The Mondavi Center at UC Davis will host renowned performer and choreographer Lucinda Childs’ 2009 revival of her 1979 production of “DANCE,” the widely known and controversial score she created with composer Philip Glass and filmmaker Sol LeWitt. It will be shown on Tuesday in Jackson Hall at 8 p.m..

The original premiere of “DANCE” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in ‘79, and its revival in 2009 are two memorable experiences. According to Childs, that’s for two very different reasons, both having to do with audience reception.

“The reaction to the revival of the tour has been quite different than that of the premiere,” said Ruth Rosenberg, artist engagement coordinator of the Mondavi Center. “During that first performance, many people walked out. Minimalist music and dance was shocking to audiences back then, but we embrace it now.”

Rosenberg said it is a wonderful opportunity to be able to show Childs’ “DANCE” revival, and to be able to see the original dancers. Childs was also in the original 1979 performance. The black-and-white Sol LeWitt film of “DANCE” will be projected, and the audience will be able to watch the 11 current dancers performing the same material live on stage next to projected figures of the 11 original dancers on film.

“It looks fantastic,” Rosenberg said. “The film images are around 20 feet tall and look quite otherworldly,” she said.

For both Childs and Rosenberg, the film is what truly makes this performance special. It is not only a revival of the dance itself, but of the film and its filmmaker, LeWitt, who passed away in 2007. This film is his legacy, and it was revived to honor his name, according to Childs.

“Dance is an ephemeral art form. It happens, and it is gone. You can’t rewind and watch an exact performance again – it can only live in one’s memory,” Rosenberg said. “Reviving this piece is a rare chance to see the original work, even as we also see a new version of it. I understand that the original film was deteriorating, and if this revival had not been undertaken, it would have been lost.”

The Mondavi Center is also working with the dance coordinator to make a master class with the visiting artist available to UC Davis, Sacramento State and local high schools, according to Rosenberg. Childs will also be doing a post-performance question and answer session.

Childs took a few minutes to answer questions from The Sacramento Press.

Why was this specific composition chosen to be revived?

That was the choice of the Bard Summer Dance Festival. They have a festival every summer, and they invite a choreographer to be a part of their festival.

I was invited in 2009, 30 years after our premiere to revive “DANCE” because they felt that it was a work that could be interesting to see again. At the time, Sol LeWitt, the visual artist, had just passed away, and they felt concerned about wanting to honor him also with the revival.

What was your inspiration for the original DANCE?

“I had just worked with Philip Glass and Robert Wilson on "Einstein on the Beach", which is also going to be revived next year, and that will be coming to the West Coast soon. It was my first time to work with Philip Glass.

It was a very involved rehearsal period and touring. We got to know each other very well and wanted to continue working together. We decided in that time that we wanted to do a new project together.”

What do you want people to get out of the show and what is the message of “DANCE”?

“There’s no message specifically. There’s no narrative, and there’s no story. It’s completely abstract, but there’s a tension between the choreography and the music – a dialogue.

I feel that hopefully in this day and age when dance is to some extent liberated from the modern dance tradition of always having to tell a story, people can just enjoy it for what it is, which is a simple abstract piece with a great deal of passion to the execution.”

What has been the feedback on the revival? Is it different from the original feedback?

“Initially (with the original), there was some reaction to it. People had not seen this sort of work before, heard this kind of music before, seen this choreography before, and they reacted in a way as if we were breaking away from a tradition in a way that they didn’t understand.

But we’ve had pretty much enthusiastic responses, and just the fact that we’ve continued to tour this piece since 2009, which is almost two and a half years. This is the first time that this has happened with any of my work, so I’m really thrilled – not only just to keep the group together, but to have success in being able to tour this season, in this country and in Europe.”

You didn’t use music before “DANCE”, why? How did using music evolve your work and choreography?

“I was very interested in working together with dancers that was kind of a discipline, because if there’s no music there, they have to be very interdependent and very aware of each other in order to keep a pulse going, a common pulse.

Shifting into working with Philip Glass, the first time was with the opera, and I felt that that was interesting to have to come up with how I was going to put these structures together. I felt that that was how I came up with the idea that we don’t just illustrate the music, and we don’t just ignore the music, but we come up with a kind of style of the music which creates a tension that I found very exciting to explore and develop.”

Why were you inspired by the minimalist movement? What about it inspires you?

“I like the idea that we use materials that are essential. Nothing is there that doesn’t have to be there. It’s very simple in terms of the content, but what we do with the material – we do a lot with a little – and I like that point of view. I like that attitude.

I find that you make a lot of discoveries by not just jumping to something new all the time, and by sticking with the material that you have and staying within the restrictions of that material. It opens up your mind to all the possibilities that are there.”

How does the dancing differ from the original and the revival?

“The dancers from way back in ‘79 was my old group, but even within my old group in that day and age there was a lot of difference between the dancers, because they came from different backgrounds. Some of them came from ballet backgrounds, some of them came from a modern dance background, and some of them came from other kinds of dance backgrounds, so there’s a lot of diversity in the original group.

Whereas, in this group today, they’re more versatile. They’ve worked with different companies, and they have a more uniformed training, so there’s a more uniformed look, I would say.”

What was the most memorable thing about the original, and in the past two and a half years with the revival?

“The most memorable thing about the original I would have to say would be the premiere in Brooklyn. We were surprised by the fact that there was a group of enthusiastic people who always followed us, and then a group of people who were shocked and very surprised by the piece.

The most memorable thing about now is the feeling we had in Philadelphia when we got a standing ovation, which we definitely didn’t expect. It was very satisfying, very gratifying, and I’m very happy for the dancers that they are having that type of response and reception.”

For more information and for tickets, visit the Mondavi Center website.