Spain's Kulunka Theatre Company Presents ANDRÉ & DORINE at West Side Y, Now thru 9/16

André & Dorine, a poignant depiction of love and aging disrupted by Alzheimer's disease, is coming to the stage of The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side YMCA, 10 West 64th Street (at Central Park West), NYC, from tonight, September 13 - 16, 2012.

Performances: Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, Sunday at 7pm. Tickets are available online at www.theatermania.com or via phone at 866-811-4111. Tickets are $28-$25, $20-$17 for seniors/students, and discounted tickets are available for YMCA members and groups. For group sales contact Danabelle Denis at 212-912-2635.

Performed by Spain's critically acclaimed Kulunka Theatre Company, it tells the story of an elderly couple - André with his typewriter, Dorine with her cello - and how they relive and reinvent their love together as Alzheimer's becomes a permanent part of their relationship.

A part of the Performing Arts of Spain Series, the production received outstanding critical reviews in Europe, Asia and South America. It is presented by Spain Culture New York-Consulate General of Spain, in partnership with the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side YMCA.

"In our goal of creating a show without boundaries, our desire is to find a language that transcends the word. A language that thrills and entertains," said Garbiñe Insausti, a member of the company. "To achieve this, we rely primarily on a theatre of gestures, in which masks act as a bridge to another world of a poetic visual [experience]. Our masks, of deep features, so expressive, so full of life, open the doors of imagination and bring us to a universe in which everything is possible."

Three actors portray more than 15 different characters through the play, whose story is told through gesture and movement, with no spoken dialogue. The story revolves around André, turning to his typewriter to relive and remember his life with Dorine as her mind slips away - remembering who they were in order to not forget who they are now.

Kulunka Teatro has created a piece of thoroughly contemporary and committed mask theatre that transcends language barriers. With no words, uplifting and thought provoking, it explores important themes of love and aging with warmth and humor.

In bringing this production to New York, Spain Culture New York and the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side YMCA are opening a door to the best in new theatre arts coming from Europe. The audience will be exposed to a new contemporary piece of theater that uses the classic art forms of movement and gesture, and characters are highlighted by expressive facial masks.

The company, from the Basque region of Spain, was established in 2010 with the goal of experimenting with a variety of stage languages to produce theatre that is vibrant, contemporary, committed and connected to reality. André & Dorine has toured in Spain, South America, Europe, Asia, and the United States, and was an award winner at the Birmingham European Theatre Festival in 2011, and at the La Habana InterNational Theatre Festival. Those wishing to learn more about the play and the theatre company can visit www.kulunkateatro.com.

Spain Culture New York is the Cultural Office of the Consulate General of Spain in New York City and belongs to Spain Arts & Culture: the network of organizations supporting Spain's culture and language in the US. This network promotes culture and art, and strives to strengthen bilateral cultural, artistic and academic exchanges.

This cultural network also presents many arts programs - featuring dance, music, visual arts, literature, humanities, architecture, and design - in a variety of venues, also in collaboration with relevant American entities throughout the country.

The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side Y is a non-profit, independent, Off-Broadway Theater in the West Side YMCA, which exists, in part, to serve the NYC community by providing affordable and high quality professional arts performances.

The YMCA of Greater New York is, and always will be, dedicated to building healthy, confident, connected and secure children, adults, families and communities. With a focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, the Y nurtures the potential of every youth and teen, improves New York City's health and well-being and provides opportunities to give back and support neighbors. In scores of neighborhoods across the five boroughs and its camp upstate, the Y makes accessible the support and opportunities that empower more than 400,000 New Yorkers to learn, grow and thrive. Visit ymcanyc.org.

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