Bittersweet

Vancouver-based Amber Funk Barton is one of Canada’s top dancers and an innovative and versatile emerging choreographer. Her work, like herself, reflects a rich multitude of cultural infusions. Amber’s Chutzpah!-commissioned new work, entitled Bittersweet, is a modern dance duet performed by Amber and Ballet BC dancer James Gnam with live music by composer/pianist/singer Mark Berube. The classical dance structure is infused with loose elements of ballroom dance, emphasizing the partnership and intimacy between two people. With a piano as a backdrop, the audience quickly realizes the dancers have a past and some loose ends that need to be “cleaned up and settled.” Bittersweet will open for the New York-based company Aszure & Artists. 

Chutzpah! The Lisa Nemetz International Showcase of Jewish Performing Arts fosters artistic growth by crossing cultural and generational boundaries as well as artistic disciplines, promoting communication and understanding between Jewish and non-Jewish communities.