2008 Woodie Awards
The Textured Text: the stories we tell ourselves
Matthew Brookoff's culminating thesis project in Choreography to run March 23-24
Ali Duffy
Issue date: 3/20/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Matthew Brookoff, a third year graduate student of Choreography, will present his culminating MFA thesis concert in the UNCG Dance Theatre on March 23-24 at 8 p.m. The title of the evening is The Textured Text: the stories we tell ourselves, and consists of three dance works of varying content and message.
"[George] Balanchine just blows my mind," Brookoff explains when asked about his choreographic inspirations. The way he uses … rhythm, weight, direction changes, spatial design, variation, and abstract movement is all astonishing."
As a Teaching Assistant for the Dance Department, Brookoff teaches Dance Appreciation and helped design the online version of the course. Currently teaching about Balanchine's Agon, he appreciates the "speed and rhythmic complexity" of the work that also contains a subtle underlying structure. He draws a connection between Balanchine's work and the organized chaos of New York City. These are the qualities that Brookoff admires in choreography, and what has moved him to create these works.
The first piece of the evening is a contemporary translation of the nineteenth century classical ballet, Swan Lake, which Brookoff has entitled Swan Dance. The original Tchaikovsky score is used, and 11 dancers (including Brookoff himself as the Prince) retell this drama unconventionally with a fusion of technical surprises and even dialogue. Brookoff calls it a "cynical" interpretation of the classic, and this cynicism is what influenced the subtitle of the concert (the stories we tell ourselves).
Next, in The Layered Text: a dance, Jorge Rodriguez, a violinist, will accompany an avant-garde duet of women onstage. In addition to an improvised score from the accompanist, Brookoff will also appear onstage while the dancers are moving in order to ask them questions about the dance as they are performing it. This will serve as a foray into the rehearsal process of choreographers; what they select to include in work, what is thrown out, the struggles that arise in creating. He describes the piece as "an extremely self-referential, self-interrogating sort of dance," and divulges that the dance originated in a Dance Criticism course last semester.
The final work will be a reworking of a dance that Brookoff created in his first year at UNCG, entitled Sam and Rhoda. The dance tells the tale of his parents, and the long journey through their marriage and progressive stages of life. He hopes that the audience will be touched by the sensitivity of their dedication to each other.
Brookoff hopes that "these are really well made dances and the audience has the experience of being riveted emotionally, intellectually, and physically" by his presented works. Upon earning his MFA, he hopes to return to the rhythm of the city in Manhattan, where he will apply for university teaching jobs. The Textured Text: the stories we tell ourselves is sure to evoke Brookoff's intended intrigue and delight.
"[George] Balanchine just blows my mind," Brookoff explains when asked about his choreographic inspirations. The way he uses … rhythm, weight, direction changes, spatial design, variation, and abstract movement is all astonishing."
As a Teaching Assistant for the Dance Department, Brookoff teaches Dance Appreciation and helped design the online version of the course. Currently teaching about Balanchine's Agon, he appreciates the "speed and rhythmic complexity" of the work that also contains a subtle underlying structure. He draws a connection between Balanchine's work and the organized chaos of New York City. These are the qualities that Brookoff admires in choreography, and what has moved him to create these works.
The first piece of the evening is a contemporary translation of the nineteenth century classical ballet, Swan Lake, which Brookoff has entitled Swan Dance. The original Tchaikovsky score is used, and 11 dancers (including Brookoff himself as the Prince) retell this drama unconventionally with a fusion of technical surprises and even dialogue. Brookoff calls it a "cynical" interpretation of the classic, and this cynicism is what influenced the subtitle of the concert (the stories we tell ourselves).
Next, in The Layered Text: a dance, Jorge Rodriguez, a violinist, will accompany an avant-garde duet of women onstage. In addition to an improvised score from the accompanist, Brookoff will also appear onstage while the dancers are moving in order to ask them questions about the dance as they are performing it. This will serve as a foray into the rehearsal process of choreographers; what they select to include in work, what is thrown out, the struggles that arise in creating. He describes the piece as "an extremely self-referential, self-interrogating sort of dance," and divulges that the dance originated in a Dance Criticism course last semester.
The final work will be a reworking of a dance that Brookoff created in his first year at UNCG, entitled Sam and Rhoda. The dance tells the tale of his parents, and the long journey through their marriage and progressive stages of life. He hopes that the audience will be touched by the sensitivity of their dedication to each other.
Brookoff hopes that "these are really well made dances and the audience has the experience of being riveted emotionally, intellectually, and physically" by his presented works. Upon earning his MFA, he hopes to return to the rhythm of the city in Manhattan, where he will apply for university teaching jobs. The Textured Text: the stories we tell ourselves is sure to evoke Brookoff's intended intrigue and delight.
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