The Oracle (World Premiere)
Company:
Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company
In celebration of its 15th Anniversary Season, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company — known for its dynamic, innovative, and charismatic performances—presents The Oracle, an evening-length work performed in the round. Choreographed by Gwirtzman and featuring fourteen dancers, The Oracle employs intricate partnering to examine relationships and their evolution over time.
Not rooted in any specific history, event, or time, The Oracle represents a continuum of gatherings, which repeatedly define our experiences and push us forever onward in the cycle of life. “The Oracle explores the spaces and times in which we come together as a community. The intersection of people is at its heart,” says Gwirtzman, who will also perform in the work. Both abstract and universal, the work explores themes of community, conflict, ritual, strength, support, and love, weaving portraits of anonymity versus intimacy, and stylization versus pedestrianism.
With the company’s trademark accessibility, theatricality, and musicality—and featuring many of its longtime collaborators, including composer Jeff Story — The Oracle is an intensely focused, intimate work, made even more so by the unique configuration of the space, never before used at BAM Fisher. With a dual ring of seats on the stage floor encircling the space, and balcony seating from above offering audiences a bird's eye view, the set-up provides close proximity to the dancers and affords each patron a distinctive perspective.
The Oracle is the culmination of the Company’s 15th Anniversary Season, which began with the Winter/Spring Film Festival, a series of celebratory and site-specific dance films. Weekly premieres (the first was launched on February 14) are available free of charge for viewing at: http://gwirtzmandance.org/fifteen/.
A special 15th Anniversary Gala event, with luminary Garth Fagan as the honorary Chair, will take place in conjunction with Friday's opening night performance. The Benefit and Dance Party at BAM Fisher will immediately follow the performance. Gala Tickets are $150 and include front row seating and admittance to the Benefit and Dance Party. All tickets for May 31 and June 1 performances include an Artists’ Talk with Daniel, the Company, and the collaborators immediately following the performance. Tickets range from $20-$60.
