CulturalDC’s 20th Anniversary Season features Gallery by S. J. Ewing & Dancers
Washington, DC - S. J. Ewing and Dancers will present the dance work Gallery October 3-5 at CulturalDC’s Source Theatre as part of CulturalDC’s 20th Anniversary Season. Choreographed by S. J. Ewing in collaboration with the dance artists, Gallery questions the complexities and tensions between our internal desires and societies' expectations of women.
“As CulturalDC celebrates its 20th Anniversary, we are happy to showcase an artist we have supported for many years. Sarah’s work is on the cutting-edge of modern dance, and we want to elevate the work of artists who are pushing their discipline’s boundaries,” said Kristi Maiselman, Executive Director of CulturalDC.
Performed by a cast of six female dancers, Gallery is dedicated to the empowerment, fear, strength, resilience and vulnerability of women. The work is athletic and virtuosic with a score of house music driving it forward. The audience’s experience of watching and observing such an intense work during which bodies are pushed to physical limits creates a live action gallery of living art: human art.
“There is a boldness in the decision to live from your own deep desires and curiosities instead of in reaction to those around you. During the choreographic process for Gallery, we explored how our bones, muscles and cells could be the instigators of our movements, so that we were tapping into an internal place that is normally ignored, and using that as the framework for the piece. I wanted to strip down the labels that constrain us as women and show the power in making decisions driven purely from our body’s physical presence and abilities,” said Ewing.
Directed by S. J. Ewing; Performed by S. J. Ewing & Dancers; Choreographed by S. J. Ewing in collaboration with the artists. This performance by S. J. Ewing & Dancers is a co-presentation between CulturalDC and CityDance, with special guests from CityDance Conservatory.
Performance Information
Dates: October 3 (8pm), October 4 (8pm), October 5 (8pm)
Location: Source Theatre, 1835 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Ticket Price: $25, purchase at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/culturaldc-gallery-by-sj-ewing-dancers-tickets-68275569065
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About S. J. Ewing:
Sarah J. Ewing (Director/Choreographer) is an Australian born choreographer, a CityDance Ignite Artist and the Director of S. J. Ewing & Dancers. She engages the intersection of dance and technology to make performance and installation works for theatres as well as site-specific locations. Ewing is the recipient of multiple Artist Fellowship and Project, Event and Festival Grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, a Local Dance Commissioning grant from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and a Dance Metro DC Dance Connect grant. Her company, S. J. EWING & DANCERS, has presented work throughout DC with the support of Dance Place, CulturalDC and CityDance at venues including the Kennedy Center, Dupont Underground, Dance Place, Atlas Performing Arts Center, Source Theater, Bread for the City, 2M, Flash Nightclub and The Warehouse. S. J. Ewing & Dancers have completed residencies at Cranbrook School and Lightbox in Detroit and were recently presented in New Zealand’s premier alternative arts festival, The Arcade. The company has toured across the US to Green Space (NYC), Boston Contemporary Dance Festival (MA), White Wave Dance Festival (NYC), Ailey Citigroup Theater (NYC), Your Move JC (NJ), Dance Gallery Festival (TX), CityDance Studio Theater at Strathmore (MD), Detroit City Dance Festival (MI), as well as the Mona Bismarck American Center for art & culture (Paris, France).
About CityDance:
CityDance (www.citydance.net) is a nationally recognized nonprofit arts education leader serving the nation’s capital. Touching thousands of lives in the DC-metropolitan area each year, CityDance’s programming also includes: CityDance DREAM, providing tuition-free dance training and wrap-around support services for students ages 8-18 living in DC’s lowest-income neighborhoods; CityDance School and Conservatory, a tuition-based dance program preparing talented students for professional dance careers; and CityDance Presents, partnering with area presenters to bring world-class dance to DC-area venues.
About CulturalDC
CulturalDC (www.culturaldc.org) celebrates its 20th year of creating affordable, sustainable artist spaces in the Washington, DC area. Since 1998, CulturalDC has brokered more than 300,000 square feet of artist space, including: the Arts Walk at Monroe Street Market, Atlas Performing Arts Center, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Source Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre. In addition to providing space, we facilitate opportunities for and present innovative visual, performing and multidisciplinary artists. CulturalDC’s Mobile Art Gallery is DC’s first moveable artspace and a commitment to use art as a catalyst to build community. Each year, CulturalDC serves more than 1,000 artists and welcomes 40,000 audience members and participants who patron local businesses and contribute an estimated $1 million to the local economy.
Press Inquiries:
Megan Piluk, CityDance Senior Manager of External Relations
443-223-3361