The Contemporary Dance / Fort Worth 2007-2008 performance season is highlighted by many free events to make modern dance more accessible for our community. Many of these "Dance Delivered" community outreach performances are offered in collaboration with some of the area’s leading museums.

5th Annual Modern Dance Festival at The Modern
July 11-26, 2008

Seattle's Deborah Birrane. Photo by Milton Adams.

Opening event: CD/FW Dance Exchange: A Choreographers Showcase
July 11-12, 2008, 8pm in the Grand Lobby
Admission Free

Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth kicks off its 5th Annual Modern Dance Festival at The Modern with the 18th edition of the CD/FW Dance Exchange: A Choreographers Showcase.

Renowned for her lengthy career as a principal dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Dallas native Mary Cochran returns from New York to premiere Beau Geste, a solo dance choreographed with her longtime artistic associate Sara Hook. In this satire of confessional modern dance, Cochran's driven character is adrift in a landscape of modern dance clichés, pursuing her appetite for fame and perfection with a frank, determined optimism that will make you cringe. This is Cochran's third appearance at the Modern.

Back by popular demand, Seattle’s Deborah Birrane will perform two solos by prominent Seattle-based choreographers. The Raven, by Eva Stone, is set to Richard "Lord" Buckley's semantically hip version of the Edgar Allen Poe poem. Shirley Jenkins’ In a Sacred Manner We Dance is a solo inspired by a Native American poem:"Praising the sky, earth, wind and life...the dancer's love is great."

A past guest of the dance exchange, Mary Williford-Shade (Denton) makes her first appearance at The Modern with the premiere of Out of the Woods, a solo created by John Giffin (Ohio), a former member of Pina Bausch’s Wuppertal Dance Theatre.

Anna Preston & Dancers are traveling from South Florida to preview Beneath Percussion, a trio work-in-progress exploring the textures and rhythms of a percussive score. This is their first appearance in Fort Worth.

Muscle Memory Dance Theatre (Dallas/Fort Worth) will premiere La Serenissima, part one of a three-section dance by Amy L. Ross. Three female dancers portray strong Celtic women with vertical carriage and stern chins, while softened eyes and hands unravel the romantic mysticism of travels to Venice.

Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth will perform two group dances which premiered in March. Elevenses by artistic director Kerry Kreiman, and almost? by former company member Amy Jo, who currently resides in Austin.

Audience members who arrive a little early to claim their seats will get a sneak preview of some of the movement phrases from Twyla Tharp's "The One Hundreds" which will be performed in a culminating event on Saturday July 26 (see below).

Guest artist bios

A new version of Lori Sundeen Soderbergh's "Peace Chain" will be presented in the Grand Lobby. Photographer: Milton Adams.

Other Events During the Festival

Peace Chain
Saturday and Sunday July 19-20, 1pm in the Grand Lobby
Admission Free
Fort Worth choreographer Lori Sundeen Soderbergh in collaboration with composer/musician Eddie Dunlap, directs a performance event featuring music, dance, and poetry, and culminating in a dance in which the audience may participate. Join us for a performance inspired by a desire for world peace.

Modern Dance 101, Lecture-performance
Saturday July 19, 2pm in the Museum Auditorium
Admission free
Members of the Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth company provide an introduction to the basic philosophies and styles of modern dance.

still from Scrap Life

Dance On Camera: Dance shorts film presentations
Saturday July 19, 3 pm in the Museum Auditorium
Admission free
See some of the most popular short films from the Dance On Camera Festival 2008. Five films will be featured this year:

still from La Vie Est Belle

Inearthia (Simon Halbedo, Nazario Brana, Maren Sandmann, Switzerland, 2006; 2:15m) -- This short film from Switzerland reveals a creative way to spin the earth.

Scrap Life (Su-En, Sweden, 2006; 8:30m) -- The SU-EN Butoh Company of Sweden presents an homage to the art of recycling on site at a scrap yard. The moving, breathing organic bodies of the dancers highlighted against seemingly endless piles of metal is a vibrant and thoughtful study in contrasts, with humor interlayered throughout.

