Core Dance, the award-winning contemporary dance group dual-based in Atlanta and Houston, begins its 2017/18 season locally in October, with a piece titled Human Landscapes, and internationally in September, performing in Israel.
Core Dance was founded 37 years ago in Houston by dancer/choreographer Sue Schroeder and her sister, Kathy Russell. It added an Atlanta base, on the square in Decatur five years later. The company’s seasons comprise original work, community-based performances and outreach. For more details and tickets, go HERE. Here’s a closer look at what the season promises.
In Atlanta
Human Landscapes. OCT. 26-27. This piece from internationally renowned choreographer Germana Civera focuses on the stories, history and memories that shape the migrant experience. It draws parallels to today’s political climate and focuses on what it’s like to be displaced, exiled and constantly in motion. $15. 8 nightly. At the B-Complex, 1272 Murphy Ave. SW.
Walk. MAY 2018 (recurring). CORE dancers work with the community to create a performance piece in and around a labyrinth of light on Decatur Square. This event contemplates the changing nature of the individual in a changing world, while the labyrinth offers a sacred space.
Dynamic X-Change. SEASON-LONG. A healing arts program that uses dance as a catalyst for change. Core’s partners are the Clarkston Community Center and the East Atlanta Kids Club.
Lunchtime in the Studio. SEPTEMBER-APRIL. This free backstage pass gives members of the public an up-close and personal look at how contemporary dance is crafted and performed. And it includes a free lunch!! Visitors show up, get lunch (usually catered by a Decatur business), sit down, and observe and respond as the art-makers go through their paces. At noon on Sept. 28, Nov. 16, Feb. 8 and April 19. At Core Studios, 133 Sycamore St., Decatur (on the Square). You’re asked to register in advance.
Fall Fieldwork Showcase. DEC. 3. Community artists share works-in-process and get feedback from audience members and fellow performers. Available to artists in all media — dance, theater, spoken word, music, visual art, etc. $7. 5 p.m. Emory University, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, 1700 N. Decatur Road. The Spring Fieldwork Showcase is May 6. Same price, same location.
National Water Dance 2018. APRIL 14. Core Dance joins a nationwide artist-driven collective of dancers and educators that will stretch from coast to coast to create a site-specific performance. It’s designed to bring attention to pressing water issues in the United States. The performances will be live-streamed. Free. 4 p.m. Location TBD.
EnCORE: Dance on Film Festival. MAY 25-26. Original dance works created for the screen are choreographed, directed and performed by metro artists and regional, national and international peers. Filmmakers are invited to submit films for consideration. Part of the Decatur Arts Festival. Look for guidelines in January. Free. Core Studios on the Decatur Square.
Elsewhere
American Playground. SEPTEMBER. Core dancers travel to Tel Aviv to perform the international premiere of this Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor work. It investigates such themes as body as resistance, personal authenticity, and the dialogue between public and private spaces.
Civil Twilight. SEPTEMBER. Core dancers begin a residency in Little Rock, Ark., to commemorate, in part, the nine African-American students who entered the city’s Central High School in 1957, helping spark the fight for equal education under the law.
