NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release

CORE Performance Company performs “Woven Clouds” at JCC Dance Month

Houston—January 4, 2006 — CORE Performance Company will perform “Woven Clouds,” the newest section of their multimedia dance piece, Corazon Abierto: Heart Open at “Mix it Up,” part of the Jewish Community Center of Houston’s Dance Month on Saturday, January 28 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, January 29, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. at the JCC’s Kaplan Theatre, located at 5601 Braeswood, Houston.

Members of CORE Performance Company, together with Terrance Karn as composer and Sue Schroeder and Susan Mendez Prins as choreographers, are committed to exploring contemporary and ancient Mayan culture and how it intersects with and/or diverges from American culture.  The Chiapas Rainforest is ancient and beautiful, but it is facing enculturation by Western society which has lead to poverty, social unrest and racial tensions.  Through this dance work, urban artists were immersed in an isolated environment, working with local artists to weave a tale which expresses the struggles and triumphs of the Mayan people.  The theme of weaving, its movements and sounds, its significance historically and spiritually, as well as its new resurgence as a part of the local economy give the work its shape.  The dance will weave together layers of visual imagery, cultural memory, personal expression, innovation, physical rhythm and color to create a richly textured multimedia piece.  “Woven Clouds,” features set pieces designed by Walter “Chip” Morris and Lucia Hernandez Lopez, both based in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.

“Woven Clouds” was created during the company’s recent residency in Chiapas.  The entire work-in-progress, Corazon Abierto, began with conversations between two choreographers,Sue Schroeder of CORE Performance Company and Susan Mendez Prins, who is based in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico.  An introductory journey by Sue Schroeder to Chiapas to make community connections and to experience the sights and sounds of the rainforest took place in October 2003.  

The next step was an “immersion” residency in Chiapaswith Schroeder, CORE Performance Company, and composer, Terrance Karn in January 2005.  During the most recent visit to Chiapas in November 2005, the artists continued to work on the choreography while fine tuning other aspects of the work such as the interactive set design and video components of the piece.  The entire piece will premiere in Mexico in October 2006, followed by a Houston premiere later next season.

Several Dancers Core achieves its highest artistic synergy when it collaborates with other artists, from working with other groups within the United States to creating works outside the U.S., including the former Soviet Republic of Georgia and Germany.  The most recent collaborative production, CORE Performance Company together with artists in Germany, resulted in a compelling multimedia production entitled America! question.  It was a dance that probed questions of cultural and political attitudes arising after 9-11, with interviews sharing the thoughts of American citizens and opening communication between cultures. 

Tickets to the performance are $17 for JCC members, $20 general public and $12 for students and seniors.  For more information about the Dance Month performances, please contact Maxine Silberstein at the JCC Houston, 713-729-3200 ext. 3223 or msilberstein at jcchouston.org.  For information about Corazon Abierto or CORE Performance Company, please call 713-862-5530 or visit www.severaldancerscore.org.

CORE Performance Company, the professional touring 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 an intentional collaboration of experimentation and improvisation with artists from different mediums.

Committed for 25 years to innovation, risk and collaboration, Several Dancers Core (SDC), a nonprofit 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 25^th 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.