Every angel is terrible.
And still, alas
knowing all that
I serenade you
you almost deadly
birds of the soul.-Rainer Maria Rilke
AFTER EROS
Performed and choreographed by Maureen Fleming
Music by Philip Glass (with Somei Satoh in Axis Mundi)
Piano performed live by Peter Phillips
Text by David Henry Hwang
Light and Visual Design by Chris Odo
Sound Design by Brett Jarvis
Video and Film by Jeff Bush
Eros is a bridge maker between mortals and immortals. He is bold and forward and strenuous, always devising tricks like a cunning huntsman; he yearns after knowledge and is full of resource and is a lover of wisdom all his life, a skillful magician, and an alchemist, a true sophist. He makes his
nest in men's hearts, save in those where he detects hardness.
ABOUT After Eros
Maureen Fleming's After Eros, takes its inspiration from a recent discovery which may have influenced the motivation of her unique movement vocabulary. An x-ray taken after a recent injury revealed that a bone spur had grown during the course of her life to replace a disc between her fourth and fifth vertebrae. The doctor found this amazing and told her that a 'normal' person in her physical condition would live in a wheelchair.
Talking to her mother, Maureen discovered that the original injury took place in Yokahama, Japan, during a car accident when she was a two year old child. A man on a bicycle darts in front of her mother's car, causing her to slam on the brakes. The child flies through the windshield, and like the mythological figure Eros, the man on the bicycle rides away, laughing.
Ms. Fleming's childhood accident in Japan imbedded in her very bones a profound relationship to Japanese culture, one she has been working out through movement her entire adult life. Wedding Ms. Fleming's story to the myth Eros and Psyche impresses me as a unique and fascinating way to explore themes of human transcendence and the discovery of multiple identities.
David Henry Hwang
The irony of this incident is that it served, unknowingly, as the beginning point of my choreography. From childhood, I began creating dances with slow, twisting movements. All of my research into butoh, Taoism and recently, 15th century alchemy has come from an intuitive sense of survival and evolution. The twisting and untwisting of joints increases blood flow and has become a slow method of regeneration. This search has led to the revelation of the transcendent through images that focus on the human body as a vehicle of transformation and asks what is universal about that phenomenon which we commonly call the soul.
Maureen Fleming
TONIGHT'S PROGRAM
I
THE SPHERE
II
THE STAIRS
As I fly through the air, Eros takes me in his arms, and I become a child
growing, younger.
The walls of my old destiny shatter and I return to the womb to be remade in his image.
His feathers on my flesh, tearing me apart, as my wounds become my eyes,
He touches me open.
III
AXIS MUNDI (TREE OF LIFE)
At the edge of the water I see.
If I could be formless, like the water, this pain would flow from me.
If I could grow invisibly, like the ancient trees, this body would survive
eternity.
IV
FLOWER
About the Artists
MAUREEN FLEMING is an American choreographer and performance artist born in Japan who has gained international recognition for her singular form of multi-media performance. After extensive study in Japan with Kazuo Ohno, Ms. Fleming went on to perform with his son, Yoshito Ohno and to tour internationally with performance artist and choreographer Min Tanaka. Fleming continued her training in the United States as a scholarship student under the Cecchetti master Margaret Craske. In 1984, she became an artist-in-residence at La MaMa E.T.C. in New York, and since 1994 has conducted annual workshops at N.Y.U.'s Tisch School of the Arts, Experimental Theater Wing. She has been awarded fellowships, among them the New England
Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project (1997-1999), Rockefeller Foundation (1997-1998), the NPN Commission Fund (1996), National Endowment for the Arts (1993-1995) and Arts International (1993-1997). Her solo and group works have received critical acclaim in such venues as Italy's Spoleto and Milan Oltre Festivals, Japan's 1990 Butoh Festival, Mexico's Jose Limon Dance Festival, Iceland's Reykjavik Arts Festival, Venezuela's Encuentro International, France's International Mime Festival in Perigueux, Germany's Tollwood Festival and Oldenburg Internationale Ballett-Tage '99, Russia's Mimolet 97, Colombia's Contemporanea International Festival 98 and 99, LaMaMa E.T.C., the Pittsburgh Dance Council, Lincoln Center Institute, the Bates Dance Festival, the San Francisco Butoh Festival, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Virginia Museum of Fine Art, and the 92nd St Y Harkness Dance Project and The Kitchen.PHILIP GLASS (Composer) Compositions have included opera, film scores, symphonic works, string quartets and music for dance and theater. Among his recently completed works are The Voyage, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera; Orphee, a chamber opera based on the film by Jean Cocteau, and La Belle et la Bete also based on a Jean Cocteau film of the same title; the 2nd
Symphony, commissioned by the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra; and the 3rd Symphony, premiered by the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. Current projects include: a new composition for the Rascher Saxaphone Quartet; two collaborations with Robert Wilson, Monsters of Grace and White Raven; The Wiches of Venice, a new ballet created by Beni Montressor and commissioned by Teatro all Scala: and the third and final piece in his Cocteau trilogy, a dance/theater work, with choreographer Susan Marshall, based on the film Les Enfants Terribles. Philip Glass was recently nominated for an Oscar for the music of the film Kundun.
