SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL
ACPW is proud to announce that the Company has been invited to perform “W2! (Women Too!)” at the Seattle International Dance Festival, on June 8, 2019 8:00 pm
Venue: Seattle Central College - Broadway Performance Hall
Dancers: Alessandra Corona, Maria Vittoria Villa, Brian Castillo, James Johnson, Cassandra Orefice, Michael Bishop.
Singer: Parris Lewis
Music arrangements : Thomas Lentakis
Music by: Giuseppe Torelli, Arcangelo Corelli, Illyich Tchaikovsky, Antiqua Köln, Reinhart Goebel, Skip Sempe, Handel.
PRESS
Seattle International Dance Festival/International Series A June 8, 2019
by Marcie Sillman
“I’ve always thought of an arts festival as a sort of party favor grab bag, full of an array of prizes—goofy, satisfying, sometimes disappointing. But every so often, you lay hands—or in this case, eyes---on something that really surprises and delights. For me, that treat appeared the first weekend of this year’s SIDF, part of the Inter/National Series Program A. I wasn’t familiar with Alessandra Corona Performing Works, who are from New York and Italy. But their powerhouse Seattle debut whetted my appetite for more. The piece, “W2!-Women Too!,” choreographed by Manuel Vignoulle, was a dynamic, ballet-based crowd-pleaser, featuring six highly skilled dancers plus a singer/spoken word artist. As the title declares, the work is a not-so-subtle proclamation of female equality and power. Nevertheless, the ingenious choreography and the talented cast kept “W2” continually engaging. The dance begins with a series of tableaux, reminiscent of European Renaissance paintings. An imperious man enters, enthrones himself, and claps for the bevy of women to dance for his pleasure. What ensues is a series of scenes illustrating everything from an abusive relationship to a complete gender role reversal. In a clever pas de deux, a man and woman trade off partnering tasks; she lifts him, he bends back in a graceful arch that you’d see a woman perform in a more traditional ballet. Vignoulle juxtaposes the lifts and graceful jetes with quotidian stomps, flexed biceps, whistles, growls and crotch grabs as female dancers take on macho stereotypes. As I said, it’s not subtle, but in the bodies of these artists, it’s effective.
Lewis’ beautiful singing, added a lovely dimension to the second half of the piece.
Alessandra Corona Performing Works is exactly the kind of treat you hope to find in a dance festival.”
