SYREN Modern Dance Company

April 20th, Ashamu Dance Studio, Lyman Hall

Red and Blue, Bitter and Sweet

"The scientific picture gives us a lot of factual information, puts all of our experience in a magnificently consistent order, but it is ghastly silent about all and sundry that is really near to our heart that really matters to us. It cannot tell us a word about red and blue, bitter and sweet..." - Erwin Schrodinger, Cambridge University Press, 1954

Section 1: Quantum

Section 2: Entanglement

Section 3: Uncertainty Principle

Section 4: Superposition

Section 5: Duality

Section 6: Here. Now.

Section 7: Finale

Choreographer

Kate Sutter

Composer

Poppy Ackroyd

Dancers

Alice Chacon, Rivkins Christopher, Victoria Ellis, Jessica Nolan, Roxanne Potes

Costume Designer

Naomi Luppescu

Costume Alterations

Antonio Brown

SYREN Modern Dance is a New York City-based modern dance company whose artists have been named United States Cultural Ambassadors by the Department of State. Now celebrating its 20th year of sharing dance, SYREN exists to embrace dance as a conduit of connection, communication, curiosity, and collaboration.

UPCOMING MAY 4-6 in NYC! As SYREN celebrates its 20-year anniversary, the company is proud to present Ithaka, a nine-section modern dance created by Kate Sutter in collaboration with the dancers of SYREN and set to the lively and dynamic music of LAbased composer and producer Calimossa.

LEARN MORE HERE & GET TICKETS HERE! syrendance.org/calendar

SYREN shares dance where people and students gather in classrooms, theaters, churches, temples, dance studios, over Zoom, in the grass, in art galleries, libraries, and museums in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, Washington D.C., Texas, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Vermont, Paris, and Dubai.

In addition to hundreds of individuals, SYREN has received support from the following foundations and programs: Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtists International, a program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Trust of Mutual Understanding, Aleph Fund, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Dance/NYC, Jewish Community Fund, Queens Council on the Arts, Particle Fever, Harkness Space Grants (92nd Street Y), The Chelsea Art Museum, and by residencies at DanceNOW/NYC's Silo and DTW's Outer/Space.

Throughout 2003-2011, SYREN produced performances in NYC at New York City Center Studios, Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, University Settlement, John Jay Theater, and St. Francis Xavier. From 2008–2014, SYREN developed its “Dance on Canvas” partnership with The Art Students League of New York which included an exhibition at The Office of the Manhattan Borough President. During this time SYREN was featured in festivals presented by Riverside Theatre, Symphony Space, 92ND Street Y, Dance Theater Workshop, Dixon Place, Queens Theatre in the Park, d.u.m.b.o. Arts Under the Bridge Festival, and St. Mark’s Church.

SYREN has enjoyed collaborating with a wide range of musicians, composers, conductors, and visual artists including Ann Masina, Philip Miller, Rick Erickson, Lauren Cregor, Yonah Zur, Matthew Oberstein, Artemis Chamber Ensemble, Purchase Chamber Orchestra, Damon Ferrante, Xena Lee, and Eric March. SYREN’s commissioned work by anthropologist/vocalist/composer Galeet Dardashti was presented by JCC of Manhattan, 92Y Tribeca, and Le Poisson Rouge.

SYREN’s “The Art of Fugue” is a site-specific dance created specifically to be adapted for performance in spaces with organs (as well as harpsichord). The dance explores definitions of beauty while searching for its existence in a world filled with detachment, immediacy, and exploitation."The Art of Fugue" has been presented by Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity (NYC), Bach Society of Houston (TX), Sacred Music at the Red Door (CT), Providence United Methodist (NC), and The Church of St. Luke in the Fields (NYC).

