Tour in Russia

TOUR IN RUSSIA

Thresholds Crossed/Переступленные пороги

ARKHANGELSK / MOSCOW / KRASNOYARSK

April 18 – May 5, 2007

“The ambitious work is the culmination of decades Miss Withers has spent creating conceptual works that tussle with large ideas and themes, often drawing on collaborations that reach across international boundaries.”
Jean Battey Lewis, The Washington Times

Concert poster - Moscow

As an American choreographer, Maida Withers has reflected on the question, “What can the arts accomplish in the global scheme of things at this time?" As artists seeking meaning in our lives and through our heartfelt endeavors, we answer positively that “The arts are the most direct way for cultural engagement, interaction, and understanding. When we have the chance to show the power of the arts, we can play an even more important role in of the advancement of society.”

Such is Maida's dream for Thresholds Crossed, an international collaboration with Russian and American dancers that fearlessly explores the events, ideology and humanistic issues that link the U.S. with Russia and the former Soviet Union. This political artwork, developed in the capital cities of Moscow and Washington with Russian, American, and Ukrainian dancers, explores the evolution of Russian and American societies from World War I to the present day. Thresholds Crossed is an evening-length work in four distinct sections: PartI: Cold War Years; Part II: Secrets Kept (Abu Ghraib); Part III: The Fallen; Part IV: Scene Today. For more information visit Thresholds Crossed on this web page.

Thresholds Crossed toured in Russia in April/May 2007, just one year after the premiere in Washington, DC. Performming this work in Russia was a profound experience for the artists and had a profound effect on the audience. That such an exchange could happen at all was in itself testimony to changes taking place in Russia and in America. Through these performances we were able to examine the varied relationships of the American and Russian societies with savvy Muscovites, foundation representatives, general audiences, contemporary dancers/choreographers living in Moscow and Siberia, and others. The strong ties the Company has developed in Russia during the last eleven years were critical to our success. We feel the work is on the cutting edge of dance works and reveals the possibilities of collaboration between Russian and American artists for both artistic and exchange values.

ARTISTS

Luna Teatr (Moon Teatre) - Moscow

The eighteen-day tour in Russia involved fourteen international artists: Maida Withers, concept, choreographer, director; Steve Hilmy, composer/musician (Washington, DC); Audrey Chen, vocals and cello (Baltimore); Linda Lewett, award-winning filmmaker ( New York City); Dan Joyce, Rob Bettmann, Wendell Cooper, Megan Thompson, and Maida Withers, dancers (USA); Nikolai Schetnev ( Arkhangelsk), Anastasia Oleynik and Konstantin Grouss ( Moscow), Ekaterina Zharinova (Yekaterinburg) and Vitalii Sozoniuk
( Kiev), dancers; and William DeMull, light design (Ashville). These experienced artists met the challenges of touring with dignity and grace.

MOSCOW - Thresholds Crossed premiered in Moscow, Russia, April 26, 2007, in Teatr Luna (Moon Theatre)

Dancers and musicians from the USA, Russia, and Ukraine began to arrive in Moscow on April 20, 2007 to rehearse and reconstruct Thresholds Crossed. It had been exactly one year since we were together for the world premiere in Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC. The artists worked intensely for a period of three days to reconstruct the dance. The stamina and devotion of all the artists was impressive and inspiring during long all-day rehearsals. Thresholds Crossed premiered in Moscow to a full house in Teatr Luna (Moon Theatre), a beautiful 400-seat venue, located in the center of Moscow. Funding by the U.S. Embassy in Russia made this performance possible. Since there were no contemporary dance sponsors available in Russia, it became necessary for us to produce the show in Moscow - a challenge we feel was met successfully. The work looked very good in Teatr Luna, a box-shaped theatre with the latest lighting technology and an excellent and experienced technical staff. The audience consisted of dance devotees, intellectuals, art patrons of the ballet and modern dance, contemporary choreographers and dancers, and general public. Since the Company has toured and taught in Russia over eleven times since 1997, we knew there was a core group interested in the concert. We offered a preconcert champagne reception for 170 guests and press that featured an exhibition of sculptures by Frank Williams, a highly respected American artist living in Moscow since 1992 whose work is featured in the visual installation for Thresholds Crossed.

