DANCE

Hope Stone Dance Company is partnering with Mercury Baroque and the award-winning Houston Boychoir to present la vie à pleines dents, which means "to bite life with all of one's teeth," the second performance in Hope Stone's 2011-2012 season. The "pop-up" art piece will feature lighting design by Jeremy Choate and set/stage design by David Graeve and will be presented January 12 - 15, 2012 in downtown Houston at the Houston Pavilions, which will be overhauled to create a theater.

la vie à pleines dents will intertwine and grace the space with music from Bach as well as arias and choral music. Using research, interviews and insight from people who have experienced near death situations as well as terminally ill patients, the work examines the clichés of how the statement "I could get hit by a bus" has become the catastrophic catchall phrase. The phrase "live each day like it's your last" and its visceral meaning will also be explored.

With the use of a warehouse theater, Hope Stone moves beyond the formal proscenium setting to utilize a large, unconventional space playing with distance and depth. The performers moving in and out of view with the audience will further capture the journey of someone playing on the edge of life.

la vie à pleines dents is the second of three exciting productions, under the direction of Artistic Director Jane Weiner, that make up Hope Stone's second full season. The 2011 - 2012 lineup includes - Lemonade Stand (August 2011), la vie à pleines dents (to bite life with all of one's teeth) and the annual Kid's Play premiere performance Kid's Play: an opera in one act, which is set for May 2012.

Photography by Simon Gentry.