dance

Dance

Dance Celebration's 27th Season
Salutes The Dancemaker

Dance Celebration's 27th season, The Dancemaker, features
13 choreographers and nine world-class dance companies in
29 performances at Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
in Philadelphia.

David Parsons, Lar Lubovitch, Ohad Naharin, Doug Varone
and Nacho Duato bring new works reflecting the breadth,
scope and vitality of contemporary dance. The Ballet Boyz
return with a powerhouse program by four choreographers
of international fame - Christopher Wheeldon, Russell
Maliphant, Liv Lorent and Craig Revel-Horwood. Les Ballets
Jazz de Montréal premieres works by Italy's rising star Mauro
Bigonzetti and Brazil's Rodrigo Pederneiras, artistic director of
Grupo Corpo. Canada's hip-hop/ballet sensation,
Rubberbandance Group, under the direction of Victor Quijada,
brings a world premiere. Israel's foremost companies,
Batsheva Dance Company and Inbal Pinto Dance Company
make their Philadelphia debuts in conjunction with Israel's
60th anniversary.

Under the artistic direction of Randy Swartz, Dance
Celebration, presented at Annenberg Center by Dance
Affiliates and Penn Presents, maintains the tradition of
bringing to Philadelphia preeminent contemporary touring
dance companies.

Lauded as "one of the great movers of modern dance" (New
York Times), Parsons Dance (Oct. 16-18) launches the
season with a sizzling program of David Parsons' witty and
sexy choreography. Inbal Pinto Dance Company performs its
highly imaginative multimedia work Shaker choreographed by
Inbal Pinto and Avashalom Pollack (Oct. 29). In addition, the
company will perform a special event on Oct. 28 for Israel's
60th anniversary in association with PhillyIraelim. Inspired by
snow-filled glass globes that fill with snowflakes when
shaken, Shaker incorporates a colorful set, outlandish
costumes and expressive movement into one out-of the-
ordinary theatrical experience.

Breakdance meets ballet when Rubberbandance Group
returns with the world premiere of Phase 11 (Nov. 6-8). This
90-minute multidisciplinary work features AV feeds, street
demeanor and Quijada's clever and compelling movement
language. Globe and Mail exclaims, "Eye-catching is almost
too lame a word to describe Quijada's output."

Washington Post calls 2006 Obie Award winner Doug Varone
"an exceptionally fluent dancemaker." Doug Varone and
Dancers return Dec. 4-6 with an all new program of works.
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company performs Concerto
Six Twenty-Two, a signature work by founder/choreographer
Lar Lubovitch. Lubovitch is known for his musicality, rhapsodic
style and sophisticated structures. New York Times praises
him as "one of the ten best choreographers in the world."

Ohad Naharin, Israel's choreographic gift to the world, has set
works on a number of popular Dance Celebration companies
including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Les Grands Ballets
Canadiens and Nederlands Dans Theater. His pièce de
résistance, Minus 16, had audiences on their feet every night
clapping ecstatically when Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
performed here in 2005. On Feb. 3, Batsheva will make its
Philadelphia debut with its signature piece, Decadance.
Audiences will once again have the dizzying experience of
being entertained by a smorgasbord of Mr. Naharin's eccentric
and compelling dance moves. This presentation celebrates
the 60th anniversary of Israel.

Canada's hip and charismatic Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal
premieres Bigonzetti's rousing Rossini Cards and
Pederneiras' steamy MAPA on Feb. 19-21. Edmonton Journal
notes, "The dancers hit the stage full-on translating their
technique into passion ... wowing audiences with their
innovative, contemporary and easy to love programs."

London's cheeky and irreverent Ballet Boyz returns on March
17 and 18 with a power-packed program by four stellar
choreographers. The program includes Maliphant's Broken
Fall, winner of the Laurence Oliver Award for best new dance
production; Liv Lorent's dazzling Propellers; Wheeldon's
Mesmerics; and Revel-Horwood's Tango Duet. The National
Dance Company of Spain 2 closes the season from May 14
to 16 with a program of works by Nacho Duato, Spain's most
celebrated choreographer.

All performances will take place in the Zellerbach Theatre,
Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut Street,
Philadelphia. For ticket information, contact the Box Office,
Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 215-898-3900 or
www .pennpresents.org.

Early Bird subscriptions are available until Aug. 31. Single
tickets are $48-$32 and will go on sale Sept. 2 but can be
pre-ordered now.

In addition to performances, the Dance Celebration 2008-
2009 season offers outreach activities by all the touring
companies for the local community. These programs include
master classes, workshops, residencies and special projects
as part of The Artist to Artist Series and full production
performances in The Student Discovery Series. For more
information, call 215-636-9000 ext.110, or visit
www.danceaffiliates.org.

Significant funding for the 2008-2009 Dance Celebration
season is provided by the William Penn Foundation and also
in part by The Connelly Foundation, Dolfinger-McMahon
Foundation, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Friends of Dance
(Affiliates), Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, The National
Endowment for the Arts, National Dance Project of the New
England Foundation for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the
Arts, Pennsylvania Presenters, The Philadelphia Cultural
Fund, Virginia C. Mulconroy Fund of
The Philadelphia Foundation.

Dance/USA
Philadelphia

By Andrea K. Hammer
For the Philadelphia Bulletin

Approaching its first birthday,
Dance/USA Philadelphia has
created a vital center in a new
residence near the Avenue of
theArts.

Lois Welk (right),
director of the
national service
organization's
branch office for
professional
dance,
frequently invites the
dance community to "stop by
when you're in the
neighborhood." Across from the
Kimmel Center, the street-
level space is shared with
Philadelphia Dance Projects,
Melanie Stewart Dance Theatre
and Zane Booker's Smoke,
Lilies and Jade Arts Initiative....
READ MORE

South Philly Chi

By Andrea K. Hammer
For the Philadelphia Bulletin

Vision. Transformation.
Vitality.

Photo courtesy of Kun-Yang
Lin/Dancers

From Victor Café's opera-singing
servers to the Samuel S. Fleisher
Art Memorial's free classes for
those from all economic and
cultural backgrounds, South
Philadelphia is crowned by the
Italian Market - a colorful
convergence of many family-
owned businesses along 9th
Street from Wharton to Federal
streets. Adding to the diversity
and energy of this neighborhood,
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (KYL/D),
one of Pennsylvania's only Asian
American contemporary dance
companies, will open Chi
Movement Arts Center in a
renovated warehouse half a block
from the city's notorious Pat's and
Geno's Steaks.... READ MORE

Music and Motion Dance:
Social Movement

By Andrea K. Hammer
For Pennsylvania Gazette

Courtesy of Music and Motio

In the center of a local mall,
Music & Motion dancers take to
their stage—a shiny white floor
framed by palm trees. As “Shake”
begins, pulsing Middle Eastern
music gets the attention of
passing shoppers, who pause to
watch the energetic 14-to-20-year-
old dancers. Wearing silky red
tunics over black leggings, three
ensemble members snake their
lithe bodies around each other.
Their shoulders shimmy freely
and hips pop rhythmically to jazz,
modern, funk, and hip-hop moves.
Then they slap the floor like a
bongo drum, slithering down and
rolling over each other with
fluidity, using every level of the
open space..... READ MORE

Parsons-air Trio (Courtesy of Parsons Dance)

Lars-Duet (Courtesy of Lar Lubovitch Dance Company)

Batsheva Quartet (Courtesy of Batsheva Dance Company)