<ry Easter, Carleton College Rae Schupack Nathan Professor of Dance and the Performing Arts, Emerita, will present “SKIN: solo in a crowd,” a new dance production, at The Ritz Theater in Minneapolis. Choreographed, written and performed by Easter, performances will be held Friday, March 6 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, March 7 and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. The production is directed by Ruth Weiner, Carleton College Class of 1944 Professor of Theater and the Liberal Arts, chair of theater and dance and professor of English.
“SKIN showcases the skins we’re in and their many implications,” says Easter. Incorporating latex sculptures created by Joseph G. Brown, she dances us out of a carapace to stutter our first words, describing our scars—“thick old hides”—and sensuous surfaces—“Strike a match on me, I’m hot.” Easter’s text howls and sings while her movement scratches its itch.
The production traces the racial/cultural history and the everyday quirks of Easter’s Southern dancing past. In this hour-long performance Easter invites the audience to “crawl into a cocoon with her, protect your softness behind a shield, tango your sexiest self in to the skin-ny arms of lovers to music ranging from the echoing voices of Meredith Monk, through the AM radio of 1950s Virginia, to Mary Ellen Childs’ intensity of rhythm and strings.”
Easter, an acclaimed dancer/choreographer/writer, creates live and video performance mixing the elements of movement, self-generated text and song. She has presented her work widely in the U.S. supported by the Bush Foundation, Intermedia Arts, and with multiple McKnight Fellowships. Her recent collaboration with sculptor Joseph G. Brown has resulted in new performance directions. Selections from “SKIN” have been presented at the Phoenix Gallery in New York City, the Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis, Carleton College and the Walker Art Center. For forty years, Easter led the dance program at Carleton College.
The Ritz Theater is located at 345 13th Avenue NE in Minneapolis. For more information, visit www.ritztheaterfoundation.org. Tickets are $22 ($19 for students/seniors); reservations can be made by calling (612) 436-1129. Group rates (for 15 or more) are available by calling (651) 644-1138.
Story Courtesy of Media Relations