Ptero Dance Theatre debuts “H2~Eau”

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H2~Eau is the World Premiere of a new work of dance theatre by PTERO Dance Theatre, enhanced with live music, photography and film. With only four performances, this exciting piece of dance theatre is happening this weekend at Club Fais Do-Do

Report by Pauline Adamek

Creator-choreographer Paula Present cites a recent exhibition at Annenberg Space for Photography, “Water: Our Thirsty World,” as one source of inspiration.

“I saw alien images of people without water, fighting for water, and searching long hours for it. All I had to do was turn on a faucet. Our bodies are 78% water, thus manifesting beautiful images for dance. The show will focus on three themes, abundance, thirst, and conservation. Think of all the things you use water for. Without water, there is no life. Water awareness is not only a conservational issue; it”™s a humanitarian issue.

“The creative works will draw inspiration from the necessity of California”™s water conservation efforts, in the hope of raising awareness of personal water use in Los Angeles, as well as insightful perspective of the water crisis worldwide.”

The piece will be staged in the big ballroom of Club Fais Do-Do. To embody the theme of water on every level, the audience will move and flow from dance to dance within the ballroom. Set in a night club, dances will be performed in different spaces, with captivating images on film by Paul Linkogle, live music and 3D Sonic Experience by Ariel Blumenthal.

The evening will also include speakers Gil Garcetti, former district attorney turned art photographer and creator of the book “Water Is Key,” which features pictures taken in water-challenged portions of Africa; and Barbara Goldberg, founder of Wells Bring Hope, which is involved with drilling wells and bringing clean water to impoverished rural villages in West Africa. Each evening will feature one of these two guest speakers.

The company of dancers includes Molly Brictson, Sarandon Cassidy Vincent,  Kelly Gill, Briana Masson, Jacqueline Nii, Robyn O”™Dell and Eva Wieland.

Music is also an important component of the show. Ariel Blumenthal”™s Sonic Experience concept treats music as an immersive, 3-dimensional element in dialogue with space and architecture. Blumenthal has composed two pieces for the show. The first piece will combine a 3D pre-recorded score with live performance of sounds generated by water. Blumenthal will perform and process acoustic elements in real time, while synched to the recorded score distributed in the space. The second piece will use music as a personal accompaniment to a dancer. Using wireless technology, musical solo parts will be carried by the dancers as they move in the space, weaving dancing musical elements into a 3D pre-recorded score.

Music by Ariel Blumenthal. Film by Paul Linkogle. Lighting by Pablo Santiago-Brandwein. Costumes by Kelly Gill. Intern: Gino V.M. Garcia.

Paula Present, artistic director and choreographer, is an alumna of UCSD, where she received a BA in Dance and a BS in Biology. She has choreographed for stage, film, television and music video. She founded PTERO Dance Theatre in 2004. The company includes in its repertory several full-evening works, including “Candle in the Sun,” “At the Entrance of an Idea,” “The Frame of Mind,” and “Eating Rocks for Hunger.” It has also performed in shared evenings at the Alex Theatre, Ford Amphitheatre, Brand Library, Pasadena Civic Auditorium and Boston Court Theater. It has toured Mexico, San Diego, San Francisco and New Mexico. PTERO has received grants from City of Culver City, Puffin Foundation and Durfee Foundation and is the recipient of Lester Horton Awards.

H2~Eau continues what is becoming a PTERO tradition of performing work that transcends aimless aesthetics to embrace subject matter with compelling immediacy.

H2~Eau will not only be about something important for the parched city of Los Angeles — it will also be stunning.

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H2~Eau

PTERO Dance Theatre.

Address:

Club Fais Do-Do

5253 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016.

Performances:

June 23-26, 2011. Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 6 p.m.

Tickets:

$20.00 online advance purchases; $25.00 cash at the door.

RESERVATIONS:

(800) 838-3006

PTERO MISSION STATEMENT:
PTERO Dance Theatre is a Los Angeles based dance theater company. Through the performance of original works of dance theatre, PTERO communicates themes universal to the human experience. PTERO is inspired by art, literature, current events, and the process of personal growth and development, in the creation of its emotionally rich, imaginative, thought provoking, life affirming works. PTERO strives to make dance accessible to the community through lecture demonstrations, class for at risk youth, and discounted performances. PTERO endeavors to bridge the gap between its artists and our audience.

“Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom
How do they learn it?
They fall, and falling, they’re given wings.”
– Rumi