Get to Stepping: A Sneak Peak at Seattle's Autumn Dance Calendar
Superstitious folks believe that good things (and bad ones, too) come in threes. For dance fans in Seattle this fall, at least, they seem to be correct. And because, if you'll direct your attention outside, you can clearly see that fall has begun, so, too, has the autumn dance season.
This past weekend, Velocity Dance Center hosted their annual Fall Kick-Off & Big Bang! Remix Party. The show, which was at Velocity's Founder's Theatre, on Capitol Hill, featured some of the best-known (and most talented) dancers from our area, including KT Niehoff, zoe|juniper, Maureen Whiting, Dayna Hanson and the Spectrum Dance Theater--just to name a few. The event serves as an exciting glimpse into what the company has planned for the new season, and involved some classic performances, as well as a preview of things to come.
But the season is far from over. Even if you didn’t catch the action on the Hill this weekend, you still have plenty of time to get your dance on. Did we mention good things come in threes?
The Chamber Dance Company will be rolling back the clock to our favorite decade - the 80s, with a little bit of the 90s thrown in, too. Although you might instantly think of parachute pants, big hair and some of the best alternative pop music ever produced, those two decades also bore witness to some pretty heavy issues (like AIDS and crack). And UW’s resident dance company is sure to tackle some of those headier subjects with their performance of “Relationships” which runs at Meany Hall October 13-16.
Later in October, you're invited to celebrate and remember one of the great modern dance choreographers (and Washington state native) Merce Cunningham before his Legacy Tour readies for its final bow. Culling from the best of Cunningham’s prolific 50 year career, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company will swing through town October 27-29 at the Paramount. This will be one of the last chances to see the Legacy Tour in this part of the country - a great opportunity not to be squandered.
To continue “all things Merce” in October, The Henry Art Museum will host guest lecturer Roger Copeland who, as a Cunningham biographer, knows a bit more than a thing or two about this influential icon. Expect some talk about Cunningham, Martha Graham, minimalism and conceptualism. Brainy stuff, we know. That's on October 23.
Finally, if film is more your thing, Northwest Film Forum screens Ocean, one of Cunningham’s last works of monumental scale. Set in an immense Midwest granite quarry, the film is epic in proportion. Fortunately for us, Cunningham had multiple cameras rolling, which affords the audience the opportunity to just sit back and let the experience wash over. Ocean screens on October 26.
See? Good things really do come in threes.
