Garrett + Moulton Productions will present Four Acts of Light and Wonder, an evening of radiant dance and live music that celebrates the irrepressible nature of the human spirit. The production features two world premieres and a US premiere set to original music and the reprise of a popular work set to Mozart. Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton’s most ambitious program to date, the evening will feature the world premieres of Garrett’s The Over-Soul and Moulton’s newest iteration of his crowd favorite Ball Passing, the US premiere of Garrett’s Gojubi and the reprise of The Mozart (2017) all with live music, the first three by long-time collaborating composer Jonathan Russell. Twelve dance soloists and ten musicians, comprised of two trombones, two trumpets, two clarinets, two cellos, flute and piano, lead a cast of more than 40 performers.
The Over-Soul (world premiere) choreographed by Janice Garrett features five dancers and is set to an original score by Jonathan Russell supported by a grant from New Music USA. Using Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay of the same name as a springboard, Garrett’s newest work will explore the driving human urge to find connection and a sense of unity. This passionate and soulful work contrasts moments of deep resonance with states of profound struggle and dissonance.
The world premiere of a new variation of Charles Moulton’s iconic Ball Passing highlights the joys of collective endeavor and features an original score by Jonathan Russell. This new rendition of Moulton’s historic post-modern work incorporates a community cast comprised of dancers and a movement choir of intergenerational performers from the local SF community via workshops held in the spring of 2019 in partnership with ODC, Rhythm & Motion, San Francisco State University School of Theatre & Dance and other local partners.
Garrett reconstructs Gojubi (US Premiere), her fiercely exuberant, hyper-kinetic, colorful work that premiered in London at The Place Theatre in 2012. Russell’s rollicking 12 Bean Groove Machine propels an ensemble of 12 dancers, consisting of five GMP company members and seven guest soloists, through an adrenaline-fueled world of movement and sound.
The Mozart, choreographed by Garrett and Moulton in 2017, returns to the repertory this season for five company dancers and guest artist Jeremy Smith. Standout pianist Allegra Chapman will perform an arresting array of Mozart sonatas that include Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K310. The choreographers describe the piece as “pastry-like” for its exuberant layers of lyric states of emotion.