About the dances

To the seas, Unsinkable uses large rocking set pieces that resemble ship masts in a storm. Dancers are propelled, tossed, and catapulted through the air as they work together to right the ship. “Much of my family were immigrants,” states Co-choreographer Andy Noble, “In these polarizing times I wanted to create a dance that reflects the hope and optimism that this country represents.” Set design by Jared Doster and light design by David Deveau shape the world.

You are being watched! As we move dangerously closer to AI, Drone looks at technology intervening in our privacy and manipulating our behavior. The main character is a flying drone and its human manifestation played by Jared Doster. Dancers perform complex partnering with their eyes closed as the drone hovers vigilantly. Movement inspiration was drawn from watching our kids interact with an iPad and content was inspired by recently publicized data privacy breaches.

Lines have been drawn! Dancers carve out their space in 9/tenths of the Law, proving it is easier to declare ownership if one has possession. Using sidewalk chalk and whistles, the dancers engage in turf warfare and showcase the company’s raw physical prowess. Inspired in part by Noble’s background in breakdancing, 9/tenths of the Law is a comment on our youths’ struggle with identity inside of the current social landscape. “It is a gritty work,” says Andy, “and has allowed me to return to my roots by combining breakdancing with contemporary dance.”

It’s all smoke and mirrors! Dionne Noble’s new work Axiom uses moving mirrored walls to bounce reflections and multiply the number of dancers in the space. Complex partnering spills out of the mirrored boundaries creating a prism effect. Lighting design by Bryan Ealey and set Design by Jared Doster sculpt the space.Dionne explains, “An axiom is a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. My interest was to create a continuum of contact points between bodies that could result in non-dance movement. I then placed multiple bodies in the same space, hyped up the physicality, and crafted the movement to be interesting from all angles, including a top view.”

Did I really see that? Haunting and visceral, Fragment plays with memory distortion by interweaving video with live dance. Created in collaboration with lighting/technology artist David Deveau, Fragment enters the mind of a broken woman and depicts her deepest fears. About integrating the technology, Deveau shares, “What was exciting about developing Fragment was we combined our skills of making dance for the stage with dance for the camera and created a hybrid work.”

For lighter fare with an emphasis on musicality, the evening also contains several shorter works. A playful look at childhood memories, Suite Nostalgia is a charming trio of works that somewhat innocently pokes fun of human behavior. A Moment Before…features dancer Dani Hammack, formerly of the Graham Company, and plays with deconstructing some of Graham’s movement vocabulary. And Couplet, a new duet for Brittany Deveau and Seth McPhail, slows things down and asks for simple honesty.

Tickets range between $22-$38.50. Student and Group Discounts are available. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheHobbyCenter.orgor by calling 713.315.2525.

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