Dance
Itutu
Armitage Gone! Dance
Choreographed by Karole Armitage
Whether choreographing works for Mikhail Baryshnikov or Michael
Jackson; for the Paris Opera Ballet or Broadway (Hair,
Passing Strange), former "punk ballerina" Karole Armitage
is known for her edgy, unbridled energy and hyper-kinetic take on
the contemporary zeitgeist.
For the US premiere of Itutu, Armitage collaborates with
African pop band Burkina Electric and band member/composer Lukas
Ligeti to create a haunting yet unabashedly festive fusion of dance
and live music. Club electronica and ancient Burkinabé rhythms
combine with off-kilter ballet and traditional African dance as
Burkina Electric performs onstage with the Armitage Gone! Dance
company, creating a world in which the modern and the traditional,
the pop and the spiritual co-exist in a celebratory meeting
ground.
With live music by Burkina Electric and band member Lukas
Ligeti
Costumes designed by Peter Speliopoulos
Set design by Philip Taaffe
Itutu was created with lead commissioning support from
the L' E. A. R. Teatro Massimo Vincenzo Bellini di Catania in
Catania, Italy. The work received its World Premiere with the title
Summer of Love on May 21, 2009 at Teatro Bellini.
Additional commissioning support was provided by the BAM 2009 Next
Wave Festival and Lincoln Center for Lincoln Center Out of
Doors.