The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Stage will be presenting a new, multidisciplinary work by the dance group The Seldoms titled Power Goes. The piece will be focusing on the nature of political power and its relationship to social action and change through President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Artistic director and choreographer Carrie Hanson invited playwright Stuart Flack to collaborate with The Seldoms dancers and design team to create Power Goes. The piece will focus on President Lyndon B. Johnson as a subject and metaphor for a broader idea about power and its meaning through history.
Hanson developed the idea after rereading Robert Caro's biographies of LBJ and was intrigued by his style of power that established his political career and helped forward transformative legislation such as the Civil Rights Act and Medicare.
During the performance, physicality and ensemble dance work interplay with the spoken word as well as audio clips from Presidents Johnson and Barack Obama and video projections of historic images. Hanson, who has led The Seldoms for more than a decade, was inspired by the political gridlock of today and seeks to explore how power is acquired, taken, wielded and expressed by the body.
This new project outlines what The Seldoms are known for: gestural precision, athleticism and force, which is driven by a curiosity in contemporary issues.
Hanson created the work with the playwright, The Seldoms dancers, visual artist Sarah Krepp, designer Bob Faust, sound designer Mikhail Fiksel, costume designer Jeffrey Hancock, lighting designer Julie Ballard and historian Michael J. Kramer.
Power Goes will take place from March 20 to 28 at the Edlis Neeson Theater in Chicago. One free, general museum admission is granted with an MCA Stage ticket stub, valid up to seven days after the performance. To purchase tickets, visit the MCA website.
