Storyteller, dancers put on show
Author and adventurer Jon Turk will perform stories to the music and movement of a modern dance company at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish Friday.
The performance begins at 7 p.m. and is sponsored in part by Whitefish Review literary journal and Great Northern Brewing Co.
"Synchronicity and the Sacred Space" is a modern dance piece choreographed and performed by Boston’s Weber Dance Company. The piece, choreographed by Jody Weber, pairs the dance with Turk, a storyteller and adventurer who writes about his many notable kayaking exploits. He most recently made the first circumnavigation of the high arctic Ellesmere Island with Erik Boomer, earning them recognition as National Geographic Adventurers of the Year for 2012.
The performance combines storytelling, movement, music and images, and probes the strange landscape where scientific thought encounters the unknown, and human perception and reality are fluid partners in an enigmatic dance.
Turk's narrative speaks of the tragedy of deep cultural loss, and the beauty of alternative ways of experiencing the world. The work's roots go back to Turk's book, “The Raven's Gift,” which describes his encounter with an elderly Siberian shaman while attempting to kayak from Japan to Alaska along the Siberian coast.
"For years, I have been writing about the joy of wilderness and the importance of ancient values in this oil-soaked, Internet-crazed world," Turk said. "It has been extraordinarily exciting for me to convey this message through the ecstatic media of dance."
The photos projected are primarily from Turk's Siberian experiences but include other images as well. They help illustrate another aspect of the theme, the scientific versus nonscientific approaches to problem solving.
The performance debuted a year ago in Boston, where it earned Critic's Pick recognition from The Boston Globe. They have since performed in San Francisco and other major cities. Dances are performed by Kristy Kuhn, Rebecca Lay and Adriane Brayton.
"Jon and I have joined creative forces to create a full evening-length performance that tells the extraordinary tale of Jon's experience through both movement and spoken word," Weber said. "Jon is a vibrant storyteller whose energy is matched by the dynamic nature of live dance performance."
Tickets for the performance are available at the door for $20. Back issues of Whitefish Review will be given to guests, and beverages by Great Northern Brewing Co. will be available.
For more information, visit the Weber Dance website, www.weberdance.com.