Thresholds Crossed Part I - Cold War Years,Moscow

Contemporary dance began in Russia following Perestroika (1991/92) and is very strong in Moscow at this time. The dance audience in Moscow is, generally speaking, very sophisticated. Performing this work in the capital city, Moscow, was, therefore, very important. Moscow is a rapidly changing city - the most expensive in the world at this time. We promoted the work as dance, new music, and visual installation with strong political overtones. The audience did not know quite what to expect since they were, in general, unfamiliar with our work and other contemporary American companies. The audience was fascinated to see the Russian and American dancers performing together - dancers engaged in physically demanding, somewhat violent duets, pushing-pulling dance moves, tenderness in touch, emotionally expressive roles, and complex and exquisite dance choreography. There is an urgent desire to know who is Russian and who is American. The driving electronic music by Steve Hilmy was rivoting as were the self-styled vocals and cello of Audrey Chen. As a whole, Thresholds Crossed demands response. It is not intended to be "an easy swim across the lake." The film, projected as a large-scale scenic backdrop, is an animated historical document about Russian and American life, past and present. The film features animated propaganda poster art and other historic images whose strong political themes complement the powerful movement of the dance. Even a year ago we were worried about the Russian acceptance of some of the images (see photos). We were anxious to share our collaboration with the sophisticated Moscovite urban audience. The response was very enthusiastic indicating the rapid changes happening in Russia. Although the audience did not anticipate such an intellectual and emotionally charged experience, they were very engaged and there seemed to be no question about the content of the piece after the concert. There were strong opinions, but no concern about the balance of issues addressed concerninbg Russia and America.

KRASNOYARSK, SIBERIA - "Isadora" International Dance Festival, performance, April 30, 2007, New Stage Theatre.

Thresholds Crossed Part I: Cold War Years - Moscow

Krasnoyarsk, a 4 1/2 hour flight from Moscow, is a large industrial town situated on the Yenisei River. The "Isadora International Dance Festival, now in it's 7th season, is the primary festival for dancers in Siberia. There were over 300 participants in the 2007 dance festival. As the featured company, our impact was strongly felt through performing and teaching. For the festival in 2006, Maida Withers created LENIN, a site work in the Lenin Museum that was broadcast on a local television station, so our work was well known in the city. The performance of Thresholds Crossed in the New Stage Theatre was enthusiastically received by the dancers, participants in the festival, the local press, and the general public. The multimedia aspects of Thresholds Crossed were realized fully for the performance. The strength of the dancing, the "live" music created for the work, and the animated visual installation carry a powerful message. Many of the festival dancers are young adults so the fuller meaning of the historical aspects of the work may have been missed. The political aspects of the work were not as important to the emerging choreographers and dancers as they were to the audience in Moscow, of course. The festival artists were mostly shocked and amazed at the complexity and power of the art work itself - the beautiful dancing with such unusual and creative moves, and the intensity of dance with a message. American dancers taught five workshops that were offered daily at the one-week festival: modern dance technique (three styles), urban contemporary dance, improvisation, contact improvisation, and Pilates. The teaching was exceptionally fine and the dancers and teachers were very enthusiastic participants. One of the nicest aspects of the Krasnoyarsk festival is the openness and enthusiasm of the dancers and the teachers from the region. Workshops in Improvisation On-Site, resulted in a performance, Standby, performed by dancers in the lobby of the New Stage Theatre as part of the closing Gala Concert. Three members of the Company adjudicated nearly 42 Russian dances by choreographers from throughout Siberia. These dances were presented in two lengthy concerts where choreographers and dancers were selected to be honored with awards and scholarships that were given during the Gala Concert event.

