Gene Kelly's Legacy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:
Show Publicist: Diana Roth, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
412-471-8717/Roth@TrustArts.org
Other Contact: Shaunda Miles, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
412-471-1578/Miles@TrustArts.org

  THE PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST

ANNOUNCES

 GENE KELLY: THE LEGACY

AN EVENING WITH PATRICIA WARD KELLY

 WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 | 7:30 p.m. | BYHAM THEATER

PITTSBURGH, PA: The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is pleased to present GENE KELLY: THE LEGACY An Evening with Patricia Ward Kelly on Wednesday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m., at the Byham Theater.  This event is part of the Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series.  Tickets($20-$40) are available at www.TrustArts.org, by calling 412-456-6666, or in person at Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Avenue.

Gene Kelly was a joyous performer. A legendary dancer, director and choreographer, he brought astonishing grace, athleticism and masculinity to the big screen. He continues to delight and captivate us, yet we know little about him.

During a unique evening, Patricia Ward Kelly, his widow and biographer, presents an intimate portrait of this dynamic and innovative artist who created some of the most memorable and iconic scenes in film history.

 “Truly personal — a rarity in tributes like these. I felt privileged to be there.” ̶ Leonard Maltin, Entertainment Tonight

Patricia Ward Kelly (Don Flood)

Patricia Kelly’s compelling presentation combines rare and familiar film clips, previously unreleased audio recordings, personal memorabilia, and insights culled from her hours of interviews and conversations with her husband. This special live program makes for a remarkable experience praised as “a real treat” by Variety and hailed as “deeply moving” and “mesmerizing.”  The Hollywood Reporter wrote, “Patricia holds the stage at this point in her life as a seasoned pro, standing with considerable poise in a demanding presentation while sharing her memories and insights about Gene’s personality, artistic commitment and their personal relationship.”

Patricia Ward met Gene Kelly in 1985 in Washington, D.C., where she was the writer for a television special about The Smithsonian for which he was the host and narrator. Soon after, he invited her to California to write his memoir. They fell in love, married, and were together until his death in 1996.

“I am very happy to be bringing the show to Gene’s hometown of Pittsburgh,” says Patricia Ward Kelly. “So much of who Gene was and what he accomplished is rooted here in his steel town upbringing and in the upheaval that he and his family experienced during the Great Depression.  The theaters and movie houses that Gene frequented as a young boy (including The Byham in its previous incarnations) played an important role in his creative development, so it is an honor—and a kind of coming full circle—to bring his Legacy to the place where it all began.”

It is also, according to Kelly, an opportunity to show sides of her husband not well known by the public. “Many people know and love the person they see up on the screen, but few know the many dimensions of the man and his work. They do not know that he was fluent in French, was a Shabbos Goy who spoke Yiddish, studied economics, memorized and wrote poetry, frequently read a book a day, did The New York Times crossword puzzle in ink. That’s one of the things that is most rewarding for me about doing the show—sharing the little lower layers that make Gene come to life for people in new and interesting ways. Gene was very guarded and revealed little about himself in interviews. That he let down his guard and entrusted me with his story was a great privilege.”

Photo Courtesy of Gene Kelly: The Legacy

She adds, “Each time I do the show, I learn new things from the audience and am touched by the personal stories that people share with me when I greet them before and after. He inspired many; others tell of being moved by a particular number or describe the way Gene’s work affected them at a certain time in their lives.

Some remember being introduced to Gene’s movies by a parent or grandparent, and, of course, there are many for whom he was a first ‘love’—a crush that, in some cases, has lasted for decades. So, in many ways, the experience is very reciprocal. People often ask me if it is difficult to do the show because it is so personal and emotional. In fact, sharing the stories helps to deal with the absence, as Gene remains current and continues to influence new generations.”

Currently, Patricia Kelly serves as sole trustee of The Gene Kelly Image Trust and as Creative Director of Gene Kelly: The Legacy, a corporation established to celebrate Kelly’s artistry worldwide. She lives in Los Angeles where she is completing the definitive book about her late husband.

