Cathy Cabaniss (Credit: Dean M. Connor, Jr.)
Annex Dance Company announces the remount of their 2024 Piccolo Spoleto Festival work, It’s Itself. Created in collaboration with visual artist and College of Charleston Studio Art Chair Susan Klein, the company will be returning to the Chapel Theatre transformed by Klein’s art to perform the modern dance piece. Tickets are $18 general admission; $13 for students and seniors (surcharge included) through the George Street Box Office.
It’s Itself is a 45-minute work straddling themes of the spiritual world and the earthly world, questioning the desire to place lingual descriptions on dance and art. The choreography and art inhabit the performance space, allowing for connection, interaction, and manipulation of human and inanimate objects. Creating in collaboration with artists of different mediums has been part of artistic director Kristin Alexander’s creative process since she established the company in 2007. It’s Itself, however, is the first work where the movement invention was highly influenced by the opportunities and limitations of the artwork in the space. When creating the sculptures and large silk backdrop that transform the stage Susan Klein shares, “I was thinking about the relationship between tactility, movement, and creation. Ideas around non-lingual communication, symbolic language, and the connection between art-making and spirituality arose while in conversation with Kristin.”
In September 2024, the company made their Atlanta debut with a mixed repertory concert that included an excerpt of It’s Itself. Unable to travel with Klein’s artwork, the fabric that also inhabits the space, often as a partner to the dancers, became a focal point and found an even deeper meaning to its inclusion in the piece. Now, six months later, the artistic directors have the two different performances of It’s Itself to reflect upon as they prepare for March. “Revisiting the work allows us to consider the two previous performances and make small, impactful changes as we find a more profound connection with the movement vocabulary, the art, the music, and especially, the concept,” shares Julie Clark, associate artistic director.
With Alexander and Klein as School of the Arts faculty, the 2024 Piccolo Spoleto premiere and the upcoming performance of It’s Itself on the College of Charleston campus are significant. “The arts landscape in Charleston is vibrant,” says Alexander. “So many of my colleagues are contributing, creating, and making connections for our students to it through both our work at the College and endeavors outside of the School of the Arts. It is special to professionally collaborate with a colleague and share it with our students on our campus.” The creation and premiere was supported by the Department of Theatre and Dance and Department of Studio Art and partially funded by the Dean's Excellence Fund for the College of Charleston School of the Arts. Project funding was also awarded by the South Carolina Arts Commission through an Arts Project Support Grant.
In addition to public performances, the restaging of this piece is part of an invitation to be the Guest Company for the American College Dance Association (ACDA) - Southeast Conference. The company will engage with collegiate dance majors and professors from throughout the Southeast through classes and the performance. Being a conference guest artist for ACDA puts Annex Dance Company on a list among other accomplished dance companies who will be at conferences all over the country this Spring hosted by universities through this national organization.
Patrons are encouraged to find more information regarding the performances and take a look into the behind-scenes process by on the following social media outlets: https://www.facebook.com/
