Committed to showcasing diverse artistic expression, Dance New Amsterdam (DNA) presents CABULA6, an internationally acclaimed performance and film company known for its unique hybrid approach to choreography. CABULA6 will present the US premiere of The Angola Project, a three-part series that includes the world premiere of the trilogy’s final chapter, XIN– Heart of the Matter. The Angola Project masterfully combines the worlds of performance and filmmaking by taking audience members on a very personal journey of the co-artistic directors’ real-life attempts to finance a film and confront the fear of mortality. Performances are November 7-10 (Parts 1 and 2) and 14-17 (Part 3). All shows are at 7:30 p.m., with one additional performance of Part 3 on November 17 at 3:00 p.m.
Created by New York Film Academy Documentary Professor, Jeremy Xido, Claudia Heu, and Igor Dobricic, the trilogy begins with Xido’s captivation of Lisbon’s sunset-timed gas lamps and growing idea for a film (Part 1: Lisbon); he finds himself collecting historical tidbits, experiencing random encounters and conducting a slew of interviews with the people he meets there. Part 2: Angola, delves deeper into Xido’s quest to construct a film script as he travels to Angola along the Benguela Railway. Xido—the sole onstage performer in this entire series—must carefully navigate the minefield of international film financing, constantly reconfiguring his script and feature film pitch accordingly.
Parts 1 and 2 premiered at the Impulstanz Festival in Vienna in 2010, earning acclaim for the creators’ ability to seamlessly blend verbal narration, image and video to create thrilling and novel choreography. The world premiere of Part 3: XIN – Heart of the Matter, is a work-in-progress of the creators’ experiment to produce a disastrous failure, with the hope of discovering something true and valuable among the ruins. Part 3 further investigates the convoluted nature of storytelling, global travel, colonial history and shifting notions of home in today’s age of poly-cultural, mash-up identities. Film footage, spoken lecture, spatial manipulation and use of elements will continue CABULA6’s truly innovative and hybrid approach to choreography.
“DNA encourages our performing artists to delve deeply into different creative mediums to convey their work most effectively,” says Artistic and Executive Director Catherine Peila. “DNA’s artistic vision not only supports that ideology but also makes it a reality for the artists we present, commission and train. Dance represents our visceral need to engage. Today we find more dance artists looking to create even greater connections through hybrid forms. CABULA6’s The Angola Project represents conceptual and performative innovations of the movement artist’s exploration and their on-going attempt to fully engage us in their process.”