MIDDLEBURY, Vt.-The renowned contemporary dance company Project Bandaloop promises an unforgettable residency at Middlebury College Monday, Oct. 4-Tuesday, Oct. 12. In

celebration of the dedication of the College’s new library on Oct. 8, Project Bandaloop will share its gravity-defying mix of dance, climbing and environmental activism in a series of performances, master classes, lectures and film showings.

Project Bandaloop’s trademark style is literally performing on structures. In this case, the group’s performances will take place on the façade of the new library. The building is located on Storrs Avenue between College Street (Route 125) and South Main Street (Route 30).

Founded in 1991 by choreographer, dancer and environmentalist Amelia Rudolph, Project Bandaloop creates site-specific dances and films that explore the relationships between movement and gravity and stimulate viewers’ awareness of their natural and built environments. Rudolph, who serves as the company’s artistic director, blends dance and sport. Inspired by climbing and rappelling, the choreography draws on aerial, vertical and horizontal movement.

Critics hail this combination of dance with climbing or mountaineering as liberating and exhilarating, offering new possibilities for expression. “They turn gravity sideways, tweaking an immutable law of physics with the illusory powers of a magician,” wrote a Houston Chronicle critic. Sports Illustrated declared, “They perform arabesques, flips and aerial, spinning head over heals through the air like pinwheels in the wind.” The Oakland Tribune proclaimed, “The work achieves a kind of sublime alchemy. Art and sport-instead of diluting or neutralizing each other-meld to create something greater, something bracingly original.”

Project Bandaloop’s touring group consists of half a dozen dancers, Rudolph and several others who provide technical support. The company members, including 1998 Middlebury College graduate Mark Stuver, boast a wide range of dance and athletic experience. Rudolph holds a bachelor’s degree in comparative religion from Swarthmore College and a master’s degree in the same subject from the Graduate Theological Union located in Berkeley, Calif. In addition to her formal training as a dancer and choreographer, she has competed as a gymnast and runner. Work by Rudolph, a climbing enthusiast since 1989, has explored site-specific dance on buildings and cliffs in North America, Portugal, Brazil, Canada, Africa, Argentina, Lithuania and Austria.

All Project Bandaloop events are free and open to the public. More information is available on the College’s Web site at www.middlebury.edu/arts or from the Middlebury College Box Office at 802-443-6433. Outdoor performances scheduled for Oct. 8-10 will take place weather permitting. For information if the weather is uncertain, contact the Middlebury College Box Office at 802-443-6433.

To follow is the schedule of Project Bandaloop events at Middlebury College:

Project Bandaloop schedule of events Monday, Oct. 4-Tuesday, 12:

Film screenings: Ongoing at the new library and Center for the Arts lobbies.

REHEARSALS: Ongoing outdoor rehearsals at the new library façade.

Mon., Oct. 4: “Art and the Environment: Dancing on Mountains/Dancing on Walls,” a public lecture and film on art and the environment by Project Bandaloop Artistic Director Amelia Rudolph; 4:30 p.m., Dana Auditorium, Sunderland Language Center, College Street (Route 125)

TUES., OCT. 5: Contemporary Dance Technique Class led by Project Bandaloop performer Rachael Lincoln. Observers welcome. 9:30-10:45 a.m. in the Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre. To participate, call 802-443-5245 to pre-register.

WEDS., OCT. 6: Contemporary Dance Master Class led by Project Bandaloop Artistic Director Amelia Rudolph. Observers welcome. 4:30-6 p.m. in the Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre.

THURS., OCT. 7: “Dancing on Mountains: The Descent of El Capitan,” a Howard E. Woodin Environmental Studies Colloquium, with Project Bandaloop Artistic Director Amelia Rudolph and introduction by Middlebury College Professor of Dance Andrea Olsen. 12:15-1:15 p.m. in Room 216, McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125). Lunch provided. Call 802-443-5710 to pre-register.

Master Class: “Creative Process for Site-Specific Works” for advanced dancers, led by Project Bandaloop Artistic Director Amelia Rudolph. Observers welcome. 4:30-6 p.m. in the Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre. To participate, call 802-443-5245 to pre-register.

Master Class: Intermediate Ballet, led by Project Bandaloop performer Suzanne Gall. Observers welcome. 4:30-6 p.m. in the Center for the Arts, Room 109. Call 802-443-5245 to pre-register.

FRI., OCT. 8: Project Bandaloop performance. 2 p.m., new library façade.

Dedication of the New Library’s “Garden of the Seasons.” Sculpture designed by Michael Singer. 4:30 p.m., new library.

Aerial Workshop for Dancers with Artistic Director Amelia Rudolph and members of Project Bandaloop. Observers welcome. 5 p.m., new library façade.

SAT.-SUN., OCT. 9-10: Project Bandaloop performances. 2 and 4 p.m., new library façade.

MON.-TUES., OCT. 11-12: Project Bandaloop Mini-Residency with performers Mark Stuver, a 1998 Middlebury alumnus, and Rachael Lincoln; Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre.

Master Classes offered both days: Intermediate/advanced, Oct. 11 at 4:30 p.m. Beginner/intermediate, Oct.12, 3 p.m. Observers welcome. To participate, call 802-443-5245 to pre-register.

Duet Performance: Oct. 12, 4:30 p.m.

All Project Bandaloop events are free and open to the public.

The new Middlebury College library is located on Storrs Avenue between College Street (Route 125) and South Main Street (Route 30). The Middlebury College Center for the Arts is located on South Main Street (Route 30).

More information is available on the College’s Web site at www.middlebury.edu/arts or from the Middlebury College Box Office at 802-443-6433. Outdoor performances scheduled for Oct. 8-10 will take place weather permitting. For information if the weather is uncertain, contact the Middlebury College Box Office at 802-443-6433.

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