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The MetaMarthasis joyfully floats on a series of oppositional forces: authenticity vs. artifice, stark minimalism vs. dazzling spectacle, high modernism vs. pop confection. This celebratory event features excerpts from Jesse Factor’s evening-length dance work The Marthaodyssey and some new surprises. In The Metamarthasis, Jesse’s studied synthesis of the  “High Priestess of Modern Dance” (Martha Graham) and the “Queen of Pop” (Madonna) celebrates rigor, excess, devotion, and diva. Part modernist archive, part pop-culture pageantry, part drag extravaganza – completely fabulous.

About Jesse Factor

Jesse's Factor's innovate work is frequently presented at dance and nightlife venues and festivals including New York Live Arts, Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, OUTsider Festival, RADfest, Fresh Fruit Festival, and House of Yes. Trained at the Martha Graham School, he performed with Graham II and the Martha Graham Dance Company. Jesse holds a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and MFA from the University of Iowa.

The MetaMarthasis is an iteration of The Marthaodyssey, which was created with support from National Center for Choreography Akron, The Space Upstairs, Point Park University, Martha Graham Center, Slippery Rock University, and Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Support was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. The Marthaodyssey was world premiered by Kelly Strayhorn Theater with support by the National Performance Network (NPN) Artist Engagement Fund.

The views and opinions expressed in the performance do not necessarily reflect those of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The Trust is committed to its core values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, including freedom of expression. Prices, shows, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.