Poets & Philosophers

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Choreography by Resident Artist, Katie Spagnoletti

MUSIC by Jennifer Higdon

premiered at Tenth Avenue Arts Center, 2021 August Series

 

“At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” —Plato

 

Distilled into the dazzling precision of neo-classical technique, poets & philosophers is a collection of vignettes exploring the many facets of love, as classified by the language of Ancient Greece.

From the giving fountain of divine love (Agapē), to the fizz and fluster of flirtation (Ludus), the steady trust and respect of enduring partnership (Pragma) blending into the support of familial love (Storgē), the effervescence of being at home with oneself (Philautia), through to the passion of first romantic love (Eros) and the flipside of that coin: obsessive love (Mania)—each gets its moment of reflection and celebration.

Finally, the jovial romp of friendship (Philia) gives way to the humble gratitude of hospitality (Xenia): an ancient concept more relevant than ever as audiences are welcomed back with open arms into our home of the theater.