Joe Sent MDE
Sat., May 16, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Sun., May 17, 2009 at 2 p.m.

The Mercer Dance Ensemble features a group of MCCC’s most talented students and alumni, plus some special guests. This years concert will be a landmark collaboration between the Mercer Dance Ensemble and critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Vanessa Daou.

Choreographed by dance faculty Janell Byrne, with guest choreography by Jody P. Person and others, Joe Sent M.D.E. features music from Daou’s new album, Joe Sent Me, which she named after a code-phrase that was used to gain entry into Prohibition-era speakeasies. Daou says the album is about “the transmission of ideas through time, the secret ranges of the voice, fleeting nights of love and desire, the archiving of dreams, memory, and the imagination.” Joe Sent M.D.E. transforms Daou’s ideas into a suite of dances constructed around the central metaphor of the album – to discover “secret codes,” in a language of the body, that will open doors into illicit paces of rebellion and abandon.

Vanessa Daou has gained international recognition for her unique blend of jazz, house, and poetry/spoken-word. Her songs have been remixed by some of today's most cutting edge DJs, placing her in the Top 10 of Billboard's Dance Chart five times and earning her three #1's. Her debut album, Head Music (Columbia Records), spawned the club classic, “Surrender Yourself.” Her follow-up album, Zipless (MCA), grabbed music critics and DJs alike for its erotic fusion of the poetry of Erica Jong and Daou's "breathy, intimate vocals" (VIBE Magazine). Time Magazine called Zipless "exhilarating," "an exquisite balance between pop and jazz," while The New York Times applauded its “voice and rhythm,” which “move past each other with the formalized grace of a ballet.” Subsequent releases, including Slow to Burn (MCA) and Make You Love (EMI-France), cemented Daou's reputation for combining "electronic, pop, and jazz" to create music that "drips with romance, sensuality, and much love" (Billboard Magazine). Joe Sent Me and Daou’s other albums are available through her website at http://www.daourecords.com.

Tickets are $14 adults, $12 seniors, $10 students & children