PHILADANCO Performs An Evening of Exciting Works…BACK TO BLACK with Philadelphia Premiere of Matthew Rushing’s Moan, Dec. 7-9
NOVEMBER 21, 2012
Renowned contemporary dance company Philadanco performs an evening of works, entitled …BACK TO BLACK (What is so called ‘Black’ dance anyway), at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater, Friday-Sunday, December 7-9, 2012. Program highlights include Philadelphia premiere of Matthew Rushing’s Moan, Milton Myers’ Echoes: A Celebration of Alvin Ailey and Philadanco’s signature performance pieces that highlight their bold, precise dance style, Ronald K. Brown’s Exotica, and George Faison’s Suite Otis.
The program begins with Milton Myers’ Echoes: A Celebration of Alvin Ailey, a full company ballet piece focusing on the styles and traditions of Joyce Trisler and Alvin Ailey that serves as a commitment to honoring and preserving their legacy Matthew Rushing’s Moan honors the musical genius of Nina Simone by illustrating the passion and truth of her timeless vocal expressions. Choreographer Ronald K. Brown’s Exotica follows with a dramatic excerpt from the larger piece entitled Lessons. The final performance piece is George Faison’s Suite Otis, a ballet widely considered an American Masterpiece that derives inspiration from the genius of the late Otis Redding.
Philadanco founder Joan Myers Brown’s outstanding leadership was recently recognized with the Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania (October 2012), Philadelphia Magazine’s Ten Best Philadelphians Award (July 2012), the Tribune Leadership Award.
Tickets for Philadanco are currently on sale at kimmelcenter.org, 215-893-1999, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office located on Broad and Spruce streets, Philadelphia, Pa. (open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., later on performance evenings). Tickets are available for $29-$46, plus applicable service charges.
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.
"The members of...Philadanco can do just about anything: leap like arrows in flight, spin, stretch, kick and melt like hot wax." —Washington Post
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 teacher, 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 seventeen. She also trained at the Sydney-Marion School in Philadelphia, Pa., a pre-civil rights classical ballet school for African American dancers. Thereafter, Brown commuted 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.
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. Kimmel Center, Inc.’s mission is to operate a world class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience which includes providing arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity of programming. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org.
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