ELVIS EVERYWHERE
“While Dendy may have dreary predictions for the future, the outlook for modern dance—where work can be both provocative and entertaining—seems bright.”
“America is Elvis Presley - the most beautiful, talented, rebellious nation in the history of Earth. And now, you’re in your Vegas years. You’ve squeezed yourself into a white jumpsuit, you’re wheezing your way through “Love Me Tender” and you might be about to pass away bloated on the toilet. But you’re still the King." - JOHN OLIVER
Praised for his “speed, force, brilliance and surprise” (The Washington Post), Mark Dendy’s work is known for its searing social and political commentary and intense physicality. Elvis Everywhere scrutinizes society’s obsession with celebrity, ultimately drawing chilling parallels to today’s politics.
Inspired by an interview with Donald Rumsfeld on his encounter with Elvis Presley in Las Vegas, Dendy’s Elvis Everywhere utilizes the arc of Elvis’s life as a metaphor for the United States and its current turbulent political atmosphere.
PREMIERE July 12, 2017 Performance time - 1 hour
AMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL Reynolds Industries Theater, Duke University July 12 – 13, 2017
JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL August 9 - 13, 2017
NEW YORK LIVE ARTS May 10 - 12, 2018
CONCEPTION and ARTISTIC DIRECTION Mark Dendy and Stephen Donovan
CHOREOGRAPHY Mark Dendy in collaboration with the performers
COSTUME, VIDEO, SOUND PROP & SET DESIGN Stephen Donovan
LIGHTING DESIGN David Ferri
DRAMATURGE Tom Cole
PERFORMERS Chris Bell, London Brison, Mark Dendy, Stephen Donovan, Colette Krogol, Frankie Lee III, Matt Reeves, Mei Yamanaka
Photo: Patrick Macleod©
Elvis Everywhere is commissioned by ADF with support from Doris Duke/SHS Foundations Award for New Dance.
Elvis Everywhere was supported by the Jacob’s Pillow Creative Development Residency program.
"Artists like Dendy and Donovan, who hold up multi-faceted mirrors of the world in works like "Elvis Everywhere," with their wizard-like blends of art, entertainment and searing truth, offer ways to keep on keepin' on. Without them, we may as well hunker in a bunker." - Janine Parker THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
"Right after dendy/donovan projects’ American Dance Festival-commissioned, world premiere “Elvis Everywhere” on July 12 in Duke University’s Reynolds Industries Theater, my friend said: “That was amazing.” It was.
dendy/donovan projects’ choreographer Mark Dendy, artistic director Stephen Donovan and six accomplished dancers: Chris Bell, London Brison, Colette Krogol, Frankie Lee lll, Matt Reeves and Mei Yamanaka made it so.
Dendy’s extensive research and choreography in collaboration with the dancers informed this work. And, so did Donovan’s video, sound, lighting and costume designs that included the five sequined Elvis outfits, that he also constructed." - Susan Broili DURHAM HERALD
"Elvis Everywhere, Mark Dendy’s brilliant exploration of Elvis Presley’s time in the army.
The most poignant part occurs when Dendy takes the stage as Donald Rumsfeld. Costumed in an army uniform with an oxygen mask obscuring his face, he gesticulates to a C-SPAN clip of Rumsfeld describing the time he met Elvis Presley in Las Vegas. He says, “Elvis Presley… a lot of his music really wasn’t my thing.” Dendy’s depiction of Rumsfeld is laughingly effeminate; he flutters his fingers and shifts nervously. We giggle when his hands describe the shape of the women in the Vegas dressing rooms.
Darkness resides beneath the humor. Like Oliver, Dendy suggests that America is in fact Elvis Presley during the Vegas years, when a sad, untimely demise awaits.
While Dendy may have dreary predictions for the future, the outlook for modern dance--where work can be both provocative and entertaining--seems bright." - Theo Boguszewski THE DANCE ENTHUSIAST
Elvis Everywhere was made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. LMCC.net.
Seed work for Elvis Everywhere was created at DANCEworks, Santa Barbara, CA.