La Vie Est Belle (Tristan Duhamel, France, 2004; 3:13m) -- A character of street-art painted by JJr^me Mesnager is dancing and running on the walls of Paris, animated by Tristan Duhamel.

still from Reines D'un Jour

Reines D'un Jour (Pascal Magnin, Switzerland, 1996; 28m) -- Six tumbling bodies on mountain slopes of the Alps, caught between Heaven and Earth, among the cows and the villagers. This strikingly visual and sensual film triggered a wave of understanding among dancers when it was first shown in Dance On Camera Festival 1997. Marie-Louise Nespolo, Christine Kung choreographed the work and performed with Veronique Ferrero, Roberto Molo, Mikel Aristegui, and Antonio Bull. A unique blend of storytelling and abstract movement, the scenes reveal profound facets of the human condition with its interrelationships and struggles of body, mind, and spirit.

still from Fantastic Flower Shop

Fantastic Flower Shop (Pawel Partyka, Denmark/Poland, 2001; 15m) -- Inspired by the story, puppets, and design of Frances Osterflet, with animation by Krzysztof Brzozowski and Adam Wyrwas, this award-winning short should inspire fashion designers as well as storytellers. Set in a flower shop at closing time, wires spin out from their spools to become small characters who pluck petals to adorn themselves and dance the night

CD/FW is a Domestic Touring Partner with the Dance Films Association of New York City. The Dance on Camera films are presented as part of the touring program for the Dance On Camera Festival co-produced by the Dance Films Association and the Film Society of Lincoln Center with support of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tribute To Twyla, Saturday July 26 (two events)

An innovator and visionary for modern and post-modern dance, Twyla Tharp has truly changed the shape of American modern dance and ballet for generations to come. Her early choreography explored many of the same issues as the Judson Church choreographers of the 1960's. Over time, her vision expanded to include "big ballet" and Broadway. Her musical "Movin Photo by Gregg Gorman Out" with music by Billy Joel is still touring the U.S. to popular acclaim. The Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth company is inviting area dancers to celebrate her work with them, as they perform her 1970 work "The One Hundreds" in a special staging incorporating the museum grounds and building with 100 dancers scattered throughout. Tharp is renowned for creating works for alternative spaces -- gymnasiums, streets, parks, libraries, and museums. This unique presentation of her seminal work "The One Hundreds" at The Modern is presented with her blessings and great enthusiasm. Tharp is devoted to the possibilities and properties of physical movement. Simultaneously, she is less and less interested in the formal separation of audience and performer and has begun to create her works more and more in such a manner that an audience, which may not see all of a work, will pay more attention to what it can see. — Don McDonagh, The Rise and Fall and Rise of Modern Dance, 1970.

100 Dancers Perform "The One Hundreds" noon, 2pm, 4pm, various locations around museum A unique special edition of Twyla Tharp's "The One Hundreds" featuring 100 dancers scattered throughout the museum and grounds. When Tharp originally developed this dance in 1970, she wanted to address three questions she faced as a performing dancer: 1) how accurate is my memory? 2) how good is my coordination? 3) how strong is my sense of beginnings, middles and endings? Tharp created 100 eleven-second phrases in answer to these questions. Twyla On Twyla (film) 1pm, 3pm in the Museum Auditorium Admission free This look at Twyla's career and philosophies gives a wonderful overview of her contributions to American dance. 100 Bottles of Beer On The Wall Party and Fund Raiser Campaign Don't miss the "after party" at Rahr & Sons Brewing Company after the performances on July 26. This party supports CD/FW's programming, including a special project to bring The One Hundreds to North Texas students during the 2008-2009 school year. You can make a donation and read more about the party by clicking here.

