Stephen Petronio Dance Co takes on a Tempest with Nico Mulhy score

Barrington Hinds by Sarah Silver
The innovative Stephen Petronio Company will bring its visceral and exciting I Drink the Air Before Me to MASS MoCA’s Hunter Center in North Adams on Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10, at 8pm. It is a joint production of Mass MoCA and Jacob's Pillow which collaborate to present one dance event at the renowned art center each year. Petronio is acclaimed for his lush, sweeping performance landscapes enriched by artful pairings of contemporary music and movement.

Comments the Pillow's executive director, Ella Baff: ”Stephen Petronio is well recognized in the U.S. and abroad as a bold, leading choreographer of his generation. He also collaborates with some of the most important contemporary artists in music, fashion, and the visual arts such as Laurie Anderson, Rufus Wainwright, Anish Kapoor, and a great painter who is especially familiar to us in the Berkshires, Steve Hannock.”

The composer Nico Muhly (L) and choreographer Stephen Petronio. Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris.
The work features an original score by contemporary Nico Muhly, a composer whose work has been performed by the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Chicago Symphony. Although in the original presentation it was played live complete with a chorus that was scattered throughout the audience, at MoCA the music will be recorded, not live.

A Trio of Petronio dancers in photo by Steven Schreiber.
Petronio's new work is titled after a quote from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest from the moment in which the sprite Ariel rushes away on Prospero’s errand: “I drink the air before me, and return / Or ere your pulse twice beat.” Moved by the character’s willingness to throw himself in the path of a raging storm, Petronio combines inspiration from forces of nature, both environmental and human. The work portrays both the calm and anger of storms, while a sailor (performed by Petronio himself) rides along.

Petronio created I Drink the Air Before Me in celebration of this year’s 25th anniversary of the company. He comments, “Instead of looking back on our achievements like photographs of old friends, I have chosen to look to the future with a new work. I wanted to give a dance that spoke of riding the awesome and unpredictable forces of now, and I hope you will receive our presentation in that spirit of adventure and pleasure.”

The performance will be followed by a post-show talk with Ella Baff and Stephen Petronio.

Amanda Wells in a photo by Sarah Silver.
Tickets in the orchestra section of the theater are $38, mezzanine tickets are $32, and student and children’s tickets are $20.
The MASS MoCA Box Office hours are Wednesday through Monday, 11am – 5pm. To purchase by phone: call the Box Office at 413.662.2111. To order online: www.massmoca.org. The Hunter Center and Box Office are located at 87 Marshall Street in North Adams, MA, 01247. MASS MoCA theaters are handicapped-accessible.

For additional information on Jacob’s Pillow or the 2010 Festival, visit www.jacobspillow.org.

Steppenwolf's Tempest a Creative Triumph

Steppenwolf's Tempest is a feast for all the senses. Photos: Michael Brosilow

Chicago's Steppenwolf and England's Shakespeare, who would have thought it was going to be such a perfect pairing? Never before had the company undertaken the Bard's work, but now they have taken Shakespeare's enchanted masterpiece about the magic of forgiveness and the result is magical. For this effort, Steppenwolf ensemble member Tina Landau re-imagined this classic tale of art, freedom and the transformative power of forgiveness.

Ensemble member Frank Galati returns to the stage as Prospero, his first performance at Steppenwolf since The Drawer Boy with John Mahoney in 2001. Tina Landau has been an ensemble member since 1997 and has staged such inspiring Steppenwolf productions as The Time of Your Life, Cherry Orchard and The Diary of Anne Frank.
The Director and the Cast on the first day of rehearsals.

The Tempest was Shakespeare’s final work. The story is about Prospero who is exiled to an enchanted island where he harnesses the powers of magic and masters the spirits that dwell there. His desire for revenge drives him to conjure a mighty storm trapping his enemies on the island. The production features ensemble members Alana Arenas, K. Todd Freeman, Frank Galati, Jon Michael Hill, Tim Hopper, James Vincent Meredith, Yasen Peyankov, Lois Smith and Alan Wilder with Eric James Casady, Miles Fletcher, Stephen Louis Grush, Emma Rosenthal and Craig Spidle.

In previews since late March, it officially opened this week for a lengthy run through May 31st. Specific performance and ticket information can be found on the Steppenwolf website.
Frank Galati and Jon Michael Hill. Photo Michael Brosilow.

In the photos shown here, it is clear that the set itself is part of the ensemble. In her directives to the scenic designer, Takeshi Kata, Landau set out some guidelines. “The design cannot be too square, too solid, too geometric for this play about sea change, rupture and transformation. The alignment of the space should not be clean. Work against straight lines." The set, she explains, needs to be "immersive," creating an "explosive and disorienting experience." There is no question that she succeeded.