Prometheus Dance presents The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship; choreographed by Diane Arvanites and Tommy Neblett; danced by the company with music composed by John Kusiak and played by the Solar Winds Quintet; costumes and masks by Elizabeth and Julia Rocha. A family event as part of CMAC’s month of “Destination Dance Performances.” Sat., Nov. 7, 7 pm & Sun., Nov. 8, 3 pm. Tickets: $20, $10 for students and children [$15 for BDA & CMAC members]. Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center (CMAC), 41 Second Street, Cambridge. Conveniently located near Lechmere Station on the Green Line. For information: 617-577-1400, www.cmacusa.org; advance tickets available at www.cmacusa.org/HTML/performingarts.htm#DANCE.

Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, a magical journey for children and their parents, is adapted from an old Russian Folktale of the same title by journalist Laura Barrett. The Fool Of the World and the Flying Ship is folklore that encourages tolerance, community, and the value of living with an open mind and heart. Akin to A Soldiers Tale and Peter and the Wolf, Prometheus Dance and their collaborators will engage and enlighten the listener/viewer by means of old world story telling — combined with contemporary music and dance — sending a message of triumphant kindness. Much needed by children in today’s world.

Artistic Directors of Prometheus Dance Diane Arvanites and Tommy Neblett have choreographed over thirty works for Prometheus Dance as well as Nixon In China, Alceste and The Pearl Fisher for Opera Boston. They and their company, have performed and taught in Spain, France, Denmark, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Arvanites and Neblett have received numerous awards for their work, including a Creativity Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and four Artists Grants for Choreography from the Massachusetts Cultural Council; individually in 1994 and 1996, and collaboratively in 2000 and 2004. Arvanites and Neblett both teach modern dance technique, partnering and choreography at The Boston Conservatory and Walnut Hill School. They also teach open-enrollment technique classes for professionals (company class) and post-professionals (Dance for 55+) at The Dance Complex in Cambridge. They are highly involved and supportive of the local arts community, participating in grant panels with the Cambridge Arts Council and the New Hampshire Arts Council, serving on the Board of Directors of the Boston Dance Alliance, and acting as mentors for The Dance Complex Shared Choreographers Program.

The Fool Of the World and the Flying Ship will be danced by Nicole Sell Danizio, Kara Johnson, Callie Chapman Korn, Naoko Brown, Rebecca Garrison, Rachel Bertone, and Elena Greenspan.
www.PrometheusDance.org

The five musicians who comprise the heart of Solar Winds, a traditional woodwind quintet, are professionally trained instrumentalists and music educators. Their repertoire includes the most demanding compositions of the modern era, as well as the classics, arrangements, and novelty pieces that make a woodwind quintet concert such an unusual and delightful musical experience. Joined by narrator Guy Urban, Solar Winds has captivated children throughout Greater Boston with its version of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. In 2004, the group commissioned award-winning composer, John Kusiak, to create a new musical adventure. The result, The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, is an enchanting version of the old Russian tale which has been enthusiastically applauded by audiences.

Solar Winds Quintet is comprised of Jill Dreeben (flute), Charlyn Bethell (oboe), Diane Heffner (clarinet), Dan Shaud (French horn), and Neil Fairbairn (bassoon).
www.solarwindsquintet.com

John Kusiak composes music for film, television, advertising and live performance. He has scored hundreds of projects, including television documentaries (American Experience, National Geographic), large-screen exhibitions (Yellowstone National Park and the Smithsonian) and feature films (additional music for the 2004 Academy Award winning documentary, The Fog of War). Other projects have included music for the opening film of this year’s Academy Awards program (2007), two seasons of First Person, a television series directed by Errol Morris and chosen by Time as one of the 10 best series of 2000 and commercials for United Airlines, Quaker Oats and Mastercard. Kusiak has also collaborated with Prometheus Dance on several projects including Apokalysis, Dreams and The Queen’s Spectre.
www.kusiakmusic.com

Elizabeth Rocha studied at Rhode Island School of Design and the Museum of Fine Arts School before completing her ALB at Harvard's Extension School. After years working as a children's illustrator she got coerced into creating costumes for the Fool of the World and the Flying Ship. Since then she has done work for a variety of performances including Peter and the Wolf and Mischief in the Machine. She teaches at the Brookline Arts Center and recently joined the production team at Behind the Mask.

Julia Rocha started making puppets when she was fourteen and at sixteen directed her first show, a version of the Fool of the World and the Flying Ship. Her puppets have appeared at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, Lyric Stage Company, the Arlington Center for the Arts and at First Night Boston, as well as in multiple productions at Arlington High School. She is currently an undergraduate at Bennington College where she is studying music and ceramics.