A Hand in Desire January 14, 2011

Jan 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29 at 8pm

EmSpace Dance is pleased to announce the world premiere of their latest performance project, A Hand in Desire, an ambitious dance-theater "remix" of Tennessee Williams' classic of the American stage, A Streetcar Named Desire.

Inspired by the poker games that recur throughout Williams' landmark play, A Hand in Desire is structured as a game of chance: there are 52 scenes of various lengths, each associated with a card. Some scenes will be performed every night; others will be drawn at random during each show. Each evening's performance, thus, will be unique, but all of them promise to deliver a heady mixture of live music, dialogue, dance, and drama.

"A Hand in Desire is very much a collaborative work," says EmSpace Dance Artistic Director, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart. "It is also a site-specific work, and we are delighted to develop our ideas for Viracocha, which is far from a traditional theater space. With the audience seated at cafe tables in intimate proximity to the performers, Viracocha's basement will conjure a barroom atmosphere to match the booziness of the play."

A Hand in Desire is co-directed by Erin Mei-Ling Stuart and Wolfgang Lancelot Wachalovsky, and choreographed by Stuart in collaboration with the cast. Composer Joshua Pollack wrote the music and will perform live with Chris Broderick. The multitalented performers are Natalie Greene, Peter Griggs, Kegan Marling, Rowena Richie, and Christopher W. White.

Official Website: http://www.emspacedance.org/desire