Jacob’s Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA to Present Chunky Move

Adding cultural excitement to the Berkshires winter season, Jacob’s Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA will co-present Australian contemporary dance company and audience favorite Chunky Move in Connected March 24 and 25 at MASS MoCA’s Hunter Center.

Based in Melbourne, the company is acclaimed for dance works that merge unique visual design and “blasts of choreographic excitement” (Jack Anderson, New York Times). These daring and innovative works have garnered fans around the world, earning the company a strong reputation. This engagement will mark Chunky Move’s first Berkshire County return since the 2007 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

Ella Baff, Jacob’s Pillow Executive and Artistic Director comments, “We’ve presented Chunky Move over the years at the Pillow; they are always fresh and inventive. Connected, their newest work, is perfect for MASS MoCA, a collaboration of choreographer Gideon Obarzanek and visual artist Rueben Margolin. Margolin is known for large kinetic sculptures that move and morph, well suited to the dynamics of dance.

Founder Gideon Obarzanek, a 2005 Bessie Award-winner for Outstanding Choreography/Creation, serves as Artistic Director through June 2012. Ella Baff, Jacob’s Pillow Executive and Artist Director, describes Obarzanek as “a major presence on the international arts scene.” His accolades include Best Dance Work for Glow at the Live Performance Australia Helpmann Awards (2008) and Honorary Mention in the Prix Ars Electronica awards in the Hybrid Arts category (2009) for Mortal Engine. Connected is the final work Obarzanek created for the company before his upcoming departure to become an independent choreographer. This U.S. Tour marks the last performances under Gideon Obarzanek’s direction.

In addition to two public performances, on March 23, Chunky Move will conduct a daytime master class and open rehearsal for dance and visual arts students from Williams College, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), and Bennington College.

Connected
March 24 – 25
Hunter Center at MASS MoCA.
To order tickets by phone call 413.662.2111. Online tickets are available for Mezzanine seating only: www.massmoca.org.

Photo by Jeff Busby.