MegLouise Dance in Performance April 14, 2011

i learned not to kneel
Presented by MegLouise Dance
Thursday, April 14, 2011 - Saturday, April 23, 2011

MegLouise Dance presents their latest work, i learned not to kneel, running April 14 through April 23 in the new MegLouise Dance Studio Theatre space. This incredible event has been a year in the making, with workshop performances in Cleveland Public Theatre's 2010 DanceWorks Series and at the Philly Fringe Festival in September 2010. The evening showcases modern dance infused with heightened sensuality, incredible power and captivating tenderness. Pitcher's choreography intensifies the richness of pure movement and floats above linear boundaries. Redefining a genre by reexamining the movement experience, the performance features dancers Jessica Hodges, Shannon Sefcik, Emily Thompson, Rhian Virostko and Megan Pitcher.

Show dates are Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 14-17 and Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 21-23. Thursday through Saturday shows are at 7:30 pm, Sunday shows are at 3:00 pm. The new MegLouise Studio Theatre is located at 1287 Marquette Street, 4th Floor, Cleveland, Ohio 44114. $15 general admission; tickets can be obtained in advance by calling 216.785.4938 or e-mailing [email protected]. Run time is approximately 45 minutes.

The production melts vibrantly saturated dancing and vivid imagery into an all absorbing adventure for the senses. The five member female cast dig into the uniquely visceral movement language. They appear to bend time and space as tremors ripple from their necks into their thighs and as they race like skipping stones through traveling sequences. The abstract evening of dance is further enhanced by the words of Ntozake Shange, Mary Oliver and Anne Sexton, authors whose words echo the honesty and immediacy of the dancing, including Sexton's poem, "Cigarettes and Whisky and Wild Wild Women" that explains, "By two or three, I learned not to kneel."

This is the company's fifth season in Cleveland and their first performance in MegLouise Dance Studio Theater. They have a history of presenting innovative productions at national and international festivals, including: Junction Arts Festival (Canada), DUMBO Dance Festival (NY), Philly Fringe Festival (PA), Cincinnati Fringe Festival (OH), Fusion Fest (OH) and Ingenuity Festival (OH).

"The performance honors resilience, integrity, sweat and emotional investment," says Pitcher. "By the end, you will know us as well as we know ourselves. You will have felt what it feels like to live in our skin."