 Persephone
and Underground River Called
by the New York Times "a postmodernist pioneer in the
use of verbal material in dance," artistic director Jane
Comfort creates theater in which transformation occurs through many
voices. Jane Comfort is a choreographer, writer, and director whose
work has been produced in the United States and in Europe
Co-commissioned by Dance Umbrella, Persephone, based on
the Greek myth is performed in an interactive visual setting of
metal and neon sculptures by Keith Sonnier and a score by composer
Tigger Benford based on Javanese gamelan musical structures.
Underground River , winner of a 1998 Bessie Award as a
"risk-taking and profound theatrical tour de force," is
an exploration of the rich fantasy life of a girl who appears to
the outside world to be unconscious. Singing a cappella songs by
Toshi Reagon and interacting with the magical visual creations of
master puppeteer Basil Twist, the dancers dwell in a world of magic
realism and eccentric beauty unseen by those who wish to make her
"well". 
"Comfort has developed a seamless, choreographic style
which easily bridges the integration of text with movement, acting
and song. She is without equal in this area..." --The
International Dictionary of Modern Dance
For more information on the company,
visit
www.janecomfortandcompany.org
These presentations of SPECTRUM DANCE THEATER and JANE COMFORT and
COMPANY are part of a series of programs designed by the National
Performance Network (NPN). NPN is an independent organization begun
by Dance Theater Workshop and is comprised of arts organizations
in 37 cities and 26 states. NPN is made possible through major funding
from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the National Endowment
for the Arts (a federal agency). For further information, visit
the NPN website at www.npnweb.org or write: National Performance
Network, PO Box 70435, New Orleans, LA 70172. Additional
funding has also been provided by the City of Austin under the auspices
of the Austin Arts Commission, Texas Commission on the Arts, National
Endowment for the Arts, and private contributions.
Asphalt
Jane Comfort & Co.
An
original dance/opera, Asphalt tells the story of a young DJ who
transcends his urban reality through the power of jazz, classical,
and trip hop beats, finally entering a world made right by music.
Her choreography has played Carnegie Hall and the Cannes Film Festival,
she choreographed the Tony Award winning Sondheim-Lapine Broadway
musical Passion, and her Underground River won a 1998 Bessie Award.
Now Jane Comfort teams up with the sharpest, hippest young culture
makers on the East Coast for Asphalt, her newest work about a DJ
transcending his urban reality.
What
Other People Said About Asphalt:
"A
polished nonlinear narrative [with] layers of meaning, evoked in
a rap and jazz style, [that] unpeel the tale as it unfolds."
-
New York Times
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