Innervation Dance Cooperative

Innervation Dance Cooperative presents

REMASTERED

an eclectic and "innervating" repertory concert

with music by Led Zeppelin, The Shins, Kronos Quartet, Feist, Patsy Cline, Tom Waits, and many others

MAY 5 - 8, 2011

Thurgood Marshall Middle School
(3900 N Lawndale, Chicago IL 60618)

For press tickets, photographs, interviews, and additional materials,
please contact Michael Sherman at michael.sherman@innervationdance.org
or call 773-450-0910

For immediate release:

CHICAGO — March 9, 2011

WHO:
Innervation Dance Cooperative, a contemporary dance company that integrates theater, music and storytelling into its productions, Artists-in-Residence at Thurgood Marshall Middle School. IDC is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization.

WHAT:
A wide-ranging repertory concert celebrating IDC's 2010–2011 Arts Partnership with Thurgood Marshall Middle School, featuring the most popular, most "innervating" works from the company's twelve-year history, plus one World Premiere from Chicago choreographer Stephanie Unger. Through the media of contemporary dance, tap, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and spoken word, audiences will watch and hear stories about Greek gods and monsters, an allegorical hero, a surrealist artist, and cops n’ robbers. They will laugh out loud at the farce and fun, reach out to help the wounded, think critically about social norms, and feel their own catharsis in various characters' redemption.

WHEN:
Thursday, May 5, through Sunday, May 8, 2011. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances at 8:00; Sunday at 3:00. Tickets are $20 ($15 students and seniors). Opening Night Special: Thursday, May 5, 2011. All seats $12.

WHERE:
Thurgood Marshall Middle School, 3900 N. Lawndale, Chicago. Accessible on the CTA via the Blue Line (Irving Park), the Irving Park bus, and the Kimball bus. Street parking. Purchase tickets in advance at innervationdance.org/performances.html or by calling 312-505-7749.

* * * * *

The Pieces

The joyful and circular movements in choreographer Amy Williams's "over (and over)" (music by Kronos Quartet) reflect on the cyclical existence of life as a performer.

Inspired by The Lord of the Flies and The Most Dangerous Game, Elisa Carlson's "The Game" (music by Atreyu and Cirque du Soliel) pitches four men into a dangerous struggle for power.

In "Stained Glass Windows" (music by Rachel's and Mono), choreographer Amanda Mitchell paints a portrait of hope and inspiration in the passionate and vulnerable expression of women empowered by their willingness and courage to acknowledge and commit to their true selves.

The soul-stirring solo "Anguish" (music by Led Zeppelin, choreographed by Elisa Carlson) explores the frustration, loneliness, and rejection of Everyman.

Quirky and comical, Mandy Work's "Crooked" (music by The Seatbelts) pits cops against robbers in the spunky story of Good Guys versus Bad Guys.

Michael Sherman's homoerotic duet "The Tale of Apollo and Orion" (music by The Shins) catches the god and demigod in a confrontation where they discover they have feelings for one another.

Celebrating the body in all its forms, the soundtrack to "Skin Deep" features over a dozen modern music groups (from Justin Timberlake to Marilyn Manson) and supports choreographer Elisa Carlson's provocative reaction to today's forms of "sexy" and "beautiful."

Molly Beck's high-energy "Birth of Zeus" (music by Feist) shows audiences a lighthearted snapshot of Greek god Zeus's babyhood, during which he was hidden from his child-eating father by a group of (tap-dancing) warriors.

Stephanie Unger's premiere duet, "Got You" (music by Patsy Cline) tells the story of a girl who really, really likes a boy … who doesn’t like her back.

The biographical "Salvador's 'Stache" (script by choreographer Michael Sherman, music by Nicholas Lens and Carlos Bendfeldt) probes the relationship between Salvador Dali, his wife Gala, and Salvador's mustache.

In ballet- and jazz-based trio "Three" (music by Jonny Lang), choreographer Molly Beck shows us how the emotional responses of sadness, anger, and joy can influence the way we cope with life's events.

Addam Cross's interpretation of two Tom Waits songs, "Go, Spastic, Intention, Expectation, Product, Delivery" explores the divergence between a person's intention and the final product of that individual's effort.

Shayna Bjerke's "Medusa and her Stone Victims" (music by Roisin Murphy) shows the audience what happens when passersby encounter the monster Medusa's "stony" stare.

In a spooky finale, "The Nature of Goods" (music by Bond, interpreting Led Zeppelin) choreographers Molly Beck and Elisa Carlson set hip-hop and athletic movement on their cast of 16 to show the cold nature of wealth and material goods.

The Dancers

The cast of 25 IDC Cooperative members, Company members, and Seasonal Dancers: Molly Beck, Shayna Bjerke, Elisa Carlson, Laura Clift, Addam Cross, Sandy Donahue, Craig Donavin, Rachel Doucet, Wes Drummond, Chelsea DuBois, Kay Guebert, Brian Humpherys, Tiffany Janeway, Ginger Jensen, Sunshine Kallas, Kimberly Miller, Anne Laue-Minden, Tiffany Lawson, Amanda Mitchell, Christine Talley, Stephanie Unger, Liz Wieczorek, Niki Wilk, Amy Williams, and Mandy Work.

ABOUT INNERVATION DANCE COOPERATIVE

Innervation Dance Cooperative is a Chicago-based, multi-disciplinary dance and theater company dedicated to presenting a unique and eclectic aesthetic in order to foster a wide appreciation of contemporary movement. Since its founding in 1998, Innervation Dance Cooperative (previously Irreverence Dance + Theatre) has been finding ways to meld the art forms of theater and dance. In 2007, the right group of artists was in place to make the company a true democracy, giving each member a voice in the creation of work and the management of the organization. The change to the company's name acknowledges the cooperative nature of the organization, and more accurately reflects the work we produce: innovative works that stimulate audiences. Since then, IDC has created two evening-length contemporary ballets—Everyman, a retelling of the medieval morality play set to music by Led Zeppelin, and Gods, Monsters, and Heroes, an interpretation of Greek myths set to contemporary music. The Artistic Cooperative currently consists of seven members: Molly Beck, Shayna Bjerke, Elisa Carlson, Michael Sherman, Christine Talley, Stephanie Unger, and Amy Williams. Each member of the Cooperative has a unique background, shedding the light of multiple perspectives on its operations, and allowing the company to incorporate multiple disciplines of dance and theater throughout all of the works produced by IDC.

IDC (or ID+T) has performed at Dance Chicago, the Around the Coyote Arts Festival, Circle in the Square, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Fieldtrips, and the Vaudeville Underground, and has worked with Chicago choreographers such as Winifred Haun, Jennifer Gage, Nicole Gifford, Chris McCray and Aaron Chen.