Sextet

Sextet is a dance for two women (trained dancers) and two men who are visually impaired with their respective guide dogs. In this dance, choreographer Allison Orr explores how people move from place to place, specifically looking at the movement that exists between a person and his guide dog. Performers at Sextet's premier in 2003 were: John Slatin and his golden Labrador retriever Dillon, Sozan Schellin and his black Labrador retriever Zeke, and two trained dancers: Karly Dillard and Allison Orr.

Sextet was also choreographed to be accessible to both sighted and visually-impaired audience members, so live audio description, provided by Celia Hughes, accompanies the dance. The description acts as a running narrative and describes the movements and spatial patterns created on stage. An audience favorite at its premier, Sextet "stole the show" according to Robi Polgar of The Austin Chronicle and received a standing ovation at Saturday night's performance.

Sextet was selected by the Austin Critics Table as Austin's Best Small to Medium Dance of 2003. The Austin Chronicle also listed Sextet as one of the Top Ten Arts Events of 2003.

In June of 2004, the company presented Sextet on The Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage as part of the VSA International Arts Festival.

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