Re-envisioning a classic with contemporary sophistication:
Several Dancers Core presents “Arias from Messiah”
by CORE Performance Company and Mercury Baroque

“The theatre, and Handel's music, were still perceived by many ecclesiastics as profane and subversive. Even Dean Jonathan Swift, a cranky old man with Gulliver's Travels long behind him, almost prevented the Dublin performance….Swift relented, but the contention Messiah aroused was still considerable enough to persuade Handel that the London premiere, a year later, should be advertised under the title "A Sacred Oratorio", thus avoiding any charge of blasphemy.” —David Vickers from www.gfhandel.org

Houston, Texas —March 1, 2006 —Several Dancers Core has initiated an artistic collaboration between its dance company, CORE Performance Company, and Mercury Baroque to present “Arias from Messiah” by George Frideric Handel on Sunday, March 19, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. at the Historic Magnolia Ballroom, 715 Franklin at Milam. General admission tickets are $20, with a discounted rate for students and seniors of $15. The contemporary dancers and Baroque musicians have embraced the score of Handel’s master work to create an intimate and passionate performance. After the two groups’ successful premiere of an evening-length Messiah in Houston in March 2005, Artistic Directors Sue Schroeder of CORE Performance Company and Antoine Plante of Mercury Baroque revisited Handel’s masterwork, Messiah, to interpret the brilliance of the work through contemporary dance set to select arias. The melding of contemporary dance and Baroque music results in a reflective work particularly appropriate for the Easter season.

Sue Schroeder, Artistic Director of CORE Performance Company, describes her choreographic work on Messiah as “an illuminated manuscript, where the dance adds color, movement and meaning to an already rich text and score.” The collaboration with Mercury Baroque has allowed Schroeder to embrace the score more fully while integrating the musicians and singers into the performance.

Mercury Baroque performed a historically accurate Messiah in April 2004 to a captivated audience. The Baroque orchestra brilliantly presented the richness of the complex score while exploring the nuances of Handel’s masterpiece. Mercury Baroque performs 17th and 18th century music on period instruments using historically accurate performance methods and imaginative programming to bring the passion of Baroque music to life. For “Arias from Messiah” CORE Performance Company will share the stage in the intimacy of the beautiful Magnolia Ballroom with: soprano, Ana Treviño-Godfrey, and tenor, Patrick Perez. For more information on Mercury Baroque, visit www.mercurybaroque.org.

At last year’s performance, CORE Performance Company and Mercury Baroque premiered an evening length dance work reflecting a collaboration combining contemporary dance and Handel’s masterpiece. Much controversy at the time of Handel’s premiere of the Messiah revolved around its sacred text being performed in a theatre setting. Schroeder’s adaptation of the sacred work for dance, particularly contemporary dance, is equally innovative and provocative. The combination of an intimate, authentic period performance with the unorthodox movement approach of contemporary dance challenges the convention of performance of this musical masterpiece. The setting at the Magnolia Ballroom, outside of a conventional theatre space, will also provide historical ambience and intimacy to the audience’s experience. For more information on the Magnolia Ballroom visit www.magnoliaballroom.com.

For reservations and ticket information for “Arias from Messiah,” please contact Several Dancers Core by phone at 713-862-5530 or by e-mail to mollys@severaldancerscore.org.

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CORE Performance Company, the professional contemporary dance company of Several Dancers Core, focuses on the ongoing development of the artistic process through the creation of new work. Made up of individual artists, the company performs new choreography that evolves through experimentation, improvisation, and collaborations with artists from different mediums.

Committed for 25 years to innovation, risk and collaboration, Several Dancers Core (SDC), a dance organization, creates, performs, and presents contemporary dance. SDC promotes dance awareness and education through performances, presentations, workshops, and classes in contemporary approaches to movement and is dedicated to opening new channels of communication between artists and the community. For more information about Several Dancers Core, please call 713-862-5530 or visit www.severaldancerscore.org.

Several Dancers Core’s 25th Anniversary Season is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County, the Pattillo Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, Houston Endowment Inc., and AirTran Airways.

Photo URL: http://www.severaldancerscore.org/press/photos/messiahgroup.jpg

Note: For interview requests, contact Susan Schmaeling at 713-349-0780 or saspr at swbell.net.