[Dance]
/CLOSE/R

About This Event

Tickets:
$40 General Admission + Opening Night Reception (Saturday only)
$22 General Admission
$17 Members, Seniors, Teachers and Artists
$10 College Students
$8 Children (17 and under)

Helanius J. Wilkins, Artistic Director of EDGEWORKS Dance Theater, returns to the Dance Place stage with an evening-length solo project on Saturday, September 15 at 8pm and Sunday, September 16 at 7pm. The performances mark the opening of Dance Place's 32nd Performance Season, and EDGEWORKS Dance Theater's 12th season.

The Saturday night performance will be followed by a special fundraiser reception* for EDGEWORKS Dance Theater.

About /CLOSE/R
Conceived, choreographed, and performed by Helanius J. Wilkins, /CLOSE/R, emerges from a place of fear and flight. This evening-length solo project exposes Wilkins in his naked truth through a process of shedding. /CLOSE/R marks a departure from his past works for his all-male EDGEWORKS Dance Theater by returning to the solo form. Inspired in part by notions of what is uncomfortable, Wilkins navigates his way from questions to statements while exploring newfound personal realizations of dance. This piece fuses lighting design, video technology, movement, and text through the subtle intimacy of humor.

/CLOSE/R marks a shift in Wilkins' creative process. Rather than beginning with choreography or the creation of set movements, he is allowing his own bodily actions and sensory engagement to guide the process as well as the performance. The result is an ever-changing and indeterminate journey that is different for each iteration. The performance not only gives an audience a glimpse into a new way of molding movement, but also informs Wilkins' own deepening of ways in which our senses guide knowledge production. Wilkins returned to the university setting in summer 2011 to pursue graduate studies, as an extension of his artistic journey. He is a Master's of Fine Arts degree candidate at the George Washington University. /CLOSE/R is the culmination of his performance work for his MFA program of study.

*This project is made possible in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support made possible by Dance Place, Joy of Motion Dance Center, and American Dance Institute.