GENE KELLY: THE LEGACY, currently on tour in the U.S. and abroad, premiered at sold-out evenings at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and New York City’s Lincoln Center.

More details about GENE KELLY: THE LEGACY can be found at
www.GeneKelly.com
www.facebook.com/GeneKellyTheLegacy
http://youtu.be/9Y6LiXSFjs0

ABOUT THE PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation and creativity.  Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.

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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

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Presents Unspoken

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                               February 20, 2013

Contact: Meghan McNamara
Marketing Coordinator
412-454-9117
mmcnamara@pittsburghballet.org

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Presents Unspoken at the August Wilson Center
Mixed Repertory Program Features Three Great Masters March 8-17

(Pittsburgh, PA) – Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre returns to the intimate theater setting of the August Wilson Center for an eclectic mixed repertory program featuring master choreographers George Balanchine, Antony Tudor and Mark Morris in Unspoken, onstage for seven performances March 8-17, 2014.
Spanning works by 20th Century contemporaries George Balanchine and Antony Tudor to present-day dance force Mark Morris, the Unspoken program features Tudor’s evocative Jardin Aux Lilas (Lilac Garden), Balanchine’s classical Serenade and Morris’ joyful Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes.

Serenade
Choreography:  George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Staged by: Sandra Jennings
Music:  Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48
Composer: Peter I. Tchaikovsky
Original Costume Design: Karinska; Costumes built in the PBT Costume Shop

A signature of Balanchine repertoire, Serenade premiered in 1935, and holds the distinction as the first ballet that Balanchine choreographed in America. Serenade features 28 dancers in a work of pure musicality and emotional energy created for Tchaikovsky’s soaring Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48. Although Serenade is an abstract ballet based in the beauty of the movement and its musicality, the emotion of the music and interplay of the dancers suggest an underlying storyline. Balanchine originally choreographed Serenade to prepare his advanced ballet students for the stage in the early years of the School of American Ballet by translating the disciplined technique of ballet class to a sophisticated stage quality. It remained one of Balanchine’s favorite ballets throughout the years and has been transformed and staged for the world’s leading ballet companies and highly-trained professional dancers.

Jardin Aux Lilas (Lilac Garden)
Choreography: Antony Tudor
Staged by: Donald Mahler
Music: Ernest Chausson
Costume Design: Raymond Sovey after sketches by Hugh Stevenson
Scenery & Lighting Design: Tom Lingwood

Despite its brief 18-minutes, Jardin Aux Lilas (Lilac Garden) is a true story ballet, binding audiences to the bittersweet farewell of two lovers and the music of Ernest Chausson’s Poeme for violin and orchestra Opus 28. Free from mime and extraneous gestures, the story is held solely in the steps as Caroline, on the eve of her marriage to the man she does not love, parts from her lover at a garden reception.  Perfumed by lilac blossoms, the party encapsulates the repressed emotion of the characters amid the societal restraints of the Edwardian Era. At the time of its 1936 world premiere, Jardin Aux Lilas broke with balletic conventions by placing dancers in colloquial Edwardian dress and society rather than the more fanciful costumes and settings of the classical story ballets. Rooted in pure, classical style, Tudor distinguished his choreography with emotional exploration of realistic situations that challenged dancers to project the ballet’s meaning through clear intention in each step. The ballet is brimming with rich details and meaning, beginning with Caroline’s quiet intake of breath and ending with her exhalation in the last movement. According to repetition Donald Mahler, who set the piece on PBT dancers,  the essence of Tudor’s ballets is that “the people and motivations are real — there is an honesty in doing Tudor.”

Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes – Pittsburgh Premiere
Composer: Virgil Thomson
Music: Etudes for piano (Repeating Tremolo, Fingered Fifths, Double Glissando, Oscillating Arm, Pivoting on the Thumb, Alternating Octaves, Double Sevenths, Broken Arpeggios, Parallel Chords, Ragtime Bass, For the Weaker Fingers, and Tenor Lead)
Costume Design: Santo Loquasto
Lighting Design: Phil Sandstrom

Set to 13 piano etudes by American composer Virgil Thomson, Mark Morris’ Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyespresents a refreshing and inventive interpretation of classical ballet vocabulary. Described as “undeviating in his devotion to music,” Morris’ Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes is no exception, immersing dancers in a joyful exploration of Thomson’s playful score, which will be played live at the August Wilson Center by PBT Company Pianist Yoland Collin.  The title of the ballet is taken from Ben Jonson’s 1616 poem To Celia, which was set to music sometime after 1770 and remains a popular traditional English folk song. Thomson uses the tune in the piano etudeTenor Lead, which is the last etude in the ballet. Thomson is one of several composers associated with the development of the “American sound” in classical music, and his work has been described as marked by clarity, simplicity and humor, and rooted in American “hymnbook harmony.” Originally created for American Ballet Theatre in 1988, Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes evokes a sense of ease and naturalness among dancers and moments of humor, tenderness and congeniality.

Tickets
Tickets for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Unspoken range in price from $25.75-68.75 and can be purchased online atwww.pbt.org or by calling 412-456-6666.

About the Choreographers
George Balanchine
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Mr. Balanchine (1904-1983), was undoubtedly the most brilliant choreographer of our generation. George Balanchine's gifts to ballet are legion. He stretched the dance and dancer beyond their established limits, and along the way created a vocabulary and an aesthetic that changed the way we look at dance. He emphasized increased turnout, batterie, port de bras and fast movement, as well as higher extensions and softer, lighter landings from jumps. In short, he got people dancing bigger and faster than ever before. The celebrated Balanchine style has influenced the technical training of ballet dancers and choreographers throughout the world. Mr. Balanchine created more than 400 dance works. His ballets are in the repertoires of the world's major ballet companies.

Antony Tudor
Antony Tudor (1908-1987), was one of the giants of twentieth century choreography. He began dancing professionally in 1927 when he joined Marie Rambert's company, where he choreographed and danced such works as The Planets and Lilac Garden. In 1940 he moved to New York City, joining American Ballet Theatre, for which he created many of his signature “psychological” ballets, including Pillar of Fire and Shadow of the Wind. In these works he sought to convey emotional conflict and aspects of character and motivation. In 1986, Tudor was a recipient of the Capezio Award, and in May 1986, with the Handel Medallion, New York City’s highest cultural honor. In December of the same year he was the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.

Mark Morris
Mark Morris was born on August 29, 1956, in Seattle, Washington, where he studied with Verla Flowers and Perry Brunson. He formed the Mark Morris Dance Group in 1980, and has since created more than 140 works for the company. From 1988-1991, he was Director of Dance at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the national opera house of Belgium. In 1990, he founded the White Oak Dance Project with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Much in demand as a ballet choreographer, Morris has created eighteen ballets since 1986 and his work is in the repertory of companies worldwide. He also works extensively in opera, directing and choreographing at the Metropolitan Opera, The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, among others. Morris is currently serving as music director of the 2013 Ojai Music Festival.
Media Note: For interview or photo requests, please contact Meghan McNamara, marketing coordinator, at 412-454-9117 or mmcnamara@pittsburghballet.org.
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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

Pgh Dance Council Presents Black Grace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today's date: February 5, 2013
Contact: Diana Roth, (412) 471-8717; roth@trustarts.org

Pittsburgh Dance Council presents Black Grace

8:00 p.m., Saturday, March 2, 2013, Byham Theater

Pittsburgh, PA:  Pittsburgh Dance Council, a division of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, presents New Zealand dance company, Black Grace, under the direction of choreographer and founder Neil Ieremia, on Saturday, March 2, 2013, at 8:00 p.m., at the Byham Theater.  Black Grace will present several works on this tour including Pati Pati, Objects and Amata. The program also includes a piece from Ieremia’s new full length work, VVaka*.

 Neil Ieremia grew up studying dance, which was not the preferred subject of boys in a society that favored athleticism as masculinity. He pursued his dreams and graduated from Auckland Performing Arts School in New Zealand. There he learned various styles of dance as well as a sense of which genres were more challenging for his Samoan build, like ballet. After working under some of New Zealand’s top choreographers, Ieremia created his own all-male dance company, Black Grace, in 1995.   As the name alludes, the company showcases unique works where dancers combine elements of sleek hard presence and remarkable elegance.