ARKHANGELSK - Celebrate America Week, April 16 - 20, 2007

Part II: Secrets Kept (Abu Ghraib) - Moscow

We were guest artists for the Celebrate America Week sponsored by the City of Arkhangelsk and the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg. We were initially scheduled to perform Thresholds Crossed in Arkhangelsk, but the funds from the US Embassy in Russia were insufficient for the full production so we continued to be involved in the celebration but with extreme adaptation. Steve and Maida were joined by Nikolai Shchetnev and Ekaterina Zharinova, Russian dancers in Thresholds Crossed, for a thirty-minute site-specific performance in the 300-seat Conference Hall of the Arkhangelsk City Government Administration Building – the closing ceremony for the week-long celebration. As the audience of citizens and dignitaries entered, our performance was taking place in the amphitheater seats, at the decision-making table for administrators, and on stage in front of a huge Russian flag and a large symbol of Arkhangelsk City, with the Archangel Michael dominating a somewhat devilish figure with horns. Hilmy’s electronic music was penetrating in complexity and dramatic effect. The dance had overtones of humor and was filled with bold images within the context of the political space we occupied. The audience enjoyed us occupying the chairs and dancing next to them as we exaggerated movements representing the political decisions that are often enacted in this room at the table with microphones. In addition, Steve and Maida taught two workshops, dance and music improvisation as performance, to dance students in the College of Culture and Art. Arkhangelsk, a beautiful city on the Dvina River, was founded in 1700 by Peter the Great as the first "port" city in Russia. Within three years, however, St. Petersburg was established as the gateway to Europe and Arkhangelsk remained a more provincial city with access to the beautiful forests of the north country. The Dance Construction Company has previously toured in Arkhangelsk with Dance of the Auroras - Fire in the Sky and with site-specific projects for TOUCH 3 and TOUCH 4 festivals. We are always so happy to return to this "angelic" city.

PRESS COVERAGE

Thresholds Crossed Part II: Secrets Kept - Moscow

The tour and performances received excellent news, radio, and television coverage. In the USA the week of our departure, the tour was featured in a thirty-minute national cable television program on Russia TV’s show, Broadway, produced by Elena Sokolova. In Moscow, TIME OUT and The Moscow Times covered the performance with featured stories and photos along with other publications. Each time we are in Russia it seems something happens politically that is of global proportions. On this occasion, Yeltsin died the week of our performance. His picture is on the cover of the Moscow Times paper that featured our concert. Maida Withers was interviewed for 30 minutes in a live radio broadcast with noted dance writer and critic in Russia Marina Bagdasaryan. It was a pleasure for Maida to talk with Marina since they had met originally at the 1997 dance conference in Volgograd on Maida's first trip to Russia . The journalist Natalia Novikova visited a rehearsal and prepared a television station news feature on Russia Today (RT) that was broadcast the day of the Moscow performance. Ekaterina Vasenina, a noted Russian dance writer and author, was the publicist for Thresholds Crossed. Posters and fly cards were designed in Russian for the production and were distributed throughout Moscow. In Krasnoyarsk, Withers and the Company were interviewed in a public interview at a nightclub designed as a war bunker. The public engaged in asking questions about our presence in Krasnoyarsk. There have been many interviews, but this technique was new to us all. The article will be published in June 2007.

