[NEohioPAL]GroundWorks Dancetheater at Akron's Icehouse

[PandoraRob at aol.com]

A Collaboration Of Dance, Music, and Light  In A Historic Setting
GroundWorks Dancetheater's Landmarks Series Returns to the Icehouse
At The Northside Ice/Coal Complex in Akron Ohio


Millworks Gallery Inc. proudly presents the return engagement of GroundWorks 
Dancetheater at the Icehouse on consecutive weekends, Friday through Sunday  
September 7, 8 & 9, and Friday and Saturday, September 14 & 15, 2001.   The 
performances, which begin at 8PM, take place at the Northside Ice/Coal 
Factory Complex (The Ice House), located at 129 North Summit Street between 
Perkins and Furnace Streets in Akron Ohio.   
Tickets can be purchased at the door or reserved by calling GroundWorks 
Dancetheater at (216) 691-3180. 
Ticket prices are $15.00 general admission and $10.00 for students and 
seniors.

GroundWorks Dancetheater's LANDMARK SERIES is characterized by performances 
in settings of architectural or historical significance in communities 
through out the region.  Past Landmarks Series concerts have been presented 
at the Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library in downtown Cleveland, The 
First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland, and St Alban/Etz Chaiyim in 
Cleveland Heights.  GroundWorks performed at the Icehouse in September of 
2000 and is pleased to be returning to the Icehouse, for their fifth 
Landmarks Series concerts.  

The Northside Ice/Coal Complex was the original ice house for the city of 
Akron.  Constructed in 1880, at its high point the ice house produced 125 
tons of ice a day.  .Micheal Owen is the owner of The Northside Ice/Coal 
Complex.  As head of the Millworks Gallery Inc., Mr. Owen has hosted a number 
of special events and visual art exhibitions in buildings that he has 
restored.  He is interested in supporting the arts and stimulating 
possibilities for revitalization in the Northside Area of Akron. with his 
mission of "Urban Recycling."  The Icehouse has enormous potential as a 
performance venue in close proximity to the current redevelopment of downtown 
Akron at the north end of Main St.  GroundWorks hopes its concerts will 
increase awareness of this dramatic and historic space.  GroundWorks 
Dancetheater is grateful to Millworks Gallery, Inc. and Michael Owen for 
extending an invitation to return to the Icehouse.  

Program Highlights:

These performances will again feature the music and performing abilities of 
GroundWorks Dancetheater's resident composer Gustavo Aguilar combined with 
energetic and thought provoking dance.  Artistic director David Shimotakahara 
and associate Amy Hayes are joined by dancers Felice Bagley and Damien 
Highfield for these concerts.  Both Ms. Bagley and Mr. Highfield were part of 
GroundWorks' acclaimed season as a resident company of Cleveland Public 
Theatre's Gordon Square Theatre in June 2001.  Lighting designer Dennis Dugan 
will again help transform an industrial environment into a place of magic and 
possibility.  

The program will feature a dramatic restaging of David Shimotakahara's Open 
Seating, performed by Felice Bagley, Damien Highfield, Amy Hayes and David 
Shimotakahara.  Since its Ohio premiere at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 
1999 Open Seating has proven to be one of the company's signature works.  At 
the start of Open Seating, four chairs and four dancers are placed inside a 
square.  The potentially dynamic associations and implications of these 
elements suggest the content and action of this compelling and complex dance. 
 Characters emerge and recede from a shifting framework that mirrors our 
continuing search for place, purpose and connection.  The observations are 
unflinching but the point of view is ultimately tender and human.  Music was 
composed and recorded by Gustavo Aguilar.

The program will also feature the World Premiere of Migration a new 
collaboration between Mr. Shimotakahara and Mr. Aguilar with live 
accompaniment performed by Mr. Aguilar, and his wife Gaelyn Aguilar.  
Migration is about things in flux, the motion of change.  As a metaphor for 
change, it suggests the depths of a relationship and where it can take us; a 
place we don't always know and can no longer describe, but can sense when we 
are there.   The new work will be danced by Mr. Shimotakahara and GroundWorks 
artistic associate Amy Hayes with Felice Bagley as an alternate cast.  This 
premiere marks the sixth project Mr. Aguilar and Shimotakahara have worked on 
together.  Since 1993, they have established a fertile and lasting creative 
relationship that is producing a significant body of work, forming the 
nucleus of GroundWorks Dancetheater's active repertory.  

Composer/Percussionist Gustavo Aguilar's music will be featured throughout 
the performance in a continuous mix of dance and music.  In addition to his 
compositions for Open Seating and the New Work his live performance of other 
original compositions and selections of established contemporary masterworks 
will create a textured and dynamic weave for the expansion of many of the 
themes visited in Mr. Shimotakahara's work.  

Post Performance Meet the Artists:

The audience is invited to attend an informal gathering, to meet the artists, 
and discuss the work presented , immediately following the performances on 
Saturday September 8, Sunday September 9 and Friday September 15.

Historic Talk:

GroundWorks is pleased that its Landmarks Series continues to connect people 
to interesting places in their communities through the experience of dance.  
This series we welcome learning more about the history of the Akron Ice house 
through the insights and anecdotes of our guest speaker, historian John 
Vacha. Mr. Vacha will conduct a brief talk at 2:00 pm Sunday September 9, 
2001. 

Performance & Ticket Information

Friday & Saturday, September 7th & 8th, September 14 th & 15th; 8:00 PM
Sunday, September 9th at 2:00 PM
Northside Ice/Coal Factory Complex at 129 North Summit Street, 
between Perkins and Furnace Streets, Akron Ohio 
Tickets may be purchased at the door or reserved by calling 216-691-3180
Ticket prices:  $15.00 for general admission; $10.00 for students and seniors.

This event is made possible with the generous support of

The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation,The Ohio Arts Council, 
The Larry and Barbara Robinson Philanthropic Foundation, 
Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro in honor of Marjorie Talalay, 
The Benjamin Gerson Family Foundation, 
The Toby Devan Lewis Philathropic Fund, 
The Lipson Group,
The University of Akron Department of Theatre and Dance
Individual Contributor and Members of GroundWorks Board of Trustees