A ‘downtown’ choreographer brings her craft to the opera
By JOCELYN NOVECK
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — You could call choreographer Annie-B Parson a “downtown” choreographer. She’s known for her work on David Byrne’s “American Utopia” and as co-founder of Big Dance Theater, based in Brooklyn. Now, she’s trying her hand at the opera for the first time, with “The Hours” at the Metropolitan Opera. The opera is based on the Pulitzer-winning novel about three women of different generations, connecting through Virginia Woolf and her writing. Parson is the only woman on the creative team, and says one of her first decisions was to hire a 13-member cast of all female or female-identifying dancers, to embody what she calls Woolf’s feminist voice. The production runs through Dec. 15.
