Danceability & Orchestra Next
April 7, 2023, Dougherty Dance – FREE
During the 2022 World Championships’s Riverfront Festival last summer, Orchestra Next and DanceAbility collaborated to create the performance, “Next Movement.” The creation of the piece was a unique process. Rather than starting with music or dance first, the two groups gathered and developed the 40-minute piece together. As a result they found a rich collaborative relationship, and a piece that brought out something new for each group.
A reprise of “Next Movement” will be presented on Friday, April 7, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. in the Dougherty Dance Theater in the Gerlinger Annex. This performance is cosponsored by the OHC’s Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities.
For this show, Orchestra Next musicians include Idit Shner, saxophone, Torrey Newhart, keyboard, Avery Scanlon, guitar, Tyler Abbott, bass, and Ken Mastrogiovanni, drums. Brian McWhorter, founder and music director of Orchestra Next and Alito Alessi, founder and creative director of DanceAbility are the artistic co-directors for “Next Movement.”
Orchestra Next is a training orchestra and the resident orchestra for the Eugene Ballet Company. Since 2012, Orchestra Next has played every performance of Eugene Ballet’s The Nutcracker and collaborated with the company on several productions. Orchestra Next provides much-needed experience for aspiring professional musicians, resurrecting the traditional mentor-apprentice relationship.
DanceAbility is a unique dance method founded in 1987. DanceAbility uses improvisational dance to promote artistic expression and exploration between people with and without disabilities. DanceAbility’s vision is to use art as a means to change people’s preconceived ideas about disabilities through performances, workshops, educational programs, teacher training, and choreography in the U.S. and throughout the world.