Melisa Putz Clark will premier her newest evening-length dance performance entitled when ashes fell from my eyes at Temple University’s Conwell Dance Theater on March 13th and 14th, 2015 at 7:30pm. Conwell Dance Theater is located on the 5th floor of Conwell Hall at 1801 North Broad Street on Temple’s main campus.
when ashes fell from my eyes is the culmination of over two years of focused performance research on the concept of reincarnation. Working with reincarnation as both a concept and a structure, the performance exists as a series of ‘moments’ that are reminiscent of dreams coming and going. The elemental forces of water, earth, air and fire counterpart with the cyclical nature of birth, life, death and re-birth. Throughout the creation of this work, Clark’s inspiration has been derived from surrealist artists including Remedios Varo and filmmaker David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive), among others.
The performance incorporates dance, live music and video in multi-layered imagery. Clark will be joined by dancers Sarena Kabakoff, Zhaomi Lu and Dawn Ann Perez along with musicians Michael Barker, Thomas Clark and Marc Zajack.
A Philadelphia artist for over 12 years, Melisa Putz Clark has been creating work with the performance ensemble, PIMA Group (www.pimagroup.org), along with co-founders and musicians Michael Barker and Thomas Clark. Temple University has been the home base for her creative output since 2012 while earning her MFA degree in Dance.
Melisa Putz Clark is a dancer, choreographer and educator based in Philadelphia, PA. She is co-founder and artistic director of PIMA Group, a dance and music performance company founded in 2001. She has trained at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio in New York City, with Anouk Van Dijk in Amsterdam, Jeanine Durning (NYC) and Anne Green Gilbert at the Brain-Compatible Dance Education Workshop in Seattle, WA. She has been awarded a Leeway Foundation Grant Award (2002), a Rocky Dance Award (2003), Temple University Space Grant (2002 & 2004), Professional Development Grant Awards from Dance Advance (2004, 2007, 2009), and selection for the Susan Hess Choreographer’s Project (2004-2005). She has been Dance Artist-In-Residence at the Community Education Center in Philadelphia (2006-2007) and The Historic Powel House in Philadelphia through Bowerbird and the Philadelphia Society for Preservation of Landmarks (2007-2008). Melisa was a member of Mascher Space Dance Co-op in Philadelphia (2008-2009) and Team Office, a cooperative management support system with funding support from Dance Advance, an initiative of the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage (2008-2009). She has received funding from the Puffin Foundation, Pennsylvania Council for the Arts Project Stream, and the New Stages Fund from Dance/USA Philadelphia (2010).
PIMA Group, co-founded by dancer Melisa Clark and musicians Michael Barker and Thomas Clark, is interested in developing new processes and approaches to the integration of dance, music and visual art. The works range from improvisational performance art work to more formal choreographed and composed pieces. PIMA Group has performed at venues nationally and internationally including the Painted Bride Art Center, the Performance Garage, Powel House Museum, Vox Populi Gallery, Mobius, The Cunningham Dance Studio, Joyce SOHO, 92nd St. Y, The Red Room, Mobius and Bucharest National Dance Center, among others.
when ashes fell from my eyes
Friday March 13th, 2015 @ 7:30pm
Saturday March 14th, 2015 @ 7:30pm
Conwell Dance Theater, 5th floor, 1801 North Broad Street, Philadelphia
$20 general admission, $15 students and senior citizens
Ticket sales for dance performances are available at http://www.liacourascenter.com/tickets/box-office/, 1-800-298-4200 or in person,
cash-only at Liacouras Center Box Office, 1776 North Broad Street, open Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm or at venue 45 minutes before the performance.
Steven is currently the CEO of Delaware Valley on Line, one of the first regional Internet Service Provides that now focuses on business-class web hosting, design, and internet marketing. He is president and founder of Rainbow Promotions Inc., a special events and entertainment agency established in the late 70’s, that services corporate and retail accounts both locally and nationally.
Steven is the Founder of PhiladelphiaDANCE.org,the largest web presence and resource for the dance community in the greater Philadelphia region, and the Founder and Editor of The Dance Journal. His involvement in the dance community extends to being Director of Graffito Works, an international platform for dancers and performing artists to create site-specific work and to make it readily accessible to the public.
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