Philadanco Delivers Program of ExpressivE dance -- New show Date

Media Contact:

Kristen Gleason
Director of Marketing
The Paramount Theater
215 East Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.979.1922 ext. 103
kristen@theparamount.net

For Immediate Release

March 11, 2008

Celebrating 38 years of exceptional performances, The Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco) is internationally-acclaimed for innovative choreography and expressive dancing that blends African-American based movement with ballet, jazz, and modern styles.

With "blazing physicality and commitment [that] light up the stage" (The Village Voice) Philadanco presents an exciting mixed repertory program at The Paramount Theater on Thursday, March 27 at 8 pm.

This event has been rescheduled from January, when winter weather conditions forced a postponement of the performance.

This tour engagement of The Philadelphia Dance Company is funded through the American Masterpieces programs of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius, a major initiative to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy. This project is partially supported by a grant from Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed and funded by The Heinz Endowments; the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; and The Pew Charitable Trusts; and administered by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

Philadanco’s unique blend of dance styles may be seen in the variety of works scheduled for their March 27 Paramount performance:

• Momix dancer/choreographer Daniel Erzalow’s Pulse, with its abstract and mesmerizing gliding;
• Gene Hill Sagan’s Ravel-scored La Valse which the Philadelphia Daily News described as “a feverish whirl of virtuoso lifts, turns and bodies flung through space at a dizzy pace,” and
• Hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris’ dynamic retrospective of Philadelphia that alludes to the city’s rhythms, posture, physicality, and speed, Philadelphia Experiment.

Since its inception in 1970 Philadanco has had a significant impact on the dance world. As a cultural ambassador representing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia, its artistic direction and renowned national and international guest choreographers have developed a reputation of producing dance repertory with passion, power, skill and diversity.

The professional company continues to consistently tour more than any Philadelphia cultural organization, performing as many as 60 concerts and 45 residencies annually. In 2000 the company received permanent residency at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.

New York Times dance critic Jennifer Dunning states that Philadanco is "a company of happy, invigorating contrast ... a venerable institution...but has not lost its youthful verve or the freshness of its strong technical grounding."

Seats are still available for Philadanco’s March 27 performance at The Paramount. Tickets are $43.50, $46.50, $49.50, and $54.50. Half-price student rush tickets and group discounts are offered.

Tickets are available online or through The Paramount’s Box Office at 434.979.1333.

For more information about Philadanco, please visit www.philadanco.org.