SAN RAFAEL, CA -- Pluck all the tradition from Swan Lake, add rapid techno music and astonishing dance at breakneck speed and the result is Birdbrain, a sharp look at a cultural icon from the renowned Australian Dance Theatre, considered by many as one of the world's most brazen young dance companies. This exclusive Bay Area appearance will take place Sunday, April 17, 3 p.m. at the Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, 10 Avenue of the Flags at Civic Center Drive in San Rafael. Tickets are $35, $30 and $25; (Gold Circle $45; Students 18 and under $18) and can be ordered through the Marin Center Box Office at 415-499-6800, online at Ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets throughout the Bay Area. Visit www.marincenter.org for more information.
This 37-year-old company, now under Artistic Director Garry Stewart, reflects Stewart's "no- compromise" attitude - it is fast, aggressive, technically demanding, fraught with risk and charged with an urgency that is riveting to watch. With Birdbrain, Stewart tears Swan Lake apart and lovingly reassembles it, only this time with a post-modern twist. The production draws on elements of classical ballet, contemporary dance, martial arts, breakdance, yoga, contortionism and gymnastics, as well as video art and electronic music. Stewart made his mark with Australian Dance Theatre's Housedance, performed on the sails of the Sydney Opera House for the Millennium Broadcast, which was telecast across the globe to an estimated audience of two billion people. Since then, the Adelaide-based company has taken its work to regional South Australia, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Orange, and overseas to the Joyce Theatre in New York, Galway Festival in Ireland, Seoul Arts Festival, Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, National Arts Centre in Ottawa and the Singapore Arts Festival.
Said the BBC, "…A heart-stopping, eye-popping hour and fifteen minutes of pure genius. Australian Dance Theatre provides a truly theatrical and demanding performance that's funky, fast and furious. A must for any lover of dance."
ADT's dancers train in a number of distinct physical disciplines, from classical ballet to gymnastics, resulting in a fusion of forms, which constitutes a totally unique choreographic palette.
