Xfest 2013 will feature a variety of dance and theatre performances this summer from May 29- June 1 performed by companies that embrace the innovation of experimental theatre. Two of these companies will be welcomed to the SIUE campus to share the critical buzz they have earned in the Windy City: Chicago Dance Crash and The Seldoms.
Xfest is an annual summer festival celebrating experimental theatre. Created by Professor Peter Cocuzza and Associate Professor Chuck Harper, both in the SIUE Department of Theater and Dance, the festival invites theater and dance companies from around the nation to perform at the SIUE campus and introduce innovative elements to the campus and the community.
Crash will be presenting a sampling of its acclaimed pieces in Selected Works on May 30, and The Seldoms will present Exit Disclaimer: Science and Fiction Ahead, a production that addresses the current climate change debate, on June 1. Both performances will take place in the Metcalf Theater.
The Chicago-based companies are led by two talented, passionate choreographers who are excited to bring their work to Xfest 2013 to share with the SIUE, Metro East and St. Louis communities: Jessica Deahr and Carrie Hanson.
Deahr began working with Chicago Dance Crash in 2007, when she joined the company as a guest artist. She became a member of the company in 2009 and received her first opportunity to choreograph for the company in 2010. Her first show as choreographer was Gotham City, which proved to be immensely successful with a sold-out, six-weekend run at the Storefront Theater.
Since then, Deahr was named artistic director and continues to choreograph popular and compelling dance performances. She has also worked with many different dancers from varied backgrounds and skill sets at Crash, as the company strives to bring varied talent, and thus unique productions, to its stage.
“Crash is unique in that we draw from so many dance disciplines,” said Deahr. “We cover everything from ballet to breakdance, jazz and hip hop to acro. Sometimes we feature one specific style, sometimes we fuse several of them together. In order to do so, our company dancers specialize in one area of dance but are capable of performing all styles, which gives us such a huge canvas to create with. “
Hanson, artistic director of The Seldoms, co-founded the company with a group of artists in 2001. Since its founding, The Seldoms has presented productions that tackle diverse social and economic issues that often take place in unique settings, like a truck garage, gallery spaces and an outdoor pool. Through dance, Hanson believes that the company has enabled her to express her voice, which has evolved and changed over the 10 plus years the company has been in existence.
“Dance is a great platform for me to think about, research and investigate larger concerns that I have,” Hanson said. “That has defined the shift in my work lately around more issue-based work. For a while, it was site-specific work and that was the fascination for me. Now, some of my interest is in environmentalism and a general kind of interest in notions of wealth, definitions of wealth and how we decide to share it with one another.”
Both Deahr and Hanson feel that the principles of experimental theatre bring uniqueness, creativity and poignancy to their work. They draw on these principles to keep their material fresh and to bring new ideas and awareness to audiences.
For Deahr, experimental theatre is about going beyond the conventional and embracing variety within dance.
“Compared to the typical contemporary dance company, Crash definitely puts a lot of work and effort into being unique, eclectic and cutting edge,” said Deahr. “We always want to push the boundaries of what the audience expects to see from us within the dance disciplines we cover.”
To Hanson, experimental theatre within the dance discipline is about developing new forms of expression.
“One of the things that has always interested me is movement invention,” said Hanson. “To not work out of vocabulary that is traditional or familiar or conventional. I just like to disrupt the lines of the body, strip away some identifiable things.”
Don’t miss the opportunity to see Deahr’s and Hanson’s creative visions and innovative choreography at Xfest 2013. To purchase tickets, see performer bios, and read more about the Xfest performances please visit the Xfest website.
For more information about Chicago Dance Crash’s and The Seldoms’ dancers, past works and upcoming works, please visit www.chicagodancecrash.com and http://theseldoms.org.