career as a designer for dance and theater. In 1997 Estecho presented her first fashion show specifically for tango designs in La Trastienda, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since 2001, Estecho has been in demand throughout Europe where she shows and sells her designs at many of the most prestigious Tango Festivals. Additionally, Estecho is the chosen costume designer for many of the most important Argentine performers and teachers. Some of the highlights of Estecho’s career include designing costumes for “Tango Protesta” (Buenos Aires, 2003-2006), “Otango” (France, 2004-2007), “Tango Vivo” (Italy, 2007-2008), the non-tango shows “The Marriage of Figaro, La Forma Perfecta (Chekov), Final de Partida (Beckett), and the films”Argentina en Vivo” (2002), “Un Viaje Por El Cuerpo” (2001), among many others. Some of the individual performers Estecho has created costumes for are Melina Brufman, Giselle Anne, Corina de la Rosa, Analia Vega, Luciana Valle, and Kara Wenham.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
La Semilla
The company, La Semilla, has created the short festival version of Eurydice Ascending as a not-for-profit production under the fiscal sponsorship of Dance Theater Workshop in
The festival production with its cast of three made its debut at the Cambalache Festival in
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