Ieremia’s unique choreography blends traditional Samoan dance with modern and classical dance forms and paints a picture of his cultural values and personal history.  Neil comments, “I build simple movements into phrases and patterns that I can then communicate to the company. Dance is intuitive, but it’s organized intuition. The movements make sense to me, and I have to trust that they’ll connect with the company, and that together, we can make it connect with audiences.”

Over the past seventeen years, Ieremia has gathered inspirations from his culture and traditions to create choreography that focuses on traditions of the Pacific Islands.  For example, with the Samoan tradition of tatau (tattoo, body art), where the skin and mark are one, Ieremia compares the dancers and the space in which they dance. “Sometimes the thing that interests me is the space between the dancers rather than the dancers themselves,” says Neil.

Photo by Duncan Cole

High energy movements, clapping, singing, chanting, and graceful dance are used by Ieremia in his work that uniquely contrasts, as well as closes the gap, between past and present dance heritage. “In a memorable performance, the thrilling and brilliantly executed New Zealand company,” the Broad Street Review exclaimed, “Black Grace integrated many aspects of modern dance with Samoan and South Pacific indigenous dance forms. The result was no cut-and-paste assemblage, but a new art form.”

Recognized by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, Ieremia is the recipient of the Laureate Award (2005) for outstanding creative achievements and contributions to dance.  In 2009, Ieremia was honored with a Resolution from the Government of Guam for his choreographic works; and that same year received the Paul D. Fleck Fellowship in the Arts Award from The Banff Centre in Canada. In honor of Iermia’s work that celebrates Pacific dance heritage, Hawaii’s capital city, Honolulu, named February 6 (2010) as Black Grace Day.

*About Vaka:  In the native language of the Maori people, vaka means canoe. Ieremia’s choreography of the same name is based on a famous painting The Arrival of the Moaris in New Zealand (1898) by artists Louis J. Steele and Charles F. Goldie.  The artwork represents the hardships faced by the Maori people on an immigration voyage.  Ieremia’s work is based on navigation and migration, and their impacts, both personally and culturally, on a society.

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.

Tickets ($19-$48) may be purchased at the Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue, online at www.trustarts.org, or by calling (412) 456-6666.  For subscriptions to Pittsburgh Dance Council, please call (412) 456-1390 or subscribe online at www.trustarts.org/dance. Pittsburgh Dance Council’s media partner is Essential Public Radio 90.5FM.

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

Akram Khan: Vertical Road

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today's date: September 20, 2012
Contact: Diana Roth, (412) 471-8717, roth@trustarts.org
Electronic artwork is available: www.Trustarts.org Press Room.


Pittsburgh Dance Council presents Akram Khan: Vertical Road
Saturday, October 20, 2012, 8pm, Byham Theater

Pittsburgh, PA:  The Pittsburgh Dance Council, a division of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, will present Akram Khan: Vertical Road on Saturday, October 20, 2012, at 8:00 p.m., at the Byham Theater. Akram Khan is celebrated for his unique ability to incorporate diversity into his productions, and Vertical Road is no exception.

Featuring dancers from all corners of the earth, this production explores the duality of physical and spiritual struggles. The story being told begins with the main dancer, Salah El Brogy separated from the other dancers by an elegant screen. His shadow’s frantic motion sets the stage for the emotional tale that lies ahead. The Vertical Road is a reference to the spiritual path that we all must travel in life.

Pat Ashworth of The Stage wrote that Khan’s piece was, “hugely inspiring and profoundly disturbing, terrible and beautiful at the same time.” Quite a reflection of the world we live in. This work is inspired by Sufi traditions, and Persian poet and philosopher Rumi. The dance is accompanied by natural melodies and heart-pulsing rhythms written by Nitin Sawhney to guide you through a path of enlightenment. After the premier on September 16, 2010 at the Curve Theatre in Leicester the Vertical Road received Best New Work in 2010 at the Melbourne Festival and continues to captivate audiences around the globe. This work, and Khan’s others are enjoyable for their intercultural motifs. His dances are designed to tell a story that is universal to the human race.

