National Queer Arts Festival Press Releases
Lava From New York@ NQAF 2003 !

"an exhilarating mix of circus and dance…these intrepid performers charge with explosive energy." - Newsweek

"Ms. Johnson's choreography is rooted in slow-moving no-frills gymnastic feats that demand impressive physical control. Some of the feats are as dazzling in their simplicity and challenges as any ballet pyrotechnics."
-- New York Times

Dance Mission Theater presents High Tide, the latest from Obie and Bessie Award winning choreographer Sarah East Johnson's LAVA. High Tide is a new evening of daring acrobatics mixed with flowing choreography that examines love, velocity, abstract art, and the importance of conflict resolution. The six strong women of LAVA fly through the air into each others' arms and gracefully fall apart. Inspired by Niagara Falls, it features intimate partnering, theatrical vignettes, singing, and dancing, all live on stage.

High Tide is performed by Natalie Agee, Sarah East Johnson, Molly Chanoff, Diana Greiner, and Rebecca Stronger. Sound design by Jody Elff translates the sounds of bodies tumbling into sonic landscapes, and music by The Butchies, Beck, and the Beach Boys infuse the performance with explosive nuances. Video projections of elemental seduction (sand, water, lava) by visual artist Nancy Brooks Brody provide set, setting and patterns.

Since 1994, LAVA has been creating performances that are highly physical, visually compelling, humorous and poetic. Under the Johnson's direction, the troupe of women has developed a movement vocabulary informed by the strength, agility and spectacle of acrobatics, the aggressive ferocity of contact sports, and the familiarity of social dancing. LAVA performances weave a variety of metaphors and analogies through choreography that addresses such things as volcanic eruptions, survival in harsh conditions and the inter-dependency of various organisms. Performers also integrate projections, theatrical vignettes and minimalist dances that illuminate the complexities of relationships in nature.

Sarah East Johnson has been presenting daring all-girl extravaganzas since 1987. She has presented work at venues including P.S. 122, MASSMoCA, Central Park Summerstage, Annenberg Center, Celebrate Brooklyn, The Kitchen and The Flea. In 1999 she was awarded both an Obie and a Bessie Award. Johnson is also a member of the Obie Award winning Circus Amok. High Tide premiered at Dance Theater Workshop in New York City in May, 2003. High Tide was funded by DTW's Bessie Schonberg/First Light Commission, The Jerome Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, and other foundations and individuals.