Large Layout photo(PSD)
Postcard(front)
Carolyn Merritt and Lester Tome
Abby Zbikowski and Drew Castilliano
George Alley
George Alley
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Alley Ink/ George Alley Dance Brings Psychological Thrillers
into Dance
The Primrose Path and Sugar Shakes
Alley Ink Dance Company
Philadelphia Ethical Society (South Rittenhouse Sq.)
Friday May 27th and Saturday May 28th, 8:00 pm.
Tickets: $10 (reserve at www.georgealley.com)
The Primrose Path and Sugar Shakes (Sloppy States of the Crematory Virgin) are two world premieres that choreographer George Alley and his company Alley Ink are bringing to the Philadelphia Ethical Society on Friday May 27th and Saturday May 28th (8:00 pm). The program also features works by guests Sasha Welsh, Abby Zbikowski, and Yellow # 5 Performance Group.
Informed by psychological thrillers such as Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, Notorious and Vertigo, Alley’s The Primrose Path recreates the atmosphere, mystery, and glamour of a Hollywood bygone era. “My work comments upon images and topics from popular culture”, says the choreographer. But he goes beyond bringing the movies’ narratives onto the stage. “The dancers are not re-enacting a story but creating a map of psychological types found in the Hitchcockian genre”, he adds.
Blurring the boundary between high art and popular culture, The Primrose Path draws upon a broad movement vocabulary comprising from American modern dance to social dances to poses from fashion magazines. “I look for inspiration in the work of icons like Martha Graham but also use elements from tango, waltz and African dance”, explains the choreographer. The piece is set to a piano score by Franz Liszt, but the dancers add to the soundscape by playing the piano onstage. Guitarist Drew Castellano joins them onstage.
Suspense and humor underlies Sugar Shakes (Sloppy States of the Crematory Virgin). The characters in this piece are prostitutes, pimps and other night creatures involved in a case of rape, murder and criminal activities. The action unfolds back and forth, from past to present, and from present to past, as the heroine attempts to take control of her own fate. Clues are revealed through a non-linear narrative that brings to mind the movies of David Lynch.
Native Clevelander George Alley holds an M.F.A. in choreography from Temple University. He is also a multimedia artist and a dance teacher. His postmodern work has been presented in venues in the East and West Coasts, as well as in the Midwest. Recently, he coproduced Homo Oh No, an evening of dances sponsored by the William Way Community Center, in Center City.
These two premieres has been shaped under public view, with rehearsals not only held in studios but also in parks and public buildings. “I studied the reaction of pedestrians who watched the choreographic process and incorporated their instantaneous feedback”, says Mr. Alley. Technology has also played a role in the creative process. “Sugar Shakes” was planned following a computer model.
The costumes for “Primrose Path” were created by New York-based designer Cotty Taplin and were featured in a fashion layout in Philth magazine, modeled by dancers Carolyn Merritt, Abby Zbikowski and Lester Tome.