Monthaven Mansion, located in Hendersonville just a couple of miles east of Rivergate Mall, may well be one of Middle Tennessee’s best-kept secrets. The beautiful antebellum mansion, a showcase of Greek Revival architecture, has recently been transformed into an adventurous art museum, and plans are underway to surround the structure with a gorgeous sculpture garden.
Appropriately enough, the contemporary dance collective New Dialect has decided to hold a pop-up program called “Secret Show” at this Hendersonville hidden treasure. The performance, the collective’s last event of the season, will include the premiere of an important new dance by Joy Davis called Ex Nihilo (“Out of Nothing”). In this large-scale work for 11 dancers, Davis merges her idiosyncratic modern-dance language with the writings of poets and physicists to explore the ironies and complexities of the universe.
Also on the program, New Dialect dancer, choreographer and rehearsal assistant Rebecca Allen has created an intimate piece for a trio of dancers called Lighthouse. Set to the music of George Miller, the piece is a game of lost-and-found, a paper trail of stories and memories that are scattered and collected as the dancers search for a sense of belonging and home.
Choreographer Rebecca Steinberg will present a dance called Old Houses. Danced to an original score by Adam Lochemes, Old Houses serves as a metaphor for human relationships. Old houses need constant renovation. Similarly, long-term relationships need frequent adjustments. Finally, choreographer David Flores has created a deeply moving tribute to the child victims of the Syrian conflict called Remember Us.
New Dialect will curate each room in the historic mansion and surrounding grounds with music, film, and contemporary dance to create a lively, intimate, and immersive experience for guests.
A party with the artists and a performance by the Nashville band Arlie will follow the program at the mansion, located at 1017 Antebellum Cir, Hendersonville. Doors open at 7:30pm.