Creating Art Out Of Loss

INDIANAPOLIS -- Twenty years ago, Gregory Hancock, founder and artistic director for the dance theater that bears his name, became fascinated with the colorful art of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and her even more colorful personal and political life.

He composed and choreographed an original musical, “La Casa Azul,” based on her life from 1919 to 1954. Then it sat, unperformed, for those 20 years. But a series of personal tragedies has galvanized Hancock to complete his vision, culminating in the world premiere of “La Casa Azul” at the Tarkington at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel on June 25-28.

This is his Hancock's personal story as he, like his inspiration Frida Kahlo, who overcame her own share of loss to create beautiful art, uses his emotional pain as a launching point for a new dance work, one which he lovingly dedicates to the memory of his mother.