EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: 7 p.m. each night June 7-9, 2012.

EVENT: “Corsets, Grains, & Greenways: Dancing Downtown ANN ARBOR—

Consider this a case of how dancers make a social statement.

As audiences walk along a four-block route in downtown Ann Arbor to watch dancers perform in historic buildings, alleys, sidewalks, and in a garden, the hope is for observers to ask, “What if there were a greenway to connect these spaces to the outlying neighborhoods?”

Someday, that greenway could become a reality. And, at the least, the route will never be quite thought of in the same way again.

From the performance inside the historic Pratt Building to the corner of First Street and West Liberty, dancers from Ann Arbor Dance Works will offer engaging interpretations of the layered histories of downtown landmarks. Novel and highly inventive, the performances evoke the past, present and future in a series of contemporary dance works performed in spaces of “continuous reinvention, restoration and metamorphosis,” according to Jessica Fogel, University of Michigan professor of dance and artistic director of Ann Arbor Dance Works.

Over 90 minutes, “Corsets, Grains, & Greenways” features choreographic performances of contemporary dance premieres by guest artists Monica Bill Barnes, Adesola Akinleye and Dance Works resident choreographers Fogel and Robin Wilson. Dance Works is the resident dance company of the U-M Department of Dance. In addition to working with guest choreographers from around the world, Dance Works collaborates with poets, videographers and composers.

Site One: WSG Gallery inside the Pratt Building on Main Street. The building has been used as a corset factory, hardware store and department store. The dance for eight women choreographed by Fogel draws on the building’s history and current figurative painting exhibit.

Site Two: Audiences will be directed from WGS Gallery to the Kline Gallery to watch a performance by the Community High School Dance Company. Marly Spieser Schneider, a U-M dance alumna, choreographs the work.

Along the walk to the next site, dancers in an exploration of the environment and communal histories in the bricks and mortar of the path, will lead the audience. Akinleye choreographs the piece.

Site Three: Fifteen dancers perform at Downtown Home and Garden on Liberty and Ashley streets. The piece is created by guest artist Barnes.

Site Four: The final venue is the corner of First Street and West Liberty where U-M choreographer Wilson explores the possibilities of transforming the sites into a greenway. The dance features six dancers performing on the city’s sidewalks.

PLACE: Four sites starting at WSG Gallery, 306 S. Main Street, Ann Arbor.

SPONSORS: Ann Arbor Dance Works is partnering with Allen Creek floodplain, WSG Gallery, Community High School and Downtown Home and Garden.

COST: $15 general public; $10 students and senior citizens. Visit www.mutotix.com

INFORMATION: www.annarbordanceworks.com and www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-Arbor-Dance-Works/116357105065295