CATHY WEIS "ELECTRIC HAIKU: CALM AS CUSTARD," AN MS-INFLUENCED WORK April 29, 2007

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) partners with Boston Cyberarts: Ideas in Motion to present the Boston premiere of Cathy Weis' Electric Haiku: Calm as Custard, the second work in the choreographer's Electric Haiku series. Performances are Saturday April 28 at 8 p.m. and Sunday April 29 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $30 reserved seating; $25 ICA members, students, and seniors, and can be purchased at icaboston.org, from the ICA box office, by phone at (617) 478-3103 during regular museum hours, or at the box office one hour before program.

Electric Haiku: Calm as Custard (2005) which premiered at the Dance Theater Workshop and has toured nationally, was lauded in The Village Voice for its "unabashedly maverick imagination. Weis uses techno tactics so intuitively that they pose unnerving questions about how and what we see, and about the nature of physical control." The work of Cathy Weis, a Guggenheim Fellow and Bessie Award winner, centers on a choreographic process that integrates dance with sound, design and technology. Weis stages surprising, whimsical and moving ways to partner technology and dance in live performance. Building metaphor by juxtaposing real and virtual images, she creates multi-dimensional environments that make performers and audiences call into questions assumptions of time and space, by redefining the boundaries of "live" performance.

In 1989, Weis was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and eventually came to view living with serious illness as an impetus for creating new work. Her synthesis of technology and live performance, utilizing video, created work in which technology bridged mind and body. Dancing with equipment became an instinctual part of her movement vocabulary, extending the limitations of her physical abilities into new realms of expression.

RELATED EVENT

Taking Shape, a special ICA Play Date
Saturday, April 28, 10 am – 4 pm
Discover the work of Louise Bourgeois, draw from live models, and see your drawings come to life. Take an architectural tour of the ICA and enjoy a special performance by choreographer Cathy Weis. This program and museum admission are free for 2 adults accompanied by children 12 and under. No prior registration is necessary, but theater events are ticketed. Tickets are free and available first-come, first-served at the admissions desk on the day of the program.
About ICA/Boston

The Institute of Contemporary Art, located at 100 Northern Avenue, is open Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 am – 5 pm; Thursday and Friday, 10 am – 9 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm. Admission is $12 adults, $10 college students and seniors, and free for members and children 17 and under. For more information, call (617) 478-3100, or visit www.icaboston.org.

Official Website: http://www.icaboston.org