After a short hiatus, AT&T Performing Arts Center and the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs are bringing back the Elevator Project — with a few changes.
Introduced in 2014, the Elevator Project gave smaller arts groups — and especially those without permanent homes — in Dallas and Fort Worth the opportunity to stage theater and dance productions on the Wyly Theatre's sixth and ninth floors.
This time around, the disciplines have been expanded to encompass music, dance, theater, and spoken word, and all but one of the productions will be staged in Hamon Hall in the Winspear Opera House.
A one-night performance from cabaret artist Denise Lee is the first presentation of this new season. She will perform Denise Lee: From Annie Mae To Tina on February 11 at 7:30 pm, journeying in song through the life and career of superstar singer Tina Turner, who started out as a shy woman named Annie Mae Bullock.
The remainder of the season includes Max Hartman and Friends (March 11), PrismCo's Medea Myth: Love’s Beginning (April 13-23), Fables & Fairytales from Around the World featuring Melody Bell (May 27), and Danielle Georgiou Dance Group's Donkey Beach (June 22-25). DGDG is one of the six original participants from the first Elevator Project, which served as a springboard for further development of the dance piece Nice.
PrismCo, a theatrical movement troupe that has performed in a wide variety of traditional and unconventional spaces, will be the lone tenant of the Wyly Theatre's sixth floor.
AT&T Performing Arts Center president and CEO Doug Curtis hints in the release that this time they intend for the Elevator Project to stick around, saying "This year’s participants are just a taste of the diverse and varied lineups to come."
Cabaret artist Denise Lee will be the first Elevator Project performer for the 2017 season.
