Armitage Gone! Dance Presents MECHANICS OF THE DANCE MACHINE, 1/31-2/9

Karole Armitage returns to New York Live Arts with the world premiere of Mechanics of the Dance Machine, her first presentation at the venue since the premiere of her groundbreaking work Drastic-Classicism at Dance Theater Workshop in 1981. Set to selections of Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra, an urban symphony by DJ/composer Gabriel Prokofiev (grandson of Sergei Prokofiev), Mechanics of the Dance Machine mixes pointe work with fractal geometry, improvisation and contemporary practices. Armitage will invite the audience onstage to experience the movement up close. Lighting cues will guide the audience as the work expands from gripping duets to pulsing group works.

Performances of Mechanics of the Dance Machine will take place January 31 – February 9 (see schedule above) at New York Live Arts. The running time is approximately one hour with no intermission. New York Live Arts is located at 219 West 19th Street in Manhattan. Tickets, which are $40 ($15 students/seniors), are available at newyorklivearts.org and 212.924.0077.

Mechanics of the Dance Machine will alternate between electric, fierce dance on the one hand, and metaphors of intimacy and its unfinished business on the other. The audience will follow pathways created in red light, by lighting designer Clifton Taylor, that move in and around the dancers. The patterns have a beauty of their own derived from mathematical shapes called Walsh functions. The asymmetrical patterns will become increasing complex as the dance unfolds. Audience members can stand, walk or sit in reserved seats, depending on preference. The evolving checkerboard patterns seen from seats will provide rich geometrical designs as dancers move inside the unconventional frames and oddly shaped spaces.