ASCENSION
Choreography: Frank Chaves
Music: original composition, Josephine Lee
Performed by: Josephine Lee and Meena Cho
Lighting Design: Margaret Nelson
Costume Design: Jordan Ross
Costume Construction: Lynn Ziehe
Ascension:
Dancers: 2
"Frank Chaves’ wondrous 'Ascension,' set to a commissioned score by Josephine Lee and performed live on stage by Lee at the piano and cellist Meena Cho, is nothing short of a lyrical rhapsody of movement and music.
Chaves’ first work in the classical ballet idiom en pointe blends modern movement invention with the ballet idiom, brilliantly capturing the fragile humanity of longing and loss between the two dancers.
The elegance of piano and cello on stage balance the dancing couple both visually and musically in an absolutely gorgeous and boldly unsentimental marriage of music and dance."
- Lynn Colburn Shapiro / SeeChicagoDance
Ascension explores the loss of a man’s one true love, recalled in a tragic loop in his dreams. He creates an imaginary world to relive their romantic relationship, only to be brokenhearted time and time again as his beloved ascends into the afterlife, returning only when summoned back to his dream life.
This work marks a choreographic milestone in my career as the first piece I’ve created “en pointe,” made especially easy by the beautiful talents of BCSC’s stunning dancers.
Ascension is dedicated to the loving memory of my dear father, Francisco (Pancho) Chaves, 1916-2017
