Double Edge Theatre Previews Work by Columbia College Chicago's Dance Center & Theatre Dept., 1/18-19

In partnership with The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department presents Double Edge Theatre, performing a work co-commissioned by the Theatre Department and The Dance Center tonight, January 18th and 19th at The Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. The company also will participate in The Dance Center's 14th season of FamilyDance Matinees Saturday, January 19, including a free movement workshop with the artists followed by a family-friendly performance.

Rooted in Jerzy Grotowski's Eastern European theatre practice, Double Edge Theatre is a deeply collaborative, Massachusetts-based ensemble working in a unique form of devised physical theatre incorporating choreography, aerial flight, puppetry and circus arts. THE GRAND PARADE (OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY), an original, multidisciplinary work co-commissioned by Columbia College Chicago's Theatre Department and The Dance Center, is the first installment in the company's anticipated multi-year THE CHAGALL CYCLE. Imagined through the lens of visionary artist Marc Chagall's paintings, preview performances of THE GRAND PARADE at The Dance Center will take audiences through a kaleidoscopic mash-up of the 20th century that echoes Chagall's life, which spanned nearly a century, and summons his sensibilities and personal memories. The piece is conceived and directed by Artistic Director Stacy Klein, with an original score by Russian composer Alexander Bakshi.

Six Columbia theatre students will train and rehearse with the company at their artistic home, The Farm in Ashfield, Massachusetts, and perform with the ensemble in January at The Dance Center.

Double Edge Theatre recently received one of 13 highly competitive National Theater Project grants, awarded by the New England Foundation for the Arts, for The Grand Parade. Now in only its second year, the National Theater Project supports the production and touring of original, devised and/or ensemble theatre works and brings visibility to Contemporary Theatre work.

There will be a post-performance conversation with the artists Friday, January 18th.

Double Edge Theatre has as its mission to create a "living culture" by developing the highest quality of original theatre performance, based on the long-term imaginative work of the actor and his/her interaction with the communities in which the work takes place, and by cultivating at its home in Ashfield, Massachusetts-The Farm-a permanent center of performance, training, research and cultural exchange. The goal is to elevate the creation and understanding of artistic expression and cultural mutuality between artists and their communities.