AUDIENCE RESPONSE

Thresholds Crossed Part III: The Fallen - Moscow

Thresholds Crossed was well received in Russia . Support for the work was wholehearted and enthusiastic. From various conversations and feedback from strangers and friends, we learned the audience was pleasantly taken aback by the content of this political work, the intensity of the performance, and the complexity of the dance, music and visual installation. In private conversations and during the audience "talk-back" in Krasnoyarsk people wondered how Withers understood the Russians so deeply. There was great pride taken and interest expressed in the Russian dancers. The intense physical interaction of Russian and American dancers in Thresholds Crossed kept the audience engaged. There is no mistaking the meaning of the archival images and animations of the political poster art in Part I: The Cold War Year. However, in Part II: Secrets Kept, the images are from photos from Abu Ghraib. The Russians have no experience with these images so they did not know the significance for Americans. The shared images, in Part III: The Fallen, of the Russian war memorials and those in America seemed the most balanced to the audience. The eternal flames and the tombs of the unknown soldier in Russia and America are hauntingly similar. The images in Part IV: Scene Today were shot throughout the city of Moscow during the last two years. These images, familiar to those who live in Moscow, were exciting for the festival participants in Krasnoyarsk, dancers who may not have not spent much time in Moscow. More images of life in America would have been exciting for the Russian audiences.

Thresholds Crossed Part II: The Fallen - Moscow

Several people commented on the importance of this work being presented in Russia. We were asked on several occasions if the work would return and tour to other cities. When we first explored the prospect of touring Thresholds Crossed in Russia, we negotiated for months with six cities. Funding, of course, was necessary at a level beyond our resources so we were required, at the end, to limit our tour to three cities. We continue our interest in touring this significant work to more cities in Russia in the future. We know the interest is there. The Department of State has guidelines for sponsoring work that builds interest in democracy, understanding, and work that reaches across our borders to the people. Through Thresholds Crossed we demonstrate our support of these goals.

BACKGROUND ON PROJECT

The Thresholds Crossed project began when MaidaWithers innocently shot the first photographs of the historic World War II Monument at Mamayev Hill in Volgograd, Russia in 1997. Several years followed with more than eleven visits and exchange projects in various places in Russia, including: the Company’s joint performance of Dance of the Auroras - Fire in the Sky with The Dance Construction Company and Kannon Dance Company during the 300th anniversary celebration of the founding of St. Petersburg in 2003; site performances in Solovki Islands, the location of the first soviet Era gulag,; and

Thresholds Crossed Part IV: Scene Today - Moscow

the creation of LENIN, a performance for the Lenin Museum in Krasnoyarsk in 2005, among others. Video and photographs documented these experiences and became part of the visual installation for Thresholds Crossed. Ultimately, however, this project was made possible by the establishment of contemporary dance in Russia - following Perestroika in 1991/92 by visionaries, colleagues and friends who have brought contemporary dance into existence in Russia. It has been a great honor for Maida Withers and The Dance Construction Company to be participants in that development.

The Thresholds Crossed project moved from research to development with the casting of Russian and American dancers in July 2005 in Moscow as part of a residency hosted by TSEH, Russia ’s prestigious national dance organization funded by Ford Foundation in Russia. During a month-long residency, Part I: The Cold War Years, was created. This section is 25 minutes in length and focuses on the intensity of physical partnering between the Russians and the Americans. Rehearsals continued during the fall of 2006 to create Part II, Secrets Kept, and Part III, The Fallen, of Thresholds Crossed. In April 2006, the Russian dancers came to Washington, DC where Part IV, Scene Today was completed. Thresholds Crossed premiered in downtown Washington, DC in the 1500-seat Lisner Auditorium on April 21, 2006. Russian and American dancers shared the stage in a performance about our collective experience with the violence of war, sorrow for loss, and our competitive spirit and passion for life. American and Russian dancers collaborated to present a poignant message about Russia and America, past and present.

Thresholds Crossed is an award-winning production: Maida Withers and the Dance Construction Company received the 21st annual Washington, DC Mayor’s Arts Award - Excellence in an Artistic Discipline. In September 2006, the world premiere of Thresholds Crossed received the Washington, DC Metro Dance Award - Outstanding Overall Production in a Large Venue. Both awards were presented at the Kennedy Center.

Thresholds Crossed Part IV: Scene Today - Moscow