< A Chekovian Resolution

At the heart of Anton Chekhov’s body of work is the inability of humans to communicate with one another in that “tragic collision between one very powerful claim and another no less powerful” (Amos Oz). Thus a resolution usually leaves the antagonists embittered, but there is always the potential for hope and even redemption. This is the underlying theme of Donald Byrd’s new piece which brings together Israeli and Palestinian artists as collaborators in a search of a Chekhovian resolution for the seemingly endless conflict in the Middle East.

< Interrupted Narrative/WAR

Continuing his series of dance theater pieces on the effects of violence on communities, Donald Byrd’s Interrupted Narrative/WAR, explores institutional violence (the first, Interrupted Narrative/No Consolation, examined the effects of violence on urban youth). Mr. Byrd’s passionate need, by way of his art, to process the psychological impact and emotional devastation of sudden, unexpected death caused by war, allows us to experience how the community grieves and memorializes those we are losing. This new work encourages a community-wide colloquy on our eternal resort to war and the need to explore alternative models for conflict resolution.

“…a physical incantation, an embodiment of individual lives lost. By the end of the dance, it was as if he had brought them home.”

–Seattle Post-Intelligencer

< The Miraculous Mandarin

< Petruschka

< The Sleeping Beauty Notebook

< Short Dances, Little Stories

< Bhangra Fever

< And Their Souls Will Understand