Photo by Richard Haughton

Akram Khan, a British-born Bangladesh choreographer, is one of the highest acclaimed of his generation. Since the age of seven Khan has been studying dance, particularly kathak, one of the eight forms of traditional Indian dance. In 2000 he founded the Akram Khan Company in order to choreograph artistic narratives that break cultural boundaries. His innovative ideas are expressed through a combination of modern dance and kathak. In this style he has created a great deal of works and collaborations that have gained some prestigious awards. In this company’s short history they have received:  the Olivier Awards for Best New Dance Production (2012, DESH), South Bank Sky Arts Award for Dance (2011, Gnosis), The Age Critics’ Award for Best New Work (2010, Vertical Road) at the Melbourne Arts Festival and the Helpmann Award for Best Choreography and Best Male Dancer (2007, zero degrees) in Sydney.

Tickets ($19-$48) may be purchased at the Box Office at Theater Square, online at www.trustarts.org, or by calling (412) 456-6666.  For group discounted tickets, call (412) 471-6930.  For subscriptions to this series, call (412) 456-1390. Pittsburgh Dance Council media partner is 90.5 WESA.

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
                                                                                           
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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

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

Contemporary Dance Enlivens Dance Council Upcoming Season

FOR RELEASE: Sunday, April 29, 2012
Contact: Diana Roth, roth@trustart.org

Pittsburgh Dance Council 2012/2013 Season

An exceptional lineup of world-class contemporary dance

The Pittsburgh Dance Council, a division of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, announces a diverse representation of the best in contemporary dance for 2012-2013. The season combines the work of iconic choreographer Mark Morris with the rising talent of Pittsburgh native Kyle Abraham; the levity of the legendary Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo with the gravity of Akram Khan’s stunning full-length work Vertical Road; the ground-breaking action of STREB with the traditional cultural influences present in the work of New Zealand’s indigenous dance company Black Grace.

“What I’m really excited about this season is the breadth and depth of expressions that are communicated through dance,” said Executive Director Paul J. Organisak. “The season reflects a balanced mixture that offers audiences an eclectic and engaging glimpse into the vast range of contemporary dance.”

The Pittsburgh Dance Council 2012-2013 Season Line-up:

Photography by Tom Caravaglia

STREB: FORCES
Friday, September 28, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
8 p.m.
Byham Theater
A thrilling, heart-stopping investigation of action, STREB: FORCES  boldly explores a range of motions, from everyday movements to the extreme action of sports, the circus and adventure rides.  Inventor and architect of eccentric action, Elizabeth Streb orchestrates an athletic cadre of daring theater specialists, taking audiences on a wild ride into mechanically outrageous zones and configurations. Gravity be damned. Fasten your safety belts. "By exploring the frontiers of performance space, and creating works that reflect the spirit of our technological age, Ms. Streb is carrying dance into a new dimension." -The New York Times
streb.org

Vertical Road by Laurent Ziegler

Akram Khan Company Vertical Road
Saturday, October 20, 2012
8 p.m.
Byham Theater
British-born Bangladeshi choreographer Akram Khan is celebrated internationally for the vitality he brings to intercultural dance expressions. Khan’s stunning full-length work Vertical Road is a rare feast for the senses—design, lighting, music and dance combine in a rich glow of art. Vertical Road is a meditation on the journey from gravity to grace, drawing inspiration from the Sufi tradition and the words of beloved Persian poet and philosopher Rumi. "Akram Khan is a true choreographer...someone who asks what it is to be human and provides the answers in dance." -The London Evening Standard
akramkhancompany.net

Photography by Ian Douglas

Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion
Boyz n the Hood: Pavement
Saturday, February 16, 2013
8pm
Byham Theater
Like August Wilson, Kyle Abraham draws heavily from his experiences growing up African American in Pittsburgh to create personal and culturally-referenced works. The New York Times has described Kyle Abraham’s work as “an intriguing mix of breaking and Chaplinesque pathos.” The evening's full-length performance pairs classic essays from W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk and John Singleton’s 1991 film, Boyz n the Hood with an operatic score layered with a brash urban landscape. “Kyle Abraham is the biggest choreographic force coming out of Pittsburgh and has taken a prominent place as a must-see choreographer on the New York scene.” - Jane Vranish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
abrahaminmotion.org

