Asimina Chremos, Leah Stein, Toshi Makihara, Jack Wright, Bonnie Jones February 6, 2010

We are excited to offer an intimate evening of performances by two phenomenal dance improvisers: Chicago's Asimina Chremos and Philadelphia's Leah Stein, and feature three world class sound improvisers: Saxophonist Jack Wright and Baltimore based electronic musician Bonnie Jones will join Asimina, and Leah will be joined by her long time collaborator, percussionist Toshi Makihara (making their bowerbird debut after an unfortunate cancellation in January).

Asimina's dance improvisations are frighteningly beautiful, full of twists and angular juxtapositions, executed with the fluid mastery of a ballerina, but far from conventional to any perspective. Jack is one of the world's most experienced (he has been a full-time saxophonist of strange music since the late 70's) and well-traveled free improvisers and a regular on the Bowerbird concert series. He plays both tenor and soprano sax, but in ways that would be pretty surprising to most. Bonnie Jones is a works with sound, text and performance. Born in 1977 in South Korea she was raised by dairy farmers in New Jersey, and currently resides in Baltimore. In sound performances Bonnie plays the circuit boards of digital delay pedals.

Certainly among the most ubiquitous and celebrated of dance / music collaborations in the region, Leah and Toshi began collaborating 1987 with what Toshi refers to as the "cabbage piece". They have since created an enormous body of work, most notably with the Leah Stein Dance Company. Their work typically implores an inventive use of space, often exploring acoustic and architectural details, usually with a subtle sense of humor and playfulness. In performance, both Leah and Toshi are extremely accustom to throwing of the limitations of their designated roles of "dancer" or "musician", exchanging sound making and moving in a manner so rarely convincing.

Official Website: http://www.bowerbird.org/newsite/events/100206/