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AscenDance Project
Category: Arts & Entertainment Performing Arts Performing Arts [Edit]
5721 Arapahoe AveSte C
Boulder, CO 80302
(510) 225-8844
2 reviews for AscenDance Project
2 reviews in English
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Review from Moua L.
3/6/2010
After a random chat with a stranger at Tully's Coffee shop in downtown Berkeley and dinner at Sushi Ko, a group of us went over to the Ashby Stage, conveniently located next to Ashby Bart, to watch Ascendance Project's opening home season show.
The Ascendance Project is a group of seven dancers who challenge their choreography on vertical walls without the use of ropes! WHAT!!! Talk about taking dance to a whole new level.
You know you've got talent when you can dance on vertical walls, have in-sync coordination and hold horizontal body positions off the wall. At one time I was reminded of lizards crawling under the desert rocks.
The graceful acts even had dancers performing upside down in positions I'd never thought possible. The lighting effects created dancing shadows which at times accentuated the dancers in the act. It was beyond any dance performance I've seen.
Never seen a show like this? Don't worry, they have more shows to inspire you to hit the gym. And if you miss their home season performance during March 6 to the 14th, then you can consider challenging yourself in one of their classes. It might come in handy if you ever decide to go rock climbing.Listed in: SF Bay Area Events
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Review from Zachary S.
San Francisco, CA
6/11/2008 2 photos
I was lucky enough to see AscenDance Project in Union Square as part of the San Francisco International Arts Festival and was amazed.
The show opened with two acts in a cube, which were fairly comical, especially a section involving swimming gear, performed to Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz. This portion was a great insight into the group's philosophy and attitude towards the performance.
The rest of the program utilized the purpose-built climbing wall, which served as one of the coolest, most original stages I've ever seen. The dancers performed several different pieces, rotating through the group.
The Isabel von Rittberg's choreography flowed beautifully, and was executed perfectly. My favorite performers were von Rittberg, Ryan Gaunt, and Sadie Landram. The dancers were as poignant and graceful as they were strong and steady.
The vignettes provide commentary on the rhythms which dictate our lives. Each piece communicates different emotions, feelings, and situations, from a love story to individuals scaling the same high cliff face.
My favorite pieces were "My Heart grew wings beneath Desert Skies", "Levitate", and "Heart-Core". I highly recommend that you take advantage of ANY opportunity to see this group. An incredible and moving performance!
Specialties
Performing entirely without the use of ropes, their work exhibits strength and grace enhanced by the effects of gravity on the dancers and their ability to overcome it. Using a 24 ft long and 12 ft high climbing wall, AscenDance artists move through three dimensions, using time and space as inconsistent and unpredictable variables.
History
Established in 2006
A vertical stage, without the use of ropes, has a suppleness and grace enhanced by the effects of gravity on the dancers and their abilities to overcome it.AscenDance Project integrates the technical precision and strength of climbing with expressive movement and music to create a new kind of aerial performance on a vertical stage.
The group has given numerous performances in varied settings including the theatre and outdoor stages. Recent events include the San Francisco International Arts Festival, May/June 2008, the Outdoor Retailer Expo in July 2009, and the Boulder International Aerial Dance Festival, August 2009. For the San Francisco International Arts Festival, AscenDance Project presented Levitate, a show on Union Square free to the public. Performances ran from May 23 to June 7, 2008. From August 2-15 2009, AscenDance also participated in the 11th Annual Aerial Dance Festival in Boulder, Colorado.
Meet the Business Owner: Isabel R.
Isabel Jessica von Rittberg grew up in Wuppertal-Beyenburg, Germany, a small historical village in Western Germany.As a child, she danced ballet, played the piano and spent more time on horseback than on foot. Her summers in the Rocky Mountains instilled in her a love of nature. Isabel graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Latin American/Iberian Studies and a French minor from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In preparation for her senior thesis, she spent a year in Santiago de Chile where she performed with a Chilean African-Brazilian dance group and further developed her rock climbing skills. The grace and fluidity of a climber executing technical movement captured Isabel's attention. The urge to convey the magnificence, grace and fluidity of a climber's delicate and strong movement led her to start the AscenDance Project: a genre that unites climbing, dance and music.
