"GUSH" 5 New Contemporary Dance Works Fri. 5/29 & Sat. 5/30 at Highways

Highways Performance Space presents GUSH, five new contemporary dance works by independent choreographers Jennifer Kayle and Charlotte Adams on Friday, May 29, 2015 and Saturday, May 30, 2015. Kayle probes the realm of mortal passion, and the new era of human impact on the earth. Adams uncovers the body’s anatomy and its undoing, and the ludicrous toiling for success. Five works immerse viewers in the distinctly visceral performance of eleven dancers and two musicians. The pieces include original music by composer Jason Palamara, and original video by Alex Bush and Tori Lawrence. The two-hour event starts at 8:30pm at Highways Performance Space (18th Street Arts Center, 1651 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404). General admission tickets are $20 in advance ($15 for students, Highways members, and seniors). Reservations may also be made by calling 310-315-1459. Additional information is available at www.highwaysperformance.org.

“The works in GUSH have different looks and languages, but share common blood,” according to Kayle. “The images pulse with intensity and dancers cut deep with words and gestures. Exposed limbs, flickering video, and poetic objects seep over the edge.”

In their second collaborative concert, Adams and Kayle reveal an ongoing dialogue. “The works accumulate in a gut-level conversation; feelings simmer in farewell waltzes, plastic rain, and seam-ripping fits,” says Kayle. “As people pile on gurneys, and sunbathe at the apocalypse, the darker tones mix with humor, satire, and hopefulness, cutting down to the bone and plunging the audience into the world of GUSH.”

Adams and Kayle return to Highways, armed with 5 new contemporary dance works. The two choreographers first presented work at Highways in 2010, when they brought their collaborative project Virtually Yours to Santa Monica. GUSH dancers include Jessica Anthony, Zach Bird, Emily Climer, Erin Corcoran, Crystal Gurrola, Emily McElwain, Tyler Nemmers, Anthony Pucci, Katie Skinner, Melanie Swihart, and Calvin Windshitl.