Donna Uchizono Company

Premiered June 9-12, 2005, 8:30pm at Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church, New York City.

Approaching Green is a work for four dancers by “Bessie” award winning choreographer Donna Uchizono. The work poses provocative questions about the need for true, real contact. Uchizono uses the experience of witnessing an Indian spiritual guide named Ammachi hug over 5,000 people within a 15-hour period as an inspiring springboard. The surprising result is a dance permeated with the presence of aging. The inevitable walk towards aging evolves without commentary, contrasting the playful and the serious, juxtaposing bold gestures with subtle nuances. Metaphorically, green evokes growth and life. But aging is a part of growth, a part of life, and thus, can be green. The work’s ironic use of an all pink set is a nod to the visual phenomenon that occurs when one’s eyes are flooded with pink, then exposed to natural light: one sees green.

Approaching Green features an original sound score by composer Guy Yarden, costumes and set design by Wendy Winters, lighting design by Roderick Murray, and video by Maya Ciarrocchi. The work premiered at Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church in NYC, June 9-12, 2005, and has toured to DiverseWorks in Houston, TX (February 2006), Dance Place in Washington, DC (April 2006), and Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA (October 2006).

The creation of Approaching Green was made possible, in part, with funds from the Danspace Project’s 2004-05 Commissioning Initiative with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In addition, “Approaching Green” was created with the generous support of the Donna Uchizono Company Commissioning Circle: Lisa Applebaum, A.C. Hudgins, James Hudgins, David Kooy, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Lim, Lois Plehn, John Sanderson, Isabel Tartaglia, and Micki Wesson.

Funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from National Endowment for the Arts and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The Ford Foundation.

Approaching Green was supported by The Multi-Arts Production Fund, a program of Creative Capital, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. This project was supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Harkness Foundation for Dance.