This season an array of dance offerings will entertain, amaze with athleticism, and even reflect on social issues — such as the slippery slope of social media — are we more connected, or less? And, what is up with the obsession over “selfies?”
These are all questions audience members will explore in an interactive dance experience watching Sonia Plumb Dance Company’s “Privacy Settings,” which will be performed Sept. 20-21 at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford.
In the modern piece, Plumb says that what she has been pondering is the quest that drives social media. “What are we looking for as human beings?” asked Plumb, intrigued by the spate of selfies, and the privacy questions that arose around the NSA investigations.
“Privacy Settings” will use cameras worn by the dancers so that both the dancers’ perspectives, as well as the dance itself, are projected on screen. Audience members can participate by voting at the end of the show on their smart phones, as well as commenting on Twitter and other sites during the performance with a hashtag. Two other dances will be presented, “Poseidon” a very physical duet which is a section of a work Plumb is working on about Homer’s “Odyssey,” and “Bach in Space,” which Plumb describes as “A beautiful piece, it’s a live painting.” The dance for six has a live cello accompaniment.
Tickets: Sonia Plumb: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20 and 3 p.m. Sept. 21, University of Saint Joseph, 1678 Asylum Ave., West Hartford. Advance tickets are available through the University of Saint Joseph box office at (860) 231-5555 and are $25 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for students when purchased by Sept. 15. (Add $5 per ticket for those purchased as of Sept. 16 or on the night of the performances.)
Momix will bring their playful, theatrical, and thrilling athleticism to the University of Connecticut’s Jorgensen Center for Performing Arts in Storrs Oct. 24-25. Trust Momix to surprise with their trademark mix of illusion and dance in a new work, “Alchemia,” that is about the art of alchemy and the alchemy of art.
The Alonzo King Lines Ballet performs Oct. 8 at the Jorgensen, a company hailed for imbuing classical ballet with a diverse set of cultural traditions through collaborations with other artists.
Tickets: Alonzo Kings Line Ballet, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 8. Tickets: $37, $34 and $32. Momix, 8 p.m., Oct. 24-25, $50, $45, $40 and $36. Discounts on both events: seniors 60 and over, take $2 off each ticket, 1 discounted ticket per senior citizen. Uconn faculty/staff, $2 off each single ticket, 2 discounted tickets per UConn ID, UConn students, Momix, $15, Alonzo Kings Line Ballet, $10, 2 per valid ID; Jorgensen Performing Arts Center, (860) 486-4226, 2132 Hillside Road, Storrs, www.jorgensen.uconn.edu.
Wesleyan University’s Center For The Arts: A cornucopia of offerings will be at center, where modern dance takes a twist with Leesaar The Company, which will present “Princess Crocodile” Sept. 19. The New York based Israeli choreographers draw on themes of adolescence and womanhood, allowing seven international dancers to summon their “inner swamp creature.”
It is one of a roster of troupes that Wesleyan is showcasing, including the acclaimed classical Indian dancer Malavika Sarukkai, who will unveil a New England premiere of “Rasamanjari,” Sept. 28 at the Crowell Concert Hall in Middletown. The language of the classical dance style Bharata Natyam is one that this dancer claims, making it accessible for both a contemporary and global audience. The performance is part of Wesleyan’s 38th annual Navaratri Festival. A free film screening of “The Unseen Sequence” that features choreography by Sarukkai, will be shown Sept. 27 at the CFA Hall in Middletown.
Dance with an international flavor continues at Wesleyan with the performance of “To Not Forget Crimea — Uncertain Quiet” Oct. 24 at the Memorial Chapel, Middletown. Assistant Professor of Dance Katja Kolcio explores issues of historical memory, home and cultural narrative as they relate to the history of Tatars, indigenous Muslim inhabitants of Crimea, and their complex relationships with Ukraine and Russia in this work.
Tickets: Dance at Wesleyan: LeeSaar The Company: “Princess Crocodile,” 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, Center for Performing Arts Theater, 271 Washington Terrace, Middletown. $25 general public, $22 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty, staff, alumni and non-Wesleyan students, Wesleyan students, $6. A 7:30 p.m. pre-performance talk by DanceLink Fellow Miranda Orbach in the CFA Hall. Malavika Sarukkai’s: “Rasamanjari,” will be at 3 p.m. Sept. 28, Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Ave., Middletown. $18 general public, $15 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty, staff, alumni, and non-Wesleyan students; $6 for Wesleyan students. “To Not Forget Crimea — Uncertain Quiet” will be at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 at the Memorial Chapel, 221 High St., Middletown. $8 general public, senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty, staff, alumni, and non-Wesleyan students; $6 for Wesleyan students.
For tickets, 860-685-3355, www.wesleyan.edu. The box office is at 45 Wyllys Ave., Middletown, Wesleyan Campus.
Judy Dworin Performance Project brings their soul-searching work “In My Shoes” to the Hartford Stage Dec. 8. Drawing upon her compassionate work with incarcerated women, the piece asks what would it be like to live another person’s life and examines moral choices and twists of fate that led to incarceration. The work integrates movement, spoken word and song, and features seven women who have re-entered Connecticut communities from York Correctional Institution, as well as Dworin dancers.
A dance season isn’t complete without the bold leaps, delicacy and romance that ballet brings. And prior to Christmas, nothing imbues the festivities like the elegant story ballet, “The Nutcracker.”
Tickets: The Judy Dworin Performance Project’s “In My Shoes” will be performed 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at The Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford. Tickets, $25, $15 for seniors and Let’s Go members, $10 for students with an ID. To purchase tickets, www.judydworin.org.
Nutcracker season: Joseph Albano presents his classic version with a live orchestra throughout Connecticut. The Albano Ballet Company tells the story of a young girl, Clara, who dreams of her “Nutcracker” doll coming to life when she falls asleep after a Christmas Eve party. The rest of the ballet is that surreal adventure that Clara embarks upon.
Albano’s “Nutcracker” will be performed Nov. 29 at Middletown Performing Arts Center, Middletown High School, Dec. 6- 7 at Welte Auditorium, Central Connecticut University in New Britain, and Dec. 12-14 and Dec. 19-21 at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theater, Montville.
Tickets: Albano Ballet’s “Nutcracker” will be performed 3 p.m. Nov. 29, at Middletown High School, 200 La Rosa Lane, Middletown. At 3 p.m., Dec. 6-7, Welte Auditorium, 1615 Stanley St., Central Connecticut State University, New Britain; 7 p.m. Dec.12, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m Dec. 13, 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Dec. 14, 7 p.m. Dec. 19, 2 p.m. and 7p.m. Dec. 20 and 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Dec. 21 at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theater, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd. Tickets: Mohegan Sun, $30 to $35, Welte Auditorium and Middletown, $25 a child and $30 adult. For tickets, visit www.albanoballet.org, or www.mohegansun.com for tickets to Mohegan Sun performances. 860-232-8898.
Ballet stars from the American Ballet Theatre will be in Connecticut Ballet’s “Nutcracker.” which comes to the Stamford Center for the Arts Dec. 20-21.
Tickets: Connecticut Ballet “Nutcracker” will be performed 2 and 6 p.m., Dec. 20 and 1 and 5 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Stamford Center for the Arts, 61 Atlantic St., Stamford. Tickets are $25-$75 (plus theater surcharge), www.scalive.org or 203-325-4466.
