DON’T MISS THE FINAL 2 ARTISTS

OF THE

2009-10 NEW EDGE RESIDENT ARTISTS

PERFORMAMNCE SERIES 

Witness We Said with Choreographer and Creator Shavon Norris 

Community Education Center (CEC) and Meeting House Theatre present Shavon Norris, the fourth artist of the 2009 New Edge Resident Artists Performance Series, with We Said.  The creation of We Said has been a collaborative effort between Norris and her three male performers, Jumatatu Poe, C. Kemal Nance and Les Rivera.  This effort has afforded the dancers a creative medium through which they can tell their personal stories individually and as a collective unit.  These performers will take the stage Friday and Saturday, May 15-16 at 8pm, and Sunday, May 17 at 3pm in the CEC Meeting House Theatre located at 3500 Lancaster Avenue in Powelton Village/University City.  General admission is $12, $10 for students and seniors.  For further information and reservations call 215-387-1911.  

Shavon Norris’ work is rooted in her desire to utilize the African American tradition of testifying.  Her interest in exploring and exposing testimonies of her life experiences as well as the experiences of others has been the motivation for these two pieces.  Norris’ solo creation, Said which was previously performed in 2007, is scheduled to share the stage with the premiere of We Said.  Other recent local performances and featured choreography include: Sun Goddess (choreography, The Painted Bride 2008), Trees (performance, Swarthmore- Pearson Auditorium 2008), One Year Wissahickon Park Project (performance, Wissahickon Park 2007-2008) and His Blood Work (choreography, Drake Theater 2006).  

We Said is an extension of Norris’ self-choreographed Said, an exploration of the sounds and words from her childhood that have impacted her into her adult life.  We Said unearths similar held information, emotion and history found in the blood, bones, muscles, joints, skin and senses of Norris’ male counterparts.  Comparable to Shavon’s role in Said, the three male dancers in We Said share the responsibility of telling each other’s stories using movement, text and song—testifying.  Shavon’s ultimate goal is to provide herself, her fellow performers and the audience with opportunities to deepen their understanding of themselves and the collective.  The depth of her performance ability, particularly her connection to body and spirit, is more than worth the price of the ticket. 

Shavon Norris is the choreographer and sole performer for Said. She is also the creator and choreographer for We Said, along with collaborators and performers C. Kemal Nance, Jumatatu Poe and Les Rivera. The three men in “We Said” have very different movement styles and training: dance from the Diaspora, modern/contemporary, hip hop.  C. Kemal Nance, the world’s first master Umfundalai teacher, is the Associate Artistic Director for Kariamu & Company: Traditions and the Artistic Director for the Berry & Nance Dance Project – an all African–American, male, dance initiative.  Jumatatu Poe is a resident artist of the Susan Hess Modern Dance’s Choreographers’ Project (Philadelphia). His choreography has been featured at Swarthmore College and Temple University, as well as the Philadelphia Fringe!, GLUE, and New Edge Mix festival series.   Les Rivera has traveled the world as a core company member of Philadelphia based hip hop dance company Rennie Harris PureMovement.  Les works extensively with Philadelphia’s dance community, documenting and creating work for a myriad of dance performances.  

Shavon is a multi-faceted woman. Originally from New York City, she has received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Manhattanville College.  She came to Philadelphia in order to attain her Master of Fine Arts in dance from Temple University. As an artist, she uses various methods of creation and development to investigate and expose what has been witnessed, inherited, remembered and experienced.  Shavon’s choreography has been presented in several venues throughout the Philadelphia area including The Philadelphia Fringe Festival (2003-2007).  She has performed in numerous works by directors including Nia Love, Gabri Crista, Kemal Nance, Meghan Durham, Manfred Fischbeck, Leah Stein and Merian Soto. And as an educator, Shavon currently teaches at Independence Charter School and Dance Alchemy.  

Community Education Center (CEC) and Meeting House Theatre present the final artist of the 2009 New Edge Resident Artists Performance Series: Meredith Rainey with Look Inside. Meredith Rainey is best known for his years as a soloist in the Pennsylvania Ballet.  He has been choreographing throughout most of his dance career, and it is with Look Inside that he feels he will cement himself as an audacious choreographer 

Meredith was accepted into the Pennsylvania Ballet in 1989 as a dancer in their Corps de ballet.  He was promoted to soloist in 1998, finishing his career there as a professional ballet dancer eight years later.  He is currently dancing as a freelance artist for local companies.  Meredith has been choreographing since 1988.  Some of his more recent local choreographic works include Seven to One (2008), This Is It It Is This (2007) and Near Miss (2007).  Far from a stranger to awards and fellowships, Meredith was awarded the Swarthmore College Artist in Residency in 2006 along with the CEC New Edge Residency in 2008.   

Meredith’s affinity for choreography began with his desire to produce work that challenges the norm while expanding the language and expressive capacity of dance.  He saw choreography “as a means of reshaping a world of (classical) movement that seemed very beautiful, yet rigid and resistant to change.”  In an effort to escape from the world of classical ballet language in which he was immersed, Meredith took a year to explore different movement practices that would enable him to more intensively develop his vision and vocabulary as a choreographer. This past year has given him the opportunity to participate in workshops with Ralph Lemon and Wendy Rogers, as well as to work with innovative choreographers such as Jérôme Meyer and Isabelle Chaffaud. 

Look Inside is a personal take on voyeurism; it is a performance based in the artist’s experiences and observations of our voyeuristic tendencies as humans.  Meredith was inspired to choreograph a piece themed in voyeurism when he realized that he was gravitating toward the act rather than experiencing things firsthand.  This piece allows him to question—why voyeurism?  Why would one choose to watch others live their lives as if it were just as rewarding as living one’s own? Look Inside is Meredith’s first collaborative choreographic effort (dance, set, sound, video), a fulfillment of his desire to experiment with various approaches to visual perception and perspective.   

This residency opportunity at the CEC has altered Meredith’s outlook concerning where he is as an artist and choreographer, inspiring him to start a company of his own entitled Moving Parts.  He is teaming up with dancer Jonathan Stiles, associate director, in this creative effort; Look Inside is to be the jumping off point. 

Meredith has gathered a phenomenal creative team for Look Inside. Jorge Cousineau, best known in the world of dance as co-director of Subcircle, is the award-winning Sound/ Set Designer for the performance. Dramaturge for Look Inside is Anna Drozdowski, former manager and director of Headlong Dance Studio.  Jonathan Stiles, current dancer for the Pennsylvania Ballet, is the Production Assistant. 

Dancers include Francis Veyette and Rosalia Chann.  Francis is currently a soloist for the Pennsylvania Ballet, for whom he has danced since 1997.  Rosalia is a dancer for BalletX, a new Philadelphia dance company whose goal is to redefine ballet and bring it into the new century.   

Performances are Friday and Saturday, June 19-20 at 8pm, and Sunday, June 21 at 3pm in the CEC Meeting House Theatre located at 3500 Lancaster Avenue in Powelton Village/University City.  General admission is $12, $10 for students and seniors.  For reservations and further information call 215-387-1911.  

Photos by Deborah Boardman