Press Release:
Neal Medlyn and Dance Gang

DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP
presents
Neal medlyn and dance gang
in the world premieres of
…Her’s a Queen and Dog Breaks
Oct 22- 24 at 7:30pm

New York, NY, September  8, 2009 - Dance Theater Workshop presents Neal Medlyn and Dance Gang (Kennis Hawkins and Will Rawls) in an evening of pop iconography, dance, live music, and performance. …Her’s A Queen is Neal Medlyn’s fifth pop-star opus (others have included Kanye West, The Artist formerly known as Prince, and  Beyoncé) and the first installment in a two-part Britney Spears/Hannah Montana extravaganza. Built around the idea and music of Britney Spears, purity, and non-sexual touch …Her’s a Queen will feature overlapping stories and bears and abstinence and unwashed hair and dance moves and knives and snakes and laptops and cuddle parties and babies.

“Medlyn deals in theatrical miracles! … He’s amazing!” - All Things Considered, NPR

…Her’s A Queen will be performed by Medlyn and Carmine Covelli with live music from Farris Craddock. Lighting design by Bruce Steinberg and a script written in consultation with Kenny Mellman.  In addition, Medlyn is requesting submissions of one-minute YouTube videos inspired by Britney Spears, purity, unwashed hair, destruction, pop music, cuddle parties, and/or bears! To submit a video, email the YouTube embed code to nealmedlyn@gmail.com. All videos will appear on HersAQueen.wordpress.com, and will be screened during the performances at Dance Theater Workshop Oct 22 - 24.

Dance Gang opens the evening with their newest stage work, Dog Breaks, which takes the format of an “opening act” as a platform for brief musical performances, tight choreographic sketches, audience baiting, and intimate exchanges between Hawkins and Rawls.  This will be Dance Gang’s live performance mixtape, packed with rapid shifts and archly spurious logic.  Dog Breaks is the second part of Dance Gang’s Dog Trilogy and will be performed by Kennis Hawkins and Will Rawls. Dog Breaks features musical direction by Jonathan Melville Pratt.

Performances will take place at Dance Theater Workshop in the Bessie Schönberg Theater, Oct 22 - 24 (Thursday - Saturday) at 7:30pm. There will be a Pre-Show Talk on Oct 22 (Thursday) at 6:30pm, and a free wine reception following every performance (Thursday - Saturday). Fee-free tickets are $15 and are available online at dancetheaterworkshop.org, over the phone at 212.924.0077, and in person at the box office. Dance Theater Workshop Members, Students, and Seniors are eligible for a 20% discount ($12 Tickets).  Box office hours are Monday - Friday from 5pm - 9pm and Saturday - Sunday from 12pm - 8pm.  Dance Theater Workshop is located at 219 West 19th Street between 7^th and 8^th Avenues.

About the  Artist

Neal Medlyn is a performance artist in New York City whose work has appeared at the New Museum for Contemporary Art, PS122, Joe’s Pub, and various other venues in New York around the country. His performance work typically focuses on popular music and culture and he has created a series of pop star focused shows over the last few years. He is also actively involved in the dance world, having danced for Adrienne Truscott and David Neumann and worked with Miguel Gutierrez. In other new, he was once named Mr. Lower East Side, co-starred with Karen Finley, and had an internet soap opera about puppets and animals. www.HersAQueen.wordpress.com

Dance Gang was founded in 2006 as a performace outlet for dancers, Kennis Hawkins and Will Rawls.  Dance Gang’s projects include site-specific, guerilla-style performance, gallery installations and stage work.  Dance Gang has performed at Dixon Place, Tanz im August (Berlin), Summer on the Hudson Festival, Joe’s Pub, P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, The ISE Cultural Foundation and the Boston Home, a residence facility for people living with Multiple Sclerosis.

In July 2009, Dance Gang presented Dog Free at the Summer on the Hudson Festival, an evening-length public performance and prequel to Dog Breaks. www.dancegang.org (site under construction until Oct. 2009)

Funding

…Her’s A Queen and Dog Breaks are commissioned by Dance Theater Workshop’s Commissioning and Creative Residency Program with support from the Jerome Foundation, The Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Jerome Robbins Foundation.

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Dance Theater Workshop is the preeminent U.S. based center for dance and performance that maintains an uncompromising mission to identify, present, and support independent contemporary artists and companies to advance dance and live performance in New York and worldwide. Dance Theater Workshop supports innovative artists through all facets of their creative process and offers audiences the opportunity to experience and engage with artistic expression in bold and evocative ways.

Dance Theater Workshop’s 2009-2010 Season Supporters   (as of July 1, 2009)

Private support provided by: American Masterpieces: Dance Initiative of the New England Foundation for the Arts; The Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Ford Foundation; French United States Exchange in Dance of the New England Foundation for the Arts; The Howard Gilman Foundation; The Mertz Gilmore Foundation; The Greenwall Foundation; The William Randolph Hearst Foundations; The Jerome Foundation; The Lambent Foundation; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts; National Performance Network; The New York Community Trust; New York State DanceForce; The Jerome Robbins Foundation; Rockefeller Brothers Fund; The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; The Scherman Foundation; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Trust for Mutual Understanding; and The Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund.

Corporate support provided by: Bloomberg L.P. and Consolidated Edison Company of New York.

Public support provided by the following government agencies and elected representatives: National Endowment for the Arts; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; Kate D. Levin, Commissioner; Speaker Christine C. Quinn; New York City Council; New York State Council on the Arts; New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; Senator Thomas K. Duane, New York State Senate.

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