SOMEI SATOH (Composer) Born in Sendai, Japan, Satoh is primarily a self-taught musician, strongly influenced by the traditional Japanese music and dance to which he was exposed during childhood. The the musical elements of his native country he has added an almost 19th century sense of Romanticism, updated through extensive use of electronic technology. If the underlying philosophies of his work have been shaped by both Shintoism and Buddhism, his methods have been influenced by the multimedia forms and events of the 1960s.PETER PHILLIPS (Pianist), has explored a wide variety of musical experiences including Broadway shows Jesus Christ Superstar, Pacific Overtures, Big River, Barnum, and Sweet Charity, playing for jazz saxophonist Phil Woods, working with Bob Fosse on Dancin', conducting 3 Liza Minelli tours, the Bernstein Mass at the Metropolitin Opera, and playing on numerous Philip Glass tours.
DAVID HENRY HWANG (Author) won the 1988 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and John Gassner Awards, and the 1991 L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for his Broadway debut, M. Butterfly, which has since been produced in some three dozen countries around the world. He is the author of F.O.B. (1981 Obie Award, Best New Play), The Dance and the Railroad (Drama Desk nomination, Guernsey's Best Plays of 1981-92, Family Devotions (Drama Desk nomination), The House of Sleeping Beauties and The Sound of Voice, all of which were produced at the New York Shakespeare Festival. Rich Relations premiered in 1986 at The Second Stage. His one-act play, Bondage, premiered in 1992 at the Humana Theatre Festival. He wrote the libretto for Philip Glass' opera The Voyage, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House (October 1992). He previously collaborated with Glass and designer Jerome Sirlin on 1000 Airplanes on the Roof. He serves on the boards of the Dramatists Guild and China Institute, and was appointed by President Clinton to the President's Committee on the Arts & Humanities. Hwang's new work Golden Child recently opened on Broadway.
CHRIS ODO (Light Designer/Technical Director) has performed and designed light for Maureen Fleming since 1979. He developed the lighting for Fleming's work through numerous video sessions with Jeff Bush from Arc Video and studio showings since 1980. He has collaborated with Fleming since 1989 both nationally and internationally including Paris, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Rome, New York, Milan, Munich as well as in Russia, Iceland and South
America.
BRETT R. JARVIS (Sound Designer) is the founder of Jarvis Sound and Music Design. His work was most recently seen at the Joyce Theater in Mark Dendy Dance and Theater's Dream Analysis. Brett works with numerous dance and theater companies offering unique artistic and technological approaches to playback sound.JEFF BUSH (Video Artist) In 1973, Jeff Bush began working with the new format of portable video. His interest from the beginning was dance, and all human movement, on video. Later in the seventies, he began working with Celia Ipiotis, and from their collaboration, in 1981, came the Eye on Dance weekly series. Over the years, he has created countless videos of dance and other performances.
LOIS GREENFIELD (Photographer) began her career as a photojournalist after graduating from Brandeis University in 1970. In 1980, she opened her first studio to work with in a collaborative, controlled environment. Greenfield's photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide, and her work has appeared in many magazines, newspapers, and advertising campaigns. She lives in New York with husband and teenage sons. Visit her Web site at www.loisgreenfield.com.
YUKO FOLAN (Costume Designer) Her credits for dance include, Mikhail Baryshnikov "Tongue and Groove", Keely Girfield's Sinister Slapstick, Ballet Tech (a.k.a. Feld Ballets NY) & Dance Theater of Harlem. As a fashion stylist, her work was seen in L'UOMO VOGUE, ESQUIRE, BUZZ, VARIDAD (SPAIN) SCENE (U.K.), ELLE JAPON, ARUDE, ect. She has also done film work, and has worked as a stylist for the ACADEMY AWARDS, CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, and the GOLDEN GLOVE AWARDS.
Many of the projections in this piece are adapted from photographs and videos of Fleming's choreography by video artist Jeff Bush, and photographer Lois Greenfield.
Technical Rider for After Eros
1. Sponsor must provide scale drawing of the performance space, including precise location of lighting pipes both over the stage and in the house; all rigging and curtains.
