Eva Dean Dance

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Dear Friends,

Eva Dean Dance is celebrating its 26th Anniversary by mounting Beyond Silver: 1987-2011, retrospective evening-length performances celebrating Eva Dean Dance’s 26th Anniversary and featuring a sampling of my choreography over a 24-year span.  The dances in our first Beyond Silver: 1987-2011 production are UNTIDY PACKAGES (1987), CIVRY (1993), ELIZABETH’S SOLO (1995), PUMPED (1999), and SUMMER (2010-2011).  We are asking for your support in remounting these repertory pieces.  Your contribution is tax deductible to the full extent of the law.  Your support is greatly appreciated and vital to our success in remounting these works. (read more) 

Eva Dean Dance’s Beyond Silver: 1987-2011 will be performed in the spring of 2012.  Please stay tuned for more details about the dates and location.  Below is a brief description of each dance as well as acknowledgement of the original cast, and behind-the-scenes dance angels.  Every dollar you give will go directly towards remounting the dances of this repertory production.

UNTIDY PACKAGES (1987) was premiered as a site- specific piece in a loft in West Beth’s artist housing building in New York City.  It has not been performed since 1993.  After a long hiatus, I recently watched UNTIDY PACKAGES on a grainy VHS recorded 24 years ago.  I was struck anew by the obsessive motion and the messy and untidy relationships in this work.  This multilayered piece is a labyrinth of secrets, anger, repulsion and addiction.  Dan Froot’s original sound score, I Know What You’re Thinking adds an additional layer of surreal chaos to this work.  Kate Gyllenhaal and I are the original cast in a central and passionate duo relationship in which the fury gives way to tenderness and vulnerability. 

CIVRY (1993) is a trio set to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.  The original cast for the premiere of CIVRY is Linden Holt (now known as Linden Moogan), Kelley McCormick and I.  It was originally premiered at Dia Center for the Arts in New York City.  The piece is named after a child whose namesake, Civry, is a small town in France where she was conceived.  Civry, the child, has grown to be a beautiful and intelligent woman and I am pleased to bring this heartfelt and gentle work that has not been performed since 1997 back to life.  Elizabeth Zimmer from The Village Voice said this piece “is a lighthearted, decorous dance full of counterbalances and gentle supports for falling bodies...it reminded me of why, sometimes, dance matters: in its very lightness, it lifts our cares.” 

ELIZABETH’S SOLO (1995) was premiered at the Brooklyn Music School and was originally performed by Elizabeth Göttsching Holter.  We selected this solo for Beyond Silver: 1987-2011, because it is a sensuous and nocturnal samba that we think will work well on this evening of varied dances.

PUMPED (1999) was premiered at my Alma Mater, Hampshire College.  The original duo team is Jessica Nicoll and I.  PUMPED is another EDD audience favorite and is best known for the infamous duel where the performers wearing combat boots and sequined prom dresses use high heeled shoes as weapons.

SUMMER (2010 – 2011) is a trilogy of selected BOUNCE dances: SUMMER (2010), SADIE’S SOLO (2011) and UBA BOUNCE DUET (2010). SUMMER and UBA BOUNCE DUET were premiered as a part of an evening-length production in the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival.  SADIE’S SOLO was premiered in Boston-based Monkey House’s Against The Odds performance series this past spring 2011.  The original cast for SUMMER (2010 – 2011) is current Company members George Hirsch, Sarah Sadie Newett, Zoë Schieber and I.

I want to thank all of the original cast members in this retrospective production for their artistry and dedication.  I also want to thank my fellow Board of Directors members, Phyllis Azar, Stephen Doody and Joan Duddy for their significant and ongoing support and willingness to roll up their sleeves when necessary.  Without them and past Board Members Edward Binns, Maggie Brenner, Stephen Doody, Elizabeth Franz, Kate Gyllenhaal, Jean Hill, and Sallie Hofmeister, Eva Dean Dance would not be celebrating its 26th Anniversary.  I also want to give a shout-out to Jean Hill who has designed costumes for the company since our first performance of Riffling With Fifteen at St. Mark’s Church in New York City in 1986.  Jean’s talent, zany sense of humor and generosity has helped to sustain me both artistically and personally.  Last but not least I want to thank all of you our individual contributors who have been the backbone of keeping Eva Dean Dance alive and well throughout the years.  Your past and current support is deeply appreciated. 

Sincerely,   

Eva Dean

Please invest in the future of Eva Dean Dance and Union Street Dance by making a tax-deductible contribution today. 

With your help, we can continue our mission: to support and strengthen the presence of dance as a performing art form in New York City and around the world, to develop and reach diverse audiences for dance, to support the work of other choreographers and dancers, to create and perform the choreography of Eva Dean, and to teach Eva Dean Dance technique and repertory to students representing a wide range of ages, abilities, and cultural backgrounds.

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Eva Dean Dance
Union Street Dance 
725 Union Street, Studio B 
Brooklyn, New York 11215

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