Avila/Weeks dance duo to visit Hall

Performers called "defiant" and "captivating"

Due in Oberlin on Labor Day weekend, Homer Avila and Edisa Weeks will perform what many have classified a passionately dramatic and dynamic dancing duo of self-exploration.

Sponsored by Oberlin College's Theater and Dance Program, the John Guttfreund Enrichment Fund and the Multicultural Resource Center, this New York-based duo is sure to engage many of the members of the Oberlin Community.

Avila and Weeks have been working side by side since the early 90s. While performing together in Uncle Tom's Cabin the dancers realized their compatability.

Avila has been recognized as "quite a dancer" by the Village Voice and an "obviously gifted" individual by the New York Times. The chemistry between Avila and Weeks cannot be ignored. According to New York Newsday, "Their interaction defies convention and male-female clich�s." Their dance performance is widely considered to be one of the most defiant and captivating of the current season.

Weeks, a graduate of Brown University, has been involved with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and Jacob's Pillow. She has been given multiple opportunities to perform with groups such as David Gordon Pick Up Performance Company, Dance Brazil, as well as Annie-B Parson's BIG DANCE THEATER.

In addition to the American Dance Festival and Salvatore Aiello/North Carolina Dance Theater, Avila, like Weeks, has performed at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and Jacob's Pillow.

The two dancers come from relatively polar environments. Avila is from New Orleans with historical roots in Central America. Weeks was raised in Uganda, Papua New Guinea and Brooklyn.

Such hype has accompanied the Avila/Weeks duo that they have successfully exhibited their talents at the Ballet Festival in Nantucket, the Blitz Festival and the National Black Arts Festival, both in Atlanta.

Their performace at Oberlin will include Dubious Faith, Sound of Bound Wings and Caught in Thermidor's Twilight. Music for Dubious Faith is written by Juanita Hill and Ennio Morricone; Sound of Bound Wings will be performed to the music of Gabriel Fauré.

Along with three duets, each dancer is given an adequate opportunity to prove their talents with a solo act.

Offering lectures and other community-oriented workshops, as well as teaching at numerous universities and other institutions, Avila and Weeks are forced to juggle a hectic workload while simultaneously carving the path for several other aspiring dancers across the world.

Avila/Weeks will perform at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Hall. Tickets are $4 for students, $6 for senior citizens, faculty and alumni and $8 for the general public.

Flying high:Homer Avila and Edisa Weeks, who call themselevs Avila/Weeks, will perform tonight at Hall (photo courtesy Alice Hirt Hug)