AXIS Dance Company’s 2019 Home Season Co-presented by Z Space:
IN·Ter·twine
October 25 - 27, 2019 at Z Space
AXIS Dance Company is thrilled to announce its first international commission under the direction of Artistic Director Marc Brew as the headliner of its 2019 Home Season, in·ter·twine: Alice in Californiland from renowned choreographer Arthur Pita. Pita and AXIS dancers embark on a voyage into a Lewis Carroll-like upside-down world of being present but ignored by society and what it is like to both exist and yet try to resist the strange, surreal and harsh realities of being homeless; completing the triple bill will be Flutter from Bay Area Choreographer and POST:Ballet Artistic Director Robert Dekkers, and a new world premiere from NYC based choreographer and Artistic Director of Arch Dance Company Jennifer Archibald entitled Petrichor, the smell of earth after rain.
Schedule of Events
October 25 - Show at 8 pm, 6-7 pm Pre-Reception (The reception is FULL, but there are still tickets for the show)
October 26 - Show at 8 pm, Post-Show Q&A, ASL interpretation (Please note ADA Wheelchair Accessible Seating on Saturday night show is limited, please contact boxoffice@zspace.org if you are purchasing subsequent to 10/22 and have ADA needs)
October 27 - Show at 2 pm, 1 pm - 1:30 pm Access Tour, Audio Description
TICKET PRICES
Opening Night Pre-Reception (Includes Show), $75 - SOLD OUT
Advocate, $50
Standard Admission (At-the-Door) - $40
Standard Admission (Advance Ticket) - $35
Low-Income, $20
Featured Pieces
Flutter, choreographed by Robert Dekkers
Robert Dekkers’ Flutter—which has been noted for its music being something dancers dance against rather than with, was originally staged for Post:Ballet with an all-female cast, an all-male cast, and then a mixed-gender cast; the work has been refocused by Dekkers through the lens of physically integrated dance as a way of highlighting the skills of the individual AXIS dancers as well as how they come together as a cohesive company.
“Flutter is a meditation on the relationship between the individual and the collective. It explores the space between masculinity and femininity, form and freedom, effort and pleasure.”
—Robert Dekkers
Petrichor: the smell of earth after rain (World Premiere), choreographed by Jennifer Archibald
If gratitude unlocks the fullness of life - to always be grateful should be simple. Archibald offers snapshots of intimate connections and pushes the dancers of AXIS to face how gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
"It's important to me that the dancers I work with can personalize the work. Being truthful on stage is empowering and seeing the artists come to terms with their individual connections to gratefulness is a journey that can be shared by everyone involved in the rehearsal process.”
—Jennifer Archibald
Alice in Californiland (World Premiere), choreographed by Arthur Pita
For over thirty years, AXIS has been headquartered in downtown Oakland, now the epicenter of gentrification, displacement, and homelessness in the Bay Area. To respond to, and create dialogue around these realities AXIS will produce its biggest production to date with Arthur Pita’s Alice in Californiland. Bringing his vast experience of entwining storytelling, dance, and theater to life, Pita will creatively react to the realities of rampant displacement through the lens of Alice in Wonderland. A fearless visual storyteller, Pita's disturbing, nightmarish story will sit in a kaleidoscopic world of harsh reality and psychedelic fantasy in equal measure. Together, Pita and his long-time collaborator set and costume designer Yann Seabra have developed an aesthetic that effectively reaches audiences and invites them to look deeper at social issues and question our culture and society.
“When I got the opportunity to work with AXIS, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to express this complex issue, but also to set it in a world which could juxtapose the harsh realities, which made me ask questions about reality itself,” says Pita. “AXIS Dance Company is a daring and important organization that has encouraged me to go on this journey and the dancers are wonderfully talented — I am thrilled to go on this voyage with them.”
—Arthur Pita
Access Notes
Z Space is a wheelchair accessible theater. Seating is provided on floor level for people using wheelchairs & scooters, as well as anyone who cannot climb stairs (there are stairs starting at row 2 to the back of the theater). Tickets are general seating: accessible seating will always be made available upon request at the door — it’s also very helpful if you indicate your access needs during the process of purchasing your tickets. Bathrooms are wheelchair accessible and will be welcoming to all genders.
Saturday, October 26th
Performance and Post-Show Q&A with ASL interpretation
ASL seating can be reserved when purchasing your ticket. If you have any further questions please call (510) 625-0110 or email info@axisdance.org
Sunday, October 27th
1 pm Access Tour
Please meet in the Z Space Foyer at 12:45 pm. We will enter the theater and the tour will run from 1pm-1: 30 pm. Similar to a Touch Tour, the Access Tour is a chance for those with visual impairments to come onto the stage to meet the Artistic Director, Audio Describer and our AXIS dancers for an introduction to the synopsis and structure of the pieces. We welcome the audience to join us for this accessible pre-show experience designed for people with visual impairments or who are blind and others interested in an inside experience to the performance.
The Access Tour provides the participants with an intimate and up-close tactile experience to feel and engage with the space, artists, props, costumes and set up of the stage while learning more about the works and the movement language that will inform and enlighten their performance experience with an opportunity to answer any questions. To register for the Access Tour please contact AXIS Dance Company at (510) 625-0110 or email info@axisdance.org
2 pm Performance with Audio Description
Audio Description will be provided during our Sunday performance. For questions please contact AXIS Dance Company at (510) 625-0110 or email info@axisdance.org
