ALLOY ORCHESTRA has “rejuvenated the art of silent film with thrillingly quirky, percussive scores.” (Entertainment Weekly) They return to the Bandshell with their mesmerizing score to the 1925 German masterpiece Varieté, which was almost impossible to see until a recent restoration of the print. A tale of love, deception, revenge and redemption set in the circus, it was directed by Ewald Andre Dupont and stars Emil Jannings (the first ever recipient of the Academy Award for best actor) as a trapeze “catcher” and Lya De Putti as the beguiling hoochy coochy dancer he loves. The story, full of double crosses and wild circus shenanigans, does not end well.
Brooklyn’s venerable feminist acrobatic modern dance troupe LAVA will astound and amaze before the film with a program that combines new work and circus-themed classics. LAVA is known for awe-inspiring feats that push the boundaries of dance, gravity and gender expectations. LAVA’s choreographic language incorporates acrobatics, trapeze, social dance, sports, contact improv and other contemporary forms, and the work they create explores geologic and anthropological phenomena as metaphors for human relationships and expression.