PHILADANCO Celebrates Choreographer Danny Ezralow with a Performance of Xmas Philes and Other Works at the Kimmel Center, Dec. 10 - 12
NOVEMBER 18, 2010
"A company of happy, invigorating contrast...a venerable institution...but has not lost its youthful verve or the freshness of its strong technical grounding.” —New York Times
Philadelphia’s renowned contemporary dance company Philadanco celebrates choreographer Danny Ezralow with a full program of his works, including perennial holiday classic Xmas Philes at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater, Friday – Sunday, December 10 – 12, 2010.
Xmas Philes has become a holiday tradition in Philadelphia, bringing a bold, colorful, contemporary dance interpretation to seasonal classics such as 'Silent Night,' ‘Jingle All The Way,' ‘White Xmas,’ and the dance group’s signature Santas in Black, ‘Zat You Santa Claus.’ The program opens with Compassion & Revenge, performance art with a reading of a poem paying homage to 9/11, as well as Pulse, a modern ballet that captures the illusory sliding technique on stage.
Tickets for Philadanco are available from $34 to $46 by calling 215-893-1999, online at kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office located on Broad and Spruce streets, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (open daily from 10am to 6pm, later on performance evenings.)
Philadanco is fresh off the heels of their 40th anniversary Jubilee celebration, and a European tour this fall, which included performances in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Paris, France. Philadanco has a long history as Philadelphia’s premiere modern contemporary dance company: it is one of the first companies to hire dancers on a 52 week salary; the first to own housing for the dancers; and the first to own a debt-free facility. Philadanco presents wide-ranging repertoire of highly athletic material rooted in jazz, ballet and modern dance traditions. The company continues to consistently tour more than any Philadelphia cultural organization, performing as many as 50-60 concerts and 45 residencies annually.
In 2005, Philadanco was one of 14 companies to receive the prestigious American Masterpieces Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. The company has performed at Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Joyce and the Delacorte in New York City as well as major venues throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.
Founder and Artistic Director Joan Myers Brown is a revered choreographer and dancer, who pioneered an alternative path for African Americans to become professionally trained dancers post-civil rights era. A trailblazer in her own right, she helped young emerging dancers and choreographers find a voice and place in the dance world by founding the following organizations: The Philadelphia School of Dance Arts in Philadelphia (1960); Contemporary modern dance company Philadanco in (1970); Coalition of African American Cultural Organizations in Philadelphia, co-founder (1986); International Conference of Black Dance Companies (1988); International Association of Blacks in Dance (1991). Currently, Brown is a visiting professor at the University of the Arts and a member of the dance faculty at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She has received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia (2004) and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pa. (2007). The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts also honored her as a Master of African American Choreography in 2005.
Born in Philadelphia on Christmas Day in l931, Joan Myers Brown began training with the Ballet Guild in Philadelphia at age seven. She also trained at the Sydney-Marion School in Philadelphia, Pa., a pre-civil rights classical ballet school for African American dancers. Thereafter, Brown moved to New York in 1951 on a ballet scholarship to study at The Dunham School, and began her professional career with performances of choreographed works with The Savar Dancers at Café Montmarte in Montreal, Canada, as well as tours to Quebec City and Toronto. She has danced at the legendary Cab Calloway Cotton Club Revue, warmed up performers such as Sammy Davis, Jr., Pearl Bailey, Billy Eckstein and Billy Daniels, among other greats.
"The members of...Philadanco can do just about anything: leap like arrows in flight, spin, stretch, kick and melt like hot wax." —Washington Post
Daniel Ezralow studied dance at the University of California at Berkeley and graduated in 1976. He was one of the original dancer-choreographer’s of MOMIX and is a founding member of ISO Dance. In The New York Times review in 1986, the reviewer noted that "Daniel Ezralow is an unforgettably gutsy and intelligent virtuoso dancer." His work with ISO Dance and his multi-media one man show Mandala have both toured worldwide to sold-out audiences receiving standing ovations and glowing reviews. He has created original works for, among many, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Batsheva Dance Company of Israel, the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, and the Cirque du Soleil show LOVE. His company, the Daniel Ezralow Dance Company has performed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center, Israel, in the 2008-09 seasons. His works for opera include The Flying Dutchman, for the Los Angeles and Houston Opera Companies, Maggio Musicale’s Aida with Zubin Mehta as conductor, and the Paris Opera Ballet. He also choreographs for advertising products, including The GAP, Issey Miyake, and Hugo Boss. He is currently choreographing a new musical adaptation of the Spider-Man comics with Julie Taymor in New York.
Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and the University of the Arts’ Merriam Theater. Our mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience from throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. The 2010/2011 season is sponsored by Citi, and the Broadway 2010/2011 season is sponsored by Verizon, and American Airlines. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org.
Kimmel Center Presents
Philadanco
Perelman Theater
Friday, December 10, 2010 at 7:30pm
Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, December 12, 2010 at 2:30pm
Price: $34 to $46
Program:
“Celebrating Danny”
Compassion & Revenge
Pulse
Xmas Philes
Prelude
White Xmas
Rudolph: Twas
Druids: Presents, 12 Daz
Blue: Fa La La La
New Year’s Eve: Jingle All The Way, Silent Night, Pickets, Store Wars, X-mas Thieves
Santas in Black: Zat You Santa Claus
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
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