Dance theater gets big at the Yard

0
Alison Manning and Jesse Keller perform in a DanceTheYard event. —Sally Cohn

The Yard is preparing to wrap up its summer season, with only a handful of events scheduled through the end of August and into September.

Big Dance Theater, a Bessie, Obie, and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award–winning New York–based company, will be bringing its unique multidisciplinary work to Vineyard audiences this week. On Thursday and Saturday, the Yard will present their latest performance piece, “New Work/Take One.”

Big Dance Theater is celebrating its 25th year of innovative work. The upcoming show, created in part during the company’s residency at the Yard, is an ensemble-based multimedia and multidisciplinary production adapted and directed by artistic directors Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar.

Big Dance Theater has created over 20 different hybrid works which have been performed at venues all over the world. Their work “Man in a Case” featured Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Bessie Awards described Big Dance Theater’s work as “a boldly arranged marriage of dance and theater that is equal parts classical and contemporary text, deft music-theater composition, gifted ensemble, and inspired design. A constantly startling body of work.”

The Yard will present two shows on Thursday, August 25, at 8 pm and Saturday, August 27, at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $25 general admission, 
$15 for seniors, students, and military, and $5 for children under 12
.

The season will continue with performances of “DanceTheYard” on Sept. 1 and 3; “A.R.T. on the Vine” Sept. 7, 8, and 10; and StorySound Live with Dick Connette on Sept. 16. For tickets and more information, visit dancetheyard.org.