Theorist Fest 2017

The Theorists celebrate their 4th season with Theorist Fest 9/24-/10/1. Their 2016/17 residencies toured 15 cities, 9 states & 3 countries. The award winning collective presents the world premiere of ATX Remix, a full-length work accompanied by live music (Dana Louise & The Glorious Birds), paintings (Elizabeth Hartzell), XYZ Atlas sculptures (Jennifer Chenoweth) fashion, festivities, and a night swim. Plastic bag gowns designed by American Dance Festival costumer (John Brinkman) fill the stage with a whirlwind of environmental experiments as dancers pivot a 40’ strand of 30+shoes. Community collaborators include a physicist, psychologist, rock climber, linguist, musicians & movers versed in krump, ballet, swing, bharatanatyam, rumba, and Ohad Naharin’s movement language, Gaga.

The Fest opens with “Because I Hate Technology” an interactive multi-media installation by internationally lauded heretic, Jason Somma. Renowned for defying categorization, Somma hacks technology to merge tech/science/kinesthetic into a new autonomous media. His portfolio includes Jiri Kylian, Mikhail Baryshnikov, 91 year old Frances Welles, refugees from African & the Middle East, as well as movers of mixed abilities, and Lyon Opera Ballet. Festivities continue into the week with TBX (hacking tech) workshop Sep 26-Oct 1st at the University of Texas, including special guest artists courtesy of Texas Performing Arts Center. Over one thousand artists have participated in 19 TBX workshops locally and internationally.

Founder of The Theorists, Amy Morrow, received the 2017 Austin Critics Table Award for Excellence as Dancer as well as DDCF’s 2016 Choreographic Exchange Award, commissioning two world premieres by Morrow in Detroit & NYC. Community programing is in collaboration with UT, Texas Performing Arts Center, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Fusebox, Rattletree School of Marimba, McCallum Fine Arts, AISD, Body Shift, Power for Parkinson’s, Balance Dance Studios, Austin Creative Alliance, Tango Tribe, The General Consulate of Israel Southwest, AJFF, and Ballet Austin. This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.