The power and joy of dance and the human collective will be in the spotlight as City College Center for the Arts (CCCA) presents the collaborative dance company MG DanceArts in ‘Amass’ on Friday, October 26, at 7:30 p.m. at Aaron Davis Hall. Directed by dancer, choreographer and educator Marielis Garcia, ‘Amass’ presents audiences with an interactive multidisciplinary performance featuring dance, music, sculpture and a good dose of audience participation. Born out of political strife, the piece is designed to help people with vastly different experiences reconnect as human beings through dance. As spectators become the performers, notions of the individual, the group, the past and the future will be tested and explored.

A collaborative project featuring three dancers, three musicians and the work of a visual artist, ‘Amass’ invites audiences to ponder the question: Can distinct individuals work together to “amass” a truly collective group? Featuring dancers Garcia (Brian Brooks Moving Company), Bria Bacon (Stephen Petronio Company), and Yeman Brown (Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group); musicians Brad Wentworth on drums, Kuan Cheng Lu on violin, and Rion Wentworth on bass; as well as sculptures by visual artist Caleb Nussear, ‘Amass’ is an interactive dance piece in which the audience and performers form a collection of seemingly unrelated pasts merging together to create an open and coherent future. Musical compositions by Brad Wentworth, Krzysztof Penderecki and Johann Sebastian Bach will underscore the evening.

MG DanceArts residency at CCCA is part of the CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI), a residency program and unprecedented model for collaboration between the City University of New York (CUNY) and the NYC dance field.