STREB: Forces to Perform at the Byham

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today's date: August 28, 2012
Contact: Diana Roth
412-471-8717
roth@trustarts.org
Production images are available for download:  www.Trustarts.org Press Room

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces STREB: Forces 

to perform at the Byham Theater, Friday, September 28 & Saturday, September 29, 2012.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces STREB: Forces  will perform at 8:00 p.m., on Friday, September 28 and Saturday, September 29, 2012, at the Byham Theater. Forces by choreographer Elizabeth Streb, is an innovative theatrical production displaying genres of dance and stunts unrestrained by gravity. Fasten your safety belts! These performances are part of 2012-13 Pittsburgh Dance Council season and Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series, presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Choreographer Elizabeth Streb

 STREB the company has been a long time staple of dance in New York City.  After earning an undergraduate degree in modern dance from SUNY Brockport in 1972, Ms. Streb began dancing in several modern companies.  She founded STREB Extreme Action Company in 1985 and searched for ideas that could be a “perfect” accompaniment to the body’s natural movement.  Streb’s style is daredevil meets dance; she refers to it as “POPACTION” a combination of choreography that combines dance, athletics, boxing, rodeo, circus performance, Hollywood-stunt work and a lot of heart.

 In 2003 STREB acquired a large warehouse, known as SLAM (STREB Lab for Action Mechanics) in Williamsport, Brooklyn. From this studio the dancers practice demanding routines- with the garage door open to the public’s view. STREB has performed in the United States as well as internationally introducing to audiences a unique high-energy choreography paired with technical stage equipment that emphasizes the art of dance in motion.

 Ms. Streb is the recipient of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation 'Genius' Award (1997).  STREB is annually supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the NY City Department of Cultural Affairs.

 In STREB: Forces, dancers experiment with human motion and ways to move the body in new directions along with instrumental accompaniment. The technical stage equipment for this production weighs 15 tons and serves to propel choreography and dancers alike. Simple swinging I-beams and cinderblocks are used to demonstrate natural motion based on the physical property of other elements. Combined with several rigs that emulate hamster wheels, along with flying machines to convert the dancer’s center of gravity, choreographer Streb showcases scientific motion with this production.

STREB: Forces has received much acclaim since the premiere on July 16, 2010 in Elizabeth Streb’s home town of Rochester, New York at Nazareth College. “ It is not like any choreography you have ever seen before…it’s all high-impact stuff – people throwing themselves against walls with bone-crushing abandon, hurtling down ropes and bouncing on trampolines…with oohs and aahs from the audience, and an effect at its best rather like a firework display.” –Clive Barnes New York Post

Tickets ($19-$48) may be purchased at the Box Office at Theater Square, online at www.trustarts.org, or by calling (412) 456-6666.  To purchase group tickets, 10 or more, call (412) 471-6930.   Pittsburgh Dance Council media partner is 90.5 WESA.
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 Each year the Pittsburgh Dance Council, a division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, showcases a world-class season of dance. As the largest presenter of international performances in the city, the Dance Council continues to help make our Cultural District one of the country’s leading arts and entertainment centers.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is the cultural and economic development of Pittsburgh’s 14-block Cultural District through public and private support.  The Trust presents and encourages diverse performing and visual arts programs within the District, and is an impetus for additional development in downtown Pittsburgh. www.Trustarts.org

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh