David Rousseve / REALITY
SAUDADE
Bittersweet - that single moment when the greatest joy and agony are experienced together is the subject of David Rousseve's new evening-length dance-theater production, Saudade. The dance unfolds through a juxtaposition, and fluid intermingling, of several core components: stories written and told by Rousseve that chronicle the specific bittersweet history of African-Americans in the Southern U.S.; a soundscore of contemporary and traditional Portuguese Fado music; andthe exquisitedancing of an international cast.
Rousseve's stories, a mosaic of character monologues, are grounded in folklore, historical fact, and personal experience. A slave woman recounts the horrific sacrifice she endured to learn to read. A mother remembers only the little things about her battle to save her children from Hurricane Katrina and the loss of her husband. These and other stories illuminate the joys and pathos of individuals who - despite the span of time that separates them - are dealing with the same struggle to endure within a harsh everyday reality. The soundscore of Fado music projects the historical and political issues ingrained in the struggles of African-Americans onto a global terrain. Saudade,is a Portuguese word that itself conjures the complex mixture of sadness, pain, nostalgia, happiness and
love, a bittersweet state-at the core of Fado.
The emotional texture of the work reverberates also through the personal experience and interpretation of a cast of international dancers. Each dancer brings to the work extensive experience exploring the complicated intersection between traditional world dance (including Bharata Natyam, Indonesian, West African) and postmodern dance. Saudade will be performed by Rousseve (who will perform the monologues) and seven dancers who include: Anjali Tata, Sri Susilowati, Marianne Kim, Nehera Kalev, Esther Baker-Tarpaga, Olivier Tarpaga, and Taisha Paggett. As Rousseve describes an early workshop: "While we bring our separate histories to the dance, we do not come as representatives of a culture, but as individuals and we are finding common ground”.
Saudade is a production of MAPP/MultiArts Projects & Productions. MAPP is currently seeking commissioning partners for Saudade.
For further information about Saudade, please contact:
Cathy Zimmerman, Co-Director and Producer
MultiArts Projects & Productions
140 Second Avenue, Suite 502
New York, NY 10003
T: 646-602-9390
E: cathy@multiartsprojects.com
www.multiartsprojects.com