World-Renowned Dance Companies Take Center Stage at the Kimmel Center,
September 25, 2008
Fall Dance Line-up Includes: Internationally Acclaimed Philadanco, Argentine Sensation Tango Fire, and Montreal-based La La La Human Steps
This fall, Kimmel Center Presents takes lovers of contemporary dance on a journey around the world with local-flavored hip-hop and ballet-inspired dancing to cutting-edge Montreal-based dance works and steamy Argentine tango duets.
Click below on the name of the artist for more information on each Kimmel Center performance:
- Philly’s own Philadanco kicks off the season’s dance series with "Dazzling and Dynamite Dancing, Dances you love…", a medley of dance favorites celebrating legendary choreographers and local talent (October 16-19, 2008)
- Buenos Aires’ Tango Fire performs with fiery gusto, exposing the heart and soul of Argentina’s most sensual dance form (November 1, 2008)
- Montreal-based La La La Human Steps debuts at the Kimmel Center with the U.S. East Coast premiere of Édouard Lock’s Amjad, a contemporary dance performance inspired by the ballets Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, deconstructed to a new score (November 6-8, 2008)
Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
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 at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Philadanco
"Dazzling and Dynamite Dancing, Dances you love…"
Thursday-Friday, October 16-17, 2008 | 7:30pm
Saturday, October 18, 2008 | 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, October 19, 2008 | 2:30pm
Perelman Theater
Price: $34 and $46
One of the most sought-after modern dance companies in the United States and abroad, Philly’s own Philadanco performs favorite works by four African-American choreographers in "Dazzling and Dynamite Dancing, Dances you love…" at the Kimmel Center from October 16 - 19, 2008.
The program explores the African diaspora in Brooklyn-based choreographer Ronald K. Brown’s Exotica, a rhythmic blend of West African movement with urban themes. Philadelphia-native Rennie Harris pays tribute to his hometown in the hip-hop inspired Philadelphia Experiment, a retrospective piece that delves into the rhythms, physicality and speed of the city of Philadelphia. Also featured, choreographer and former Alvin Ailey dancer Christopher Huggins’ fast-paced Enemy behind the Gates pairs explosive energy with Steve Reich’s spellbinding score; and, excerpts from Talley Beatty’s Pretty is Skin Deep, Ugly to the Bone fuses classical ballet and modern dance with jazz stylings, set to the music of Earth, Wind & Fire and Quincy Jones.
For nearly four decades, Philadanco has adhered to its mission to provide exceptional dance performance and training to its many communities internationally. A European tour in 2007 reaffirmed the company’s global appeal, with critically acclaimed performances in 14 cities in Austria, Hungary, Germany and the Netherlands.
"[Philadanco's style] is visceral—fierce and sensuous by turns—elegant and ingratiating."
Thursday, October 16, 2008 | Post-show
Perelman Theater Stage | Artist Chat
The first performance of Philadanco’s fall residency will be followed by an Artist Chat with founder and Artistic Director Joan Myers Brown, some of the evening's performers and the Kimmel Center’s Director of Programming Tom Warner.
Tango Fire
Saturday, November 1, 2008 | 3pm
Verizon Hall
Price: $32-$68
Buenos Aires’ world-famous Tango Fire evokes the raw energy of the world’s most intoxicating dance form at the Kimmel Center on Saturday, November 1, 2008.
Ten dancers and a quartet of talented musicians fill the stage with infectious ballroom rhythms, stylish vocals and intricate footwork that offer audiences a journey through the history of tango from the brothels of Buenos Aires’ red light district to the modern dance form it is today, set to the music of Astor Piazzolla, Rodriguez and others. Passion, precision and sophistication intertwine onstage for a dramatic portrayal of this cultural expression of love.
Since its inception, the company has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and theaters in London, Sydney, Shanghai, Zurich, Johannesburg and Seoul, as well as sold-out shows in New York and Los Angeles.
"Tango Fire glides along as smoothly as an express train without ever derailing…excellent orchestra…daring speed…silken extensions. As the title goes, they were on fire!"
"…A sizzling, sensual taste of the real thing…sexual electricity crackling at the arch of an eyebrow, exploding at the twitch of a hip…."
Saturday, November 1, 2008 | 1pm and Post-show
Commonwealth Plaza Stage | Free at the Kimmel
Raices Latinos Americanos
Join us for a free performance by singers and dancers presented in association with Raices Latinos Americanos on Commonwealth Plaza stage prior to and following the ticketed performance of Tango Fire in Verizon Hall.
La La La Human Steps
Amjad
Thursday-Saturday, November 6-8, 2008 | 7:30pm
Perelman Theater
Price: $34 and $44
Internationally acclaimed Montreal-based dance company La La La Human Steps debuts at the Kimmel Center from November 6 - 8, 2008 with the U.S. East Coast premiere of Amjad, an evening-length work by founder and Artistic Director Édouard Lock. Amjad exemplifies Edouard Lock’s fluid choreographic language—sexy, sensual and imaginative, it unleashes with bestial intensity all aspects of sensory experience in relation to movement on stage.
Inspired by some of the most notable ballets of the Romantic period, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, Amjad deconstructs, reconstructs and adapts these ballets to current musical and choreographic worlds. The performance features nine dancers, masters of both classical ballet and contemporary dance techniques, as well as a quartet of musicians performing a new score by British composer Gavin Bryars and New York composer David Lang of Bang on a Can All-Stars (who will return to the Kimmel Center themselves on February 28, 2009). The set design will also include sculptural works by Quebec-based Armand Vaillancourt; as well as a film projected on the big screen, produced by Lock in collaboration with photography director André Turpin.
In a league all his own, Lock alters balletic structures with choreographic, musical and cinematic strands that contribute to a sense of perceptual distortion and renewal. Founded in 1980 around a three-week series of performances in a tiny Montreal theater, La La La Human Steps has brought its innovative works to the world stage, earning recognition for its unique choreographic language that ranges from the hyperphysical to the lyrical. The debut of the visually stunning Human Sex in 1985 launched La La La Human Steps to the forefront of international dance. David Bowie took notice and included Lock’s dance formation in his 1988 live concert performance of "Look Back in Anger." Additional works followed, such as New Demons (1987), Infante, c’est destroy (1991), 2 (1995) exaulté/Salt (1998) and Amelia (2002), as well as collaborations with Frank Zappa the Opéra de Paris and Talking Heads.
"The visionary Lock takes classical ballet and gives it a whole new frenetic twist to create choreography that is startling, bewildering and beautiful… This is cutting-edge choreography at its purest, with universally superb performances by this classically trained company…This is art."
Thursday, November 6, 2008 | Post-show
Perelman Theater Stage | Artist Chat
This performance will be followed by an Artist Chat with some of the evening’s performers and the Kimmel Center’s Director of Programming Tom Warner.
Kimmel Center Presents’ 2008/2009 Season is sponsored by Citi. The Great Orchestras On Tour Series is supported by ARCWheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System, American Express, and Interpark. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a media partner for Kimmel Center Presents.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.
The Kimmel Center is the recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC "Grow Up Great" initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment in preparing children for success in school and life. Funding gives support to the Kimmel Center’s early childhood program "Bop and Swing," an arts program for children 1-5 years old, designed to promote an appreciation for American culture.
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