Mister Mantis

Mister Mantis
by Donna Ahmadi

Urban Garden Room
43rd St. and 6th Avenue,  on  view from the street.
New York, NY

Free and open to the public!

Performance Schedule:

All performances begin at 8:30pm. 

Thursday Aug. 13
Friday Aug. 14
Saturday Aug.15 
Thursday Aug. 20
Friday Aug. 21 
Saturday Aug. 22 

This project explores the rich symbolism of the praying mantis in Western art and popular culture. Both an icon of gender reversal and of predatory prowess, the mantis fascinates with its lithe form, stilted grace, and oddly dignified cannibalism. Dali painted his muse with arms and hands folded--a classic gesture of the mantis and comment on the complex power relationships between them. Mantis style kung fu adopts the iconic wobble and reach of the majestic insect, its katas often expanding upon delicate movements of the wrist and hand. This project draws on both the martial and the marital, offering an intimate window into the sexual politics of a mantis "couple" and their dialogue of death, sacrifice, and renewal. Dancer Otis Cook will perform the male mantis and dancer Donna Ahmadi will perform female mantis. Barry Weil created mantis masks and moth, and visual artist Jennifer O'Flaherty painted and constructed habitat plants.

About The Artist:

Donna Ahmadi is a modern dancer whose passions lie in environmental and identity politics. Ahmadi graduated with a BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase College in 2000.  She went off to teach for Northern Rivers Conservatory of the Arts in Australia where she founded Mantis Dance Theater in 2003.  Ahmadi currently teaches choreography in public schools for NYCBallets Educational Dept. Ahmadi has choreographed a number of site-specific works, focusing on the biological life cycle of epiphytes as a metaphor for utopian re-imaginings of community and on arboreal features as visual metaphors for human hair and limbs. Ahmadi is an adoptee who has also focused on fluid and unstable experiences of identity and the many issues that develop when concrete histories of identity lack. Ahmadi has a longstanding involvement with the Native American Indian community in New York and is an accomplished fancy shawl dancer who brings an interest in the politics and power of "blood" to all her work. Ahmadi has performed in recent years for Steve Koplowitz, Alison Chase (Pilobolus), Andrew Marcus Performance, Brett Howard Company, Tarin Chaplin, Third Rail Productions, Red Hawk Indian Arts Council, and Thunderbird American Indian Dancers.

"visual gem of beauty, simplicity and depth" Eyes on Arts

"deliciously ominous moments" NY Times

For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact the artist at mantisdance@gmail.com