Main Stage
Tickets $30 / $25
About Ephrat Asherie Dance – UNDERSCORED
Created and performed by members of the company with special guest artists from New York City’s underground scene, Asherie’s newest work is inspired by the intergenerational memories of club dancers. EAD invites audiences to join them on an exhilarating journey through the ever-changing physical landscape of New York City’s underground dance community.
UNDERSCORED has received lead commissioning and development support by Works & Process, for world premiere at the Guggenheim. UNDERSCORED was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable foundation and Mellon Foundation. This project is made possible in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals for a residency at The Jay and Linda Grunin Center, made possible through support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. UNDERSCORED is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Works & Process in partnership with ArtPower at UC San Diego, The Momentary and The Yard. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information, visit www.npnweb.org.
CHOREOGRAPHER’S NOTE
I have so much to say about this piece, the inspiration behind it, the process, but no time to sit and formulate my thoughts this week as we have been deep in it and too busy dancing-ha. It is an honor to be sharing the dance floor with Archie, Bravo and Michele, three legendary club heads who have inspired countless dancers, artists and free thinkers. I’ve had the great fortune to have danced at the club with Archie and Bravo for more than two decades and although I only met Michele a few years ago, we are kindred spirits and I know we’ll have many more years of shared dance floors to come. In the 90s, I was lucky to have been exposed to a great deal of dance, music and culture of the African diaspora first through hip hop, jazz and then house. The underground dance community in NYC represents the beauty and strength that emerges when the collective consciousness celebrates each individual as their own special creation. This community inspired me to live my life as an artist; for this I am forever grateful.
About Ephrat Asherie Dance
EPHRAT ASHERIE DANCE (EAD) is a dance company rooted in African American and Latine street and club dances. Dedicated to exploring the inherent complexities of these dances, EAD investigates the expansive narrative qualities of various vernacular forms including breaking, hip hop, house and vogue, as a means to tell stories, develop innovative imagery, and find new modes of expression. EAD’s first evening-length work, A Single Ride, earned two Bessie nominations in 2013 for Outstanding EmergingChoreographer and Outstanding Sound Design by Marty Beller. The company has presented work at Art Power! at UC San Diego, The Apollo Theater, Columbia College, Dixon Place, FiraTarrega, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, Jacob’s Pillow DanceFestival, the Joyce Theater, La MaMa, New York Live Arts, River to River Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Summerstage NYC, and The Yard, among others.
For more information please visit www.ephratasheriedance.com IG: @ephratasheriedance
This event is presented with funding from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals Arts Forward Grant.
