Every day on Art&Seek, we’re talking to people who have tips for virtual art experiences.  Share yours with us on Facebook, Instagram or @artandseek on Twitter. Click above to listen to Gayle Halperin with Bruce Wood Dance, share her tip with KERA’s Nilufer Arsala. 

Gayle Halperin, Executive Director of Bruce Wood Dance

This weekend, lovers of dance can get a second look at Bruce Wood Dances‘ powerful and highly acclaimed work ‘Forbidden Paths’ by choreographer Garrett Smith.

The work, which had its world premiere at Moody Performance Hall last June, explores the legal restrictions placed on dance in countries like Iran. But it’s also about oppression. Gayle Halperin, Executive Director of Bruce Wood Dance says the catalyst of the work was the restrictions on dancing publically in Iran. But it also speaks universally of oppression throughout the decades, particularly oppression during the Holocaust. “It’s also relevant right now. The work articulates the resiliency of the human spirit in confronting our current struggles.”

Dancers Daniel Seth York and Olivia Laine Rehrman Photo: Brian Guilliaux

‘Forbidden Paths’ is set to a score of Persian music, along with selections from Olafur Arnalds, Theatre of Voices, and Kronos Quartet.

Choreographer Garrett Smith, photo: Bruce Wood Dance

Smith is an internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer, known not only for his compelling choreography but also for his powerful imagery and inventive partnering. He’s has been commissioned by The Mariinsky Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Bolshoi Ballet (Faces Project), Norwegian National Ballet, Texas Ballet Theater, Milwaukee Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, among many. Smith was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, went on to perform with Houston Ballet, then to the Norwegian National Ballet, where he worked with choreographers Jirí Kylián, Nacho Duato, and Alexander Ekman.

Got a tip? Email Therese Powell at tpowell@kera.org. You can follow her on Twitter @TheresePowell13

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