There will be sweets, coffee, and tea available for concessions so come a little early to sip and chew!
Choreography by Lauren Putty White
Music Score by Brent White
Producing Director, Phil Sumpter
Through dance, music, and meaningful conversation, iStand relates stories about civil struggle and self-preservation. It suggests one’s personal well-being hinges upon the wellness of the whole society.
iStand features a new body of work by Lauren Putty White, recipient of the 2013 Ellen Forman Memorial Award for Choreography. Utilizing contemporary dance vocabulary ranging from Horton to jazz, Putty White uses her emotive style to express her personal reaction to recent high profile incidents of civil unrest in the country, concerning race relations and the inequities within the criminal justice system. Putty White was deeply impacted by recent uprisings when Baltimore, her hometown, erupted in violence following the tragic death of Freddie Gray. A national state of emergency was declared, lasting 10 days. For Putty White, it felt like a lifetime.
Husband and creative counterpart, Brent White, composes and arranges a musical score featuring seven original tracks within a central theme. His soundscape embodies the mood and movement with keen empathy. In Act Two, he steps on stage with trombone in hand to improvise freely in a duet with the production’s principal dancer. A concluding track features vocals by African American spiritual songstress Alexis Joi.
iStand places audiences on a seesaw of emotion through two acts. From fear to awe, remorse to contempt, anger to aggression, Act One conveys a process of personal pain. The power of prayer becomes the focus in Act Two. Personal balance, strength and clarity are restored and a conscious decision is made to stand and embrace society as a whole.
Offering additional testimony, the company invites friends to share their views on what civil unrest personally means to them. Captured on video, four individuals, including a teacher’s assistant; a college professor; an IT specialist; and a college student respond to a series of thematic questions: “What do you fear? Fight for? Stand for? Pray for?”
