This spring, Montalvo Arts Center continues its New Directions series with three performances ranging from flamenco dancing with a twist to new music for a classic silent film, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. According organizers, these performances were chosen specifically for New Directions because the artists’ work pushes boundaries and offers audiences a new and exciting perspective into contemporary performance.
Held in Montalvo’s Carriage House Theatre and Lilian Fontaine Garden Theatre, New Directions events are on sale now through the Montalvo Box Office.
On March 4, Fanny Ara presents: Garlochi, a night of flamenco music and dance, complementing Montalvo’s current Project Space Gallery exhibition, Cease & Desist, which includes flamenco costumes made of candy wrappers.
On March 24 Montalvo welcomes former artist-in-residence and violinist/composer Matt McBane with his five-piece band, Build; and on May 20, former artist-in-residence Richard Marriott returns with the Club Foot Orchestra to perform new compositions to accompany “Metropolis” (1926).
The New Directions series, which kicked off in October 2010 with Hope Mohr Dance Company, explores new areas of dance, music and performing arts. Organized by Kelly Sicat, director of the Lucas Artists Residency Program,
New Directions features the work of former Lucas Artists Residency Fellows and other select artists. Additional performances will be announced later this year.
Fanny Ara Presents: Garlochi – A Night of Flamenco Music and Dance
Friday, March 4, 8pm, Carriage House Theatre
$20; Members $15
Responding to the work of visual artist Charlotte Kruk featured in the Project Space Gallery exhibition Cease & Desist, Bay Area flamenco dancer Fanny Ara has choreographed an evening of flamenco and Spanish classical dance that pushes the boundaries of tradition. Ara’s re-imagining of flamenco and the paso doble adds a cheeky and whimsical twist that strongly contradicts the inherently serious tone of these dance forms. Garlochi means “heart” in Calo – the language of the gypsies. This performance features live music.
Garlochi is co-presented by Montalvo Arts Center and The Bay Area Flamenco Partnership.Matt McBane and Build
Thursday, March 24, 7pm, Carriage House Theatre
$20; Members $15Build, a five-piece band led by composer/violinist and former artist in-residence Matt McBane, “has been attracting serious attention with its genre-traversing mix of chamber-music decorum, rootsy twang and pop-fueled drive” (Time Out New York). Their debut album was released in 2008 to wide acclaim. Build will release their new album on March 29, which is expected to include new pieces composed by McBane, three of which were written while he was in residence at Montalvo: Ride, Cleave and Behavior Patterns.
Club Foot Orchestra presents: Metropolis
Friday, May 20, 8pm, Lilian Fontaine Garden Theatre
$20; Members $15The Club Foot Orchestra is a music ensemble founded in 1983 by Richard Marriot, a former artist in-residence. After a brief career playing dramatic complex music in San Francisco clubs, they became known for their equally dramatic and complex scores for classic silent movies. The ensemble got their name from a performance art nightclub called the “Club Foot” which flourished in the Bayview district of San Francisco. Marriott, who lived upstairs, formed a house band that came to be called the “Club Foot Orchestra.” They will perform music for a classic Felix short (Felix the Cat Woos Whoopee) and then perform their music composed for Fritz Lang’s 1926 classic Metropolis.
Ticket Information
Fanny Ara Presents: Garlochi – A Night of Flamenco Music and Dance
Friday, March 4, 8pm, Carriage House Theatre
$20; Members $15Matt McBane and Build
Thursday, March 24, 7pm, Carriage House Theatre
$20; Members $15 (also available via Ticketmaster)Club Foot Orchestra presents: Metropolis
Friday, May 20, 8pm, Lilian Fontaine Garden Theatre
$20; Members $15