Martha Graham Dance Company Presents UNIIVERSITY PARTNERS SHOWCASE

The Martha Graham Dance Company has invited for The University Partners Showcase five universities and one performing arts high along with Graham II school to perform on Wednesday, March 14th, at 7:30pm at The Joyce Theater, 175 8th Avenue (at 19th Street), NYC, as part of the Company's 86th Anniversary season. The Company has chosen Inner Landscape as the focus for its 2012 season and will present a great range of performances, partnerships and educational activities exploring the psychological aspects of dance.

The special program for the evening includes: Graham II – Diversion of Angels; Interlochen Arts Academy (Michigan) – Panorama; Point Park University (Pennsylvania) – Heretic; Skidmore College (New York) – Steps in the Street ; The Hartt School of the University of Hartford (Connecticut) – Dark Meadow Suite; New World School of the Arts – Prelude to Action; and the University of Arizona (Arizona) – On My Mother's Side.

Dance students from six different national training programs will come to NYC to perform Inner Landscape classics. Dances performed will include six masterworks by Martha Graham seminal to her revolution in modern dance. University of Arizona will also perform a work by another important pioneer of American dance, Charles Weidman.

"We are very proud of our student productions of Graham dances and have partnered with schools all over the world since 2003," says Janet Eilber, artistic director of the Martha Graham Center. "This is the first time we've organized a gathering of this year's top student productions. It's going to be a logistical challenge to have over 100 students on the stage in the course of the evening, but the energy will be tremendous. And I know it will be very moving to see the next generation of dancers take on these masterpieces of American dance."

The Martha Graham Dance Company (Janet Eilber, Artistic Director; LaRue Allen, Executive Director) has been a leader in the development of contemporary dance since its founding in 1926. Today, the company is embracing a new programming vision that showcases masterpieces by Graham, her contemporaries and their successors alongside newly commissioned works by contemporary artists. With programs that unite the work of choreographers and directors within a rich thematic narrative, the company is actively working to create new platforms for contemporary dance and multiple points of access for audiences.

Since its inception, the Martha Graham Dance Company has received international acclaim from audiences in over 50 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The Company has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Paris Opera House, Covent Garden, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at the base of the Great Pyramids of Egypt and in the ancient Herod Atticus Theatre on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. In addition, the Company has also produced several award-winning films broadcast on PBS and around the world. More information can be found at www.marthagraham.org.

Ticket prices for the Graham Company at The Joyce: $19, $35 and $59 (Prices subject to change based on demand) are available at the box office, or through JoyceCharge (212) 242-0800 and www.joyce.org.

Photo credit: Joseph Henry Ritter.