ANN ARBOR DANCE WORKS 2012
ANN ARBOR DANCE WORKS presented CORSETS, GRAINS, & GREENWAYS: DANCING DOWNTOWN ANN ARBOR, a unique site dance performance featuring 40 dancers and musicians and several community partners. Traversing a four-block route in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor, and taking place in buildings, alleys, parking lots, and along sidewalks and railroad tracks, the performance brought attention to the layered histories of these sites and the hopes for a greenway that will connect these places to outlying neighborhoods. Premieres were presented by NYC guest artist Monica Bill Barnes, UK guest artist Adesola Akinleye, and resident choreographers Jessica Fogel and Robin Wilson. Community High School’s dance company, Dance Body, performed in a work by UM Dance alumna Marly-Spieser Schneider. Other community partners for this performance project included the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy, the WSG Gallery, The Our Own Thing Chorale, and Downtown Home and Garden.
"It had to look odd. It had to look wonderful … dancers evoked history or hilarity or mystery ... and found novel and fascinating ways to connect dancer and site." -Susan Isaacs Nisbett, Review: 'Dancing Downtown Ann Arbor'