From withers@gwu.edu Tue Apr 13 00:02:49 1999 From: withers@gwu.edu (Maida Withers) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 16:02:49 -0700 Subject: [CI-Announce] Dance Theatre -- Phffft Co, NYC, and Pisorrojo from Venezuela Message-ID: <01BE84FD.EAADBEC0@gwu.edu.gwu.edu> The Phffft! Dance Theater Company performs at the Innovators Festival The Performance The Phffft! Company, under the artistic direction of native Arlingtonian, Cyrus Khambatta, will present Charlie and the Red Balloon (in the Wizard's Wonderland) on April 17th at the Gunston Arts Center in Theater One as part of the Innovators Festival produced by The Arlington County Cultural Affairs Division. The Theater is located at 2700 South Lang Street in Arlington. Special guests from the Pisorrojo Company of Venezuela collaborated with Phffft! on this production and will be performing with the company on the premiere of this new work which will be presented this Fall at The Central University of Venezuela. This cross-cultural artistic endeavor is the product of an on-going cultural exhange between the two companies. An after-performance benefit will follow the show at 10p.m. at the Gunston Arts Center. Tickets for the performance are $15 and can be reserved through the Arlington Cultural AffairsDivision at (703) 228-6960. Priority seating for the performance and post- performance benefit tickets can also be purchased through Phffft!. For information call (703) 998-5489 Ext. 2. Tickets for the performance and benefit may also be purchased at Gunston. Charlie and The Red Balloon (in the Wizard's Wonderland) is a contemporary fable inspired by well-known children's parables such as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Wizard of Oz, Alice and Wonderland and The Red Balloon. The piece, which incorporates video technology, is about Charlie, a journalist living on the moon in a colony conspicuously made to look like a New York City replica . He is retelling the story of his life as one of the moon's first pioneers through a futuristic interactive videophone. As we see Charlie's life events unfold in this fantastic nether-world, Charlie discovers that his life is being controlled by a faceless corporation called Wizard, Inc. Charlie can't see it, but it sees Charlie... In order to save himself he must escape the technological clutches of Wizard, Inc., calling to mind the Wizard in the story of The Wizard of Oz. In this same manner, each of the characters in Charlie and the Red Balloon conger images of archetypes from the well-known children's parables mentioned. It is for the audience to discern who is who and which are the forces of good and evil. Mr. Khambatta and The Company Since leaving Arlington in 1985 to study at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where Mr. Khambatta founded his company, he has since performed with his troupe throughout Europe, the U.S., Russia, and Latin America at such venues as The Spoleto Festival USA, The World Expo'98 in Lisbon, and a French goveernment- sponsored residency in Rouen, France. The company's work has also been seen here in the U.S. on CBS Sunday Morning, and on French national TV station FR3, as well as others, both here and abroad. None the less, Cyrus has always had a strong affinity for his native town and fond memories of Arlington, and has continually sought ways to stay connected to, and give back to, the community that spawned his creative beginnings. For this reason, he has always maintained a presence in the area. He has in the past conducted workshops at Galludet College and for Penn visions, a D.C. based sight-impaired dance comany for children. Working as a family-team with his mother, every summer for over ten years, he has provided workshops to children in dance, theater and music at The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop in Washington, D.C. This year, beginning with the presentation at Gunston, he is initiating a new level of interaction with the local community. He is inaugurating a series of workshops on the cooperatively-owned Wild Meadows farm in nearby Pennsylvania designed to serve area residents. Cyrus will bring his many years of experience in the creative field, helping both artists and non-artists access their creative potential through creative counseling, personal coaching, workshops, and general guidance to a quiet 200-acre retreat just outside the city. Already planned for this summer are a contact improvisation dance workshop (June 11-28), as well as a creativity retreat for non-artist adults (May 22-23 with others forming) where participants will spend a weekend in a supportive environment learning ways to access their creativity to enrich their everyday lives or to achieve personal projects. For children there will be a workshop in creative movement, theater and art and The Field, a dance- service organization based in New York City, will conduct two artists retreats (July 21-31, Aug. 20-30). Information concerning workshops can be obtained by emailing the company at PHFFFT@hotmail.com, or by calling (703) 998-5489 Ext.3.Maida Withers Professor, The Department of Theatre and Dance The George Washington University Artistic Director, The Dance Construction Company