Karar Dance Company presents INFORMAL

Karar Dance Company presents INFORMAL. No lights. No Costumes. Dance in its purest form. Engage with the dancers and company through dialogue, Q&A, and immersive tasks. INFORMAL is a unique opportunity to both see and experience modern dance.

 

Two youth choreographers from the Richmond area will also present original choreographed works created through the company's Young Dancer Mentorship program. Isabel New and Ashlyn Richards will premiere dance works they crafted on their peers and will join Karar for the post show talkback. This scholarship program is supported by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.  Visit karardancecompany.org/mentorship to learn more.

 

The company presents four works. All share a through line of "change" and an element of "duality".

 

Shapeshifter explores the human relationship with change. A trio of dancers flurry in a world of uncertainty and transformation as they step into the unknown. Movement is interstitially woven by a delicate power as the dancers come to find that change is both inevitable and vital in order to discover the beauty on the other side.

 

Shapeshifter premiered in St. George, Utah at the Red Rock Dance Festival in June 2023. This work was made possible by Virginia Commonwealth University of Dance & Choreography and E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.

 

Pass navigates the hustle and bustle of daily life. A duet of dancers move through space in rigid, sharp unison as others pass them by as if they have blinders on. This work reminds audiences to take notice of those around you.

 

Pass premiered in the 2022 installation of INFORMAL. This presentation will include bodies traversing through space in addition to the original duet created.

 

Kaizen first premiered in 2016 for the company's inaugural performance at the Grace Street Theater. Karar will present an excerpt of this work. The word kaizen is derived from Japanese, meaning "change for better" and combines the word kai, meaning change, and zen, meaning good. Abstract movement searches the varying emotions of progress.

 

Karar premieres Leave the Light on. This is a solo work set to contemporary music, a shift from the company's classical influence. A soloist brings her thoughts into the light, allowing positive revelations and shifts. She makes space for new opportunities as she releases the old.

 

Learn more about Karar Dance Company at karardancecompany.org.  Follow us on Instagram @karardancecompany.

 

Event image by Tori Duhaime.