This Week: Diagnosis of a Faun Premieres at La MaMa

[Donald Kollisch]

Dear Lit-Med Colleagues,

This dance piece – opening in New York City this Thursday - explores issues of varying physical abilities (the lead dancer has Cerebral Palsy) and also issues of doctors’ connection to their patients.  [Truth in advertising:  I’m one of the performers.]    

The following description is excerpted from the web-site of the LaMama theater, where the piece is being performed.  <www.lamama.org <http://www.lamama.org> >.  The New York Times featured a “preview” article on Wednesday, Nov. 25. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/arts/dance/25palsy.html?_r=1&ref=dance>

Happy Holidays!
Don

Donald O. Kollisch, MD
Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education at The City College of New York
New York, NY  10031

 
TAMAR ROGOFF PERFORMANCE PROJECTS (Thursday) In “Diagnosis of a Faun,” inspired by the classic ballet “Afternoon of a Faun,” the faun steps out of a mythical world into the world of medicine, while two doctors (one played by a real physician) diagnose the case. (Through Dec. 20.) At 7:30 p.m., La MaMa E.T.C., 74A East Fourth Street, East Village , (212) 475-7710, lamama.org <http://lamama.org> ; $25; $20 for students and 65+. (Anderson)
 


In Diagnosis of a Faun, Tamar Rogoff’s faun steps out of his mythical world to interface with the world of medicine. As the faun moves through the seemingly disparate spheres of the operating room and the forest in the company of dancers, doctors, humans and nymphs, the curse of separation between medicine and art is gently lifted. Gregg Mozgala, an actor who has been training with Rogoff for over a year, makes his dance debut in the principal role of the faun. In fashioning the faun, Rogoff draws her choreographic inspiration from Mozgala’s first-hand experience with Cerebral Palsy. Dr. Don  Kollisch, a Family Physician, will perform a classical pas de deux with Lucie Baker who plays a nymph. Dancer Emily Pope-Blackman plays the part of a doctor who navigates the divide between her and her patient. Rogoff’s choreographic language reveals each performer’s unique and well-honed expertise and creates juxtapositions in partnering that set them at each other’s mercy. Rogoff developed and researched the medical layers of this piece in a two year association with Phillip Bauman, renowned orthopedic surgeon for the NYC Ballet and ABT.  Tamar Rogoff is a choreographer who explores the outer limits of how people negotiate extreme circumstances. She combines and juxtaposes unlikely company members, always on the look out for magical and tender ways to tell difficult stories.  She is a four-time recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and has been generously funded and commissioned by Dancing in the Streets, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Rockefeller MAP Grant, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Harkness Foundation, New York Theater Workshop’s Suitcase Fund, VSA  arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation.  Currently, as a Guggenheim Fellow, Rogoff is working on a documentary about the training of Gregg Mozgala, as he prepares to dance the role of the Faun. Rogoff’s methods of release through unorthodox body practices address Mozgala’s cerebral palsy, as together they forge an intimate and vibrant relationship.

------ Forwarded Message     

Tamar Rogoff Performance Projects           
Diagnosis of a Faun Make your Reservations Today!

In “Diagnosis of a Faun,” inspired by the classic ballet “Afternoon of a Faun,” the faun steps out of a mythical world into the world of medicine, while two doctors (one played by a real physician) diagnose the case.

DATE: December 3-20 2009
TIME: Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm *Note: the performance on Saturday, December 5th is SOLD OUT!
LOCATION: La MaMa E.T.C Ellen Stewart Theatre
TICKETS: $25 (Students and Seniors $20/ticket). Contact the La MaMa box-office at (212) 475-7710 or www.lamama.org <http://www.lamama.org>
 
Please click on the link below to read the NY Times preview article on the process of creating Diagnosis of a Faun.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/arts/dance/25palsy.html?_r=1&ref=dance>