FACES OF SUN AND WIND is a new work from the Michele Brangwen Dance & Music Ensemble that explores the power of one person linking their energy to another, as in a microgrid set up to deliver renewable energy to a community that has united to generate it. The mircrogrid is also a perfect metaphor for how activism can start with just one person and grow to the power of the many, working together for meaningful change. FACES OF SUN AND WIND features choreography by Michele Brangwen and music by Jon Irabagon, with sections of movement & music created in the moment by all performers.
Michele Brangwen writes: “When the Amazon labor union leader Chris Smalls was asked “what is the single most important component of activism,” he replied: “to start from a place of love.” When you think about it, that quote is quite powerful. We have a lot of work to do to combat the climate crisis. I don’t think we are going to mobilize in the ways in which we need to if we approach it from a place of shame or anger, but instead I think the progress will come from a place of love: love for each other and love for the earth. In creating FACES OF SUN AND WIND I wanted to create a work that would surround the audience with a feeling of welcome.”
The program will also include UNENDING, a work inspired by the music of John Coltrane, with choreography and costumes by Michele Brangwen, music by Grammy-nominated composer & trumpeter Tim Hagans, and movement and music created in the moment by all performers. UNENDING folllows the form of a traditional jazz tune, with set choreography and music to the head and bridge, and then improvised duets for dancers and musicians during the choruses.
Performers: MEREDITH FAGES, CRISTIAN LAVERDE KÖNIG, LINDSEY McGILL & MICHELE BRANGWEN, dancers; TIM HAGANS, trumpet; JON IRABAGON, saxophone; THOMAS HELTON, double bass; SAM KNIGHT, drums.
The program will also feature ALLURE, a short film created by composer and vocalist Angela Wang in collaboration with dancer & choreographer Lindsey McGill. Filmed in the Silos at Sawyer Yards, ALLURE features a lone dancer (McGill) enticed by endless yards of billowing mysterious fabric to enter the caverns and explore the nature of longing. The film explores how our obsessions can lead us to places of fulfillment. The 4:38 minute film won best choreography music video at Rome Music Video Awards.
The FACES OF SUN AND WIND is made possible in part by funding from the Mayor’s Office Of Cultural Affairs/City Of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, the Puffin Foundation, Cullen Trust for The Performing Arts and New Music USA. A masterclass with composer & saxophonist Jon Irabagon is being presented at Texas Southern University by the Michele Brangwen Dance & Music Ensemble in partnership with DACAMERA of Houston.
The Michele Brangwen Dance & Music Ensemble is pleased to announce a special discount ticket offering in partnership with the 4th Annual Houston Latino/a/x Contemporary Dance Festival, produced by the Pilot Dance Project at the historic Deluxe Theatre. Audience members purchasing tickets for either the March 9th or 10th performance will receive a special code for half off their ticket price to the Latino/a/x Contemporary Dance Festival, March 8-10. In the same way, ticket holders for the Festival will receive a code from the Pilot Dance Project that can be used for half off tickets for the Michele Brangwen Dance & Music Ensemble’s performances.
The Michele Brangwen Dance & Music Ensemble is a contemporary dance and music ensemble featuring all new choreography and live original music in a performing environment where dancers and musicians break the boundaries of traditional ensemble interaction. In 23 years, every performance has included live music and the musicians as integral parts of the visual stage imagery. We believe that the artist’s role in society is to communicate, to challenge, to open a dialogue that can both unite us and inspire meaningful change. We function like a jazz band, and along with sections of choreographed movements and written music, we use improvisation that comes out of the form, concept, and emotional life of the work. The Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble is based in New York City & Houston.
“Lovely dancers & intensely focused musicians.” – Mindy Aloff, Dance Writer & Critic
Village Voice Choice, February 2017 – Elizabeth Zimmer, Chief Dance Critic, Village Voice
“A joy to watch” – Adam Castaneda, The Houston Press