REIMAGINE: 30 YEARS | REIMAGINED

REIMAGINE was to premiere May 1, 2020 at The Long Center’s Rollins Theater featuring music composed and performed by Graham Reynolds with Alexis Buffum on Violin and Nora Karakousoglou on Cello. After rehearsals were suspended and the performances were postponed, Artistic Director, Andrea Ariel regrouped with the company dancers on Zoom to create a reimagined, virtual version of the show.

REIMAGINE was to be an evening of dance and live music that reimagined and weaved AADT’s past repertoire with new choreography all set to scores by Reynolds. Long time collaborators with over 10 shows together from 1999-2012, Ariel reunited with Reynolds to mark the company’s 30-year anniversary. “Over all these years we were both developing our work, and there are many threads of Graham’s compositions that are part of my work during that time” Ariel says. ”I thought it would be interesting to reimagine older works and create new ones to a selection of scores that resonated with these connections.”

Over three months during shelter-in-place, the company rehearsed virtually to re-create selected pieces from REIMAGINE in the dancers’ private homes and environments where they then filmed the work. While some of the dances aligned well for a virtual re-creation, others did not. REIMAGINE: 30 Years | REIMAGINED brings three re-creations together with a look at a few past repertoire pieces through archival excerpts and the company’s rehearsal footage pre-COVID. The 45-minute premiere, edited by Colin Lowry, aims to be a virtual experience akin to seeing a show, moving from one piece to the next. The company will be live in the chats during the premiere.

REIMAGINE: 30 YEARS | REIMAGINED was created in collaboration with dancers Whitney O’Baugh, Luis Ordaz Gutiérrez, Ceci Proeger, Rebecca McLindon, Kevin Armstrong, Sandie Donzica and video editor Colin Lowry.  More info at https://www.arieldance.org