Helen Simoneau Danse Celebrates Five Years of Creating Danse

Deborah Barnes,

Charlotte, NC— Helen Simoneau Danse will make its Charlotte debut at the Patricia McBride & Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux Center for Dance, Home of Charlotte Ballet located at 701 N. Tryon St. Charlotte, March 10th , 2015 at 7:30 pm. The ensemble of New York and North Carolina based dancers are preparing an exciting contemporary dance program featuring the works of Québécois choreographer Helen Simoneau. The concert features new works by Simoneau including the premiere of the charged quartet, The Task of Doing. Tickets range from $12.00 student rates to $20.00 general admission and can be purchased at www.carolinatix.org by calling 704-372-1000 or visiting the box office located at 130 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202. Simoneau‘s The Task of Doing explores the complexities of the “roles” we take on in relation to others. Developed in tandem with the original score by contemporary composer Eric Schwartz, the piece examines these roles in fitting in or standing out. The concert also features a duet for company members Ariel Freedman and Kayla Farrish. The work echoes Simoneau‘s 2014 work Moonlight Parade, which was created as a part of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts “Fall Dances”. This experimental work uses the music of long time collaborators Michael Wall and Andy Hasenpflug. Helen Simoneau will perform her most recent work, which she created during a residency at the Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanities in Italy a program supported by the Bogliasco Foundation Fall 2013. Her Québécois heritage provides soulful anchors to this work as she delves into issues of assimilation, identity, and the willing erasure of the self. This fifth anniversary season concert marks the expansion of the company‘s creative impact. This concert co-presented by Charlotte Ballet aims to provide artistically excellent programming to diverse audiences. Prior to this performance, the company presents their season program at the Hanesbrands Theater (Winston-Salem, NC) March 4th-6th, 2015 and Dance Place (Washington, DC) March 14th-15th, 2015.