Jamie Jewett’s “Seven Veils” World Premiere Coming to FirstWorks

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Tracey Minkin, Features Editor

seven veils

Seduction and betrayal in Lostwax's Seven Veils

Seven weeks of firsts in the arts spanning dance, new media, music and performance art reach a dramatic finale in downtown Providence this weekend as FirstWorks Festival presents the world premiere of “Seven Veils” by Lostwax Multimedia Dance in a four-performance run at Perishable Theatre, Nov. 10-13. The Providence-based Lostwax has toured in Europe and Asia, and has regularly sold-out local performances for FirstWorks Festival.

Retelling the story of Salome and the seven veils

In “Seven Veils”, choreographer Jamie Jewett and his team of cross-disciplinary collaborators interweave voices, dancer and video projections in a richly visual re-imagining of the story of Salome as based on author Thalia Field’s adaptation. Video projections by R. Luke DuBois and choral music by Alexander deVaron provide an often humorous score for Jewett's quirky contemporary dance. It's all there: the dungeon, the palace, the dance, the seductions and betrayals – the re-imagined "veils" of Salome's story. Each evening’s performance will include an Artist-Up-Close conversation, taking FirstWorks’ audience deep into the creative process.

"Seven Veils is an exciting new work for us," said Jamie Jewett. "As an evening-length solo it gives us an intimate perspective of Salome's experience. The soloist, Kim Johnson, is really quite astonishing, her sophisticated performance winds its way from gorgeous fluidity, through the powerful athleticism of a gymnast, and ends a tangled pile of limbs and vulnerability."

Jewett's work will feature live music, another treat for the artist. "The opportunity to work with live music is also rare and exciting," he said. "The four singers render Thalia Field's text in a broad range of vocal treatment, playing with words and meaning with language that sometimes tells us the story and sometimes washes over us, almost a sonic texture."

Lostwax + FirstWorks

“Jamie Jewett and Lostwax have thrilled FirstWorks’ audiences with their extraordinary explorations at the intersection of live performance and the image-world of digital media”, said FirstWorks Executive Artistic Director, Kathleen Pletcher. “In ‘Seven Veils’, this team of wildly creative artists is re-telling the fascinating story of Salome and her “Dance of the Seven Veils” with a fresh perspective. Providence earns its stripes as a creative capital with this debut.”

"FirstWorks truly serves a unique and critical role our community," said Jewett, "not only bringing us world class artists from around the globe, but in recognizing, fostering, and supporting our local artists as well."

FirstWorks presents the world premiere of Lostwax Multimedia Dance in “Seven Veils” at Perishable Theater, 95 Empire Street in Providence, R.I. Performances take place Thursday, Nov. 10 through Saturday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $16 in advance, $24 day of performance through the FirstWorks Box Office: www.first-works.org, 401-421-4281.

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