artistic directors jamey hampton + ashley roland
In 1997, Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland choreographed “Carmina Burana” for the Portland Opera. “It’s a hit!” proclaimed The Oregonian at the premiere, and audiences across the country have overwhelmingly agreed since. At once classic and contemporary, “Roland and Hampton have choreographed this Carmina Burana in a freewheeling, multidisciplinary style that serves as a hymn to impulsive, uninhibited creative expression” (The Los Angeles Times). Collaborating with renowned opera director Chris Mattagliano, Carmina was the work that brought BodyVox together as Hampton, Roland and several of the dancers in the production formed the company shortly after the premiere.
(premiere: June 1998 for White Bird) In 1998, BodyVox unveiled its first evening length work, The Big Room. Following on the heels of their critically acclaimed Carmina Burana, The Big Room shows Hampton and Roland’s unfettered imagination in full force. The works traces an evolution from instinct to intellect, passing through the chaotic and surreal towards a destination of poetic release. With “an infinite number of elegant movement metaphors and a good many belly laughs” (The Oregonian), this episodic voyage from the primal to the present “had the audience members at the edge of their seat” (The Desert News, Salt Lake City). Displaying a bold physicality infused with humor, striking imagery and the use of film and sculptural sets, the premier of The Big Room also introduced BodyVox as “a company of some of thhe finest dancers, each with a unique personality and fine tuned technical shill.” (The Oregonian).
(premiere: June 2000 for White Bird) When a thousand little cities premiered it was BodyVox's most ambitious work to date. Collaborating with nationally recognized visual artist and playwright Tad Savinar and award winning set designer Michael Curry (The Lion King), BodyVox created “an innovative work of movement theater that doesn’t compromise physical expression to spectacular visual embellishments.” (The Oregonian) “cities” is a multidisciplinary joyride with film, visual art and BodyVox’s trademark freewheeling movement style. Using location and weather as a point of departure, “a thousand little cities encompasses an expansive vista, creating not so much a travelogue of specific locations as a journey through the human landscape, roaming some of its loftiest and bleakest landmarks with an acuity for the absurd.”
(premier: 2001) Reverie creates a world of beauty, strength, and delight with a bit of humor, and the human richness which all of that affords. Both complex and refreshingly simple while utilizing BodyVox's signature blend of dance, theatre and film, Reverie is inspired by the impressionist era and builds from an overriding belief in the power of beauty.
Conceived by BodyVox’s Artistic Directors Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland in the months surrounding 9/11, the horror that unfolded on that day led to the creation of Reverie. Jamey Hampton recalls “As we gathered in the studio that day and those that followed, we came to believe that a program with beauty as its central theme could be a powerful statement: art must prevail, humanity must prevail, culture, knowledge and freedom of expression, indeed beauty must prevail. We named the program Reverie. implying that this is one to sweep us up and carry us away.”
Since the show’s Portland premiere in 2001, BodyVox has performed Reverie on tour throughout the US and internationally in Germany, Mexico and Japan. The work was featured in the company’s 2004 New York debut prompting Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times to write: “BodyVox, based in Portland, Ore., approaches dance with a breezy freshness and simplicity that is all its own.” Newsday dance reviewer Jeremy Caplan proclaimed: “BodyVox’s superb program at the Joyce Theater eclectically blends film with dance and grace with humor.” That same year BodyVox was invited to perform Reverie at Tokyo’s International “We Love Dance” festival.
(Premiere: April 2001) ZAPPED brings you the world of comics and animation in a dazzling interplay with contemporary dane. For this multimedia production BodyVox collaborated with experts in a range of media including Dark Horse comic artist Pop Mahn, filmmaker Mitchell Rose, and composers John Smith and Dweezil Zappa.
“Here is a dance of possibilities in the face of conflict, of opening up, of achieving a cultural state of grace. Like the dance itself, that grace emerges in a final swirl of pure, fluid beauty – a heaven on earth.” -The Oregonian
(premiere: April 2004 for White Bird) Water Bodies is a dynamic multimedia exploration of the many facets of water. Artistic Directors Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland chose water as the take off point for the show because it is essential and endlessly variable: water as medium, water as force, water as a harbinger of disaster and promise. Through BodyVox's signature use of Dance, Theatre and Film, seasoned with a sly sense of humor, Water Bodies explores diverse water themes from Rain to Fly Fishing.
Water Bodies was co-commissioned by White Bird in 2004. In the spring of 2008 Water Bodies played for a full week at the Los Angeles Music Center, performing for 35,000 kids as the focus of their annual Children's Festival. This show is appropriate for all ages and may be performed with or without live music.
(premiere: October 2005) Civilization Unplugged begins with the premise of technological evolution flowing in reverse. It envisions a world where silicon and cell phones gradually lose their sway, giving way to more elemental forces of instinct and human spirit. Combining dance, theatre and film, we explore the mechanics of work day behavior, absurd social behavior and even technological interaction with the audience. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes sad, romantic, nostalgic, gripping, tender and overwhelming. But in the end it's all about the human spirit.
(premiere: May 2008) Horizontal Leanings explores themes of Urban Community through dance, music and film; all with an eye toward sustainable practices - using green in both its figurative and literal senses. Original music composed by L.A. Composer Viveck Maddala and Nu Shooz creator John Smith and was performed live by Third Angle Music. The show provides a glimpse into our real-life community concerns like relationships, recycling and diminishing greenspace. In the standout piece "The Bunny" we see the process of pecking order. The Horizontal Leaning describes the growing imbalance between ecology and society.
Foot Opera Files
(premiere: March 2009) Nine dancers, five singers, four musicians and an intriguing band of characters lead the audience on a journey through the world of The Foot Opera Files. Structured as a series of poetic stories, each character’s life is woven together by the tale of one lost soul, given to life on the rails and the past that drove him there. Inspired by the music and lyrics of Tom Waits, as arranged by Michael Papillo and sung live by the incomparable voices of the Portland Opera Studio Artists, the music provides a theatrical narrative for this intertwined series of human vignettes.
The First Impressions Series provided an intimate look at BodyVox within a studio setting. Performed for small audiences in the original BodyVox dance studio on the third floor of the Bridgeport Brewery, the series served as an incubator and testing ground for new ideas as well as an opportunity for company members and guest choreographers to set work on the BodyVox dancers.
photo by: Blaine Truitt Covert