Diavolo Dance Theater returns to the Community Concert Hall
Unique dance troupe presents “Architecture in Motion” on May 12
Durango, CO – Diavolo Dance Theater – Jacques Helm, artistic director – will bring its unique, modern, acrobatic dance to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College presenting “Architecture in Motion” on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
An internationally renowned modern acrobatic dance company, Diavolo Dance Theater reinvents dance, re-imagines theater and redefines thrills. The company has earned a reputation for stunning, innovative movement on oversized surrealistic sets and everyday structures. Diavolo is said to make precisely coordinated feats look improvisational, even reckless.
Through its evolution, Diavolo has incorporated a distinct style of Architecture in Motion, one that uses both abstract and standard structures to explore a relationship between the dangers of environment and the fragility of a human’s body. Taking all elements to the extreme, Diavolo ultimately creates an abstract narrative about the human experience through surreal tableaux, having formed dozens of works over the years that are some of the dance field’s most compelling repertoires.
“What we do on stage is like a live abstract painting,” said Jacques Heim, who founded Diavolo in 1992. “There is no narrative, but strong themes pervade the work such as human struggle, fear, danger, survival, chaos, order, deconstruction, reconstruction, destiny, destination, faith, and love.”
Heim was born and raised in Paris, France, and his earliest experiences with performance came from street performing. He attended Middlebury College (B.F.A. in Theater, Dance, and Film), the University of Surrey in England (Certificate for Analysis and Criticism of Dance), and the California Institute for the Arts (M.F.A., Choreography). In addition to his work with Diavolo, Heim has worked extensively for other companies in dance, theater, TV, and special events worldwide.
Diavolo has an extensive performance history in its base city of Los Angeles as well as throughout the U.S, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. As noted in the Los Angeles Times, “For 20 years, Diavolo has been Los Angeles’ wild child, a company of daredevil dancers leaping and cavorting on pitching wheels, Goliath walls and other playground equipment from a super-size Wonderland.”
In explaining the troupe’s name, “Dia” is Spanish for “day,” as well as Greek for “through, across, from point to point.” “Volo” is Latin for “I fly.” Additional connotations for Diavolo’s name come from the French “Diablerie,” a playfulness of humans, the clever, astounding or comical pranks of a child, clown or rascal. Diavolo is also the name of a Russian avant-garde circus performer who, in the 1920s, enacted outrageous stunts on a bicycle.
Learn more about Diavolo’s “Architecture in Motion,” and view clips of the dance performance at http://www.diavolo.org/about-us, click on “Demo Reel.”
Tickets for Diavolo “Architecture in Motion” ($34/$44) are available on-line at www.durangoconcerts.com, or call 970.247.7657, or visit the Ticket Office inside the Durango Welcome Center at 8th St. and Main Ave., Downtown Durango. Ticket Office hours are Monday – Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Community Concert Hall is a not-for-profit, multi-use performance venue located on the campus of Fort Lewis College. Its ability to bring a diverse spectrum of shows to Southwest Colorado is made possible through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, and through financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.
