Dance the night away with the Junction Dance Theatre

Junction Dance Theatre

The Renegade Performance Party Fundraiser

Friday, Oct. 24, 7:30… Junction Dance Theatre

The Renegade Performance Party Fundraiser

Friday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m.-10 p.m.

$10 in advance $12 at the door

Club Cafe, (412) 431-4950

For tickets call (412) 323-1919

This is not the typical fundraiser. Instead, it’s a rare opportunity to receive information in advance about Junction Dance Theatre’s surprise performances entitled the Renegade Series. “No lights. No stage. No tickets. Just Renegade …” is a headline for the upcoming performances, the first of which will take place this Friday at Club Cafe.

Starting this month, Junction Dance Theatre will take a break from the conventional performance space, leaving the stage and theater to perform in 20 surprise sites throughout Pittsburgh. The Junction Dance Theatre will perform 50 free shows at these community sites, such as supermarkets, lobbies, malls, nightclubs, restaurants, and cafes.

This first performance will include a 45-minute site-specific dance theatre-live music work about memory and memory loss entitled “Forget Me Not,” which explores a unique and touching world without memory. This piece contemplates false memory, what “truth” signifies and how mysteries are construed in the mind. The Renegade Series will also include performances of “Crash Lobby,” “5k Escape,” “On Walking in a Cafe After The Bath” and “Musical Chairs/Portable Love.”

“Crash Lobby” is a piece that combines sci-fi action and thriller qualities with high-energy, suspense-filled movements. “5k Escape” is a production that includes up to 50 community members. The work is intended to take place in a community area, along a path or sidewalk, where choreography includes slow-motion, sequenced and unison-based movements such as warming up, running and walking. “On Walking in a Cafe After The Bath” explores love and war while “Musical Chair/Portable Love” depicts the humorous interactions of two shy teenagers, janitors and telemarketers.

Founded in 1998 by artistic director, choreographer and writer Melanie Miller, Junction Dance Theatre is a Pittsburgh-based non-profit dance company. With members Evan Breed, Andre Koslowski – formerly with Dance Alloy – Melanie Miller and Nicole Sasala, actor Mark Tierno and musician Karl Mullen, the company has been presented across the country and is nationally acclaimed. The company recently returned from a one-month residency in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Noted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Renegade Series “gets the originality award.” It has roused audience members in the past, and performances in the unique settings could surprise you on a shopping outing or a nightclub adventure. This show is one of the only times that the Junction Dance Theatre will announce in advance where and when they will be performing this year. During the 2004-05 season, the company will resume its regularly scheduled dance performances in addition to the Renegade Series.