FirstWorks Announces 2011 Festival Schedule
Monday, August 29, 2011
With a rich and diverse group of events, FirstWorks has announced its Festival 2011 lineup, a roster of events that will transform Providence into a multistage spectacle of tour de force performances designed to engage and connect exceptional artists and creators from the world’s stage with FirstWorks audiences like never before. Tickets are on sale now at www.first-works.org.
This year’s Festival turns Mozart on his ear with the soulful strings of Brooklyn Rider, brings the world of illusion and movement to audiences through the deep green lens of MOMIX’ Botanica and blurs the lines between the real and the imagined with performance artist Laurie Anderson. Audiences will journey to Mali via the Caribbean with a fusion of jazz and blues performed by Balla Kouyaté and World Vision. Next stop is the Caravanserai – a place where cultures meet – and a pageant of master drummers and musicians from Karachi who come to Providence in November to perform and conduct a week-long community arts residency.
“For 2011 the FirstWorks Festival has an unparalleled combination of exhilarating performances, workshops and open dialogue designed to encourage dynamic exchanges between audiences, performers and creators about the big ideas of creativity,” said Kathleen Pletcher, Executive Artistic Director, FirstWorks. “More than ever before, this year’s festival reaches far beyond the stage. We’ve reached new heights in engaging our community in the creative conversations taking place locally, nationally and across the globe, about the vital role arts and culture play in our society today.”
Festival 2011 at a glance
Festival 2011 kicks off with 10 days of the new media revolution, followed by never-seen-here-before performances by six of the most legendary, pioneering artists of our time.
PIXILERATIONS [v.8] opens Festival 2011 with groundbreaking multimedia installations, performances and film/video screenings. Now in its eighth year, PIXILERATIONS [v.8] featuring guest artists from Taiwan, England and Canada, explores new territory with the provocative question, "Where—and what—is New Media Art today?" September 22 through October 2.
October performances span genre-reinventing chamber music, phantasmagoric spectacle, world music, and the world’s pop-tech performance queen.
Drawing from its globe-trotting experience with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, Brooklyn Rider blends genres and influences seamlessly. Brooklyn Rider’s October 1 concert will debut a brilliant new original work and illuminate new renditions of scores by master composers Beethoven, Mozart, John Zorn and Phillip Glass in a wildly eclectic repertoire with a gripping performance style that draws critical acclaim from classical, world and rock critics alike.
Pioneering multimedia performance artist Laurie Anderson brings her powerfully personal meditation on life, longing, identity and memory to Providence for the first time on October 22. Commissioned by the Vancouver Olympics, Delusion offers even those who have seen Laurie Anderson in concert or on screen the chance to be swept away by a stunning full-scale production, which collages imagery, electronic soundscape and spoken vignette. Balla Kouyaté and World Vision – featured on Yo-Yo Ma’s latest release and Angelique Kidjo’s Oyo – fuse the rich music of Mali with jazz, blues and Caribbean sounds on October 28.
The shape shifting dancers of MOMIX celebrate Mother Nature with Botanica, an artful extravaganza of movement, circus, athleticism and magical effects on October 29. Revolutionary dance wunderkind Moses Pendleton has created a lush testimony to the magnificent earthly and other-earthly miracles around us everyday.
Festival 2011 wraps in November with international powerhouses and a world premiere.
On November 5, Caravanserai – a place where cultures meet – is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience powerhouse drumming and voices of ancient Sufi music played by masters acclaimed in their own country, but unfamiliar to most Americans.
Voted Rhode Island’s best dance company, LOSTWAX and Jamie Jewett weave a new fantasy November 10 – 13 in SEVEN VEILS, a multimedia dance based on Thalia Field's adaptation of "Salome". This re-imagined “veils” of Salome features an often-humorous score for Jewett’s quirky contemporary dance.
Festival 2011 schedule
PIXILERATIONS [v.8]
September 22 – October 2
Exhibitions: September 22 – Oct 2, Sol Koffler Gallery & Granoff Center for the Creative Arts - Gallery Hours 12:00-8:00pm daily
Concerts and Performance: September 23-24, Grant Recital Hall, 8:00pm
September 25, Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, 3:00pm
Video Screening: September 27, Cable Car Cinema, 9:00pm
Club Pixil: September 30, Firehouse 13, 9:00pm
Free Admission. Information at first-works.org
“Drawing the visions and talents of local, national, and international artists to Providence.” —GoLocalProv
Join the new media revolution! Now in its eighth year, PIXILERATIONS continues to amaze Providence audiences with groundbreaking multimedia installations, performances and film/video screenings. In an era of Twitter-inflamed revolutions, biotech ethics wars and YouTube-generated museum exhibitions, this year's festival explores new territory with the provocative question, "Where—and what—is New Media Art today?"
BROOKLYN RIDER (Rhode Island Premiere)
October 1, 8:00pm
Martinos Auditorium, Granoff Center for the Creative Arts
Tickets: $16 advance purchase, $24 day of performance
first-works.org, 401-421-4281
“This isn’t your grandfather’s string quartet” —NPR
This adventurous, genre-defying string quartet combines a wildly eclectic repertoire with a gripping performance style that draws critical acclaim from classical, world and rock critics alike. For FirstWorks, the unparalleled musicianship of these four virtuosos (handpicked for Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble) showcases a brilliant new original work and illuminates new renditions of scores by master composers Beethoven, Mozart, John Zorn and Phillip Glass.
DELUSION by Laurie Anderson (Rhode Island Premiere)
October 22, 8:00pm
The VETS
Tickets: Start at $18 ($18-$48)
vmari.com, 401-421-ARTS (2787)
"Every visual image is a bolt of wonderment!" —Los Angeles Times
One of America's most renowned and daring creative pioneers, Laurie Anderson returns to FirstWorks with a multimedia performance combining violin, electronic puppetry, music and visuals. At the heart of Delusion is the belief that words can create the world, as well as make it disappear. Laurie Anderson’s meditation on life, language and memory will sweep you away in a stunning collage of imagery, electronic soundscape and spoken vignette.
BALLA KOUYATÉ AND WORLD VISION (Rhode Island Premiere)
October 28, 8:00pm
Roots Café
Tickets: $16 advance purchase, $24 day of performance
first-works.org, 401-421-4281
“Balafon master Kouyaté passes down a legacy” —The Boston Globe
Move your feet to the beat with the West African rhythms of one of the world’s greatest balafon players. This renowned storyteller and his ensemble fuse the rich music of Mali with jazz, blues and Caribbean sounds. Balla has been featured on Yo-Yo Ma’s latest release as well as Angelique Kidjo’s Oyo. The signature ancestral sounds of World Vision are at once exotic and universal.
MOMIX: BOTANICA (Rhode Island Premiere)
October 29, 8:00pm
Co-presented with Providence Performing Arts Center
Tickets: Start at $28 ($28-$58)
ppacri.com, 401-421-arts (2787)
“Eye-popping and mind-boggling . . . everything looks magical.” —The New York Times
Lose yourself in a forest of fantasy as the shape shifting dancers of MOMIX celebrate Mother Nature like never before. Welcome to Botanica, an artful extravaganza of movement, circus, athleticism and magical effects. Creatures real and mythical materialize through dazzling projections and larger-than-life puppets designed by Michael Curry, the Tony Award-winning designer of The Lion King. This primeval world forms a magical tableau where MOMIX’s impossibly nimble dancer-illusionists redefine gravity. Experience Botanica…and take leave of your senses in a garden of blooms.
CARAVANSERAI (U.S. Premiere Tour)
Powerhouse Drumming and Voices of Lahore and Karachi
November 5, 8:00pm
Venue TBA
Tickets: $10 advance purchase, $15 day of performance
first-works.org, 401-421-4281
“A timeless journey” —The Prague Post
The visceral sounds of the tabla signal a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience ancient Sufi music played by masters acclaimed in their own country, but unfamiliar to most Americans. Joyful devotion and improvisatory freedom drive the music of the Qawwalis, torch-bearers for a 700-year old form of Sufi music; the kinetic virtuosity of Tari Khan throbs with passionate volatility. Join the Caravanserai —a place where cultures meet.
LOSTWAX Multimedia Dance Theater: SEVEN VEILS (World Premiere)
November 10-13, Perishable Theater
Thur/Fri/Sat, 8:00pm, Sun, 7:00pm
Tickets: $16 advance purchase, $24 day of performance
first-works.org, 401-421-4281
“One of [Rhode Island’s] most provocative troupes” —The Providence Phoenix
Voted Rhode Island’s best dance company, LOSTWAX and Jamie Jewett weave a new fantasy in Seven Veils, a multimedia dance based on Thalia Field's adaptation of "Salome". Video by Luke DuBois and choral music by Alexander deVaron provide an often-humorous score for Jewett’s quirky contemporary dance. It’s all there – the dungeon, the palace, the dance, the seductions and betrayals –interweaving voices, dancer, and projections – the re-imagined "veils" of Salome’s story.
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