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| The Paradise of Children Photo by Bob Greenwald |
MDTC will open its 2012-2013 season on September 9, 2012, with Folklore and Fantasy, presented by the WAE Center at Luna Stage in West Orange,
NJ. The program will feature favorites
from MDTC’s diverse repertory, including a Lebanese dabke, shikhatt
dance from Morocco, a Turkish Rom dance, and
a “harem fantasy.” In addition, the
Company will premier The
Paradise of Children by Nathaniel
Hawthorne in the concert’s opening spot. This dance/story theater presentation of the story of Pandora’s box is
adapted and directed by Morgiana Celeste Varricchio, MDTC’s Producing Artistic
Director, and choreographed by Samara Adell, the Company’s Artistic Director
for Dance. Also choreographed by Samara,
and premiering as the program’s finale, is an awalim-style dance
from Mohammed Ali Street in Cairo. Like
New York City’s Greenwich Village, Mohammed Ali Street is the home of singers,
poets, musicians, storytellers, and dancers who often performed in the coffee
houses and clubs of this world-famous entertainment hub. The production features
Mosaic dancers Samara, Morgiana Celeste Varricchio, Nina Brewton, Kendra
Dushac, Mary Susan Sinclair-Kuenning, joined by Erin Pellecchia, and Syrena
Nikole Hanna. Popular Arabic singer and oud virtuoso Maurice Chedid, master
tabla player Gamal Shafik, and violinist/singer Elias Sarkar will provide
on-stage musical accompaniment.
As
part of MDTC’s commitment to serving all populations, the Company and the WAE
Center of West Orange, NJ have joined forces in a special collaboration to
bring a unique aspect of diversity to the program. The WAE Center, under the leadership of
Marilyn Schneider, its Founding Director, is an alternative learning center
under the auspices of the Jewish Services for the Developmentally Disabled,
helping individuals with disabilities find the spark within by providing an
environment for participants to learn, create, express themselves, and foster
meaningful relationships. Mosaic directors Morgiana Celeste and Samara, working
with the staff at the WAE Center, will be teaching workshops in Middle Eastern
dance to students of the WAE Center, who will perform a short choreography
during the concert. Luna Stage, a
professional theater company also of West Orange and critically acclaimed for
producing thought-provoking new and classic plays, is also a part of this special
collaboration. Founded in 1992 by Jane
Mandel, Artistic Director, part of Luna’s mission is to collaborate with
artists of multiple disciplines and partner with the community “to illuminate
the diverse perspectives of our society.”
