American Realness

John Jasperse

Canyon

FRI JAN 6 . 9:00 PM
SAT JAN 7 . 2:30 PM

Run time: 70 minutes

ABRONS ARTS CENTER PLAYHOUSE THEATER
466 Grand Street

A canyon is formed by the simple act of erosion—in which the earth yields over time to a repetitive force, giving birth to a landscape of opening rather than of imposition. Many have described witnessing nature on this scale as life-changing—an experience not easily put into words. While abstract in nature, this new work by Jasperse and his collaborators seeks to reflect these qualities by exploring the extraordinary that originates with the ordinary. Six dancers, including Jasperse, turn the stage into a space beyond language, where strangeness, subtlety, spaciousness, density, and fervent shifts all play a role—centering on the transformative power of losing oneself in visceral experience, where intellect is humbled into a state of wonder.

“Mr. Jasperse has a keen eye for detail and composition; the subtle internal logic of his choreography tends to drive both sense and sensibility in his dances.” – Claudia La Rocco, The New York Times

Canyon is commissioned as part of the BAM 2011 Next Wave Festival, and is co-commissioned by the Wexner Center for the Arts. Canyon is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Canyon is supported by The MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Canyon is commissioned through Meet The Composer’s Commissioning Music/USA program and by the American Music Center Live Music for Dance Program. Canyon is supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bossak/Heilbron Charitable Foundation, the Harkness Foundation for Dance, the James E. Robison Foundation, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.  Canyon was developed in residencies at The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC), MASS MoCA and CPR – Center for Performance Research.