The Mother of Us All
“... laptop wizardry by Au Yong.” —Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
Dance Musicfor kora, laptop, soundtrack
Description
The Mother of Us All is a dance-music-text work about contemporary Africa created by Donald Byrd and Spectrum Dance Theatre. Composer Byron Au Yong collaborated on this project as part of the initiative Beyond Dance: Promoting Awareness and Mutual Understanding.
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Creative Team
Donald Byrd, choreographer
Byron Au Yong, composer
Jack Mehler, set/lighting designer
Byron Au Yong, laptop
Kane Mathis, kora
Marsha Mutisi, voice
Michael Bagne, Kelly Ann Barton, Bonnie Boiter-Jolly, Ty Alexander Cheng, Kylie Lewallen, Vincent Lopez, Amber Nicole Mayberry, Tory Peil, Sarah Poppe, Meaghan Sanford, dancers
Details
Duration: 68 minutes
Presented by Spectrum Dance Theatre, in partnership with Seattle Theater Group
Premiered at The Moore Theatre in Seattle, March 2011
Press Quotes
“The kora is an old, old instrument, and Au Yong has it almost vanish within a river of electronic, industrial sonic artifact... The score is perfectly suited to what you see.”
Michael van Baker, SunBreak
“The air fills with musical fragments, ambient street sounds and a series of talking heads holding forth on the challenges facing Africa. The sound tableau, composed by Byron Au Yong, mixes recorded material with Kane Mathis performing live on the kora (West African harp).”
Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
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