2. In countries where English is not the primary language spoken, the Sponsor must provide a translator for the entire time the Company is in the theatre.
3. Black dance floor in place covering stage area (mopped, clean)
4. All stage blacks and hanging goods should be in place prior to Company's arrival in accordance with the drawings provided by Technical Director.
5. All lighting equipment must be hung, cabled, circuited and tested prior to Company's arrival in accordance with the drawings provided by Technical Director.
6. The Sponsor agrees to provide stage, sound and lighting equipment as specified herein and listed on the ground plans, lighting plots, hook-ups and hanging schedules as received form the Company Technical Director. All substitutions and changes must receive prior approval from the Company Technical Director. All equipment specified below must be installed in the theater prior to the Company's arrival.
STAGE:
1. Black box proscenium: minimum dimensions 30 feet width, 30 feet depth, 20 feet height (with black wings and borders)
2. 1 translucent white cyclorama
3. level wood floor covered with black marley dance flooring
4. access to 70 gallons of warm water
5. hose to bring water to center stage
6. one full stage black traveller
*Note: Pool can be set up or struck in 20 minutes. Inch-deep pool construction is of 1 inch copper tube-circular frame and black pool liner. Drained with shallow water sump pump provided by company
SOUND:
Stereo Playback System with a minimum bandwidth of 30Hz-18kHz using high quality equipment. Subwoofers are strongly recommended. Recommended loudspeaker system brands are Meyer, EAW, and Apogee. The system should provide even sound field coverage to the entire performance space. A system consisting of Left-Right-Center arrays with apron fill is desirable. The system should be capable of producing a 100dB Sound Pressure Level continuously, throughout the venue, without audible distortion.The system should have onstage monitoring with separate level control from the house, House graphic EQ, 2 Professional quality CD Players, and at least a 12 channel mixing console. An announce mic and 2 microphones suitable for piano should be provided.
In addition:
1. 1 grand piano (black)
2. intercom system with 5 headsets (2 onstage/stage left & right, 1 sound,
1 lightboard, 1 projections)LIGHTS:
1. 1 computer lighting console and competent operator who must be available
to the Company at all times the Company is at the theater.
2. 75 circuits minimum
3. 60 channels (minimum)
4. Lighting Instruments must be clean and in good condition: Instrument
list below is what is generally required for this production. This list may
need slight modifications in focal length and wattage of some instruments to
meet the specific dimensions of each venue.
4 - 2 circuit Altman Sky cyc 1k
3- 3 circuit R40 ground cyc
7 - 6" Fresnel 500k w/barndoor
33 - 6 X 9 Lamp 750 W
15 - 6 X 12 Lamp 750 W
5- 6 x 16 Lamp 750 W
4 - 4.5 X 6.5 Lamp 750 W
2 - 8 inch Fresnel 1K
3 - 6 inch Fresnel 500W
10 - 5lb deck plates
5- PAR 64 flood 1k
6 - 8' booms w/ bases
All cable necessary to install the lighting plotTYPICAL SCHEDULE:
DAY 1TBA PRE-HANG OF LIGHTS, SCRIM, CYC, LEGS AND BORDERS (Time and crew size sufficient to complete the work) (Company Technical Director at theater to direct the work)
DAY 2
9-1 Company load-in equipment: color, rigging, set pieces, sound
(LOAD-IN CREW)
2-6 Focus (LOAD-IN CREW)
7-11 Spacing & cueing - REHEARSAL (RUN CREW)
Maureen Fleming
"Technical requirements" con'd. 'AFTER EROS'DAY 3
9-1 Work notes, Finish cueing, set sound levels, projections, set
up for run (CREW TBA)
2-6 general rehearsal (need wardrobe) (FULL RUN CREW)
8pm Performance (RUN CREW)
empty pool following performanceDAY 4
2-6 to be announced with crew
8pm Performance (RUN CREW)
10-1 strike of Company's equipment and load-out
(STRIKE CREW)LOCAL CREW: Assumes That Pre-Hang of Electrics, Sound and Legs and Borders is Completed (Please discuss with Company Technical Director)
Load in, set-up & strike 2 electricians *
1 carpenters/riggers *
1 sound technician
1wardrobeRun crew: 2 stage hands
1 light operator
1 sound technician
1 wardrobe
1 projectionist (film and slides)
* ADD 2 CARPENTERS AND 3 ELECTRICIANS TO LOAD-IN IF PRE-HANG IS NOT COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE COMPANY'S ARRIVAL
OTHER
1. clean private dressing area close to stage with bathroom
2. separate rehearsal space available before performance
3. professional steamer (for 60 ft Kimono)
4. table and mirror for fast changes back stage
5. red spotting light