Annex Dance Company to Present "Out of the Rose," a Collaboration of Poetry, Dance, and American Sign Language, Wednesday, May 13.
The Annex Dance Company, under the direction of artistic director and choreographer Kristin Fieseler, will present "Out of the Rose," an evening-length work inspired by the poetry of W.B. Yeats. The performance will take place at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at Foy Hall, Main and Church Streets in Bethlehem.
Created in partnership with poet Steve Myers and American Sign Language interpreter Rye Zemelsky, Yeats' poetry comes to life through dance, spoken word, and American Sign Language. "`Out of the Rose' is the largest choreographic undertaking of my career," says Fieseler. "I have been integrating American Sign Language (ASL) into my choreography for about three years. As a movement based language, I have found the process of making ASL into full body dance movement quite natural. I feel the integration of ASL has provided clarity in concept and further movement invention. It has also made me want to become fluent in the language."
Rush tickets are available online from the Lehigh Valley Arts Council : TICKETS
Fieseler is delighted to again partner with poet Myers and ASL interpreter Zemelsky. "Part of my company mission is collaboration. This is my third project working with Steve Myers, a colleague at DeSales University. I feel our partnership is important for the students to experience, and we have tried to make our work accessible to them throughout the year. Rye Zemelsky and I have worked together for about three years. Because she comes from a non-dance background, her perspective into our projects challenges my clarity in communicating ideas. I hope that `Out of the Rose' will be the first of many projects the three of us will work on together."
According to Myers, the poetry of W.B. Yeats is a perfect fit for this collaboration. "By the turn of the Twentieth Century, Yeats, who was 35, had become a believer in `total theatre,' a concept, current in Europe at that time, which called for the arts to bring together such elements as song, mime, dance, and spoken word," says Myers. "In fact, Yeats, on his reading tours, had himself already become what we would today call a `performance artist' in his readings, chanting his poetry with accompaniment on the psaltery, an instrument somewhat akin to a lute. The Annex Dance Company's `Out of the Rose' honors that Yeats with honesty, athleticism, and joy."
"I am challenging the role of the interpreter by allowing the words of Yeats to be communicated to the audience through spoken word and ASL, independent of one another," continues Fieseler. "Each member of the audience will have a unique experience as the piece progresses."
Zemelsky is interested in expanding the definition of 'accessibility' in the performing arts. She explains, "In this case, it is access to both the physical space and the content. We traded in the traditional interpreting model, forcing the audience to turn back and forth between the interpreter and the action on stage, and replaced it with an integrated Deaf performer to deliver the text throughout the show." Since English is the second language for most Deaf people, understanding English poetry may seem even more inaccessible. However, Zemelsky feels, "the concepts and themes found in Yeats' work can be translated into any language. The end product is a great example of the creative and beautiful ways that accessibility can happen."
"Out of The Rose" will be performed 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, at Foy Hall, Main and Church Streets in Bethlehem. Tickets are $15, available at the door or at www.danceboxoffice.com .
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TENT 2
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Annex Dance Company to Present "Out of the Rose," a Collaboration of Poetry, Dance, and American Sign Language, Wednesday, May 13.