Take the A Train – Piccolo Spoleto Dance Program

Annex Dance Company and Unbound Ballet Collective share the bill for this evening of contemporary work, including premiere work and pieces in re-imagined settings.

Take the A Train is Annex Dance Company’s new work inspired by the music and dance styles of the Jazz Age. Sparked by a response to a painting entitled ‘A Train’ by Mary Walker in 2019, artistic director and choreographer Kristin Alexander wanted to investigate the lyrics, rhythms and dance of that time through modern dance movement vocabulary. Lush Life, Round Midnight, Blue and Green, Peace Piece and, of course, Take the “A” Train were chosen by Alexander, Walker and composer Michael Wall, who arranged and recorded these jazz standards into a score for the work. To create the choreography Alexander worked closely with her collaborators, researched the history and influential artists of the Jazz Age, and as Wall sent each music file, improvised with the company. After a year shifting her choreographic process to omit physical connection, Take the A Train includes partnering between the six dancers that is very true to Annex Dance Company and an additional layer of connection to what was happening on the dance floors in the 1920s.

Take the A Train has been generously supported in part by the Lowcountry Quarterly Arts Grant Program, Post and Courier Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, and South Carolina Arts Commission.