(Philadelphia, April 3, 2014) — Known for creating breathtaking works of splendor and exceptional beauty, MOMIX’s artistic director Moses Pendleton brings his latest full-length multimedia spectacle, Alchemia to the Annenberg Center. Pendleton’s choreography was most recently seen around the world in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony work, Doves of Peace. This extraordinary troupe of dancer-illusionists uses props, light, shadow, projections, sound and constructed costumes, to enchant audiences worldwide. Presented by Dance Affiliates and the Annenberg Center, performances will take place on Thursday, May 8 at 7:30 PM, Friday, May 9 at 8 PM and Saturday, May 10 at 2 PM and 8 PM and Sunday, May 11 at 3 PM. Tickets are $20-$80 (prices are subject to change). For tickets or for more information, please visit AnnenbergCenter.org or call 215.898.3900. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Annenberg Center Box Office.
Alchemia will give audiences the chance to experience Pendleton’s “signature brand of theatrical magic” (Philadelphia Inquirer). Like the MOMIX piece Botanica. which had its Philadelphia debut on the Dance Celebration Series in 2010, Alchemia offers a fantastical exploration of the elements of nature. Inspired by the four classic elements of earth, water, air, and fire, Alchemia explores nature and its sexuality as well as transformation and fantasy through dazzling visual effects and pristine choreography.
Set to wide-ranging soundtrack, Alchemia is a two-part work that features a cast of 10 stellar dancers. Entitled “Quest for Fire Water”, the first part has the stage engulfed in red flames with dancers clad in red costumes, including humorous oversized bustles, hats and bodices. In the second part, “Led into Gold,” dancers take to the air using a deconstructing sculpture and aerial apparatuses combined with ropes, mirrors, extensive lighting and projections. According to Pendleton, “Alchemy by definition, can be anything. MOMIX is alchemy.”
In addition to stage performances world-wide, MOMIX has worked in film and television, appearing in a national commercial for Hanes underwear and a Target ad that premiered during the airing of the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards. With performances on PBS’s Dance in America series, France’s Antenne II, and Italian RAI television, the company’s repertory has been broadcast to 55 countries. Commissioned by corporations such as Fiat and Mercedes Benz, MOMIX performed at Fiat’s month long 100th Anniversary Celebration in Torino, Italy, and Mercedes Benz’s International Auto Show in Frankfurt, Germany. With the support of the Scottsdale Cultural Council and Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Pendleton created Bat Habits to celebrate the opening of the San Francisco Giants’ new spring training park in Scottsdale, Arizona. This work served as the forerunner of Baseball and joins such acclaimed original productions as Lunar Sea, Opus Cactus, Orbit, Passion and Botanica. With nothing more than light and shadow, props, the human body, and an epic imagination, MOMIX has astonished audiences on five continents for more than 30 years.
INSIGHTS
Audiences are invited to stay after each performance for a talk back with MOMIX Artistic Director, Moses Pendleton.
MOMIX will also conduct two outreach activities — a Student Discovery performance for schools on Friday, May 9 at 10:30 AM and a complimentary master class for the dance community on Friday, May 9 at 2 PM. For information on outreach activities, contact annemarie@danceaffiliates.org or 215.636.9000 ext. 110.
Funding for the 13/14 Dance Celebration season is provided by the Connelly Foundation, Friends of Dance (Affiliates), the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, The Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and the Virginia C. Mulconroy Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation. State arts funding support is received through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
