ABOUT THIS SHOW
Freedom From and Freedom To, led by Cristal Sabbagh, invites a pair of movement and sound improvisors from across Chicago to gather in front of a live audience, where they are grouped by chance. Artist Kinnari Vora dives into ritual with her piece Kissing The Earth, an offering to the ancestors who lived and breathed and at the same time are alive within us.
Freedom From and Freedom To Lineup:
Thursday, April 4 - Cristal Sabbagh & Scott Rubin
Friday, April 5 - Amanda Maraist & Sharon Udoh
Saturday, April 6 - Kara Brody & Krissy Bergmark
About Kissing the Earth:
Kissing the Earth is a dance ritual that celebrates our connection to Mother Earth. With music, movement, and storytelling, it explores the bond between humanity and the planet, reflecting on our responsibility as stewards of the Earth. This homage to ancestral wisdom of all peoples, trees and animals and our interconnectedness draws inspiration from the forestlands where Kinnari grew up and Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings. Kinnari is accompanied by collaborator Bob Garrett (music), and guest appearances by Nishika Jani and guru Sarmishtha Sarkar.
About Freedom From and Freedom To
Freedom From and Freedom To are improvisational performance environments which interrogate movement and sound. They use an ensemble of movers and sound-makers that are remarkably diverse in their crafts and backgrounds. Freedom From and Freedom To integrates relationality by engaging audience participation. The audience is invited to randomly draw a combination of artists who will perform together. Some of the participants have never engaged with each other before, which creates a challenging and often rewarding opportunity for world-making.
About Kinnari Vora
Kinnari Vora shares stories of universal human conditions and emotions through movement, meditation and theatrical practices. Her movements are rooted in Bharatanatyam (disciple of Sarmishtha Sarkar, India), various Indian folk dances and kalaripayattu martial arts. Her work is guided by ancestral energy, wisdom of nature and collaborative communion. Being a physical therapist and a yoga practitioner/instructor, she integrates healing practices in her dancemaking. Kinnari is co-founder and artistic co-chair of Ishti Collective and a dancer collaborator with Surabhi Ensemble. Her works have been presented at The Art Institute of Chicago, Detroit Dance City Festival, Pivot Arts Festival, Ragdale Foundation, World Music Festival, among others and in India.
About Bob Garrett
Musician/composer Bob Garrett currently playing for Goodman Theater’s Matchbox Magic Flute, has toured and performed for Chicago version of Hamilton, Sting's Last Ship, The Lion King, Glen Hansard at Lollapalooza, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and Victory Garden. Bob has been an accompanist with Columbia College Dance department since 1997. Bob Garrett has composed/performed for dance companies/choreographers including Posterchild Arts, Ishti Collective, Mordine and Company, Darrell Jones, Lou Conte, Liz Burrett, Trinity Irish dancers, Carrie Hanson, Randy Duncan, Alvin Ailey Dance, Urban Bush Women, Joe Goode, Bill T Jones, Hubbard Street dance co, Guitarras de España, Chiara Mangiameli Studio and Surabhi Ensemble.
The duo have been creating collaborative works since 2015, weaving their art, history and life inspirations. They have presented works independently in the midwest and India; as well as Spain, Portugal, Vietnam, Mexico and Senegal with Surabhi Ensemble.
ABOUT Cristal Sabbagh & Scott Rubin
Cristal Sabbagh is a teaching interdisciplinary artist influenced by film, history, politics, Butoh and improvised sound. In her performances, her goal is to embody transformational memories, challenge power structures and awaken viewers' senses. Cristal has found that working with live improvised music has inspired her best work, which has become vital to her practice.
Scott Rubin is a interdisciplinary musician and improvising violist whose work interrogates relationships between sound and movement through analog and digital means. His recent projects have involved interdisciplinary collaborations with musicians and dancers, often incorporating interactive acoustic/electronic improvisation, expanded performance practices, motion-sensors and live video. In these projects, he engages themes of intimacy, control and the sublime.
ABOUT AMANDA MARAIST & SHARON UDOH
Amanda Naraist is a movement deviser + improviser from the texas gulf coast, and co-directs bim bom studios. she works collaboratively with movers, musicians and artists; most recently with Helen Lee, Freedom From and Freedom To, Khecari, Irene Hsiao, Ayako Kato / Art Union Humanscape and independently. her movement work exists as both dance-making and physical space-making. using authentic movement practices and meticulously rendered improvisational scores, her work is process-forward with a do-it-together demeanor.
Sharon Udoh (they/she) is a gay, first-generation Nigerian-American composer, pianist, arranger, bandleader, and vocalist based in Chicago. Their work abandons genre and is expansive, and tells stories of human complexity, chaos and connection. She sometimes takes the stage under the name Counterfeit Madison; their performances are magnetic, dangerous, and kind, and her work has been commissioned by New York City Gay Men's Chorus, Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, Portland Lesbian Chorus, Atlanta Women's Chorus and D-Composed Chicago. Find out more at counterfeitmadison.com.
ABOUT KARA BRODY & Krissy Bergmark
Krissy Bergmark is a tabla player, percussionist, composer and educator. Bergmark centers her creative work on bringing tabla to new genres and cross-genres through composition and performance with a grounded understanding of the traditions of the instrument.
More About MERGE
Running Time
Due to the high volume and wide breadth of work we present, we are often not able to proactively offer content advisories for individual performances. However, if you have specific concerns about stage effects (such as strobe lights or fog/haze) that might have a bearing on comfort or well-being, or if you would like to know more about the age appropriateness of the performance, please contact the box office at 312-335-1650.
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Running Time
Content Advisory
Due to the high volume and wide breadth of work we present, we are often not able to proactively offer content advisories for individual performances. However, if you have specific concerns about stage effects (such as strobe lights or fog/haze) that might have a bearing on comfort or well-being, or if you would like to know more about the age appropriateness of the performance, please contact the box office at 312-335-1650.