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September 7 and 8, 2001
The Cowell Theater
Special Guest Artists:
Vancouver's musical Group "Loud"
vocal ensemble "Voices"
The 10th, one of the Bay Area's most
exciting and distinctive modern dance companies, the Purple
Moon Dance Project, takes the stage to celebrate its 10th
anniversary with retrospective works, world premieres and
special guests the musical groups LOUD and Voices. Two performances
will be held at 8 p.m. on September 7 and 8, at the Cowell
Theater, Fort Mason Center. Bay and Laguna Streets in San
Francisco. Tickets for Purple Moon Dance Project are priced
at $20-$25. Available through Cowell Theater Box Office
415-441-3687 (also available online).
Discounted tickets are available for
seniors, students, disabled,
and youth under 12. Following the performance on Saturday,
there will be a reception honoring special friends of the
company,
with details to be announced. For further information about
the
Purple Moon Dance Project please call them at (415) 552-1105.
Purple Moon Dance Project is funded
in part by the California Arts
Council, San Francisco Grants for the Arts/Hotel Tax Fund,
San Francisco
Arts Commission, BACW's 'A Fund of Our Own' administered
by the Horizons Foundation, Horizons Foundation, Asian Pacific
Islander Cultural Center, Queer Cultural Center, and San
Francisco Foundation.
The Tenth is made possible by the
San Francisco Grants for the
Arts/Hotel Tax Fund, California Arts Council, Zellerbach
Family Fund,
the Astraea National Lesbian Action Foundation, Fort Mason
Foundation,
and Hunt Weber Clark Associates.
"The 10th" Event Photos:
Hailed for its sensuous and eclectic
style, the ensemble of eight dancers performs works created
by founder choreographer Jill Togawa. Her aesthetic includes
expertise in modern dance along with Hula, Japanese, Balinese
and African folk dance traditions. The company, composed
of dancers of color who bring dance experience from Asian,
South American, Middle Eastern, Pacific Islander and African
heritages, also celebrates the strength and intimacy which
women can experience from and with other women.
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"I am proud, happy and amazed to find myself here ready
to begin our 10th year," said Jill Togawa, Artistic
Director and choreographer. "I've always been interested
in bringing artists of different backgrounds together and
exploring and learning from each other. I am inspired to
work with this company which has strong modern training,
plus skills in other dance forms, an interest in ritual,
a determination to excel, and strong spiritual bases. It
all comes together on stage to make a wonderful, rich, dance
experience for audiences."
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The program for the 10th Anniversary
includes two world premieres set to musical scores by the
all-woman Vancouver instrumental ensemble, LOUD, which will
perform live for the performances. The trio of electric
guitarist Elaine Stef and taiko players Eileen Kage and
Leslie Komori, (who also play the accordion and flute) is
well known as composers and performers. Their CD taikoelectric
has received critical acclaim. The Edmonton Sun described
their work as "pounding, haunting and rhythmic music
. . . which explores old Japanese and new jazz sounds, all
with the intentional heat of an arsonist's fire."
Purple Moon's two world premieres feature traditional taiko,
percussion and electric guitar with LOUD performing and
playing within styles which are not that traditional, but
a true fusion of their musical influences. The choreography
encompasses Togawa's background in the hula along with African
and Japanese folk movement.
Also on the program is a work which
was performed during the debut performances of Purple Moon
Dance Project, a work for six dancers entitled, In Celebration.
This work, is playful, joyful, and celebratory set to an
infectious contemporary Indian vocal score. Two additional
pieces on the program are "Floating Lanterns"
and "Prayer for My Brother." In the Japanese traditional
floating lantern ceremony during Obon, the Festival of the
Dead, one inscribes a name of a loved one on a paper lantern.
The lantern is floated on water to guide the spirit home.
During the festival there are dances which are joyful and
colorful and Togawa's choreography embraces traditional
and stylized movements performed in Obon dances. "Floating
Lanterns" features a commissioned score by Miya Masaoka
which she created in collaboration with master shamisen
(Japanese string instrument) player Lillian Nakano. The
other work, "Prayer for my Brother," is a commemorative
dance which emerged in tribute to the choreographer's loss
of her brother to the AIDS epidemic. The piece is formal,
simple and stark and is set to Javanese gamelan music.
Night Sounds is set to an original score by Renee Arakaki,
which will be performed by the Bay Area-based vocal ensemble
Voices. The score also includes recorded night sounds as
background and is inspired by Celtic and Okinawan music.
The 1998 revival is a duet that opens with a glimpse of
two lovers dreaming in a bed. The a cappella group Voices
celebrates its 13th anniversary year this year with a recording
to be issued this fall and performs under the musical direction
of Yulia Ronskaya.
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