Photography by Duncan Cole

Black Grace
Saturday, March 2, 2013
8 p.m.
Byham Theater
Samoan culture informs and shapes New Zealand’s most accomplished choreographer Neil Ieremia, fueling his artistry with organic exuberance.  Black Grace manifests the rhythms, spirit and energy of Pacific heritage with outstanding works from the company’s 17-year history.
The performance includes excerpts from Minoi, Pati Pati, Objects and Amata—plus a glimpse fromWaka, a fascinating new work inspired by the 1898 painting The Arrival of the Maoris. In the Samoan tradition of tatau (tattoo, body art), Black Grace will make an indelible impression. “A polished, pungent, bone-crunching physical and perfectly executed alchemy of music, muscle and motion.” - New Zealand Herald
blackgrace.co.nz

Photography by Sascha Vaughn

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Friday, April 5, 2013
8 p.m.
Byham Theater
For more than 35 years, New York’s legendary all-male dance company “Keeps on Trockin” by playfully bringing the pleasures of dance to the widest possible audience.  Through its skillful parodies of ballet classics and modern dance,  the Trocks’ comedic brilliance lies in incorporating and exaggerating the foibles, incongruities, accidents and underlying congruities of serious dance. “Whenever I leave a Trocks’ show I'm always, always, happy. I can't say this of any other company. What thrills me is the cleverness and subtlety of their observations and the sheer technical dedication of all involved. The Trocks know their stuff.” - Ballet Magazine
trockadero.org

Photography by Brian Snyder

Mark Morris Dance Group
Saturday, May 4, 2013
8 p.m.
Byham Theater
Endlessly inventive and masterful, Mark Morris ranks among the world’s greatest choreographers. Described as “undeviating in his devotion to music,” Mark Morris has made live musical accompaniment the gold standard in modern dance.  For more than three decades, the Mark Morris Dance Group has been wowing the world over with outstanding works that dutifully exude Mark Morris’ prolificacy, passion and artistic conviction. “That Mr. Morris reveals his musical sophistication through barefoot modern dancing is what gives his choreography such primal elegance. Whether the effect is joyful, bombastic or as quiet as can be, the connective tissue is rhythm. He finds ways to make bodies sing all the notes, not just the high ones.” - The New York Times
markmorrisdancegroup.org

Subscription Information
Subscription packages for the Pittsburgh Dance Council’ six-show series are available for: $96-$240. To subscribe, call 412-456-1390; groups of 10 or more tickets, call 412-471-6930. Single tickets for Pittsburgh Dance Council performances will go on sale to the general public in mid-August.

About The Pittsburgh Dance Council
The Pittsburgh Dance Council joined Pittsburgh Cultural Trust as a programming division 2002. The mission of Pittsburgh Dance Council is to bring the best contemporary dance companies from around the world to the Cultural District. Each season, Pittsburgh Dance Council presents diverse, world-class contemporary works, including U.S. and world premieres.
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Uncommon at the August Wilson Center

UNCOMMON, February 3-12, 2012 at the August Wilson Center

(Pittsburgh, PA) – Uncommon, on stage February 3-12 at the August Wilson Center, presents a new, world premiere work by Dwight Rhoden, Chromatic, as well as Brahm’s Quintet by Dennis Nahat and Maelstrom by Mark Morris. Audiences will be treated to an experience that will challenge any predetermined ideas regarding the relationship between classical composition and ballet. This is the first time Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre brings a part of its season to the August Wilson Center. Tickets to Uncommon can be purchased online at www.pbt.org, or by phone at (412) 456-6666.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre plans to announce it’s 2012-2013 Season at the performances of Uncommon.


