The Grass is Always Greener… by ANABELLA LENZU/DANCEDRAMA
Company:
Anabella Lenzu/DanceDrama
by ANABELLA LENZU/DANCEDRAMA
BARYSHNIKOV ARTS CENTER
450 W 37th Street, 6th Floor
NEW YORK CITY
HOWARD GILMAN PERFORMANCE SPACE
Friday, September 30, 2011 at 7:30PM
Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 7:30PM
General Admission: 0 / Tickets at the door
RSVP recommended: info@anabellalenzu.com
Immigration. Roots. Discrimination. Memory.
Conceived and directed by Argentinean choreographer Anabella Lenzu with photographic projections created
by Todd Carroll, “The Grass is Always Greener…” is a gripping, polemical piece of dance theater that hashes
the personal, practical, and political struggles of immigrants to the United States. The piece moves in between
the turn of the twentieth century, during the great waves of immigration at Ellis Island, and modern day. In a
non-linear approach, the work weaves in scenes from our current conflict on US immigration policy, bringing
the contemporary debate into sharp relief against historical, forgotten experiences.
Five women travel through time, across borders, and along the roads of memory and anticipation. Each
carrying her own suitcase filled with memorabilia, images of home, and hopes for a new life, these voyagers
are archetypal immigrants caught between cultures. The women arrive in a new land, carrying old traditions to
which they no longer relate, finding fault with the home to which they do not yet belong. Past and present are
superimposed, the lines of individual narratives blur. As the women unpack their suitcases to share their
stories with the audience, Lenzu unpacks the question of what it means to be an immigrant, whether in 1900
or 2011.
Deported before becoming a legal resident in 2005, Lenzu offers the audience insight into the minds of
immigration’s advocates and adversaries through words and motion. Lenzu reconstructs physical drama using
contemporary movement and character development; her movement vocabulary originates from rustic primal
gestures with accents of sweeping lyrical action, which transports the audience to a vibrant physical and
emotional space. While movement and poetry work on the audience’s subconscious in the piece, Lenzu
exposes the spectrum and radicalism of the debate in text taken not only from immigrants but also from anti-
immigration organizations. Carroll’s photographs illuminate the personal stories unfolding on stage, while
pointing to the constancy of the concerns of immigrants. Connecting the personal and political sides of
immigration, Lenzu strives to redefine the relationship between audience and performer, encouraging
emotional engagement with the work. As it follows the five protagonists, the audience becomes witness to the
extremes of the debate; tableaus and text provoke lasting impressions, carried far beyond the performance
space.
Choreography: Anabella Lenzu
Music: A. Piazolla, Cantica Popularia, F. De Andre, C. Gardel,
Verdi, Bach, E. Avitabile and Traditional Pizzicas.
Dancers: Lauren Ohmer, Trina Mannino, Julia Lindpaintner,
Debra Zalkind & Anabella Lenzu
Photographic Projections: Todd Carroll
Light Design: Stephen Petrilli
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Originally from Argentina, Anabella Lenzu is a dancer, choreographer and teacher with over 20 years
experience working in Argentina, Chile, Italy and the USA. As Artistic Director of Anabella Lenzu/DanceDrama,
Lenzu draws on her diverse background to create thought-provoking and socially conscious dance-theatre in
the interest of improving our human condition. Classically trained at the renowned Teatro Colòn in Buenos
Aires, Lenzu studied the modern dance techniques of Humphrey/Limòn and Graham in New York. Her studies
of Tango and the folkdances of Argentina, Spain, and Italy, further inform her work. Her choreography has
been commissioned all over the world, for opera, TV programs, theatre productions, and by many dance
companies, such as Anna Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble (New York) and Movimento Danza (Naples, Italy).
Lenzu founded her own dance school L’Atelier Centro Creativo de Danza in 1994, and has maintained an
active teaching career ever since. Currently, Lenzu conducts classes at Peridance, Dance New Amsterdam,
Mark Morris Dance Center, and Lehman College. Lenzu is also a published author for various dance and arts
magazines.
Todd Carroll, a professional photographer and educator with over 15 years experience, presently maintains a
photo-studio in New York, where he works freelance for various international magazines and publications, as
well as his personally driven projects. He obtained a Masters of Professional Studies in Digital Photography
Degree from SVA in NYC and has been a faculty member in the Photography Department at SVA since fall of
2010.
For more information about the company, visit: www.AnabellaLenzu.com and see videos at
http://youtu.be/m48o0am_Qu4
