Touring Repertory

Spotted Owl (2017 Chambers version)

Spotted Owl, having first premiered in 1995, is an example of Muller’s synthesis of dance and theatrical form.  The piece has an emphasis on the spoken word, fusing music with taped and live dialogue. This faceted, non-linear piece addresses the issue of endangered species, suggesting that endangerment is not limited to the animal kingdom and questions the validity of current American values.

Composer: Marty Beller

Working title (2016)

Working Title contends that any significant relationship requires constant work to avoid conflict and misunderstanding. Relationships ranging from cursory and forgettable to deeply passionate are often difficult to define. The piece focuses on how intense emotion thwarts relationship, confounds hope of communication, affects levels of intimacy and confuses undefined attractions. Yut and the Hot Four' wildly passionate music creates a vibrant and urgent atmosphere which echoes the virtuosity of JMTW's dancers.

Music Arranged by: Yut and The Hot Four
Lighting Design: Jeff Croiter
Costume Design: Ornella Lukac

Alchemy (2015)

Alchemy was first premiered at New York Live Arts in 2015, as a significant work based upon the crucible of change. Originally a forerunner of chemistry, alchemy concerned itself with transformation. The physical transmutation of matter became an analogy for the internal alchemy of spiritual revelation. The piece mirrors the classically delineated four elements of air, fire, earth and water. Just as new growth forests are created by controlled burning, personal evolution often needs a violent catalyst to create a glimmer of enlightenment.

Music Compilation: Kangding Ray, Andy Stott, John Talabot
Video Projection Design: Mark Bolotin
Lighting Design: Jeff Croiter

Miserere Nobis (2014)

Miserere Nobis is an entreaty for mercy and grace. In an age of unspeakable conflict and cruelty, loss and grief, each of us asks forgiveness for all of us.

Music: Samuel Barber: Allegeri: Miserere. (Agnus Dei Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi) Opus 11
Music Performed by: Richard Marlow & the Choir of Trinity College*
Costume Design: Sachi Masuda and Stageworks
Lighting Design: Jeff Croiter

Grass (2013)

Grass was first premiered at The Joyce in 2013. It is a piece loosely inspired on Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, from the depth of meaning and essential spirit of the writing. Whitman’s sensibility—his celebration of life and his awareness that the threads connect us all—stem from the shared experience of longing, loneliness and the need for companionship—from the contentment of being and the mystery of our connection to the earth and each other.

Original Music: Julia Kent

ARIA (2008)

Aria is a series of arias, duetti and terzetti drawn from the opera repertory of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Each section is unique in its response to and treatment of the music. The piece can be performed in its entirety, as selected solos or as a chamber suite interchangeable arias and duetti.

Music: Opera selections by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Costume Design: Stageworks
Cast: One Dancer to Full Company

Momentum (2005)

Created to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary, the piece investigates energy, impetus and forward motion—elements necessary to create action. Influenced by “street style, ” competitive interaction, perseverance and the energy of New York City.

Music: Yello
Costume Design: Nick Putvinski
Lighting Design: Jeff Croiter

Flowers (2004)

Flowers, impressionistic in nature and based on the five seasons of the Chinese calendar, echoes the widely divergent moods of Barbara Bordnick’s extraordinary photographs. The dance captures the spirit of Ms. Bordnick’s work as the flowers represented become symbols of growth, delicacy, sensuality, and fleeting beauty.

Original Music: Lawrence Nachsin
Lighting Design: Jeff Croiter

MOON (2003)

Ms. Muller was invited by the Richard Rogers Foundation to choreograph for the Rogers Centennial at City Center Theater. The result, Moon, is choreographed to five different recordings of the Richard Roger’s song, Blue Moon.  Each section reflects the character of the decade in which each song was recorded with moods ranging from the bittersweet romanticism of Billie Holiday to the playful do wop of The Marcels.

Music/Lyrics: Richard Rogers/Lorenz Hart
Costume Design: Karen Small & Eduardo S. Wilder
Lighting Design: Jeff Croiter

Speeds (1974)

Speeds, premiered in 1974, is the signature piece of The Works' early years. The piece is danced to the original music of Burt Alcantara, a pioneer in computer-generated music. Based on contrasts of velocities and dynamics, Speeds is essentially an elaborate theme and variations. The single word change is voiced by the dancers on stage came to signify the essence of dance and even life itself . Speeds became to be known worldwide for its contrast of virtuosic dancing and casual movement, its generosity of spirit and its celebratory atmosphere.

Original Music: Burt Alcantara
Costume Design: William Katz & Stageworks
Lighting Design: Rick Nelson
Cast: Full Company

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