Hallelujah at Bates Dance Festival

2001-08-17

Lerman, Liz; Miller, Bebe

Hallelujah project performance at Bates Dance Festival. Program: "Hallelujah: In Praise of Fertile Fields," commissioned by Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and drawing on the festival's archives, including the diary of Esther Miller (portrayed by Martha Wittman) cook at the Pillow in the 1940s and the written dance-notation-in-words of Ted Shawn's "Jacob's Ladder," as well as interviews with Berkshire-area gardeners. Martha Wittman choreographed the Chopin Berceuse section; "Blessed," originally choreographed by Bebe Miller for her own company in 1996, three sections of this dance were reset on the Dance Exchange ensemble in 2001, becoming was one of the few works in the Dance Exchange repertory not choreographed by Lerman or a company member. Resonating with "Hallelujah" themes of celebration and spirit, it was often on programs with material from that project, as here. Music: Cafe at the Gate of Salvation; Costumes: Jane Schloss Phelan; Lighting: Michael Mazzola; "Hallelujah: In Praise of the Creative Spirit," as commissioned by the Bates Dance Festival, engaging festival students and participant as cast members; Garden of Eden and Bates student as "Guardian of the Rules," Peter DiMuro as "Angel of Facilitation" introduces "Conference on Creation"; Thomas Dwyer as "Guardian of Rigor" with Bates student as "Rigor Recruit"; "Audience member" Jon Spelman emerges, encounters Martha Wittman as "Guardian of Beginnings"; Ensemble dance featuring Elizabeth Johnson with student dancers; DiMuro "inner child" encounter with audience member into dance with Kazu Nakamura, singing; Following an interruption in the video due to a tape change, Kleenex distribution and dance; Transitions sharing dance (including brief appearance by Nani, the Lerman/Spelman dog); Rigor, part 2; Duet of Vincent Thomas and Peg Schaffer; Spelman tells story of unattached body parts and origins of dance; DiMuro introduces Bates Dance Festival director Laura Faure, who shares her creative inspiration of a dance festival, into final celebration; Curtain call; Post-show Q&A.Music: Robert Een; Lighting: Chloe Brown. This Bates Dance Festival residency was the first Dance Exchange performance by both Cassie Meador and Ted Johnson, who would both go on to significant contributions to the Dance Exchange's work.

Dimuro, Peter; Dwyer, Thomas; Johnson, Elizabeth; Johnson, Ted; Meador, Cassie; Nakamura, Kazu; Schaefer, Peg; Spelman, Jon, 1942-; Thomas, Vincent; Webb, Marvin; Wittman, Martha

Filmed performances

Dance--United States.

Liz Lerman Dance Exchange videos

Special Collections in Performing Arts

English

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Videocassette

Catalog Key: LLDX 15-13; Catalog Key: scpa-081723