Dystopian Distractions! Adds Pre-Curtain Discussion with Dance Critic

Mark Dendy Ritual Cycle, photo by Marisa Gruneberg

Mark Dendy Ritual Cycle, photo by Marisa Gruneberg

As if DANCEworks new show Dystopian Distractions! weren’t exciting on enough, the organizers have just added a pre-curtain discussion with dance critic Rachel Howard to the bill.

Staring at 7:15 p.m., Howard will discuss topics like who is Mark Dendy, what is dance theater, and how does Dendy’s new Dystopian Distractions! carry forward the tradition of dances made about war and society.

In this pre-show talk participants will learn about Dendy’s beginnings with the Martha Graham Dance Company, get a primer on his contributions to the art form as a Bessie Award-wining choreographer, and consider the context of dances about war, from Kurt Joos’s 1932 The Green Table to William Forsythe’s 2007 Three Atmospheric Studies.

A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, Howard has written about dance for the San Francisco Chronicle, Dance Magazine, and other outlets for more than 15 years. New York Choreographer Mark Dendy’s work is known for its wit, searing social commentary, intense physicality and tour de force acting. He and his company, Mark Dendy Projects, will enjoy a month-long creative residency (March 31 – April 26) during which they will create and premiere a new work, Dystopian Distractions! This work will be a black comedic deconstruction of the American war machine as conceived by an artist interested in exploring our relationship with war through the lens of pop culture.

DANCEworks presents Mark Dendy Projects on Saturday, April 26 at 8 p.m. at the Lobero Theatre (33 E. Canon Perdido St.), with the pre-curtain discussion starting at 7:15 p.m. Click here to purchase tickets.

—Leslie Dinaberg

Originally published in Santa Barbara SEASONS on April 16, 2014.