Harbison Theatre’s Performance Incubator debuts “tapestry of jazz and modern dance”
Experience the beauty of live jazz matched with fluid, contemporary movement when The HT@MTC Performance Incubator debuts Woven: Life in Notes and Steps, composed by internationally touring, locally bred trumpeter Mark Rapp on Jan. 14, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. The event takes place at Midlands Technical College’s Harbison Theatre in Irmo, S.C.
In this one-of-a-kind tapestry of jazz and modern dance, jazz composer Rapp teams up with professional choreographer Stephanie Wilkins to meld choreography with improvisation, taking the audience on a life voyage through universal human experiences, from passion to despair, from questioning to acceptance. Woven was developed exclusively as part of The HT@MTC Performance Incubator.
“Woven alludes to how everyone is connected in the giant web of life, like threads strung together,” said Rapp. “Each piece, each melody is choreographed, while the solos are improvised by both dancers and instrumentalists inspiring one another – creating an exciting, organic and unique artistic presentation each time.”
During their professional careers in New York City, Rapp and Wilkins worked in the upper echelons of the performing arts industry. In Woven, their collective experiences are conveyed through an evening-length set of works featuring five jazz musicians and six modern dancers, portraying, through notes and steps, how we are all connected – woven – together in this fabric of life.
Rapp has performed sold-out shows for audiences in New Orleans, New York City and Europe, playing in legendary venues such as The Blue Note and Joe’s Pub with top-tier musicians such as Branford Marsalis and Hootie and the Blowfish. In 2008, DownBeat Magazine listed Rapp on their short list of “Top emerging jazz trumpeters.” Rapp has since recorded four albums as a lead musician, including his critically acclaimed debut Token Tales (2009), and has been featured on various chart-topping jazz albums.
Wilkins received her Masters of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in New York City, where she lived for 14 years. She has taught, choreographed and performed extensively in New York, San Francisco and Brazil, and has worked with many notable choreographers in NYC, including Bill T. Jones (as an apprentice), Bebe Miller and David Parsons. Wilkins has since returned to Columbia, S.C. and currently serves as an adjunct professor of dance and a choreographer for the USC Dance Company at the University of South Carolina.
For ticket information, visit www.HarbisonTheatre.org or call (803) 407-5011.
This project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
About Harbison Theatre
Rooted in the performing arts, Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College offers programs and productions that encourage reflection, examination and discovery; and that provide entertainment, education and opportunity to professionals, learners and community members in all stages of life. To learn about upcoming events, purchase tickets, or pursue sponsorship and volunteer opportunities with Harbison Theatre, visit www.HarbisonTheatre.org.
About Midlands Technical College
Midlands Technical College (MTC) is a comprehensive, two-year, public college serving Richland, Lexington and Fairfield counties of South Carolina. The fifth-largest higher education provider in South Carolina and the largest provider of transfer students to four-year colleges and universities in the state, MTC offers an excellent education at an excellent value. Serving approximately 18,000 academic credit students and 15,000 Corporate and Continuing Education students annually, MTC equips students with the tools they need to meet the challenges and opportunities of the modern work world. Learn more at midlandstech.edu.
Via: Harbison Theatre