INSPIRIT, a Dance Company to Infuse, to Encourage, to Invigorate

BECOMING is a collaborative venture that includes ten multitalented women, spoken word artists, and visionary musicians all lead by artistic director Christal Brown. In this new work the company will explore personality constructs, social structures and perception through a style of movement that involves floor work, gesture, athleticism, and grace. Browns style of movement is often characterized by female partnering and lifts that dissolve into intricate tableaus. The dances embody a quality of luscious strength" and have been likened to watching a moving painting.

(PRWEB) October 18, 2004 -- INSPIRIT, a dance company (formerly Women @ Work) will premier an evening of work entitled BECOMING at the Joyce SoHo located at 155 Mercer Street on November 18-21st 2004. Each show will begin at 8pm and tickets are $15 general admission and $12 for students and seniors with I.D. Seating is limited. For reservations call the Joyce SoHo box office at (212) 334-7479.

Delving head first into every aspect of evolution; INSPIRIT, a dance company will premier an evening of work entitled BECOMING at the Joyce SoHo located at 155 Mercer Street on November 18-21st 2004. Each show will begin at 8pm and tickets are $15 general admission and $12 for students and seniors with I.D. Seating is limited. For reservations call the Joyce SoHo box office at (212) 334-7479.

BECOMING is a collaborative venture that includes ten multitalented women, spoken word artists, and visionary musicians all lead by artistic director Christal Brown. In this new work the company will explore personality constructs, social structures and perception through a style of movement that involves floor work, gesture, athleticism, and grace. Browns style of movement is often characterized by female partnering and lifts that dissolve into intricate tableaus. The dances embody a quality of luscious strength" and have been likened to watching a moving painting.

The collaborators for this project will include Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai a writer and performance poet from Chicago, Illinois. Aside from performing with Rha Goddess, Kelly has toured the country and been featured on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam. Count Clovis, an eclectic string and rhythm ensemble from North Carolina, will be joining INSPIRIT on the heels of a musical sabbatical in Mali, West Africa. Amara Tabor-Smith, a performance artist and chorographer from Oakland, CA also joins forces with INSPIRIT. Smiths extensive background in folkloric traditions, martial arts, and dance will serve as the cohesive thread to tie the evening together. The costume designers for BECOMING are Re-Run of Takoma Park, Maryland and Rosemary Guiraud of the Ivory Coast. Mason-Rhynes Productions will provide Cheles Rhynes as the lighting designer for this visually sublime event.

INSPIRIT, a dance company was founded in 2000 under the name Women @ Work by Christal Brown with the sole purpose of bringing together and showcasing emerging African- American female artists and choreographers. Following its inception the company performed in various venues throughout North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, DC before arriving on the New York dance scene in 2003. In the past year INSPIRIT has been a part of E-moves at Aaron Davis Hall, the Dance Now NYC festival, Dancers Responding to AIDS at Bronx Academy of Art and Dance, and Voices from the Bush at Danspace Project at St. Marks Church.

Undergoing a name change in 2004 brought about great expansion for the company. Aside from gaining two new members the company has broadened its collaborative scope and has begun to work on future projects that include male emerging choreographers such as Germaul Yusef Barnes and Telly Fowler. Living up to its name, the company is also planning a community project targeted towards adolescent and teen girls in the Bronx. The project is designed to teach respect for self, heritage, and culture through the art of dance and creative writing, in the hope that the skills learned will infuse, encourage and invigorate the lives of the participants.        

The creation of Joyce Soho was made possible by the magnanimous support of the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust. Joyce SoHo is supported by private funds from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, J.P. Morgan Chase, Mertz-Gilmore Foundation; the Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund, established in The New York Community Trust by the founders of The Reader's Digest Association; and by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Press Information:
Christal N. Brown
(336)253-1057

Reservations: (212) 334-7478

###