Spectrum Dance’s Kylie Lewallen in “A Chekhovian Resolution,” the first installment of the Beyond Dance project. Photo by Gabriel Bienczycki/ZebraVisual
Donald Byrd’s Spectrum Dance Theater has announced its 2010-11 season, featuring a trio of collaborations with other local companies, the return of their studio series, and the final installment of the three-year Beyond Dance: Promoting Awareness and Mutual Understanding.
The Beyond Dance work is the big show of the season, coming up in March 2011 at the Moore. In this third installment, The Mother of Us All, choreographer Donald Byrd is addressing America’s post-humanitarian relationship with Africa in an era where we’re increasingly in competition with economies around the world for African resources, even as political development and social justice remain depressed on that continent. This follows up 2009’s well-received A Chekhovian Resolution, about the Israeli-Palenstinian conflict, and this year’s Farewell, which explored American-Chinese relations. For The Mother of Us All, Spectrum will again be collaborating with composer Byron Au Yong.
The three week studio series goes up this coming October at Spectrum’s Madrona studios. The first week, which features a mixed repertoire of Byrd’s own work and other as-yet-to-be-announced choreographers, will explore the idea of relationships. From there, the series takes a turn to the related idea of ballroom dance, where the company will re-stage three of Byrd’s repertory pieces, set to music by Brahms and Ravel.
Otherwise, Spectrum will be collaborating with the annual Music of Remembrance performance, the Seattle Early Music Guild, and the 5th Avenue’s production of Oklahoma!, as well as joining the Seattle Dance Project and ACT Theatre for a variety show in ACT’s cabaret theatre in spring 2011.