The Chase Brock Experience lights up the Diana Wortham Theatre stage March 22 and 22

One of Western North Carolina’s most notable young cultural prodigies returns to the mountains with his hip, original dance troupe The Chase Brock Experience at Diana Wortham Theatre on Friday and Saturday, March 21 and 22, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.

A Hendersonville native, Chase Brock performed on Broadway, choreographed Broadway’s SPIDER-MAN: Turn Off the Dark, and formed The Chase Brock Experience all before hitting age 30. However, he notes that his “professional debut” actually took place on the stage of Diana Wortham Theatre when the Junior League paid a then 12-year-old Chase Brock to perform an original tap dance routine at their meeting.

At age 16 Chase Brock began his dance career in the original cast of Susan Stroman’s Broadway revival of The Music Man and assisted choreographers and directors including Ann Reinking, Kathleen Marshall, Tina Landau and Robert Wilson on and off Broadway before beginning his choreography career. Brock has choreographed for American Ballet Theatre, New York Theatre Ballet, and Ballet Spartanburg, where Brock was a longtime student. In addition to his theatre dance work, he has choreographed for opera, television, music projects, and created video game choreography for the bestselling Dance on Broadway for Nintendo Wii (Ubisoft), which was released in North America and Europe in 2010.

Brock brought his well-honed talents back home in 2011 when he was invited by Flat Rock Playhouse artistic director Vincent Marini to present “The Nutcracker” on the Playhouse’s main stage as a reimagined, non-ballet piece of dance theater. The production’s cast included students with the Playhouse’s YouTheatre, where Brock got his start.

The Chase Brock Experience is dedicated to developing and presenting Brock’s original choreography. Since the company’s inception in 2006, Brock’s crowd-pleasing works have been making ripples throughout the contemporary community. His body of work is compelling and unique, significant for melding exceptional dance by a multi-faceted collection of dancers, commissioning original scores from outstanding contemporary composers, placing dance in fully considered visual environments, using live music when possible, and collaborating with artists from a broad range of media.

In its March 21 & 22 performances at Diana Wortham Theatre, The Chase Brock Experience performs: Mission: Implausible, an exhilarating, fast-paced dance theater extravaganza more akin to Looney Tunes than modern dance; Curious Episode, a witty duet for two women (Friends? Frenemies?) who tease and needle each other in alternating classical and jazz modes; What a Wonderful World, a full company explosion of athleticism, color and abandon; Slow Float, a folk-rocky five-song suite for the full company in a series of snapshots of friendships, relationships and summer coming to and end; and Whoa, Nellie! A wild and wacky traveling carnival of a dance performed to acclaimed and eclectic singer-songwriter Nellie McKay’s album Obligatory Villagers.

The Chase Brock Experience has performed in numerous festivals, residences and prestigious venues including six New York seasons at Abrons Arts Center, Joyce SoHo, Dance New Amsterdam, The Connelly Theater and Baruch Performing Arts Center, in performances at Fire Island Dance Festival, Dance Gotham Festival, Downtown Dance Festival and Solstice in Times Square, and in coveted residencies at Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center and The Orchard Project.

For insight and increased enjoyment, ticket holders of the March 21 & 22 evening performances can attend free pre-performance discussions with Chase Brock in The Forum at Diana Wortham Theatre at 7:00pm both nights prior to the performances. Seating is limited and offered on a first come, first served basis. We regret that we may not admit patrons to the discussions after 7:10pm.

In addition to the public performances, Chase Brock teaches a Master Class for intermediate to advanced dancers on stage at Diana Wortham Theatre on Saturday, March 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Dancers will meet Chase Brock, engage in exercises with The Chase Brock Experience company members, and learn repertoire from a piece presented during the public performances. The class ends with a question and answer period. The Master Class is an excellent opportunity for dance students and aspiring professional dancers. Cost for the class is $10. Advance registration is required and is limited to 30 participants. Tickets for the class may be purchased by calling the box office at 828-257-4530.

The Chase Brock Experience is also a part of the Matinee Series for Students and Families, with a performance on Friday, March 21 at 10:00 a.m. The Matinee Series is open to school groups, homeschoolers, community groups, and families.

The Chase Brock Experience’s Asheville performances are made possible by Performance Sponsors William & Catherine Gay and Richard E. Howell, DDS; and by Mainstage Dance Series Sponsors Hedy Fischer & Rancy Shull, Tina & John McGuire, Ronna & Rob Resnick, BMW of Asheville, and Diamond Brand Outdoors; with additional support from Media Sponsors WNC magazine and WCQS 88.1FM. 

The new entrance for the Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place is marked by the location of the theatre’s new marquee between 12 and 14 Biltmore Avenue. Patrons enter the theatre through the breezeway between Marble Slab Creamery and Circle in the Square restaurants, and into a large interior courtyard for Pack Place with multiple glass doors to the theatre’s lower lobby and new box office. The intimate theatre seats just over 500 and boasts exceptional acoustics and sightlines, making it the premier performance space in Western North Carolina. The Mainstage Series is supported by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency. The Mainstage Series 2013/2014 Season Sponsors are the Asheville Scene, Blue Moon Water, Creative Energy, Laurey’s Catering and Gourmet-to-go, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the Renaissance Asheville Hotel. To obtain more information on the Mainstage Series or to purchase tickets, call the theatre’s box office at (828) 257-4530 or visit www.dwtheatre.com.