MN2 Productions presents dance-theater piece "Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors" (01/13/02)

MN2 Productions presents dance-theater piece "Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors"

CLEVELAND - "Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors," a dance-theater piece based on the novel by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky (1864-1913) which uses the theatrical conventions of dance, puppetry and music to tell the story of the star-crossed young lovers Ivan and Marichka, will premiere as a bilingual presentation by MN2 Productions at the Cleveland Public Theater on January 25.

The tale is set in the Hutsul region of the Carpathian Mountains, in a world bound by ritual and custom, as well as fate and destiny. The text for the production, considered as a variation on the Romeo and Juliet theme, is by Nadia Tarnawsky.

The piece is brought to life through the choreography of Sarah Morrison of Morrison Dance; Natalie Kapeluck of the Mary Miller Modern Dance Company and artistic director of the Kyiv Ukrainian Dance Ensemble; and Roman Lewkowicz, artistic director of the Obrij Folk Dance Ensemble and former dancer/choreographer with the Dukla Ukrainian Dance Company in Presov, Slovakia. The staging is by Michael D. Flohr.

The soundtrack for the production features Ukrainian folk music from the Hutsul, Polissia and Volyn regions of Ukraine performed on folk instruments by master musicians: Vasyl Geker on violin and drymba; Alexander Fedoriouk on cimbalom and buben; Andrei Pidkivka on nai, sopilka, frilka, tylynka, koza, zozulka, and drymba; and Mykola Kuzyk on trembita; with Ms. Tarnawsky, vocals. The soundtrack from "Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors" is available on CD and cassette.

MN2 Productions, with Ms. Tarnawsky and Mr. Flohr, as co-directors and Ms. Kapeluck, as collaborator, mounts theater productions, concerts and workshops based on Ukrainian themes featuring Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian performers.

In the summer of 2000, Ms. Tarnawsky, a faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and her husband, musician and free-lance director Mr. Flohr, created the dance-theater piece "Ancestral Voices," a collaborative venture based on Ukrainian folk songs and the poetry of Oleksander Oles, Lesia Ukrainka, Taras Shevchenko and Mykhailo Drai-Khmara in translations by Helen Turkewicz-Sanko. The work, which premiered at Cleveland's Inside Gallery on June 29, received critical acclaim from the Cleveland Plain Dealer in a review by dance critic Wilma Salisbury headlined "A Magical Rendering of Ukrainian Folklore."

MN2 Productions has received funding for its latest project from the Ohio Arts Council and the Ukrainain Museum and Archives of Cleveland, of which it has recently become a theater partner.

"Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors" will run for three performances in the Gordon Square Theater at Cleveland Public Theater, 6415 Detroit Ave., on January 25 and 26 at 8 p.m., and January 27 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15, general admission; $12 for seniors and students with a valid student ID. For ticket reservations call (216) 749-0060.

Soundtrack CDs and cassettes are available for $15 and $12, respectively, plus $3 shipping; please make checks payable to Nadia Tarnawsky and send orders to her at P. O. Box 609067, Cleveland, OH 44109.

For more information about MN2 Productions, visit the website http://go.to/mn2productions; or e-mail mn2productions@yahoo.com.

| Home Page |