QUOTE:

This world premiere ballet [Chromatic] set to Bach is an exciting venture. The new work will look at the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of the music and movement from the Baroque period, and hopefully bring a 21st century spin to a visual presentation.—Dwight Rhoden


About Choreographer Dwight Rhoden

Mr. Rhoden is a founding Artistic Director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, based in New York City. A former principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, he has established a remarkably wide-ranging career. “One of the most sought-after choreographers of the day“ (New York Times), he has created more than 80 ballets for his own company, and his work has been featured in television productions from PBS’s Great Performances specials to the popular series, So You Think You Can Dance. Dance Magazine has praised his “new aesthetic in movement, stage, picture, and performance concepts reflecting a post-modern, techno-savvy worldview.”


Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and The August Wilson Center

In 2011, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT) and the August Wilson Center (AWC) will began a multiyear partnership that includes the Ballet’s premiere performances of Uncommon, in the Center’s 486-seat theatre, February 3-12, 2012. This partnership seeks to develop and provide world-class artistic content that will enrich the artistic substance of both institutions to the benefit of the Greater Pittsburgh community and beyond. The collaboration will include performances, education & cultivation and workshops & master classes.

Moving from the Byham Theater to the August Wilson Center will provide PBT patrons with a more intimate experience at the ballet.


Info from August Wilson Center:

About the August Wilson Center for African American Culture

Named for Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright and Hill District native August Wilson, the August Wilson Center for African American Culture engages regional and national audiences in its mission of preserving, presenting, interpreting, celebrating and shaping the art, culture and history of African Americans in Western Pennsylvania and people of African descent throughout the world.

Located in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, the multidisciplinary August Wilson Center is reflective of all aspects of African American culture. The Center’s striking, two-story, green building houses seven exhibition galleries, a 486-seat theater for performances in all disciplines, a cultivation center, a café and gift shop, and multipurpose spaces for community programs and events. The Center is among a select few African American cultural institutions presenting visual and performing arts, the humanities and educational programs in a state-of-the-art venue.

The August Wilson Center – At The Center Of It All!

More information is available on The Center’s website at AugustWilsonCenter.org and by calling 412.258.2700.
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Pittsburgh Dance Council Announces Celebrated Season

The Pittsburgh Dance Council, a division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, announces a season that showcases works by some of the most celebrated choreographers in America, including dance masters Paul Taylor, Moses Pendleton, Lar Lubovitch and Karole Armitage. The Dance Council season is generously sponsored by First Commonwealth to support the growth and development of dance in Pittsburgh.


“The spirit and heritage of contemporary American dance gives this season an especially rich vibrancy,” said Executive Director Paul J. Organisak. “I’m proud of the fact that some of the best work in contemporary dance today is being produced by American dance companies, and that we can present these outstanding works in the Cultural District.”

In addition, as part of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Distinctively Dutch Festival in 2012, the Pittsburgh Dance Council will present two U.S. premieres: Dance Works Rotterdam/André Gingras’ wry and exuberant Anatomica; and former Nederlands Dans Theater artistic director Jiri Kylian and collaborator Michael Schumacher’s poignant dance theater production, Last Touch First.

New this year is a Pittsburgh Dance Council special at the August Wilson Center: Heidi Latsky’s GIMP Project. Details for all the performances and subscription information follow.

The Pittsburgh Dance Council 2011-12 Season Line-up

MOMIX

Botanica

Friday, September 16, 2011

Saturday, February 17, 2011

8 P.M.

Byham Theater

With an eclectic score ranging from birdsong to Vivaldi, Moses Pendleton’s Botanica reveals nature's changing imagery. An herbal remedy and natural aphrodisiac, Botanica showcases the endlessly renewable energy of the superb MOMIX performers. Fantastical costumes, projections and custom-made props and puppetry add an extra dose of whimsy to the elixir. This is dance at its most organic and inventive. The seasons will never be the same. “People shouted out, gasped and applauded furiously. MOMIX is ideal for turning audiences on to dance.” -L.A. Herald Examiner

momix.com


Paul Taylor Dance Company

Saturday, October 22, 2011

8 P.M.

Byham Theater

Setting the global standard for excellence, Paul Taylor Dance Company is the epitome of modern dance. Paul Taylor’s signature athleticism and graceful techniques create exquisite stories that borrow the audience’s imagination for awhile. Since 1954, Paul Taylor has choreographed more than 130 works, many of which have attained iconic status and have been celebrated throughout the world. “The American spirit soars whenever Taylor’s dancers dance.” – San Francisco Chronicle

ptdc.org

Dance Works Rotterdam/André Gingras (U.S. Premiere)

