MADCO - The Modern American Dance Company- Chimera

Aerialists, Projection Screens and One-of-a-Kind Costumes take MADCO into new style of dance entertainment

WHAT: Chimera (pronounced Ky MEER ah) pushes entertainment to the limit with this incredible journey into one of the most mysterious places in human existence…dreams. MADCO’s team of designers has put the audience into the action in this grand-scale, entertaining and truly unique experience created to stimulate the audience’s senses and emotions. The show combines contemporary dance with cutting edge design, creating a spectacle that should not be missed.

WHO: Modern American Dance Company (MADCO), founded in St. Louis in 1976, creates innovative and memorable dance performances combining passion and technical excellence to provide audiences with a world-class arts experience. MADCO has wowed audiences throughout the United States and Canada with recent engagements in New York, Orlando and Toronto. For more information visit www.madcodance.com.

WHAT TO EXPECT: Chimera is an 80-minute journey into the world of dreams. Rich visual images created with top-notch dancers, elaborate costumes, and stunning visual effects take the audience through a collage of dreamscapes. Performers dance, fly and repel their way through this unforgettable show produced by St. Louis’ premiere dance company.

WHEN:

Friday, March 31, 2006 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 1, 2006 8 p.m.
Friday, April 7, 2006      8 p.m.
Saturday, April 8, 2006 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 9, 2006    2 p.m.

WHERE:

Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center
Lee Theater

TICKETS:

$25 Adults
$20 Students
General Admission

For tickets and other information, please call (314) 516-4949 or online at www.touhill.org

CONTACT:      Stacy West (314) 341-5407
                       swest@madcodance.com
                        www.madcodance.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 21, 2006

Contact: Stacy West
Phone: 314-341-5407
Email: swest@madcodance.com
Website: www.madcodance.com

MADCO Opens Grand-Scale Event Chimera
Aerialists, Video, Elaborate Costumes take MADCO into new style of dance entertainment

chimera Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) is excited to embark on its biggest artistic endeavor to date. Artistic directors Stacy West and Todd Weeks have been working on a new experience in dance entertainment. The title of their creation is Chimera (pronounced Ky MEER ah), which will premiere at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, Lee Theater, on March 31, 2006. MADCO pushes entertainment to the limit with this incredible journey into one of the most mysterious places in human existence….dreams. MADCO’s team of designers has put the audience into the action in this grand-scale, entertaining and truly unique experience created to stimulate the audience’s senses and emotions. Chimera will be performed March 31, April 1, April 7 and April 8 at 8pm and on April 9 at 2pm. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students. For more information call the Touhill box office at 314-516-4949 or online at www.touhill.org.

Chimera is a greek word meaning an illusion or fabrication of the mind. MADCO welcomes audiences to the world of dreams, where inner most thoughts, desires, and fears are reality…a world whose inhabitants are creatures of your own making. A place where nothing…and yet…everything is what it seems. “Dreams have been here as long as mankind,” said Associate Artistic Director and Chimera creator Todd Weeks. “One third of your life is spent sleeping and in your lifetime you will spend 6 years of it dreaming, yet 5 minutes after the end of the dream, half of the content is forgotten. After 10 minutes 90% is lost. Dreams are a fascinating aspect of human existence that everyone can relate to,” added Weeks.

MADCO has hired the production team of Brawner & Associates to take imagination to reality. Brawner & Associates offers exciting, colorful, monumental creations for the full entertainment spectrum. Brawner’s seasoned design professionals will transform the Lee Theatre into a unique layout that will disperse the audience throughout the venue; thereby making the audience feel as if they are in the middle of a dream or land of fantasy.

Make-up and costume design artists from Associated Theatrical Contractors were given the task of creating elaborate costumes for each dancer that combined human, animal and creature-like characteristics. Their amazing work has resulted in unique costumes that are pieces of wearable art. They include headpieces, three-dimensional design and extraordinary make-up. These one of a kind creations play a vital role in creating the illusions within Chimera.

The production will be further layered with the incorporation of four large projection surfaces built into the set. Woodland Media has taken on the creative task of designing video images that will aid in bringing Chimera’s dream world to life.

“MADCO stands at a new era in the company’s existence,” said Executive/Artistic Director, Stacy West. “We are preparing to celebrate our 30th Anniversary Season, we have recently modified our name and we received critical acclaim in our international debut last summer in Toronto.” MADCO is even pictured and mentioned in the current issue of Dance International Magazine. “Chimera is no regular dance performance. It is a theatrical event incorporating dance, aerial work, video and cutting edge design,” West said.

Following the five world premiere performances at the Touhill Performing Arts Center in March and April 2006, MADCO plans to re-work the show in preparation for the next phase of its existence. The company is exploring future national touring and collaborations for 2007-2008.

MADCO, founded in St. Louis in 1976, creates innovative and memorable dance performances combining passion and technical excellence to provide audiences with a world-class arts experience. The company is known for its versatile and athletic style, presenting dance that is entertaining for audiences to watch and demanding for dancers to perform. MADCO has wowed audiences throughout the United States and Canada with recent engagements in New York, Orlando and Toronto. For more information visit

www.madcodance.com.

MADCO programs are made possible with financial assistance from the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission, the Missouri Arts Council, the Arts & Education Council of Greater St. Louis, Ronald McDonald House Charities and by other private, foundation and corporate donors. The company rehearses daily at COCA in University City as part of the COCA Dance Space Initiative Program.