The Bowie Project: A Rock & Roll Soundpainting

It was a fabulous ride for The Bowie Project 3 for our performances January 26-29, 2017 at Ironwood Hall in Austin, TX. We are ready to take this show on the road! Please be in touch if you are interested in hosting a performance in your community.

A big thanks to all of you who supported our third development and came out to the show!

Here are some comments that audiences shared….

Fantastic! Great production in every way.

I lost myself and loved it!

Unique and wonderful!

Arresting on many levels – intellectually, artistically, body consciousness!

It was bizarre and amazing. It really captured and highlighted David’s life and personality. I absolutely loved it!

Fun! Ambitious!

Awesome, so much fun and entertaining!

Loved this theatre group! Amazing!

It is so powerful…it deserves a much bigger venue and audience.

More! More! More!

Check out this review in the Fjord Review. A Bowie Kaleidoscope by Jonelle Seitz

Thanks to Steve Rogers Photography for the beautiful photos of the show. You can see the full gallery HERE.

MORE ABOUT THE SHOW….

DANCE • THEATER • ROCK & ROLL!

A live remix and deconstruction of the music of David Bowie.

With three critically acclaimed runs of The Bowie Project in 2014, 2015 & 2017, Andrea Ariel Dance Theatre collaborates with Austin’s premiere David Bowie tribute band “Super Creeps” and New York’s “Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble” for this one-of-a-kind production that takes the audience on a dance, theater and rock n’ roll journey through Bowie’s life and music.

The performance will spark the curiosity of Bowie, dance, theater and music fans alike through its innovative use of a unique improvisational sign language used to spontaneously guide, shape and remix material in real time. No two shows are the same in this exciting, unpredictable theatrical and musical experience.

The Bowie Project uses Soundpainting – a live composing sign language used to lead improvised performances among musicians, actors, dancers, visual and media artists – to shape and compose group improvisations in real time drawing from any combination of Bowie songs, choreography, scenes, monologues-which stand to be disrupted, reordered and reassembled in the moment.

“David Bowie’s music, story and the progression of his ever-changing persona is the content from which we are exploring universal themes around our ever-evolving human search for identity, the struggles and triumphs we all experience, and the inspirations Bowie gave us through his music.” said Artistic Director, Andrea Ariel.

Named #2 of the Top Nine Big Bang Dance Concerts of 2015 by the Chronicle, The Bowie Project has received four nominations and one award from the Austin Critics Table.

Joining Andrea Ariel Dance Theatre for the performances of “The Bowie Project” are fellow New York City Soundpainters and co-creators, Leese Walker (actor); Rolf Sturm (guitar); Nolan Kennedy (actor); along with Super Creeps: Adam Sultan (lead singer, guitar, actor), Garry Franklin (drums), Rey Artega (congas & percussion, vocals), Andy Nolte (guitar, keyboard, vocals), Claude McCan (keyboard, vocals) and Alán Uribe (electric bass); and Artistic Director and Soundpainter, Andrea Ariel performing with AADT dancers Steve Ochoa and Alyson Dolan.

Soundpainting was created by musician and composer Walter Thompson in New York City, and is now practiced widely across Europe in both professional and educational circles. Using over 1,200 gestures, Soundpainting allows the composer to sign artists the type of material to be performed. The very nature of Soundpainting harnesses two seemingly opposite concepts of specificity and chance and when combined with the electrifying tunes of David Bowie, the experience is nothing short of captivating.

Andrea has worked with Soundpainting creator Walter Thompson since the early developments in 1998, and is a Certified Soundpainter and Educator. As an Austin Creative Ambassador she attended the International Soundpainting Think Tank in Girona, Spain (2014) and recently in Milan, Italy (2016). AADT is only artistic company practicing and performing this art form in Austin and this region.

Alongside this project we are launching the furthering of Soundpainting in 2017 through community workshops and education programs. Find out more about SOUNDPAINTING.

About Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble

Established in 1997, the Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble is a permanent collective of jazz musicians, modern dancers, and actors. Strike Anywhere devises original performances that are collaboratively-crafted by the ensemble. Their performances always feature live music, physical theater and modern dance. The company applies structures and concepts from American jazz to their inter-disciplinary improvisations to create performances that are provocative and alive. The ensemble has shared its work at conferences and festivals in the U.S., Bali, England and France. Strike Anywhere has been featured at Roundabout’s American Airlines Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, P.S. 122, The Irondale Center, HERE Arts Center, as well as on Radio France, N.P.R., German Public Radio and German and U.S. television.

Strike Anywhere’s Artistic Director, Leese Walker, has worked with the W.T.O. since 1997, and was the first actor invited into the W.T.O. to adapt the language for use in theater. SA’s musicians have worked with the W.T.O. since the late eighties. Strike Anywhere is on the vanguard of the Soundpainting movement and is well respected for their experience and innovations with the form. Walker and ensemble member Sturm recently traveled to London for the annual Soundpainting Thinktank, and to Paris to perform at the International Soundpainting Festival with inventor Walter Thompson. Walker has also participated in Thinktanks in Girona, Spain (2014) and Milan, Italy (2015).

About Super Creeps

Super Creeps are a tribute band covering the music of David Bowie. The all-star line-up of Austin musicians includes Adam Sultan (lead singer & guitar), Garry Franklin (drums), Rey Arteaga (congas & percussion, vocals), Andy Nolte (guitar, keyboard, vocals), Claude McCan (keyboard, electronics, vocals) and Alán Uribe (bass).

Press Quotes

2015

“The billing hardly describes the quality and untamed artistry of the Bowie Project. Its art—music, dance, drama, visual art—in combination verges on the unique, that fleeting quality most artists never attain. Its spectacular staging is exceeded by Cirque du Soleil and very few other indoor shows of any type this side of Las Vegas.”

“Every performer one sees on that stage is some refraction of Bowie. Perhaps only a deconstructing, improvisational performance such as The Bowie Project 2 could illuminate David Bowie so sharply.”

“The Bowie Project 2 is also a form of highly abstracted musical theatre, a delight to music lovers.”

“The ensemble truly formed a whole. Trained improvisational performers deal with two contradictory things. They must develop great artistic discipline—skill—in order to put the work on stage, first; and, once there, they must engage the edge of their art to find anything original, something not seen before. All the performers in The Bowie Project 2 have the skill and the commitment.”
— David Robinson, Austin Theater Examiner

2014

“Andrea Ariel Dance Theatre has taken the best of improv in dance, music, and theatre and thrown them all together in The Bowie Project: A Rock & Roll Soundpainting. This show will make believers, if not lovers, of almost everyone who gets a chance to see it.”
— David Robinson, Austin Theater Examiner

“Forms of improvisation live and evolve in many fields of the performing arts and music. Andrea Ariel Dance Theatre has taken the best of improv in dance, music, and theatre and thrown them all together in The Bowie Project: A Rock & Roll Soundpainting. And while improvisation in all those forms is not universally admired by people who enjoy the performing arts, this show will make believers, if not lovers, of almost everyone who gets a chance to see it.”

“This production was almost impeccable in every way one could imagine. Producer Andrea Ariel took full advantage of rock’s vibrancy and power. The excitement level was sustained throughout the show’s 70 minutes, with very brief pauses for the audience to catch its breath. The performers didn’t seem to need to catch their breath. The entire ensemble exuded talent and All-America training.”

“The Bowie Project suffered only from a disappointingly short run at Stateside at the Paramount. At $12 per ticket it was clearly the best performance value in town. Avid fans may insist on a revival of the show soon, although reassembling such a talented ensemble may prove difficult. Bowie fans everywhere can watch and advocate for its return and wide touring.”
— David Robinson, Austin Theater Examiner

“Whether improvising or choreographed, Steve Ochoa, Andrea Ariel, and Alyson Dolan exhibit incredible technique, follow through, and intensity. It’s a privilege to watch them perform, and the countless awards and nominations they’ve received over the years are well deserved. The Super Creeps are exceptional as well, especially frontman Adam Sultan. Sultan embodies the androgynous style and signature vocals of Bowie without coming off as a carbon copy. He’s a confident, enthralling performer in his own right.”
— Jeff Davis, Broadway World