Anatomica

Saturday, February 18, 2012

8 P.M.

Byham Theater

Dance Works Rotterdam/André Gingras, the Netherland’s most explosive modern dance company, performs Anatomica, an unyielding exploration of the danger, beauty and consequences of the human body on display. Anatomica presents a wry commentary on the obsessive culture of “showing off” with its unabashed physicality and Gingras’ signature high-octane partnering. "It's a terrific splurge of vibrant physicality and joie de vivre that sets out what an amazing miracle the body represents." The Times (UK)

danceworksrotterdam.nl

Armitage Gone! Dance

Three Theories

Saturday, March 3, 2012

8 P.M.

Byham Theater

Celebrated “punk ballerina” and artistic director Karole Three Theories is an evening-length work inspired by physicist Brian Greene’s best-selling book, The Elegant Universe, which Armitage uses as a means for exploring new possibilities in movement and patterning. “The spectator remains dazzled by so much received pleasure.” - Le MondeArmitage is renowned for pushing boundaries. In Karole Armitage’s hands, classical dance receives a needed shock to its system with speed and fractured lines, abstractions and symmetry countermanded by asymmetry.

armitagegonedance.org

Last Touch First by Jirí Kylián and Michael Schumacher (U.S. Premiere)

Friday, April 6, 2012

Saturday, April 7, 2012

8 P.M.

August Wilson Center

Famed Dutch choreographer Jirí Kylián (former artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater) and expat Michael Schumacher eschew physical virtuosity for control, subtlety and timing with the intimate Last Touch First. Characters move surrealistically back in time to a 19th century Victorian atmosphere reminiscent of a Chekhov play. The dancers’ meticulous movements, accentuated with extravagant costumes and scenery, create a dramatic and gripping work.

“Last Touch First is an intimate and moving performance.” NRC Handelsblad

Lar Lubovitch Dance Company

Saturday, April 28, 2012

8 P.M.

Byham Theater

One of America’s most versatile, popular and highly-acclaimed choreographers, Lar Lubovitch founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company 43 years ago. Lubovitch’s work is extolled for its musicality, rhapsodic style and sophisticated formal structures. His radiant, highly-technical choreography and deeply humanistic voice have been acclaimed throughout the world. “One of the ten best choreographers in the world.” - The New York Times

lubovitch.org


DANCE COUNCIL SPECIAL

Heidi Latsky Dance GIMP

Saturday October 15, 2011

8 P.M.

August Wilson Center

$17

Heidi Latsky, artistic director and former principal dancer with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance, is a dynamic force in the dance world. Latsky’s GIMP (2008) is about beauty – the breathtaking, unexpected sort that is physical, emotional and full of grace. At the heart of GIMP are five trained dancers and five performers with physical disabilities who create an edgy landscape of uncommon magnificence.

“GIMP is without a doubt a gleaming milestone in the progress of contemporary dance and theater, proving that the term ‘disabled dancer’ is an oxymoron.” - Dance Magazine

heidilatskydance.net

Subscription Information

Subscription packages for the Pittsburgh Dance Council’ six-show series are available for: $109-$217. To subscribe, call 412-456-1390; groups of 10 or more tickets, call 412-471-6930. Single tickets for Pittsburgh Dance Council performances will go on sale to the general public in mid-August.

About The Pittsburgh Dance Council

The Pittsburgh Dance Council joined The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in as a programming division 2002. The mission of The Pittsburgh Dance Council is to bring the best contemporary dance companies from around the world to the Cultural District. Each season, the Pittsburgh Dance Council presents diverse, world-class contemporary works, including U.S. and world premieres.