Becket, MA: LA-based BODYTRAFFIC returns to Jacob's Pillow
Company:
BODYTRAFFIC
LOS ANGELES-BASED CONTEMPORARY COMPANY BODYTRAFFIC
RETURNS TO JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL, JULY 1 - 5
June 30, 2015 – (Becket, MA) Following a successful Pillow debut in 2013, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival presents Los Angeles-based contemporary dance company BODYTRAFFIC in the Doris Duke Theatre, July 1 – 5. Founded in 2007 by dancers Lillian Barbeito and Tina Finkelman Berkett, the young company is known for its dynamic theatricality, refreshing abandon, and versatility. At the Pillow they will perform new works Dust, by Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter; Once again, before you go by co-Artistic Director of RUBBERBANDance Group Victor Quijada; A Trick of the Light by Joshua L. Peugh, founder of Dark Circles Contemporary Dance; and The New 45, a jazzy trio by Richard Siegal, Artistic Director of The Bakery Paris-Berlin.
The New 45 is a refreshing trio featuring company members Tina Finkelman Berkett, Guzmán Rosado, and Andrew Wojtal in a dizzying array of duets and solos, set to classic standards by Harry Belafonte, Oscar Peterson, Clark Terry and others. Choreographer Richard Seigal is the founder of The Bakery Paris–Berlin; he has been recognized by a New York Dance and Performance (“Bessie”) Award, The German National Theater Faust Award, S.A.C.D. Prize, a Beaumarchais, and The Mouson Award. His work was last seen at the Pillow in 2013 when BODYTRAFFIC performed his work o2Joy.
Dust, a 2015 work by Israeli-born, U.K.-based choreographer and musician Hofesh Shechter is inspired by Cult, one of his earliest works which won the audience vote in the 2004 Place Prize in London. Shechter’s cinematic brand of choreography combines explosive power, percussive scores, and dramatic, smoky lighting. Shechter himself composed the music for this work, called an “immersive soundscape that is as hypnotizing as it is jarring” (John Higgins, Vancouver Sun).
Created by American choreographer and one of Dance Magazine’s 2015 “25 to Watch” Joshua L. Peugh, A Trick of the Light was inspired by the rare green flash that occurs before the sun disappears from view at sunset. A Trick of the Light is reminiscent of a retro semi-formal dance with dancers in vintage party dresses and colorful sweaters against a shimmery tensile backdrop. Peugh uses fast footwork, ballroom dance elements, and playful gestures to create “a sweet and funny vintage-style dance with a lightness and nostalgia that is irresistible” (Andrea Loewen, Vancouver Observer).
A Montréal-based choreographer with Los Angeles roots, Victor Quijada’s 2014 work Once again, before you go features five performers in his trademark blend of ballet and hip-hop. A frequent collaborator of Quijada’s, Once again is set to a score by Jasper Gahunia, a groundbreaking DJ, producer, songwriter, and musician who has graced the stages worldwide with performers including Nelly Furtado and k-os. “Quijada shows how delicate shifts of weight make a body spin to the floor and rise again,” states The New York Times writer Gia Kourlas of the work. “It’s a quiet tale of invisible connections.”
ABOUT BODYTRAFFIC
Founded in 2007, BODYTRAFFIC has emerged as a rising star on the contemporary dance scene. Named “the company of the future” by The Joyce Theater Foundation, one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2013, and “Best of Culture” by The Los Angeles Times, the young company is already nationally recognized for its high quality of work. BODYTRAFFIC repertory features works by choreographers from around the world including Kyle Abraham, Lillian Barbeito, Sidra Bell, Stijn Celis, Sarah Elgart, Alex Ketley, Loni Landon, Barak Marshall, Andrea Miller, Laura Gorenstein Miller, Joshua L. Peugh, Miguel Perez, Victor Quijada, Zoe Scofield, Hofesh Shechter, Richard Siegal, and Guy Weizman & Roni Haver.
In addition to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, BODYTRAFFIC has performed at prestigious theaters and festivals throughout North America, including The Joyce Theater, New York City Center’s Fall for Dance, Chutzpah! Festival in Vancouver, Laguna Dance Festival, The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Annenberg Center in Philadelphia, World Music/CRASHarts in Boston, and American Dance Festival.
PILLOW CONNECTIONS
BODYTRAFFIC choreographer Joshua L. Peugh’s Dark Circles Contemporary Dance will perform in the Inside/Out performance series on Wednesday, August 5 at 6:15pm.
Members of BODYTRAFFIC will also teach a class for intermediate/advanced dancers on Sunday, July 5 at 10am in the Doris Duke Theatre. Sunday classes with Festival artists are $15 per person; all participants must be 16+ years old. Pre-registration opens Monday the week of class; registering sooner is not possible. Walk-ups will be accommodated as space permits; otherwise it is free to observe. For class information and to register, call the Community Dance Hotline, 413.243.9919 x5.
PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION
BODYTRAFFIC
Doris Duke Theatre
Wednesday, July 1 through Saturday, July 4 at 8:15pm
Saturday, July 4 and Sunday, July 5 at 2:15pm
· Free Pre-Show Talks with Jacob’s Pillow Scholar-in-Residence Maura Keefe are offered on the Doris Duke Theatre porch 30 minutes before every performance.
· A Post-Show Talk with artistic personnel from BODYTRAFFIC and a Pillow Scholar-in-Residence will take place onstage on Thursday, July 2.
· Tickets $35 –$45.
· Box Office hours: Sunday through Tuesday, 11am–5pm; Wednesday through Saturday 11am–8pm.
· Now on sale online at jacobspillow.org, via phone at 413.243.0745, or in person at the Jacob’s Pillow Box Office. Under 35 Fridays Tickets and Youth Tickets are available by phone and in person only.
· Jacob’s Pillow is located at 358 George Carter Road in Becket, MA, 01223 (10 minutes east on Route 20 from Mass Pike Exit 2). The Jacob’s Pillow campus and theatres are handicapped-accessible.