SYREN began exploring the intersection of science and art in 2015. SYREN first created "Red and Blue, Bitter and Sweet" an exploration of quantum mechanics including entanglement, wave/particle duality, uncertainty principle and superposition, and it has been presented at Museum of Science-Boston, Gibney Dance-NYC, and Brown University. Next SYREN created "Ticktock" which is performed in collaboration with Astrophysicist Paul Sutter, and is an exploration of time using dance and narrative sequences. "Ticktock" has been presented at Expo 2020 Dubai, Bryant Park, Museum of Science-Boston, Houston Museum of Natural Science, Stony Brook University, and New England Biolabs. In an effort to share the process of intersecting science and dance, SYREN created "Science in Motion", and has since shared this programming with The American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington D.C., Society of Physics Students at NYU, Women in Physics at Yale, Principia College, Children's Museum of Manhattan, American Physical Society's New England Conference, IONA College, The Chapin School, St. Paul's School for Girls, Cambridge Science Festival, High Tech High School, OSU Dance Department, The Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria, and Girl's Inc. of NY.

Additional performance highlights include SYREN performances at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Cité Universitaire in Paris, Green Space, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase College, Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival, White Plains Performing Arts Center, Educational Center for the Arts, New Haven Ballet, and Grounds for Sculpture.

Sharing dance through teaching has been a constant part of SYREN’s work throughout its 20 years. SYREN’s Directors believe the power of dance is that it can be harnessed and offered to any body in any space. This has led to opportunities for Lynn and Kate to bring dance to people across a broad range of ages and abilities. For a comprehensive outline of all the institutions SYREN has visited in this capacity, feel free to reach out to the company! syrendance.org

Artist Bios

Lynn Peterson (Co-Artistic Director, Dancer) is a United States Cultural Ambassador who has been sharing dance with SYREN for 20 years. In 2022, Lynn completed the Curriculum in Motion Institute at Jacob’s Pillow, and she now serves on the Advisory Board for the Institute. Training: B.F.A. S.U.N.Y. Purchase, Lincoln Center Institute, Asana Alphabet, The Yoga Room, Jordan College Academy of Dance, Indianapolis Ballet Theater. Lynn is proud to be a Teaching Artist for Arts for Learning CT, and she currently teaches at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT. She’s previously been on faculty at Mark Morris Dance Center, Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, and The Hotchkiss School. Additionally, she has worked with students at Purchase College, Yale University, Harvard University, Boston Conservatory, Moravian University, Anderson University, The Hartt School, IONA College, Principia College, Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, Center for Creative Youth, The Ethel Walker School, Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School, Portland Youth Dance, Jordan Academy of Dance, Broad Ripple High School, Ballet Theatre of Carmel, Academy of Dance Arts, and New American Youth Ballet, among others. Tremendous gratitude to Kate Sutter for going together step by step by step, to the ever-inspiring company members of SYREN, and to my family both near and far: You fill my heart and you are EVERYTHING.

Kate Sutter (Co-Artistic Director, Choreographer) is a United States Cultural Ambassador. Ms. Sutter has trained at SUNY Purchase, where she earned her BFA, as well as the Nutmeg Conservatory, The Erick Hawkins School, The Limon School, and The Kirov Academy. She is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of SYREN, and her ever-growing body of work has been performed internationally in Dubai, Paris, New York, Washington DC, Houston, and more. Notable performances of her work include: Symphony Space (NYC), Jacob’s Pillow (MA), World Expo (Dubai), SUNY Purchase (NY), Bach Society of Houston (TX), Boston Museum of Science (MA), Houston Museum of Natural History (TX), Bach Vespers (NYC) among others. Ms. Sutter has taught students at Yale University, Harvard, Boston Conservatory, Principia College, Moravian University, Iona College, Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School, The Ethel Walker School, Miss Porter’s School, and has also been a guest speaker at Yale University, the Metropolitan Museum, and Cité Universitaire in Paris. Her thoughts on beauty, creativity and healing have been published (Peter Lang Publishers, 2014). Kate would like to thank Lynn Peterson for standing strong by her side for 20 years and creating a lifetime of shared work together. She serves on faculty at Westminster School and the Nutmeg Conservatory in CT. She lives in the woods and on a mountain in a noisy house filled with love and laughter by her husband, sons, and a few fur babies.

