From left -- Gin Dance Company’s Shu-Chen Cuff and Lindsay Benson Garrett in performance. Photo by Ruth Judson/Courtesy of Gin Dance Company
An evening to escape the stresses of daily lives and ever-present technology will be arriving at CenterStage courtesy of the Reston-based Gin Dance Company. The dance performance is titled “Chasing Horizons.” It “includes world premieres choreographed by the talented Shu-Chen Cuff,” said Paul Douglas Michnewicz, Arts and Events director, Reston Community Center.
In an interview, Cuff said inspiration for creating the new choreography was a “desire to take the audience on a journey. A journey that will have them laugh, think and perhaps bring a tear to their eye; a journey that will leave them with a sense of optimism and purpose for the future, like they just fed their soul.”
The titles of several specific dance works created for “Chasing Horizons” provide hints as to expectations. One of the evening’s new works is called “Lost and Found.” It delves into human urges to chase after daydreams, “often overlooking or at the expense of what we already have,” according to Cuff. The premiere of “Six Degrees” is an exploration of “the ties and connections people have with others and how these relationships give strength, structure and direction to our lives.”
Regarding the music that underpins a dancer’s movements and a dance’s story-telling, “music is one of the most important decisions any choreographer can make,” said Cuff. “I typically spend weeks searching to find the right accompaniment. For ‘Chasing Horizons’ the audience will be treated to an eclectic array of music,” including from the Grammy Award-winning contemporary composer Steve Reich known for layering sound.
There are also multi-media aspects to the Gin Dance performance. Two different artistic disciplines will come together as distinctive paintings from two Northern Virginia visual artists: Teri Ann LaBuwi and CinCin Fang will be featured during the performance. The paintings will add another level to the storytelling of the choreography and the music.
Where and When
Gin Dance Company performs “Chasing Horizons” at Reston Community Center, CenterStage , 2310 Colts Neck Road, Hunters Woods Village Center, Reston. Performance, Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. Tickets: $15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston. Call 703-476-4500 or visit www.restoncommunity…
Dance is a very intimate, personal experience. “There is no right or wrong interpretation to the work. If the performance brings a smile to someone who needed one or a tear to another, either way, I’m humbled that the work is reaching and touching the audience,” said Cuff.
As for the title, “Chasing Horizons,” that Cuff chose for the evening with Gin Dance, “One of the more overt underlying messages is that many of us spend too much of our lives chasing what we don’t have. Thus, we are ‘Chasing Horizons’.“