Rennie Harris Puremovement!
Tonight at 8:00 p.m., I am going to see Rennie Harris Puremovement.
Want to hear a sample? Great! Here it is:
Real Media Player Sample
Here are the program notes:
Rennie Harris Puremovement program notes are in Adobe PDF format.
Hip-hop street dance explodes onto the stage, as Rennie Harris Puremovement brings its provocative and controversial new work to Ann Arbor. Facing Mekka is a spiritual pilgrimage for the pioneering hip-hop choreographer, who explores this thoroughly American dance form's global lineage, from Turkish whirling dervishes to ceremonial African dances to Brazilian capoeira and a new butoh-style hip-hop dance, "Lorenzo's Oil," a didactic personal journey of triumph and tragedy performed by Harris.
Facing Mekka moves away from the standard secular presentation of hip-hop, presenting an alternative, compassionate vision of a troubled world. Featuring a cast of 11 dancers, live percussion, a DJ, a beatbox vocalist, and video collage projections, Facing Mekka translates the spirit and energy of the streets into a thrilling form of kinetic language. At times disturbing, often joyful, and always provocative, Harris is both the master and the innovator of this most vital of contemporary art forms. This return apearance comes two years after Harris's groundbreaking treatment of Shakespeare in Rome and Jewels. "A redemptive and ultimately inspiring vision of hip-hop music and dance." (Los Angeles Times) No intermission.
Want to hear a sample? Great! Here it is:
Real Media Player Sample
Here are the program notes:
Rennie Harris Puremovement program notes are in Adobe PDF format.
Hip-hop street dance explodes onto the stage, as Rennie Harris Puremovement brings its provocative and controversial new work to Ann Arbor. Facing Mekka is a spiritual pilgrimage for the pioneering hip-hop choreographer, who explores this thoroughly American dance form's global lineage, from Turkish whirling dervishes to ceremonial African dances to Brazilian capoeira and a new butoh-style hip-hop dance, "Lorenzo's Oil," a didactic personal journey of triumph and tragedy performed by Harris.
Facing Mekka moves away from the standard secular presentation of hip-hop, presenting an alternative, compassionate vision of a troubled world. Featuring a cast of 11 dancers, live percussion, a DJ, a beatbox vocalist, and video collage projections, Facing Mekka translates the spirit and energy of the streets into a thrilling form of kinetic language. At times disturbing, often joyful, and always provocative, Harris is both the master and the innovator of this most vital of contemporary art forms. This return apearance comes two years after Harris's groundbreaking treatment of Shakespeare in Rome and Jewels. "A redemptive and ultimately inspiring vision of hip-hop music and dance." (Los Angeles Times) No intermission.