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Atlanta-based staibdance presents first look at ‘ARARAT, the beginning’
image of live dance

The Emory Dance Program presents three performances of “ARARAT, the beginning” Jan. 26 – 28. Post-show discussions and community workshops also will be offered.

— Christina J. Massad

The Emory Dance Program presents a first look at “ARARAT, the beginning” at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts with performances from Jan. 26 – 28. The weekend also will include community workshops and post-show discussions related to the production.

Choreographed by Emory dance professor George Staib, “ARARAT, the beginning” examines the stories, facts, implications and subsequent diaspora that followed the Armenian Genocide. The production speaks to a collective understanding that “place” is an ethereal notion and one that is stronger than land ownership, stronger even than political control. As such, “ARARAT, the beginning” is likewise a celebration of the countenance and resilience of the human spirit.

“ARARAT, the beginning” will be performed by the Atlanta-based contemporary dance company staibdance. Collaborators Gregory Catellier, Ben Coleman, Milton Cordero, Amelia Hayes and Rosalind Staib join the production.

In addition to the program performances, staibdance and ArtsATL have partnered to provide opportunities for the community to engage in curated and facilitated conversations and workshops surrounding contemporary dance and art.

 

Performances

Thursday, Jan. 26, Friday, Jan. 27, and Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m. 

Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Dance Studio

Cost: $25 ($10 for Emory students)

Purchase tickets: Thursday performance; Friday performance; Saturday performance 

 

Post-show Discussions

Friday, Jan. 27, and Saturday, Jan. 28

In partnership with ArtsATL, senior editor Gillian Renault and staibdance artistic director George Staib will host a post-show discussion immediately following the performances.

 

Build the Engine 

Saturday, Jan. 28, at 10 a.m. 

Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Dance Studio

Cost: $10

All bodies are welcome to join this movement-based workshop. Register here. 

Embrace aspects of the creative process that brought “ARARAT, the beginning” to life. Move, create and encounter some of the choreographic material that anchors our work.

Led by staibdance artistic director George Staib alongside company teaching artists.

 

Move Your Story 

Saturday, Jan. 28, at 3 p.m. 

Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Dance Studio

Cost: $10

All bodies are welcome to join this movement-based workshop. Register here. 

Encounter the potency of finding self in the creative work of others. Through prompts that respond to the notion of “beginning again,” participants will take a deep dive into the creative process by developing abstract scenarios with movement and text.

Led by staibdance artistic director George Staib alongside company teaching artists.

 

“ARARAT, the beginning” is made possible through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Latham Foundation, New Music USA’s New Music Organizational Development Fund, the Emory University Research Committee and the Emory College Center for Creativity & Arts.


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