Music and Lyrics by Gabriel Kahane
Choreography by Chase Brock

Abrons Arts Center
The Chase Brock Experience

AMERICAN SADNESS is set to Gabriel Kahane’s haunting, self-titled album, which through its sophisticated, layered songs and music examines the bleaker side of human relationships. Like the subtle complexity of the music, the dance elegantly weaves the rigor and force of classicism with the urgent vitality of urban vernacular dancing. The pointe shoes, sneakers and ballet shoes worn by the the various dancers permit the choreography’s side-by-side integration of ballet, jazz and modern dance. Created over the course of a year, “American Sadness” is the first use of Kahane’s music for a dance. The dance’s title is from a line in the Kahane song “North Adams:” As the sky it darkened / Got a dose of american sadness / Rolled up all the windows / And we talked into the blackness.

“Now in its third season, Chase Brock’s ensemble takes a walk on the darker side with a new work, “American Sadness,” set to soulfully sophisticated indie ballads by Gabriel Kahane.”

– The New Yorker

“With his crowd-pleasing choreography, Chase Brock, at just 26, has set his sights firmly on Broadway. In the meantime, his company, The Chase Brock Experience, performed a mixed bill, seen at Abrons Arts Center on Friday night, featuring four-high energy works. But the evening was dominated by the premiere of “American Sadness,” set largely to introspective, bordering on shoe-gazing, pop songs by Gabriel Kahane. “American Sadness” relates the journey of a young couple (Ryan Jackson and Cassandra Taylor) as they fall in and out of love. Dane Laffrey’s set piece, a platform that is lowered and raised on the dimmed stage, is striking, with holes large enough to fit over a dancer’s body. At this it serves as a covering; at others, when dancers are trapped inside, it represents something more binding.”

– The New York Times

“Only two years old, but rapidly gaining a reputation for its wit and energetic originality, The Chase Brock Experience will present the world premiere of “American Sadness” as part of the company’s Abrons Arts Center season. The dance, for eight performers, is set to music from Gabriel Kahane’s debut CD “Gabriel Kahane,” released this past April.”

– theatermania.com