THE JOBS PROJECT: Original Dance Piece Inspired by Interviews with 25 Philadelphians

PHILADELPHIA - April 18, 2013 - PRLog -- Press Contact
Gina Hoch-Stall
Gina.hochstall@gmail.com
267-275-4604
www.rlpim.org

RealLivePeople(in)Motion, a company known for creating accessible and inventive contemporary dance, takes on the workplace with their latest piece, The Jobs Project. With original music from composer Ilan Isakov (composer of the hit film, “Ai Wei Wei, Never Sorry”) and set design by local artist Andrea Caldarise, the company transforms the Latvian Society into a space where audience members can absorb, laugh and reflect upon what work looks, sounds and feels like in Philadelphia today.

The company will give five performances at the Latvian Society, 531 North Seventh Street, Thursday 5/16 at 7pm, Friday 5/17 at 8pm, Saturday 5/18 at 3pm & 8pm and Sunday 5/19 at 3pm. Tickets start at just $18 and are available online at http://thejobsproject.bpt.me/.

Seamlessly interwoven through the piece are the voices of the 25 working Philadelphians interviewed by director Gina Hoch-Stall: from CEOs to sanitation workers, all discuss their working lives and how their jobs affect their sense of identity. These interviews have inspired choreographic segments filled with heavy lifting, gestures honed by the precision of repetition, and physical explorations of how people respond to the question “what do you do?”

“Over the past few months of creating The Jobs Project, I have often been asked why jobs and work are the inspiration for the company’s latest evening length dance,” commented Ms. Hoch-Stall.  “I believe that we often define people by their work. We categorize, label, stereotype and organize them in this way. We have all been victims and perpetrators of this type of sorting and I wanted to know:  Is it true? Does your work say something about who you are?

“I am also curious about what different types of work sound like, look like; how people feel about what they do and what it means to them. This project is one way to learn about the human experience and it is something that I, never having had a ‘proper job’ with a salary and benefits, am not sure that I completely understand. It is also incredibly timely as ideas about work and jobs are currently changing dramatically.”

Gina Hoch-Stall is the founder and director of the company RealLivePeople(in)Motion, which includes six dancers and has created two evening-length works, Backstories and the evolution of this moment.  Ms. Hoch-Stall’s choreographic pieces have been performed at the Athenaum Theater (Chicago), the Bonnie Bird Theater (London), Conwell Dance Theater (Philadelphia) and other venues.  She has also received commissions from the Please Touch Museum and the Latvian Society of Philadelphia.  Ms. Hoch-Stall holds a BFA in Dance and a BA in Psychology from Temple University, as well as a Diploma in Dance Studies from the Laban Centre for Contemporary Dance.

What the critics say:

“The work highlights the athleticism of the dancers, each one is powerful, controlled yet free, no delicacy or dainty pretense here. What is most interesting… is their focus, their eye contact, the sense that they are actually observing and reacting to each other on stage.”  (stagedandreal.wordpress.com)

The Jobs Project
RealLivePeople(in)Motion
DATES:  Thur 5/16 at 7pm, Fri 5/17 at 8pm, Sat 5/18 at 3pm and 8pm, Sun 5/19 at 3pm
For tickets and information: http://www.rlpim.org
LOCATION: The Lativan Society of Philadelphia, 531 N. 7th Street (7th and Spring Garden)