Armitage Gone! Dance

April 17, 18 & 19 * 8pm

Christened in the 1980s by Vanity Fair magazine as the “punk ballerina,” Karole Armitage, along with her dancers, marked a milestone in 2005. After 15 years of choreographing and directing ballets and operas in Europe, she returned to New York and launched her company, Armitage Gone! Dance. On the program at The Dance Center is Ligeti Essays, a suite of concise jewel-like movements choreographed to music by the great Hungarian composer György Ligeti. Each song consists of a short choreographic incident of different character, ranging from the humorous to the ridiculous, to the enchanted and sarcastic. Also on the program is time is the echo of an axe within a wood, set to the music of Bela Bartok. Both pieces are designed by internationally acclaimed visual artist David Salle.

Other Events

Singer as Body, Dancer as Soul:
Witnessing Dance & Opera in Process

Monday, April 14, 2008 * 6–8p.m.
Chicago Cultural Center
77 E. Randolph in the Dance Studio
Free and open to the public
View PDF

Seeing the singer as body and the dancer as soul is part of a process choreographer Karole Armitage engages when working with opera singers and companies around the world. During the program, Armitage will work with Lyric Soprano Lauren Curnow and pianist Celeste Rue in approaching the 1st recit and aria of Haydn’s Arianna A Naxos, to expose Armitage’s process in action. The audience will witness the evolution of a conceptual and virtuosic process that merges dance and opera into a unified stage experience.

DanceMasters Class

Tuesday, April 15 * 630–830pm
Click here for more information.

Vogue Workshop

Tuesday, April 15 * 730– 930P.M.
Gallery 37 Center for the Arts
66 E. Randolph, 2nd Floor

Using Old Way, New Way, & Vogue Femme, learn how to create choreography you can apply to both commercial and theatrical performance, on a level not seen since Madonna’s Vogue. Open to vogue stylists and beginners. Taught by New York City based Armitage Gone! Dance dancer William Isaac.
Space is limited, call 312.344.8341 or e-mail ascott@colum.edu to sign up!

Post-Performance Discussion

Thursday, April 17

Post-Performance Reception

Friday, April 18
Open to ticket holders. Sponsored by NewCity.

Bios

   Over the last twenty-five years, internationally known American dancer and choreographer Karole Armitage, has worked with a wide range of artists, from the pop star Madonna, to filmmakers Merchant and Ivory, to painter David Salle, fashion designer Christian Lacroix, and composer, György Ligeti. She began her career dancing Balanchine as a member of Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève and is currently known as a virtuoso in the dance world, forging a new path for modern ballet. Before returning to the United States, she spent nearly two decades based in Europe fulfilling prestigious commissions including the creation of a new ballet for the Paris Opera Ballet, serving as Director of the Ballet of Florence, Italy from 1995-1998, and Director of the Venice Biennale International Festival of Contemporary Dance in 2004. While maintaining her own company, Armitage Gone! Dance, Armitage continues to direct opera and create new ballets for companies throughout the U.S. and Europe.

   Lyric soprano Lauren Curnow has completed apprenticeships with some of the country's leading opera companies, including The Opera Theater of St. Louis, The Santa Fe Opera, The Wolftrap Opera and most notably The Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she recently completed a three year apprenticeship with the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. During her apprenticeship with The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ms. Curnow has performed many mainstage roles including Alisa/Lucia di Lammermoor, Kate Pinkerton/Madama Butterfly, Fox/The Cunning Little Vixen, Clorinda/La Cenerentola and Papagena/Die Zauberflote. She has also performed the roles of La Ciesca/Gianni Schicchi, Donna Elvira/Don Giovanni, and Pamina/Die Zauberflöte with the Lyric Opera Center. She was also recently featured in the book Fortissimo, by author William Murray, which gave readers a backstage glance at the lives of young aspiring opera singers and their artistic development. www.curnowsoprano.com

   Celeste Rue, pianist, is one of the most sought after coach/accompanists in the Chicago area. She is staff accompanist for the Grant Park Music Festival and Chorus, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Opera Center. She also works with Chicago Opera Theatre, Music of the Baroque, Light Opera Works, Ars Musica and the Apollo Chorus. Ms. Rue was the artistic consultant and pianist for the video Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman, produced by the Art Institute of Chicago. She has performed on the Chicago Symphony Pre-Concert series and the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series. Ms. Rue was chosen to perform in a concert of Chicago's Own in the Gala opening week of the Grant Park Music Festival's Millennium Park and was also a featured soloist in the closing concert of Ravinia's 100th anniversary season. She was also heard in concert with the South African Zulu Opera company in outreach performances of Princess Magogo. Ms. Rue has worked with a number of internationally renowned artists including Sylvia McNair, John-Bruce Yeh, Elizabeth Norman and Harolyn Blackwell.

   Born on the island of St. Johns, Antigua, William Isaac has danced with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Philadanco, Lines Contemporary Ballet, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. He is currently with Armitage Gone! Dance in his fourth season. He is also the assistant choreographer on the Broadway show Passing Strange where Ms. Armitage is the choreographer.