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Munu Munu by New Chamber Ballet (April 8 & 9)

Scene from New York Chamber Ballet

Scene from New York Chamber Ballet, © Photo by Eduardo Patino.NYC

06.04.2022 - Article

A ballet with live medieval and contemporary vocal Music by German born and raised Miro Magliore's New Chamber Ballet

Miro Magloire is proud to present his New Chamber Ballet, joined by Philadelphia-based Variant 6 Vocal Ensemble, in the New York premiere of “Munu Munu,” a full length ballet to both medieval and contemporary vocal music. Performed by an ensemble of five dancers and six vocalists, “Munu Munu” received its premiere in March 2020 at The Performance Garage in Philadelphia, Pa, and will be performed here April 8 & 9 at the Mark Morris Dance Center, 3 Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn. Opening the performance will be the recently premiered “Deep Breath,” a duet for Amber Neff and Nicole McGinnis, set to a commissioned score by Elizabeth Gartman for piano and violin, played by New Chamber Ballet's resident musicians Melody Fader and Doori Na.


What does munu munu mean?? - the title of Magloire's new work is taken from one of the newer music works which consists of nonsense syllables sung by the vocalists. Contemporary music for the ballet is a series of a-cappella songs showing a wide range of influences, composed by Toby Twining. The medieval music is by vocal composers from the 1300's: Jacopo Da Bologna, Grimace, and Solage.


Magloire, who was born and grew up in Germany, remarked: “When creating Munu Munu, i was interested in the relationship of dancing and singing: two sister arts that are intimately connected to the human body and our desire to express feelings with it. These ideas are the root of the work - dancers and singers performing with and for each other, surrounded by the audience. The music spans seven centuries and fools our historic expectations - some of the contemporary songs have an ancient, ritual quality while the works from the 1300's sound almost modern with their multiple layered rhythms.”

Dancers: Anabel Alpert, Megan Foley, Nicole McGinnis, Amber Neff, Rachele Perla

Singers: Variant 6 Vocal Ensemble: Jessica Beebe, soprano; Rebecca Myers, soprano; Nickolas Karageorgiou, tenor; James Reese, tenor; Elijah Blaisdell, baritone; Daniel Schwartz, bass

Musicians: Melody Fader, piano Doori Na, violin

Costumes: Sarah Thea Craig


Bios:

TOBY TWINING (b.1958) :
Raised in Texas, with family roots in country-swing and gospel, Toby Twining has traveled musically from playing for rock and jazz bands to composing and performing experimental music for voices with a fresh approach to harmony. He moved to New York in 1987, initially writing for modern dance choreographers who wanted the sounds of a new choral music. In 1991 he started Toby Twining Music, which performed in music halls and festivals across the United States and Europe .His recordings include Shaman (SONY, 1994), The Little Match Girl and Emily Dickinson’s Birthday Pizza on A Prairie Home Companion 20th Anniversary Album (Highbridge, 1996), Chrysalid Requiem and Eurydice (Cantaloupe Music 2002 and 2011). Twining’s instrumental music has been recorded by pianist Margaret Leng Tan and cellist Matt Haimovitz. He was a 2003 Pew Fellow, a co-founder of Arts on the Edge Wolfeboro, a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow, and a recipient of a 2013 Grants to Artists Award by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.

VARIANT 6:

Variant 6 is a virtuosic vocal sextet that explores and advances the art of chamber music in the twenty-first century. The ensemble's work includes radically reimagining concert experiences, commissioning substantial new works, collaborating closely with other ensembles, and educating a new generation of singers. In addition to eight world-premieres this season, Variant 6 premieres a new ballet, To Reach the Light with Dimensions Dance Theater of Miami, performs a new concert-length work by Wally Gunn, and releases two commercial albums.
Variant 6's artists have performed with internationally recognized ensembles, including The Crossing, Roomful of Teeth, Bang on a Can, American Composers Orchestra, Seraphic Fire, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Bach Project, Tempesta di Mare, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, and more.



MIRO MAGLOIRE:

Miro is the founder/artistic director of New Chamber Ballet, for which he has created over 80 ballets. Born in Munich, Germany, Miro started his career as a composer, studying with Mauricio Kagel, before moving to New York to pursue his dance training. In addition to work with his company, Miro has most recently created a piece for the New York Choreographic Institute, which is hosted by NYCB. Working with a group of nine advanced dancers from SAB, and set to a commissioned score by composer Christian-Frederick Bloquert, the choreographer created “Memory, Forgot,” a tribute to two iconic ballets of the early 20th Century (Serenade and the Rite of Spring), both created by choreographers in exile.

Location & Time

Friday & Saturday, April 8 & 9 at 7:30 PM

Mark Morris Dance Center, 3 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn

Tickets: $38

Reservations must be purchased in advance at


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