STRAIGHT
TO THE HELICOPTER presents
the premiere of AvoiDances about
the stuff we always try to ignore
JUNE
13 & 14, 2003 • 8 pm $15 • WAX
box office: 718-599-7997
+ 3 FREE short outdoor
performances MAY 17 (raindate May 24) at Sunset Park • 2 pm MAY 31 (raindate June 1) at McCarren Park • 2
pm JUNE 7 (raindate June 8) at Parkside Ave Q Station
• 2 pm
choreography,
film and text by Anna
Brady Nuse
movement in collaboration
with Yaquelina
Parvex
performers: Anna
Brady Nuse & Yaquelina Parvex
original score and live
music byJ
Why
set design by Bless
lighting design by Janusz
Jaworski
photgraphs
by Anna
Bernabe
postcard
design by Sondra
Graff
web
design by Hillary
Maroon
AvoiDances
is a multi-disciplinary performance work incorporating dance,
music, film and text, all about that most commonplace and often
insensible attribute of human behavior: avoiding. This work,
with original music by J Why and
film, text and choreography by Anna Brady
Nuse, sets about exploring everyday scenarios and revealing
the subconscious acts that shape and inform people's lives.
Stories of uncomfortable encounters with strangers on the street
become splintered into many viewpoints and gradually a larger
picture emerges, one that reflects the complexities of city
life and the multiple threads of interpretation that weave through
every experience. The full-length performances at WAX
will feature dance vignettes performed by Anna Brady Nuse and
Yaquelina Parvex, live musical interludes composed and performed
by J Why, a dance film by Anna Brady Nuse, set design by Bless,
and lighting design by Janusz Jaworski.
AvoiDances
has been made possible through the sponsorship of The Field, and,
in part, by funds from the Puffin Foundation Lrd. and the Greater
New York Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural
Affairs, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc. (BAC).
Anna
Brady Nuse
is a choreographer, performer and teacher living in Brooklyn.
In 2002 she formed the performance ensemble, Straight
to the Helicopter to facilitate the creation of collaborative
multi-disciplinary performance works for the purpose of telling
stories that make direct and visceral statements about contemporary
life. In 1999 she received her BFA in Dance from California
Institute of the Arts and moved to New York in 2000 to pursue
her professional career. As a dancer she has worked with Bella
Lewitzky, Jill Sigman, Deborah Abramson, Enrico Labayen, and
Carol Solomon. Ms. Nuse's work has been shown at The Hatch
Performance Series, WAX,
The Emeryville Outdoor Dance Festival and Movement Research's
Open Performance Series. For four years she has taught dance
to children at various after-school programs including LEAP,
the Flatbush Youth Initiative, and Sports & Arts at PS 109.
Yaquelina
Parvex is from the Santa Fe province of Argentina.
She began dancing after earning her Bachelor's Degree in Social
Work. Her first dance teachers were Patricia Pieragostini, Gabriela
Morales and the Liceo Municipal Santa Fe. In 1996, Ms. Parvex
moved to New York to study dance at Dance Space Center and Movement
Research with such notable teachers as Rebecca Hilton, Mia Lawrence,
Wally Cardona and Jeremy Nelson. While in New York, she has
worked and performed with Teresa Smith and Dancers, Oren Bar-Noy,
Taisha Paggett and the Kandooz Variety Show directed by Wyld
Lixx. This summer, Ms. Parvex will be studying to receive her
Teacher's Certification in Yoga under Allison West.
Upstate
New York born, and California educated, J
Why is a composer/multi-instrumentalist/producer
now living in Brooklyn. Mr. Why recently received his MFA at
California Institute of the Arts, where he studied composition,
improvisation and interdisciplinary arts with Wadada Leo Smith,
Vinny Golia, Theresa Chavez and Mark Trayle. Currently he is
a member of the Spanglish rock ensemble Caramelize
and is collaborating with composer Julian Hintz on an album
composed entirely of sounds collected on the streets of New
York City. In collaboration with his sister, composer and multi-instrumentalist,
Hillary Maroon, J has recently launched
the record label head
fulla brains.
Straight
to the Helicopter
presents the premiere of AvoiDances, Fri.
June 13 and Sat. June 14 at 8pm at the Williamsburg
Arts NeXus
(WAX), 205 North 7th Street (between Driggs Avenue
and Roebling Street in Williamsburg). Tickets are $15. A 20%
discount ($12) is offered for stamped postcards, seniors and
students with ID. Seats may be reserved in advance by calling
the WAX
box office at (718) 599-7997.
There
will be 3 free community performances
(30 minutes each) featuring exerpts from AvoiDances
taking place at several outdoor sites in Brooklyn. This mini
tour of free performances is intended to bring modern dance
to diverse and artistically under-served neighborhoods while
placing the work in the urban environs that originally inspired
it. Outdoor previews will take place: Sat. May 17th at 2pm
in Sunset Park by the Multi-purpose Playground (enter the
park on 5th Ave. between 41st & 44th Streets) (raindate Sat.
May 24th at 2pm); Sat. May 31st at 2pm at McCarren Park in
Williamsburg (enter at Union Ave. btw. Roebling and Driggs,
exact location tba) (raindate Sun. June 1st at 2pm), and Sat.
June 7th at 2pm in front of the Parkside Ave. Q Station at
Ocean Ave. (raindate Sun. June 8th at 2pm). No reservations
are required for the outdoor performances, for more information
call (718) 812-6418
.