Alice Chacon (Dancer) is a Chinese adoptee raised in New York City. She began her formal dance training at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts. From a young age, she also trained at the New York Chinese Cultural Center (NYCCC) in Chinese Classical and Folk dance to stay close to her roots. Alice continued her training at the Conservatory of Dance at S.U.N.Y. Purchase where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Dance Performance in 2018. She is currently a freelance dancer, photographer, and filmmaker having worked with Sidra Bell Dance New York (SBDNY), GroundWorks Dance Theater, Adam Barruch and Chelsea Bonosky, A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, AXIS Connect, A-Y/dancers, 2nd Best Dance Company, BODYSONNET, Doug Varone and Dancers (DOVA), Keerati Jinakunwiphat, KIZUNA Dance, Mare Nostrum Elements, Maurya Kerr, Michiyaya Dance, NVA&Guests, POGO Dance, Prelude Projects, Project.KB, Rovaco Dance, Spare/Change Dance Collective, Spark Movement Collective, Wldflwr Dance Collective, Young Dancemakers Company (YDC), and many more. Lastly, Alice was a winner of the 2018 Dance On Camera Film Festival and had her dance film shown at Lincoln Center. This is her fifth season with SYREN as a full Company Member.

Rivkins Christopher (Dancer) was born and raised in Miami, FL and started training at the Armour Dance Theatre. He went on to receive his B.F.A. from New World School of the Arts and soon after graduating made the move to New York City. In his professional career he has danced with Miami Contemporary, Gaspard & Dancers, Vissi Dance Theatre and is currently with SYREN Modern Dance. Rivkins has also worked with choreographers Larry Keigwin and Maleek Washington. His recent work with Rosie Herrera for the late Walter Mercado can be seen on Netflix " Mucho Mucho Amor", where they pay home-age to all the wonderful things Walter has done in his career. Rivkins uses his talents teaching for the Files Arts Project and has been doing so for the past four summers. He is also currently on staff teaching at the Ballet School of Stamford. This is Rivkins’ eighth season with SYREN.

Victoria Ellis (Dancer) is originally from Vestal, NY. She earned her B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance from The Boston Conservatory in 2015. While at the conservatory, she was privileged to perform works by Colleen Thomas, Adam Barruch, Danny Buraczeski, Tommy Neblett, and Omar Carrum & Claudia LaVista. As a dancer in NYC, Victoria has had the pleasure of performing with CaptiveFlow Dance, LEMI Collective, Advanced Curation, and Chris Ferris & Dancers, among others. Outside of dance, Victoria works as a graphic artist and designer. This is Victoria’s fifth season with the company, and she is endlessly grateful to be a member of SYREN.

Jessica Nolan (Dancer) began her dance training in Australia and continued training under RAD examiner Deborah Morgan in Canada. After graduation from The Victoria School for Performing and Visual Arts in Edmonton, Jessica moved to New York to train in the Conservatory of Dance at S.U.N.Y. Purchase. At Purchase, Jessica developed a deeper love and appreciation for ballet and contemporary dance by performing works of George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Lar Lubovitch, Justin Rutzou, and Kyle Abraham. It was there that she not only studied their work, but also the pioneering spirit they set forth. She enjoys passing on this knowledge as a teacher for dance schools in New York City and Long Island. Jessica has been blessed to perform work by Marie Chouinard, Manuel Vignoulle, MADArt, Periapsis Dance, RedCurrant Collective, Suzanne Beahrs Dance, and CoreDance Contemporary. She is thrilled to be working with SYREN as they build new work. This is her fifth season with SYREN.

Roxanne Potes (Dancer) is a native of Brooklyn, New York. She began her journey as a dancer at her neighborhood school, Diva Dance Studio, in which she trained in a variety of styles. She went on to become an alumnus of the Professional Performing Arts High School, as a major in dance, and The Ailey School's Junior Division Program, both in which she furthered her training in Ballet, Modern, West African, and Jazz. In 2021, Roxanne graduated from Fordham University with a B.F.A. in Dance, through their partnership with The Ailey School, and a B.A. in Communications and Media Studies. In addition, she has attended summer programs with Peridance Capezio Center's Blueprint and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Throughout her journey, Roxanne has had the opportunity to perform works by Alvin Ailey, Mathew Rushing, Earl Mosley, Adrienne Hurd, Bradley Shelver, Guillermo Asca, and Yoshito Sakuraba. This is Roxanne's second season with SYREN, and she is incredibly excited to be on this journey with them.