Ellen Sinopoli Dance Jan. 31

Ellen Sinopoli Dance Jan. 31 at the Egg with new dances, Indian composer Devesh Chandra
In celebration of its 24th performance season, the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company (ESDC) will perform at The Egg on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 8 pm in a program that will feature House of Fables, a company premiere, with live music by Classical Indian composer Devesh Chandra, as well as a newly created work by Ellen Sinopoli for area teenaged dance students. The evening will begin with a 7:15 pmprelude talk given by Sinopoli, Chandra and other participating artists.

ESDC has commissioned Albany based tabla musician Devesh Chandra (see bio below) to compose music for its newest dance. This work was begun by Artistic Director Ellen Sinopoli and her dancers during their annual December residency at the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center.

For the second time, the concert program will feature ESDC’s Egg Kids. Sinopoli auditioned Capital Region dance students ages 12-18, selected six, and created a dance for them. The selected performers hail from Art in Motion Dance Academy in Albany, Danceforce in Guilderland Center, Eleanor’s School of Dance in Albany, Tina Marie’s Dance Academy in Guilderland, and Troy Dance Factory in Troy.

The remainder of the program will feature several of ESDC’s most recent and popular works:

Speaking Duchamp – This dance pays homage to Marcel Duchamp, the artist whose work, Nude Descending a Staircase, made the biggest splash at the 1913 Armory Show in NYC. Collaborator and contemporary artist Michael Oatman’s D’entre les Morts video was inspired by Duchamp’s painting and plays throughout the dance. Speaking Duchamp features music by Joan Tower and a uniquely designed soundscape by Todd Bartel.

Sea Ghosts – Driven by the nuanced textures of William Harper’s electroacoustic music, The Gallowing Sea, this dance delves wildly into a mythical underwater world. The set design, by visual artist Calvin Grimm, features a projected painting from his stunning Deep Ocean/Deep Space series.

Texture of the Whole – Beginning with ESDC’s examination of specific concepts related to physics from the perspective of muscle and skeletal impetus, spatial form, partner interaction or breath, what evolved was a series of extremely dynamic and visceral patterns that demand acute awareness and involvement from each dancer. Texture of the Whole was commissioned by the UAlbany Performing Arts Center during a semester long residency with collaborator and physicist Keith Earle.

Tickets for the performance are $26. A $13 student rush price is available that evening. Tickets may be purchased in advance through The Egg’s box office at (518) 473-1845 or www.theegg.org.

The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company presents the provocative and richly imagined choreography of Artistic Director Ellen Sinopoli. As the resident company of The Egg Center for the Performing Arts, ESDC shares its work with diverse audiences through concerts, showcases, residencies, workshops and educational outreach, seeking to enrich the community by enhancing the appreciation, understanding and experience of contemporary performing arts. Since 1991, Ellen Sinopoli has created over 70 dances and has collaborated with over 25 artists of distinct genres and backgrounds, such as architectural designer Frances Bronet, sculptor Jim Lewis, visual artist Calvin Grimm, clarinetist Don Byron, percussionist Brian Melick and composer Hilary Tann.

DEVESH CHANDRA has been learning the Tabla since the age of 3. He has learned Northern Indian Classical Music by accompanying his mother, Veena Chandra. Devesh, the youngest of six children, grew up immersed in Indian music. His first spoken words were the syllables of tabla – Dha Dha Tita. Immersed in music at a young age, Devesh is fortunate to have grown up surrounded by iconic figures of Indian Music. Devesh accompanied his mother on her visits with the late Ustad Vilayat Khan. Ustad Vilayat Khan grew to be a grandfather to Devesh. He has been greatly affected by this close relationship.

Devesh is a sought after tabla player and educator. In addition to tabla solos and playing with Indian Classical Music, he has collaborated and worked with musicians across a broad range of musical genres from Western Folk and Western Classical to Flamenco and Jazz as well as Latin Music and Japanese Taiko.

Devesh has collaborated with notables such as Susie Ibarra, Eric Harland, Tarun Bhattacharya, Brian Melick, Alex Torres. He has performed at a wide array of music festivals in both the US and abroad including Wanderlust and Frendly Gathering. Devesh regularly visits schools and colleges and teaches students of all ages from elementary school to college students about Indian Classical Music and Tabla. He is an ambassador for Tabla and Indian Classical Music for his generation and makes the music relatable and accessible to a wide audience. In addition to this, Devesh and Veena Chandra conduct a yearly community arts project which exposes the public at large to Indian Classical music. Devesh and Veena Chandra together run The Dance & Music School of India which Veena Chandra founded over 30 years ago. Devesh has been teaching and in charge of running many of the school’s initiatives since 2005.

Devesh’s innovative and imaginative approach makes his performances enthralling to both Western listeners and Indian classical purists. His approach to the tabla is the confluence of all the unique influences of his upbringing. Devesh believes the tabla has the rare ability, as a percussion instrument, to very accurately convey a wide range of emotions.