News Release
For Immediate Release

Contact: Logan McSwain, communications manager
704.372.0101 x107
lmcswain@ncdance.org

Innovative Works
November 5-7 & 12-14, 7:30 p.m. 

Contemporary ballet exploring topics as diverse as Matisse, social media and ribbon campaigns, set to music ranging from the electric blues of Stevie Ray Vaughan to the pulsing beats of The Chemical Brothers.   

Charlotte, N.C. – North Carolina Dance Theatre goes beyond traditional with its annual contemporary ballet series, Innovative Works. The performance, one of NC Dance Theatre’s signature series, is November 5-7 and 12-14 at the Booth Playhouse.  

The eclectic performance showcases two world premieres and three audience favorites from past Innovative performances: Mark Diamond’s There Again, Not Slowly, Resident Choreographer Dwight Rhoden’s Moody Booty Blues and former NC Dance Theatre company member Uri Sand’s Tearing for a Cure. Choreographer Mark Diamond premieres a ballet inspired by the life and works of the artist Matisse, and choreographer Sasha Janes premieres a ballet incorporating a sculpture by local artist Shaun Cassidy.

Matisse
world premiere choreographed by Mark Diamond 

Director of North Carolina Dance Theatre 2 Mark Diamond’s Matisse is a ballet inspired by the essence and color of the work of the artist, Henri Matisse. The ballet follows Matisse, danced by Dustin Layton, as he intermingles with subjects from some of his most famous creations. Diamond incorporates recreations of Matisse paintings and uses quotes by Matisse to express the artists’ many styles and innovative techniques.

“Recreating his paintings helped me to get to know Matisse better,” said Diamond, who is using Matisse’s “Blue Nude,” “Icarus,” “Nude With a White Scarf,” “Pink Nude” and “Zulma.” Diamond’s ballet also brings Matisse’s “The Dance” to life.

Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of color and his fluid, brilliant and original draftsmanship. “When I started researching Matisse I was concerned it may be difficult to choreograph a ballet based on his life because he wasn’t scandalous. He was a normal, hard working family man,” said Diamond. “Then I realized the story I wanted to tell is not about him, it’s about his work. His use of color and women, because most of his work focuses on women.”

Glass Houses
world premiere choreographed by Sasha Janes

Sasha Janes, a Company member in his seventh season, presents Glass Houses based on a sculpture by Shaun Cassidy called “Taking Time.” Cassidy is a former artist-in-residence at the McColl Center for Visual Art. The piece is set to music by Kronos Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma.

“Glass Houses is meant to be a loose interpretation of the new media we face today, such as Facebook and MySpace, and how it really affects individuals,” said Janes. “This piece looks at the good and bad that can come from people sharing so much of their lives online.”

From Australia, Janes danced professionally with the Australian Ballet, Chautauqua Festival Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet and West Australian Ballet, before joining North Carolina Dance Theatre. In addition to dancing and choreographing, he also serves as rehearsal director.

There Again, Not Slowly
choreographed by Mark Diamond 

Mark Diamond’s There Again, Not Slowly is referred to as the “party people ballet” by NC Dance Theatre company members. Using the techno-electronic music of the Chemical Brothers, the 10-minute, three-part piece, begins and ends with club-style scenes, with what Diamond refers to as a “jitter-bop salsa” in the middle. Diamond says the story-less ballet, last performed in Charlotte in 2005, is sexy and upbeat with the “scantily-clad dancers looking like they could have come straight from a night out at the Epicentre.”

The Charlotte Observer wrote “There Again, Not Slowly, one of the finest works Mark Diamond has ever created, is modern, smart and sexy” and “this piece is young and sexy, bursting with hormones and energy looking for an outlet.” 

Moody Booty Blues
choreographed by Dwight Rhoden

First performed by NC Dance Theatre as part of Innovative Works in 2006, Resident Choreographer Dwight Rhoden’s Moody Booty Blues is a gritty, up-tempo piece, featuring electric blues music such as Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Love Struck Baby” and Muddy Waters “Mannish Boy.” Critic Kate Dobbs Ariail wrote during Moody Booty Blues “the audience was laughing with pleasure, and the dancers were grinning and shaking that thing.”

Rhoden is a former principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and is currently the artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet and the resident choreographer for NC Dance Theatre. Charlotte audiences most recently saw Rhoden’s work this past May, in the world premiere of his ballet Othello. Rhoden has created over 70 ballets and has been described as a "master of invention" by The New York Times.  

Tearing for a Cure
choreographed by Uri Sands 

Choreographed by former NC Dance Theatre dancer Uri Sands, Tearing for a Cure explores societies’ fascination with ribbon campaigns. The work is divided into three duets representing three different causes and colors: supporting the troops, in yellow; HIV/AIDS, in red; and breast cancer, in pink. Last performed by Dance Theatre in 2005, Tearing for a Cure describes the idea of identifying oneself with a ribbon and the varying levels of engagement in supporting a cause.

“These ribbons actually represent people and the feelings of these people,” said Sands. “So many people’s lives have changed because of illness, or having a family member in Iraq. This is their way of keeping the cause alive.”

Uri Sands is currently director of TU Dance in Minnesota. He also danced as a principal with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for five years and performed with Minnesota Dance Theatre, James Sewell Ballet, Complexions and NC Dance Theatre as a principal. NC Dance Theatre Artistic Director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux said Sands is “a choreographer with maturity, power and imagination.”