Rave

Rave is a celebratory happening mixing dance, capoeira (a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, dance, and music), voguing (an underground African-American and custom of social performance and fashion show appropriation begun in Harlem in the 1960s), wushu (Chinese martial arts), and catwalk for 26 dancers in iconic costumes ranging from Marilyn Monroe to an American Indian chief. All of the dancers paint their bodies in bright colors from head to toe – skin is orange, purple, green, gray, blue. Rave is constructed on Vogue Dance twisted through the lens of mixing many different movement forms into a celebration of life as a combination of ball, ballet and carnival for the 21th century.

Rave requires a minimum three-day workshop for 18 local dancers (9 women and 9 men)  to learn sections of the choreography. This is followed by two days of rehearsal with the full cast prior to a public performance. The teaching residency can be done with the full company present or AG!D can sent a company member ahead to teach the material to local dancers. AG!D provides the costumes for all dancers. Ideally the women dance on pointe. The technical level of the pointe work is not difficult. All guest dancers have to donate a pair of clean pointe shoes or ballet shoes that can be painted in the color of their costume. Additional dancers must be provided by the presenter, pending approval by Karole Armitage. Any fees for additional dancers are the responsibility of the presenter.