![]() |
Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern Performing under the auspices of MoveSpeakSpin |
|
Home | Current Work | Past Performances | Biographies | Contact |
MoveSpeakSpin
P.O. Box 8055
Santa Cruz, CA 95061
www.schafferstern.org
831-335-1861
karl_schaffer “at” yahoo.com
Release Immediate: Apr. 15, 2007
Contact: Karl Schaffer
831-335-1861 / karl_schaffer “at” yahoo.com
Fallout: Dances of War and Peace
Choreography by
Karl Schaffer, with guest works by Deana Ross and Kerstin Stuart, and guest
performance by Kathryn Petak and Joe Pikalek.
Fri/Sat/Sun May
11,12,13, 8PM at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz
Karl Schaffer is producing a
concert of new work at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz, Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday, May 11-13, at 8 PM. Entitled Fallout: Dances of War and Peace, the
concert features several new works which deal with the tragedy of war, as well
as dances in a more peaceful and humorous vein. The concert includes guest
choreography by two dancers based in Monterey, Deanna Ross and Kerstin Stuart,
who are also performing in new work by Karl Schaffer. Also appearing as guest
artists are Kathryn Petak, formerly of Smuin Ballet, who will perform two solos
by Schaffer, and Joe Pikalek, who appears in Deanna Ross’s choreography.
Premieres by Karl Schaffer
include the following:
Fragments, a series of vignettes in response to current wars
and occupations, in which the dancers wield large geometric shapes to suggest
battlefield scenes. The cast includes the four local dancers and Kerstin
Stuart.
Requiem, a solo for Kathryn Petak, to a Bach score, in which
a woman mourns a lost child.
The Atom Bomb Game, a grimly humorous danced and spoken duet about
nuclear war, performed by Deanna Ross and Schaffer, to Mozart, Bach, and tango
scores.
Grasp Bird’s Tail, a trio, with flourishes of tai chi, to music by Bach
and Debussy, performed by Ross, Viezee and Schaffer.
Gumball, a humorous solo for Kathryn Petak, set to a Benjamin
Britten score, in which the dancer chews gum and dances at the same time!
Schaffer will also perform
his 1985 dance,
FAD, a non-stop solo sendup of postmodern dance.
Guest choreography:
The Crimson Bride, a solo by Kerstin Stuart, which depicts a woman’s
journey of self-discovery, triggered by her loss of her mate.
Michael in the Garden, a solo for dancer Joseph Pikalek exploring the
reality of being different in a society that expects conformity.
Price: $12 and $10 (students/seniors)
Dates: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, May 11, 12, and 13
Time: 8 PM
Location: 418 Project, at 418 Front St. in Santa Cruz
Funded by: the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County
Background: Karl Schaffer
Karl Schaffer has co-directed the Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern Dance Ensemble for the
past 19 years. He and co-director
Erik Stern have toured throughout North America performing at such venues as
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Annenberg Center in
Philadelphia, and the Mondavi Center in Davis. During 2006 and 2007 they have
done performance residencies in Hawaii, Phoenix, and Maine, and taught
workshops throughout the country. In 2005 they were named to the artist roster
of the Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education, which sponsors arts workshops at
many of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Schaffer and
Stern have received five National Endowment for the Arts Access to the Arts
awards for their cross-disciplinary performance work linking dance and
mathematics. The latest grant will fund an extended choreographic residency by
Schaffer and Stern in Puerto Rico.
Schaffer
also directs several Santa Cruz based touring shows about dance and
mathematics; the group completed a two-week residency in Santa Barbara in
February of this year, and is part of the Spectra Arts in the Schools program.
Schaffer was an artist-in-residence at the Mello Center in Watsonville for
2004-2005. He taught at the American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Dance Intensive in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in July of 2004, has been keynote presenter on integrating
dance and mathematics at numerous conferences on math education throughout
North America. He teaches Mathematics at De Anza College, and teaches dance as
an independent artist.
Additional information about guest artists:
Kathryn Petak has danced with Smuin Ballet, San Francisco Opera,
and State Street Ballet, and been guest artist throughout the Bay Area. She has
performed in musicals staged by Cabrillo Stage, American Musical Theatre, and
Sierra Repertory Theatre. She is a ballet, yoga, and Pilates teacher in Los
Gatos.
Kerstin Stuart directs her own company, Nagpa, in Monterey, and works as a dance
teacher, Pilates instructor and cook.
Santa Cruz dancers:
Rivera Cooke, graduate of Bennington College, was the 418
Project’s Artist In Residence in 2006. She directs Cook ‘n Company, a local
dance/theater troupe which recently produced “We’re Toast” at The 418 Project.
Kat Weeks,
studies and performs numerous forms of dance, including modern, West African,
and Brazilian, and teaches through the Spectra program.
Leslie Viezee, longtime modern and ballet dancer, who has performed with Lisa
Burnett in Palo Alto.
Noel Wetzel, a dance graduate of Univ. of Utah, who has danced with Tandy Beal and
Karl Schaffer, and teaches with Pisces Moon.
Emanuel Valera a local dancer with numerous groups, including Cabrillo College and
Rivera Cooke, who also teaches with Pisces Moon.
This project has received funding from the Cultural
Council of Santa Cruz County.