PHILADANCO Performs Xmas Philes in the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater
December 3, 2005
The Kimmel Center Presents holiday season continues with the resident modern dance company, PHILADANCO, and their mesmerizing Xmas Philes program on Friday, December 16 at 7:30pm; Saturday, December 17 at 2:30pm and 7:30pm; and Sunday, December 18 at 2:30pm and 7:30pm in Perelman Theater. Choreographed by Daniel Ezralow, the program begins with the company premiere of the choreographer’s “Pulse”, followed by the company revival of Gene Hill Sagan’s “La Valse,” and concludes with Xmas Philes including holiday favorites such as “Silent Night,” “Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer” and “Zat You, Santa Claus?”.
PHILADANCO:Xmas Philes is part of the Dance Series sponsored by American Express featuring PHILADANCO. The series concludes with PHILADANCO: Spring Series on Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 7:30pm; Friday, May 19, 2006 at 7:30pm; Saturday, May 20, 2006 at 2:30pm and 7:30pm; and Sunday, May 21, 2006 at 2:30pm.
Tickets for the PHILADANCO: Xmas Philes are priced at $46 and $34. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings (additional fees may apply). For group sales call 215-893-5883.
Since Joan Myers Brown founded The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) in 1970, their performers have continued to present the highest quality of professional dance, and continue to serve as cultural ambassadors for the city of Philadelphia as they tour nationally and internationally. One of the first eight cultural organizations in the city to receive permanent residency at the Kimmel Center, the dance company also organized the first two International Conferences for Black Dance Companies, was the first to be included in the CETA Pilot Program for Instruction and Training, and was the first area dance organization to purchase its own corporate headquarters and studio facility, and to create an artist-housing program for its principal dancers.
For 36 years, Joan Myers Brown has served as the Executive Artistic Director of PHILADANCO. A Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts and a member of the dance faculty at Howard University, Brown’s significant contributions to local, national and international arts have landed her in Who’s Who in America and have made her one of the most sought-after dance experts in the country. The broad range of national organizations with which she is involved include the Rockefeller Foundation’s Arts & Humanities Program, NEFA’s National Dance Project, Arts America, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Philadelphia Dance Alliance. With hugely successful 35th Anniversary Series completed, Brown remains a tireless advocate of the art of dancing, and continues to coordinate programs with exceptional choreography. For information about PHILADANCO, please go to their website at www.philadanco.org.
Daniel Ezralow, choreographer of “Pulse” and “Xmas Philes”, has created original works for Paris Opera Ballet, Bat Sheva Dance Company of Israel, Rudolf Nureyev, London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Maggio Musicale Florentine, Helsinki City Dance Theatre, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, American Repertory Ballet and La Fete l’Humanite in Paris. Mr. Ezralow works extensively in film and television in the United States and Europe collaborating recently with such directors as Julie Taymor (The Green Bird; Broadway, The Flying Dutchman; Los Angeles Opera and Houston Grand Opera) with Ron Howard (The Grinch Who Stole Christmas) Nakano Hiroyuki and Lena Wertmuller. In the music world, he has created chorography for the artists, Andrea Bocelli, U2, Ricky Martin, Sting, Pat Metheny and David Bowie. He has performed with 5X2 Plus, Lar Lubovitch, Paul Taylor, Pilobolus, and he was one of the original dancer-choreographers to create Momix.
As a founding member of ISO Dance, Ezralow has toured worldwide both directing and choreographing more than 30 dances and events for critically acclaimed international galas and festivals. He is the recipient of the American Choreography Award for outstanding alternative choreography, the Positano Award for outstanding choreography as well as an NEA Fellowship Grant. Ezralow is a native of Los Angles and studied dance at UC Berkley.
The company premiere of Ezralow’s “Pulse” is described by dancer and assistant to Ezralow, Lara Tinari, as “magnetic energy captured on stage. It is comprised of a sliding technique which gives the illusion of bodies being governed through movement and space by a molecular charge.”
The second company revival of “La Valse” was choreographed by the late Gene Hill Sagan, who was the company’s resident choreographer from 1976-1991 and whose works have appeared on The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Bat’Dor and Kibbutz. The ballet which incorporates 8-10 dancers is described as a waltz that rose from simple beginning, to a feverish whirl of virtuoso lifts, turns and bodies flung through space at a dizzy pace.
Ezralow’s “Xmas Philes” is full company piece described by Philadelphia’s City Paper as, “a tongue-in-cheek celebration of the holidays that is decidedly non-traditional.” The piece includes holiday songs such as “White Christmas,” “Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer,” “12 Daz,” “Store Wars” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
Daniel Ezralow’s Xmas Philes was commissioned in 2001 by Dance Affiliates and Penn Presents as part of their annual Dance Celebration program at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
Tickets for the PHILADANCO: Xmas Philes are priced at $46 and $34. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings (additional fees may apply). For group sales call 215-893-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased 2.5 hours prior to evening performances and 11:30am for matinees. Sponsors of the 2005/2006 Kimmel Center Presents season include Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Sovereign Bank, The American Express Company, and Verizon Foundation. Special Student Matinees at the Kimmel Center are generously supported by Merck & Co., Inc. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte and Southern Wine and Spirit. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
PHILADANCO Sponsored by American Express
Friday, December 16, 2005 | 7:30pm
Saturday, December 17, 2005 | 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, December 18, 2005 | 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Perelman Theater
PHILADANCO: Xmas Philes
Featuring: Corey Baker, Erin D. Barnett, Elisabeth H. Bell, Neda Y. Ebrahimi, Miguel Edson, Bellamy F. Eure, Tommie W. Evans, Afua Hall, Odara N. Jabali-Nash, Gary W. Jeter, II, Mykal D. Laury, II, Ahmad M. Lemons, Erin Moore, Mora-Amina Parker, Devin Roberts, Jay Staten, Jacinta Vlach, Tracy Vogt, Riki Wess
Pulse
Company Premiere
Choreographer: Daniel Ezralow
Assistant to Choreographer: Lara Tinari
Music: David Lang
Costume Design: Jackson Lowell
Costume Execution: Natasha Guruleva
Original Lighting Design: Howell Binkley
Lighting Design: Clifton Taylor
Lighting Execution: Melody Beal
La Valse
Company Premiere, 1979/Revival 1998
Choreographer: Gene Hill Sagan
Reconstruction: Kim Y. Bears-Bailey
Music: Ravel
Costume Execution: Frankie Fehr & Natasha Guruleva
Lighting Design: William H. Grant, III
Lighting Execution: Melody Beal
Intermission
Xmas Philes
World Premiere, 2000
Choreographer: Daniel Ezralow
Music: Various Artists
Costume Design: Jackson Lowell
Original Lighting Design: William H. Grant, III
Lighting Design: Clifton Taylor
Lighting Execution: Melody Beal
Production Manager/Scenic Coordinator: Samuel-Moses Jones
Featuring: Members of D/2, the apprentice company of PHILADANCO
Song Selections:
White X-Mas
Rudolf
Twas….
Druids
Presents
12 Daz
Blue
Falalala
NY Eve
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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