MOMENTUM FOCUS:
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN ON A PARK BENCH IN RAY MERCER’S LATEST PREMIERE
[September 19, 2024]
So far in his Momentum portfolio, choreographer Ray Mercer has introduced us to a perpetually restless spectre in Ghost Light and to high-velocity romance in Speed Date. Time to slow things down a bit…?
Not a chance! In Significant Encounters, Mercer’s signature blend of human insight, daringly athletic artistry, and split-second timing goes for an outing in a park. The action happens on, under, and above three park benches, where couples form relationships, break apart, and regroup, all at a relentless pace. Will any of them ever stop running long enough to fall in love?
Mercer – an Omaha native, veteran Broadway performer, and sought-after guest choreographer – often begins his creative process with a character or story idea. But he tried a different approach for Significant Encounters.
“The only thing I knew that I wanted was the benches,” he said. “Then I thought, I have a prop; then I need a demographic, so we’ll put it in a park. Okay, I have a bench in a park – what needs to happen? I think one of the things that we can most connect to is relationships, so I said okay, we’ll take three relationships, stick them in a park, and add a prop – a bench. I didn’t want to create a big long story; I just wanted to have those three elements, and then bring the dancers into the room and see what happens.”
Mercer felt comfortable with this exploratory approach because he has worked with AMB’s dancers before. “I know what these dancers can do,” he said. “We’re going to get the work done, and they rise to the occasion every single time. You’re very lucky that you have dancers who are kind and supportive, and they come into the process with a certain spirit that helps push along the piece.”
Performances of Momentum will be at 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday, October 18 and 19, and at 2 pm Sunday, October 20, all at the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center in Council Bluffs. Good seats are still available if you act now.
All programming is subject to change.