Desert comes to town with Momix
American choreographer Moses Pendleton, the eccentric founder of New York-based dance group Momix and the Pilobolus Dance Theater, talked about Momix’s latest production, «Opus Cactus,» which the group will present on Thursday and Friday at the Gis Theater in Thessaloniki and on June 30 and July 1 in Athens, at the open-air Lycabettus Theater. Pendleton described the show as highly sensational. «I use the bodies of the dancers to unite flora and fauna,» he said. «Opus Cactus» was first presented in New York in February 2001. The show consists of meticulous lighting tricks, unusual stage sets, dance and acrobatics, seasoned with plenty of imagination and humor. Using popular American contemporary and folk songs, Pendleton focuses on the odd natural features of the northern Sonoran desert; the show’s climax reveals the desert’s striking landscape. Pendleton was born and raised on a farm in Vermont and was a champion alpine skier when he was younger. After completing his studies in English literature, he became co-founder of the Pilobolus Dance Theater and collaborated with numerous European dance acts. When, in 1980, he was asked to design the choreography for the closing ceremony of the Lake Placid Winter Olympics, Pendleton performed a solo, «Momix.» A year later, he founded the dance theater group Momix, which has now gained world recognition, and launched a new form of expression. Besides his work with Momix, Pendleton is active on both sides of the Atlantic as both choreographer and dancer and has also been involved in choreographies for opera productions, television shows and films. For the Thessaloniki performances, tickets are available at the Municipal Box Offices, Aristotelous Square and at Kamara. For the Athens shows, tickets are available at the Hellenic Festival Box Office (39 Panepistimiou, tel 210.322.1459); at Ticket Hellas (tel 210.618.9300); at the Box Office (tel 210.600.3537), and at Metropolis music stores (64 Panepistimiou; 12 Iraklitou & Tsakaloff; 3 Kassaveti, Kifissia; 30 Iroon Polytechniou, Piraeus; 1 Metaxa, Glyfada and Aghiou Georgiou & Platonos, Halandri).
