Friday + Saturday, October 21 + 22 @ 9pm

A foursome of couples (1 romantic, 1 platonic) hook-up to expose their secrets with Mixed Marriages / Homestretch, an innocent orgy of dance, film & movement vignettes riffing on life’s many contradictions.

In Mixed Marriages, lovers & collaborators of 8 years, Project Runway Designer Andrae Gonzalo & Choreographer Jamie Benson use juxtaposition to exploit the arc of their relationship, dramatizing everything from their servant origins (rich/poor) to their, as of 2 weeks ago, long distance arrangement (NY/LA). Benson will raid classic & barbaric dance techniques to create a vaudevillian performance mash-up.  In Homestretch, the unlikely collaborative team of Choreographer Carmela Hermann & Gay Retiree Terrence Luke Johnson, pair odd friendship with choreographic skill & wit to transform the last 5 years of their lives into a riveting “reality dance drama.”  Homestretch is hilariously scripted from actual events, while Hermann’s choreography is a careful tossup of dance styles drawn from toddlers, post-modern choreographic strategies & quirky fantasies. Hermann & Benson, both innovative choreographers, make funny, moving & accessible dances that force the audience to run the gamut of human experience.

Gay partners, Andrae Gonzalo & Jamie Benson give it to you straight about relationships in Mixed Marriages. These boys slam together opposing attitudes, objects & concepts from their past & present to reveal universal themes of love & loneliness. The evening will include the debut of United, a new dance film following romance from the knees down (a collaboration with Actor/Filmmaker Jesse Schoem). A high-stakes game of Rock, Paper, Scissors & introduction to the Human Swiffer (he’ll dance dirty) are also in the program. Gonzalo is on hand to bring a theatrical flare & intention to the costuming while Benson’s wry choreographic wit adds lush texture to the event.  Both guys put their hearts and bodies on the line in this evening of tragic dance comedy.  More info @ www.jamiebenson.com

Homestretch is a hysterical, poignant, ridiculous & heartbreaking look at real life through the lens of choreographer/new mother, Carmela Hermann & gay retiree & accidental dad/grandfather, Terence Luke Johnson. This non-linear, post-modern soap opera layers vignettes of pregnancy-obsession, parenthood, daddy issues, retirement, homosexuality, late-life sex & death. Lines become blurred as the two play games with identity; the relationship seemingly morphs from friendship to father/daughter, lovers, & at times, becoming one another in the ultimate act of empathy.

$20/$15