April 12, 2004

UC San Diego Associate Professor Allyson Green Presents
Memories Of An Exhibition At The San Diego Museum Of Art

By Patricia Quill


Known for her passionate dancing and strong visual design, choreographer and University of California, San Diego Associate Professor of Dance Allyson Green will present a special performance event for the San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) in the Copley Auditorium in Balboa Park, April 23 – 25, 2004.

Jennifer Dunning, of The New York Times, describes Green’s choreography as “dance with a sure and daring sense of theater.” Her Memories of an Exhibition is inspired by artist George Inness’ striking and beautiful landscape paintings, which were recently exhibited at the SDMA. Green has choreographed a multimedia dance performance that captures the experience of viewing paintings in a gallery. Four unique visual installations will transform Copley Auditorium into a space where four separate dances will be performed simultaneously. Rather than viewing the work from a traditional perspective – where the audience is committed to one view from beginning to end – these works may be observed from all sides. Each work will repeat four times throughout the evening, with small variations occurring with each repetition – reminiscent of the way that Inness reworks and develops his canvases. For Memories of an Exhibition, Green allows (and encourages) the audience to move from dance to dance, choosing how to view and respond to the work.

In spirit and emotion these “moving paintings” seek to distill the essence within Inness’ paintings. Green hopes that the ability to view the dances from different viewpoints over time will elicit new perspectives and emotions.

Twenty of San Diego’s finest dancers will be performing with Green and guest performer Monica Bill-Barnes of New York.

Sculptural light installations by visual artist Peter Terezakis (www.terezakis.com) will include projections created by photographer Wendy Richmond (www.wrichmond.com), and a haunting sound score will fill the theater with poetic texts written by UCSD MFA playwrights Barry Levey, Tim J. Lord and Ruth McKee.

Merging a vivid design sensibility with articulate fervent dancing, Green investigates a highly refined vocabulary that translates emotion directly into focused movement. Her collaborative interdisciplinary work has been noted for skillful dance framed in a visual landscape that integrates original music, new interactive digital media and vibrant set designs.

Green’s work has been presented to critical acclaim by diverse venues in over fourteen countries throughout East/West Europe, Canada, South America and the United States. Her recent projects include performances in Bucharest, London, New York, Montreal and Lisbon. Green also co-presented a tour of East European dance-theater in the Central Station Festival, which traveled throughout the United States. In addition to her affiliation with UCSD, Green is also the interim artistic director of Sushi Performance and Visual Art in San Diego, Ca.

Memories of an Exhibition is presented by the San Diego Museum of Art. The performance will take place in the James. S. Copley Auditorium, located at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park at 8 p.m. on Apr. 23 and 24 and at 6 p.m. on April 25. Tickets are $18 members, $20 non-members, $10 students; at the Museum or www.ticketmaster.com/venue/82148 or call (619) 220-8497. For more information please call (619) 232-7931 or (619) 696-1966.

Memories of an Exhibition will be performed by Monica Bill-Barnes, Ali Fischer, Allyson Green, David Hanlon, Sara Larsson, Grace Jun, Faith Jensen-Ismay, Sabine Ismay, Amir Khastoo, Jeff Morrison, Justin Morrison, Veronica Martin-Lamm, Jennifer Oliver, Alicia Peterson, Colleen Phillips, Patricia Sandback, Vanessa Tipon, Sadie Weinberg, Terry Wilson and Heather Zornes-Almanza.

For more information about Allyson Green Dance, visit www.allysongreendance.com or www.sdmart.org

Media Contact: Patricia Quill (858) 822-0661