WUNDERKAMMER: The Cabinet of Curiosities

Join J. Lindsay Brown at The DANK Haus (German American Cultural Center) for "WUNDERKAMMER: The Cabinet of Curiosities": an eclectic collection of dances inspired by the moon, the ocean, and kingdoms far, far away. Performances will be held on March 13 and 14 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 general admission and $15 for students.

The evening begins in 1969, a time when America burned with revolution, internal strife, and the discomfort of a rapidly changing world. Amid this chaos, three men catapulted into space in an unprecedented mission to the moon, carrying the words "We came in Peace for All Mankind." Drawing from interviews, biographies, and documentaries, "Moon Stories" focuses on the tense moments leading up to the moon landing, and the immense pressure of a giant leap for mankind.

From the moon, we are taken to the ocean to examine one tiny, earthly element: the pearl. An item that has long held extreme value in society, pearls begin their lives hidden in oyster shells on the bottom of the ocean floor, rolling, rubbing, and irritating their counterpart as they form into what we recognize as jewelry. Pulling from the mysteries, controversies, and extreme value that pearls hold, "Pearl Girls" investigates the development of the pearl, starting from the ocean floor to the necklaces they eventually become.

The journey continues when we are brought to a completely different world among falling leaves, cool breezes, and great change. "Harvest Dance" employs the tools of improvisation, partner work and unison to explore the transformation that autumn beckons.

The first act concludes with guest choreographer Helen Zoerhof's re-staged work. Intense and theatrical, "Mit Kron und Schweif" depicts the old German poem, "Elfkoenig" which describes how a young boy and his father venture through a mystical forest. The boy claims he can see an enticing group of elves following them. The father, dismissing his son's claims as imaginations of youth, tucks his son into the bed, where the son slips into what seems to be a magical dreamland.

The final act of "WUNDERKAMMER" takes us to the world of fairytales in J. Lindsay Brown's 30-minute re-staged work, "Many Upon a Time." Through humor, partnering, text, and dance, Brown reconsiders the plights of several fairytale princesses to bring realism to the fantastical and three-dimensionality to well-known characters.

This show is made possible in part by Bourdage Pearls and Performing Arts Limited.