Diavolo Dance Company Coming to Greek Theatre, 9/12

Diavolo / Architecture in Motion and its esteemed artistic director Jacques Heim return to Los Angeles with their extraordinary dance production of Transit Space and Trajectoire on Friday, September 12th at the historic Greek Theatre.

Diavolo is a non-profit organization and internationally-renowned performance company that reinvents dance, reimagines theater and redefines thrills through a fusion of acrobatics, martial arts, ballet, contemporary, hip-hop and other dance programs. The hour-long, jam-packed performance at the Greek will feature performances of Transit Space and its signature piece - Trajectoire. There will be special guest appearances by spoken word artist, and Transit Space narrator Steve Connell and by renowned film composer, Nathan Wang who composes Trajectoire.

"I would describe the work of Diavolo as Architecture in Motion," said Heim. "I am interested in the architecture of space and how we inhabit it and am fascinated by the relationship and interaction of humans with their architectural environment. We are thrilled to be performing back in our hometown, and what better place than the magical Greek Theatre!"

Transit Space explores themes of feeling lost, finding a sense of purpose and coming together. Influenced by the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, Transit Space uses skateboard ramps as set pieces to represent an urban environment with ever-shifting physical and emotional spaces.

Trajectoire is a visceral and emotional journey through the ebb and flow of the human experience. As the performers struggle to find their balance on a voyage of destiny and destination, Trajectoire illustrates the transcendence of the human soul against all odds.

Diavolo explores the relationship between the danger of our environment and the fragility of the human body. The performances illuminate dance through a dynamic and powerful repertoire utilizing unique architectural creations as the focal point for dancers to confront, challenge and manipulate. Diavolo is like a live abstract painting. There is no narrative but rather strong themes that pervade the work-themes such as human struggle, fear, danger, survival, chaos, order, deconstruction, reconstruction, destiny, destination, faith and love.

Where does the name Diavolo come from? "Dia" is Spanish for "the day," and "Volo" is Latin for "I fly." So, directly Diavolo means "The Day I Fly." "Dia" is also a Greek prefix for "obstacle to obstacle," so one might say that Diavolo flies from obstacle to obstacle.

Diavolo has an extensive 14-year performance history ranging from Los Angeles and throughout the United States to across the world in Australia, Europe, Asia and Latin America. The company has performed for hundreds of thousands of concertgoers worldwide and millions more on television.

Artistic director Heim has been a transformative choreographer for over 20 years. He founded Diavolo in 1992 and has directed the company's work ever since.

Heim was born and raised in Paris. His earliest experiences with performance came from street performing. He attended Middlebury College (B.F.A. in Theater, Dance and Film), the University of Surrey in England (Certificate for Analysis and Criticism of Dance) and the California Institute for the Arts (M.F.A., Choreography).

In addition to his work with Diavolo, Heim has worked extensively for other companies in dance, theater, television and special events worldwide. Most recently Heim worked with Guy Caron and Michael Curry as consulting choreographer on Ice Age Live!, a "mammoth" arena show that had its world premiere at London's Wembley Stadium in November 2012 and is now touring Europe.

For Cirque du Soleil, Heim choreographed KÀ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He was invited to be a creative director for the Opening Ceremony of The 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. In 2005 Heim was the artistic director for the Taurus Stunt Awards and returned in 2007 to stage the movement/stunt piece "The Car." With Center Theater Group he created choreography for the stage play The Stones. On television his work has appeared on BBC America's Dancing with the Stars and Bravo's Step Up and Dance.

Performers at the Diavolo Institute are trained in downtown Los Angeles, where Heim's latest masterpiece, Cubicle, is being designed. An Indiegogo campaign was created to raise money for Cubicle to continue the creation and rehearsal process and enhance costume and set design in order to meet the company's high artistic standards. By donating to the campaign, Diavolo fans can receive an exclusive VIP experience to the Greek Theatre, which includes a hosted pre and post show reception, meet and greet with the cast and more.

The Greek Theatre is located at 2700 N. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, Calif., 90027. Tickets start at $75. For more information, to purchase tickets or to donate to Heim's latest project, please visit http://www.diavolo.org.

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