Photos from last year's Modern Dance Festival at The Modern

Conjuring Light Quilting Life
Stage West and Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth premiere a unique dance/theatre collaboration for the “More Life: The Art & Science of AIDS” festival.
Two Weekends: May 16-17, and 23-24, Friday at 8pm and Saturday at 3pm and 8pm
Sanders Theatre at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center
TICKETS: $17.50 General admission. Stage West Season Subscribers:  $15. Students & Seniors:  $12 matinee / $15 evening. 20% of ticket price goes to AIDS service organizations.
For more information, and for reservations, call the Stage West box office at 817-784-9378

Between May 10 and June 8, 2008, Fort Worth’s three AIDS Service Organizations, along with the Fort Worth Opera, are taking a unique, groundbreaking approach to AIDS education and awareness in our community, as they open the first More Life Festival: An Arts Intervention. More Life leverages the excitement surrounding the Fort Worth Opera’s 2008 Festival, which includes Angels in America, and brings together more than 45 arts, science and educational organizations, who will focus their energies and talents on programs to increase the awareness and knowledge of AIDS in our community.

Stage West's Justin Flowers, Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth's Breanna Kimbley and guest choreographer Loris Anthony Beckles prepare for the premiere of Conjuring Light Quilting Life. Photo by Milton Adams.

Stage West and Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth have joined forces for the Festival to present Conjuring Light Quilting Life, a collaboration which fuses music, dance, and theatre in a celebration of life and love as they intermingle with sorrow and loss. In this unique piece, opening Friday, May 16 at the Sanders Theatre at the Community Arts Center, actors and dancers merge together on stage to create a dream-like tapestry of memories. Guest choreographer Loris Anthony Beckles (Dallas) and members of the CD/FW company have created a choreographic collage to interweave with actors and text. Electronic music by composers William Meadows (Austin) and Timothy Wilkendorf (Minnesota) amplifies a dream world of childhood patty-cake and guardian angels, interwoven with the more adult musings and realities of life and death. Rather than focusing on AIDS specifically, this collage of human experience celebrates the beauty that is life, even in the face of illness or death.

This one-time event is a must-see for local arts audiences and is limited to six performances. More importantly, your attendance will also benefit local AIDS service organizations. Twenty percent of all ticket sales will be donated to AIDS Outreach Center, Samaritan House, and Tarrant County AIDS Interfaith Network. Learn more at www.morelifetexas.com.

ABOUT THE GUEST ARTISTS

GUEST CHOREOGRAPHER LORIS ANTHONY BECKLES
Loris Anthony Beckles (Guyana, South America) has studied ballet, modern dance, jazz and a taste of African dance. He has performed with companies including the Eleo Pomare Dance Company and the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble. He has taught in the U.S., the Caribbean and in Europe; and choreographed just about wherever he stayed long enough. His company, Beckles Dancing Company, gives regular performances in Dallas and other parts.

GUEST COMPOSER WILLIAM MEADOWS
William Meadows (Austin) has worked as a composer, performer, and sound designer for over twenty years. His compositions have been performed at the Austrian Society for Electro-Acoustic Music, the Los Angeles New Music Festival, SEAMUS National Conferences, and new music concerts across the country. Meadows has created and performed in multimedia works at the International Symposium of Electronic Arts in Montreal, the Caravan of Dreams Theater (Fort Worth), the Dallas Museum of Art, and Richland College Planetarium. He has performed with Tina Marsh and in concerts presented by the Austin New Music Co-op. Meadows has worked as a sound designer and composer for many choreographers and dance companies including Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth, Deborah Hay, Tré Arenz, Johnson/Long Dance Company, Sharir/Bustamente Danceworks, Heloise Gold, and Stephen Brown. For eleven years he has been composer in residence with Austin-based Sally Jacques’ Blue Lapis Light productions.

GUEST COMPOSER TIM WILKENDORF
Tim Wilkendorf, a native Texan now living in Minnesota, has performed mainly as a laborer and tile setter throughout Texas for the last twenty years. Though he has played several musical instruments throughout his life, he is mostly self-taught on the piano and began composing on the keyboard a few years ago. He has written and performed recorded voice-overs for the production of WHIRLYGIG by the Minneapolis based theater company, Burning House Group.