EVA
Choreography: Frank Chaves
Music: Eva Cassidy
Sound Editing: ID Music
Lighting Design: Joshua Paul Weckesser
Costume Design: Jordan Ross
Costume Construction: Lynn Ziehe
Fields of Gold:
Dancers: 6
Stormy Monday:
Dancers: 2
Autumn Leaves:
Dancers: 2
Wade in the Water:
Dancers: Ensemble
"Each section of Eva begins to the sound of the charming Cassidy herself introducing a song during what must have been a live record club date. And Chaves, a master of the duet in all its many manifestations, embellishes Cassidy's splendid vocal interpretations to perfection, creating a piece... that has all the marks of an instant classic."
- Hedy Weiss, The Chicago Sun-Times, 2014
Eva is inspired by, and set to, the music of Eva Cassidy — an American songbird known for her luscious interpretations of standards, jazz, blues, folk and gospel. Sadly, her unique voice was silenced all too soon when she tragically died of cancer in 1996 at the age of 33. Chaves evokes the intricate nuances of a chanteuse who deftly straddled genres, defied categorization and mastered the melding of different musical styles with her seemingly limitless range and imaginative phrasing: "Whether she beckons a soothing timbre for seductively restrained passages or shakes the rafters by unleashing her formidable power, Cassidy always fuse[s] her purity of tone with a purity of emotion." (All Music Guide)
Commissioned by Dance Celebration, presented by Dance Affiliates and the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, which hosted the world premiere in Philadelphia on April 4, 2013.
"Fields of Gold" by Sting (EMI Blackwood Music, Inc.); "Stormy Monday" by T-Bone Walker (Gregmark Music, Inc.); "Autumn Leaves", Written by Johnny Mercer, Jacques Prevert, and Joseph Kosma, Courtesy of Morley Music Co. (ASCAP), "Wade in the Water" (Traditional, arr. by Eva Cassidy). Recordings produced by Eva Cassidy and Chris Biondo.
With enormous gratitude to Bill Straw, Blixstreet Records, Elana Byrd, Chris Biondo and Eva Cassidy's Family for use of Ms. Cassidy's renditions and recordings, and for their guidance and assistance. Special thanks to Randy Swartz of Dance Affiliates for inspiring this project.
