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Threaded Dances

        A solo violin recital and art exhibit by Michiko Theurer
based on the idea of dance refracted through the forms of music, poetry, and painting, 
                   and reconnected in the space of the performance.



About the Program

The title of this program, and of Nicholas Cline’s composition, “Threaded Dances,” is a quote from a poem by W.H. Auden, to which I was drawn in part because of its shifting layers of time-- the casual flow of an immeasurable experience through the regular bars of poetic meter.  The performance draws the framed moments of visual art into the space of musical time, creating a visual space that resonates in counterpoint with the musical performance. 

Each piece that I play has roots in the idea of dance, and abstracts that idea into a form that is intrinsic to its own medium.  The Bach Partitas for solo violin are created in the form of dance suites, but they push the boundaries of danceability through their deep engagement with the expressive capabilities of solo violin.  Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 3 for solo violin takes its subtitle, “Ballade,” from a poetic form that was historically associated with dance (hence the etymological link with “ballet”) and is now primarily associated with poetic narrative; its music is at once a wordless oration and a virtuosic whirlwind of dance rhythms.

I am especially thrilled to present Nicholas Cline’s “Threaded Dances,” written for this program in close dialogue with my creation of the sketches and paintings.

--Michiko Theurer

Gallery version

A full exhibit of paintings designed for a gallery performance

Installation version

Freestanding gesture drawings for performance in non-gallery spaces
(Images from the July 2014 performance in Lovekyn Chapel)

Lovekyn Chapel
London Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT2 6PY.  14 July 2014.  7:30 p.m.

Blue Studio Gallery
Bloomington, IN.  May 2, 2013.  7:30 p.m. 

Innisfree Poetry Bookstore and Cafe
Boulder, CO.  June 18, 2013.  6:00 p.m.
Picture

Program

from J.S. Bach, Partita No. 2 in D minor
          Allemanda          

          Corrente
Eugene Ysaÿe, Sonata No. 3 for solo violin ("Ballade")

from Bach, Partita No. 2 
          Sarabanda
          Giga
Nicholas Cline, "Threaded Dances" (2013)

from Bach, Partita No. 2 
          Ciaccona

threaded_dances_program_notes.pdf
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