Austinist Preview: Trilogy at the Long Center

We're guessing, but from what we've read, Trilogy will be the kind of performance that'll be very difficult describe until we've actually seen it. And even then...it might be kind of hard to describe. One thing we can say: it looks like one of the most amazing dance performances to come through Austin in a while.

A truly interdisciplinary event, Trilogy combines the talents of dancer/choreographers Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer (winners of a 2008 Guggenheim Award), percussionist Glen Velez (winner of three Grammy Awards), and composer/saxophonist Ken Field (whose first CD, Subterranea, was recorded in an underground chamber in Roswell, New Mexico). New York-based Bridgeman/Packer Dance also contributes video projections to the mix. Get a taste of the full effect here.

Elements of this piece have been performed in several U.S. cities over the past few years, but this is Bridgman/Packer's first stop in Austin. When they performed Under the Skin in New York three years ago, the Times wrote, "Video projections have seldom been used so adroitly or with such profligate imagination."

Glen Velez, the percussionist for these performances, is living proof that tambourines ("frame drums" is the more correct term) are not just for the Linda McCartneys of the world. Velez has collaborated extensively with Steve Reich, and John Cage wrote a frame drum piece specifically for him. He'll give a workshop on his style at Drumz Austin on Kerby Lane tonight.