Margaret Jenkins Dance Company: 40th Anniversary Season

Margaret Jenkins Dance Company 40th Anniversary Season West Coast Premiere of Times Bones World Premiere of The Gate of Winds with the Kolben Dance Company of Jerusalem Live music by the Paul Dresher Ensemble Thu–Sat, Apr 3-5, 7:30 PM; Sun, Apr 6, 3 PM YBCA Forum and Lam Research Theater at YBCA General: $30 in Advance / $35 at the Door Student, Senior, Teacher: $25 in Advance / $30 at the Door YBCA Members: $25; YBCA:You FREE ** Performance starts at 7:30pm in the Forum ** “One could make the plausible argument that the Bay Area’s post-modern dance movement began in earnest when choreographer Margaret Jenkins returned from New York and founded the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company.” San Francisco Examiner Choreographer Margaret Jenkins, who has played an integral role in shaping the cultural fabric of the Bay Area, returns to YBCA to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her company with two new works. The West Coast premiere of Times Bones reflects on the works Jenkins has made over the past four decades, in both a collision and a conversation between the past and the present. The performance begins in the YBCA Forum and continues in the theater. The evening also includes the World Premiere of Jenkins’ new cross-cultural collaboration, The Gate of Winds. Developed and performed with the Kolben Dance Company of Jerusalem, this new work examines actual and metaphorical questions about life and faith, barriers and boundaries. The 40th Anniversary Season features original music by Paul Dresher, performed live by his Ensemble, a visual design by Alexander V. Nichols, and text by poet Michael Palmer. Known for creating highly charged kinetic performances that are at once physically rigorous and intellectually demanding, Jenkins has created more than 75 dance works and is a recognized leader in both the local and national arts communities. In recent years, she has focused on cross-cultural, international collaborations with such diverse partners as the Tanusree Shankar Dance Group in Kolkata, India; the Guangdong Modern Dance Company of Guangzhou, China; and most recently with the Kolben Dance Company of Jerusalem. Reflecting on four decades of Jenkins’ repertory, Times Bones takes the myth of the “scattered limbs of Osiris” as its inspiration. Made specifically to honor her Company’s 40th anniversary, Jenkins looked to her past and asked, “What ‘bones’ of the 75 works that I have made endure, continue to resonate and, if called forward, begin to suggest the spine of a new work? What stories remain untold?” Both a collision and conversation between the past and present, Times Bones begins in the Forum with a special installation animated by lights and dance. Mirroring Jenkins’ own journey from her early site-specific work and studio-based projects into the traditional venues of her later evening-length works, the dancers and the audience will then pass into the main theater. In recent years, Jenkins has focused on cross-cultural, international collaborations with such diverse partners as the Tanusree Shankar Dance Group in Kolkata, India, and the Guangdong Modern Dance Company of Guangzhou, China. The 40th Anniversary Season also includes the World Premiere of a new collaboration with Israeli choreographer Amir Kolben and his Jerusalem-based company. As a fifth-generation San Franciscan of Russian and German-Jewish heritage, Jenkins traveled to Israel for the first time in December, 2011. The city of Jerusalem—holy to the world’s three largest monotheistic traditions—is a critical site for the formulation of this new work, representing both actual and metaphorical questions about life and faith, barriers and boundaries. The dance unfolds by examining this city, in all its complexity, through these many lenses. Developed through residencies in both Jerusalem and San Francisco, this new work will feature dancers from both companies performing together. * For more info, call 415.978.2787 or visit www.ybca.org Join YBCA:You and receive FREE admission to every YBCA performance, film, exhibition, and special event! www.ybca.org/you Enjoy same-day gallery admission with all YBCA presented performances & films! See all current exhibitions at www.ybca.org/exhibitions