Live Performances

Classical, Dance, Live Performance, Music

Co-produced with State Theatre

Palaver Strings + little house dance: “Noisefloor”


December 6 - 7, 2023 • 7PM

State Theatre


BUY TICKETS

"One of the most compelling things I’ve seen on stage in a while."

"Lively and emotional performances given without a conductor."

Palaver Strings joins forces with contemporary dance collective, little house dance, to present Noisefloor an immersive physical, visual, and musical experience with the performers activating the stage as well as the space surrounding it. In this interdisciplinary performance for twelve musicians and seven dancers with a new composition by Courtney Swain, Noisefloor fully integrates the media of music and dance, involving choreographers in the process of music composition and the musicians in the dancers movement language. A unique theatrical perspective, utilizing the audience’s entire audio-visual field where audience members are seated around the theatre in an intentional way, Noisefloor explores the subjectivity of human reality, including but not limited to visual and auditory perception, the “field” of our lived experience—culture, objects, people, behaviors, thoughts and images.    

POST-PERFORMANCE TALKBACK DECEMBER 7

Stay after the performance on Thursday, December 7 for an interactive 30 minute talkback, moderated by dance artist and Bates professor, Brian Evans.


Read the 2023-2024 Contemporary Dance Audience Guide for an informative and historical look at contemporary dance and Ovations’ history with the art form. Read artist profiles to learn more about who is performing in the upcoming season, see a timeline of Ovations history with contemporary dance, learn about iconic choreographer Alvin Ailey and more.

This is a fun read for anyone interested in contemporary dance and is a great supplementary experience before or after experiences any of these artists throughout the season.

SHOW TIMES

DECEMBER 6 & 7, 2023

Tickets available day of at State Theatre Box Office

BUY: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2023 • 7PM
BUY: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2023 • 7PM

STATE THEATRE, PORTLAND

PORTTIX BOX OFFICE

TICKETS: $20 • $65
STUDENT DEAL: $10

Membership – Ovations Members save 10% off full-priced tickets. Learn how to become an Ovations Member here.

Package and Save – Choose any 4 performances for a 10% discount. 

Exchanges – Ticket exchanges are available to Portland Ovations’ Members only. Exchange requests must be made prior to the performance date of the original tickets. 

PortTIX is the trusted box office for purchasing Portland Ovations tickets. 207.842.0800.

ACCESSIBILITY

Wheelchair accessible. Assistive Listening Devices available, ASL interpretation available by request. Read more about accessibility at State Theatre Portland

Palaver Strings is a musician-led string ensemble and nonprofit organization based in Portland, ME. Founded in 2014, Palaver has established itself as a forward-thinking ensemble whose mission is to strengthen and inspire community through music. In their musician-led model, Palaver’s musicians share artistic and administrative leadership, guided by a passion for engaging new audiences, addressing social justice issues, and amplifying underrepresented voices. Each year, Palaver presents a full series of live performances featuring diverse musical programming, cross-genre projects, and community collaborations. 

little house dance Founded by Heather Stewart in 2020, little house dance’s current mission is to build an artistic platform based in practices of partnership, equity, good working conditions, ideation and collaboration, and mindfulness of craft. The vision for little house’s future was developed by Heather in partnership with dance artist Riley Watts. As dance is inherently a social art, the company’s work forges new community connections and partnerships in dance programming and production in regional and national spheres. little house seeks to build mindful working partnerships with venues, presenters, audiences, patrons, and production, particularly in Maine. Their aim is to create meaningful and deeply physical dance experiences with the people around us. 

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