Piece - Kindred; two hearts, Choreographer - Miki Ohlsen, Dancers - Katie Moorhead & Greg Tyndall, Photo Credit - Bill Peresta

 Island Moving Company (IMC), Newport’s Contemporary Ballet announces performance dates for two new productions at the newly restored Newport Congregational Church. An evening repertory show titled “The Nature of Light” and children’s matinee shows of “Alice In Wonderland” will be performed between October 17 – 20.

The Nature of Light will feature new work by Island Moving Company’s Artistic Director, Miki Ohlsen, and choreography by the iconic José Limon, Colin Connor and IMC’s Associate Artistic Director, Danielle Genest. The show’s title is inspired by the reflective light-play from the historic church venue’s notable La Farge stained glass windows. The entire show will be approximately 90 minutes in length and performed to live music by an ensemble of musicians from across Southern New England under the direction of Adrienne Taylor.

Performance dates for The Nature of Light are Thursday, October 17, Friday, October 18 and Saturday, October 19. The Thursday and Friday night shows will provide a cash bar and tickets range between $49 – $69. The Saturday show will include an open bar and catered intermission by Russell Morin Catering & Events. Tickets for Saturday range between $79 – $99.

The classic story of Alice In Wonderland will get a fresh Island Moving Company spin on Rhode Island Ballet Theater’s Artistic Director Nancy McAuliffe’s original version. With a classi- cal music score by Dimitri Shastokovich and new, exciting choreography by Nancy McAuliffe, Miki Ohlsen and Danielle Genest, guests of all ages will follow the white rabbit as he takes Alice and the audience down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, where they will meet the Red Queen, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and all the magical residents of Wonderland.

Performance dates and times for Alice in Wonderland are October 17 &18 at 4:30pm, October 19 at 3:00pm and October 20 at 1:00pm & 3:00pm. The performances are intended for children 3 and up and run one hour with no intermission. All tickets are $30

Thanks to generous support from The Bazarsky Family Foundation, IMC will provide free ad- mission to select performances of Alice in Wonderland to groups of kids from Newport’s Pell Elementary School, The Boys and Girls Club of Newport, Boys Town, and The Martin Luther King Jr. Center. Sponsorships are available for both of both The Nature of Light and Alice In Wonderland, and commissions are welcome for The Nature of Light. Tickets to both shows can be purchased online at islandmovingco.org or over the phone at (401) 847-4470.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Miki Ohlsen for 36 years, Island Moving Company has produced and presented dances by a diverse group of choreographers, working with musi- cians, poets, and visual artists. IMC is known for its creative use of unusual venues, creating site specific work at Rosecliff Mansion, Belcourt Castle, the Tall Ship Oliver Hazard Perry, the Great Friends Meeting Hall, Fort Adams, and other notable sites across Newport County.