The commonalties and contrasts that can be found in African and African-American cultures will be explored in "Geography," the first offering in the Yale Repertory
Theatre's 1997-98 season.
The performance piece, created by choreographer and performer Ralph Lemon, will make its world premiere Oct. 28-Nov. 8. Previews for the show will begin on Thursday, Oct. 23.
An African American who is separated from African culture by several generations, Mr. Lemon has been examining how his life and work connect with that of African dance and performance. "On some level I felt obliged to make art," says Mr. Lemon, as well as "trying to understand something other than what I have known."
Mr. Lemon was a choreographer and performer with his own company 1985-95. The New York-based group toured the world and was commissioned to create new works by such institutions as Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and the Colorado Dance Festival. In 1995 Mr. Lemon dissolved the dance company in order to collaborate on film, video, publishing and theatrical projects exploring the intersection of dance/choreography with other art forms and social/political issues. In the fall of 1996, Mr. Lemon was commissioned to create "Geography" by the Yale Rep, in cooperation with 651, An Arts Center and the National Dance Project.
The idea for the piece, he says, "began in Australia in 1989 while I was watching two aboriginal dancers teach a group of dancers who were not aboriginal, but who were eager to learn. The small blue-black man and woman would shelter in a corner of the studio in Sydney, far from their private northern landscape, communicating in complete silence until it was time for them to teach their dance. I had never seen a body become what it was pretending to be. The walls of the studio disappeared. ... I thought that I would like to move like that."
The work underwent an extensive 14-month research and workshop period in Le Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa; Brooklyn and Lexington, New York; and New Haven. The resulting piece examines how racial or cultural identities can be transformed by a foreign cultural aesthetic. "'Geography' is, in part, a performance, but it is equally and importantly an anthropological collaboration about being American, African, brown, black, blue black, male and artist," explains Mr. Lemon.
In addition to choreographing and directing "Geography," Mr. Lemon will perform in the show. Joining him will be a cast of nine dancers/actors and percussionists from Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and the United States. They include Djédjé Djédjé Gervais, Nai Zou, Goulei Tchépoho Vincent and Zaoli Mabo Tapé from Groupe Ki-Yi M'bock de Werewere Liking; Akpa Yves Didier "James" and Kouakou Yao "Angelo" from L'Ensemble Koteba d'Abidjan; Djeli Moussa Diabate, a native of Guinea, now living in the United States; and Carlos Funn, a U.S. native.
In addition to the dancing, "Geography" features text by Tracie Morris, a published essayist, poet, songwriter and performer; music and other audio effects by composers Francisco López and Paul D. Miller (also known as DJ Spooky); sets by installation artist Nari Ward; costumes by Liz Prince; and lighting by Stan Pressner.
"I see Ralph Lemon's 'Geography' as the perfect opening for our 1997-98 season," says Stan Wojewodski Jr., artistic director of the Yale Rep and dean of the School of Drama. "Ralph has assembled a group of collaborative artists from around the world whose passion, intelligence and virtuosity promise an extraordinary evening of theater."
"Geography" will be presented in the University Theatre, 222 York St. Tickets range in price from $25 to $32. Group discounts and subscriptions are also available. For information or to purchase tickets, call the Yale Rep box office weekdays and Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at 432-1234.
In addition to the organizations named above, "Geography" has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Philip Morris Companies Inc. Support for the show's preliminary workshops, the production itself and the opening night premiere have been funded in part by the following: Africa Exchange, an international program of 651, An Arts Center that is supported by the Ford Foundation; the Rockefeller Foundation's Multi-Arts Production Fund; the New York State Task Force on Partnerships in Dance, made possible by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts Dance Program; and AT&T.
Following its run in New Haven, "Geography" will travel to the University of Texas at Austin, Duke University in North Carolina, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music/Majestic Theater in New York.