The first week of the Fall Studio Series brings a mixed repertory program of works that deal with the subject of relationships: how people relate to each other, how they relate to society and how the audience relates to the performance. Included in this week will be Donald Byrd’s Drastic Cuts: Duet (1992), a revised version of Soap Box (2007), and the return of Sentimental Cannibalism (Act I of Bristle, 1993). Additional pieces in the program will be announced in the fall.

Utilizing the ballroom of the late 19th Century, each of the works in this program explores the complexity of relationships between men and women. Featured in this program is La Valse (Act II of Bristle, 1993), Longing (2005), and La Bal Noir (2006).

"Think of these late 19th Century ballrooms as a kind of social platform where complex personal dramas, charged relationships, distortions of memory and time, societal anxieties, anticipative excitement about, or despair facing impending change might play themselves out. These rooms were a place where the previous two centuries of European culture and its societies converged and were distilled into a single iconic image – elegant embracing couples spinning gracefully in a beautiful chandeliered room."
-Donald Byrd

Continuing in its tradition of collaboration, Spectrum Dance Theater performs as part of Music of Remembrance’s presentation of The Dybbuk Suite, op. 35 (1922) composed by Joel Engel. Featuring dancers from the company, Donald Byrd will create a new work for the incidental music that originally accompanied S. Ansky’s play. This is Spectrum Dance Theater’s second collaboration with Music of Remembrance.

After focusing on Israeli-Palestinian relations in A Chekhovian Resolution (2008) and the relationship between China and the United States in Farewell (2010), The Mother of Us All will conclude the three-year PAMU initiative with an investigation into the rising importance of Africa in contemporary politics and economics. Moving beyond the traditional humanitarian relationship the Unites States has had with Africa, The Mother of Us All will explore the competition for Africa’s natural resources, its significant role as an energy supplier, and its growing power in trade negotiations. Donald Byrd will choreograph this main stage production to new music by Byron Au Yong, who last worked with Spectrum Dance Theater on Farewell. Launched in 2008, PAMU joins the forces of artistic collaborators from across the nation and world.

Together, these bold artists use dance, movement, language and music to examine issues relating to personal liberty, freedom, security, and social justice. Through this initiative, Spectrum Dance Theater seeks to heighten local awareness of critically important global issues, and explore their impact and relevance within American communities. A geographic locale -- currently emerging as vital to the interests and future well-being of the United States – is taken as each production’s point of focus.

April marks another collaboration in the season with The Early Music Guild’s production of Claudio Monteverdi’s Il ballo delle ingrate (1608). This ballo will be part of The Early Music Guild’s full evening A Day on the Town, A Night in Hell.

Delving into the converging place where art, entertainment and innovation meet, The Variety Show is a collaborative effort between Spectrum Dance Theater, Seattle Dance Project, and ACT Theatre. Drawing inspiration from a variety of sources – European cabaret, vintage game shows, supper club floor shows, and a little Dada as well – the performance will incorporate a number of short dance/theater pieces created by Donald Byrd, Catherine Cabeen, Joel Myers, David Lorence Schleiffers, and Maurice Causey.

After a successful partnership with West Side Story and On the Town, Spectrum Dance Theater will close the season with The 5th Avenue Theatre’s new production of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic Oklahoma! Donald Byrd will be creating new choreography for the musical.