Charles Atlas
Martha@Mother
Video Collages
with an appearance by the filmmaker









Friday & Saturday
July 17th & 18th, 7 & 9 pm


Ancram Opera House
Ancram, New York

In the late 90s, at a tiny nightclub in the meat-packing district of New York, co-producers Richard Move and Janet Stapleton presented a show that simultaneously revered and mocked the mother of all modern dancers, Martha Graham.  Martha@Mother packed them in for Move's outrageous drag send-up and for filmmaker Charles Atlas's video collages, which began the evenings.

Atlas's collages intercut dance clips from musicals and movies, classics with stars like Barbara Stanwyck or Elizabeth Taylor playing the part of someone named Martha, kitschy Denishawn dances, anthropological documentaries, TV dance spoofs and film of Martha Graham herself,
sternly teaching her dancers or going through the motions of her dance work Acrobats of God.  The diverse clips were precisely edited, wildly juxtaposed and completely hilarious.  The audience howled.  The Martha@Mother video collages are finally as much homage as spoof and make compelling video art.

On July 17th and 18th, the Ancram Opera House will screen Charles Atlas's Martha@Mother video collages.  Shows at 7 and 9 pm.  Charles Atlas himself will make an appearance at the Saturday screenings, July 18th.

Charles AtlasFilm director and video artist Charles Atlas has directed more than eighty films and videotapes, ranging from the feature-length piece, Hail the New Puritan, a fictional day in the life of a young British punk ballerina, to As Seen on TV, a short comic film starring vaudevillian Bill Irwin.  His film, Merce Cunningham: A Lifetime of Dance, a 90-minute international co-production for television, won a "best documentary" award at Dance Screen 2000 in Monaco. His latest film is The Legend of Leigh Bowery, a feature-length documentary about the London-based performance artist and art/fashion icon.

Atlas often works in collaboration with choreographer/dancers, among them Merce Cunningham, Douglas Dunn, Karole Armitage, and Michael Clark;  and with performers including John Kelly, DANCENOISE, Marina Abramovic, Karen Finley, Diamanda Galas, and Leigh Bowery.  His most recent dance-related work, Rainer Variations, is a video montage/portrait of filmmaker/choreographer Yvonne Rainer.   In 1998, Charles Atlas was awarded a New York Dance and Performance Awards, a "Bessie," for the Martha@Mother video collages.


Tickets:
Supporters -- Reserved tables / $40
Table seats include drinks and snacks
Open seating -- $15 in advance / $20 at the door

The Ancram Opera House
now sells hand-crafted beers and ales,
also fine wines.

Click here to buy tickets online for this event.
See below for other purchasing options.

Ancram Opera House
1330 County Route 7
Ancram, NY 12502

Click here for directions and further information.

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Room to Move for Body and Mind
Options
for
buying your tickets
   1.  If you 'd like to purchase tickets with a credit card, please do so online (a small service charge will apply).  Click here to buy tickets online for Charles Atlas Martha@Mother at the Ancram Opera House.

2.  You can also reserve seats by emailing us at info@ancramoperahouse.com or calling 518 329 7393.   Let us know your name, phone, and how many tickets you'd like.   Please pay for these tickets by cash or check at the door.

3.  You can buy tickets at the door at a slightly higher cost between 1 and 2 pm on the afternoon of the event with cash or check.  Availability may be limited.
Thank you so much for supporting the Ancram Opera House!