Z SPACE and Epiphany Dance Theater present
ROCK & MORTAR
December 4 - 8 at Z SPACE
Rock & Mortar is an immersive, multidisciplinary performance featuring an all-woman cast and their stories of gender, ancestry, religion and politics. In this dance/theatre/song adventure, audiences are invited to explore the venue's physical landmarks amidst an extraordinary collection of intimate vignettes and sensory installations.
Inspired by a visit to her family’s ancestral home in the Abruzzo region of Italy, Epiphany Founder and Artistic Director Kim Epifano developed Rock & Mortar over a two-year period. “I come from a long line of builders,” said Epifano, “people whose principal materials were rock and lime and cement. The strength of their creations are everywhere to be seen in Italy’s ancient villages, which have literally stood the test of time. As an artist, I see myself as a builder of another kind, supporting community through the creation of live performance.
Rock & Mortar takes the idea of the ancestral village as a site for artistic excavation, a walled space that serves simultaneously to protect and isolate, with all of the emotions this doubleness entails.”
“In Kim Epifano’s hands the abstract becomes personal and the intellectual, physical…the passion - which sometimes approaches ecstasy - sets her works soaring.”
— SF BAY GUARDIAN
Schedule of Events
December 4–7 - Shows at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm
December 8 - Show at 4:00 pm
Running time approx. 1 hr. 15 min.
PRESS
Press inquires may be directed to Epiphany Dance Theater's publicist, John Hill via jbhill23@gmail.com
Rock & Mortar’s ensemble includes Heather Arnett, Allegra Bautista, Nuria Bowart, Nehara Kalev, Shaghayegh Cyrous, Jhia Jackson, Jenny McAllister, Lucrezia Palandri and Kaylamay Paz Suarez. Additional collaborators on Rock & Mortar include director/choreographer/soundscape designer: Kim Epifano, sound designer Uriah Findley, lighting designer Beth Hersh, video installation designer Shaghayegh Cyrou, and costume designer Maria Chenut. Rock & Mortar was created with support from The Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, The Bernard Osher Foundation, Center for Cultural Innovation Investing in Artists Award, the Lighting Artists in Dance Award, a program of Dancers’ Group, Grants for the Arts, Hewlett Foundation, the Fleishhacker Foundation, the Bogliasco Foundation and residencies from Shawl Anderson and Space 124. This project was supported by Z Space’s Technical Development Residency Program, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Photography Credits:
Top: Performer Allegra Bautista. Photo by Robbie Sweeny.
Left: Performers Lucrezia Palandri, Christine Bonansea and Sara Campinoti. Photo by Eric Poggenpohl.
Right: Performers Lucrezia Palandri, Sara Campinoti. Photo by Eric Poggenpohl.
ABOUT EPIPHANY DANCE THEATER:
Epiphany Dance Theater’s repertoire blends dance, music, theater and spoken word in a multi-textured experience of community, culture and place. Its body of work reflects the artistic director’s exposure to different perspectives on community art-making and diverse cultural norms from her experiences around the world from Latin America, South East Asia, Europe and Africa. Kim Epifano’s work is known for its bold and imaginative outdoor explorations that resonate with all ages and backgrounds, newcomers to dance-veterans. Epiphany is equally celebrated for its development and curation of new choreographers, dancers and ongoing contribution to the vibrancy of the Bay Area dance community.
