Tanz Farm series seeks to connect Atlantans with cutting-edge dance artists

Sidra Bell and Théâtre du Rêve. 8 p.m. Nov. 1 and 3. Eliza Rickman will also perform in this production Nov. 3 only.

Series 2

Staibdance, Luna Negra Dance Theater and gloATL (new work by zoe/Juniper). 8 p.m. Dec. 14 and 15. 3 p.m. Dec 16.

Series 3

The Atlanta Opera, Gyun Hur, Sonic Generator Music Ensemble and Lauri Stallings/gloATL, 8 p.m. March 14-16 and March 21-23. 3 p.m. March 17 and 24.

Series 4

Core Performance Company (new work by Amanda Miller). 8 p.m. May 9-11.

Individual tickets for Series 1, 2, 3 or 4 are $25 for each performance, $15 for artists and students.

Season subscription to Series 1, 2, 3 and 4: $80.

Workshops and talks are free to the public.

Goodson Yard at the Goat Farm Arts Center, 1200 Foster Street, Atlanta. 1-877-725-8849, www.tanzfarm.com.

Due to Hurricane Sandy, Sidra Bell has been postponed until December.

Sidra Bell is the kind of artist whose work gloATL founder Lauri Stallings wants Atlantans to experience.

Bell’s dance-theater works are intensely physical, concentrated and mysterious — yet they reveal inner aspects of the performers with startling clarity.

They’re just right for Tanz Farm, an ambitious new series of performances, workshops and discussions that seeks to connect Atlantans with cutting-edge artists active on the national and international contemporary dance scenes.

The first in a four-part subscription series will begin Monday with “The Standing Man,” a solo performance by French choreographer Pierre Rigal. The Nov. 1 and 3 performances will feature Bell’s new work, “The Way They Crept,” and a new piece by Atlanta-based French-language theatre troupe Théâtre du Rêve, titled “Re-member/Re-membré.” Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Eliza Rickman will perform after the Nov. 3 show for one night only.

The initiative springs from last January’s citywide contemporary dance initiative, Off the Edge. Also curated by Stallings, the weeklong series had a similar multi-layered approach, fostering artistic exchange between Atlanta-based artists, visiting artists and the public.

With Tanz Farm, Stallings aims to sustain a similar kind of interaction year-round and establish Goodson Yard as a center for contemporary dance performance. Her plans fit neatly with the Goat Farm’s mission to build an arts community that thrives on creative risk-taking as part of a for-profit business model.

Highlights of the Tanz Farm series will include a new work for gloATL by Seattle-based multi-media performance duo zoe/Juniper in December. “Hippodrome,” a collaboration among the Atlanta Opera, Stallings’ performance group gloATL, visual artist Gyun Hur and Georgia Tech’s Sonic Generator Music Ensemble, will receive its premiere in March. Choreographer Amanda Miller, artistic director of Pretty Ugly Dance Company, will present a new work performed by Decatur-based Core Performance Company in May.

Stallings said she chose artists whose work opens things up for audiences. “It’s not self-restrained. I think people who love and dance and experience contemporary art will love these works, but you don’t need that knowledge to follow it. They confront us with something new, not aggressively, but with great courage and generosity.”

Among the artists, Bell’s voice is unique — an amalgamation of influences, including classical training at Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Ailey School, a history degree from Yale University and a masters degree in choreography from Purchase College Conservatory of Dance. Influenced by her father, a jazz pianist, she incorporates improvisational aspects of jazz music into her work.

“Sidra is contemporary through and through,” Stallings said. “On every level, she’s collaborating, she’s experiencing, she’s unapologetic, she’s resilient, and resourceful. And terribly genuine. I think she and Atlanta are going to get along very well and have many reasons to revisit one another.”

For up-to-date information about workshops and public discussions, visit tanzfarm.com.